Best place to buy TV?

Wherever you buy, make sure you get one with an internal voltage regulator. Don't assume there is one; make it known that this is a requirement. LG is a good brand to consider. It is one of the easiest to get repaired and it comes with an internal voltage regulator.

Don't waste your money.

Tv's are artificially expensive in the DR.

For $50 you can put a tv tuner card in your computer. It's better in almost every way than a regular tv.

You can go in Santo Domingo to Plaza Lama, or Carrefour. Almost always they have the cheapest prices, although not the best quality. Probably the cheapest brand will be APEX or Daewoo.

for some stupid reason, i always buy sony.

i was brought up to believe they were of the best quality, but three of the four i have bought in my dr lifetime have had problems (those three were all assembled in mexico - that should tell you something).

bottom line: i don't recommend you buy sony, they are over-priced compared to other brands and probably equal in quality, if not worse.
not sure which brand to recommend though - lg seems good.

I just bought a nice one at La Sirena on mella with alto voltage
samsung 4800. pesos including tax
ps had six month warranty

For $50 dollars or less a TV tuner card gives you a vcr, too, built-in, available instantly on demand (no 10 second delay waiting for the heads to engage). Once recorded, you can go to any part of the file without having to use a tape at all.

You also can get thumbnail previews of all the channels at any given time to see which ones interest you.

You even get instant replay.

You get to choose the scan that gives the best results - interlaced or not, etc.

It can interact with a web based TV channel guide.

It serves as a video file player for CD's, etc..

It's not likely to break, but if it does, it can be replaced for the same cheap price.

Last fall, 19 inch monitors could be bought at Plaza Lama for 3300 pesos - not bad, gives a nice tv picture or computer display and won't be obsolete anytime soon.

Why would anyone want an old-fashioned tv?

TVs

Lilsam, what size and brand TV did you purchase? As for TV tuners for your TV, they are fine for one person maybe. Having a family crowd around a computer monitor to watch TV is a bit weird.

The computer won't become the TV in our house. As I type this, for example, my wife is watching the TV. We are both happy.

[B]andy a[/B] said:

Why would anyone want an old-fashioned tv?

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Not having a computer sounds like a good reason.



We bought our 32'' Daewoo TV in La Sirena some yrs back when they opened the Churchill store. It got fried about 2 yrs ago along with a few other things with a voltage surge, it had an internal fuse that blew and it was changed for RD$165.00 including labor. The other TV at home, a Toshiba has been fixed 4 times in the same period of time. Go figure.

Some brands (B&O for example) are way too expensive here, you've have to settle down for a lesser brand. LG has a good reputation.

Danny, most TV manufactures today offer a good reliable product but some name brands are better suited for the spiky electrical power we have here in the DR. I have 3 TVs here and I?m happy to report that they have been operating without any problems for the past 3 years. Two are RCA and the other is a Mitsubishi. My mother has not been that lucky however and I have had to service her 3 TV in the last 2 years. She owns a Sharp, a Toshiba and a Sony. They have all failed at one time or another due to either high voltage spikes or power surges.

I would recommend an LG or a Samsung both for reliability, in this hostile power environment, and value for the price. The LG (I think Samsung does too) boast an internal power regulator capable of handling varying voltages of about 80-190 AC. I personally have tested an LG TV at both 80 and 150 volts AC using a variactor and has preformed as advertised. I?m sure the other brand names are just as good or better but are definitely more expensive here in the DR. I believe the more expensive models may be a bit more susceptible to voltage transients because of their more sophisticated electronics. Most new models have switching power supplies and the voltage variations should not be a big issue with them

With respect to store to buy in, I suggest you visit a department store, perhaps La Curacao or Plaza Lama, decide on a brand name and model, note the advertised price and then haggle the price down as much as possible. Visit a few more stores that offer the same exact TV and do the same. Finally, purchase the TV where you were offered the best price. Remember prices here are not set in stone and a friendly petition for a price break usually gets you a better price. Good luck.

Sorry for the late reply, I was meaning to reply earlier but was sidetracked by other threads

Danny W said:

Thank you all for your advice. How do you say "internal power (voltage) regulator" in Spanish? - D

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It would be "Regulador de voltaje interno" - Good luck and keep us posted.

DannyW, I have a sony (american model) 27 inch screen. I don't think it has a voltage regulator inside (as compared to models which are specifically designed for 3rd world countries). I have had some of the worst power shortages where the damn power dropped and lights dimmed and the compressor of the a/c went nuts. I have had some voltage spikes and everything you can imagined with the electric city here. My TV or my fridge have never been affected one bit. I have been living in this country for 6 years.
I recently had power supply problem with my DSS decoder but that could be a faulty component that burnt inside.

Now my sony might have a voltage regulator built-in but it certainly doesn't say anywhere on TV or in the TV manual.

Most TV sets sold in DR have a "multi-voltage" feature buit-in.

That's surely an inconvenient, expensive way to go about watching tv - going all the way to the DR to do it. For my own benefit, I will assume that it's for someone living there already.

Still, before I'd pay $300 (last time I looked) for a bottom of the line, discontinued model tv in the DR, I'd consider alternatives. A few that come to mind are:

1. Take one down and pay (or bribe) the duty. You should still be way ahead, and it will be a tv of your choosing.

2. If a tv is too bulky, consider taking down an LCD display with a built-in tuner. It might not cost a whole lot more than a tv in the DR, and it would be up-to-date and could be used as a computer monitor, too.

3. Since monitors are reasonably priced in the DR and have many times the resolution of a tv, take down a little black box that is a standalone tv tuner (I think they exist) and buy a monitor to connect it.

For those like Ken who want to keep the wife away from HIS computer, give her the old one (with a tv tuner card inside) and buy yourself a new, up-to-date one. You may still come out ahead moneywise, especially considering that the next step after a $300 obsolete tv set is usually a $200 obsolete vcr. You'd have the new, hotshot computer for virtually nothing. (Yeah, yeah, I know that it's too late for you).

So happy to be of service, even for those who'd rather be backward - remember where I'm at.

I have 5 TV's in my house and apt.,all "LGs",all from Plaza Lama

I also bought 15 more for use in the "Clinic" where I work!I have NEVER had a problem with any of those 20 TVs! Some are 6 years old,with almost continues use.I had a "Power Surge" at my house that "fried" almost all things electric,the TV had no Problem!s You can also,at least when I bought these,ask for,and receive,a lower price than "marked",for paying "cash"! I also have refrigerators,washing machines,radios,air-conditioners,fans,and other "stuff" all "LG",all from Plaza Lama!I DO recommend them! Cris
I "used" to think that it was best to take TVs from the US to the DR.That was before I lived here for 8 years,and found out better!

We just bought an "LG" brand 20" TV from Plaza Lama in Santiago. It was 6750 pesos ($195 US for that day). We've only used it 4 days, but all is well. This brand was recommended to us by Ken and by other shoppers in the store.

LG TV's

LG, like AOC, Samsung, Goldstar and Daewoo comes from Korea but they are kind of like the "Sony" of their local manufactures.
I like you have had good service from their products.

LG is Goldstar - same manufacturer.