Toshiba REGZA 42RV535U 42-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

This is my first LCD TV and I'm very happy with it. Spent a lot of time over the last month checking out various 40-47" LCD TVs and finally decided on the Toshiba REGZA 42RV535U because of its quality and price (total $912). Due to my experience with both Toshiba and Samsung I favored these brands but there's no shortage of attractive LCDs to choose from many companies. Samsung costs more and offered no competitive model or price to this Toshiba. I found the Toshiba XD-E500 upconversion DVD player online for $76, which produces an excellent picture on the 42RV535U. Add the $13 I spent for 3 HDMI 6' cables (online too) and I'm watching HDTV for a grand total Of $1001! The non-HD TV channels look good too (I'm on Time Warner cable) and in my small living room the sound (cranked up) has proven to be more than adequate. I have checked up on the Sony HT-CT100 Sound Bar Home Theater and may add it later. I have no Blu-Ray plans for present - will take some convincing and much price dropping for me to participate.

My wife and I physically set up the TV on its stand and placed it in position. If you know what you're doing, the electronic part of the setup should be brief but I took longer fumbling a bit over the cable box/TV accommodations. But all went well finally.

Let me add perhaps the most important thing. Once set up, I restarted the Marvin Gaye at Montreux DVD that I had been using to hook up the XD-E500 and let it rip. What a reward for all the effort of buying this TV - my TV watching will never be the same.

Reviewed By : Thomas E. Williams "diddleydaddy" : Nov 23, 2008

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Pioneer PRO 111FD - 50" Elite KURO plasma TV with built-in network media player

The Pro-111FD Kuro ('black') certainly lives up to its name. It produces jaw-dropping, deep blacks that make its true-to-life colors look all the more beautiful and stunning. The wide range of user-selectable as well as automatic features that protect it from 'burn-in', largely eliminated this as a concern for me about buying a plasma TV. The Energy Save feature of this TV also reduces the long-standing concern over the cost of operating a plasma TV.

The picture is as bright as it is beautiful, putting it on a par with some LCDs for brightness. The user-selectable automatic light sensor and automatic color sensor work well to automatically adjust the picture brightness/color for different room lighting conditions.

Sound output from the (optionally) side-mounted speakers is excellent, with automatic as well as user-cusomizable settings to adjust the sound for a wide variety of tastes and environments.
There are 4 HDMI input terminals and other outputs, as well as a USB port, Ehternet cable port, and PC input terminal that provided me with a wide range of interconnection possibilities for my home theater set up - with lots of expandability left over.

The seven AV settings (picture presets), except for Optimized, can be customized. There are two 'hidden' modes, ISF-Day and ISF-Night, that will appear if this TV is calibrated through the service menus, and can be locked so the settings can't be changed without accessing the service menu again. Although the Standard AV setting is the only one that can be customized for EACH input (cable, satellite, DVD, BluRay), the other customizable settings that are shared between inputs provide enough versatility to support most tastes - or needs.

Buttons on the remote are somewhat small and some are not backlit, making selection in a dark environment less friendly than it could be. On the plus side, the remote is comfortable in the hand and can be programmed to operate a variety of devices using codes (provided in the User's Guide) or via a learning mode.

This Pioneer Elite is truly a class act. Even the User's Manual, with it's glossy, deep black cover, smacks of class! The absolutely stunning picture on this TV vastly outweighs any minor shortcomings this plasma TV may have. In short, if you love home theater, movies, and watching high def TV, give this Kuro very, VERY serious consideration. It is, without a doubt, worth the price. I have absolutely no regrets about purchasing this fantastic TV and would recommend it to anyone - in a heartbeat!

Reviewed By : GErianne : Dec 13, 2008

Click to see Product Details & Price of Pioneer PRO 111FD - 50" Elite KURO plasma TV with built-in network media player

Viewsonic NX2232W 22-Inch 720p LCD HDTV

I've only had this monitor/TV for about 2 months, but from the beginning it has given me spotty performance. I only paid in the mid-two-hundred range for this at Staples, but I agree with the reviewer who said you get what you pay for (at least where this thing is concerned).

My usage for the TV is in my living room. I don't connect it to a PC at all, but wanted the ability to do so when I moved up to a much larger and more expensive digital TV set. The color is good when I am on Hi-Def channels, but I think digital is digital so that's probably to be expected. The color on analog looks washed out on most channels.

I am comparing this coloration to my Acer 22" LCD monitor which I use to watch TV channels on my Media Center PC. Either the PC tuners are better (I have 2 installed in my PC) or the way color is displayed is better on the PC monitor. Either way, it's kind of strange that a regular computer monitor looks better than a TV set. I once had a 19" ViewSonic CRT monitor and it seemed fine at the time.

Another problem I have is the way I lose my digital signals randomly. I sometimes have to turn off and back on this TV just to get them back. It happens even on the strongest of stations--when one digital channel goes, they ALL go. On top of that, I have had this TV get stuck on the channel 1008. There never has been a channel 1008 where I have lived! Once I am stuck on that number, I can change channels, but the number always says "1008". Another sign of bad reliability in my opinion.

But the worst thing I had happen was when my remote control stopped working after only 6 weeks. I originally thought it was the remote, but pushing remote buttons caused my Windows MCE PC infrared receiver to blink red as if it was receiving the signal (this is actually a good test since it blinks even when the remote is not compatible with Windows). I had even bought a universal remote to make sure and that did not work either.

I called ViewSonic (who asked for my address before even giving me any idea they could help--that's got to be some kind of telemarketing thing and I asked not to be put on any lists, but I bet I will be) on a Sunday. It's great that they answer the phones quickly even on weekends, but after waiting for the phone rep to go look up what my problem could be for over 2 minutes, I was told I'd have to pay to mail this TV back and that it was probably the IR receiver in the TV, which I knew anyway. It's heavy and would cost me more than I think it's worth at this point so I declined.

What I did next I only recommend to people who don't mind voiding the warranty. I have a background in electronics so I figured I'd open this thing up and see if I could buy a replacement IR module or receiving LED. Turns out there's this little board right behind the little IR window under the power button. I disconnected it and pushed the power button a bunch of times. I plugged it back into the set, closed everything back up, and turned the TV on. Guess what? It started working!!! And to think they wanted me to mail it in so they could do that.

All of the remote buttons work perfectly from a good distance away so I think maybe the connection was jammed electronically and just need to be disconnected for a second. This repair did take me about an hour, but that's because this TV is nearly impossible to breach. You'll need heavy duty screwdrivers for prying it open and there are quite a few screws, some hidden. After this experience, however, I would not buy another ViewSonic unless it was a plain monitor. They don't know TVs at all, in my opinion.

Reviewed By : airfirehorse : April 20, 2008

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LG 37LG60 37-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV, Gloss Piano Black with Scarlet Red

I have owned the 37LG60 for about 6 weeks now and I am very impressed.

Setup: Out of the box, everything went fairly well and the packaging was good. The directions for attaching the stand are a bit lacking in that there are two different sizes of screws provided and it is up to the user to figure out which ones fit in which holes. The menus for A/V setup are clear and concise for basic set up and there are a plethora of advanced options for those that want to dive in.

Video: The picture is excellent. At the time I'm writing this, there is only one 37" consumer LCD HDTV that supports both 1080p resolutions and 120hz refresh rates. Visually any HD content played on the set is stunning, and even standard definition looks fine for almost everything. Much better than some less expensive sets that I looked at. There are almost never any visible jagged lines on SD content. The color and contrast were a bit off out of the box but that is normal with HD sets and 2 minutes of adjusting fixed it. I didn't even have time to run a calibration DVD or Blu-Ray yet and I'm already very happy. Just a note for those that are planning on purchasing a 1080p TV; at 37", in order to take full advantage of 1080p (be able to see the difference between 720 and 1080) you need to be sitting about 4 feet from the TV. With smaller sets, the difference is less noticeable. If you are looking to save money, getting a 720p TV would not be a bad idea. That being said, I love the way the 37LG60 looks and would recommend it on picture quality alone.

Inputs: The good news is there are tons of inputs. 4 HDMI, 2 Composite, a VGA for use as a computer monitor and more. The bad news is that I use a Panasonic Blu-Ray player and a TiVo HD with the system, both plugged into HDMI ports and most of the time when pausing or fast forwarding/rewinding content from either player, I get a high pitched clicking/static type of noise coming from the speakers. It is very faint, but I can still hear it. Since this is my first HDTV, I wasn't sure if that was a common problem, but after asking around, found nobody else that had ever heard of such a thing. I contacted LG online support and was told, "I am sorry, I have found out that can sometimes happen with digital but unfortunately there are not any adjustments that can be made for that issue." I'm going to try the Composite inputs to see if the problem exists there as well. It is not loud enough to make me return the set, but this is the issue that keeps me from rating a full 5 Stars.

Sound: The only other place where this TV is lacking is the built in speakers, which work fine for day to day use, but if you want to fully enjoy a movie experience, you will want to buy a sound system to replace the onboard speakers.

Visual appeal: The set itself is sturdy and attractive. The "scarlet" back is beautiful and the edges can be seen from almost any angle. The gloss black front and mirror finish base give it a classy look. I prefer matte finishes on TV's, which eliminate glare from other light sources, but this is easily overlooked, as the set is gorgeous.

Support: LG's online support was prompt and friendly but not entirely helpful in dealing with the clicking/static noise I am experiencing.

Overall, I'm giving the set 4 stars and keeping it in my house. I will edit my review once I've had a chance to try Composite cables.

Reviewed By : Aaron Steffens : Dec 17, 2008

Click to see Product Details & Price of LG 37LG60, Gloss Piano Black with Scarlet Red

Sharp Aquos LC42D85U 42-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV

I originally bought a Sharp D64U, and it arrived a little defective. I'm not sure if this is Amazon's fault, or if it's Sharp's fault. I'll go with Amazon's fault as I have suspicions that the TV wasn't entirely new. So, I upgraded and had it replaced with a D85U. However this new TV was also a little defective, as the sound on the right speaker didn't work right. This I think is Sharp's fault, and it makes me wonder at Sharp's quality and durability. So, I finally had this new one replaced as well with the same model D85U, and thankfully this third TV works good so far.

Pros:-Picture looks good-Trim is pretty slim, maximizing space and making it look slick-Very light-Top of the line, with 1080p and 120hz-Price, compared to Samsung and Sony-Returning/exchanging TV's from Amazon.com was easy

Cons:-The remote is long and clunky, looks and feels cheap, and is poorly designed (I might consider giving this TV 5 stars if the remote was cooler)-Quality issues? (Oh and I have not seen any banding problems on the TV)-Based only on reviews I've read, Samsung and Sony have better picture quality and blacker blacks (which you pay for in the price).

Like most people, I did a lot of research in buying a big TV. The consensus that I've found is that Samsung is the best, followed closely by Sony. However, I think that the cost of buying a Sony(XBR6) or a Samsung(650 or higher) will only get you a marginally better product, at a much higher price. Sharp is a respectable brand and this is their top of the line 42in. I got this TV and a free Sharp Blu-Ray player for a total of $1,040 dollars shipped from Amazon. You'd be hard-pressed to find a deal this good. I feel that I have definitely gotten the best bang for my buck.

Reviewed By : D. Yee : Jan 11, 2009

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Philips 42PFL7403D/F7 42-Inch 1920 x 1080p LCD HDTV

After a good deal of online research and close looks at competing HDTV models, I concluded that the 42PFL7403D compares favorably to competing models costing 50-75% more and purchased one.

The Philips 42PFL7403D/F7 gets 5 stars because the picture is truly superb. When up-close and viewing Blu-ray content at 1080p/24, the picture on this 120Hz LCD is about as good as HDTV gets at any price range.

Furthermore, when viewing standard (480i/p) TV sources, this set's video processing engine does a respectable job of smoothly interpolating the standard 480 lines of source to fill the 1080 lines of HD picture screen (for those who don't realize it, this takes some serious mathematics and processing power to cleanly scale the viewing area of a video stream by 500% :-). Since most 1080p HDTVs do a respectable job of simply displaying a clean 1080i/p signal as seen in electronics stores, I view this capability as a key differentiator between high-end and low-end HDTVs (although perhaps of diminishing value as HD broadcasts are becoming the norm). In fact, the upsampled 480p picture on this set is comparable if not superior to the picture on my old trusty 32" Sony Trinitron XBR tube TV.

Other positives for me include the 42PFL7403's construction, styling, and audio. The clear Plexiglas around the perimeter directs rather substantial sound to the front to complement two rear-facing woofers. Thus, the 42PFL7403's 30W audio, when properly-adjusted, should be strong and clear enough to satisfy those who haven't decked out their viewing area with a home theater setup and positioned speakers all about the place...

In the US we don't often see Philips' better HDTVs next to the more expensive Sonys, Samsungs and Panasonics outside of Costco or Sam's Club. This "7000 series" model is Philips' top-of-the-line 42-inch TV sans their "Ambilight" feature (I couldn't find a 42PFL7603D in the US other than direct from Philips).

Summary: an excellent TV with top picture quality and styling at a surprisingly good price point.
The remainder of this review gets still more geeky and also lists some gripes about the 42PFL7403D/F7 for those who care...

First, this class of larger 1080p TVs make the quality - or lack of quality - of digital content very clear to the viewer. It's important to know whether you're judging the quality of the HDTV set or the content being viewed. I've read many user reviews of HDTVs that slam the subject HDTV for what amounts to poor-quality content - their "older conventional TV looked better". These claims aren't surprising, because their old sets didn't magnify content encoding flaws by spreading them over five times the original viewing area. The old adage of GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out) certainly applies to modern home entertainment.

I get DirecTV and have their HD DVR (HR22-700) plugged into the Philips 42PFL7403D via HDMI. Like all digital satellite and cable providers, DirecTV compresses the digital signals they deliver to conserve bandwidth. The results of their overly-aggressive compression are clearly visible up close, but the Philips' "digital noise reduction" function appears to do a pretty good job of compensating at all resolutions - things really look pretty good from a comfortable viewing distance.

I do have a few arguably minor gripes about the 42PFL7403...

Gripe one: I currently use only two HDMI inputs to the TV, but there is no way to remove the numerous unused inputs from the rotation of a remote control. So, my DirecTV remote has a "TV Input" button that normally selects the next TV input in a rotation. The first press of this button pops up the Philips TV's list of all 10 inputs, while subsequent presses selects the next input. Unfortunately, the TV takes time with each press to switch to the temporarily-selected input and conclude that there's no signal coming in... With the TV's own remote, one can use the up/down arrows before selecting the desired input. The DirecTV remote can control the TV pretty well, but it's a pain to switch it into full TV mode to change sources, then switch back to controlling the DVR...

Gripe two: The standard setting options like "Movie", "Sports" etc, combine BOTH picture and audio settings, so the relative volume and audio processing emphasis is quite different in each mode. The set maintains a single "personal" settings memory that one can switch back to, but only if there's been no attempt to modify the audio or video settings in "Sports" or "Movie" or whatever... Any such mode modification immediately becomes your new "Personal" settings config. That said, after growing bored with trying out these options, one can certainly adjust the audio to sound good and stay that way. Of course, those with a home theater receiver for audio control won't notice...

Overall, so-far-so good. I cheerfully recommend this TV to my friends.

Reviewed By : B. Meek : Dec 20, 2008

Click to see Product Details & Price of Philips 42PFL7403D/F7

Samsung LN52A630 52-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color

One thing that always helped me make a decision between plasma and LCD sets was the fact that LCD's used a matte screen to reduce or eliminate reflections and glare. When I began shopping for a 2nd LCD for the home I wanted to go with Samsung as we had excellent experience with our 40" LCD. I was surprised and disappointed when the Samsung models I was interested in had a "new" glossy screen. The LN52A650 and LN46A650 were both sets I was looking at. I really wanted a bigger screen than the 46" but didn't want to spend too much money.

Our TV room has windows on every wall and a gloss screen was just not an option. After an obsessive amount of research I found reviews for the Samsung 630 line. I bought our first set at Ultimate Electronics in Minneapolis and thought I would go again. They didn't even carry the 630 line. Its seems the 650 line is being pushed by most retailers. Had it not been for the reviews on this site and others I would not have known the 630 line was out or that it had a matte screen.

Onto the set. The picture is one of the best I've seen on any TV. Just fantastic. There are a lot of adjustments that can be made to tweak the picture. Many sites I've seen on tweaks actually recommend using standard settings and backing down back lighting and brightness. The idea being real life isn't viewed in dynamic or sport settings on the TV. That's up to the viewer and I haven't found the perfect setting yet though I'm getting closer.

The HD channels are beautiful, crisp, clear and sharp. Most of us still have to deal with some of the standard DEF channels. These channels are OK but a lot depends on the signal you get from your service. We have some that are better than others. Movies are excellent both standard and of course B/R. The 120 HZ is great for sports. Its a matter of personal taste for movies. It gives a somewhat 3-D appearance to movies, making them look like video instead of film in certain situations. Some cinema experts would say the 120HZ detracts from the film feel. I turn it it off for movies, but again this is personal taste.

Some reviews really slam the sound of this TV. In general TV's alone don't usually have concert hall sound. That being said I think the sound on this set is very good with some adjustments. We are hooked up to a big sound system but for every day use the set's own sound works very well. If you look at the slim depth of the TV you really shouldn't expect punchy, deep bass. If you are looking for cinema sound, you really should consider a system to enhance the experience and not depend on this or any flat screen set to take the sound beyond what's normal for most sets. Bottom line here is that for basic viewing the set is just fine and the sound is good.

Set up is easy, the remote is nice and lights up at night. The "Touch of Red" they talk about is hardly noticeable. I had to look hard to see it in the right lighting. Its not like the 650's. The color does appear if there is some backlighting behind the TV. I personally like it but its very hard to notice. It is there though.

I bought the set at Circuit City and they matched the Amazon price which is very good for this set and size.

We have the set of our dreams. Big but not too big, nice looking and well,,,, the picture is unreal! After reading a number of reviews, this set specs out nearly identical to the 650 line. The dynamic contrast ratio is slightly lower 40,000 to 1 compared to the 650's 50,000 to 1, but that is said to be related to the 650's glossy screen in part. C-Net reviews rated the 650 as a "similar product" to the 630 and the 650's picture received an outstanding review. The picture is on par with some of the best plasmas and as good as any other LCD out there according to the review and from what I've seen. The Samsungs have been getting high marks on picture quality and the LN52A630 is at the top. Again don't sweat the contrast ratio in comparison with the 650. The matte screen of the 630 is PERFECT for bright rooms! I stood in the store comparing reflections off of the 2 sets and found that we needed the matte screen. As far as features go, I found them to be adequate. The series 7 and 8 seem to have more inputs and outputs and some other things that don't deal with picture quality. The price jumps and to me is not worth it, but they are very nice. The key to the 630 is the matte screen. Though I should say its not a completely "sandpaper flat" matte finish like some of the older models. It has some gloss that doesn't reflect and by no means is a glossy screen.

Some of this review has been updated since our purchase. I hope it helps people decide between models within in the Samsung line. They are all nice.

If you need a matte screen but still want the 120HZ and new technology the Samsung 630 line is the way to go. Its one of the nicest pictures amongst ALL flat screens to date.

Reviewed By : Gio : Dec 21, 2008

Click to see Product Details & Price of Samsung LN52A630