Don't ask why, but I need the CHEAPEST 40" Smart TV with a good design (fairly thin bezels)

Zackeroo on 03/03/2022 - 12:12
Last edited 03/03/2022 - 15:35

Currently, I'm set on the Blaupunkt 40" Full HD LED Android TV from Officeworks at $297.

I had a look at the EKO TVs from BigW, and paired with the recent Shopback offer from BigW, this would make the "EKO 40" Smart FHD Android TV with Google Assistant - K400FSG" come to ~$251, which is a fair bit cheaper than the Officeworks deal.

The Blaupunkt TV is much more reputable than EKO as I've owned Blaupunkt products in the past. They are a German brand who have been around for a while.

What's funny is that both of these TVs have the same picture on the display in the product photos…

I'm wondering if maybe these two TVs are the same, just rebranded "Blaupunkt" & "EKO" respectively.

Blaupunkt specifies the TV is LED, while the EKO doesn't say anything of the sort. LED could mean anything, as it could be TN, IPS or VA - so this is quite scary as good viewing angles are very important for me.

I'm open to any other TVs, as long as you can justify why they're better. I'm also open to any discussion of whether the EKO and Blaupunkt is the same TV, as saving $45 would be neat for this cheap TV 'challenge' :)

Edit: EKO and Blaupunkt are the same. In the specifications, the weight on BOTH TVs are "7.31KG". This can't be a co-incidence.

Edit 2: All done!! Bought the EKO for $251. Driving home now to test it before it's needed for it's big job tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone to replied and tried to help out!! I hope this was a fun challenge for you guys as well, having to find the absolute cheapest TV locally available. Cheers

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • godofpizza on 03/03/2022 - 12:16
    +13

    but why male models?

    • Zackeroo on 03/03/2022 - 12:16

      Male models?

    • teacherer on 03/03/2022 - 13:01
      +13

      Are you serious? I just told you that a moment ago.

    • HeWhoKnows on 04/03/2022 - 13:26

      Cheap TVs are all mostly the same. Reasonable picture quality these days, slim design but crappy speakers

      But to answer your question….I have found SONIQ by far the best of the budget bunch

      Excellent picture and reasonable speakers.
      If you want really cheap you can pick up a used 40" SONIQ TV on Facebook Marketplace for about $40-$60

      If new Kogan/Dick Smith sells them now and even Soniq direct

      • Zackeroo on 04/03/2022 - 17:23

        As said, I have bought the TV already. The TV was already used for its purpose (the reason why I bought it). It did excellent and would clearly be much better than that $40-60 TV you're suggesting.

        As I said, I need a SMART TV, not a cheap SONIQ.

  • DashCam AKA Rolts on 03/03/2022 - 12:18
    +15

    Why do you need the CHEAPEST 40" Smart TV with a good design?

    • Zackeroo on 03/03/2022 - 12:26
      +1

      Just think of it as a challenge. It's too much to explain why :/

      • LFO on 04/03/2022 - 13:46
        +3

        Just think of it as a challenge. It's too much to explain why :/

        But … but .. why?

        :-|

    • Stopback on 03/03/2022 - 12:35
      +1

      Friendenemy

  • lachhelix on 03/03/2022 - 12:19
    +8

    Blaupunkt definitely not German anymore - just a rebadged generic Chinese TV. Go with whatever one's store offers the best refund/replacement service

    They're also both going to be LED, which technology (tn, ips, va etc.) is anybodies guess if it's not listed online

    • Zackeroo on 03/03/2022 - 12:25
      +2

      Thanks!! Seeing that EKO and Blaupunkt are the same TV definitely proves this. I've heard some bad things about the EKO when researching about this just now. Apparently they are super-budget TVs from TCL :/

      I'll be heading over to Big W to test out the TV today before buying. $251 is the cheapest option for me at the moment.

      • lachhelix on 03/03/2022 - 12:28
        +1

        Good idea! At least you can decide whether you're fond of the exterior design on the Eko, and if it's rubbish id imagine big w won't be too bothered when you return it either

      • Archi on 03/03/2022 - 12:29
        +2

        probably can get a 5% off gift card from somewhere

        • Zackeroo on 03/03/2022 - 12:35

          Good idea, I'll look into this now. This is really coming to the cheapest possible 40" Smart TV haha thanks

          • Archi on 03/03/2022 - 12:37

            @Zackeroo: i'll probably buy one too

            • Zackeroo on 03/03/2022 - 12:38

              @Archi: LOL alright. I'm not expecting much from the TV tho, this is a budget TCL after all.

              Do you know if you can stack a gift card the Shopback 15% Cashback?

              • Archi on 03/03/2022 - 12:47
                +1

                @Zackeroo: just read the shopback conditions and it doesn't allow for gift card as payment

                • Zackeroo on 03/03/2022 - 12:50

                  @Archi: Damn…

                  Thanks for looking into that :)

                  I'll have to stick with the 15% discount. Heads up, you can get $10 off if you sign up to their inner circle. You'll receive a promo code in your email. I'm waiting on mine right now lol.

                  I'm trying my best here to get it as cheap as possible haha, I'm finding this so much fun for some reason…

                  • Archi on 03/03/2022 - 12:50

                    @Zackeroo: the thrill of the chase.

                    • Zackeroo on 03/03/2022 - 12:51

                      @Archi: That's exactly it. $241 for a 40" Smart TV is impressive. I can't wait to see how laggy the OS is going to be tho ooft

                      • Shadowsfury on 03/03/2022 - 13:31

                        @Zackeroo: Use the money saved to buy a chromecast or fire stick?

                        • Zackeroo on 03/03/2022 - 15:27

                          @Shadowsfury: No need. The display just needs to be able to play videos off a USB stick. It's able to do that by default.

                          Thanks for the suggestion though

      • jackary on 04/03/2022 - 09:31

        JB Hi-Fi’s ‘own brand’ Ffalcon is reportedly made by TCL, these are both made by a company named Tempo - definitely not TCL

        • leeweesquee on 18/03/2022 - 07:20

          Certainly not invoiced by Tempo

  • Hellcrusher3304 on 03/03/2022 - 13:32
    +5

    But why don't you need the EXPENSIVEST 40" Smart TV with a bad design?

  • Gravy on 03/03/2022 - 14:04
    +3

    But we need to know why… :)

    Building a digital pinball machine or a giant wall art display?

    • Zackeroo on 03/03/2022 - 15:29
      +1

      I wish it was that creative…

  • payless69 on 03/03/2022 - 14:52
    +1

    Why?

    • Zackeroo on 03/03/2022 - 15:29

      Why why on an anti-why post?

  • JimB on 03/03/2022 - 15:11

    My money is on it being for an Airbnb.

    "good viewing angles are very important for me". Check out the Cheapest OLEDs or a secondhand Plasma.

    • Zackeroo on 03/03/2022 - 15:32
      +1

      Excellent idea but you're not even close. To be fair you had nothing to work with lol.

      A secondhand TV is a good idea, but brand new TVs have less risk involved. This TV needs to be reliable, regardless of how cheap it is.

  • Morien on 03/03/2022 - 15:31
    +1

    TN panels have lousy viewing angles. The higher end ones are pretty good, but that's because they are high end. For $300, you are getting the cheapest and the nastiest. You can't ask for a high end feature for a low end price, unless you go second hand (and even then, only if you are lucky.)

    Look for an IPS panel. Blacks will be crap, but viewing angles will be good. LG LCDs tend to be IPS, I think, but I can't suggest a model.

  • Zackeroo on 03/03/2022 - 15:33
    +1

    IPS panels are too over-budget. LCD is significantly cheaper, unless you were able to find an IPS panel TV for around $250 as well.

    Regardless, I've already purchased the TV

    • Archi on 03/03/2022 - 16:07

      did you do click and collect or scan shopback in store?

      • Zackeroo on 03/03/2022 - 16:16

        Click and collect through shopback. Haven't received my Cashback yet but it says I need to wait 2 days which is fine.

        • Rogerwilco on 07/03/2022 - 00:45

          2 days, really? More like 2 months if you're lucky. I'm still waiting for some from Nov last year, one of which was a BigW purchase.

          • Zackeroo on 07/03/2022 - 01:08

            @Rogerwilco: Fyi I got mine within 2 hours

            • jackary on 07/03/2022 - 16:10
              +1

              @Zackeroo: It might’ve tracked by then but you didn’t receive your cashback in 2 hours.

              • Zackeroo on 07/03/2022 - 18:50

                @jackary: 90 days to be able to withdraw

                • jackary on 08/03/2022 - 19:23
                  +1

                  @Zackeroo: Or for it to be rejected…

                  Just playing devils advocate. :P

  • rysith on 04/03/2022 - 07:09
    +1

    Use as a display for tabletop rpg maps?
    Was my criteria for a thin 40" tv with good viewing angles

  • Inzo on 05/03/2022 - 13:41

    Do we get a video showing how it played out after you got it? Did it live up to the challenge?
    I can't go on not knowing!!

    • Zackeroo on 05/03/2022 - 16:08

      Hehe no video. It worked excellent

      • Inzo on 08/03/2022 - 23:18

        but what was the purpose :(

        • Zackeroo on 09/03/2022 - 01:59

          You guys will never know…

          Unless someone bothers to reply to this post in a couple months from now, then I'll say

          • Gravy on 16/03/2022 - 09:14

            @Zackeroo: If we all keep on coming up with ideas for what we think the usage may be then we'll probably end up inventing something pretty cool in the meantime that is completely unrelated.

            My latest thought is an aquarium background screen placed directly behind a real working aquarium. (no doubt it's likely been done before though).

          • Inzo on 17/03/2022 - 10:10

            @Zackeroo: it's been like a week…. is that enough to tell us yet? :o

            • Zackeroo on 17/03/2022 - 11:27
              +1

              @Inzo: Lol alright, but trust me, it's not very creative and will probably disappoint.

              As part of my dad's business, we needed a cheap screen which had the ability to play videos from a. USB. The screen needed to be portable, as we offer live streaming services for funerals, weddings and other events. We had a funeral the next day, and our customer suddenly decided they wanted us to play a video there as well.

              Since we focus on live streaming, we hadn't ever done this additional service before, but decided to take it on anyway.

              I, being the OzBargainer I am, set out to find the cheapest, but best TV for the job.

              I ended up with the EKO 40" TV, which had Android OS. This TV was literal bliss, and I enjoyed the freedom of Android OS more than the Tizen OS installed on our main, 82" Samsung QLED TV (funny enough).

              I also dug into every setting possible, and turned off the eco modes to make sure the TV wasn't saying power and reducing the quality of the picture.

              The TV ended up doing excellent, playing a video tribute of the person who passed away.

              Unconventional TV purchase but it did the job.

              • Inzo on 18/03/2022 - 10:40
                +1

                @Zackeroo: Good story, would read again, A+

                • Zackeroo on 18/03/2022 - 10:52

                  @Inzo: lol thank you. Glad it was worth the wait.

              • Gravy on 19/03/2022 - 12:18
                +1

                @Zackeroo: Did you run it off a battery and inverter or just an extension cord? Was it at the burial/cremation or just the pre burial service?

                • Zackeroo on 19/03/2022 - 13:34

                  @Gravy: Extension cord. Was at the pre-burial service, so it didn't struggle with brightness at all. Regardless, the brightness was impressive for a screen this cheap.

  • ECE on 05/03/2022 - 13:48

    Sorry but cheapest and good don’t go together 😷

    • Zackeroo on 05/03/2022 - 16:08

      Not true. It worked excellent for the purpose.

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