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(More customer reviews)This is my first HD-LCD television, so I did some research before deciding on this unit. The fact that it cost almost half of units by Toshiba/Samsung/Phillips etc really helped in the decision making process :)
Let me start with the specs. This is a 37" LCD flat panel television capable of a max resolution of 780p and 1080i. If you aren't sure what those are, do a bit more research before reading the rest of this review. The native resolution is 1366x768, and displays movies in the 16x9 format. It has a very nice looking silver cabinet, with speakers mounted across the very bottom of the tv. Basic function buttons are located on the far right side of the black strip between the screen and the speakers. They look nice and don't feel cheap or mushy.
On the back of the television you will find all major inputs such as HDMI, Component video, S-video, composite video, USB port, and even a VGA/Component port to use this television as a computer display. However, there is no coaxial cable input on this tv. This is not an issue if you are using it with an HD cable box or similar unit, but if you just watch movies on it and want to hook up your regular cable, you must run the coaxial cable to a VCR or DVD/Receiver, then run a composite video cable to the television.
Since this unit does not have a built-in HD tuner, to watch HD cable you must have a HD cable box (provided by your cable company with HD service). This isn't a drawback, but I wanted you to be aware. HD-ready means it's ready for a tuner but that it is not included.
I hooked this television up to a Samsung upconvert DVD player so I could watch my movies in 720p. The picture is fantastic, and sound is adequate from the regular speakers. I have a small home theater system though, and I much prefer the sound from that instead of the television. The "Big Picture" technology on this tv lets me watch my full screen movies without black bars on the sides, and it has several aspect ratios to choose from at the touch of a button including normal aspect, 1:1 ratio, panoramic, and Zoom 1 and 2.
The menu functions on this tv are also very easy to use and done really well. You can fine tune the picture settings, color temp, cropping, and many other aspects of the picture.
In the box I also got a very easy to read Quick Start sheet, Remote control, and a full users manual on a cd. Olevia prints their 800 number on all their literature and from what I have heard has very good customer service, although I haven't tried it yet.
Like I said, this is my first HD LCD widescreen and I have nothing else to compare it to other than what I've seen in the store. This unit replaced a 32" Toshiba that I was very happy with, but I don't regret my choice. This tv looks fantastic, performs well, and shows quality you wouldn't expect for the price. Olevia (made by Syntax) seems to be doing something right...offering a high quality product at a fair price, not selling a brand name.
One note that has nothing to do with the actual television, but you might want to be aware of with widescreen tv's. If you are an avg user like me you probably weren't aware that widescreen dvd's actually come in a few different aspect ratios. What this means is that some movies, such as Pixar's "Monster's Inc", will show in full widescreen mode because the aspect ratio is 1.85:1 which is made for viewing on 16x9 widescreen tv's. However, other widescreen dvd's, such as Pixar's "Cars", are shown in 2.39:1 which is sometimes called the "theatrical presentation" of widescreen. Please be aware that when viewing movies like this you will still have black bars on the bottom and top of your picture.
I was highly annoyed when I discovered this as I bought the widescreen specifically to eliminate this, but in certain widescreen formats you will still have them. You can eliminate them on this particular tv by zooming in the picture, but you lose quality and some of the screen, which isn't acceptable to me. Again, it's not the tv but just a choice made by someone when they create the DVD. Maybe newer tv's will eventually be able show both aspects without black bars, but for now they are here to stay, in some widescreen movies at least.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Olevia 337H 37-Inch LCD HD Ready Monitor
37" HDTV Ready LCD TV with no tuner
Click here for more information about Olevia 337H 37-Inch LCD HD Ready Monitor
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