~ Dell W3207C HDTV Review

 

The Dell W3207C is a feature packed 32 inch LCD high definition that is well worth its price of $1200. It has received great scores and passed every test it has been put through thus far. The W3207C also features a beautiful design that will look good in every home.

Included in its design is both an NTSC and ATSC tuner for analog and digital signals. When all signals change to digital in the near future, you won’t have to worry about getting extra connectors to still view broadcasting channels.

When viewed under a steady test of different lighting situations, the Dell W3207C passed easily. Even the brightest fluorescent did not obstruct your view on screen. Regardless of the harsh lights, it was easy to see bright and beautiful colors in varying contrast.

The Dell W3207C features a color scheme of silver and black and this makes it stand out beautifully in a way that an all black HDTV would not be able to. The TV is lifted off the floor by a base that matches the two toned color and it the base moves and turns for easy viewing and free movement.

The remote is also two toned to match the TV and its design is more reminiscent of a portable media player than a basic remote control. It also has a central control pad that is similar to the touchpad of the iPod player. Instead of soft touch control, the pad moves using four different buttons. While the remote is nice to look at, it unfortunately will not allow you to use it as a universal remote for other electronics such as a DVD player.

Even with this small fault, the remote is structured and organized to prevent confusion and to allow ease of use. When you pull up the menu on the HDTV you will find that it is as easy to use as the remote controls.

Square controls on the right side of the TV are easy to reach if not to read. You can find it difficult to see what the label reads, but a quick glance at the instructions will soon clear up any confusion involving the controls.

The only real issue that makes itself present in the Dell W3207C, concerns the audio capabilities. As you listen to what is being played, you will notice that the sound is not as exciting as you hoped it would be. In fact it is down right flat but the use of the Surround XT can give the sound a small boost. The speakers are supposed to be the very same ones placed on their previous model but the sound in the Dell W3207C seems a lot more inferior. The sound was not as clear or crisp and adjusting the audio controls did not do much to improve the sound.

The only other difference between the speakers is that you are not able to detach them like you could with the previous models. The inability to place the speakers around your media room in key locations is also a bad feature in the W3207C.

For a good HDTV at a reasonable price, this is definitely a great option. The design is beautiful, the remote is easy to use and setup is a snap. Picture quality is exquisite and you will be able to enjoy anything you choose to watch on this flat screen TV.

HP PL4272N review

ThePL4272N isn’t the best product in the world when it comes to HDTVs, however it turned out to be a fairly good product for a low price if you aren’t too picky.  The resolution is not the best you can find; the 1024 by-768-pixel keeps it from being a better option on the market. The visuals can be eye damaging, they tend to have a pink color, especially when showing people’s skin. That looks unnatural and gives an artificial touch to the whole scene. If you are a master in visual settings maybe you can remove that by manually setting your TV’s colors.

The menu is quite organized and may seem familiar to the people who bought the HPLX4276N. The advantage is the fact that they are easy to understand and handle, because the menu has two options, Simple Menu and Full Menu.

You might be surprised to find that there is an option called White Wash in the Setup menu and not in the Picture menu. You will not find this on previous LCDs. However, this option proves to be quite handy when you experience burn in problems and it helps you ameliorate those before they get permanent.

Another disadvantage is the fact that this utility lacks any of the options that display gray sidebars in 4-by-3 mode. This is a very useful option when people want to see programs with standard definition in the original aspect ratio, otherwise it can make damage by causing phosphor aging.  The same problem appears to Vizio VP42 HDTVs. Also, keep in mind that you won’t find any useful instruction about burn-in in the HP manual, although all other plasma manuals have it.

Unfortunately the PL4272N lacks a lot of entertainment features that other products usually have. You can’t find any jack for headphones; it has no media slots, and no picture-in-picture. These options could have added great improvement to this product but, unfortunately, it doesn’t have them.

The remote control also lacks most of the features found on these products. It’s rather large and the bad thing about it is that you can’t program it. The same thing happened with the LC4276N. You may expect many buttons on a remote control which has this size, but it’s not the case here; very few buttons compared to its size.

If you’re waiting for another disadvantage, here it comes: the buttons don’t have any light; this tends to be very uncomfortable sometimes. If there is not sufficient lighting in the room, you will have to constantly find a light source until you have memorized the button positions.

These modern electronics can be difficult to setup, so the HP PL4272N comes with a helpful setup wizard that takes you from beginning to end in a snap. It will walk you through the options and help you as you try to fix the colors, saturation and hue.

The HP PL4272N plasma has Dynamic 3D color gamut mapping, and this feature makes it easy to adjust the colors on the screen. Using this mapping technique, you can modify the colors for electronic gadgets that have limited color choices. It is also a great option for home viewers who have visual problems viewing colors, such as an individual who may be color blind.

Overall the visual quality is average, the whole handling seems quite simple, and the menu is understandable and easy to use. It looks like a mediocre product; however it will have a lot of fans due to its small price.

Although this product may seem like the worse there is, it’s cheap and may be a good option if you are planning to buy more than one without expecting major quality. It’s not the best thing in the world, but maybe if you know what you are doing, you can improve video quality from the settings. If you can afford another model for a few hundred dollars more, don’t hesitate, otherwise choose this product but don’t expect it to be amazing. 

 

LG 47LBX Opus LCD HDTV

The LG 47LBX Opus LCD HDTV comes equipped with a stand, which allows it to swivel and its use of music coming from the USB along with its photo capabilities are not really enough to offset the 47LBX HDTV’s inferior image quality capabilities. The overall casing of the Opus is beautiful but when it comes to actually using this gadget, you will be disappointed as it has little to offer the average buyer.

This 47LBX LCD HDTV model from LG should rightfully be skipped if you’re intending to get really good images. And, really, who isn’t after getting really good images from one’s HDTV set. With the nine High Definition TV sets that we had reviewed last April 2008, the 47LBX Opus had gotten into eighth place when it came to displaying overall image quality.

When it came to the picture’s details and the quality for brightness and contrasts, the HDTV set could only be considered fair. It was quite clear that it was able to display color quite expertly enough. However, a bad aspect was that it also made the flesh tones for Caucasians display a rather reddish tint. Depending on what you happen to be watching at the time, the color fluctuates and will eventually distract you from your television shows.

However, the sound capabilities for the 47LBX Opus were quite remarkable when you consider that sound is necessary for a TV audio system. To make movie soundtracks as good as they should be, you would still need to use a distinct amplifier as well as employ some speakers.

The subtle sound effects as well as the spoken words for the beginning scene of Phantom of the Opera were heard quite distinctly enough. The high volume organ blast, though, had a hard time passing through the speaker quite well. You have to find a perfect volume setting, and if you turn it up to much the sound will come out muffled.

Some good accompaniments to the 47LBX coming from LG include a port using USB capabilities that allows you to look at your own photos as well as play your own music. The LG 47LBX HDTV also has the ability to rotate on its stand. This allows you to view the screen from a variety of angles.

This feature of the HDTV set also allows you to readily gain access to the HDTV set’s back. The input ports that can be found on the back of the set are oriented outwards; this allows for more convenient use. Most of the HDTV’s are not extremely heavy but it can be daunting to pull out and turn the entire TV when you want to plug in audio and video wires or to connect portable electronics.

The LG 47LBX’s accompanying remote control is also quite acceptable. This remote control, however, comes without any backlighting features. The grip for the remote control is something that is also comfortable enough for the user. The main buttons are also placed where they should be and are considered to be quite easy to find.

Some specialized buttons for the control of the backlight of the LCD also exist; these are the ‘Bright+’ and the ‘Bright‘ buttons. Due to SimpLink which is the LG version of the HDMI Consumer Electronics or CEC channel, the remote control can be used for other gadgets that make use of the SimpLink system. This comes all without need for any specialized programming.

Menus of the LG 47LBX HDTV are displayed quite attractively. These are clear and have high readability and the menus function exactly as how they are expected to function. The manual that comes along with the TV is quite thin and is in thirty-two pages. It is a sort of Reader’s Digest simplification of the whole manual. The whole manual is something that is inside the CD that comes along with the TV and this manual is read in the PDF format.

Taken as a whole, the LG 47LBX HDTV set’s high price as well as the not too impressive visual capabilities of the TV set make buying the product not quite an attractive choice.

LG 50PY3DF Plasma TV Review

The LG 50PY3DF Plasma TV receives a big score in aesthetics compared to other brands in the same category of high quality television. Its tag price is attractive too, although it can't compete head-on in terms of performance against its competitors. This model targets consumers who give lot of consideration to affordability with a few good features.

Designed meticulously, the LG 50PY3DF looks really enticing and one reason is that it is more affordable than other brands of plasma television. Tested against other TVs in its size category, this 50-inch plasma HDTV garnered an average performance rating that is equivalent to Good. However, for the low price, its features run a bit short compared to more expensive brands belonging to the same TV lineup.

Tests show that the LG 50PY3DF gives strong, satisfactory color quality on standard- and high-definition images but it projects brightness and contrast that can only be considered okay or average. In TV programs like the George Lopez Show, the skin tones revealed are fairly believable while some hints of pixels are present. Game broadcasts like that of the San Francisco Giants showed a good balance of orange and green colors. Details were good too, during the dark scenes in the movie like the Lord of the Rings.

In terms of connectivity, the LG 50PY3DF features three HDMI inputs compared to other brands, which have four. User can also utilize a USB port for data stored in card readers or thumb drives. This USB port allows the LG 50PY3DF to display photos in a slideshow with the packaged remote control to manage the settings and pan the photos when browsing.

With some adjustments at the back, this TV model can swivel like the Samsung FP-T5084 but not as smooth. For a more organized setup, cables can be tied together using a loop that is installed at the back where the swivel bolt can be found.  To adjust the display settings manually, user should look for a mini touchpad at the lower right portion that will launch the menu for the TV settings.

Display settings include menus for color temperature adjustments with the colors red, green, and blue as indicators. The menu also allows the adjustment of contrast, brightness, and vividness of the display through color presets for Dynamic, Standard, and Mild.  Dynamic is the most enticing preset although there is a bit of concern with how unreal the saturation is - images appear un-natural. With the Standard and Mild settings, images are more realistic.

There are two ways to set the display: through the remote control or through the mini touchpad on the lower right portion of the TV.  The keys on the remote control are not backlit and a bit cramped but it serves its function well with the control of the on-screen display.

Stacked against other similar plasma screens the LG 50PY3DF would not receive an A plus score because it lacks some features that experienced electronic users may need. However, studies have found that most home users do not need, want or know how to use all of the extra features that are bundled on their gadgets. Considering its great price, this LG is perfect for those who wants a good plasma screen without a load of useless features that they will not use.

The LG 50PY3DF TV's size is quite deceiving. It appears bigger than its counterparts because of the panel extensions on both sides where the built-in speakers have been incorporated. These speakers deliver good quality sound from tests ran on shows like the Phantom of the Opera. Each LG TV comes with a 2-year warranty on parts and labor - which is quite an edge for the brand since others offer only 1-year warranties.

Though the LG 50PY3DF may be a bit behind in performance and features, there are still users who put emphasis on the price. These price-conscious buyers may find themselves purchasing this model especially with its demonstrated features and good sound quality, which give value for the money.

LG Electronics 50PC3D Plasma HDTV review

TheLG Electronics 50PC3D Plasma HDTV with the 50 inch plasma screen is an average product when it comes to HDTVs. Although it received an satisfactory score at the tests, it has a good design and the price is low.

When speaking about the color quality, tones and brightness this HDTV manages to make them look ok. Although when you look at the skin color you may notice some pixelation, the overall quality is good and the skin looks quite real. When watching something that shows light and strident colors, the LG Plasma HDTV manages to polish them and brings out a nice combination without hurting your eyes. Also, the night scenes are really fantastic as this HDTV has good quality when it comes to black or darker spots in movies.

This LG Plasma HDTV also comes with many connections like three HDMI inputs which are similar to the ones found on the Pioneer Kuro PDP-5010FD. Keep in mind that it comes with a nice USB port that lets you use a flash card reader or a thumb device. You can also see high quality photos on the TV.

Another great feature of this Plasma screen is the remote control which has controls for any slide shows and lets you manage your photos manually. So if you simply want to view some photos get comfy and operate everything with the remote control.

The swiveling technology is like the one on the Samsung FP-T5084 but easier to use. Make sure you loosen the little bolt from the back if you want to swivel your TV. When reaching the back of your TV you can see the plastic half loop which ensures that your cables are packed together. An eye catching feature is the design of the display setting buttons, which is very elegant and futuristic. The buttons will only become visible when you touch the pad under the bezel.

Although this TV is rather average in quality, it has an organized structure that makes it very easy to use. You can adapt the colors and harmonize the aspect by using the on-screen display menu. The adaptable features are the red, green, and blue colors which can be found in the color temperature menu.

You can also choose from the predetermined settings if you don’t know how to adapt things manually. The options are: Standard, Mild, and Dynamic. They change to different levels of contrast, brightness and vividness. Although the Dynamic color looks most appealing, it makes things look a bit unnatural, so you might opt for the other two predetermined settings which look more realistic.

The option that lets you choose two customizable setting could prove useful if you want to switch from one to another without manually choosing all the settings. All of these can be made by using the touch pad or the remote. The remote’s design is not very eye catching as the buttons may seem a bit uncomfortable to use and it has no light (this will also prove uncomfortable in the dark).

The audio quality received a good score during the tests. Also, keep in mind that the speakers are on the sides of this TV and will make the panel design a little bigger than others from the same category. This will usually give a false view that the TV is bigger than others of similar size and shapes. The sound is very good and the LG Company guarantees your parts and labor warranty for two years, which is a good deal as most of the other producers offer less.

The LG Electronics 50PC3D Plasma HDTV has standard quality and may be a good TV for someone who doesn’t want to spend large sums of money on HDTVs. The sound quality may be a great advantage when choosing this product. However, if you want something extraordinary, you may be a little disappointed. So if you are looking for ok quality and not for best quality, this might suit your taste.

Mitsubishi LT-46244 LCD HDTV Review

This television can pass when talking about TV qualities but its very high price is not that reasonable. Mitsubishi LT-46244 holds a number of average qualities that deserve a discounted price. It’s not an awful appliance so the price $2500 is truly expensive.

For our judges’ verdict this television’s image quality deserves a good review since it ranked fourth place from among 46-47 inch HDTV sets which have been tested, and it got a 3.6 points difference from the outstanding score of Samsung LN46A550. The price of this TV is really a big deal though since it can already buy two Samsung television sets.

But the flaws are visible when it comes to color, it produces low quality images but it is still better than LG 47LBX Opus though. The wavy or unstable pattern as seen in Vatican Wall of the movie Mission Impossible 3 appeared too bluish. This was described by the judges as excess brightness and blurriness.

It gathers a good review when it comes to the appearance of the menu as shown on the screen with added icons. But it is still flawed. For instance when you adjust video setting the menu disappears instantly so it takes a long time to change something about the menu again.

LT-46244 can be spin which is a convenient feature since you can see the rear parts of the TV without too much effort. This is handy in the part of the user especially when you are accessing inputs of the television which are difficult to run and use. Another nice feature it has is: the USB port for picture slide presentation and a power-saving option.

Also, the LT-46244 integrated speakers are dreadful. A simple sound coming from it was unclear. For very expensive price, it should perform better than that.

But it also has a good quality: the set’s documentation. It provides a fast set-up manual where you can start learning from the simple things to complicated ones which are all explained in plain and clear English.

Some excellent features in the Mitsubishi LT-46244 is XVColor, a recent technology that allows your new TV to show a lot more color than an old analog could ever hope to present. This feature will make the most of your high definition.

The Tru1080p is another great feature that works to make sure that your signal is showing the highest and best definition that it can at all times. As you are watching TV, the signal from the broadcasting network will flow through your lines without the need of conversions that can slow and freeze your image.

The one unique product of the Mitsubishi LT-46244 are the color schemes and options. There is a wide variety and selection of ways that you can adjust the images on screen to make sure that every object is colored to your own unique perfection.

A color 4D video option reduces noise to prevent fuzzy pictures and lines. An advanced filter will leave the screen crystal clear, while the perfect color option will allow you to adjust multiple colors individually. The full colors can each be adjusted to create unique image and color blends that are perfect for each consumer.

This LT-46244 would be sold reasonably at $1600 but with its original $2500, it’s just too much for a gadget that is less than perfect.

Panasonic TH-42PZ700U review

Although this HDTV isn’t very affordable and hasn’t got any cool or new features, the visual quality is very good. Other may seem more reasonable for this price, but if you really want to amaze your friends with all the visual details and great sceneries, you have to buy this product.

When speaking about visuals, this is the best there is. It has amazing high definition view, with great details and superb picture quality. You will be impressed by the way people’s skin and hair looks. This 42 inch plasma got a bigger score than any of the other products in its category. It is the highest resolution plasma you can find on the market right now.

The standard definition broadcast test didn’t give this product an excellent score. The colors aren’t as bright and shiny as people expect them to be. For example, the Vizio VP42 managed to get a bigger score in this category as its colors were more lively and real. However the Panasonic TH-42PZ700U does a pretty good job with the standard def DVD.

The black colors are amazing and deep; they bring out the excellent quality of this product. Most of us pay more attention to the color, graphics and options that a TV comes with but the black and white of the images should also take closer notice.

The most important thing to get a good visual quality is to know how to set the TV at its best performance. Unfortunately, the menu isn’t very helpful, everything is very hard to handle. It takes a big amount of time to set the language. In the menu where it shows English language, when you click”ok” you might notice that nothing happens.

Usually, these menus are intuitive but this one isn’t at all. It actually has a little button; you will probably notice it after a long time of searching. Using that button will approve your selection, otherwise it will change it and you won’t even know why. Like the manual options this is more annoying that anything else, as it should save automatically or give you an easier way to make your changes permanent.

When you reach the menu where you can label input devices, fortunately you can skip some of them and move on. However, if this was done automatically things would have been better and faster. It’s not a major problem, but most of these options are automatic now, so it’s very strange that Panasonic only added the manual options.

The good thing about this product is that you can set everything up very easily. Physically speaking, this product isn’t like the ones that take 3 hours to install after moving away all your furniture. It has a single coaxial connector; you will find it facing down. Also, other features include extra component video and S-Video inputs. A great aspect is the great card reader which can be used to see the photos right out of the camera.

Speakers are on the side, and you can almost miss them because they are hidden in the HDTV’s design. The placements of the speakers are sleeker than you would normally see as they were built in and designed to blend perfectly with the frame. Speaking of design, this TV has a great elegant design, like any well respected brand, Panasonic chooses the classic glossy black for the TH-42PZ700U.

The remote control is big and heavy, it almost suggests this product’s high quality. However, it has a particular design as one half is full of buttons. But you shouldn’t worry about control, everything will run smooth because it is designed for you comfort. 

Overall this product is amazing; it brings out the smallest details and has a highly improved visual quality when compared to other HDTVs. It doesn’t have many features, but why would you need them if it shows perfect pictures at the best quality you can buy. Although it’s a little bit pricey, you should buy it if you are looking for video quality.

Pioneer Kuro PDP-5010FD Plasma HDTV Review

The Pioneer Kuro Plasma HDTV is quite expensive but it has amazing details and colors; this product also comes with incorporated speakers and various types of connectors.

Although this HDTV has a big price (around $4500), it managed to amaze people when it showed awesome blacks and outstanding images during the tests. With its new improved colors, numerous facilities, and great sound quality it will give you a whole different feeling when it comes to entertaining. Watching TV seemed like a common hobby, but with this new HDTV you will feel like you take part in everything.

Famous movies, like Lord of the Rings or Mission Impossible, seem to be real when watched at their best quality on the Kuro PDP-5010. I must mention that the night scenes look amazing, especially when watching Lord of the Rings; Pioneer Kuro PDP-5010 almost brings the Lord of Rings fantasy world in your own home.

This Pioneer Kuro HDTV also transmits the most authentic skin color we ever saw, making everything more real than we expected it to be. Of course, brightness and contrast are top quality contributing to its amazing feeling of reality.

The company Crystal Emissive Layer struggled to produce the most accurate and deep black ever made. They succeeded. With their new digital processing and color filtering they managed to improve the whole quality when it comes to HDTVs.  Talking about black color, I should also mention that “kuro” actually means “black” in Japanese, so no wonder their black is exceptional.

As I mentioned earlier, this amazing TV comes with speakers. The speakers, which offer the best audio quality, can be detached. The audio system is composed of speakers with woofer and tweeter components. So, when you are watching a musical, you will feel like being in the middle of the whole story. You will forget all about TVs with poor audio quality.

The Pioneer Kuro HDTV has a simple design, which inspires elegance and originality.  You cannot fail with this design, as it suits any home décor and tastes. You can easily place it in a den or family room or display it in your bedroom with ease and it won’t stand out.

Another important aspect is the light sensor; this light sensor will actually sharpen your brightness according to the light you have in your room, due to the new technology called Optimum Video Mode. With this option, you can avoid the problems of having to adjust the colors on your screen whenever the lighting situation changes around you, such as the sunrise and sunset.

The remote has a great silver color and combines on- screen display menu and submenu access. It also has shortcuts to the main functions and you don’t have to find a source of light to see your buttons, because they glow in the dark.

This product has other types of connectors like the HDMI inputs, three composite ports, USB ports (if you want to see images on this wonderful HDTV, simply attach your card reader), and two component ports. After you attach any card reader, you need to select the Home Gallery option and you can see an amazing slideshow of your desired pictures. Your pictures were never that beautiful, and their quality is the best.

If you want to hide the cable source, you just have to use the Cable Card slot an you won’t even notice it was there. This whole set of connectors and facilities will amaze you; however, a disadvantage is the fact that it doesn’t come with cable management aid.

The Kuro PDP-5010FD is a wonderful product if you want to bring your favorite movies to life. Although the price is rather high, the revolutionary technology offers a unique feeling, extraordinary colors, and wonderful sounds. People who can afford paying $4500 on this amazing HDTV will be very satisfied and won’t regret their investment. They will change their whole opinion about home entertainment.