Bought a TV without a bit of research - (1 Viewer)

[ColinM]

Toshiba 32HLV66

Open Box @ BB, $1050

Was looking for a keyboard for my daughter's birthday gift, and the wife said she wanted to get a smaller TV for the living room since the Sony KV27v66 27" took up too much space.

So I checked out the available bargains and walked out with not only a keyboard, but the Toshiba as well. Since I have full return privs, I figured I try it out and if she likes it, we'll keep it.

Nice in that it has the DVD player built in, so it cleans up the cables and black boxes from before. Adds several cubic feet back to the room, and allows the TV stand to be moved closer to the wall as well.

The wife appreciated it. Now after I let it run in and make sure there are no bugs, I'll calibrate it and we'll see how it really works out.

Next, I need to find an antenna.

 

[Arthur S]

Highly rated by Consumer Reports. In fact, it had the best HD picture quality of all 32 inch LCDs tested. I think you got a winner!

 

[ColinM]

Good!

Bad - there's a flaw. The picture becomes highly distorted after it warms up - the on-screen menus are clear, but the actual displayed picture is highly contoured and splotchy.

Back it goes. If they have another sealed one, I'd try it.

 

[Arthur S]

Maybe that was why it was an open box?

 

[ColinM]

Exactly what I said. Returning it was fun, as they stood there challenging me. I suppose I could have brought it to the service center, had it repaired (what's the lead time on LCD repairs? Anyone know?) and then had a $1300 set for $1050, but...

So I wound up trading down for the Westinghouse. Pic quality is noticably worse, and there's a hint of back light in the four corners. Might buy the HP, try that, and return the loser.

Oh what fun. If I hadn't already sold the old school Sony, I'd just return to the old Sony and be done with this. After all, this is the TV for the upstairs living room where the wife watches soaps. Pic quality is the last thing on her mind, but she's sick of the bulky TV. And the videophile in me won't accept serious playback errors, but the financial officer of the house won't allow big spending.

Oy.

 

[ColinM]

Gonna stop by tonight and buy the HP...hoo boy.

If it wins, it'll mean having to go with the external DVD player.

Wife probably doesn't really care. Maybe I shouldn't care either, but...

 

[Paul_Dunlop]

i bought a Viewsonic 32" HD that i am really happy with
Price is very good as well - I got it at Costco

no built in dvd...but they have a 27" as well

maybe check that out

hope this helps

 

[ColinM]

Welp...

Brought the HP LC3260N home, moved the Westy out of the way. The HP looks bulky, stocky by comparison, but I like the flat-black, all business charachter.

It makes noise. There's a "tone" around 250hz that is very audible in a quiet room.

That in itself is a dealbreaker. It goes back.

Which is unfortunate - - It has the perfect mix of stretch / zoom modes, a good menu, nice remote, excellent sound (really good!), and a fantastic picture. No corner lighting like the Westy, no red splotchy faces like the Westy (although after a few hours, this is diminishing).

But at least the Westy is silent, and it has a built in DVD which scores major WAF points.

Tonight the HP goes back, and next I'll bring home....LG's 32LC2D.

 

[ColinM]

...and the LG wins. Killed the Westy, Killed the HP, killed the Toshiba, even. Fantastic picture, aspect ratios out the wazoo, menus, remote, black levels, tuner sensitivity, everything is better than anything the others have to offer.

Seperate Cable RF / Antenna RF inputs are great for me - SD Dish is what we have for now. That and now I can silmutaneously use an OTA antenna (simple wire antenna for now) without swapping. Awesome!! The HD tuner picked up every station in the area, but a better tuner [edit: better ANTENNA] will make them all watchable. Some have glitches, some are perfect.

My 83-yr-old grandfather came over to watch some football - We watched Paterno get flattened. He couldn't believe the picture. Neither could I.

Done. And happy, finally.

 

[Bill Geiger]

Which LG? This one?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1134702961759

 

[ColinM]

Yep -

I made sure it wasn't the version that has only one RF input, this has two, so I can run my HD antenna and SD Dish seperately. Works great.

1080i looked better than 720p at first - 720p actually benefitted from additional sharpness.

Great set.