Ever since our meeting with the good people over at Soniq, we've been interested to learn more about other budget television brands. Tyagi, which began operations last year solely through eBay, now has its own website and sells directly to the public.
We were given a brief demonstration of Tyagi's largest LCD model, a 47in full HD television capable of 1080P. Like Soniq, the panels are sourced from last generation LG and Samsung models. The prices are also very similar.
The 47in model is priced at $1255, while the Full HD 50in Plasma model comes equipped with a Samsung panel. By comparison, Soniq's 50in model does not feature 1080P full HD capabilities, but it is significantly cheaper at $998, if you don't mind 720P.
Tyagi, like Kogan takes the surname from founder Sunils Tyagi and also like Kogan, has found steady success in a solely online model - you won't find Tyagi in stores, unlike Soniq. The latter already has a strong and long relationship with JB Hi-Fi.
Tyagi are offering a 1 year in-house service warranty. There is no replacement TV though, something Soniq were keen to alert us to when we last spoke. A nationwide group of contractors will repair Tyagi products we're told, so that should keep courier distances to repair centres down.
From our brief hands-on with the Tyagi 47in, we were impressed with the image quality. The blacks are rich and solid, a strong positive for LCD colour reproduction. The design of the TVs could use a bit more flair though. They appear slightly clunky with too much framing around the panel.
So there you have it - yet another Chinese made player offering cheap TVs at bargain prices. The product may be cheap, but without having completed an in-depth test, we can't make any final verdicts about quality. Also, the only problem with buying a Tyagi TV online is that you can't play around with it before you buy. There's nothing quite like walking into a store and getting that hands-on feel.
