3 comments about LG 50PG20 50-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV.

1. We could not be any happier with our purchase of this Plasma.
   
   This TV was my family's first venture into the world of HD. We considered many factors, such as screen size, price, on-going maintenance expenses, and getting something that we would be happy with for a good number of years. We were first drawn to Projections, because of the huge screens available for reasonable prices, but were turned off by the good possibility of having to purchase a new expensive bulb every year of so. LCD's were nice, but their price in larger screens was significantly higher than Plasmas, and they have the problem with the viewing angle. In the end, we decided to go with a Plasma no smaller that 50 inches, because we didn't want to feel as if we needed a "bigger" TV a few years down the road.
   
   Before purchasing the LG 720p, we tried the same resolution in the Insignia 50 Inch Plasma. That was in our house for one day when we decided to return it to get something of better quality, which turned out to be this LG. The price of the LG was only a little more than the Insignia, but the quality was so much better.
   
   The picture is phenomenal. I cannot tell any difference between the picture on this compared to Plasmas that cost 4-5 times as much. Even non-HD channels look great on this.
   
   The appearance is very nice as well. The color of the case is "piano black" which looks really slick.
   
   We bought the Init Wall Mount for this TV, and it works great. It was simple and fast to install.
   
   The only possible negative with the LG was the sound. This was the one area where we actually liked the Insignia better. On some stations, we have to crank the sound up to 60 or beyond. With our Wii, it only needs to be in the teens. So the issue is probably more with my Cable Provider and/or Cable Box. But as I indicated, we did notice better sound with the Insignia.
   
   There was an issue when we first got the TV out of the box and hooked it up. There was a white vertical line on the far right-hand side of the TV that ran the entire height. You could see some blurry images through the white, so I knew it wasn't just a aspect ratio setting. This line started going away the second day of viewing, and by the third day it was gone completely and have had no problems with it since (we have now owned this for about a month). Maybe it just needed to get "broken in"???
   
   We also purchased a 4-Year Extended Warranty from the store we got this from, mostly for peace of mind on this investment. Their Extended Warranty does cover burn-in, so that is a good thing to know just in case one of the kids leaves it on. But hopefully we will never have to use it.
   
   Overall, we are thrilled with this TV, and we wholeheartedly recommend it.



2. I had to send this one back due to a cracked screen in 3 places. It was shipped from Vann's in Montana and I live in North Carolina. I had previously ordered a 46 inch Samsung that was shipped from Amazon and the service and TV are great. After waiting over 2 weeks for the TV to return to Vann's and for them to credit my Amazon account, Amazon promptly returned my money. I since have ordered a 50 inch Samsung PN50A450 instead of the LG since I knew the TV would ship directly from Amazon. The TV arrived in 3 days in great condition and the white glove service is great. Beware of ordering from Amazon for big TV's that do not ship directly from Amazon. I have learned my lesson.



3. this tv is the bomb , regular cable chanels look great on it and of course
   hd . but the hidden gem is , it displays more than 720 p. thats right 1080p not i , but p .i tested it with the ps3 first , i didnt believe it first , than i tried the xbox360 and i got the same thing . i made sure its the same model . read it on the back of the tv and the box . it says 720p .But it does full 1080p . i originaly got this tv in the store , as advertised it is 720p.but look to my suprise .i wanted to compare price to amazon .i overpayed 300 dollars ,which is ok . i am happy . so folks get it from here , u wont be sorry .u get more than it says . just wanted to share this

1 comments about LG Electronics 26LC7D 26" 720p Flat Panel LCD HDTV.

1. This TV has a really good picture and a great array of inputs. The TV comes with a great remote and a good cable management system. When watching at night though the TV's blacks look OK, but the most annoying thing is that during dark scenes you can distinctly see that the back light bleeds around the top and left edges. For 900$ this should be better, but all in all I am satisfied with the set.

No comments about Sony Bravia Z-Series KDL-40Z4100/B 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV (Black) + Accessory Kit w/ 3 Year Extended Warranty.

5 comments about Sharp Aquos LC20S7U 20" LCD TV.

1. This was a great purchase. The picture on the TV is wonderful. You can watch it from many angles and it's still clear. The installation was extremely easy. It is a perfect TV for a small room.



2. Purchased this today to replace a tiny 13" in my bedroom. The picture is great. Right out of the box, plug and play. The remote is basic, but this is a basic TV and I'll be controlling the TV via my Tivo, so I don't care about the remote.
   
   The one complaint (hence only 4 stars) is the sound. I'm here to confirm that the speakers sound almost identical to my alarm clock radio. Although the sound is less than desirable, it offers an audio output via Digital Audio Coax cable (so you can connect to external stereo, etc). If you're looking for a great sounding TV and planning to utilize the TV speakers, this is not the TV for you. Since this is in my bedroom and used as a second TV, it'll work just fine.
   
   Other than the low quality sound, it is as advertised. Great buy for those of us who have not made the jump to HiDef yet.



3. Is this a good LCD TV? Quite possibly, if "good LCD TV" isn't an oxymoron. There's the motion blur, which was even worse than I expected, and pixelization that's visible at all times but worse when there's motion, a little insult to add to your injury. Color and clarity on still images is very good, as I'd expect of a high quality LCD display. But I spent far less on my LCD computer monitor, and it has significantly better color and clarity (admittedly at much higher resolution) than this set.
   
   Sound can only be described as miserable. Maybe we shouldn't expect much of a small, thin, flat panel, but providing bass and treble controls on this unit seems as silly as outfitting a moped with a nitrous injector.
   
   A 20" set seems most likely intended for use in places like the bedroom, where viewers are likely to be fairly close to the screen, and where it's unlikely the set can be hooked up to a sound system. Since it doesn't provide good close-up viewing, and since the sound quality is so poor, I'm not sure this set has any really good applications. I ended up keeping the 20" analog Philips I already had setup in my bedroom and used the new Sharp to replace a 13" monophonic Sanyo in my daughter's room. Although the sound quality's worse, at least she has both channels now.
   
   If you're looking for a way to prepare your less demanding viewing areas for DTV, this isn't the way to do it. Go to your local discount retailer and pick up an analog 20" set (while you still can) and plug it into whatever set-top box you happen to have at your disposal. That'll provide very watchable TV for years to come, and save you about $200 over the price of this set.



4. This replaced a 13" CRT in the kitchen and fit nicely below the cabinets with a very small foot print. The picture quality is excellent with a wide viewing angle. After purchasing a 20" wide angle LCD for a bedroom we went back to the 4:3 format to use the entire screen. Others commented about poor sound but the sound is good for a kitchen or small room with base and treble adjustments. If I hadn't purchased the wide angle for the bedroom I would have purchased another LC20S7U. This one has a better quality picture for a lower price plus the 4:3 format which is most of our transmitted programs.



5. Researched all the comparables, checked prices from all the Biggies, Best Buy, Cir. City, etc. Amazon had the best price by far. The Sharp Aquos is simply the best picture quality for the price. No question here. I have the 15" and bought another (20") because I'm sold on Sharp's quality picture and sound.

5 comments about JVC LT-42X688 42-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV.

1. When researching this product for purchase, I found many of the reviews too technical for my non-tech brain. However, I gleaned enough to know that this HDTV was probably a good bet. It has truly surpassed all of my expectations for quality and realism of picture as well as pretty decent audio. My price comparisons showed this one to be the deal. Repeating the purchase process, I would only have purchased the same item sooner.



2. I've had this set for about a month now and have nothing but high praise for the functionality and appearance of it. The universal remote has easy to use buttons to access whatever input you desire, the set has a beautiful picture with true colors and a crisp display, and I love the sound quality. The set itself is very attractive and extremely easy to set up and use. That being said, the main reason I purchased this set was because I was never satisfied with the blurring associated with sets that have the 8mm response time. This set has a 5mm response time, and that 3mm difference seems to have made all the difference in the world. Great tv at a great price and on time, quality delivery. Super Bowl looked great!



3. JVC makes GREAT products, plain and simple. We purchased our JVC 42 LCD HDTV about 2 weeks ago and for some odd reason, and I don't know why I hadn't read about this before and why it came as a surprise to me, but when you watch regular television on an HDTV monitor, the picture quality comes out less than perfect...in fact it comes out dang-near blurry. The so-called technology that makes regular TV *look* almost HDTV quality...? Now THAT is a joke.
   
   If you buy this TV to view Blu Ray and/or HD DVD's or HD quality programming, you will be THRILLED I assure you. The quality is absolutely wonderful and I find it hard to believe picture quality better than this is commercially available (at least as I write this...) but again, if you plan to watch regular television and/or DVD's/Video's that are NOT High Def quality, BE PREPARED to be a little disappointed (if not a LOT).
   
   Keep that in mind before you buy and you won't be surprised like I was. Hope my review helps.



4. Great TV 1080p 42" HD. I have owned JVC products without problems. I screwed cable in to back of TV, no box, no hd, nothing and picture looks great. Wall mount and TV hundreds less than circuit city. They wanted $1899+tax for TV alone.



5. $809.99+tax at Circuit City... open box discount and it was already on sale. Best home theater buying decision I've ever made, considering it retails for $1999.99.
   
   I agree with what other people are saying about standard definition being muddled, and it's true... but you aren't really buying this to watch broadcast tv or basic cable, are you? =)
   
   I have an Xbox 360 with the HDMI out (the $2.00 6ft HDMI cable I got from Amazon works perfectly - NEVER pay $50 for an HDMI cable!!!), and it looks fabulous. There aren't many native 1080p games for the 360 at the moment...but even upconverted, the picture is breathtaking. Same goes for standard DVDs played through the 360. Even a 720p component connection looks phenomenal. The HD movies you can get from the Xbox Live Marketplace look great, too.
   
   A buddy brought over his PS3, and it too looks fantabulous through the same HDMI cable. With games that run at 60fps, you can BARELY notice a tiny little bit of motion blur. That is what always prevented me from getting an LCD set, but this TV has made me a believer. The 5ms response time is noticeably better than the 8ms on other TVs in the same/greater price range. Unfortunately, he did not have any Blu-Rays to test out, which is my next homework assignment.
   
   UPDATE - I got a PS3 and output it through HDMI. Blu-Ray looks spectacular!!! You can see the pores on people's faces. Unreal. This TV rocks!!!!
   
   This set is BRIGHT! Even after I tweaked it and reduced the contrast and brightness a bit, this set will almost completely light up a dark room...don't get me wrong, it's not a bad thing. It's very crisp and clear in a well-light room too. Not much glare on the screen at all. Also, the viewing angle is very wide...way better than the DLPs that I've looked at.
   
   Bottom line... This set is a great picture and great value, as long as you aren't buying it ONLY to watch standard definition TV. =) Next stop - HD digital cable. I'll let you know how it turns out... (^_^)

No comments about Philips 42TA648BX/37 42" 1080p LCD HDTV.

5 comments about Philips 52PFL7422D/37 52-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV.

1. We bought this TV right before Christmas, 2007. It had a nice shiny, black look to it. The picture quality was awesome, but unfortunately the color kept fluctuating. The rich reds and flesh tones would fade to pale, pasty images a couple of times a minute. Phillips said the problem could not be the TV if the Menu screen did not fluctuate. The Menu screen displayed in only blues and greys and we never saw fluctuation in this screen.
   
   In order to give the TV the benefit of the doubt, we switched from cable TV to DISH. We even replaced all the coax cable running from the satellite to the TV without success.
   
   So we called Phillips again and were transferred to a Magnavox division who had a service company call us. This company told me to call an 800 number for another service company as they were 45 miles away in Fresno, California, and could not afford to come to my house based on what Phillips paid them for service. Apparently, the repair shops in Oakhurst where I live were not contracted with Phillips.
   
   At this point we took the TV back to CostCo as it was within their 90 day return period. We bought a Sharp Aquos and the colors are fine.
   
   Another problem we had with the Phillips was the limited viewing angle. We understand that LCD TV's are supposed to have 176 degree viewing angle, but unless you were pretty much in front of the TV, the image and the colors degraded pretty badly.
   
   My husband never did like the remote. When you picked it up and pointed it at the TV, it was always backwards.
   
   Honestly, if the TV had worked right out of the box, we would have loved it. The picture quality and the colors (when they weren't fluctating)seemed very natural. I liked the ease with which you could change from one format to another.



2. I have had this tv for about a month now and love it. It is a really good deal. I had to tinker about with the picture settings and found exactly the settings I wanted. This LCD does NOT have a glossy screen. That is GREAT for me because I have a window behind the television. Do yourself a favor and buy this.
   
   The remote is a tad awkward, I suggest you get a Harmony Remote. I am also using an Onkyo system as my surround sound. Really sweet T.V.



3. From the start we looked at only LCD TV's.
   Then came the decision of brand, we really only considered the higher end brands, Sony, Samsong, and Philips. After checking and rechecking pitcher qaulity and specifications, and the price comparisions of these three, we felt the Philips would be our choice.
   We started with the 40" size units, then the 46", and settled on the 52",
   We would again make the same choices, very happy from the start of the deal to the present.



4. Loved the TV at first, looks great. Found problem watching DVDs, picture format will Jump from Widescreen to standard and back, rather annoying. I tried to lock the TV into standard only so the picutre fills the entire screen, option not available. should have stuck with SAMSUNG.



5. i bought this television about a month ago. i bought a refurbished from the manufacturer for a greatly reduced cost ($1,400) but that's beside the point. the television is great for the cost even if you buy it new from Amazon -- a nice price as well. the first thing i'd do is go to AVS forums and search for this television to get the various setting codes for the picture. that'll save you a lot of time. next, get a surround sound system as the speakers on this television are barely adequate (i went with Onkyo and am happy). a universal remote is a must (Logitech Harmony is the way to go -- again, i bought a 659 refurbished here on Amazon for about $40 -- great remote).
   
   i sit about 11 - 12 feet away and we play the Wii from about 8 feet. both seem just right. i watched the NCAA tourney in HD last week and the Master's Golf tourney this week. i notice that the standard definition channels don't look very good. in fact, i think my old television upstairs looks much better on standard definition. so i am only watching HD programming on this LCD. if i had to watch a lot of standard definition programming then i probably wouldn't have bought this television and i might have given it 3 or 4 stars instead. on the other hand, the deal was too good to pass up and HD looks just terrific.

5 comments about Sharp Aquos LC52D62U 52-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV.

1. After 1 month, i am completely impressed with this boob tube.
   
   Havent seen any of the banding problems with the picture, and have been impressed with the ease of use.
   
   From what I have seen, this is one of the better 52 inchers in the market (that's what she said)
   
   Pros: great picture
   
   Cons: I cant afford to get one for each rtoom of my house



2. 
   After a year, still no issues. Baseball and Football look great on this LCD. Cable HD stations look great (I wish there were more offerings). The new Xbox360 is also looking great too.
   
   I've got mine wall mounted with HDMI (30' cables!) and Power going through the wall.



3. We purchased the Sharp to replace a rear projection HDTV in our family room. A large southern exposure that faces the television made daytime viewing unwatchable due to the glare. The Sharp remains bright & vivid despite high levels of light and windows in this room.
   
   The picture quality is extremely good on HD (crisp & vivid.) SD is fair at best. No visible banding on this yet (perhaps I'm lucky.)
   
   The sound is ok, however it seems to suffer from dips and elevations when switching between show & commercial.
   
   Overall I am quite pleased with the set.



4. I have had my Sharp for about 2 months now and have had no problems with it at all. I cannot see any banding, even when looking for it, and no one else who has watched it has been able to see anything either.
   
   My only complaint is the location of the A/V jacks on the back which makes it so you pretty much have to unmount the TV from the wall in order to change something. The simple solution for that, though, is just to run more wires than you need right now. Wires are cheap.



5. I purchased my 52 inch Sharp Aquos from Circuit City in April of this year. I am aware that this particular model has been around for some time, and was pleased to have found a dealer that was clearing out its inventory. I purchased the floor model for $1,360. For that price I was able to afford the warranty, HDMI cables and etc... I knew it was a steal and can't complain about any negatives because of the price I was given. I was only shopping for a 42" but once I got the the store, the large LCD's (playing the Transformers movie) really got my attention.
   
   I connect Comcast DVR to an HDMI input for 1080i quality. I watch sports and the picture quality is absolutely amazing. I used to laugh at commercials that advertised Televisions that allowed you to "make the call" whether an athlete goes out of bounds or being able to see strands of hair. I scoff no longer!!! I can literally see individual blades of grass on a football field.
   
   I connect my XBOX360 to the Component input and the quality is very good. I previously had a Olevia 27" LCD that I used for games and I like the Olevia better than the Sharp for gaming. The colors on the Olevia were richer. But, the contrast for the Sharp is better. Go figure.
   
   I connect my Apple computer to the other HDMI input for 1080i quality. Once again, I like how my Olevia looked in this mode better. The Sharp is exactly that: too sharp. Words are hard to read and motion (grabbing windows and moving them) hurts my eyes. Overall it is difficult to sit close to this screen (maybe because of its sheer size).
   
   Currently, I have no HD/Blue Ray player. so all of my movies are played back at 480p. Between the Olevia and the Sharp, the Sharp fares much better in upscaling the image. The Sharp looks great in every mode, but to me does the best in watching SD and HD television. I feel the most awe when in those modes, followed by movies, and finally the Xbox. The Computer connected through HDMI is really not as good as it should be.
   
   The 2 really big negatives are:
   
   1. The strands or bands everyone else complained about. Mine are not that bad. But, I noticed that I have one bright green vertical strand and one barely visible purple strand. I realized finally that these strands correspond to the exact placement of the picture being displayed in HD being upscaled from SD. In other words, when watching sports in HD the picture will either display in full screen or in 4:3 where the picture will fill top to bottom but not left to right. Whenever a commercial comes on, the picture will display the green band purple band to the outside of the picture. When the game comes back on, the bands disappear.
   
   2. Changing the brightness, contrast, or any other picture related setting will change the setting for ALL MODES of operation. For instance, if I want to increase the contrast while playing video games, and then immediately switch to watching cable, the contrast will continue to be increased. I switch back and forth between modes more than 5 times a day and this problem is the worst in my opinion.
   
   
   Overall this television is very overwhelming, beautiful, full of color and contrast, yet not overly clear in all modes. The band problem is a hit-or-miss problem for some people. If you watch a lot of TV and movies, you will love this TV. If you play a lot of games on PC or Console, this is not your first choice, but maybe top 10.

5 comments about Panasonic TH-42PWD8UK 42-Inch Plasma EDTV.

1. I bought the TH-42PWD8UK after exhaustive research and dozens of showroom screenings. To be blunt, these Panasonics have (both the HDs and EDs), by far, the best picture you can have in your home and I'm delirously happy with it. There are a bunch of caveats and issues, though. The flat screen TV decision cuts across a mess of issues:
   
   1) Plasma versus LCD. LCDs look better in the average showroom because they have smaller pixels (finer grained picture) and brighter backlighting. Plasma's hidden strength is their rich blacks and more vivid colors. In real life you sit back 8 feet or so from the screen - so the pixel size issue disappears. The brightness issue disappears in real life too - where I, like most folks, do most of my viewing in evening or night hours in a partially lit room. Plasma's strengths in dense blacks and vivid colors equates to a greater image dynamics - more akin to film than regular television. Once you start to spot it, LCDs look a bit washed out by comparison. Plasma's vividness can be a dual edge sword. Sometimes flesh tones can look too pink. Panasonic gets this right - better than most other plasma screens. Rear projection and front projector units can't compete for vivid picture or image contrast (not to mention angle of view - the big drawback of rear projection BTW).
   
   2) HDTV versus EDTV. HD has higher resolution - but only HD broadcasts can take advantage of it. All the rest of the content you throw at it (DVDs, regular TV broadcasts) must be upsampled. (EDTVs have to upsample regular broadcasts too BTW). Resampling can introduce artifacts (blocky shapes). The quality of resampled images varies quite a bit among different manufacturers and is the reason why you shouldn't necessarily go cheap. EDTV is designed to have the same resolution as DVD - and DVDs look amazing on the 42PWD8UK. HDTVs can actually look inferior to EDTVs on DVDs and regular broadcasts because of the upsampling issue. HD content looks pretty darned good on the 42PWD8UK too - even though it must be downsampled. I spent a good long time looking at an HD demo on the HD and ED models of this monitor and found the difference surprising subtle. I haven't regretted the decision so far. Obviously the only major reason to go with HD is that you have HD channels on cable or satellite, and plan to go to blue-ray or HD DVD soon. If these moves are not immenent for you - then don't pay extra for HD. By the time HD fully penetrates, prices will have dropped a lot and it will be close to time for a new TV anyway.
   
   3) Consumer versus Commercial line. The 42PWD8UK is from Panasonic's commercial line. That's why it is sold without a stand, speakers, and without a tuner (and has such a low price). Stand or wall mount is your choice - but you must budget to buy one or the other. I found a Panasonic brand stand for $185 and it's great. Most folks have external cable or satellite boxes so the internal tuner you buy with the consumer line model is wasted money. The fact that HDMI interface is a cost added option is a non-issue with EDTV - since you will not benefit from the higher resolution of that interface. The 42PWD8UK comes with three inputs standard: BNC coax digital composite, Component Video (the three R-G-B cables), and computer SVGA. Trust me - Component Video is good enough. The inclusion of SVGA is awesome too - for those who have a computer in their home entertainment system. As for speakers - a big screen like this screams out for a good surround receiver and 5.1 (or 6.1 or 7.1) channel audio speakers. If you don't invest the extra $500-$1000 that a decent 5.1-7.1 audio setup will run you you are really cheating yourself. Immersive audio is hugely important in home theater and will really augment the great picture you'll get with the 42PWD8UK. Given that you own your own home theater audio setup - or will be derelict if you don't get one - the issue of the 42PWD8UK not including speakers is irrelevent.
   
   4) Panasonic versus the other guys. Short and sweet - there's no better picture at anywhere near the price. At the high end only Hitachi and Pioneer compete. Interesting offerings like HP end up just being rebranded Panasonics. Cheaper units like Philips (much as I normally like their stuff) look too pink on flesh tones and have inferior black detail. Don't get a cheaper HDTV just because it's HD! The resolution difference is negligible compared to overall image quality. Image quality is where the 42PWD8UK rules - and isn't that really the bottom line here?



2. Great TV. Much more affordable that HDTV and it looks pretty much the same. So much so, I bought this TV twice and may buy two more. Make sure you decide if you're going to mount it on the wall or put it on a stand and buy these accessories at the same time that you are buying this tv. You may also need some adapters BNC to RCA etc. All in All...I great buy.



3. This is a beautiful TV. I've had it for 6 months and I am very happy with it. For one, the minimalism of it. I just wanted a monitor. I didn't need a tuner since I have a HD cable box and I didn't need speakers since I have a great surround sound system. Also, I find it distracting that consumer versions of flat screens have all that stuff attached, as one reason people like flat screens are the aesthetics. I think the EDTV picture is excellent, and I feel comfortable I made the right decision to not jump on the HDTV bandwagon right now. I am constantly comparing my EDTV to friend's HDTVs and I think their picture is totally inferior, whether it's DVD or regular television or even an HD broadcast. It's a great buy and a great upgrade from a CRT. Very happy.



4. This is an excellent plasma TV. I have it for little more than 6 months and I am happy that I bought this baby!
   
   I did research for about 8 months before I bought Panasonic TH-42PWD8UK. First thing, look @ at consumer reports or any website for reviews on Plasmas - on top 10 list more than 50% will be from Panasonic. This company knows how to dig plasmas. Second part is you need to decide about your needs - what exactly you are looking for. In my case, I wanted a plasma that's slim & slick. I ddin't want any speakers associated with the plasma for two reasons - the OEM speakers are NEVER decent quality & I didn't want huge looking thing on my wall. This plasma is basically industrial/commercial display - no speakers, no stands. And that was perfect for me as I can just hang it on the wall (I had to buy seperate wall mount).
   
   Another thing to keep in mind - this EDTV not HDTV. To be frank, I still can't understand the hype for HDTV. I don't have HDTV cable so for me it didn't matter. The quality I think equal to or better than HDTV (compared to HDTV plasmas what I had seen in retail stores).
   
   This TV doesn't have any stand or mount so you need to buy something on day 1 - otherwise you won't be able to put it anywhere. I bought the mount from CostCo and happy with that.
   
   For the connections - look @ the other review over here - there' all possible technical details on that one so I won't bore you with those.
   
   In the end, I will say this is a great plasma with awesome picture quality. If you are buying plasma, get yourself decent home theatre system too. Your A/V receiver can handle all the connections to your cable box, DVD, VCR, CD player etc. And finally, get yourself one of the fancy Logitech/harmony universal remote too. I got harmony 880 and love it. Tip - Plasma on wall, nice slick speakers with high output and 1 universal remote to manage everything will impress anyone anytime - including yourself!



5. I've been pretty happy with the performance of the TH-42PWD8UK. I've had it for over a year now. Picture quality from DVD using component cable is very good, and has been what I am using it mostly for. I never feel the need for HD. DVDs looks awesome, as this unit is the native resolution of DVDs. I won't be far off to say that none of the HD sets in the store looks better than this one.
   
   But the reason I am writing this review is my surprise finding of how well it scales 1080i or 720p image when fed such signals. I recently got a Samsung HD tuner, and naturally I set the output to 480p, my TV's resolution. I also tried a Panasonic DVD recorder with HD-tuner, and the picture quality was about the same as the Samsung, very good.
   
   However, while tweaking some settings on the Samsung, I changed the output setting on the back of the unit to 720p and 1080i. I was expecting the TV not to display anything, but much to my surprise, a proper image is displayed. Even to my bigger surprise, the picture looks noticeably sharper and more detailed!! How can that be? The set is not HD! I pondered this for a while and came to the conclusion that the TV must have a much better scaling algorithm than the Samsung tuner.
   
   With HD tuner sending a 1080i signal, picture quality looks astounding! My friend was looking to buy a Panasonic 50" plasma, and came by to take a look at my TV. Both he and his wife were stunned by the picture quality and how it looks better than all the HD units they've seen. Anyway, I am extremely happy with the performance of the scaling algorithm on the TV. If you have HD source, set it to 1080i output and enjoy! You will not be disappointed.
   
   One thing that still puzzles me a bit is why HD materials look sharper and more detailed than DVDs, and I am talking about good quality DVDs here. Since this set is the native resolution of DVD, theoretically it's as good as it will get. HD material should look the same as DVDs, since the end result of what you see, IS 480p.
   
   I wonder if I get an upconverting DVDs, and send the unit a 1080i signal, whether it will look better than the standard DVD. In theory it shouldn't, since scaling 480p to 1080i and scale back would not gain you much, but does it? I guess when my current DVD player dies I'll get a new one and find out.

5 comments about Olevia 532H 32-Inch LCD HDTV.

1. I bought this computer december of 06', on black friday, i ended up getting this tv at around $500, at the time the closest thing was over $1000.
   
   there is one word to describe this awesome tv... perfect.
   
   maybe its the amazing 1080i picture, maybe its the ability to play all my pc games with stunning clarity (crysis,COD4,FEAR) and have this act as a double monitor, or the Xbox 360 1080i graphics, im not sure, but everything i wanted or wished i had from a HDTV i got with this one.



2. After having this product for 5 months, the picture went dead and volume wasn't always working. Kept taking longer and longer to actually turn on and I could only tell this when the volume was working since picture was already out. Called Syntax customer service and they notified me I had to ship my old tv back to them so they could look at it. Took 3 weeks for them to ship the tv back (with a different remote, not sure why). Worked like normal again for about 2 days. Volume doesn't always work. But I didn't bother to call syntax back since it was a pain. I recommend not buying this tv or buying a very long warranty from the store. Looking for another tv and spending the extra money for a better brand, like LG or Sony).



3. That's what it means! I've had mine for about a year. No problems, great picture, average sound (you always need a home stereo or surround system to get the best from TV sound). Menus take a little getting used to. Just one HDMI port for your DVD or BD player - so get a multiple switcher if you need more. Most of us don't.
   
   At $600 currently, this is a steal. I paid nearly $800 then. You can spend two or three times as much and get a little more, but not much more. If you already have a much bigger screen TV, this will be great for another room. If this is your choice for a first digital HD 1080i TV, congratulations - you are on the right page.
   
   No paper user manual. Upgradable ROM via USB port. Make your relatives and neighbors jealous that they paid so much more for a lesser performing HD TV.



4. I have had this TV for about 5 months now and have used most of its features. Overall, I am very happy with my purchase. The picture and audio are very good. I had a Superbowl party and all my friends watched the game on this TV and very were all quite happy. My only complaints so far are:
   
   1) The TV takes some time (around 10-12 secs) to start up. I wish it booted faster
   2) The remote control is not compatible with my Comcast DVR; so i need to use 2 remotes
   
   Given the low price of the TV, I am happy to live with the above mentioned shortcomings. Ofcourse, you know this is not a "top of the line" TV. But if you looking for good quality for an affordable price, you would like this TV



5. Don't buy a Syntax Olevia! I bought one and it died almost to the day the warranty went out. Customer service said I would have to pay to ship it back and pay the parts and labor to fix it and that would cost over half of the TV's cost. They wouldn't offer to help with anything and they said they lost my registration card, the same one they used to call me with to ask me how I liked it a week after I bought the TV. So all I can do is to post this to every blog I can to try to inform others.