TV Reviews

I have had direct Tv for nearly 6 years and had various receivers. All have been reliable and did a good job, but this one. Have had Sharp, Sony, Phillips and RCA.

THis one gives me very reliable service, super quality and superior dolby sound (this is receiver not Direct TV - Direct TV is just fabulous in quality and sound) but this receiver makes the most of what Direct TV gives.

Love the menu set up, you zip through it, has a lot of neat features and preferences.

This is my first DirecTV receiver. I used to have cable, but got tired of the cruddy "digital" picture with its lousy compression technology (i.e., weird digital artifacts on your screen). I also got tired of my nationally-recognized-brand-name cable company hiking my cable bill every 12 months. So, I took a chance. So far so good. As far as this hardware goes: the receiver's strengths seem to be in its software/firmware interface (i.e., menus, ways to navigate, etc.). Unlike a cable company, which pumps the same interface to every one of its subscribers, DirecTV relies on the hardware vendors to implement their own version of an interface. The Hughes interface is first-rate and very user friendly. The receiver looks well made, and as far as the DirecTV content it receives and decodes goes...I couldn't be happier. It's practically the same content I got on cable (in my case, similar to "Expanded Basic" on cable) but a much cleaner picture. The picture quality is hard to describe in words, but it's noticeable when you see it. If it helps, it "feels" like it's about 5-10% better, if that makes any sense. Some things to keep in mind about DirecTV service as a whole: You should have a telephone jack nearby so that the receiver can plug into it and "talk" to DirecTV headquarters about your pay-per-view choices [if any]. This is a short, toll-free call (supposedly in the middle of the night), so there's no interference with your telephone calling or modem, at least as far as I can see. I bought the Platinum receiver with an 18" round dish (so it's called a "system"), and the system comes with a radio-frequency adapter that plugs onto the end of the infrared remote control. This allows you to put the receiver close to a telephone jack that may not be near your TV set. The radio-control does not need line-of-sight, so you can--conceivably--put the receiver in the closet and change channels with your remote control. I can't vouch that the receiver by itself comes with this optional device [remember that I bought the Platinum "system"], but you can buy it off of Hughes' website even if it doesn't.

The sound quality is the best I've ever heard from any piece of audio equipment. That's saying alot since the unit weighs less than the AA battery that powers it. With half a gig of space, this thing stores about 16 hours of CD quality music or 32 hours of radio quality music, in something roughly the size of a lighter. Being flash memory based, it won't skip like a CD player or Ipod. It needs better earphones though and the armstrap, although of high quality, only fits women (I can't even get it over my forearm, let alone my bicep *flex* One thing not mentioned anywhere is the microphone is extremely good. The unit will record about 33 hours of high quality sound, making it perfect for students who like to record lectures (the unit has a mode specifically designed for this). Again, this is amazing, considering the size and cost of the unit.

I was willing to pay extra for extra features w/ this player and those extras are worthwhile. What the descriptions and iriver site doesn't tell you that this player has a clock and timer.

Joystick does not look like the picture on Amazon or iRiver's US site. It looks like the iRiver North European site: irivernordic.com You can also get a USB Mass Storage (UMS) firmware from that site but I haven't tried it yet.

Alarm function just plays the last played MP3. The timed radio recordings work great but I don't know how to stop it, yet. Look at the manual from iriver's website and see the features for your self as I'm limited to 1,000 words on this review. Sound quality is great and volume even greater. Can go up to 40 but plays loud enough at 20 setting. EQ settings and 3D settings sound really nice, even on the included headphones. The headphones don't have too much bass so I used different ones. Can also adjust battery display setting for alkaline or rechargeable. I hated how previous players displayed inaccurate battery life because they base it on alkaline batteries.

Line-in and radio recordings sound great because I am able to record up to 320bps compared to others like the Samsung that can only go up to 128bps. Recordings are in *.rec format that the included windows utility can convert. The windows utility shouldn't be taken lightly. You can enter,label,& save all your radio station presets from it to save time. The radio reception is alright but what do you expect from such a small device? PLL? I use my home stereo which gets great reception from a Cable TV adapter and use the line-in recording.

The supplied armband is very well made and looks nice. People w/ humangus muscles or just fat arms can't get it around their arms though.

The only cons I see are:
If hold is not in place it is easy to accidently delete radio station presets and other settings. Once you set it don't forget to lock it as there are many options to change.

Can't copy songs from player to computer w/ the included software since there is no official US UMS support. Their version of DRM?

At 20-inches diagonal width, and about 50 pounds, this set is just right for a single woman like me to handle. It's neither too big nor too small, and seems much larger in the living room of my small apartment. It's got great sound (which I can't play too loudly because I'm in a small apartment), the picture is great, and I've never needed to adjust it. I love the sleep timer. I don't watch that much TV, just PBS for a couple hours in the evening, so I set the timer to turn itself on at 9:00pm and turn itself off at midnight. Works great! It automatically loads up your channels, and when you get new stations, you can re-do it. I use a Panasonic VCR with it, use the coax for the hookup rather than the video and audio jacks, works fine. I don't have cable, use rabbit ears (Phillips brand), so I have trouble with one station coming in well. That's not the fault of the TV though. I've had it since November of 2000, never bought the service warranty, make sure to turn it off during T-storms, and so I haven't had a lick of trouble with it. I expect years of service with it (or at least until they make me buy a digital TV), just like my mother had with her JVC 36-inch. I'd buy one again in an instant.

The picture quality on this TV looked great right out of the box. I admit I was worried though when I received it. This item was shipped to me upside down by UPS. Now back to the TV I hooked it up to my DBS system and the pictures were great. Sharp with lots of contrast. Unlike the Panasonic that is sold at a similar price this TV does not have a washed out look or a picture that is uncentered. In addition, the picture quality through the AV inputs rivals a Sony Trinitron. The only fault I find with this TV is that it does not have a front panel button to change between cable and AV inputs. You can only do this through the remote. And although the JVC does only have the rear AV inputs, the similar Panasonic model only allows you to hook up one AV source at a time. Go for the JVC 20" in white or black and unlike the Panasonic you won't want to send it back!

This TV is fabulous! Watching DVDs and playing Playstation games on it is a treat. I moved up from a 14-year-old 20" Panasonic with no features so anything was an improvement!

The sound is crystal clear when I play DVDs, video games or other digital sound sources.

I discovered that the audio signal from the cable company is not as clear as I thought it was. There is some fuzziness in the sound. I'm not willing to cough up anymore bucks for digital cable, so I'll live with it.

I recommend this to anyone looking to move up. Flat screen is totally the way to go!

I've had this TV for 4 months now & have no compaints. It combines the best features of the Sony & Panasonic 27" TV's. Great picture & the best sound I've heard from any 27" under [$$$]. Sony claims to have 10 watts per channel, this is only 5 but sounds twice as loud & clear as the Sony(FS100). Panasonic(Tau) has an "AM static" sound when turned up w/ no signal on all outputs including headphones. Sony had severe geometry problems that could only be slightly improved in the "service menu". Panasonic had uneven brightness(or darkness) when watching a dark screen(movie credits,etc.). All in all, JVC(703-Silver & 713-black)is the best of the major brands w/ the best warranty(1 year parts & $LABOR$).

I bought this excellent set about two weeks back and I am totally satisfied so far.I was comparing various brands but the final choice was among Toshiba, Philips and this one.Finally I gone for this one. I was looking for PIP. It have lot of input sockets like component video, S type ... The picture quality is amazing. The color scheme is bit different than some traditional TV so some people don't like it. But I liked it its little pinkish. The sound quality is average particularly with BBE and Hyper sorround feature but it does not matter when you have home theater system. I wish it have 16:9 feature for watching DVD.
Overall I will recommend this TV.

first of all the jvc has the 10 megabit yc comb filter and thats better than the yc comb filter that the every other flatscreen has its so good when you got a dvd player and everything hooked up to it with monster cables unbeliveable picture

JVC has come out as a producer of higfh-quality electronics only very recently. When shown this model against a similar Sony in a store, the Sony was easily "brighter," but then the salesperson told me that Sony jacks up the brightness on their sets by 30%.

This, of course, means that you have to get a Sony repaired 30% faster.

This is a solid performer and definetly worth a look.

AV-27F803

Real Flat CRT with INVAR Shadow Mask
4MEGA 10BIT 3D Y/C Comb Filter
Dual Component Video Inputs
2-Tuner Picture in Picture
Audio Output 5.0 Watts x 2 Speakers
3 AV Inputs (2 Rear, 1 Front)

Well I looked long and hard between the Sony KV-27FS100 and 200. Both had the same exact features as the JVC did. In stores, the sets all look about the same, JVC offers theirs models in black as well, if you want. So after reading reviews on every site, visiting consumer reports, etc, etc. I came to see that many people have problems with the Sony's not just from standard crazy issues, but the red haze (circle, lines etc). Why mess with that if you don't have to?

I went down to a local Good Guys, picked up the set for 549.99. Its beautiful, big, has 4 video's, 16:9 mode, awesome sound, PiP ... simply fantastic. Crisp, clear, no issues at all!

I fully recommend this!

Having already owned a great performing JVC 20 inch flat screen set, JVC was at the top of my list when researching 27 inch flats to replace the aging round tube sony in the basement. Although I had had a wonderful experience with the first JVC I owned, I also wanted to look at other brands such as sony and panasonic. When I paid a visit to the local hhgregg I found that again the JVC was the best performer. The similarly priced sony model lacked the sound options, mainly hyper surround sound and BBE audio, that were present on the JVC set. A sony flat screen with these sound features would cost $100-200 dollars more, which was money I was not willing to spend, especially when the JVC's picture quality would be very comparable to that of the sony models. The picture on both televisions was very good, but I had read more negative reviews of the sony, and the JVC had the sound advantage, a big deal to me because I do not have a sound system in the basement. With the sony out of way I went to look at the panasonic. I discovered that while the panasonic matched and maybe even bested the JVC in sound, it could not compare in picture. The JVC set had a much brighter, higher contrast picture than the panasonic, whose picture was too dark for viewing movies and television programs with a lot of black. Some of the details visible on the JVC and sony would be lost if viewed on the panasonic. Needless to say, the JVC presented the best overall package and value. After owning the T.V for nearly a week I am happy to say I have not encountered any problems and the T.V is performing up to the high expectations that I have for it. A word of warning though, this T.V is very heavy. My dad and I had a pretty tough time carrying the huge and heavy box around the back of the house, so just make sure you have someone capable enough helping you to carry the T.V.

Over the past 2 months I've gone through quite a saga trying to find the right 27inch tv for our den. A clue in researching this tv. I spent several weeks looking for information on JVC L'Art series televisions on the internet with no luck. After having several 27 inch direct view televisions in our den on a "trial" basis, and returning them all for unsatisfactory pictures I decided to try this one even though I hadn't found any reviews on it. While unboxing this monster I saw why I hadn't seen any reviews on it. Its not a "L'Art" series tv, its an "I'Art" series tv. Still haven't read any reviews on it, but after firing this thing up I didn't need to read any. After several weeks of post-season baseball I'm totally satisfied. The picture is on par with the too expensive for me Sony KV-27FV310 (a very worthy tv if you have the $$$), and all the features I want. Sound is also as good as it gets short of a home theater system, leveling out those irritating commercials that are louder than the program you're watching.

The setup menu like the name, is a little awkward at first, but becomes very user friendly after use. The remote control is advertised as being illuminated, but only the 4 major function buttons (volume and channel adjustments) are actually illuminated. Even so, its easy to use, and has seperate buttons for closed-captioning, sound modes, and video modes, which means you don't have to access a menu to change these settings. DVD and VCR controls are easily used, and the aspect ratio for DVDs can be changed with the push of a button.

There are some potential negatives to this tv. Size wise its a large tv for a 27 incher, so measure the space you intend to place it in before you buy. Also this baby weighs as much as a compact sedan, so if you intend to set it up yourself enlist the help of a good friend with a strong back and bad legal council. Its heavier than any other 27 inch tv sets I looked at.

The other televisions I looked at were the Toshiba 27AF43, Panasonic CT-27SL13, Sony KV-27FS100, and Sony KV-27FV310. After comparing these televisions my choices were narrowed to the JVC, and the KV-27FV310. The Sony has more features and is great tv, but too much money for me. The JVC stacks up against it very well, with as good a picture, but not the Sony name.

I bought this TV after Chistmas, because I wanted something bigger and better to use with my DVD player and Xbox. After looking at many TVs, and reading many reviews online (including Consumer Reports and epinions.com), I decided the JVC fit my bill. I hooked it up two weeks ago, and have been happy ever since.

It has a great picture, very good reliability, and also turned out to be quite a bargain in comparision to other sets like ($) Sonys. I decided to wait to take the HDTV plunge, because for me it's just not worth the ($) price difference. I'll use this TV for the next 4-5 years, and when I upgrade to HDTV, I'll have an awsome set for the bedroom.

We just bought the JVC AV-32D302 television and I am impressed. The image sharpness and quality is awesome and the features that comes with the tv are impressive. The sound is pretty good and I find that the TV itself has a great look. I would definitely recommend this product.

This item is worth every bit of pennies . The picture is so perfect , you might even want to touch the screen to see if the little people in there are real, until you realize "oh! my God" it's only tv. The VCR shows a razor sharp picture . I am telling you BUY THIS PRDUCT.

This JVC Combo TV/VCR is a really good unit. The picture is excellent. Tapes look great. We use this unit to show demonstration tapes on dog grooming and we have not been disappointed. The remote has everything you need. It's a quiet unit too. It's so quiet you can't tell if the tape is rewinding or not. I guess that's my only complaint! I highly recommend this unit. JVC still makes the best VCRs.

WOW!! My home decorating style is modern contemporary and does this television work well in my kitchen! Easy to setup, nice picture, simple to use! This is a great way to brighten up any room!

Konka is the biggest TV manufactuer in China. China as the biggest TV market in the world is also the most competitive market with all the Japanese and domestic TV makers fighting over it. Konka made their name in China with quality and price, winning customers back from Sony and Panasonic and Toshiba and JVC, going from a tiny outfit ten years ago to one of the biggest company in China, and now they are in the US! It's a exciting fresh force in the US TV landscape. But because of its novelty, and lack of promotion, not much American people know it. But trust me, they sell tens of millions of TV sets in China every year, they are famous and big, and they can be trusted.