1 comments about RCA L32WD250 32-Inch 720p LCD HDTV.

1. I am a frequent RCA user and this LCD Scenium L32WD250 looked stylish out of the box with all the features: various inputs, comfortable user interface, beautiful universal remote, and adaptive picture quality I never saw in Samsung or other brands. I chose it because the price was too good to miss and it had a Wake-up Alarm feature that was my primary condition to weed out a sea of lesser LCD television options. My bonuses included the adjustable PIP function that I could not find in 98% of quality televisions regardless of the size or brand, the refresh rate of the picture, and auto input channel buttons on the remote (you can actually set which input or regular channel is turned on by the button you designate). Note: the Amazon product picture is incorrect, look on RCA website for real one (much prettier).

5 comments about Samsung HPT4254 42-Inch Plasma HDTV.

1. I have been very pleased with my purchase. The picture on this model is incredible. I spent a lot of time researching this purchase. I actually went to Circuit City to compare the picture on this set versus the picture on a comparable Panasonic model and I believe the Samsung TV is superior to the Panasonic. Also, my brother in law has a 50 inch Panasonic 1080P plasma and the picture on my plasma 720 Samsung is significantly better. The delivery service was excellent. I received the set in about a week after the order was placed. All in all, I don't believe you can beat the Amazon price along with the free delivery. The biggest problem I have is that now I don't want to watch TV on any other set in the house.



2. Bought this TV for myself last November and liked it so much bought another for Mom last month. HD picture is as good as any TV costing much more. For the money you cannot find a better TV. Don't be fooled by the need for 1080p when this will give you a picture that is comparable. It has all the bells and whistles that most people want and need. Study the Specs carefully when you buy coz many times people are paying more for features you may not need or use. Very happy with my purchase.



3. the poker room really enjoys it !!
   have a 50" samsung upstairs.
   love it !!
   no complaints on either tv.
   if you open your eyes, explore, and read, it is very user friendly.
   don't use the sound cuz we have surround sound on both.



4. After years and years of suffering with a smaller screen, I finally splurged and went out and bought one of these bad boys. I was not disappointed at all!!
   
   I did a ton of research on the web and then went and looked at the ones I liked at the local "Best Buy". I even brought in my favorite DVD to see how the different models looked in a familiar show. For the price, this was the one I went home and bought online at Amazon.
   
   Why in the world would anyone want to lug a piece of equipment like this anywhere when you can have it delivered for free from Amazon!! My delivery was perfect, but I understand there needs to be a little flexibility when you have to ship this stuff by a heavy weight carrier. I love the fact they bring it in and let me inspect the TV for damage.
   
   The sound is pretty decent. I don't even feel the need to fire up the sound system for daily TV viewing any more:).
   
   The picture is outstanding. I never noticed how much stuff gets purposely blurred out in TV shows before now. Thing like license plates, a protruding nipple, that bloody scene on ABC. It is amazing some of the stuff they blurred out in shows that I never even noticed before getting this TV.
   
   The number of connectors is satisfactory. A network connection would be that extra nice touch. With all the HDMI stuff coming out now days, a 3rd one of those would be handy eventually as well. The USB connection for possible updates was a huge relief to see. I think I might even be able to play some picture from it, but I haven't given that a try yet.
   
   Overall, a very solid buy after having it almost 6 month!



5. After reviewing many TVs, I decided to go with this one. I've had it for 4 months now and love it.
   
   One bit of advice for those about to break into the HD world. When we first plugged in the TV, I thought I did something wrong because the picture didn't take up the entire screen area. What I found out later is that non-HD channels only display in a portion of the screen. I wish there were more HD channels to display on this great TV.

5 comments about Samsung LNT4669 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV.

1. This TV is fabulous...I read all the other reviews before purchasing because we were definitely concerned with glare- as the TV is in our family room with a wall of windows. We've had absolutely no problem with glare at all- literally NO glare. The picture is great, very clear...especially with HD channels. We had been looking for a flat screen for years, and after all the research and looking- we're definitely more than satisfied with our purchase.



2. I searched well over a month before deciding on this particular TV. One of the major factors was that it had to fit into a space no wider than 46 inches in my entertainment center. Most 46" TVs I looked at were too wide or too shy of the space I wanted to fill. Being about 45.5", this one fits perfect. It has a great picture as well. Of course, you do have to subscribe to an HD provider before realizing what a great picture it has. Of note, I found this model in some stores at a much higher price. This one was delivered and set up free of charge through Amazon. My husband and I couldn't be more pleased with the decision to purchase this TV.



3. After several weeks of research and many years of waiting to finally buy an LCD TV, I finally decided on the 4669F. I bought it through Amazon, and couldn't have been happier with the transaction. The delivery company was great to deal with and everything went smoothly. I was truly amazed when we first turned the TV on; it was definitely beyond my expectations. The picture was incredible and the matte finish on this model really does make a difference. We hooked it up to our DISH and surround system via HDMI cables and had no problems at all. Everything looked and worked as expected for about 3 months.
   
   Then one evening we spotted a red dot in the center of the screen. I immediately opened up a trouble ticket with Samsung and within 2 days I got a call from a service rep to set up an in-home appointment. The tech came out looked at the unit for all of 30 seconds and told me he was ordering a new panel. They never explained what was wrong and I didn't ask since I was just happy that it was covered under warranty. I the panel was just replaced a few days ago, and since then it has started to make popping and crackling noises. This occurs mostly when it is powering up or powering down but also sometimes while we are watching TV which is quite annoying.
   
   Although Samsung service has said they will come out again to look at it, I have to say I am a bit disappointed. This was a big purchase for me and I was not expecting to have problems this soon. I know that issues can occur with anything, no matter how much you paid for it, but it still stinks. Although the transaction with Amazon was fantastic, I can't help thinking that if I had paid the extra money for tax and purchased it at a local retail store, I could have exchanged it and not had to deal with multiple repairs. Hopefully all of this will be resolved soon so I can get back to enjoying my beautiful TV.



4. I am speechless when it comes to the picture on the TV, especially whenever I play my Blu-rays on it. The picture cant be anymore clearer. The sound is just fine. I have had no problems what so ever with anything so far. Great product. Keep it up Samsung.



5. I have owned this tv for about 1-1/2 months and am very pleased with the entire purchase experience. In fact, another family member recently ordered the 40 inch version based from her viewing and my past experience with Amazon and the "white glove" delivery service. That alone should also be a consideration.
   When I received the tv, it was brought into the house, unpacked, inspected for damage and set onto the old tv stand. Although I do not subscribe to a cable service and rely on the "old fashioned" antennae, the picture was absolutely amazing when we powered the tv on. The delivery driver couldn't believe I would get a signal, let alone several digital channels over the air, not previously known they even existed. I don't have any idea what's being programmed, because they're not listed anywhere. Oh well, I won't complain receiving 9 additional stations free!
   My choice narrowed down to the Sony XBR and the Samsung based on what I've learned and seen visiting the big box stores. I was always annoyed by the reflections of lamps during night viewing and the windows during the day. The matte finish on both tv's was the way to go for me and proved to be the answer; no reflections what so ever.
   I'm not a techie freek so I really did pay so much attention to the nitty gritty, but knew that the 120 hz motion control was desireable, as well as the ability to view pictures from my camera and connect a computer to the set for possible future applications. (that was kind of neat)
   I've read numerous comments regarding this model and felt that the overwhelming number of 5 star ratings must mean something. After comparing the Samsung against the Sony (size, features, picture quality, etc.), it comes down to cost. To me it was a no brainer. I saved approximately $1000. You do the math.
   So far I haven't had any issues and am still learning what feature does what. My only hope is that if I do have a problem, Samsung will provide the needed service. Previous comments note that Samsung's customer service is not as good as they should be. Again, I hope I don't have to find out. All in all, this tv has great picture, and that's what I wanted.
   I suggest you stop comparing and pondering, just place the order. You'll be happy when it finally arrives and your watching what you like to watch. Others will be asking you the same questions you had. Enjoy!

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

2 comments about Haier HL19W 19-Inch LCD HDTV.

1. Facial color was poor no matter what I adjusted.
   Aspect ratio was incorrect in some modes. For example with a high definition picture the aspect ratio was 16:7.5 instead of the correct 16:9. When "Wide" was selected the aspect ratio changed to 16:10 still not correct.
   The TV is advertized as being HDTV although there is no mention of HDTV in the manual or on the box. The box contains the words High Resolution. The quality with HD signals is not very good.
   The instructions in the manual to do the necessary scan for stations is hidden on page 22. Should be up front considering this is one of the first things to do.
   Unit is being returned for refund.



2. Its all good...I have used it a lot since my day of purchase.
   Best part is that I use it as my PC monitor and switch btw that with TV(there are not many with this combination and for this price)
   
   What is missing-
   1. Aspect Ratio...it is a tad less..but for a 19inch TV..I wouldn't expect much

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.

No comments about Philips 52PFL5603D 52-Inch 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 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.

4 comments about Sharp LC19SB24U 19-Inch 720p LCD HDTV, Black.

1. I'll put this here because I'm not subscribing to some goofy forum just to give a review, and all the Verizon Fios customers are trying to figure out what's up. They are giving these away free with their service bundle, but can tell you nothing, I mean nothing. They don't have to because people are willing to walk on coals to sign up. Straight scoop, picture is great on this tv. All the options in the world, so you have to mess with the setup a bit. Hint: choose picture option vivid. Fios is way good enough, standard without HD, on this 19". I say save your HD money for the big screen set. Hooked up Phillips 5982 DVD 1080i upconverter to this, $59. Way cool resolution and picture. Check out the reviews on that. Also, the sound truly is inadequate, but not a problem, because every 19" is way inadequate. No worries. It has a headphone mini jack output in the back. It also has optical audio out in the back, but that is way overkill for a 19". Back to the mini jack. Hooked up Cambridge Soundworks, $79, oh my my. You can hook up any PC speakers to this. Went direct, no additional volume control needed. You control the sound through your blaster. It cuts off the TV speakers, like you need those. Also, this TV has the same specs as the Aquos version, except no goofy magnetic remote control. Oh, yeah, use your Fios STB remote to run the TV, DVD and STB. It works great. Follow the insructions provided by Verizon on the remote control, make all the units turn off and on at the same time.



2. Purchased at Circuit City at a great price but you get what you pay for.
   1 month after the purchase the HDMI port no longer worked and 3 months later the set will not power up. The warranty is 90 days parts and labor and 1 year parts so in order to fix the set I will have to shell out more than I paid for it in labor costs. Currently pleading with support to pay for the labor since it's only 1 month out of warranty.



3. When I finally received my free HDTV from Verizon (about three months after it was promised) I couldn't wait to try it out to see if it really worked. All I can say is WOW! Loaded with features, beautiful picture when used with FiOS, easy to use--well worth the wait.
   
   The set fits in great where I wanted it to. It's not the biggest TV in the world (what do you expect for free?) but it's a great little set.



4. If you're a college student, who needs a TV and your school has digital cable availibility. Then this would be a great TV.