I wanted a very small 32″ LCD, and was having trouble finding anything under about 32 inches wide. Unfortunately for my budget, the first TV I encountered was the Samsung 32″ LCD, which is absolutely gorgeous, but costs twice as much as this ILO set. I’ve been selling electronics for wal-mart for a little over five years, but I’ve never encountered this TV in a store, so I could only base my decision on the TV’s specifications and a large amount of faith in Wal-Mart’s return policy. I had no intention to keep this TV if I didn’t like it. Enough backstory, though.

Probably the most important thing to note is that the dimensions on Wal-Mart’s website are incorrect. The actual dimensions are (without stand) 31″ W x 21.75″ H x 3.75″ D or (with stand) 31″ W x 25.25″ H x 9″ D.

Setting up the TV is relatively easy, and the jacks are accessible under one of two removable panels on the rear of the television. The panels help hide cabling and there is also a cutout on the rear of the TV for routing the cabling. For a dirt-cheap LCD, I was surprised to see “nice” touches like that.

The color on the TV is extremely vibrant, and it took me a while to get the picture adjusted satisfactorily. I was getting a little frustrated trying to remove just the right amount of saturation and still have a somewhat natural looking picture. I’m more than a bit picky, and I probably spent about 25 minutes playing with the picture (using my Xbox 360 as the source through component video cables @ 720p) before I was satisfied. The “natural” setting seems to be best for most situations if you care to use one of the picture presets.

The TV does not have a built-in HD tuner, but I rarely watch TV, and really needed a monitor for my Xbox 360. I did connect an antenna to the RF IN on the Ilo 3200 and ran a channel search. The sensitivity of the tuner was surprising. I honestly think that the overall reception is a lot better than my beloved Philips 27″ I’ve been using for the last few years. Even without an HD tuner, the TV reception is surprisingly good. The LCDs that we have on display at Wal-Mart have an immense number of artifacts when displaying a picture over the air or cable, and I won’t try to deceive you, it is a normal occurrence for an LCD, and it happens on the Ilo 3200 as well, but it is minimal compared to the other LCDs I’ve used.

The TV has a few different picture shapes. It can stretch a 4:3 image to fit the 16:9 screen, zoom in on a 4:3 image to fill the screen (due to the nature of this zooming, information is lost on the top and bottom of the picture), display a 4:3 image completely on the screen without filling it (results in “black bars” on the right and left of picture), or do a combination of the previous two (a little clipping and smaller black bars)

The audio quality on the TV was significantly better than I expected. The speakers actually have some bass response, and can put out a pretty good amount of sound. I wouldn’t recommend trying to impress your neighbors with your awesome new sound system, but as far as televisions go, it’s acceptable, and especially when compared to speakers on other LCD TVs, these are pretty good.

It’s not *all* good, however. The stand for the TV is a bit wobbly. It doesn’t feel unstable or that it’s likely to fall off, but the TV is simply too heavy to have such a small junction between the TV’s body and the stand. The stand itself is big enough, but the joint allows the TV to move a little if force is applied. After I stopped working with it, it didn’t wobble or slide or fall down, but I think that the stand could have been a little better. Another minor disappointment on the TV is the contrast. It’s definitely better than most of the LCD’s I’ve seen, but it has nothing on high-dollar panels like the aforementioned Samsung 32″, and at half the price, I’m quite pleased with my decision. The audio pops a bit when changing channels if the TV is connected to a Home Theater Reciever (or other audio device with RCA inputs), which is mildly obnoxious, but i found that after a few minutes I didn’t notice it as much. Also, the buttons on the TV aren’t spectacular, particularly the ON/OFF button. For that matter, the remote is a little on the cheap side, but it does have a reasonable assortment of functions, and it would be relatively easy to replace it with a more aesthetically pleasing learning remote if desired.

Currently, Wal-Mart doesn’t seem to have its website together, so that’s a little aggravating. I wish the dimensions on the TV were proper and that the listing of inputs was more detailed. For what it’s worth, the TV has one set of component inputs (480i/480p/720p/1080i), two sets of composite/S-Video inputs, one pair stereo RCA audio out, one pair of powered speaker outputs (which I have not yet tried), eighth-inch audio in (for PC), VGA in, and an HDMI input labeled HDMI/DVI.

Oh, and one last thing. The Warranty on this TV is 1 year parts/90 days labor, but Wal-Mart offers a 2-year service plan for $58.88. That *extends* the warranty by two years, covers annual cleanings, damage due to acts of God, and some other nice stuff. Gambling $1000 on a “cheap” LCD is a lot less of a gamble if you can get some sort of peace of mind, and as long as Wal-Mart holds up their end of the bargain (They just started offering them, and nobody’s manufacturer’s warranty has expired yet, so I can’t say how good they are at fixing stuff because nobody has had an opportunity to use the service yet), it would be tough to go wrong with this TV if you’re on a budget (and especially if you’re pressed for space. This is the smallest (width-wise) 32″ LCD I’ve found, and I can’t express how pleased I am that my assumption that Wal-Mart’s dimensions were wrong was right.

$986 - $98.60 (Associate Discount) MO Tax Shipping = 974.12, but without discount it’d be around $1075

I searched and shopped and thought I was ready, then I saw the Elite PRO -1140HD. The salesman let me come in and tell him what I wanted in a 50 inch. I told him all the time I had spent reading reviews and looking at different HD TV’s. Just when I was ready to buy he asked if he could show me the 50inch that all others are measured by. It was then I saw the Elite for the first time. I have never looked at another low end or medium value HD TV again. Look at the Panasonics, Mitusbishis, whatever. Then look at the Elite. I have now had it for 4 months and not a day goes by that I don’t smile everytime I look at. One strong suggestion resist the impulse to buy from a discount on-line vendor. I paid a little more at Ken Cranes but the service was incredible. I talked to them for weeks about the Elite before ever buying it, and although they won’t be able to match an on-line price they did negotiate a little to make the sale. Plus they can recommend a specialized installer which is very important. You don’t want to make a mistake with this quality TV. You won’t regret this decision.

We’d been thinking about an HDTV for a long time. It must have started sometime in 2005 when a friend and I went to a Red Sox game that was shown in HD at a local theater, in lieu of actually being able to secure tickets for Fenway Park. That had been the first time that I’d seen a full baseball game in HD, and from that point on, I was hooked. However, it took over a year until a combination of price drops, Massachusetts’ tax-free weekend and discount coupons combined to create an opportunity to purchase said TV.

Bought this at Target for the unbeatable price of $499 (with 10% discount for applying for an in-store credit card). The picture quality caught my eye more than once walking by this unit. Also, I read an informal review in PCMag by John C. Dvorak, who doesn’t pull any punches: He said Westinghouse is doing everything right at a decent price (to paraphrase), and I agree! For the price, there is no equal. Motion is not best-in-class, but why should it be, at this price? Still, a very nice picture and easy for the whole family to use. Built-in DVD works great! The QAM tuner allows you to watch cable HD local chanels without a cable box or paying extra to Comcast. The remote has a dedicated button for Aspect Ratio: Default, Fit-To-Vertical-Size, and Overscan to fill the screen. The thing I like about all of these settings is that all are free of the “stretch” effect that puts 40 lbs on anybody on the screen; the zoom is always proportionately correct. Each channel remembers its own zoom setting, which is convenient. 50% of my viewing is non-HD via the composite (yellow) input; I find this quality is worse than my old Sony CRT, but acceptable during the transition to HD from standard-def.

I an world where flat-panel televisions have quickly gone from overpriced En-Vogue technology, to commodity-priced every-day items, Sharp continues to dominate on brand-recognition and solid marketing. While the newest Aquos panels are very affordable (a far cry from the uber-hi prices of yesteryear) the technology still leaves quite a bit to be desired in terms of image quality, particularly for SD (standard definition) signal. Regardless, Aquos is a solid line, dependable and produced by one of the best names in electronics.

I bought this TV as a replacement for an LCD that I still have. I made the jump into flat panels with LCD and I was happy…at first. Until I started noticing problems with my eyesight. Things would get blurry, I would get headaches, even nauseous at times. I didn’t know why until I did research online and found that the response rate of certain LCDs and the slow refresh was what was messing with my senses. The other problem was black levels; I got really bothered with the “dark gray” that the LCD was calling black. So I did research and narrowed my options to three: (1) buy a CRT, which is space consuming, (2) Get an LCD for $5000 with a fast refresh and super deep contrast ratio and black level, or (3) get a plasma. Using space and cost as my primary concerns, I decided on the plasma. I did major research on different plasma types and almost settled for the Vizio when I saw this one at Circuit City.

Product MPN
MPN:TH-58PZ700U

Combo Features
Playable File Formats:JPEG

Image Quality
Comb Filter:3DYC / 3D Digital
Pixel Pitch:0.67 mm
Output Color:68700 million colors

Connectors
Rear Output Connectors:Composite x 1 • Audio (RCA) x 1
Memory Card Slot:SD Card

Audio Features
Audio Type:Surround
MTS Stereo:SAP / MTS Stereo

Speakers
Number of Speakers:2 Speakers + Subwoofer

Technical Features
Parental Control:V-Chip
Sleep Timer:With Sleep Timer

Remote Control
Remote Control:Multibrand
Illuminated Remote:Illuminated

Screen Text
OSD Languages:English • French • Spanish
Channel Labels:With Channel Labels

Dimensions
Width:57.3 in.
Depth:5.7 in.
Height:36.2 in.
Weight:141.1 lb.

Miscellaneous
Cabinet Color:Black
Product ID:41864316

Details

I’m not one to blindly buy by brand name and so I am happy to see when the leading CONSUMER testing service and magazine REPORTS that there’s diamonds in the bargain bin.

We found our 42″ Olevia 542i before Christmas in a free shipping and 10% off coupon discount at Target online. Delivered cost was only $1030 or so, including tax.

I suppose being the Director of Home Theatre for a large electronics store is a blessing in a way! You get to try out all the goodies and play with them. You also get to see them all side by side, to be able to make a more educated judgment! Sometimes new models only mean new cosmetics and higher prices, but that is not the case with this 46″ SONY LCD TV!

The Phillips 42PFP5332D represented my first venture into the world of high definition television, as well as flat-screen & big-screen technology, so please keep in mind that the opinions and observations I’m about to impart are those of a “videophilic novice” with little precedent with which to draw comparisons. That said, I’ll start off by saying that this model is (in my opinion) an excellent performer and represents a very satisfactory compromise between impressive statistics and value for the dollar.