Forget your old TV, it is flats-screen era
Doharto J. Simatupang, Contributor, Jakarta
When Sony launched its Wega Series flat-screen televisions here in late 1998 -- the first in the country -- people were impressed but the sales were thin. Given the sharp depreciation of the rupiah against the dollar, the price was so high that only the rich could afford them.
Several years on, however, an increasing number of flat TV brands are available at competitive prices on the Indonesian market. They range from foreign brands like Europe's Philips, Toshiba, Panasonic, JVC, Sharp, Sanyo and Hitachi from Japan, LG and Samsung from Korea, Changhong, Konka TCL and many others from China to local brands such as Polytron, Sanken and Akari.
Today, the most popular sizes for flat-screen TVs are 21 and 29 inch sets and they have become so trendy among the middle class that Sony, JVC and Samsung no longer produce sets with conventional screens.
Designers say that 21-inch flat TVs suit small size rooms in offices or at home, while the larger 29-inch is better for larger areas.
Then there are the must-have features one should expect from your TV for superior sound and picture quality.
Compulsory features are full stereo, whether is it is NICAM, Zweiton or AV Stereo. A NICAM stereo sound system will allow you to enjoy an audio quality comparable with that from a compact disc. Surround sound systems like Dolby Prologic Surround, Tru Surround (SRS), Virtual Dolby Surround, Incredible Surround Sound (Philips), 3D Sound or Cinema Surround (JVC) help bring a cinema- like atmosphere to your viewing.
To enrich or increase the bass sound emanating from the speakers built into the TV cabinet, many manufacturers now provide sets with built-in sub/super-woofers or even dual sub- woofers (Sanken). Improving the bass quality, however, does not come cheap, as your set ends up consuming more electricity. TV manufacturers, however, are on top of this problem and are now producing energy-efficient sets.
Several other manufacturers have found a smart solution to increase the quality of the bass sound without additional electrical energy consumption. They have added a circuit called variously Virtual Hyper Bass/X'Bass/Bass X'pander/Bass Boost/Turbo Sound/Mega Bass. Meanwhile, Polytron uses oval- shaped speakers of the Zepplin type to optimize the space volume in the limited TV cabinet and, the makers say, give better audio quality.
When commercials interrupt our viewing, the Picture in Picture (PiP) feature is a nice way to explore the other available channels. If the set has a Multi PiP (MPiP) feature, one has greater freedom managing all the TV programs available, with the screen able to be partitioned into 12 small windows. If your television set has a Double Window feature, your TV screen can be divided symmetrically into two parts. Then two people can watch two different TV programs -- by wearing separate headsets of course.
Meanwhile, several more features like Double Window/MPiP, a PC input terminal (TV monitor), HDTV (High Definition TV, a Memory Stick slot, Flicker Free (non-flickering) and Progressive Scan are only found in 29-inch flat television sets of the premium class.
What about the price, you may ask?
Chinese-made 21-inch flat-screen TVs can now be purchased for less than Rp 1 million. At this price, it is worthwhile for owners of conventional 21-inch TVs to replace them with flat- screen ones. Unfortunately, Chinese flat-screen TVs only come with standard features like AV stereo, an AV multi-system and a front AV-input terminal. And the sound quality of these sets is just barely adequate.
The features in 29-inch Chinese flat-screen, meanwhile, resemble the Sharp 29-CFX1 and the Samsung CS-29K5, both now available for less than Rp 3 million. The Chinese sets, however, are priced below Rp 2 million.
Given the cheap prices, it is no surprise that flat-screen TVs are now part of the lifestyles of middle-class Indonesians. Do you have a flat-screen in your home yet?