HDTV Reviews

Where do I start! I bought this T.V. in december of 2003 for a family christmas present and it lasted 2 weeks before I lost the picture. I called the store and they replaced the t.v. which I thought was very nice but the screen had numerous scratches right out of the box. The manager saw them and said he would fax the order to get it fixed. A month later, a repairperson came to my house but he had the part to fix the picture and not the scratches. He had no knowledge of the scratches but he would place the order to get it fixed.
April rolled around and I lost the picture again on the new tv. I was a little discouraged considering this was not some 100.00 t.v. from Walmart, I paid a lot money for a television that was just not lasting, this was two t.v.'s in four months. I called Phillip's, thankfully I still had a warranty, but I found out they had closed there repair centers. They had a local repair shop come get the t.v. and I asked the Phillips rep. if they got the new screen yet. Now comes the battle!!!
Phillips said they would repair the t.v. but not the screen because they said they never recieved the order. The screens were only on warranty for 30 days and it was 3 months later. I explained to the phillips repair rep. that the store I bought it from faxed the order the same day. She told me that they closed their centers, here in florida, around that time so they do not have that information. Somehow this is my fault and I was told to call there customer service line. I called the number and I was told it was not their problem. I asked to speak to a supervisor, they refused to do it, then I asked for the number to Phillips headquarters which I found out does not exist but I could write a letter to them(still have not heard back from them) keep in mind this is the CUSTOMER SERVICE line. The customer service is based out of the carribean somewhere, I paid a couple thousand dollars for a t.v., had 2 different t.v.'s that could not last 5 months and Phillip's refused to help me.
The end result was I got the t.v. back a month and a half later,turns out it was a manufactures defect, the screen was fixed by the store that I bought the t.v. from because they could not get to Phillips either. It was the most frustrating time I have ever had and now I am going to purchase the extended warranty as I do not trust this t.v.
It is a great t.v. when it works, but I also have a Toshiba big screen that is not HDTV and in four years time I have never had a problem. So in closing I should caution"BUYER BEWARE"

I had the unique (yet torturous) pleasure of accompianing my friend to Best Buy where he purchased this tv about a year ago. I have used it countless times since then, and in my opinion it is the finest non-plasma television I have seen.

The screen is absolutely humungous--you don't know 60 inches until you've seen it in person! The tiny picture here does not do justice to this behemoth.

I hope to purchase this television for myself later this year, and I know I will enjoy it as much as I did the first time I saw it in the store. I just hope it will fit through my door!

I saw the same TV at Best Buy and was happy when I came to Amazon and could buy it for over $600 less. When people come over they think that it is a $5,000 HD-Ready TV.

We are very happy with the size and the value! It is very fun watching DVD's on and the picture looks great!

Well the title says it all. I did alot of research before buying the Samsung txn3271hf premier series 32 inch dynatflat HDTV. Cost 1000 from bestbuy, I wanted the Sony version but it was 300 dollars more. Right out of the box, it looked great but I started noticing ways they had cut corners to make the TVs so cheap. The remote was very cheaply made with minimal functions and very light weight. The visual quality was worse than even the Zenith and Advent model of the same specs. Color was bland and no amount of tweaking and configuration could adjust the picture to a satifactory setting. For 1000 dollars on a HDTV it was no better than a Sony wega analog television that is considerably cheaper at 32 inches. Even when playing DVD it wasnt that great, in fact if you inspect carefully you can see a grey bar of scan lines running across from bottom to top of screen while playing DVD which was annoying. Also on widescreen I noticed that the top and bottom border of the wide screen was not parallel to the borders of the monitor, thereby resulting in a picture that looks slightly concave. When the screen goes black I also saw bars of different shade of black on the screen which I've seen one other review of a samsung television that had the same problem.

I must admit I am very critical when it comes to eletronics. I knew what I was doing, everything was hooked up for optimal performance even with a Monster Video 3 component video cable (retail 90 dollar cable), and progressive scan DVD surround system. In the end I traded the thing in for a Sony Wega HDTV. 300 dollars more but I've never been happier. You really do get what you pay for. No point in spending 1000 on a HDTV that isnt up to HDTV standards.

I am very impressed with this tv. As far as I could find, it is by far the cheapest 32" flat screen HDTV you can buy! The speakers sound much better than I expected. The picture on regular cable tv is great and dvds are fabulous.

I would have liked an additional audio output, but other than that I am very pleased with the purchase.

Just got the Samsung 32" HDTV Flat Screen TV. Awesome features like the ability to adjust screen format with the remote on the fly. PIP is tremendous. Built in speaker system delivers amazing surround sound simulation for tv programs. Pause/ still feature is great. Best of all is the picture. Amazingly sharp and clear with tremendous depth and clarity. If you want a TV that's ready for HDTV when it becomes more refined and mainstream this is the one!!!!! All for under a 1,000 bucks!

An excellent choice for those on a budget who want in on the surging market of hdtv's. It has enough inputs to cover dvd, vcr, cable box or satellite receiver. Easy to switch aspect ratio from 16:9 to 4:3. Did have some problems due to no explanation of which audio feature was best among the selections available. The picture is a bit fuzzy seen from extremely close range, but fine overall quality. Bought this tv as a second hdtv for the bedroom and it "fits the bill". Excellent "bang for the buck".

Bought this TV in early January. The box itself is very attractive, not bulky and very easy to set up. It has handles on the back and wheels on the bottom that make moving it around very easy for two people. My wife and I were able to move it all around our living room with ease to get it in the right place. I was dissappointed with the picture. It is not as sharp as I was expecting. We just watched the super bowl on it and the players, numbers and certain details from the mid- to far away camera angles are blurry and fuzzy. When the camera views are up close, there is no problem, the picture is very sharp, but from a distance it appears to be out of focus. While it is still early, I guess I would say for the price it is a good buy, but in retrospect, I think I would have spent the additional money to get me into the next higher quality category.

THE BEST MONEY THAT I HAVE SPENT IN YEARS. EVERYTHING ABOUT THE TV IS PERFECT, AND THE 2 REVIEWS THAT I SAW ON THIS TV ARE TOTALLY WRONG, GREAT PICTURE AND SOUND. IF YOU WANT A HD TV IN WIDE SCREEN THEN BUY THIS ONE.

Worked OK for about two months then the picture folded up and completely vanished. Philips refered us to a local shop which came promptly, unfortunately a defective part would take about 4 weeks to get. After four weeks, it was expected in another two weeks. Then another week. Then another week. After the shop e-mailed Philips and got no response they gave up checking, I started calling Philips. That was a month ago. Each week Philips tells me the part will arrive next week (well, there was one time that the part was arriving that day, but then the next day it wasn't there, so it would be another week).

So Philips somehow keeps manufacturing and selling this model, but they don't have the part to fix my defective set--after almost four months. How do they do it?

For an item that costs thousands, manufacturers should provide better support than this. There won't be any Philips products in my future.

I would love to give this tv a five. I am no expert but it is very nice. my father has a 61" sony and this one has a way better picture. my problem is that it arrived with a crack in the screen and i have written two emails to amazon and have not received a response. the tv "in general" is a good bargin. if my problem ever gets fixed I would defiently recommend it to anyone.

We bought this HD Tv in March and couldn't be happier with it. We've now added HD cable to the house! The sports programs we've watched have been amazing. The picture quality is excellent. The only problem is with the remote for where Philips put the "AV" switch - under this concealed area that's a pain to open at times. Other than that, we'd buy this tv again in an instant. We bought it at $1800 with no delivery and no sales tax. After more research, we could not find a better deal anywhere - internet or local stores.

be careful, this is a RPTV (rear projection tv) its not an LCD monitor, it is in the wrong category as of the date of this post.

I recently purchased (not from Amazon.com) a Philips Cineos 55" HDTV. Please be aware of an issue concerning the picture images. After hooking up the set and turning it on for the first time, I discovered the picture quality was very poor. The screen reflected "rainbow-like" images, almost dream-like. I wanted to eliminate that the cable was causing the pronounced picture distortion, so I hooked up a smaller TV and compared pictures through the use of a splitter. The picture on the small TV was fine while the Cineos was not. Needless to say, I was very disappointed. Now for the good news! I contacted Tweeter, with whom I purchased the TV, and the salesman gave me a "Rapid Response Team" number to call. After the call, Tweeter sent a TV technician to my home. He too confirmed the fact that there was a rainbow effect. Tweeter promptly exchange the TV with a new one the very next day!! I'm happy to say the second Cineos delivers the same outstanding picture quality that I saw in the showroom!!!

I wanted a widescreen (16:9) HD 27 inch tube TV. A search for "widescreen HD 27 HDTV" on Amazon gave me this one, and the specs and price looked good. The photo looks sort of widescreen. IT IS NOT! This is a normal 4:3 TV, not the newer 16:9 widescreen format.
If you want a 4:3 screen, then this HD-capable TV is a true value. The soft-touch buttons on the front are classy, although scrolling through the screen inputs is a bit tedious. It has two component HD inputs, and four yellow composite video inputs, but only one s-video input, and that is on the side panel. Strange. And when you plug in a yellow composite video source into the side, it overrides one of the rear inputs.
I am exchanging this for the 26" Samsung 2670WHF widescreen HD-capable TV that actually has a widescreen.

The "heat sensitive" buttons detect too much - we will be watching tv and the volume and/or channels will just start to go up...and up...and up. Once they start, there's no stopping them. It is so frustrating!

Shortly after hooking it up to the cable box, I noticed a translucent blue green bloch about 3 inches in diameter in the upper left corner of the screen. I tried different sources (dvd) and various settings, but it didn't change anything.

Aside from that, I simply could not adjust the picture such that the colors looked as good as my old sony analog tv which I had running beside it for comparison. The difference in resolution was very noticable, however the color on the zenith was inferior (in my opinion) to the sony (especially on skin tones).

After looking at a host of tube HDTVs, I chose the Zenith C32V28 as the only reasonably priced model that allowed full use of the digital circuitry: I was able to conveniently display a computer output at a reasonable (800x600) resolution. I can permanently connect a dedicated PC in the back, and can connect my laptop to the front. The only disappointment: you can't put the computer display in a PIP window. As a TV, the Zenith has a great picture (the factory color presets were too saturated for me, but can be adjusted), good but not excellent sound, and a good array of controls and features. I wish there were 2 HDTV level inputs instead of one, so you could connect a non-interlaced DVD player as well as HDTV. Overall, a good buy for the money.

This product will arrive defective. It is not a true 27-inch TV as the so-called regular TV viewing mode of 4.3 gives you 2 inch black bars on the side, and stretches the people vertically. If you go to the other modes, either the people are squashed vertically or the sides are smeared in a blur. When you complain to Westinghouse they will ignore you. When you tell Amazon they are sending out not only defective, but misrepresented merchandise (27") they will advise you to sell it to some other poor sucker on their website so they can take more money from you.

So far so good iv'e had this unit about one month and I'm delighted so far.
Strengths: Great picture(Awesome), compared to plasma tv's, not much of a difference. Sound quality is great as well, with built in 8' speakers and integrated surround sound with a subwoofer connection as well.

Weak Points: The remote control is a lil' more complicated than most but if you have a universal remote you'll be okay. It is a bit on the heavy side(about 50lbs) so wallmounting is questionable but if you have the correct brackets you should be fine.

All in All a great value, a lil' cheaper that others in it's catagory. For those who download movies off of the net, it's Ideal for PC use as well as Sat and Cable.

This is a fantastic unit. We decided to enter the high-tech world and go for this Westinghouse LCD wide screen TV. Ultra sharp and ultra bright picture and SO light weight! Being able to enjoy DVD movies the way they were meant to be seen is fantastic. Also being able to use with our computer is such a great feature.
Hope Westinghouse brings out a DVD Player soon. Will buy one as soon as they do! No disappointments. we are very happy!

BUYING USED

Think about it, There is no way in your lifetime people are going to give away a 15K Plasma for 2k.
IF the seller asks to use an ESCROW service, ditch it.
I was interesed in buying a nice new plasma for $2,100 but realized that the whole escrow website was a scam

http://pub135.ezboard.com/fauctionnewsallfrm2.showMessage?topicID=95.topic
I got the same letters as posted on this message board

I've seen this monitor on display at a retail outlet and wish I could afford to buy one. The picture is bright, crisp, detailed. Colors are vivid. It's presence is rivaled only by the Toshiba 50HP82 and the Panasonic TH-50PHD5UY, both 50" screens. The Zenith has PIP (like the Toshiba), many other plasma sets do not. You need an external tuner, like the Sony SAT-HD200 (if you have Directv) and speakers are extra. If you have no budget and you really need 60", the Zenith is the one. Make sure you search online retailers for the best price.

The tv is one of the best i have gotten so far. It was given to me as a present from CRORY but when I turned it on, it was the best. The Picture is clear,and very lifelike, I say on of the best tv's out there, there is no flaw in it, I think the price is right for a TV this good

The DCDi chip is great (for DVI only, see below), but the Samsung player absolutely CRUSHES black levels and it is totally Samsung's fault. It does not pass blacker than black at all. Night scenes in DVDs are almost totally invisible. I have a $2,000 Sony TV that was just recently ISF calibrated by an expert ISF calibrationist with years of experience (a 9 hour process) and I can tell you without any reservation--do not buy this product until Samsung fixes the black level issue or you will regret it. Also, you should be aware that Faroudja's DCDi chip DOES NOT WORK AT ALL if you use anything but DVI to connect to your display! Mine is going back very soon. The Zenith player (318) uses the Faroudja DCDi and it DOES pass blacker-than black . One star is for daytime scenes which are perfect on the player. The 941 (new model) has black level control, but IT DOESN'T WORK ON DVI and as I said, if you connect to ANY other outputs, the DCDi chip is totally useless! What a joke. Run away! Buy the Zenith or the Bravo D2 (or D3) if you want a good upscaling DVD player for your DVI connected display.

I thought I would edit to confirm that Samsung KNOWS about the black-crush issue, but they are not planning on offering a fix. They are directing customers to wait for the 941, which SUPPOSEDLY fixes the 931's "issues." I wouldn't bother.

Even though Samsung claims it can play all burnable DVD media, it does not work very well. I have tried all brands of media and it takes several minutes to half an hour to load a disc. I have also used media burned from different hardware with the same result. The picture on my 60 inch lcd projection using the DVI input looks great, but the remote is terrible and it is unable to play media that works in cheap freebie players. Wait for a DVI enabled player from a good company.

Having now received a new replacement, and after watching DVD's for a few weeks on another player, I got to say: This player has the best picture of any I've seen.