Buying TVs in the North

R

rdrr

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Hi,

Looking at buying a 40" LCD or Plasma TV - I have my eye on a couple (Sony or Pioneer) and was thinking of going up to the north to buy it e.g. Newry or even Belfast.

The main reason for this is that I think I could save a few hundred euro on the price vs in Dublin.

Has anyone ever done this? If so, do you know of any good shops in the north for this, besides say Dixons.

Any thoughts would be appreciated
 
Re: Buying TV's in the North

Check out the Samsung R74 when you're up there.
 
Unfortunately I'm not in the market for/even vaguely interested in such a beast, but an obvious point comes to mind — what are you going to do if the unit develops a problem (within the guarantee period)? Bring it back to the retailer in Belfast/Newry?

I'm not saying that the cost saving mightn't be worth it, just that you should include it in calculating the risk/reward aspect...
 
in the off chance something does go wrong (which is usually quite rare...afterall ever returned a tv or stereo), just take it back to where you bought it...good thing about LCDs is that they are quite light and transportable. Also manufacturers warranty covers everywhere...this is legal.
The only thing is to follow their carrying instructions...usually upright, not flat.
I'm considering doing the same.
 
You won't get a 40" box into a standard car.

Also, I'd check the prices online for offers before travelling.
 
Re: Buying TV's in the North

redo said:
Check out the Samsung R74 when you're up there.
Click to expand...

Just bought this last night, it is superb! We got in Power City with standard 12 month warranty also 12 month Samsung tehnician Support (as in they come to your house within 24 hours should anything go wrong). We are thrilled with it. I'm not sure if you'd get that if you bought from the North.

Bongo said:
You won't get a 40" box into a standard car.
Click to expand...



We fit the above in to a Peugeot 307 with the seats down, along with a Home Cinema System and a Hoover so I'm sure he'll have a good chance
 
Thanks for the replies.

As an example, the Pioneer 43" 436XDE ( the daddy of plasmas according to all the mags) is STG 2199 on the Dixons website (approx €3200). The best price I was quoted in Dublin for this set was €4100!!

For me, this would be worth the hassle of going to the north/risking having to return it.

Does anyone know whether the prices quoted on the dixons website would also be available in the shops or would the shop be dearer?
 
Have you checked frequency coverage on such models? Some may not recieve all channels when you bring it home. This will apply to terrestrial channels as satellite will be fed through AV input
 
Checked this out at the w/end as I was up in Derry.

It depends on where the TV's are sourced from - Laser electrical seem to get all of their Philips TV's from Philips Ireland so there's no problem there. Re the Pioneer the guy said that it had a "multi-band tuner?" and could be used in the south.

Has anyone heard of this?
 
rdrr said:
Has anyone heard of this?
Click to expand...

Do you mean the "multi-band tuner"? If so, this is just a tuner than can tune in sgnals on UHF and VHF bands. UK are only on the superior UHF, you'll need both here.
 
Anyone have trouble with the retailers looking for name and address info for the TV Licence people?
 
You should deifintely check out Currys as well as Dixons - they're the same company, but Currys are sometimes cheaper than Dixons.

There's a significant difference between the web-price and the price you'd pay in a shop, so ideally you should have an address in the North to get it delivered to.

For example, I'm looking at a Panasonic TH42PX60, and have been quoted GBP1799 by Currys Newry, when it's available on the web for GBP1455.

But am I right in thinking that I won't be able to use the Tuner to receive RTE/TNG/TV3, but will be able to receive BBC/ITV/etc?

And more importantly (because I don't use a tuner at the moment!), if I run a SCART lead from my NTL box to my TV, I don't have to worry about frequency?

Does this also hold for VCR/DVD recorders - so long as the input is AV/SCART, then the frequency doesn't matter?

Donagh
 
You're correct regarding the AV feeds.

Look at the specs for the model you are interested in - this should tell you the frequency that the tuner can pick up. In my experience modern TVs should be able to handle all frequencies.
 

This is fine as long as you are happy to always watch the TV on AV1 (or AV2 or whatever) and change channels using the NTL remote. However, sometimes you may just want to turn on the TV and watch the news on RTE or whatever without turning on the NTL (and the amp if it is connected). Or your wife or babysitter or whoever may want to just watch Corrie without reaching for multiple remotes.

For this reason, I suggest that you may want a TV with a dual analogue tuner i.e. UHV and VHF. I think that TVs bought in the UK still only have VHF tuners - in fact, they are more likely to have a built-in digital tuner, but unfortunately this is no use in Ireland.

However, it should be easy enough to check the specs or ask the shop/Internet site to confirm.
 
MonsieurBond said:
I think that TVs bought in the UK still only have VHF tuners
Click to expand...


Actually, the exact opposite is true!

Sets bought in the Uk, (including N.I) would have a UHF TUNER, because all tv is broadcast on UHF for many years now, because it is so much superior to VHF.

The only reason we are still stuck with VHF is because of the antiquated cabling still used by cablelink, mainly in Dublin.
They originally wired using old co-ax at a time RTE was still using VHF and it also allowed them to squeeze more channels in by down converting UK channels to VHF.

Don't know if they still do it, but traders in main border towns like Newry sold dual tuner tvs, like most sold in Ireland, because of this, and for the benefit of those in NI who wanted to receive RTE. With the bad exchange rates of € v £BGP not as many shop north now and RTE does UHF and is available on Astra also.

Also, it's plasma tv's that must be transported vertically, or as close as, they must never be laid on the flat. LCD is better kept vertical but can indeed be carried flat. You should be able to get a 42 inch plasma in the rear of a family saloon, but without the carton! Don't bring back seat passengers if you go north to buy a 42 inch beastie!

Ask your cable supplier before you buy up north, that way your covered. Many sets up north do have freeview tuners which will be no use down south.
 
We have purchased electrical items from retailers in the North on a regular basis. Many of the larger retailers with stores in the south will accept returns & service items in the south. Examples of this would be dixons, argos etc.
 
I ve seen Sony 50 inch HD LCD TV for 2300 euro brand new and boxed with 12 months warranty with a company I do biz wit but offer that it is on ends 25 th June

Anyone want specs of it PM me
 

So, are you saying that a TV with a UHF tuner will pick up all terrestrial Irish channels? If so, great. If not, slight problem, unless you only want to use a cable/satellite link.

Please clarify.

I also don't get what you mean by "ask your cable supplier before you buy up north" - why?
 
RTE 1 and 2 are still VHF in large parts of the country. A UHF tv won't pick them up. TG4 and TV3 have been UHF since day one so no problem there.
 
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