How often do we get enticed to purchase online? I would say, most frequently. This is true & quite justified also - mostly because it saves us from the hassles of going to a Mall, facing all sorts of queries & sales pitches from the “pushing” sales men/women & not all of us are capable enough to manage bargains. So, why not sit at the comfort of your home (or couch) & browse through the online catalogs & make an online payment - whizzz! Product will appear at your door step within a few days. Cool, isn’t it? But do we end up getting a good deal or do we actually end up on losing side? I personally wanted to check this out & thought why not test this out by purchasing a DVD player - which I was planning to buy for quite some time.

How did I start? Well, the usual approach:

• Went through numerous web sites to get an idea of a DVD Player composition
• Made a check-list of what features I wanted in my player
  • My 2 basic requirements were:
    • Should have a good/stable remote (as I had a horrible experience with my previous Onida DFX-8300 remote - which used to work only after putting it as close as 5”-6” of the base unit)
    • Should have a USB port - supporting major file formats (e.g. CD/MP3/SVCD/ WMA/VCD/XviD/DivX (MPEG 4)/AVI/ JPEG)
• Set my budget (I decided to stay within 3-3.5K max)

After much of online analysis I finally narrowed down to Philips DVP3356X/94

Why this? Well it had all the features that I was looking for & I also liked the simple user interface that it provided. I also loved the slim, black design - it was quite fashionable.

Lets take a look at what this DVD Player had to offer:

• 5.1 channel audio output for surround sound
• Progressive Scan (for optimized image quality - Progressive Scan doubles the vertical resolution of the image resulting in a noticeably sharper picture)
• 12-bit/108 MHz video processing (for sharp, natural images)
• Screen Fit for optimal viewing
• Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Link plays video/music from USB flash drives
• Media Copy transfers photos & music to USB flash drives (allowing image/music copy from CD/DVD to USB drive)
• One-touch MP3 creation directly from CDs onto USB sticks
• Plays numerous formats (movies and music)
  • CD, (S) VCD, DVD, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW
  • DivX, MP3, WMA and JPEG digital camera photos
  • DivX Certified for standard playback of DivX videos
  • AVI files

Connectivity

• Rear Connections: Digital coaxial out, Composite video (CVBS) output, ComponentVideo out Progressive, Analogue audio multi-channel out
• Front/Side connections: USB

Convenience

• Child Protection: Child Lock, Parental Control
• On-Screen Display languages: English, Hindi

Sound

• D/A converter: 24-bit, 192 kHz
• Frequency response: 30-20,000 Hz
• Signal to noise ratio: > 90
• Distortion and Noise (1 kHz): > 65 dB
• Crosstalk (1 kHz): > 70 dB
• Dynamic Range (1 kHz): > 80 dB
• Sound System: Dolby Digital

Accessories

• Included accessories:
  • Audio/Video cable
  • 2 x AAA Batteries
  • Remote Control
  • World Wide Warranty leaflet
  • User Manual

Now I was all set to make the purchase. All I had to do was decide on the store (online/off-line) & get my DVD Player. I went through online portals & here is what they had to offer (as on 24 Jan 2010):

	MRP/List Price	Offered Discount	Offer Price	Shipping	Final Price	Seller
www.ebay.in	4,299	39%	2,590	0	2590	shopz.in
ezone.futurebazaar.com	4,299	33%	2,899	0	2899
www.indiaplaza.in	4,299	23%	3,299	69	3368
shopping.rediff.com	5,990	400	5,590	(not sure)	5590	Hi-Fi

So, it was obvious that Ebay.in was offering the best deal at Rs. 2590/. I am a regular buyer at Ebay (both India & US site) & am quite fond of their efforts - towards keeping the marketplace a safe zone for online purchase/trading. Now with Ebay.in in my short-list, I though of paying my neighborhood electronics stores a visit. I quickly went out to visit 2 close by electronics stores (both are very reputed stores in Kolkata) & within 30 minutes I was back home with my Philips DVP3356X DVD Player. What was the deal I got? I managed to get this player at Rs. 2450/- only & that too without any bargain (as the local store was offering cost-to-cost pricing - as part of Republic Day offer).

I came home, plugged it in, got all set up & loved all aspects of the DVD Player. It plays movies well from DVD/CD/USB ports - with equal ease & I tested .avi/.dat etc. formats - all were displayed with satisfactory quality. I am really happy with this purchase & wanted to share the same with you all - who are at the dilemma of whether to purchase online or off-line.  My sincere feedback will be, do all your research online & before you make the paypent (online), ideally checkout your local store - you might end up getting a better deal (& it is always easy to get back to your local store - in case you come across any issues).

After spending numerous sleepless night - partly due to continuous powercuts & largely due to the tremendous heatwave running through Kolkata, I finally decided on buying an Air Conditioner (AC). Now since I was decided, I was largely confused by the long list of AC brands available in the market. Most common names being - LG, Samsung, Onida, Godrej, Videocon, Panasonic, O General, Hitachi, Career, Blue Star, Voltas and the list goes on. Based on my room specification, I knew that I wanted 1.5 Ton AC. I decided for Split, as I neither wanted to block the window nor was I willing to cut the wall (I have a pretty old construction). So, spec was all set - I just needed to settle on the brand & the showroom as well. Checked few of the reputed showrooms in Kolkata e.g. East India, Khosla, Sales Emporium, Capital Electronics. Since this was the peak season (scorching heat in Kolkata - April-May 2009), most of the showrooms were jam packed with prospective buyers. Now by visiting all these showrooms I could gather some important pieces of information:

1. O General in admittedly the best AC in the market. But it comes for a price (e.g. a 1.5 Ton Split AC comes for around 42K)
2. Hitachi is the most energy efficient AC available after O General. The 5 star rated split ACs from Hitachi are really cool.
3. Showrooms don’t encourage much on BEE ratings/EER value.
4. All AC prices mentioned by the showrooms are pretty much the same - but in most cases less that what you will otherwise find on websites.
5. If you bargain, you will most likely manage a  discount ranging from Rs. 500-1500 /-
6. All AC installation prices are separate.
   1. For Window AC, it is usually around Rs. 1200-1500/-
   2. For Split AC, it is usually around Rs. 1800-2200/-
7. Typically the first 3 services are free
8. Generally all ACs come with 1 year total AC & next 4 year compressor guarantee.
9. Window ACs generally stay within max 3 start (EER) rating, whereas Split AC will be up to 5 star.

So, based on all these inputs & a bit of price comparism across few showrooms, I finally shortlisted LG - LSA5CW5VTY1 & Hitachi - RAU018GPD - as my targets. Why? Read on.

1. Hitachi - RAU018GPD i.e. ACE Cut Out
   1. Pros:
      1. 5 Start - energy efficient (EER: 11.09)
      2. Power input: 1650 Watt
      3. Features like:
         1. Auto Climate/Auto Humid Control
         2. Anti-bacterial filter
         3. KAIMIN (sort of Bio-Sleep/Auto-Sleep - an intelligent feature that works by raising 1⁰C per hour for up to 4 hours and ensures you save up to 45%)
         4. Digi Lock (i.e. password protect AC operation)
   2. Cons:
      1. Expensive (as per http://www.hitachi-hli.com, price 37K)
      2. Market feedback about Hitachi Customer Care isn’t good (e.g. people say, Hitachi customer care takes a while in responding)
2. LG - 1.5 Ton LSA5CW5VTY1 (Split AC)
   
   1. Pros:
      1. Great customer care service
      2. 5 star rating products (i.e. energy efficient)
      3. Power input: 1660 Watt
         1. Features like:
         2. De-odourising Filter
         3. Intelloeye
      4. Economical compared to Hitachi (as per http://www.in.lge.com, it is priced at Rs. 30,000/-)
         
   2. Cons
      1. None actually

So, doesn’t it look like that LG has an edge? As per the above tabulation it does seem that LG might be a good choice. I also felt the same. But in this case I went with market feedback & eventually baught Hitachi - ACE Cut Out (also known as Hitachi CO). Why? Well, Hitachi compressor is known to ve very efficient - both cooling wise & also w.r.t. energy saving. SInce energy pricing probably will move only towards upward direction, decided to spend more on purchase & save on long term usage.

I eventually made the purchase from Khosla Electronics on a Saturday (& got a pretty reasonable deal). Got the system delivered the same day - evening. Called up Hitachi Customer Care (1800-200-8585) and placed an installation request. Got the system installed on Monday. So far so good. I will update this post if I find any issue with the product or service.

[Updates on 28 June 2009]

So far it has been close to 2 months & Hitachi Ace Cutout AC is working smoothly. It has been a hot & humid weather & Hitachi has performed up to its reputation (so far so good). Even customer care appeared to be responsive - as I had to contact them for the official product demo. Well, it took me a reminder call to get the Demo arranged. But, overall I foudn the customer care - not that bad. So, I am doing good on Hitachi & will gladly recommend (at least till now).