MPEG4 32 inch tv Lidl (april 18th)

Trevord

MPEG4 tv coming up in Lidl on Monday 18th April

Any feedback from anyone who bought an MPEG4 there recently ?

Here is the spec

* Full HDTV in 16:9 format with equaliser, integrated speakers and automatic programming system (APS)
* With built-in DVB-T tuner (MPEG4)
* 2 USB 2.0 ports for accessing MP3 and JPG format files
* 4 HDMI connections with HDCP decoding for high quality digital video and audio signal playback
* 200 analogue and 800 digital channel memory and teletext with 1000 page memory
* Multilingual menu (OSD), electronic programme guide (EPG), child safety and sleep timer
* Also ideal as a PC monitor (HDMI/VGA input)
* Internal power supply with power switch
* Suitable for tabletop use or wall-mounting (wall bracket not included)
* Includes removable base, remote control with batteries, power cable and instructions
* With CI+ slot for recording Pay TV modules
* Also ideal as a PC monitor
* Receive FREE Irish Standard & HD TV Channels With Built-in DVB-T Tuner (MPEG4)
* Receives Digital Teletext and Electronic Programme Guide With MHEG5 Capable Receiver
* Technical Specifications: Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels, Contrast: 1,400:1 (typ.), brightness: 450cd/m2 (typ.), Inputs/connections: 4 x HDMI; 2 x Scart; VGA (PC in); Audio (PC in); aerial input; AV (RCA); Composite Video (RCA); 3.5mm headphones output; 2 x USB 2.0; Common Interface, TV system: PAL/SECAM/DVB-T (MPEG4), Audio: 2 x 6W RMS (Dual Stereo/Nicam), MHEG 5 compatible, Viewing angle: 178° horizontal/178° vertical (typ.),Response time: 8ms (typ.), Size (with base): 77.7 x 56.6 x 18.8cm, Weight (with base): 11.9kg

More here
http://www.lidl.ie/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_ie

Kristopherus

Great value at that price.

Johnboy1951

Seriously considering this one ......

nolnah

Trevord wrote: »

MPEG4 tv coming up in Lidl on Monday 18th April

Any feedback from anyone who bought an MPEG4 there recently ?

Here is the spec

* Full HDTV in 16:9 format with equaliser, integrated speakers and automatic programming system (APS)
* With built-in DVB-T tuner (MPEG4)
* 2 USB 2.0 ports for accessing MP3 and JPG format files
* 4 HDMI connections with HDCP decoding for high quality digital video and audio signal playback
* 200 analogue and 800 digital channel memory and teletext with 1000 page memory
* Multilingual menu (OSD), electronic programme guide (EPG), child safety and sleep timer
* Also ideal as a PC monitor (HDMI/VGA input)
* Internal power supply with power switch
* Suitable for tabletop use or wall-mounting (wall bracket not included)
* Includes removable base, remote control with batteries, power cable and instructions
* With CI+ slot for recording Pay TV modules
* Also ideal as a PC monitor
* Receive FREE Irish Standard & HD TV Channels With Built-in DVB-T Tuner (MPEG4)
* Receives Digital Teletext and Electronic Programme Guide With MHEG5 Capable Receiver
* Technical Specifications: Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels, Contrast: 1,400:1 (typ.), brightness: 450cd/m2 (typ.), Inputs/connections: 4 x HDMI; 2 x Scart; VGA (PC in); Audio (PC in); aerial input; AV (RCA); Composite Video (RCA); 3.5mm headphones output; 2 x USB 2.0; Common Interface, TV system: PAL/SECAM/DVB-T (MPEG4), Audio: 2 x 6W RMS (Dual Stereo/Nicam), MHEG 5 compatible, Viewing angle: 178° horizontal/178° vertical (typ.),Response time: 8ms (typ.), Size (with base): 77.7 x 56.6 x 18.8cm, Weight (with base): 11.9kg

More here
http://www.lidl.ie/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_ie

Also has a built in media Player ie: mp3,divx,photo's,but not impressed with sound when playing back recorded media.

Johnboy1951

Now showing as £250 and not €250

jonnygee

It,s 299.99 euros on the advertising poster outside the lidl store.

rlogue

How many of these would a store typically stock? I'm heading to Donegal on Tuesday night and would definitely want to get one.

Macy0161

rlogue wrote: »

How many of these would a store typically stock? I'm heading to Donegal on Tuesday night and would definitely want to get one.

No idea how many, but the specials aren't flying out the door like they used to in Aldi or Lidl imo. However, to be sure you'd want to be queing - they used to give out tickets and/or have staff outside telling you whether to bother if you're too far down the line.

€300 is bringing it up to the certified walkers in powercity isn't it? No idea how the rest of the spec matches up though.

Sam Russell

At €250, I'd be in the queue. At €300, I'm not so sure. They have a good warranty, which is worth considering. I'm not 100% sure yet, but I'm minded to pass this time.

mufcboy1999

32 inch full hd 1080p hanspree tv in xtra vision for 300 euro aswell lads and the 42 inch for 400, i picked one up a while ago and i saw them in stock in my local xtra vision about 2 weeks ago.

also argos have a fair few 32 inch's for around the 300 mark too.

The Ayatolla

Got one of these this morning, will report back once I have a proper mess around with it.

John mac

just got a flyer in the door from Euronics, they have a 32" for €289 (saorview approved).

Sam Russell

Tesco are selling a Sony 40 inch ( 40EX401) for €450. Its mentioned on the leaflet that offers 1,000 price cuts.

tlaavtech

Had a very quick hands-on with one of these this morning. Menus were nice and legible white on black with a very clear font. I was able to get the MHEG5 version of teletext to work, but the loading tag must have been up for at least 30 seconds before it put up the front page. The scrolling through the teletext options also had a delay of about 2 seconds for each key press. This key delay was also on the EPG, though maybe not quite as long.

Picture and audio seemed fine, but I didn't get to do any proper quality tests. I also didn't get time to see if it could record to the USB, or the quality and range of the media player. The clock was an hour out because of summer time, but it did allow me to manually add an offset of an hour (or more) to the time.

The 888 subtitles on SD were about two seconds ahead of the picture on screen. This was a lot better on the HD channel, presumably because of the decoding time required by HD. There may be an offset in the menu for this, but I could not find it - but I did only have 5 minutes with the TV!

These types of issues always remind me why I always try and buy Sony for the important stuff. The lesser brands always do what they say, they just don't always do it the way that you might want them to

I hope that someone who does a more in-depth test can rubbish all of the above, and the issues were caused by other factors - the cable run into the TV was quite long, so possibly the signal quality was not at its best.

C.

redalicat

tlaavtech wrote: »

I also didn't get time to see if it could record to the USB, or the quality and range of the media player.

C.

Does that mean it can record to an external HD, or do you need an extra PVR for that?

The Cush

Picked one up at Lidl this morning.

The menu setup and style appears to be a copy of the Saorview certified Walker 32" (minus any Saorview reference) on sale in Powercity which my brother-in-law purchased some months ago.

MHEG-5 text is extremely slow to load which is also similar to the Walker.

R/C looks to be a copy of the Walker.

Appears to me that the Saorview certified Walker 32" and the non-certified Lidl Silvercrest 32" could be one-in-the-same.

jonnygee

This looks a bargain to me:
http://www.currys.ie/Product/SAMSUNG-LE32C450-32andquot-HD-Ready-LCD-TV/297120/339.0
It has mpeg4.

winston_1

That looks like a UK model to me. It mentions Freeview but not Saorview. No mention of MPEG 4 either. If it does work expect channels in the 800's and clock stuck on GMT.

peking97

The Cush wrote: »

MHEG-5 text is extremely slow to load which is also similar to the Walker.

.

Yes I find it painfully slow also. So much so that I would class it as next to unusable. Any chance this might be improved by a firmware upgrade and where might one find updates?

The Cush

peking97 wrote: »

Yes I find it painfully slow also. So much so that I would class it as next to unusable. Any chance this might be improved by a firmware upgrade and where might one find updates?

Recent discussion here on the MHEG-5.

The Cush

jonnygee wrote: »

This looks a bargain to me:
http://www.currys.ie/Product/SAMSUNG-LE32C450-32andquot-HD-Ready-LCD-TV/297120/339.0
It has mpeg4.

Yes, looks like a good price.

How does it handle MHEG-5 text? Try it out in store.

Sam Russell

The Cush wrote: »

Yes, looks like a good price.

How does it handle MHEG-5 text? Try it out in store.

Well, it is only HD-Ready, whereas the Lidl is full HD. It is also not claiming any compatibility with the Irish Digital service.

I will not be rushing out to buy it.

bmaxi

Maybe I should be posting this on the Satellite forum as I get my TV through Freesat but the question I have is about this particular TV. I bought this to replace a Bush HD ready set and to avoid having to go down the set top box route for Saorview.
My problem with this set is, some of the Freesat channels do not always broadcast in, I presume, widescreen, i.e. the picture does not fill the whole screen. On the Bush set I was always able to adjust the picture settings to solve this but on this set, no matter what setting I use, the picture is always short at the side. Is there a solution to this or will I have to put up with it? It's a pity because in other ways it's a decent set.

Sam Russell

bmaxi wrote: »

Maybe I should be posting this on the Satellite forum as I get my TV through Freesat but the question I have is about this particular TV. I bought this to replace a Bush HD ready set and to avoid having to go down the set top box route for Saorview.
My problem with this set is, some of the Freesat channels do not always broadcast in, I presume, widescreen, i.e. the picture does not fill the whole screen. On the Bush set I was always able to adjust the picture settings to solve this but on this set, no matter what setting I use, the picture is always short at the side. Is there a solution to this or will I have to put up with it? It's a pity because in other ways it's a decent set.

I assume you have connected the Freesat by HDMI cable, so the Freesat box determines the format of the screen. Go into the menu on the freesat box and set it to 'Auto' or '16:9' and see which works best. On 4:3 programmes it should switch to the square shape (4:3), but most material now is 16:9.

jonnygee

Sam Russell wrote: »

Well, it is only HD-Ready, whereas the Lidl is full HD. It is also not claiming any compatibility with the Irish Digital service.

I will not be rushing out to buy it.

No I wont be rushing out to buy it either Sam, but that is only because i dont need it. If I did then only being hd ready wouldnt put me off, not in a 32" set.
Better info here:http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-12-32C450&pages=1&prod=32C450&brands=SAMSUNG&image=
If i did need to buy a tv today then i would certainly look at it closely and not dismiss it because of lack of info on Currrys website.

bmaxi

Sam Russell wrote: »

I assume you have connected the Freesat by HDMI cable, so the Freesat box determines the format of the screen. Go into the menu on the freesat box and set it to 'Auto' or '16:9' and see which works best. On 4:3 programmes it should switch to the square shape (4:3), but most material now is 16:9.

Thanks, the TV is connected via HDMI. There is no "auto" option in the picture menu in the Freesat box, just 16:9 or 4:3. The box is a Sagem DS186HD.
I've watched for a while this afternoon and I've noticed that it reverts to full screen at commercial breaks and there is never a problem with the main channels, BBC, ITV CH4 but there is with E4 and some of the more obscure channels like CBS although CBS Reality was full screen and CBS Reality+1 wasn't. Also, I think some of the programmes were full screen and some not. Beginning to get to me now.
Just confirmed that the programme on before 6pm on E4 (Friends) was not fullscreen and the programme after 6pm is. I didn't make any adjustments, most peculiar.

Gerry Wicklow

Older shows such as "Friends" are recorded in 4:3 forcing them to the full screen width will distort them. The clue is that the (modern) ads are 16:9

Sam Russell

Yea, tat's how it should be. The 4:3 shows are formated correctly, otherwise you are watching strechy-vision.:)

bmaxi

Thanks for that lads. Swapped the Freesat box for an old Sky SD box and the problem doesn't occur, is this just an HD problem?

fat-tony

It's not a problem. The HD behaviour is correct. Forcing the 4:3 programmes to fill the screen on SD is the problem - stretchyvision;) But if you prefer this, it's your choice.

savemejebus

jonnygee wrote: »

This looks a bargain to me:
http://www.currys.ie/Product/SAMSUNG-LE32C450-32andquot-HD-Ready-LCD-TV/297120/339.0
It has mpeg4.

For an extra tenner this is a much better buy http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-LE32C530-32-inch-Widescreen-Freeview/dp/B003EEM1M4/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1303251328&sr=1-1

jonnygee

savemejebus wrote: »

For an extra tenner this is a much better buy http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-LE32C530-32-inch-Widescreen-Freeview/dp/B003EEM1M4/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1303251328&sr=1-1

That,s really cheap. Havent you bought one of these already, how long does text take to load or change pages.

bmaxi

fat-tony wrote: »

It's not a problem. The HD behaviour is correct. Forcing the 4:3 programmes to fill the screen on SD is the problem - stretchyvision;) But if you prefer this, it's your choice.

I'm happy enough to know the answer although I'd rather this TV had the same option to fill the screen . One thing strikes me as curious though, I noticed that some of the news channels. CNBC, CNN, RT, Al Jazeera were not in full screen either, you'd think they would be on top of the technology.

savemejebus

jonnygee wrote: »

That,s really cheap. Havent you bought one of these already, how long does text take to load or change pages.

I got one from amazon two weeks ago, didn't check text just EPG which was pretty snappy. can check text tonight maybe and report back.

maxg

bmaxi wrote: »

I'm happy enough to know the answer although I'd rather this TV had the same option to fill the screen . One thing strikes me as curious though, I noticed that some of the news channels. CNBC, CNN, RT, Al Jazeera were not in full screen either, you'd think they would be on top of the technology.

Your freesat box have to fill the screen for 4:3 content via hdmi if you want it not the TV. Check the settings at your freesat box.

bmaxi

maxg wrote: »

Your freesat box have to fill the screen for 4:3 content via hdmi if you want it not the TV. Check the settings at your freesat box.

This used to happen with the last set too but I could always solve it with the TV remote, the Freesat box only has the option of 4:3 or 16:9 and it is set to 16:9. I'm wondering if there might be a problem with the box, this is the second one the first wouldn't display HD.

fat-tony

The reference to 4:3 or 16:9 is the TV type in the Freesat box menu, so that it sends the correct aspect ratio picture to the TV. There should be another set of options, controlling how it handles actual 4:3 and 16:9 broadcasts depending on the shape of your TV - you should see options like pillar-box, anamorphic, centre cut-out etc. I'm assuming this is a genuine "Freesat" brand box? The Humax Foxsat HDR does all this through menu settings.

bmaxi

fat-tony wrote: »

The reference to 4:3 or 16:9 is the TV type in the Freesat box menu, so that it sends the correct aspect ratio picture to the TV. There should be another set of options, controlling how it handles actual 4:3 and 16:9 broadcasts depending on the shape of your TV - you should see options like pillar-box, anamorphic, centre cut-out etc. I'm assuming this is a genuine "Freesat" brand box? The Humax Foxsat HDR does all this through menu settings.

It is a genuine Freesat box and there are settings as you suggest but only Centre cut out and 16:9 Letterbox and only on the 4:3 setting. There is no setting that I can see which will automatically adjust the screen to full size. What would be the normal setting for a Freesat box with this TV

fat-tony

bmaxi wrote: »

It is a genuine Freesat box and there are settings as you suggest but only Centre cut out and 16:9 Letterbox and only on the 4:3 setting. There is no setting that I can see which will automatically adjust the screen to full size. What would be the normal setting for a Freesat box with this TV

But you have a 16:9 TV no? Those are settings for a 4:3 telly.

On the 4:3 setting my Humax box has the same settings as you mention. These settings either show the picture at the full height on a 4:3 telly, but chop off the left and right side (centre-cut out), or show the full width of the picture but has to reduce the height by putting black bars at the top and bottom (letterbox).

On the 16:9 setting the Humax has options as follows:

Auto - should adjust correctly for widescreen and 4:3 images by putting black bars at the left and right of "older" programmes. This is "correct" - but you don't like this:D It also doesn't work all the time on HDMI for me so I use:

4:3 - this forces a 4:3 image over HDMI where the broadcaster doesn't send a widescreen signal. I find this works all the time for me.

Anamorphic - this should stretch a 4:3 image to a 16:9 screen in the correct proportions, but you may lose a bit off the top and bottom - you may prefer this.

16:9 - forces a 4:3 image into a 16:9 frame. There will be some distortion of the image - you may prefer this.

bmaxi

fat-tony wrote: »

But you have a 16:9 TV no? Those are settings for a 4:3 telly.

On the 4:3 setting my Humax box has the same settings as you mention. These settings either show the picture at the full height on a 4:3 telly, but chop off the left and right side (centre-cut out), or show the full width of the picture but has to reduce the height by putting black bars at the top and bottom (letterbox).

On the 16:9 setting the Humax has options as follows:

Auto - should adjust correctly for widescreen and 4:3 images by putting black bars at the left and right of "older" programmes. This is "correct" - but you don't like this:D It also doesn't work all the time on HDMI for me so I use:

4:3 - this forces a 4:3 image over HDMI where the broadcaster doesn't send a widescreen signal. I find this works all the time for me.

Anamorphic - this should stretch a 4:3 image to a 16:9 screen in the correct proportions, but you may lose a bit off the top and bottom - you may prefer this.

16:9 - forces a 4:3 image into a 16:9 frame. There will be some distortion of the image - you may prefer this.

Thanks. The Sagem box doesn't give an option to change 16:9 settings. I've found that using 4:3 and 16;9 letterbox setting on the Freesat box and Cinema setting on the TV will give me fullscreen on all the channels I've tried. It's actually a little larger than fullscreen and cuts out the information bar at the bottom but it's the best I can do.

rlogue

I picked up one of these TVs at Lidl in Buncrana on Wednesday.

Moville is finally transmitting Saorview and I am able to get most of the Freeview muxes from Limavady.

The only mux I can't get reliably is the ITV/Channel 4 mux so as a compromise I have added the analogue UTV and Channel 4 services to the TV's channel list.

Freeview from Limavady is weak at only 800w although this will increase to 13kW after ASO in November 2012.

Moville is rock solid and after 13 years my parents can finally get TV3!

Mr.Crinklewood

Detest the remote on this, and anyone recommend a decent universal one?

savemejebus

currys are clearing out the older mid-range harmony remotes (725 etc) for €29.99 in some shops. could be worth checking out.

rlogue

Have to agree the remote is brutal. One of the worst I've ever used to be honest. The big complaint from me though is the slowness of digital Aertel on the RTE channels. The BBC red button services work fine though.

The Ayatolla

Havent had much issues with the TV. Noticed a few things alright while watching the snooker.

The red balls seem to change colour when the picture is still for a period of time. One minute the red looks like the brown ball, and once a shot is it and the red starts moving it goes back to its reddish colour. Not a big deal but I definitely thought Ronnie O'Sullivan was blatantly fouling on a few occasions! :P

clonadlad

The Ayatolla wrote: »

Havent had much issues with the TV. Noticed a few things alright while watching the snooker.

The red balls seem to change colour when the picture is still for a period of time. One minute the red looks like the brown ball, and once a shot is it and the red starts moving it goes back to its reddish colour. Not a big deal but I definitely thought Ronnie O'Sullivan was blatantly fouling on a few occasions! :P

I've been watching the snooker as well on this and I cant see any problems with it. The Digital Aertel on the other hand is a joke. Literally unusable.

The Ayatolla

Thankfully I'm just using the TV with Sky and have the Saorview ran in just in case of signal loss or if we ever cancel Sky. Have the Digital text on an upstairs TV (Philips 42" MPEG4) and it works fine though. I suppose you get what you pay for at the end of the day

peking97

clonadlad wrote: »

I The Digital Aertel on the other hand is a joke. Literally unusable.

I agree. I'm actually considering returning it on those grounds. Would I be within my rights to do so do y'all reckon?

savemejebus

savemejebus wrote: »

I got one from amazon two weeks ago, didn't check text just EPG which was pretty snappy. can check text tonight maybe and report back.

Totally forgot about checking text until now. Averages of 3 sec loading times on the Samsung. Bearing in mind that the analogue teletext can take up to a minute on the same aerial/reception, i'm happy with this.

Mr.Crinklewood

Now using the xbox remote with this. Anyone know of a universal remote that I could use for the media (USB) player. E.g to pause, rewind, etc?

Gerry Wicklow

Mr.Crinklewood wrote: »

Now using the xbox remote with this. Anyone know of a universal remote that I could use for the media (USB) player. E.g to pause, rewind, etc?

Lidl sell a universal remote that supports upto 10 different appliances and also has a learning function if it doesn't have the suitable codes already installed. It covers all the basic functions and costs €8 afaik.