Philips 30PF9946 30-Inch WideScreen HDTV-Ready LCD Flat-Panel TV Review

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(More customer reviews)Pros: Attractive unit, decent sound, great size screen, comes with stand and wall mount (most tvs don't come with wall mount).
Cons: Non-HD signals look pixellated. My Direct TV digital satellite feed looks very good, but there are image artifacts that result in occasional blurriness or distortion. It is a minor annoyance. My progressive scan DVD looks excellent, but still not perfect. (I do not have an HD signal as of yet, so I can't speak to how this looks). The manual is pathetic. The INPUTS/OUTPUTS are very weird. My 20" Sony Wega LCD has all that it should, but for some reason, Phillips was really on drugs when it made this unit. In order to get the progressive scan quality, I CANNOT simply connect using a Component cable; instead, I have to use Phillips supplied hybrid cable. In fact, when I first tried the component, I got no image whatsoever... just sound. And although it looks like they have a multitude of imputs, several "share" a slot. It is very weird. And I simply don't understand a TV being built without AUDIO OUT. Speaking of Audio, the unit sounds just fine, exhibiting good volume and separation. But as I try out the different equilizer modes (Theatre, Music, Personal, etc.), I can detect no difference whatsoever.
While I am happy with this TV, I feel that it is overpriced for what it offers; moroever, I feel it is advertised as having more than it really does. This unit would be a reasonable purchase for three to five hundred less (which I'm sure it will be next year). The Sony Wegas and Sharp Aquos are superior, but much more expensive.

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Philips' 30-inch widescreen, high-definition-ready 30PF9946 offers a stunning blend of style, convenience, and quality. Its high brightness (450 cd/m3) and high contrast (400:1) ensure vivid, detailed images from any source, while integrated TV and FM radio tuners offer cable or broadcast reception of all your favorite programs. Hook the 30PF9946 up to an optional DTV receiver or progressive-scan DVD player and you'll enjoy vivid, detailed images from 1080i, 720p, and 480p sources, which render at up to 720p resolution on the set's native 1,024 x 768-pixel screen.LCD technology allows screens to be thinner and televisions to be lighter and more energy-efficient than ever before. The result is television that not only fits on a wall, but fits in places conventional televisions cannot. The 30PF9946's comes outfitted with Digital Crystal Clear technology, a suite of picture innovations including Dynamic Contrast, a comb filter, and advanced, 10-bit processing.A feature called Active Control Plus continually adjusts picture settings at over 60 times per second for all inputs, correcting both sharpness and noise reduction, even adjusting for changes in ambient viewing light.Audio/video inputs include a direct-digital DVI input and a VGA computer input. Onboard Dolby Virtual Surround simulates enveloping surround sound from any 2 speakers.What's in the Box TV, stand, wall mount, remote control, remote batteries, and a user's manual.

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VIZIO M470SV 47-Inch LCD HDTV with VIZIO Internet Apps Review

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(More customer reviews)First off...I don't hate the actual TV. I did a lot of research before I purchased this TV and I still believe it is worth the price for the way it performs. I purchased it less than a week ago but then it began to turn off on its own...
There seems to be some sort of glitch with Vizio's software updates that causes so many of their TVs to turn off on their own that a support supervisor for the company called the problem "normal." Now I understand that things go wrong and need to be updated, but even though this seemed to be a pervasive problem with their product line they could give me no timeline for when it will be remedied, and seemed to think I was demanding for wanting one.
When I stated to the support person I was talking with that the whole situation seemed strange and very not "normal," I was told "Sorry" and then disconnected.
So basically...
Maybe the TV is worth the price, but with the way their support staff treated my issue I'm not even sure what they told me is wrong with my TV is legitimate. When you're paying a thousand-plus dollars for something you want to know there's help waiting if anything goes wrong with it...unfortunately, that's not what you get with Vizio.
If you don't mind putting up with lousy support, this TV definitely has a pretty picture!

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VIZIO M550SV 55 Inch Class Edge Lit Razor LED LCD HDTV with VIZIO Internet Apps Review

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(More customer reviews)I absolutely love this TV. It has a fantastic picture, lots of great apps, the remote is great, everything about it is fantastic - except for one thing: the TV is unwatchable.
This TV has a major firmware flaw. When the TV encounters a significant scene change, particularly if the scene change involves a sudden, black image, the TV turns itself off. Pulling the power cord for a few seconds to reset the TV fixes it for a while - but the problem eventually returns. Watching a Blu-Ray disc is impossible - the TV turns itself off almost every 30 seconds or so. It happens when watching something via HDMI, it even happens (less frequently) when watching something on the internal built-in Netflix app. Obviously there is a firmware problem in the code that is decoding and displaying the image - I suspect when an exception happens in this code, the TV turns itself off.
Doing a Google search for "M550SV" and "turns off" you can see that this is not an uncommon problem - it's quite widespread. It is also happening to the M420SV, the 42 inch version of this TV. Repeated calls to Vizio customer support result in denial of any known problem, and claims that it must be "power related" - telling me to go buy a surge suppressor (I already have one on the TV). When I pressed them on the issue, they agreed to send a repairman to my house to "replace the power supply."
Replacing the power supply is not going to fix a firmware problem. The problem can be easily demonstrated by playing a pre-recorded video that makes the TV turn off at the same spot every time, as I demonstrate in this video.
Unfortunately, as much as I love this TV, I am going to have to return it. I cannot live with such a major fault. And while I have purchased (and recommended to others) Vizio TV's (as well as other products) before, the replacement for this TV is not going to be a Vizio. What a shame.


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VIZIO E472VL 47-Inch Class LCD HDTV with VIZIO Internet Apps Review

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(More customer reviews)i bought this tv and im very happy with it.shipping was right on the money.picture is awesome. added a vizio sound bar and the sound is outstanding.the only con with this tv is the volume. without the sound bar addition you have to put the volume up very high to hear it. at least up to 55 or 60 to get a good affect.other than that very happy with it.would recommend to anyone thinking of buying it.

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VIZIO XVT3D554SV 55-inch 1080p 480Hz 3D LED HDTV with Full Array TruLED, Smart Dimming and VIZIO Internet Apps Review

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(More customer reviews)The 2D image here is extremely sharp, almost shockingly so. Remember when you first moved from SD to HD and all the TV shows suddenly seemed kind of... shabby? As if the sets just weren't up to HD scrutiny? The image here is so clear, the colors so deep and the contrast so high, that you can have that experience over again. Sometimes it even feels like the 2D images are 3D. Compared to my earlier sets, it's actually disorienting.
I've made some changes to the review to address questions and discoveries.
Calibration
As usual, the out of the box settings tend to favor a brightness that could give you a tan. However, the default "movie" mode tones things down a lot (and looks very much like what I got after spending hours on calibration, so you may want to spare the effort and just make that quick selection, assuming all these things emerge from the box equal). Technically, the out of the box modes all seem to run a little to the "warm" side, so you'll need to cool the image down a bit if you want the textbook values, but I find myself liking the warmer image a bit better. Somehow (even though I know better) it looks more lifelike.
Screen glossiness
The screen is glossy. Yup. I've found that it doesn't cause a problem during the day because the set's inherent brightness shrugs off evenly distributed lighting from reflected sources (I don't get direct sun on the set, but that would be inadvisable for most sets). And naturally, the set looks great in a dim room. However, if you're sitting down and have some lamps in front of it at night, they can be reflected. Some reflections even give a scattered, prismatic effect that can be distracting. It's not a big deal. It doesn't take on the mirror-like appearance of some screens. But it is noticeable and may require that you rearrange your set position or lighting.
Remote
The slide-out keyboard remote works fairly well, but it has a list of problems. First off, it's not backlit, and on a remote this complex that's a real problem if you expect to use it to replace your cable box or DVD remotes. You'll find lots of small buttons, many almost flush with the case, that you can't make out by touch. The slide-out alpha keyboard is fine for entering information needed to access Netflix or search for clips, but a Tweet is about the longest thing that can be typed comfortably. The handling of multiple devices is both clever and irritating. The remote associates a device with each input to the TV. So if you tell it that HDMI-1 is your satellite box and HDMI-2 is your blueray player it will (after correct setup) switch the remote function to the appropriate device when you switch input. However, getting it to control a different device -without- changing the input (if, for example, you have all your devices running through a receiver) is much less neatly handled.
3D
Initially, I was having trouble getting DirectTV to recognize this set as 3D and kept getting the "Your 3D TV does not support this resolution." This appears to have been resolved, and I can now watch soccer re-runs and old tennis games while waiting for more 3D content along with everyone else. The depth of the 3d is good -- equal to the apparent depth on the Samsung X500, which is the best I've seen. However, there is no apparent way to use the 3D effect on 2D images which, while a gimmick, is a handy gimmick when you don't feel like watching "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" for the 20th time just to see some 3D.
USB
I've been unable to view any video off USB ports. I have a downloaded 3D clip saved to a flash drive which was provided as a test of the Samsung. Though there are 3 USB ports, none of them seem to recognize the clip (or actually, to even respond to inserting the flash drive)
2D Image quality
I'm still very taken with the 2D image. Even neighbors who were unimpressed with previous Vizio sets are excited by this one. Very deep blacks, color saturation nice (initial setup is slightly on the warm side... but I find that I rather like it). Brightness and contrast have a wide range and will go right up to the "torch" level that many stores seem to like. If you think it looks good on the shelf at Megamart, it looks even better on the wall at home.
I've upped my rating a star after two weeks of owning the set. I still wish it came with an improved remote, but now that it's all calibrated and connected to my system, I have little else to complain about.


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3D Technology Checklist
This product is 3D-related. To help you get a great 3D experience, use the checklist below to ensure you have everything you need. 3D viewing requires:

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VIZIO M420SV 42 Inch Class Edge Lit Razor LED LCD HDTV with VIZIO Internet Apps Review

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(More customer reviews)I spent months looking for a TV and finally found this one. After comparing different models i decided on this one for the price. The LED LCD screen at 42" is big enough for all your needs, home theater, casual watching, video games. its excellent, the TV is light and thin due to it being a flat screen and all :P. easy to use menu and set up. the only downside is you cannot turn off the WiFi on it. which tbh isnt really a down side. ive owned it for 2 months now and love it, so my suggestion if you are looking for a TV this is the one

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