555 replies to this topic

[leighw]

Hi,

I'm in the market for an LCD TV although I am on a fairly tight budget of $1500. I've found these 32 inch Kogan TV's on eBay for $1450 Kogan 32inch LCD TV's

What does everyone think about them?

How do they compare to what else is on the market?

I want an LCD TV to play xbox games on in high definition.

Thanks in advance!

Leigh

[Avonlea]

From looking at the ad on e-Bay, these televisions are imported from China and "branded" with the Kogan brand in Melbourne.  We bought a "Rotel Digital" 46" LCD from Betta last month, which looks exactly the same as the Kogan 46" being advertised on e-Bay.  At the time (see Rotel Digital thread at this forum), the importers were having problems with the name, so I suspect they have changed their name to Kogan instead.  They are both Melbourne based companies.

We have absolutely no problems with our 46" TV even to the extent of playing PS2 games though it.  We have hooked it to an LG PVR and Samsung Home Theatre and have no problems there.

If we had any quibble, it would be with the Remote Control, which is pretty basic and not very intuative.

There are purists who will not go anywhere near a Chinese TV with a barge-pole, but with a long warranty, backed up by a local support organisation, at these prices, I don't think you'd be making a bad decision.

[kogan]

Hi DTV Forum readers,

My name is Ruslan Kogan. I am the founder of Kogan LCD TVs.

Firstly, I would like discard any rumors that Kogan TV is associated with 'Rotel Digital' - in fact, the previous post is the first time I have heard of Rotel.

I am an IT enthusiast and I have had a passion for technology all my life - I've always had the latest Nokia phone, I love playing with Mac Powerbooks, I'll buy anything USB!

Being a connoisseur of fine technology, I'm usually happy to splurge on products to get all the added features. When I find a brand name product that has nothing over the competition except a price tag, I'm never willing to hand over my hard earned to someone's marketing department...It's with this business philosophy that I started Kogan Technologies.

Kogan LCD TVs use a Samsung Panel. This means that the display quality you get on our TVs is exactly the same as you would on Samsung and Sony Bravia equivalents (Sony use Samsung panels in their LCDs).

There are currently 4 products in our LCD range:

7" Digital Photo Frame
http://kogan.com.au/product.php?id=71

19" KOGAN LCD TV / PC Monitor
http://kogan.com.au/product.php?id=19

32" KOGAN LCD TV - High Definition
http://kogan.com.au/product.php?id=32

46" KOGAN LCD TV - High Definition
http://kogan.com.au/product.php?id=46

Our 46" 117cm High Definition TV is the best LCD TV deal in Australia - NO DOUBT!
It has all the features you find in $7000+ models and we are selling them on eBay for around $3500*.

Please check out our eBay store for the latest deals:
http://stores.ebay.com.au/Kogan-Direct

If anyone has any questions about any of the Kogan TV or more information on the brand, please feel free to post the questions and I will reply.

Cheers,
Ruslan Kogan
Kogan Technologies

* Price is variable as all our eBay auctions start at 1 cent with no reserve

[tony2006]

kogan, on Oct 19 2006, 06:27 PM, said:

Kogan LCD TVs use a Samsung Panel. This means that the display quality you get on our TVs is exactly the same as you would on Samsung and Sony Bravia equivalents (Sony use Samsung panels in their LCDs).

Samsung made PVA and S-PVA panels. Samaung and Sony use S-PVA panels. I think Kogan uses the low-end PVA panels according its specs. So don't expect the picture quality be as good as Samsung or Sony.

[drsmith]

kogan, on Oct 19 2006, 06:27 PM, said:

Our 46" 117cm High Definition TV is the best LCD TV deal in Australia - NO DOUBT!
It has all the features you find in $7000+ models and we are selling them on eBay for around $3500*.

* Price is variable as all our eBay auctions start at 1 cent with no reserve

NO DOUBT ?

This unit it 1366x768. I saw the Teac 42" 1920x1080 resolution LCD for sale at a Retravision store last weekend with a sticker price of $2999, $2800 for cash.

[kogan]

drsmith, on Oct 19 2006, 08:27 PM, said:

NO DOUBT ?

This unit it 1366x768. I saw the Teac 42" 1920x1080 resolution LCD for sale at a Retravision store last weekend with a sticker price of $2999, $2800 for cash.

I think we have to compare Apples with Apples. True, the Kogan isn't 1920x1080 but you have to take into account the actual size difference between a 42" screen and a 46" screen - the manufacturing costs are much higher and that's why 46" units sell for considerably higher. If you worked out the total display area on each - you would see just how much bigger a 46" screen is.

As far as I've seen, the closest competition to the Kogan x46 is the Sherwood 46" from JB HI FI which they will sell to you for around $4800. With the Kogan x46 delivered to your door anywhere in Australia for around $3500, I'm yet to see a deal that competes with it.

If you find a better deal out there, let me know and I'll be sure to tackle it head on - I'm here to provide educated consumers with the best possible deals if they are willing to make online purchases!

Cheers,
Kogan

[leighw]

Thanks Kogan!!

I ended up buying the Kogan 32 inch model from eBay. The service was great... made a paymnet on Saturday and I received my TV on Tuesday.

I use it with my Xbox 360 and an HD set top box (with HDMI of course) - AWESOME!

The picture quality is better than any branded LCD that i've seen on display in any store and I've been in the market for a while. The screen looks very appealing aswell with it's all black look with a sleek acryl finish.

I couldnt get the panel to work as a computer monitor for a while but a call to the Kogan help desk sent me in the right direction very quickly (I need an HDMI/DVI cable).

If anyone is scared of buying this brand...don't be..I think this is one of the best purchases I've made all year!

[darwin_fish]

These Tv's are still 1366 x 768 pixels + Do they even have digital tuners??

$1,479.00 + $100 postage for a unknown and unproven (long term) brand.

Today after work I have seen people haggle an old sony V series 32" down to $1975 and a Samsung R series (with didi tuner) for ~ $1900 buy it right now (without trying). The LG with digi tuner (32LC2D) can be had for less than $1600 at the right place.

With all these options and for only about $ 400 less than sony and samsung - It just doesn't make sense to me why I would consider a Kogan - maybe someone can explain it to me???

THIS ALSO WORRIES ME
[quote from ebay]
"1. "Samsung Panel" - what does it mean?
The brand of this LCD TV is Kogan. It uses the same Samsung manufactured LCD panel as a Samsung LCD TV. This means that you will get the exact same beautiful crisp picture on this TV as you would with a Samsung - but for a fraction of the price!"


Most people here have told me it is the computer (engine) in the panel that makes it dispay to its full potential??? Im confused

I hope I made some sense here!
Cheers Tom

[quietboy]

drsmith, on Oct 19 2006, 08:27 PM, said:

NO DOUBT ?

This unit it 1366x768. I saw the Teac 42" 1920x1080 resolution LCD for sale at a Retravision store last weekend with a sticker price of $2999, $2800 for cash.

My 2 cents.  Atleast there is now another choice in the budget end of town for cheap LCD TV's.  I guess its buyer beware really.  I think its nice that Mr Kogan has come on to the forum and explained his purpose.  Its good customer service IMHO.

[5teve]

quietboy, on Oct 20 2006, 04:07 AM, said:

My 2 cents.  Atleast there is now another choice in the budget end of town for cheap LCD TV's.  I guess its buyer beware really.  I think its nice that Mr Kogan has come on to the forum and explained his purpose.  Its good customer service IMHO.

i'll be able to tell you what the Teac is like soon... its from an established manufacturer anyway.. (Amoi)

as you said... its nice that the manufacturer has appeared on here.. as support can sell things sometimes better  than anything!

i guess pictures and reviews would help people to decide... and some specs!

Steve

[drsmith]

kogan, on Oct 20 2006, 12:18 PM, said:

I think we have to compare Apples with Apples. True, the Kogan isn't 1920x1080 but you have to take into account the actual size difference between a 42" screen and a 46" screen - the manufacturing costs are much higher and that's why 46" units sell for considerably higher. If you worked out the total display area on each - you would see just how much bigger a 46" screen is.

A 46" screen has 20% more area than a 42" screen. It's not a lot bigger.
$3500 is 25% more than $2800.

kogan, on Oct 20 2006, 12:18 PM, said:

As far as I've seen, the closest competition to the Kogan x46 is the Sherwood 46" from JB HI FI which they will sell to you for around $4800. With the Kogan x46 delivered to your door anywhere in Australia for around $3500, I'm yet to see a deal that competes with it.

What about warranty ?
Teac's warranty is 3 years, yours is 12 months (3 years for another $300).

kogan, on Oct 20 2006, 12:18 PM, said:

If you find a better deal out there, let me know and I'll be sure to tackle it head on - I'm here to provide educated consumers with the best possible deals if they are willing to make online purchases!

Cheers,
Kogan

The Teac 42" LCD is slightly smaller but it can be purchased for less, is higher resolution and the standard warranty is longer.

[Merkava]

The Kogan lcd's is one of the ones my wife and I have been considering...

I agree just because a 'panel' is made by the same company / production facility, doesn't mean the screen is just as good.  The electronics driving the screen have just as much to do with the image quality, at least in my opinion.

It's also true that companies make more than one type of panel, as mentioned above, so the comments that it is the same as a Samsung / Sony is probably not correct.

The 1 year warranty (3 years $200) is the big sticking point with us.  We like Sony lcd's but I think anyone would agree that the 12 month warranty they provide is pretty poor.  However, there are ways to double this by using certain credit cards for purchase or by store offers - Harvey Norman recently held a double the warranty offer.

Some examples is the competion is (price wise)...

Teac 32" $1499.00 (3 year factory warranty)
Reality 32" $1499.00 (3 year warranty - free delivery)
Sherwood 32" $1999.00 (inbuilt hd tuner - seems to be getting good comments)
Samsung 32" $1500 - $1900 (both inbuilt hd tuner and without 3yr warranty)
Acer 3220, 3720... range (32" for around $1399)
BenQ (VA series)

Many more like Schaub Lorenz (I think these look quite good and have up to 5 years warranty)

Then of course there is the 'cheaper' brands like Magnavox, JNC, AWA and others that can be had for around $1200 (32") and include 2-3 year warranties.  I know all warranties aren't created equal, but it is a piece of mind thing for consumers, and probably doubly important for an 'unknown' brand like Kogan compared to the biggies like Sony etc.

All this being said, I still wouldn't right these Kogans off, but it would be nice to see some of these 'brands' have there products reviewed both in magazines / online websites as well as more comments from owners.

The Kogan 32" set appears to be the same as one of the sets JNC have on their TW website, and the larger sets appear to be the same manufacture as the Soniq lcd's offered through JB-Hifi.

[tony2006]

Merkava, on Oct 20 2006, 04:58 PM, said:

The Kogan 32" set appears to be the same as one of the sets JNC have on their TW website, and the larger sets appear to be the same manufacture as the Soniq lcd's offered through JB-Hifi.

I think Kogan just re badge HPC from http://www.huipu.com...ducts/LCDTV.asp

[kogan]

tony2006, on Oct 20 2006, 06:10 PM, said:

I think Kogan just re badge HPC from http://www.huipu.com...ducts/LCDTV.asp

You'd be right! We assemble our TVs at the same factory as JNC & Soniq - the internals are not the same though.

I have hand picked all the internals to ensure:
- the TV is very responsive (press a button on the remote and see results on the screen straight away)
- A range of High Definition inputs are available (HDMI/DVI, VGA & 2x Component)
- Full feature chip set (PIP, POP, Sound and picture controls and optimization)

Also, please don't be confused by our "Buy It Now" prices - they are merely there to guide the market...Kogan makes 99% of it's sales through 1 cent no reserve listins. Our average selling prices are:

Kogan 19" - $400
Kogan 32" - $1100
Kogan 46" - $3500

Some customers have picked up our 46" LCD for $2650 (Hopefully this doesn't happen again).

My philosophy is that if I list my product on the world largest marketplace for 1c NO RESERVE, and it fetches the wrong price, then I'm selling the wrong product.

There is a 46" HD LCD that is about to end in a couple of hours and it's currently at $2550:
http://cgi.ebay.com....em=150048269212

I hear those of you who would like to see more reviews of my products. I'll email my customer and ask them to make a post in this thread if they have a spare moment - I've had some great feedback from $$$ conscious consumers!

Have a great weekend,
Kogan

[drsmith]

kogan, on Oct 20 2006, 06:55 PM, said:

There is a 46" HD LCD that is about to end in a couple of hours and it's currently at $2550:
http://cgi.ebay.com....em=150048269212

On the above site there is an extensive specification list, but what is more interesting is a quick comparison with the equivelent size Sony Bravia. According to this comparison, the price of a Sony Bravia 46" (1366x768) is $8999. Sony's website has an RRP of  $5999 for the 46" (1366x768) Bravia V series and $6999 for the 46" (1929x1080) Bravia X series.

EDIT: 9:20pm EST

kogan, on Oct 20 2006, 06:55 PM, said:

Some customers have picked up our 46" LCD for $2650 (Hopefully this doesn't happen again).

The 46" LCD sold on Ebay for $2750. Postage cost: $160.

[fishcake]

any way we can preview the displays before buying?

[qsphere]

Also another option to consider is the NEC, 46" LCD TV which is a known brand and offers a 3 year warranty.  The in-built high definition digital tuner and aesthetics are a nice touch.
I have seen these around for $4,500.00.

[kogan]

fishcake, on Oct 22 2006, 01:32 AM, said:

any way we can preview the displays before buying?

We don't have a showroom at the moment but we might open one in the near future.

I have just sent an email to our recent customers asking them to write a review in this thread..Hopefully we see some independant opinions about the Kogan brand in here soon.

Enjoy the beautiful sunny day(in Melbourne;),
Kogan

PS. There is some 46" High Definition LCDs ending in 2 hours..they are currently at $1960:
http://cgi.ebay.com....em=150049225935

[ozdoc]

kogan, on Oct 19 2006, 04:27 PM, said:

Please check out our eBay store for the latest deals:
http://stores.ebay.com.au/Kogan-Direct

kogan, on Oct 20 2006, 04:55 PM, said:

There is a 46" HD LCD that is about to end in a couple of hours and it's currently at $2550:
http://cgi.ebay.com....em=150048269212

kogan, on Oct 24 2006, 08:24 AM, said:

PS. There is some 46" High Definition LCDs ending in 2 hours..they are currently at $1960:
http://cgi.ebay.com....em=150049225935

I bet Harvey Norman couldn't get this type of advertising on the DTV forum..
I suppose it is just within context.

[kogan]

ozdoc, on Oct 24 2006, 10:55 AM, said:

I bet Harvey Norman couldn't get this type of advertising on the DTV forum..
I suppose it is just within context.

Geez you guys are a harsh crowd!

Yes I'm trying to spread the word about Kogan in Australia. I think the business model and concept I have introduced will benefit a lot of people - I receive about 5 praise emails a day from customers in rural areas who tell me that I saved them over 50% on what they would have been expected to pay at their local Retravision.

Although some members disagree, I still beleive I have the best value LCD TVs in Australia - you can't compare a 42" LCD to a 46" LCD.

However, price isn't enough to sway some buyers so I am here in the DTV forum to show customers that we at Kogan are always listening and very accessible. Is it easy to find someone at Sony who actually knows about TVs? (I called Sony Central yesterday and asked them if it's true that they use Samsung panels - they told me Samsung make the glass that goes in front of their TVs ..JOKE!

If anyone has any questions about the Kogan range, please feel free to post it here and I will reply ASAP.

All the best,
Kogan

[noakespg]

I brought one of these Kogan HDTV's off ebay about a month ago and I have to say they are BETTER than alot of the brand name equivilents. I also bought a BENQ one and it was shocking. Mine had an 8ms response time and everything looks clean and crisp. The screen itself is also fairly solid and comes with the option to wall-mount it.

I have no regrets about buying it and when it is time for me to get a larger one I will buy it from them.

P.S. Here is my ebay user info so you can see that this is not just a post from Kogan.

http://feedback.ebay...ame=STRK:ME:UFS

[wattsy01]

Hi guys..I just purchased the Kogan LCD and am generally very happy with it. The build quality may not be up to a Sony but it makes up for it in "bang for buck" image quality. I got mine for $1200 but have since seen them go for just over a grand!! I had a chance to compare it with the Acer 32" and believe it to have superior pic quality. The blacks seem to get crushed on the Acer. Most of my evaluation material has been WMVHD material at 1280x720 from my media center pc via HDMI. The HD image is awesome!! My other worry was dead pixels. It seemed to have a dead one on arrival but came back to life after a few days(is that possible?).

[kogan]

wattsy01, on Oct 24 2006, 11:30 AM, said:

My other worry was dead pixels. It seemed to have a dead one on arrival but came back to life after a few days(is that possible?).

Thanks for that feedback!!

It sounds like the panel had what is known as a "stuck" pixel. These usually go away with time.

There is a great article on wikipedia that is very handy for anyone with a stuck pixel:

http://en.wikipedia....iki/Stuck_pixel

[yeung]

I recently bought Kogan TV off e-bay.  Whilst I would say they are not the best LCD TV but they are certainly value for money.  The Manual could not better as they appear to put a single manuel for a few TVs.

Good buy/

[kogan]

yeung, on Oct 24 2006, 01:58 PM, said:

I recently bought Kogan TV off e-bay.  Whilst I would say they are not the best LCD TV but they are certainly value for money.  The Manual could not better as they appear to put a single manuel for a few TVs.

Good buy/

Thanks Yeung!

We know our manuals are in "Chinglish" - We are currently re-writing the user manual - it's going to be written by Aussies for Aussies!

I must stress that even though the user manual is not the most thorough, we offer phone support to all our customers to help them set up their TV and get the most out of it.

All the best!

Kogan