TV Reviews

The first thing I missed was the lack of on-screen programming.
Even though this is supposed to be a "flat screen" it was still 13 or so inches deep and weighed about 90 pounds. The sound wasn't that good either. Since it was also physically dropped by the shipper(DHL), the seller, (J & R Music) allowed me to exchange it. I ended up buying a Toshiba 27AF44 that I thought was better.
Be careful who the seller wants to use for shipping whatever TV you decide to get!

Although I appreciate excellent sound and sharpness of the picture, I can't live with the poor color contrast on this screen. I fiddled with the adjustments, as advised by other reviewers, but to no avail. The dark colors look like amorphous blobs, and the contrasting areas have an unpleasant glow. There's no contrast control. I really wanted to love this TV, but it's going back to the store.

I really like this tv. However, my first impressions were not good because of the following 3 things: 1) It was a lot bigger than I expected (i.e. a lot more tv around the actual picture, which was different than I was used to), because I wasn't used to tv speakers on the sides of the picture - but it makes for great sound quality. 2) I totally agree with the previous reviewer who commented on the default picture settings. At first, I was TOTALLY put off by the picture quality -- orange faces, ridiculously over-saturated colors and complete lack of details in the shadows (a black sweater looked like a definition-less blob of black). And the picture settings were not intuitive (it took literally hours and some elaborate combinations of settings to get what I thought was a normal picture). But now the picture looks great! So don't be discouraged by the bizarre picture and perservere with the settings - and then you'll love it! 3) The negative part about buying this item from Amazon was the shipper. They were not used to the setup service that Amazon offers (since you can't return it once you've signed for it, they are supposed to unpack it for you). So there was a lot of back-and-forth on the phone with the shipper and Amazon customer service before it was delivered, and then the shipper sent 1 man with this huge 90 lb television and didn't tell him he had to unpack it and set it up. For the $69 shipping fee, I would've hoped the shipping/setup would've gone more smoothly. Now that these three things have been resolved, I'm really loving the tv!

I am going to share about the model TS3258C 32" Picture is good, sound is good. Auto clock does not work since day one (always sets a wrong time). After I set up a clock in the manual mode then a few hours later TV changed the clock by itself. It can do it randomly without any power glitches. Never've seen such a problem before. Captions also are scrambled sometimes. Remote is small and unconvenient.

I actually bought the 3284 model which has the 3259's tube with a few extra whistles and bells. The picture quality is decent and the sound is satisfactory but I completely agree with the reviewer who experienced problems with vertical white and black bars continuously appearing when using a video input source including DVD players. It's rather annoying but can be eliminated by reducing the contrast, but you lost picture quality in so-doing. This is very frustrating but overall, I'm satisfied with the purchase considering the price. I actually don't have cable or satellite )= but this TV picks up local stations rather well (much better than my previous top of the line JVC 27090 27" TV). Anyway, it's a good TV for the budget-minded but it's no Sony and despite Philips' boastings, it is NOT a flat screen TV. If you want a decent (nothing more) 32 inch picture for a modest price- it's a good buy.

Haven't bought a TV in many years and was very happy with this method, especially personal reviews (and also researched Consumer Reports, which had a favorable rating). Delivery took about 15 days, but was satisfied with service (set up, test, removal of shipping material). Missed free shipping by a few days! Excellent picture; very good for standard cable, sound is great and even better when routed through stereo system. Controls are simple. Highly recommended.

CD Player started to skip in first few weeks of its use. It finally broke after 6 monts of use. The design of the unit isn't so bad , with the exception of volume control which in my opinion should be in place of timer control, but the quality of the equipment is very bad.

I was using a crummy boom box to listen to the radio while I was in the kitchen and hated the way it took up counter space, plus the reception was finicky. I looked at other models of under cabinet radios and the only other one that was comparable was the newest GE model. The older white models were clunky in design. The newer GE did not have as rich of a sound and it had a "busier" design that I thought would be a grunge magnet in the kitchen. I was concerned about the FM antenna in the cord, but it turned out to be an non-issue. Mounting was a breeze and the reception I get is the same as with our big receivers, even without the cord stretched out (I have it loosely looped on top of the unit). AM reception is the best in the house!

I bought this product for use as a bedroom player. Other stereos seemed a bit too bulky to fit my minimalist tastes and I had a limited budget to work with. I must say that I am very pleased with the performance of this player. Even though I mounted it under a bookcase shelf, it still produces amazing sound [despite the fact that the speakers are underneath the player].

As with most Sony electronics, it plays CD-R & -RWs perfectly. The radio is also of very high quality -- the reception is excellent. For the first time in my life I can catch every radio station I listen to. In addition, the remote is small and has a magnetic back for ease of storage.

Installation is a breeze (just make sure you have a drill handy!) as Sony provides a stencil of sorts (holes puched where you'll need to drill) to facilitate mounting.

I highly recommend this product for anyone on a budget looking for an attractive player.

I was very impressed by the great picture and sound except that the remote control is missing. Since there is no TV/VIDEO button on the TV set itself, I cannot watch DVDs with this nice TV. This is hilarious, isn't it?

Upon reading the reviews, I thought that this was the perfect tv for a 2nd home. When I went to hook up a combination DVD/VCR to the tv, I was having problems with the sound from the DVD player. I had to connect the sound into two different input jacks to get sound from the DVD portion AND the VCR portion of the combo player. Later, I realized when I was trying to connect the satellite, the entire back panel where the inputs go was defective. In other words, there must have been a loose connection.
Long story short, I had to jerry-rig the inputs to get adequate sound from all sources.
This tv is in a location that is rather a pain in the neck to try to get fixed so, I'm kinda stuck with it.
As for the picture, it's pretty good for a relatively inexpensive set.

This is our third Toshiba -- our 32" is 10 years old and works GREAT! We bought this 24" from Best Buy to replace a 20" Toshiba we received as wedding gift in 1991 (only because we couldn't see the scrolling at the bottom that all the newscasts now use). This is in our bedroom and it is AWESOME! I love watching it -- the pictures & sound are amazing. Friends of ours bought this one in 36" and it is just as amazing, and better! Bottom line: good, solid television that will provide years of use. Hope to purchase the 36" sometime in the next year! :)

The picture and picture adjustment controls are great! 3 factory preset choices are OK, but videophiles will need to use the 4th, custom, choice, which allows separate brightness, contrast, color level, and hue.

Auto-volume works well, and is a must for movies unless you live alone.

16:9 widescreen mode is a must for DVDs that support it - better vertical resolution = a truer picture.

Control menus are smart, and all the features work.

My wife loves the little melody it plays when you turn it on or off, and the black case.

However:

The speaker output contains hum (buzz), which seems like a design defect. It's there with every source and connection setup, and only goes away on mute.

The hum is noticeable in a quiet listening environment, during quiet passages, and can be bothersome at low volume levels.

It renders the 'headphone' jack quite useless, since it is objectionable with headphones.

Also, picture tilt and trapezoid adjustments would be nice.
With the square flat tube and widescreen material, it is easy to notice that the top of our picture tilts slightly.

The picture is excellent, the Television has lots of features, however, depending on the luck of the draw, the sound may [disappoint]. I bought this TV a year ago and ended up reselling it, due to poor sound and Samsung's failure to correct the problem. As James has stated earlier a buzzing sound develops in this TV. i brought it into a Samsung Authorized Repair center and they said they fixed the problem. However, when I brought it home the problem re-emerged 5 minutes later. I still think Samsung makes a great tube and I would imaging the newer version of this TV has fixed this glaring defect.

I'm more into computer related goodies, thus a basic TV is all I desired since my computer monitor is my main viewing attraction AND I'm a full-time student. Buying a Samsung was *very* uneasy for me since I am a loyal SONY consumer. I compared what I needed for a new TV in order to incorporate my computer/camcorder generated needs (Video/ Audio /DVD Audio / S-Video / Audio-Video Monitor jacks). The Samsung TXL2091 supplied MORE than Sony and ALL others from my set range in TV size to price I was willing to spend. In the end, I am pleased I bought this: I like the user friendly features, the choices to customize, the remote, the sound is okay (yet, I now have it going through my Bose speakers so I'm in heaven) and the picture is pretty STRONG (I just bought monster cables and today a DVD - now I am anticipating the quality of the component video connection). I have an intense feeling when this is all hooked up I'll probably become stationary on my sofa with this TV and my grades will plummet. You CAN'T beat the price with Samsung's features + the front & back jacks! Try. I spent 2 weeks trying - and I kept coming back to this TV! Plus, aesthetically speaking, this TV is a black beauty. I have NO REGRETS. I am quite pleased with Samsung's quality AND with Amazon for shipping this to me for FREE! Basically, you don't realize that there are still high quality bargains out there until you aquire THIS total experience.

Yes, Sony IS the best. All my home electronics are Sony, and this is about a good a TV as you can buy. But!, Only 2 days after watching my beautiful TV my picture went Black!! I called Sony and after a huge run around I was told someone will contact me to fix the TV within 48 hours. Well, It was getting close and Superbowl Sunday was 2 days away. So I had a local Sony authorized repair shop come and fix my TV (which they did after 2 hours). Now it's Saturday morning and I'm watching cartoons with my kids and ZAPPO!!! It goes black again. Try to find someone that can repair this TV on the Satuday before superbowl on that moments notice. Didn't happen. Well, anyway, no Superbowl party at my house. Now I sit here and write this on Monday night, 4 days after I called Sony (for the first time) and NOTHING!! No calls, no repairman, NOTHING.
Well, maybe not nothing. I've got my box tuned into a digital music station and I can listen to the nice surround sound system that comes with the set. And that big black omnipotent looking TV does look nice sitting by itself at the end of my livingroom. I'd just like to be able to watch something on it.
Well, I have the repair man that fixed it the first time coming over tomorrow. Wish me luck....

Look I know alot of people are saying why pay extra $$ for the Sony XBR, well the color and quality is 2nd to none. I've looked at all of them and the only one that comes close is the... Pioneer Elite series. I don't want to spend that kind of money to see what I can see on my Sony XBR.
I've owned this TV for a year and a half now and am still impressed with it. And no, I do not work for Sony or any of it's affiliates. Add Direct TV Satellite and your looking at the best picture the industry has to offer.
Trust Me!

Get the entire Screen you paid for with this SONY 4 by 3 TV set. The current television market is in a state of flux. We keep hearing about HDTV or High Definition Television but what does it all mean to you? High Definition Television refers to a complete product and/or system with the vertical display of 1080i (interlaced) or higher lines of resolution. The aspect ratio has to be capable of displaying a 16:9 image at the minimum resolution level. (All HDTV is in the 16:9 image). The current standard for color television in the United States is called NTSC (National Television System Committee). It is based on 525 horizontal scanning lines capable of displaying a 4:3 image. Many cable companies are resisting the change to HDTV and want to carry only the NTSC standard. The FCC wants the networks to start broadcasting HDTV but they are now also resisting because they can't settle on a conversion system. Currently satellites are carrying a few HDTV signals, but they are far and few in number and show little signs of increasing. Don't forget HDTV signals have to be converted so you can watch them. Then you have Television manufactures that are getting way ahead of themselves. Many are pushing the HDTV formatted screen on most of their projection sets, which is 16:9. If you are still watching cable TV, VHS videos and Laser Discs you are in big trouble. You are only going to get a picture in the center of your 16:9 set with big black bars on the sides. The best way to go is with a 4:3 projection set, like this one, which is going to give you the full frame. You are going to get the entire screen you paid for.

I bought this television in the summer of 2002. It is now February of 2003, and the television won't turn on. No strange happenings to lead up to it, it just won't turn on. The warranty is for 1 year parts, 90 days labor. New televisions are being made to break.

This stereo TV is working well for me, great picture and sound (includes FM radio) and remote.

NOTE FOR NEWBIES (like me): The manual with this set contains NOTHING on the S-Video input, and as I discovered if you are hooking up a DVD you must hook up BOTH the S-Video cable AND the L/R Audio input for the television to recognize that there is a signal present and show the picture/sound in Video mode. Also, you can use only one of three video inputs at a time (S-Video, standard RCA on back and on the front) as this model doesn't have an option to toggle between them. I hope the set switches to the front inputs automatically or else I'll have to unplug my DVD every time I plug in my camera in the front (haven't tried it yet). Once you catch the logic of the on-screen menus they are easy to use to set up the various features. Overall a great television!

I got this tv for christmas last year, and it is excellent. I use it almost everday and it works perfect! The picture is excellent! The sound is amazing, and very clear. This tv comes with a Universal remote. You can control the tv, vcr, cable box, and a dvd player with it. The remote even lights up! This tv also has a fm radio with 6 presets on it so if you don't feel like watching tv you click one button and the radio is on!This tv has a S video output and it has A/V jacks in the back of the tv and in the front of the tv (good for a dvd player or a PS2) This tv also has a Panablack picture tube, the Panablack picture tube reduces the glare and it makes a really good picture. The screen is preety flat, but it is not considered a flat screen. This tv is pretty expensive but it is worth it. I reccomend this tv to anyone who wants a great 20 inch tv.

I bought the Samsung TXM2796HF about 4 months ago and recently I am getting a loud humming sound from the speakers. The humming sound is very annoying. The picture quality is good but the sound is terrible.

I am a broadcast engineer for a FOX affiliate in Georgia, so I have seen quite a few monitors in my day. This set, is not for the large room,..but for quality of picture in normal broadcast, and definitely for High-Definition, it has few peers for quality. Also, I have one in our lobby, as a show piece, with our affiliates sound and picture, 24 hours a day, seven days a week since January 13, 2002, without so much as a hiccup, and zero upkeep. I have broadcast monitors in master control, that I wish were that good. (I also bought another one for my home in May 2003.) Its that good.

I've had this set for a few months now and honestly have no complaints. I'm an avid gamer who owns a Gamecube, a PS2, and an X-Box. And while the PS2 looks decent on the set,its the Gamecube and most definately the X-Box that makes this set shine. At this time far too few Tv stations broadcast in HD, so its external devices like DVD Players and videogame consoles that validate an HDTV purchase for most people. At this set delivers it has 3 AV inputs, 1 S-Video input, and 2 Component inputs. Its really those last 2 that matter as their necessary for a high definition display. The picture quality is excellent, as far as people complining about the contrast or color thats what the custom settings are for obviously. Also the image tilting that others complain about is due to the earths magnetic field and can be rectified through use of the "tilt" option found at the bottom of the picture menu under "p-Function".
Im not a videophile Im just a gamer who knows what looks good. And for this price you cannot go wrong.

At first I thought the RCA D52W20 was an excellent purchase, but over the next few days of ownership I started to notice the many, many flaws that ultimately led to my returning this product after 20 days and buying a Samsung instead.

In order of importance, the significant problems with this set are:

1) The screen edge regions did not produce a sharp image.
2) The convergence needed to be adjusted twice daily as there was a marked drift on both the blue and red projectors.
3) There is only 1 (center) manual convergence point. Similar sets from Sony, Toshiba, etc give you 9 points to adjust.
4) Ghost streaks appeared to the right of bright objects in high contrast situations.

This being said, the RCA generally produced a "good" picture, and who really watches the edge of the screen anyway, right? ;-)

Bottom line - this set is available at a discount price, but it also delivers discount quality.

I bought the RCA D52W15, which is essentially the D52W20 without the screen shield. The price, quality of picture and overall style were the selling points for me. Normally I would buy a Sony or other Japanese brand well known for quality, but this set just looked better than any others I had seen. The cabinet styling has a very slim look. Many sets looked big and blocky from the front as well as the backs being made with particle-board where the RCA is build like the DPL receivers using light but sturdy looking plastic. I noticed also that every set with a screen shield (just about all) was reflecting the lights of the showroom where the RCA has the mat finish (D52W15 only) and barely reflected any room lighting giving a better picture without distraction. I don't have kids or pets living in the house so I'm not worried about the screen being damaged. I am very happy so far with the performance and look in my home. As of this writing I have had it a little over a month. I bought a service contract, With a large purchase like this and being an RCA, I don't want to take chances. I have experimented with the settings and have gotten satisfaction in viewing even poor quality video. I notice even on the same stations some shows look stunning while others look poor and out of focus, so it's not the TV. I am sure the more expensive HDTV sets have more features for setting the picture parameters, but I find this set has enough to get great viewing. I find the "Cinerama" screen format is best for most 3:4 ratio broadcasts where you want the whole screen filled with least distortion on the edges. I find when watching widescreen DVDs, to eliminate black bars still seen because of being filmed in a non standard aspect ratio, I use the "16:9 up/down" mode and center the picture and loose very little picture while filling my whole screen. I hate seeing black or grey bars. I have set the contrast down to about 35%, it will save on CRT phosphor wear and then juggling color and black levels it looks better to me than the factory settings that tend to be over saturated in most cases. The audio is good, but It doesn't matter, being I am hooked up to a good A/V receiver with surround sound. Even commercials sound and look good.

I just had my TV arrive last week. So far I couldn't be happier. The picture is ok in regular mode and the HDTV picture is outstanding. The look of the TV is very sleak and modern. It has some cool features like PIP and push button recording to your VCR (I have tivo so I wouldn't use that feature). All in all I'm very happy with the TV. Also, I paid just $1050 for it on sale at Circuit City. I think it was mismarked. Can't beat that deal! I just hope it proves to be reliable in the long term.

At first I thought the RCA D52W20 was an excellent purchase, but over the next few days of ownership I started to notice the many, many flaws that ultimately led to my returning this product after 20 days and buying a Samsung instead.

In order of importance, the significant problems with this set are:

1) The screen edge regions did not produce a sharp image.
2) The convergence needed to be adjusted twice daily as there was a marked drift on both the blue and red projectors.
3) There is only 1 (center) manual convergence point. Similar sets from Sony, Toshiba, etc give you 9 points to adjust.
4) Ghost streaks appeared to the right of bright objects in high contrast situations.

This being said, the RCA generally produced a "good" picture, and who really watches the edge of the screen anyway, right? ;-)

Bottom line - this set is available at a discount price, but it also delivers discount quality.

I bought the RCA D52W15, which is essentially the D52W20 without the screen shield. The price, quality of picture and overall style were the selling points for me. Normally I would buy a Sony or other Japanese brand well known for quality, but this set just looked better than any others I had seen. The cabinet styling has a very slim look. Many sets looked big and blocky from the front as well as the backs being made with particle-board where the RCA is build like the DPL receivers using light but sturdy looking plastic. I noticed also that every set with a screen shield (just about all) was reflecting the lights of the showroom where the RCA has the mat finish (D52W15 only) and barely reflected any room lighting giving a better picture without distraction. I don't have kids or pets living in the house so I'm not worried about the screen being damaged. I am very happy so far with the performance and look in my home. As of this writing I have had it a little over a month. I bought a service contract, With a large purchase like this and being an RCA, I don't want to take chances. I have experimented with the settings and have gotten satisfaction in viewing even poor quality video. I notice even on the same stations some shows look stunning while others look poor and out of focus, so it's not the TV. I am sure the more expensive HDTV sets have more features for setting the picture parameters, but I find this set has enough to get great viewing. I find the "Cinerama" screen format is best for most 3:4 ratio broadcasts where you want the whole screen filled with least distortion on the edges. I find when watching widescreen DVDs, to eliminate black bars still seen because of being filmed in a non standard aspect ratio, I use the "16:9 up/down" mode and center the picture and loose very little picture while filling my whole screen. I hate seeing black or grey bars. I have set the contrast down to about 35%, it will save on CRT phosphor wear and then juggling color and black levels it looks better to me than the factory settings that tend to be over saturated in most cases. The audio is good, but It doesn't matter, being I am hooked up to a good A/V receiver with surround sound. Even commercials sound and look good.

I just had my TV arrive last week. So far I couldn't be happier. The picture is ok in regular mode and the HDTV picture is outstanding. The look of the TV is very sleak and modern. It has some cool features like PIP and push button recording to your VCR (I have tivo so I wouldn't use that feature). All in all I'm very happy with the TV. Also, I paid just $1050 for it on sale at Circuit City. I think it was mismarked. Can't beat that deal! I just hope it proves to be reliable in the long term.