Having bought my spinning bike I've realized that the perfect way to make sure I use it regularly is to buy a plus 42 inch flat screen to entertain me while I pedal away (at least that's gonna be my pitch to my slightly better half). While scouring a couple of malls, Metro and Wallmart I've found the prices to be around 3000-3500 for 42 inch screens and 5-6000 for 50 inch ones but I haven't decided which brand to go for. The cheapest of course are the Chinese Konka, Changhong and Skyworth. Does anyone have any input regarding which brand to go for and the quality of them? And yes I know it probably would be better to go for an international brand but 1: If I leave China (or even Kunming) I'll have to sell it for a fraction of the price, and 2: They are probably made in China anyway, so I don't think splashing out 1 wan out would be a good idea. What do you guys think?

Look at HiSense. They are the best quality Chinese made. Will cost a little more than the brands you mentioned.

I recently bought a Skyworth from Walmart for the same reasons that you mentioned. So far I can't complain. Downloaded Blu-ray movies look great and even the low quality i-tunes NBC News podcast looks decent. But I have also heard that Hisense is a good option.

I'd recommend going to an electronics shop like Guomei or Suning, where each brand has his own dealers on site. They work on commissions and sales targets, and if they're having a slow week, you can usually get a good bargain out of them. I managed to knock 2000 kuai off my 42 inch TCL last year.

I went for a Konka 47 inch screen. It set me back 4999 but it was a fairly new model and the picture seemed smooth and the black was black. I went to Suning and Gome on Beijing Lu as Xiefei recommended and they both had a very impressive selection of TVs, both Chinese and the big foreign brands. Definitely recommendable to check those places out for comparisons. On the other hand the prices were just too high since Wallmart and Carrefour sell their sets 20-30 percent cheaper for the same models. I bought mine in Metro. The selection is kinda limited but the prices are probably the cheapest in Kunming. I would have bought a Skyworth 37 inch for 2800 there if it hadn't been sold out. For anyone else thinking about buying flat screens I saw a HiSense and a TCL, both 42 inch in Wallmart for 3999 and a Konka 50 inch in Metro for 4999. I bought the 47 one because it had a slightly better picture imo and 3 years warranty. Thanks for the input. If my Konka explodes I'll be sure to check back.