5 comments about Sony Bravia XBR KDL-52XBR4 52-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV.

1. No complaints whatsoever - great product - delivery was superb and on time as promised.



2. I shopped around for over a year before I made my decision to buy the Sony. It was always more expensive than the other televisions in the 52 inch size range, but to my eye it always looked the best. I have had this set since March 2008, simply becuase I wanted to give ample time before leaving any sort of review.
   
   In short, this television is hands down the best I could have bought for the money spent. Since there are a myriad of options to tweak the picture, I found some extremely helpful calibration tips at [...] that make the blacks very deep, and the colors vibrant. I currently use this television with my PS3 connected via HDMI, my TWCable HD DVR STB connected via component and optical cable, and my XBOX 360 connected via component and optical cables. The SD programming from the cable box looks ok, but it really shines with the HD content, especially Discovery HD, which broadcasts exclusively in 1080p. Blu-Ray, of course, looks amazing, although I must say that I opt to leave the 120hz Motion Flow option off when watching movies as it detracts from the graininess that, IMHO, gives film its soul. On the other hand, it works wonders for nature programs (EHEM, Planet Earth). Given the amount of reviews already here, I'm not going to go into detail as to why I love this television so much and just say that I agree with all the kudos that this set has garnered from all the other owners.
   
   The only real issue I had with this set was with dead pixels early on. About five weeks after purchase (Fry's Electronics, in-store pick up), I noticed a little cluster of dead pixels in the lower left corner of the panel. This was nothing serious as it wasn't in the direct viewing area of the screen, but I was still perturbed simply because I spent so much on the set. After a call to Sony customer service they directed me to 3 different Sony certified repair shops, one of which I called and explained my situation. They sent a repair man out to look at it that week and he verified that it was a bad panel. He called Sony from my living room, verified the problem, and had a new panel ordered within ten minutes. Unfortunately the 52 inch panels were on back order (because apparently dead pixels are a common issue from the Sharp plant because of faulty adhesive between the panel cover and the liquid crystal)so it took almost a month for my panel to come in. Once it arrived the repair shop called and scheduled a day to come and replace my tv. The gentlemen were extremely professional and the work only took about 40 minutes. This was almost three weeks ago, and my television looks absolutely gorgeous. I admit that I was bugged with this whole situation, but given the way it was taken care of I can let it go.
   
   All in all, I know three other people who own this very same tv, and we are all in agreeance that it blows all other LCD televisions of this size out of the water. In fact, I loved this TV so much that I bought the KDL-32XBR6 for the bedroom. Great product from a company who knows quality. I am extremely happy with my purchase and would, even given the issue with pixels, recommend this set to anyone looking to upgrade from a CRT or simply go to a bigger LCD.
   
   Oh, and on a side note. This set looks much better when mounted on a wall. I kept mine on the included base for a few months, but then decided to hang it since a) my little 19 month old kept touching the panel, and b) it's a little wobbly when the securing strap (provided) isn't used. I found a great deal on a wall-mounting kit at [...] (where I also bought all my HDMI cables) and it works great. Just FYI.



3. I recently made my biggest purchase ever from Amazon---a sony XBR4 lcd. I was worried that it may be damaged in shipment, but FED EX did a great job! There wasn't a scratch on the box.
   
   The TV is amazing and lives up to it's high CR rating. I bought an lcd because our room has plenty of windows and lcd's do better in well lit rooms.
   
   The HD picture is awesome thru Direct TV satelite. As you can surmise,I have been well pleased with this purchase.



4. I have had this unit for about 3 months now, loved it so far, great pictures, easy to use. 480i pictures actually looks better on this TV than any other televisions I have seen. Yesterday however, I noticed a strip of vertical line on the dead center of the TV that spans from the top to the bottom. It has to be a few pixels wide because I can see it from 25 feet away. So, I called the customer service number listed on the menu, they are going to send an authorized repair person to get it checked out. I am happy with the service, but not happy with the investment choice I made. I paid twice as much for this TV thinking I will not have to go through these product defects.
   I will update this post after the authorized personal from Sony looks at it on July 1st.
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Got a call from the Sony authorized dealer, they are ordering the LCD panel, will arrive in about two weeks.



5. After dealing with a "less-than-reputable" dealer online for the Sony XBR, I decided to go with Amazon's source for my 52" Sony XBR4. I got a very fair price and excellent delivery service. Communication about the status was excellent and they delivered the TV in a timely manner. The TV is just breathtaking. I purchased a 50" Sony plasma TV years ago and am amazed by the technological improvements in picture quality in just a couple of years. The picture quality and detail are so sharp that it almost looks 3D up on that large 52" screen. Again, I have no regrets going with the Sony knowhow.

5 comments about Sony Bravia M-Series KDL-37M3000 37-Inch 720p LCD HDTV.

1. This TV was perfect right out of the box. Setup was easy and the sound and picture are excellent. I would highly recommend this TV as an excellent buy.



2. Nice when picture is broadcast in 720 but oh my god it is horrible in 480i. It pixcelates it blurs. Not one of my better purchases.



3. I am working overseas and purchased this television for my Parents. we are so disappointed because the picture quality is very poor. My parents had the cable company come out to check the connections, and decided to change the cable connection from the pole to the television but the picture quality is still bad. We contacted Sony and they are sending a replacement TV to my parent's house under the warranty ,but my fear is that I have purchased a television that is made to a poor standard. Just hope that the replacement lives up to the quality that I expected from Sony



4. FANTASTIC TV WITH A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE. BOUGHT IT ON SALE FOR $899 WITH FREE SHIPPING AND NO SALES TAX. I WAS A LITTLE WORRIED ABOUT BUYING A TV THROUGH THE INTERNET BECAUSE I WAS UNSURE IF WOULD ARRIVE SAFELY. IT WAS VERY WELL PACKED AND EASY TO SET UP. THE 37" WAS A GOOD CHOICE FOR OUR DEN. WE ARE THRILLED WITH IT. IT'S AMAZING ALL THE DETAILS IT PICKS UP THAT WE COULDN'T GET ON THE OLD SET. HIGHLY RECOMEND THIS ONE!



5. This TV is so much superior to the Olevia 37" LCD that we purchased a two years ago. I only wish I had waited and purchased two of the Sony Bravia's instead. Much better at showing dark areas of the screen. Works great with my Apple TV, Sony DVD, and cable connection. You can count me as one VERY HAPPY customer!

5 comments about Samsung LNT2653H 26-Inch LCD HDTV.

1. I'm new to HDTV's, and was reluctant to take the plunge, however a switch from Dish Network to Direct TV HD service encouraged the change. First, I was really impressed with the light weight of this unit... then I realized that the 26" wide screen is actually larger than the letterbox mode on my 37" traditional tube set. The picture is incredibly crisp and clear, it works perfectly with DirectTV HD. I don't yet have a bluray player, however the free Samsung DVD that Amazon shipped with this unit, which has "upconversion" really looks spectacular. I had some challenges finding the correct settings on the TV and Direct TV DVR to make sure *most* broadcasts appear undistorted to fit the wide screen. I say most because sometimes programs are stretched to fit widescreen by the broadcaster, not by the equipment. As a rule, however, most things look correct, and either fill the screen, or "bars" are placed on the sides by the broadcaster or by the DVR unit. Make sure to set "native/original format" and to choose the widescreen ratio in your DirectTV receiver, then things will work fine. I also set the Samsung to automatically sense the right size rather than force one mode or another. I haven't heard any whining or humming from my unit, as some people have reported. However, this purchase is almost a year after some of those reports. Also, I'm not using the built-in speakers, but I am rather sending my audio via toslink to a stereo surround receiver. I've already recommended this unit to several friends, and can't wait until I get the 40" unit for our family room set in the near future.



2. After much research I bought this TV through Amazon, and after 3 days it had a snowy picture. After spending a great deal of time confirming that the problem was in the set, not my cable set-up, I had to send it to a repair shop (at my cost!). While the Samsung customer service people were friendly and apologetic and the vendor (BuyDig) refunded the shipping, I have been without the TV for 10 days now and the parts are on backorder until who knows when?
   
   This policy, whether its Amazon's or Samsung's, sucks. I pay almost $700 and get left hanging, waiting for a defective TV that will now always be suspect. DO NOT BUY A TV FROM AMAZON IN THIS WAY AGAIN! DEMAND THAT DEFECTIVE SETS GET IMMEDIATE REPLACEMENT, NOT A REPAIR NIGHTMARE!



3. Once it is properly installed, this TV is top-notch! Its color is superb, definition unbeatable, and it has full controls of all parameters. It was very complicated to set up, and I had a professional do that for $100 plus. Even he had to come back three times to get it straight and to make it work with my VCR and DVD units.



4. I purchased this tv on Jan. 22, 2008 and had no problems at all until about Mar. 11, 2008. Just a few weeks over the time limit to send it back to Amazon and get a replacement. Then the high pitched sound started. Once the tv was on for an hour or two it would develope a high pitched whine coming from the back of the set and continued the whole time the set was on.
   I contacted Samsung and they had me send it to NJ for repairs. Well, I got the set back from NJ today (after almost 3 weeks) and it doesn't even look like the same set. When I sent it in for repair I sent it in the original box with all original packing and it arrived today in a different box with different packing. My brand new tv (barely 3 months old) that left here without a mark or scratch on it, was covered in scratches, back and front.Further unpacking revealed a 1" diameter hole in the front left corner that was broken out of the set along with pieces of plasitc that just fell out of the packing. I was also completely missing the oval base plate that I originaly sent.
   I contacted Samsung again and they said to return it once again to the repair shop in NJ to see what they had to say about it ? So much for Samsung's warranty and customer service, it's beginning to look like I'm out almost $700.00 for a beat up, broken, missing parts tv. It's really a shame too because before the noise started up and I had to send it in for repairs it was a nice tv and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it.
   All I can say is "Good Luck" if you purchase this set and I hope that you don't encounter the noise and have to send it to NJ for repairs.



5. I love this TV. Used it for half a yr AWESOME. Use it as my monitor for my desktop. Play all my playstation 3 games on it, watch all my blu ray and dvd on it. Watch all my sports tv with in. Perfect for a small room, great color, great quality, GREAT PRICE. I enjoy every second i use this tv.

2 comments about Sharp Aquos LC32D44U 32-Inch 720p LCD HDTV.

1. I have both this TV as well as a Samsung LN-T2642H. It's very interesting to compare the two TV's performances. If you want the more balanced natural look, go with Sharp. If you're more interested in a vivid, colorful image go with Samsung. I also did an extended look at the Toshiba 26HL67.
   
   There is a key difference between the panels Sharp uses compared to others. Sharp's TVs are made with panels called S-IPS while Samsung, Sony and Toshiba currently use a panel called S-PVA. This has everything to do with why Samsung, Sony and Toshiba have very strong color but one thing I noticed about Samsung is that when you look at it for a slightly low angle, the color gets darker and starts to invert. If you look it from above, the color gets lighter and starts to invert. With the Sharp, no matter what angle I look at it, the color doesn't change AT ALL! This is very impressive and cool!
   
   I also notice that when I played around with the TV settings, it doesn't need much to look good, it almost always does. When you turn on the Active Contrast mode on the Sharp (it's equivalent to DNIe), it doesn't totally knock out the details in darker areas. At first, I had to keep checking to see if it was on or not because I was so used to the way the Samsung crushes black details even on the Low setting. Once again, I was more impress with the way this TV addresses contrast in fact I think the Sharp does a better job with contrast because of its black color.
   
   The Sharp's black color is closer to black than the Samsung. The black color on the Samsung is more of a dark blue even on Warm temperature (it's especially noticably at slight vertical angles) but with the Sharp the black was much closer to real black.
   
   The speakers on the Sharp doesn't distort at volume levels higher than 30. With the Samsung, when u turn the volume up pass 30, the bass tends to distort the fidelity of all the sound resulting in a buzz. This is probably due to the build of the unit and the lower wattage for the speakers. Sharp doesn't sound perfect either but it's definitely warmer and clearer at high volumes thanks to having 10 watts per speaker instead of 5. I would recommend everyone to get a 2.1 speaker for any LCD TV though. Take advantage of those sound outputs on the back of your TV! :) It definitely takes your experience to a higher level!
   
   One minus I have with the Sharp was that it didn't have a headphone jack.
   
   Overall, I think this is an excellent 32" TV. Sharp is definitely worth a look and probably my new LCD manufacturer of choice. It doesn't need as much tweaking when you switch between uses. I tested both TVs with PC (via DVI>HDMI), Xbox 360, HDTV, SDTV, HD-DVDs and upconverted DVDs. With the Samsung, I find myself always tweaking the settings between uses like changing the Energy Saving level, turning up the Digital NR for SDTV, turning it off for everything else, toning down the DNIe.
   
   Thanks to Sharp's OPC, the backlight adjust very intelligently based on what's on the screen. I just leave the Active Contrast on because I know I'm not missing out darker details, the picture is very sharp and the panel is slightly faster thanks to the 6ms speed, which equals less motion blur with things like text and more solid image overall.
   
   This Sharp is the real deal and reminds me much more of a CRT than the Samsung because the Samsung requires too much twinkering to get things comfortable. I think if the Samsung's black was more like true black and the vertical angle didnt distort so much I wouldn't tweak it as often.
   
   So in summary, if you want the most vibrant colors and don't mind tweaking between uses by all means get a Samsung. (I still like the Samsung and would give it a 4 out of 5)
   
   If you want a more, natural looking picture, that doesn't offer or require as much tweaking because it just plain looks good, go with a Sharp.
   
   I think Toshiba and Sony TVs tend to do a better job with black crush and black color than Samsung but since the panels are the same technology (S-PVA), they still have the vibrant color and probably some vertical viewing weirdness.



2. I found it hard to find any reviews on this particular model online but I decided to take a chance, since its predecessor, the lc32d43u was pretty well rated. i am glad I did. I find the picture quality very good even in standard definition (with a digital feed) and there are plenty of options for you to get the quality the way you like it. My only small problem is that at some angles the picture can be bit washed out, but this is only at severe side angles. Overall good value for money.

No comments about Panasonic Viera TC-32LZ800 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV.

5 comments about Panasonic TH-58PZ700U 58-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV.

1. I bought this tv and about 8 days later it arrived (a little long but no big deal). The delivery company did a good job and took great care of it when I was around. They told me that they were only obligated to deliver the tv to the door, but after asking very nicely, the deliver man agreed to help me carry it upstairs to my living room. (I gave him a nice tip for his effort). The packaging was very secure and Panasonic takes every precaution ensuring that the tv won't be damaged during delivery. The picture on the tv is crystal clear, the HD is amazing and the SD is about as good as you can expect. The Playstation 3 in 1080p is absolutely phenomenal, much better than I ever could have expected, AND I'm only using a $2.50 HDMI cable that I also bought on Amazon. If you are on the fence, I would definitely recommend buying this tv, and for the price ($2,999 I paid) it's a no-brainer. I haven't found any downside to this tv and I have been looking for one.



2. Outstanding picture from any distance or angle.HD from satalite is awsome as well as standard broadcast.Has enough hook ups for me since I only hook up satalite,dvd and wii.Remote is easy to learn,installation was easy with two people.Would highly recomend this TV to anyone.As always,Amazons delivery was on time and placed in my living room.The price I paid was about $1,000.00 less than I could get it localy with out delivery.Thanks Amazon.



3. This TV Is simply stunning. Prepare to be slack jawed for quite some time. For those of you wanting to get film quality image reproduction out of this unit try the following settings. Give it one day after making the adjustments so your eyes can adjust to the change. The realism from these settings will produce images so lifelike that it will take your breath away.
   
   The following figures contains the picture settings for the TH-58PZ700U after its ISF calibration. I highly suggest that you use these settings if you purchase or own this television. By configuring the television to the below settings I was able to get the color temperature to D6650K, a substantial improvement over the out-of-the-box measurement of D10000K+. Using the below settings to regulate the color temperature and white balance virtually perfects the picture of the TH-58PZ700U:
   
   Panasonic TH-58PZ700U Optimal Picture Settings
   Picture Mode Standard
   Picture +22
   Brightness +8
   Color -1
   Tint -4
   Sharpness -14
   Color Temperature Warm
   Enhanced Black Level Off
   
   Hope this helps some of you. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!



4. I highly recommend this TV. Delivered ahead of schedule by the shipping company. Zero problems with delivery or install.
   
   The TV is outstanding. Humans appear to be life size. Quality is excellent, real easy to setup.
   
   Love it!



5. This is an awesome TV. Was first deciding between plasma and LCD. Went for plasma, as the picture quality is much better - moving images, better black tones - and you can go for 58+ inches. Then my choice was between this Panasonic and Pioneer Kuro 60. When comparing the two TVs side by side at a store, I could not really tell a difference (well, apart from the price tag, $1600 in favor of the Panasonic). Have had the TV for 4 moths now - love it. Highly recommend it.

2 comments about Samsung LN22A330 22-Inch 720p LCD HDTV.

1. I have the 22 inch version of this model line (Samsung LN-22A330) for my bedroom, and am VERY impressed. The picture quality is fantastic, and it has settings where you can fine tune the settings for individual channels.
   
   I have it on every morning for the news while I'm getting ready for work, and every night as I wind down and fall asleep (very appreciative of the person who first installed sleep timers on TVs).
   
   I like everything about this unit, including the "tools" function on the remote for the most-used items in my house (including the sleep functions). There are "fun" settings, too...where you can choose not only your energy savings level, but also what type of image you're watching...a "movie" versus reg tv....it deepens the color beautifully without actually changing the colors.
   
   The only item I find disconcerting is the sheer amount of time it takes to respond to turning the unit 'on'. Once you hit Power, just ignore it and ...................................................THEN you'll hear the tones turning it on (tones may be set at different volumes and even turned off if you poke around in the menu long enough to find it).
   
   Given time, I'll certainly get used to the amount of time it is, but for now it's bothersome as there is no other indicator that you actually hit the button correctly (the light on the power button on the tv doesn't flash at first, nothing).
   
   If I needed to replace this 22" unit for some reason, I'd buy the same model again in a heartbeat. Very pleased with Samsung's 330 line. Excellent value for the price for a bedroom tv.



2. no complaints except that the volume on this TV can be a little too low.

2 comments about ViewSonic N1630w 16-Inch 720p LCD HDTV.

1. Got the N1630w 15-inch TV for the kitchen counter, but will need to find another use for it because the speakers are totally tinny, even with full bass and treble added, or different sound preferences selected (I think Viewsonic expects you to add external speakers to this unit so the sound is as good as the picture). Unit also sits very low to the countertop, and doesn't have a swivel feature to allow it to be tilted upwards. The viewing angle is critical .. like viewing a projection TV .. you must look straight into this screen or the picture washes out. We propped a dish towel under the front of the stand in order to have the screen looking up at us ... why no swivel, Viewsonic? It won't be good for computers for the same reason it doesn't swivel up-or-down. Analog TV performance is also quite poor, but then we all need to get away from analog anyway. Buy a 19-inch or larger as you can fit into your needs .. this TV is small in size, and performance.



2. I bought this TV after reading about the poor sound on the small Sharp. I should have waited for a review here. The sound is annoying (I found the music setting to be the least annoying for listening to voice). The picture must be viewed at eye level, as also noted in the first review. On a positive note it has all the inputs and outputs you would need.

5 comments about Sharp Aquos LC37GP1U 37-Inch 1080p LCD Gaming HDTV.

1. Yes I use this gaming TV as a monitor with Vista. I use this to: browse the web, watch DVD movies and play video games. My video card does 1660x1050 and this monitor can do 1900x1200 at 85Hertz. It took a little fussing to get this to work properly but I'm satisfied with the picture. Web browsing is acceptable. I notice a difference between running it at 60Htz and 75Htz which is the best my video card can do. I think I'll upgrade the card soon. Movies are great!!! The quality of the picture is great. Games I have to say are mediorce. There is a gaming mode which has a low latency refresh rate. I used this with Age of Empires 3. I didnt notice a difference between gaming and regular mode but then again the game is not that graphic intensive. I got this for 1300.00 which I consider a fair price. This is my first HDTV so I wanted to low ball a smaller size before I get a larger size. With 1080p this will remain i my house for a long time. I'm finding that the new LCD HDTV's coming out, improve the refresh rates to 120 hertz which upgrades the picture quality remarkably. All in all this was a good investment for the price.



2. My husband and I extensively researched the field before making the leap to HDTV. I looked at the reviews from Consumer Reports and He wanted a TV that he could plug his laptap into for programming and watching downloaded movies. This is a beautiful set that meets our needs.



3. The main selling point for this TV is a lag-free gaming TV. And guess what? It's just that, lag free! In extremely time-sensitive games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, you can play these games with zero calibration out-of-the-box, no matter which input or screen resolution you use. It even supports 1080p with Component, a big plus for us Xbox 360 users that don't have an Elite.
   
   Picture quality is good, sound quality is good, and everything else about the TV is good. The only thing is that you only have one HDMI and one Component port for the "Vyper Drive", so you should consider an HDMI, Component, and/or Composite video switch if you have multiple consoles. The other inputs are fine for your non-gaming needs such as DVD players and such.
   
   Well worth the money if you're a serious gamer.



4. This is my second LCD HDTV to use with my HTPC for games/movies/web browsing/etc. I upgraded to this set for the 1080p resolution. My previous Samsung LCD also had dead pixels... this one had none!
   
   While 1920x1080 resolution is a beautiful thing, you MUST tweak the settings after hooking it up to your PC.
   
   First, press "View mode" on your remote and enable "Dot By Dot." This will eliminate overscan and fuzzy text.
   
   You'll also want to decrease the sharpness, unless you enjoy looking at JPEG compression artifacts. Hit "MENU" and change it to -5 for optimal viewing.
   
   I also recommend flipping open the bottom portion of the remote and using "GAME" AV MODE... it's much easier on the eyes when you're sitting right in front of it.
   
   This LCD is a solid buy and I am not disappointed.



5. This TV is wonderful. The picture is so clean and sharp. It is a very good investment. I also have a 42-inch and a 32-inch HDTV Sharp LCD 1080p
   Very easy to install, and packaged very well

No comments about Samsung LN46A530 46-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV.