TV Reviews

No bells & whistles. Just a plain-jane 36 inch. No HDTV. No flat screen.

But, for the $399 DELIVERED that I paid from Circut City back in early Jan 04, it was a good deal.

Its my understanding that after the middle of 04, they will no longer be able to manufactuer a tv this big without it being HDTV. So that may explain the sale price.

This week its back to $599 with a $50 giftcard free so its effectively $549.

Anyway, I ended up paying $419 after-tax delivered and set up in my living room from CC on sale.

I understand this TV goes under both Magnovolx & Phillips brand names. Mines a magnovox which I value higher than other lower end names like Sharpe or Apex.

The warranty is rather skimpy but thats the case with most TVs nowdays.

I bought with a gold card which doubles the manufacturers warranty..which is 3 months parts & labor and 12 months parts only.

My first TV was a 19 inch magnavox and I have had it for about 20 years without a problem so I have no problem staying loyal as long as I get a good deal.

If you are looking for one like this, keep an eye on CC but dont pay too much. I wouldnt pay over $450. Just wait a few weeks. I expect it will be on sale again for something better than the current $550.

Plus, free delivery is important as this TV is BIG and its a chore even for 2 able bodied men. The fact that they deliver & setup in my living room is worth $25 to me anyway.

My 4-star rating is comparing this amplified antenna to the other indoor uhf-vhf antennas I have owned.

So far, I get the best overall performance out of this antenna compared to the other indoor all-in-one antennas I have tried -- both amplified and non-amplified.

We have had a few RCA, GE, and Radio shack amplified and non-amplified indoor antennas, and could immediately tell a difference with richer colors and clearer picture. Overall, we got the same number of channels as with the other medium/high-end amplified all-in-one indoor tv antennas, just better reception.

Pros:
Rich well saturated colors
Clear picture
No noise from amplifier (some other models squeal when they loose signal)

Cons:
Doesn't really pick up more channels than other amplified indoor antennas do.
Can be hard to initially get tuned in right -- this one seemed to be more strongly directional than some others.

This antenna is not a substitute for an outdoor amplified antenna. When you live in a place where you can't have outdoor antennas or can't get local channels, this is the solution.

This product is one of the best I've ever used before. It gives a sharp, crisp quality that looks just as good as dvd. It is better than some of the other pc to tv cables i've used. I would recommend this to anyone who would rather put their computer's visuals on a big tv rather than a smaller more expensive moniter.

I tried a Samsung T351 because it has a DVI output. However, with a small Zenith ZHD-TV1, I couldn't get all the local channels in DC. After switching to Motoral HDT100, I got all the local channels as well as Baltimore's. Impressive!

The picture quality seems no different with component input of the Motorala and with DVI input of SIR-T351 on my Sony XBR800 34 inch wide screen. The only picture quality difference can be seen when there is an overlay menu. The picture would jitter a bit before an overlay menu disappears. But you don't have to worry about picture jittering when a menu is not activated.

The only real complaint I have is that the unit has mysteriously changes its password twice in the past 3 months and the unit became non-responsive. Since a password is required to change any setting on the Motorola or to set it up for use, its sudden changes are annoying. Not only the password was changed without any intervention from me, its setting was also changed. Luckily, password can be reset to default using a backdoor, i.e. entering a sequence of depressed keys. Once the password is reset and the unit is reset to default settings, it is functional again. Each time that happened, the channels have to be scanned/programmed again. Scanning for stations can be a slow process. But it is more bearable than not getting stations/channels that the Samsung couldn't get.

This doesn't seem to be a feature-rich device. However, I don't need all the bell and whistle and a remote control that does everything for you. This unit is simple and functional, most of the time. The Samsung didn't have this strange problem but it couldn't tune in enough channels. Hence, the Motorola is staying with me for a while.

I just received my TV/video cart today, and assembled it easily, in an hour or so. I'm very pleased with it, with the exception of the light-weight plastic brackets in front. I had assumed, when I ordered it, that they were for DVDs, but they're for CDs. No way a DVD will fit in there. Other than that, my only complaint would be that the drawer doesn't slide. Still, it's sturdy and attractive, and it rolls easily. The side compartments hold videos or DVDs. If you want the slots for CDs and need something that can be moved, this is the probably the perfect cart.

not bad price for a cheaper starter card. might want to wait for G5 cards to come out in a few months and the price drops[].

For the money I spent, I couldn't be happier with the end result! The directions were terrible, and it did take me a good 2 1/2 hours to put it together; but once assembled it's sturdy and looks a lot more expesive than it really was. Also, there were no predrilled holes in the back for the stereo cords, so I had to make my own hole...I hid it so it doesn't show but it makes the assembly a bit of a pain. A bit of advice, put all your components in the cabinet before you install the door; I learned the hard way and had to remove it and put it back on. All in all, a great deal and looks very nice in my living room.

I bought this at a dealer at a nice discount since it was the display model. When I got it home, the right speaker produced bad distortion and the left speaker sounded just okay. Also, the remote control's light function only lit up the top four buttons (the component selectors). So I took the TV back for repairs (under warranty) and ordered a new remote.

When I got the TV back, the sound was very good. Last night I hooked it up to my stereo, and it was, like, totally awesome dude! I found some audio functions I wasn't aware of, so I'm sure with a little more time and fiddling, it's going to sound even better.

The picture is very nice, too. I don't have a DVD player yet, but I'm sure when I hook that up with the S-video jack, I'm going to be very impressed.

But that darned remote... I got the new remote and same thing, only the top four buttons light up. I took it apart, and sure enough, the only LED's are in the top of the unit. So even though all the buttons are transluscent so as to accept backlighting, this crazy remote was designed only to have the top row of buttons light up! What were the geniuses who designed this thing thinking? That we wouldn't need any of the other buttons in the dark?

And, like with most modern consumer electronics, the manual is worthless. It simply lists the different buttons and what they do. But that doesn't help--what I want to know is how to use them and why I'd want to use them. It took me about two weeks to figure out how to set up the TV so I could use my VCR to record shows. In the end, it makes sense, but why not have someone who knows how to write edit the user manual?

Purchased this little gem for an exercise room in my basement. Decent picture and sound quality. Workmanship seems to be above par for a TV in this price range. Excellent documentation. Comes with cheap little over-the-air antenna that you probably won't use. Due to all the noise from the fitness equipment, I often have to turn up the volume to hear the TV- I have noticed little or no distortion when the volume is turned up. You'll probably want to tweak the factory default picture settings- I found the contrast setting was really not to my liking. Easy to use on screen navigation controls for adjusting TV settings. Comes with nice little remote.

I bought this TV with pretty high expectations considering the higher than Sony price tag (even though it's only $20 more). The dot crawl is a little sub par if you compare it to the Sony, however, this tv does offer S-Video input which is it's main selling point in my opinion. You well be able to get more lines of resolution from your DVD or Game consoles i.e. Playsataion 2 from this television.

The sound on this TV is excellent, it plays surround sound from it's rear firing speakers and gives great sounding effects. Of course, the TV channel that you are watching needs to be broadcast in stereo for the rear speakers to turn on. Overall, I would buy this TV again, or consider looking at the JVC which is popular also, though it doesn't have S-Video.