I have the opportunity to get a 42" lcd shipped over. Of course its a new model and sight unseen by me. It will be tested to at least work, and I think i can get a dead pixel check done.

here is the original simplified chinese mfr website:
http://www.xoceco.com.cn/products/tv/yejing-lc42t17yb.htm
(u can use google or http://babelfish.altavista.com/ to translate)
The application is of course media centre so 1080p is the focus


LCD TV, 42" (16: 9)
CMO, LCD panel a-Si TFT-LCD
Display Size 930.24(H) x 523.26 (V)mm2
Resolution 1920×1080×RGB
Dot Pitch 0.1615x0.4845mm2
Maximum Colors 16,777,216
Brightness 800nit
Contrast [[there is a conflict here, Prima China say 3600:1 dynamic. Prima HK 550:1 static. CMO say 1000:1 static.... hmmmmmm
Viewing Angle 88/88/88/88
Response Time 8ms (Gray to gray)
Tuner x 1
TV System PAL D/K B/G I,NTSC-M,SECAM B/G D/K/K’
Channel Position 200
Progressive Scan
Speaker Type Detachable
Maximum Audio Output 10W×2
Terminals Video In RF : TV/CATV 75ohms coaxial x 1
AV : RCA 75ohms composite video x 1
S-Video : 4-pin DIN x 1
D-Sub 15pin x 1
YPbPr/YCbCr: RCA x 3
Video Out AV: RCA 75O Composite Video x 1
L/R RCA for S-Video or AV x2
L/R RCA for YPbPr/YCbCr x2
RCA for VGA x 1
Audio out : RCA x 2
Earphone Jack : Stereo mini phone Jack x 1
Speaker Out x 2
HDMI HDMI 19-pin x 1
English /Simple Chinese
Remote Control function support for full OSD
De-interlace
3D Y/C Comb Filter
3:2 & 2:2 pull down with motion compensation
HDTV 1080i/1080P/720P
Macrovision Compatible
Clock
Sleep Timer(ON/OFF)
Bit Map OSD
yes
VESA Standard / Wall Mount
AC 100-240V; 60/50Hz
<250 W
< 2W
IEC60065,CCC
User's manual, AC Power Cord, Remote Control Unit, RCA Cable x 1

The panel:
http://www.cmo.com.tw/cmo/english/product/...=20050408182850

also 576i isnt listed. not so much of an issue when the media centre will be called aopn to be the scaler.

Whats your opinion? do i risk it and brave the warranty issue? Prima local is handled by Teac, and they announce lcds are coming on their website.

love ur feedback

You need to find out what solution they use, the panel is one thing but the scaler/graphics engine will also have an impact on the end result, not enough info here to make an informed decision (it's risky anyway)

Where are you sourcing this from. If its from Hong Kong I would fly over for a weeks holidi and have a look and bring it back with you . Open the box and make it look old, the box!, when you come through customs show receipt and you got a demo to demo at expo in oz, to easy. Only take a carry on and no xtra baggage unless you get a real bum,bit heavy but I have never had any trouble.

- Is $2500 your landed cost after GST, duty etc, assuming you do need to pay them...?

I guess the logical comparison would be with the Benq PL4271 42" 1920x1080, (which may even use the same panel) apparently due here late March/ early April. I understand this has a US RRP of US$500 more than the Benq 3750, which I estimate should give it a street price here of around $3500, although it may start higher than this...

.

By all accounts from CES show in Las Vegas 1080P panels will be flooding the market this year.
But as one reviewer from the show put it, its all an upsell as he couldnt tell the difference between 1080i and 1080p.
One thing that stood out however was SED and rumour has it that it will be on the shelves late this year early next.
By all accounts its mind blowing in terms of definition and it will be priced very similar to the top level plasma/LCDS.

Yeah, take it on as personal luggage, it'll easily fit in the overhead lockers.

No silly if you have no suitcase any asian checkin will let you put it in as luggage. I have done this lots of times with all manner of things. A Harley Davidson block was amazing but that was mexico. Z9 yamaha amp I took on as hand luggage from singapore. About 30 kg and no one cared until we got on a lite aircraft and the copilot tried to pick it up,to late we were taxiing.

In the end guys, i canned it.
Im a fussy son of a b**ch and I figured a Prima would have poor construction quality (i saw their 40" here in sydney in a retravision branded as telefunken and was not impressed with build). This has direct implications when u consider no local service on a new model.

Oh well, Im more a Toshiba Z1000 face man

So not that it matters any more (and sorry if I've missed these in that long list of specs.) but, would you want to know if this was a 50hz machine, and at what frequency are the accepted signal inputs? As it does not accept 576i/576p are you going to scale these before input. Which deinterlacer does it use, ie it may only display 1080i?

I am not too convinced the necessity for 1080p at this moment, particularly with the screen size of 42 inch.

(1) There is no 1080p software (programme) available at this moment. No 1080p broadcast, no HD/Bluray DVD...

(2) With the size of 42 inches, you cannot tell any difference between even 720p and 1080p from 2 meters away.

Actually there is heaps or 1080p available, and has been for years.
Most 1080i is from film or 1080p 24 video camera, and can easily be deinterlaced to perfect 1080p.
Even the true interlaced sourced 1080i is noticeable more detailed then 720p, and has better motion portrayal then the 24fps progressive sourced video.

You can most definitely see the difference between 720p and 1080i-p on a 42” screen at 2 meters, although the difference is not startling.
What is more noticeable is the total lack of SDE (Screen Door Effect), or visible pixel structure on a 1920x1080 res 42” screen at 2 meters.
At 2.5 meters, the differences between 720-768p and 1080 42” displays is minimal, and at 3 meters you are wasting your money.
The smaller 32” LCD’s are a bit of a joke for HD, as you have to sit impractically close to one to get the resolution benefits of a 1920x1080 screen.

It should be noted that cheap 1080p LCD displays will have crap deinterlacing systems, and will most likely provide only 540 vertical resolution from 1080i source, and so could easily be outperformed by a good quality 720-768p displays.
Without the aid a decent HTPC setup to drive a cheap 1080p LCD at its native 1920x1080 resolution, there is very little chance of getting full resolution out of one.

None of the LCD’s can reproduce black to save there lives, and a good 768p Plasma with better blacks seems like a preferable option to me.
Resolution is not the most important factor in producing a pleasing video image.

... Unless you plan to use it as a PC screen...

.

Someone here once had as their signature

"when you pay for quality you only cry once"

At more that 3 metres, the difference between SD and HD on a 42inch plasma is undetectable.

In fact some of the top-end SD plasmas look better that some of the low-end HD plasmas.

My recommendation would be to get a top quality SD 42inch plasma - they are pretty cheap right now.

Get it on one of those "pay nothing for 2 years" deals.

Worry about paying for it in 2 years time.