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April 29, 2009

Westinghouse TX-47F450S LCD HDTV

For the bargain hunter, this TV of good price and average features surely appeals.

Our test revealed that the Westinghouse TX-47F450S as average and that marks are based on picture quality. In fact most of its marks are within Goods, Very Goods and then some Fair. These are the marks since the picture quality isn?t that great. A co-judged of mine remarked that David Letterman looked washed out, color of a Caucasian acquired a pinkish color and we thought that the TV didn?t give much justice to the Return of the King DVD.

The image quality may suffer, but at least this set makes up lost ground on its audio. When I tested this for that low and quite sound, the TV has managed to upset my ears. When the volume is set to a comfortable level, somewhere a third level up, sounds from the TV are good on my ears as they sounded clear and okay. And expect loud to be louder on this TV.

Before when I need to heighten up the sound, all I need was a subwoofer. But certainly not today as this TX-47F450S takes audio to a whole new level. In fact of the nine high definitions TV sets that we scouted in April 2008, all of which are 46-to 47 inch sets, the scores for this TV is commendable and even better for a TV coming from its class.

Menus on this TV are almost flawless, save for some minor problems. Every option on the video menu is grayed out. The remedy is to exit out of the program settings and change the set-up to User mode. That way the options that you need will be available for you. Minor blips like that undercut some of its finer details like the user-friendly menu that?s easy on the eyes and recognizable icons.

Easy to access regular inputs are seen at the side of the TV, but no short-cuts for inputs for temporary hardware add-ons. If you pay attention to the overall view of this HDTV you will notice that it is almost identical to Westinghouse?s previous HDTV release.

Though the manual and the remote leave much to be desired, other aspects help make the TX-47450S a great choice. With the remote alone, you will notice that it is not comfortable to hold in your hand as you watch hours of television. The closely located buttons will means lots of errors when you are channel surfing or trying to go to a specific station. The design of the remote is also cluttered and it will be a while before you have accurately memorized where the important buttons are located.

The manual is almost unnecessary are you will find yourself online anyway looking for a printable copy that is better than the print out they included. The instructions were not very clear and some of the wording was too light to read at times. You may spend hours fumbling with the sheets as you attempt to understand just what was written to show you.

The Autosource automatically changes the setting when you connect a device. This is a great choice for you since this is cost-efficient. Though the Westinghouse TX-47F250S doesn?t match with the best, its average features and great sound makes it a good buy. Perfect if you don?t have a surround stereo sound system.

Filed under Uncategorized by Plasma TVs

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April 28, 2009

Vizio VP42 Review

Although this TV doesn?t have burn in protection facilities, it has an amazing image quality and the price is really affordable.

This is one of the best affordable TVs with a great price. It does cost less than any product in its category; however, who would have thought that, when considering image quality, it will be on the second place. This is one of the best TVs when it comes to picture quality; a perfect choice for a picky person with a low budget.

Although the image quality is great and it couldn?t get better for this price, this HDTV actually lacks 1080i or 1080p capabilities. You might get tricked and think that it actually has 1080p even if you have a lot of experience. If this is a feature that you need to have, you will be disappointed because it?s easy to purchase this TV without being aware that it lacks this option. It is not clearly marked to alert potential buyers that the 1080 capabilities are featured in this product.

This great HDTV managed to score high with its video quality. It just looks extremely good. However, a little annoying problem was the fact that facial details were a little glossy but that?s not even noticeable. Other than that, this TV behaved very well on all the other tests and managed to impress us.

The menu is similar to the one found on the Vizio Gallevia GV42LF LCD so if you had one of those you will manage to set up this one. Otherwise, you will need to spend a little more time with your new HDTV because everything is a bit difficult to set up.

Inputs aren?t very accessible and the on screen menu can be very annoying; it has a very small text with annoying colors which make everything difficult to read. Another odd thing about this TV is the fact that as soon as you ran the setup wizard, the TV doesn?t let you run it again, so be careful with the settings you choose.

It doesn?t have many features; it has no headphone jack, no USB port so don?t think that you can listen to music or see any photos on your TV from an external source. Most HDTVs have this option but the Vizio VP42 missed it. Also when searching for channels, it might have problems finding them, even if you know it is receiving them. You will notice that it cannot really identify all the channels there.

A great big screen TV, the Vizio VP42 may be passed over by experienced users who plan to do a lot of things with their flat screens. Unfortunately, with the lack of so many key features such as a simple headphone jack, they may look elsewhere for good and affordable plasma?s and HDTV?s that have a lot more options and features.

Although you have the picture-in-picture option, you might find it very difficult to use as they forgot to put a button for it on the remote control; this is very annoying sometimes.

Like all the plasma sets out there, this one also has a problem with burn-ins. Unfortunately, the manufacturers made no features to prevent burn ins and this only happens to this plasma TV, all the other out there have some sort of burn-in protection.

A representative from Vizio, however, will make sure that you don?t worry about these things because, they say, the Vizio TV has no problems with burn-ins. Considering the very small price, you might want to take that chance and buy this amazing TV.

When it comes to remotes, the Vizio VP42?s remote isn?t the best I ever saw. It has a lot of small annoying buttons which will give you a hard time. Also, they didn?t make it programmable and there is actually no PiP button. Another disadvantage is the fact that it doesn?t glow in the dark, making things a lot harder.

Considering the disadvantages and the advantages, my conclusion is that this TV is worth buying. You will never find this quality for such a small price. It is a great option for any home, and it might prove to be a better investment than other products which are more expensive.

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April 27, 2009

Vizio VO47LF LCD HDTV Review

The latest Vizio VO47LF LCD HDTV comes like a bolt out of the blue with its impressive image quality and affordable price.

At 47-inches, this TV lives up to the Vizio HDTV tradition of presenting premium image quality for a cost that blows the competition right out of the water. Not to say Vizio VO47LF is faultless. A common drawback to the Vizio line is its difficult set-up procedure, not to mention the non-movable stand and the obvious absence of multimedia USB ports.

Including a stand would have been a good idea considering the fact that these types of televisions sets can be difficult to swivel and pivot when you want to reach the back hookups. Another reason to add a good base that can move is to allow consumers to set up their home entertainment centers anyway they please with a minimum of fuss. A swiveled base would make this easy as you would not have to drag the entire set back and forth to find that perfect view.

Making it easier to setup would have also been a grand idea. While its not the most difficult HDTV ever to get up and running, its lack of clear instructions and many connectors can and will leave some consumers absolutely confused and how to attach certain wires. This could require them to pay large sums of money to have an outside company set it up for them.

The design is decidedly simple; however, someone’s lack of foresight might have resulted in the VO47LF’s input panel to be located at the back and faced down, which can be inconvenient. The accessible screen on the menu can has a hard-to-read blue interface accompanied with blue text. Certain modification on screen can also be frustrating, such as the adjustable tint not allowing complete color customization.

The good news is that fiddling with the input plugs of various devices and color set-ups are no longer necessary. The bad news is that switching between your DVD player, cable connection, and VCR still requires regular input changes. A button on the VO47LF’s remote control allows you to chose which appliance you want to use from a list-even the inactive sources-and must be bypassed every time. The Vizio remote has buttons can let you access different input types despite having indirect button commands.

A more or less average remote so far, but the backlighting feature does more than make up for it. Losing the remote in the dark becomes a thing of the past. The remote controls the set although that’s about it. There aren’t any programmable features otherwise.

Fortunately, the instructions manual helps customers dive into the VO47LF experience with relative ease. The quick-start guide comes in the form of a large back-to-back fold-out poster. All of the manual’s 76 pages are in English, easy to read and decipher.

There isn’t much in the way of extra features. The VO47LF is decidedly Spartan with its picture-in-picture option and a free HDMI cable. But for a high definition TV in the classic sense, the Vizio VO47LF remains true to its cause and delivers excellent picture quality.

Once put to our tests, the VO47LF grabbed itself a handful of Goods, a spattering of Fairs, and absolutely no Poors. It even scored quite a bit of Superiors-a ranking that doesn’t come easily from our esoteric standards.

The VO4LF’s strength comes in its sound quality which easily surpasses its competition. Dialogue is crisp and music clips come out packing a punch.

All in all, the Vizio VO47LF carries with it terrific image quality for a package price no one should miss.

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April 26, 2009

Vizio GV52LF HDTV Review

The Vizio GV52LF HDTV is a 52 inch behemoth that offers great value for its $2200 price tag. When viewing the HD and SD on the screen you see a crisp image that is free of most viewing flaws found in similar models. This Vizio receives high marks for the luster of the image onscreen and it is the only HDTV to receive such a good score.

One reason for the great of this HDTV has to do with the colors. It offers crisp and vivid tones that seem just right regardless of the image onscreen. In many instances, a TV will show bad or horribly wrong shades for a character?s skin tone and object in and around image will also seem off color. With the Vizio GV52LF HDTV you can go from setup to TV watching without having to adjust multiple options to get the colors just right.

The four different HDMI ports will allow you to create a great media room as it lets you connect cable boxes, HD players, and even an HD digital video recorder (DVR). The Vizio GV52LF HDTV has speakers that were built into the unit but then even if you turn the volume up to full power, you will still feel that the sound is not as great as it could be.

The Vizio also takes care to stray away from the solid black HDTV?s by adding a splash of color with the gray shades. While the TV unit is all black, below it are the speakers that shine with a lustrous grey tone. Unfortunately, if you take a closer look, the Vizio appears to be a bit more bulky on the bottom and that is not seen in similar models.

The remote control is backlit and easy to see in the dark so that you can control the HDTV without turning on the lights. On the very top of the control are a series of buttons featuring different numbers. In the middle is a circular button that you can use to navigate. On the very bottom are the input buttons that will allow you to switch to different electronics connected to the Vizio GV52LF HDTV.

The remote is almost completely black but like the HDTV unit it has sleek grey designs to match. You will be able to easily control and setup the TV using a well written and detailed instruction manual that is included in the packaging. You can walk through the simple setup and you can also learn everything you need to know about the remote control.

When you compare the menu onscreen to similar HDTV?s you may notice that it looks a little out dated but it does come with great features to make up for its bland look and design. You can easily view a second channel using the picture in picture. However, the Vizio GV52LF HDTV also has a picture by picture feature to allow side by side viewing of two channels instead of one box within a box.

The menu also includes temperature controls that will allow you to change the colors to tones that you find more pleasing than the factory settings. To use the picture in picture and picture by picture controls, you may be frustrated to learn that they do not have their own buttons on the remote. You have to find them via the onscreen menu each and every time you would like to use them.

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April 25, 2009

Toshiba REGZA 42HL167 HDTV Review

Toshiba is a company known for releasing great electronics but the Toshiba REGZA 42HL167 HDTV is not one of them. This flat screen has a great bargain price, but a few problems such as the lack of picture in picture left a lot to be desired.

The colors are also hard to watch as they ruin perfectly good TV shows and movies that you happen to be watching. Scenes that are supposed to look dark but still viewable are almost completely black and the characters on screen look like large blogs of color too hazy to pay attention to. Bright colors such as sunlight will also make it hard for you to see what is happening on your screen.

When most consumers buy an electronic gadget they want it to do certain things and have good capabilities. The Toshiba REGZA 42HL167 however, will not add much to your home as it lacks even the most basic features.

While it may have been an expensive option and hard to get feature a few years ago, almost every television set now comes equipped with picture in picture. The Toshiba REGZA 42HL167 somehow decided to get rid of this feature. Another simple but missing piece of technology is a jack used to plug in your headphones. Many consumers use this jack as a way to comfortably listen to the TV without waking or disturbing other members of their household. This is especially true for late night viewing.

A USB port is not a standard feature but it can be found on my models of flat screens and HDTV?s but it is also absent from the Toshiba design. This port allowed users to connect portable gadgets so that they can view pictures and listen to music.

On the plus side if you have a Toshiba high definition DVD player, you can use your HDTV to control it with ease. You can also use the built in controllers to turn automatically turn off the TV at a preset time. You can also control your children?s gaming consoles by putting a limit on how long they can play video games.

The Toshiba REGZA 42HL167 does have its good points but the cons far outweigh its pros. When you attempt to do an initial setup of this new HDTV you will run into more than a few problems along the way.

The input connectors like the coaxial are not easy to work with because their downward facing position makes it hard to reach. You will have an easier time with the audio and composite connectors as they can be found the side of the HDTV.

When you want to change a source such as turning the TV from cable or satellite to DVD, you will have to search through every single input and that includes the input that are empty. You can easily use the remote to switch the mode but you will still have to go through an extra process.

The manual which is usually a problem for many electronics is one of the saving points of the REGZA up to a point. The instructions are easy to see and easy to read, and they offer clear and precise steps to get your HDTV up and running. However, if you want to go online to quickly search for a section that you are having trouble finding, you will notice that there is no downloadable version online.

Filed under Uncategorized by Plasma TVs

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