TV Reviews

Firstly, I love the TV. I bought it because I wanted good contrast, bright colors, and no burn-in (I play a lot of X-Box games) and it delivers all those. But I'm giving it only three stars because it's just not very reliable.
- it is incredibly sensitive to signal quality. I have digital cable; there was heavy snow on many channels and I was getting dropouts - the channel suddenly missing - on the others. The cable company diagnosed a bad ground line, replaced it, and everything was fine. But during the entire time, my spare TV (CRT) looked perfectly fine - no snow, no dropout. So it's this TV that's sensitive.
- It needs a lot of service. It blew the lamp (a $239 dollar part) after three months, the color wheel after six, and now, at 11 months, it's just blown the lamp again. I'm about to get a warranty replacement of the whole light engine.I am kicking myself for not buying a 3-year extended warranty from the dealer.

And just as a FYI, I bought Samsungs HDTV DVD player and use the DVI conenction and the picture quality is awesome.

The TV is great but you do need HD TV service, either from satellite, off the air, or cable, to really appreciate how good the quality is.

The TV arrived a couple of days before the cable folks came by, so all I had was my progressive DVD, which was a bit disappointing.

I also use it for my X Box and the quality of the games that are HD ready is amazing

I've had this set for 8 months now and I am still impressed with it's performance. I did allot of research before deciding which set would be my first HDTV. After weighing all of the pluses and minuses (for me) the Samsung DLP's came out on top.
No burn-in means you can watch your standard definition (SD) programs in their normal 4:3 aspect ratio (no need too stretch the picture). You could leave a static image on the TV 24/7 and it will not affect the screen. Also DLP's are not affected by magnetic fields, which means you can put non-shielded speakers right next to them. I would highly recommend a DVD player with a DVI output (like the Bravo D1 or Samsung's 931 ) which will provied the best possible picture with these TV's (I've run some tests). Be aware that with DLP's the better the source the better the picture. Now I'm not talking about high dollar cables (a $25 DVI cable will perform the same as a $100 one), what I mean is High Definition programming looks spectacular as do DVD's through a DVI enabled DVD player, but SD programming can look anywhere from good to preety bad. Very happy with my decision.

...

I received two of these sets from Amazon. Both were defective.

The first set had a picture tube problem. About two inches from the top of the set, a thin bar ran the width of the set causing a discoloration.

After returning it to Amazon, the second set's problem was worse than the first. Anytime a bright colored scene comes up, the set buzzes internally toward the back of the tube.

I have since returned both sets. I don't know if I am simply unlucky, or it is a quality issue with this set. Philips makes the picture tube in the Toshiba flat TVs, and my newest TV is the Philips 32" Flat screen, and it, too, is defective. So, it might not be the Toshiba TV, but the Philips component within it.

I recently graduated from college, got a good job and moved out of my folks house. I knew my first big purchase for my first apartment would be a television. I started out practical looking at 32" tubes, but after a few visits to ...[the local store] I was hooked on flat screens.

...I compared Sony and the Toshiba, the display units were side by side and it seemed to me that the Toshiba had an obviously crisper and clearer picture, and it ...[costed] less! Also with it's silver finish and side mounted speakers the Toshiba's design was more eye catching. It might have been cheaper but it looked more expensive that the Sony to me. At first I was nervous because I had never bought anything this expensive before, but within 5 minutes of setting up and flipping through channels I knew I had made the correct decision, flat screens rule! And this Toshiba rules them all!

I do have one complaint though, the remote is a bit hokey, seems like a cutting edge flat screen television should come with a back-lit universal remote, or at least one that can control a DVD player. To me the remote just seemed cheap, that's ok though I got a universal remote to fix that problem!

I spent a long time in stores just staring at the various 32" TVs. I decided that I wanted a flat screen, and it seemed the choice was between Sony and Toshiba. I went with Toshiba because I just liked it a little better, and there are alot of bad things said about the Vegas (good things too). I am delighted with my choice. DVDs look AMAZING! My PS2 looks fantastic on it as well. I highly recommend this set.

3 weeks after we received our TV, it exploded (we heard a "pop", the screen went blank, and an acrid smell filled the room). And guess what? Amazon DOES NOT HANDLE RETURNS on televisions larger than 27 inches. Huh? Yup, you heard right. If you buy a TV larger than 27 inches from Amazon, they COMPLETELY WASH THEIR HANDS OF IT once it reaches your door. That's it. Done. Thanks for buying. Even if it EXPLODES IN YOUR LIVING ROOM, well, tough. The nice folks at Amazon will simply tell you to call Philips or "check your manual for troubleshooting tips" and, oh, thanks for calling. Where does it say this? It doesn't. You have to find and click the tiny little link that says, "Shipping rates and policies". Never mind that I've bought hundreds of items from Amazon over the past 7 years and that I've never had a problem returning any of them. They expect you to guess that their return policy might be completely different when it comes to televisions and to seek out the information on your own. No where during the entire sales cycle do they ever so much as hint that you can't return it and that they'll have nothing to do with it once it leaves their warehouse. Oh, and what did they do after I sent them a strongly worded letter calling them out on a very bad business practice? They sent me a form email saying that they're sorry I'm unhappy with my new TV but that they can't accept returns and that I check my user manual if I'm having problems. Are you kidding me??? To add insult to injury, the form email stated that I could respond to the email for further discussion on the matter. I did and 5 days later got a "return to sender" email telling me that my email had permanent fatal errors and could not be delivered. Wow. This might actually be the worst customer service experience I've ever had, with any company. Oh, and in case you're curious, Philips finally delivered us a new TV...4 MONTHS after we dropped it off at a "factory authorized" repair shop. Wow, Amazon and Philips - what a team!

I purchased Philips 34PW850H 34" Digital Widescreen HD-Ready TV three weeks ago, and I have to tell you I am very impressed with the picture when watching a movie using a Denon 2200 progressive scan DVD player. To be honest I purchased the TV primarily to watch movies, and I have not been disappointed in the least. The picture is sharp, and without a doubt clear, very clear. I have only to watch the same movie on a friends regular TV to be reminded of its perfection.

AS for regular or digital cable, I cannot say I care for the stretched look on the screen, which is a by product of "all" widescreen TVs at this time (except when watching a true High Definition signal), but as I have chosen not to go with the High Definition signal for now, the strethed version on cable will have to be gotten used to, fortunately for me, I watch very little cable TV, and as the future is widescreen friendly, I know this will improve. I cannot therefore comment on the Philips viewing pleasure in High Definition, but seeing the DVD quality (clarity) in the picture, I have no problem admitting to myself it must be incredible. I would expect the picture to be better than movies on DVD, as DVD movies are in the 480 or so resolution range, and HD can be as high as 1000 or over resolution range.

I had considered the Sony and Toshiba 34" widescreen, but... Philips won out. The Philips was $1400 (CAN) less than the Sony, which I could not justify for a Sony. AS I see it, the only "real" sacrifice is not having a DVI plug on this TV, but having found new DVD movie releases near my home for only 99 cents, this drawback will quickly be forgotten. If you are like me, be prepared to accept some movies will still have a bar on the top and the bottom of the screen, but I can see myself forgiving even that (soon enough) as I get to enjoy more, and more this great picture, and viewing perfection. Good Luck in your shopping adventure. Glad mine has turned out to be such a success.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with this TV set. I ordered it from amazon for $1300 with free shipping which was cheaper than anything that I could find on the net. I was thrilled by the features that this tv had. The most important was the 2 Component Video connections. This allowed me to hook up both the digital cable and a progressive scan DVD player. The picture was awesome, and it was nice that ALL my dvd could be watched in wide screen without those annoying bars. Basically, I'm really glad that I purchased this tv set.

PS- getting a home theater with this tv is also a nice touch.

I picked one of these up cheap on Ebay. I live in North County San Diego and the only station I can pick up really well on both UHF and VHF is Telemundo--which comes in *great*. Too bad english is my only language.

Anyway, I don't know if this is a fault of the TV or the technology--but I can't imagine traveling with this if I can only pick up 1 station so near a major metropolitan area. Can't imagine what might happen in the middle of nowhere.

This is an awesome tv with great reception. I have never had such a good picture on my home tv...but this little tv really delivers the great picture. It is extremely portable and easy to use I would recommend this tv to anyone who is a tv fanatic. A word to the wise though....buy some rechargeable batteries and a battery charger because you will need it.

I just love this product! I don't have a TV in my bedroom, so I love being able to watch the Late Show while in bed! 5 stars, definately! I have experienced some slight problems with it when the battery runs low (the sound cuts off for a few seconds), but once you replace the batteries, it works fine again. The TV gets great reception (it certainly is not cable, however!). I definately recommend this product to anyone who wants to buy a portable TV! Just be sure to bring some extra batteries along so that you don't have to listen to a silent soap opera!

This is the latest version of a radio Sony has been producing for years (I own the original version). The radio performs like a champ, with great sensitivity, selectivity, and clean audio. Use it virtually anywhere. Although you have to get an a.c. adapter separately for it, the unit gets great mileage and plenty of sound out of 3 AA batteries. The controls are precise and convenient. Put this radio up against any other in its price and size range, and I guarantee you'll go with this one! Every so often, Sony produces a product with great design, perfomance, durability, size, and value: a "Sony classic". This radio is one of those products. If it is the type of portable radio you are looking for, look no further.

Buy this radio-- but buy the plug along with it!!!
I love these Radios w/TV sound reception!! (great for the office, kitchen, bathroom, BLACKOUTS!!) I've owned others- a Sony, a GE and a hand held portable/transistor - so I've got a lot to compare.
This radio is VERY nicely designed--compact and portable; easy to read and set. Sound quality is VERY clear and it's nice to have the sleep timer and push button tuning (MUCH better than to fish for the stations on a dial).
The color: "putty" is a bit outdated. (Black would have been better), but it'll do.
All and all it's a GREAT little radio!!!
But....here's the disappointing news....There's NO adaptor included!! NO way to plug it in.
WHY??
You'd think those adaptors would be the easiest thing to include. (how many old ones have I thrown out??!)
Anyway, it says that you HAVE to use a 4.5v adaptor (and of course what's left in my junk drawer are a 3, a 9 and a 5.5v).
So now I have to figure out where to pick up this adaptor!
And that's why it only received 4 stars!
Also--I don't remember being prompted by Amazon to make this additonal purchase when I added this item to my shopping cart. (...Hint to Amazon...)

Anyway, just be sure to purchase the adaptor when you buy this radio and you'll be a happy camper (these TV/radios are GREAT for camping, too...)

I needed a radio with great AM sensitivity and portability. I checked out a number of radios and found the GE 7-2887 Superadio III to be the best, but the size was just too big.

The AM sensitivity of this Sony unit is great! I live in a mountainous region of Arizona and use the unit mainly to listen to talk radio. The daytime AM station is almost 100 miles away and most radios have difficulty even picking it up. This one shines! I attribute this mainly to the larger than normal internal ferrite bar antenna and decent circuitry.

The speaker is large enough to listen at volume, without distortion, and with very good tonal quality for a 3" speaker. I did not notice distortion at "normal" listening levels, nor did I expect to have stereo sound in a radio of this price range.

When listening to AM I use rechargeable batteries. They last 60 hours on average.

FM sensitivity is also very good when compared to other units I tested. The digital frequency readout also appears to be accurate, a problem that often plagues cheaper units. Due to my remote location I could not verify the selectivity of the unit (ability to separate strong radio signals that are close to each other in frequency).

The radio seems to pick up weather stations that have at least a moderate signal. Weak signals simply will not be heard. The unit also has problems with selectivity on this band as even a moderate signal (mine is 30 miles away) washes over onto all the weather frequencies. This is not a problem for most folks, but would be a concern if you live mid-point between two transmitting weather stations.

As "over the air" TV reception is not possible in my area this feature could not be evaluated.

The shuttle style tuner, clock, sleep and activation timer is a great plus!

Bottom line... this is the best portable radio you can buy in this price range!

After about a year of owning these, they broke. The earphones fell off the headband, and were dangling there by a tiny cord. Originally I gave these a rating of a 5, but I feel that it is necessary to change that rating to a 3 now that they have broken. I have purchased a new pair of headphones from JVC which look sturdier, but don't have quite as strong of bass. Again, these have incredible sound, but you do have to be very careful with them. I didn't do anything really rough or unusual with them, they just fell apart.

these headphones are very nice with good sound and bass. its also extremely comfortable you can wear this for hours. worth every penny

Great product. I ordered it on Febuary 6th and got it the 12th. But beyond from fast free shipping the actual product is amazing. I'm hearing things in my CD that I haven't heard before. The trebble is increadibly strong. But the base is great I have a CD that goes into a really deep base and usually my speakers start to break up, and Ive blown 3 speakers listening to it. But with this pair of headphones it never breaks up even with the base boost in my machine. absolutly increadible.

I bought this so I can watch football at work. Its small and easy to hide from supervisors. Its light weight so its easy to secretly transport it around. Has a good picture, colors are nice, and also has good sound as well. While other people are moping around missing the game, I'm cheering on my team! Take that stupid bosses, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

I just bought one and what a great little TV it is. It's very well made and its reception is wonderful. The screen is a bit grainy, even when on a station that comes in clearly, but still very viewable. The single speaker on top sounds very good and is capable of very high volume; I usually have my volume set at around 3 which is plenty loud. I'm able to get stations from other cities easily, and even a few stations that are too far away to get a perfect reception, the sound generally comes in clearly enough to listen to comfortably. And when I'm tuning my way through static, the sound of it is very diminished and not as annoying as one might expect. I really like the tuning line that appears on the screen; it makes tuning in stations a sinch. Add a quality set of walkman-like headphones and you'll be set. The only downside I can think of is probably comon to all handhelds like this: it's a battery hog! My solution is quite simple, I use rechargable batteries which last about 3 hours, whereas normal batteries will probably get you 5 hours. I highly recommend this TV!

This TV is the best non-cable TV I have ever used!!
I was at some bodies house in Boynton Beach, FL and it pulled up TV Channels 100% great all the way 2 Miami.
This is an excellent TV!

When I first bought my t.v. and took it out of the box, I could not get the t.v. to turn on. After re-setting the t.v. several times I was finally able to get the t.v. to power on. I've had the t.v. for about 2 years now and have had nothing but trouble with it. Sony said they would warranty the parts but I would have to ship it to California at my expense. No thanks. I recommend that you do not buy this product.

This Sony model is packed with features and yet is easy to use. With the flick of a button you can set 4 different video choices: vivid, standard, movie or sport. Vivid is too strong for some channels, producing graininess, so switch to standard and watch the picture instantly improve. Where vivid can be used (most live or videotape broadcasts, DVDs) it is fantastic. Hard to believe that HDTV could do better. Sound quality is also exceptional even without external speakers attached. PIP is a snap to use.
There are enough interfaces to satisfy almost any video freak, including a few in front to connect video cameras for playback.
Drawbacks? Not many. The unit is a heavy 106 pounds and the silver finish, although nicely done, strikes me as a faddish affectation. A good buy.

My 14 year old Sony 27" Trinitron died so did my research and came home with this new Sony model. Incredible picture and sound. Combine it with a good DVD player and watching movies becomes a whole new experience. Flawless in operation. Quality seems very high. Highly recommended purchase.

I've owned this model for about four months. Before buying it I read the reviews in Stereophile Home Theatre magazine, and looked at multiple brands including Sony, JVC, sand Toshiba. I agree with Stereophile and Home Theatre's assesment. The set comes from the factory set with too much gain. But if you are willing to spend a few minutes setting it up with the Video Essentials DVD you'll be well rewarded. On HD and DVD sources the picture is truly superb. On regular broadcasts (NTSC) the picture shows all the reasons to hope the switch to HD occurs faster. The sound is OK, but I'd use an external sound sysytem if this is your primary home theatre tv. In a bedroom, the sound is fine.

My wife and I have been nursing along a 21-year old, 19-inch GTE/Sylvania color TV, that she had purchased as a Freshman in college. Single speaker, retractable rabbit antenna . . .
the unit is probably coal-burning.

Enter the world of "INVAR Shadow Masks", "Anamorphic DVD Detection", and "3D Y/C Digital Comb Filter". While these sounded like instruments of a CIA field agent . . we just wanted a great picture. Not wanting to look like total imbeciles, we researched the Net, including the Amazon site.

After going to numerous stores to compare 36-inch sets, we can say without qualification - the picture clarity on the Panasonic CT36HX40 literally spanks the pants off anything else we looked at . . with the possible exception of the SONY XBR250 - the set we originally considered.

The problem with the SONY XBR250 is that at 40-inches across, it's impossible to find a well-made entertainment center large enough to hold this digital mausoleum. The only alternative was to have a cabinet-maker do a custom-build . . or order a Contemporary glass/chrome TV pedestal/settee...

We have hooked up the Panasonic set to a SONY DVPNS700P DVD player/ w progressive scan, and so far, the the picture has been astonishing. For those who don't want to hire the Army Corps of Engineers to install a 5-channel home-theatre/ video receiver/AC3 experience, or go throught a pre-flight check before turning the unit on, the Pansonic provides a nice 3D surround sound built right-into the set.

Do yourself a huge favor and have it home-delivered. [The set is] 242 lbs...

The first thing i noticed about this Tv when i was comparing it to the Sony 36 inch HDTV was that the picture was so much clearer on this one...also it was easy to hear the sound even in a noisy place like Best Buy.. It wasn't hooked up to a surround sound system but simulated 3-d surround sound. I have it hooked up to a Panasonic Dvd player and progressive scan looks great!!! BUY THIS TV!!!!!!

I bought this card with high expectations when it first came out and was disapointed becasue the Number 2 graphics company "Ati" at the time, in the world did not release a decent hardware driver in not one but two months! After sitting in my old cabinet drawer I call the morgue becasue it's full of old computer parts. I decided to take the card out and give it a 3rd chance. I couldn't belive my eye's as I saw soldier of Fortune 2, and Battle Feild 1942 and a few of my old games run well. This card work's perfect after I gave up and bought a pricey Xtasy Ti 4600 that is now obsolete becasue of Ati's 9700 pro!

Before I bought any of the above hardware I read most hardware article's online and in print. To name a few sources I read in print and the net: Smart computing, Maximum PC, Tom's hardware guide. com, zd-net and c-net. Were did I go wrong, I bought impulsively. It wasn't too long ago when you bought the very best hardware for your PC and It would last you at least a year before it was considerd a antique. Not anymore, we just jumped in to a new age were new computer hardware keeps coming out every few months. Not even the PC hardware publications can keep up with some of the new hardware inovations. Why do I say this. I read the above sources religously and they didn't even give anyone a warning untill two month's before the release of the new Ati 9700 pro!

My advise, as soon as some new hardware comes out and computer publications online or print give it all the hype and glory setting and breaking record bench marks to the point were you feel as though you have to have it, Stop throw some cold water on your face and wait a few month's. The end result you will have more choices and you will save a lot of cash$$$.

First off let me help you novices out there a little bit. Don't buy a video card because of its price, its hype, or its look, do your research! This card is excellent, it is blazingly fast, (it beats geforce 3), and it is a steal... BR>A key feature in the radeon 8500 is the programmable pixel shaders. Let me tell you a little more about them. Geforce 3, 4 and radeon 8500 all share them witht he exception with the Geforce 4 MX. The newest games will use programmable pixel shaders and if you don't have a video card that uses this, then you can't play it. The radeon beats its competition while being half the price! but be cautious because there has been driver issues with ATI and what seems to be "cheating drivers"

Pros:
blazingly fast
comes from a respectable company
excellent image quality

cons:
driver issues

I have had this card for about 6 months now. I got it before the GForce 4 came out and before the Radeon 9700. If your looking to get the MOST for your money this card is the way to go. It's faster then the all the GForce 3's and is just as fast as the GEorce4Ti 4200, for a fraction of the cost. Driver support was an issue in the past as you will read in some of the older reviews of this card, but now ATI has fixed all the driver problems they have had in the past. In fact they have been coming out with drivers faster and of a better quality then Nvidia for about the past six months. If you buy this card I recomend downloading the newest drivers from the ATI website as soon as possible, the new drivers are of MUCH better quality as I said before...

To get the most out of your older games with this card to to your display properties- advanced- Direct3d or openGL, and bump the Anisotropic Filtering up to 16.With little or no performance hit your games will look MUCH better.