i got mine yesterday, i'd be happy to check. how do i check the firmaware again? was it by pressing both volume buttons? i tried that but nothing happened.

/m Make sure that you are pressing both volume buttons on the TV itself, not the remote. It took me a little while to figure that out and I felt stupid when I did. :)

I bought it from newegg on 3-17-06, and mine is :

Debug 0111
06/01/16 13:58
T370HW01
1920x1080

It doesn't have the power switch on the back. So, can you tell me what if anything is wrong with this version? Besides the fact that I can't get the VGA input to fill the screen at 1920x1080. Is this the version 2 model?

I bought it from newegg on 3-17-06, and mine is :

Debug 0111
06/01/16 13:58
T370HW01
1920x1080

It doesn't have the power switch on the back. So, can you tell me what if anything is wrong with this version? Besides the fact that I can't get the VGA input to fill the screen at 1920x1080. Is this the version 2 model?

Without the power switch, we consider it at least a version 2. If in DTV you have the option for ATSC as well as Cable (Std, IRC, HRC), then we would consider that a Version 3. We don't really understand yet why certain sets have a time of 13:58 while most seem to have 14:58. (if you don't have the QAM tuner, then it is an older Version 2 with the firmware upgrade).

I just received my monitor today and it's absolutely beautiful! I have the following for debug:

DEBUG 0111
03/01/16 14:58
T370HW01
1920x1080

Is there something about my debug version that I should be worried about or should be concerned with? What are the best settings for this set as far a calibration

AP

Does anybody use the vga out from their PC to the component in on the TV?

I used a different VGA-VGA cable and had the same result. It is as if the Aspect button on the remote doesn't work correctly at 1920x1080. At 1280x1024 it will show the unstretched picture when on the native setting, but will stretch the picture out full screen when on the full setting.

I just received my monitor today and it's absolutely beautiful! I have the following for debug:

DEBUG 0111
03/01/16 14:58
T370HW01
1920x1080

You probably mean
06/01/16 14:58


Is there something about my debug version that I should be worried about or should be concerned with?

No, it's just our way of tracking what version firmware you have. This forum has developed an informal system to identify various versions of the TV. I think you have a Version 3 set.

The reason for the question is that zima500 reported getting this version:
06/03/03 12:12

and that's the first report of that firmware version. We wondered how many others who got new sets got that firmware and whether it fixed some known problems.

Dave Kristol

You are right I am stuck on writing 03 due to March, but it is:

06/01/16 14:58

Does this thread have specified settings for this set?

AP

I think some setings are dependant on your setup. I have my lamp on 0 for instance. I am sitting 4 feet away from my screen in a dim room though.

Got mine hooked up about 10 minutes ago. from C*

Debug 0111
06/01/16 14:58
t370hw01
1920 x 1080

i had it set to 1280 x 1020 (from old monitor setting) it look nice but stretched out.

i set then set it to 1980 x 1020 (DVI to HDMI port; it works) and i could see some judder on the text.

i rebooted, and now no judder but some overscans on all sides.

any suggesions on how to get it centered?
what other things can i inform you guys about.

thanks!

Got mine hooked up about 10 minutes ago. from C*

Debug 0111
06/01/16 14:58
t370hw01
1920 x 1080

i had it set to 1280 x 1020 (from old monitor setting) it look nice but stretched out.

i set then set it to 1980 x 1020 (DVI to HDMI port; it works) and i could see some judder on the text.

i rebooted, and now no judder but some overscans on all sides.

any suggesions on how to get it centered?
what other things can i inform you guys about.

thanks!

I had the same problem but I switched to DVI mode thru the Source PC button on your remote. I was getting worried, but then a big sigh of relief when I saw the clarity and beatiful display.

Just got done playing Xbox 360 and the games look outstanding, no problems at all. I have to mess around with my sound though it was not quite 5.1, I am using my sound card on my pc for sound. Does anybody have any suggestions?

AP

Does anybody have any recommendations on video card settings for your set? I currently have a ATI X1900XTX w/avivo 512MB card. What is the highest refresh rate for this set at 1920x1080?


AP

Got mine hooked up about 10 minutes ago. from C*

Debug 0111
06/01/16 14:58
t370hw01
1920 x 1080

i had it set to 1280 x 1020 (from old monitor setting) it look nice but stretched out.

i set then set it to 1980 x 1020 (DVI to HDMI port; it works) and i could see some judder on the text.

i rebooted, and now no judder but some overscans on all sides.

any suggesions on how to get it centered?
what other things can i inform you guys about.

thanks!


I would try 1920x1080 native and get a 1:1 pixel map.
Also nvidia's WHQL drivers are tweaked for 1080P I'm now at 148.50 on the pixel clock @ 60.053


Just got done playing Xbox 360 and the games look outstanding, no problems at all. I have to mess around with my sound though it was not quite 5.1, I am using my sound card on my pc for sound. Does anybody have any suggestions?

Check your XP settings in sound property's and make sure it's set to 5.1 and also check your sound card property's and make sure it's also set to 5.1, are you say'ing your using your Xbox but running the sound through your PC?

I would try 1920x1080 native and get a 1:1 pixel map.
Also nvidia's WHQL drivers are tweaked for 1080P I'm now at 148.50 on the pixel clock @ 60.053

How do you know if you are getting 1:1 pixel map?



Check your XP settings in sound property's and make sure it's set to 5.1 and also check your sound card property's and make sure it's also set to 5.1, are you say'ing your using your Xbox but running the sound through your PC?

Yeah, I am currently using my xbox 360 and running the optical out of xbox to optical in on my sound card.

How do you know if you are getting 1:1 pixel map?

I was on DVI mode through the source pc.

i thought i was using 1920 x 1080 natively. i had it set to 1920 x 1080 before and after nvidia driver updates.

i had a cable from monoprice, that i thought may be the issue.
i then switched to the supplied DVI to HDMI and still overscan green/pink dots (same issue)

I am now on the VGA, and have 1920 with 1:1, but i still see some pink/greens now and then. would like to mess with timing. anyone know the page that has the steps to get to the timing menu on the tv? i rememebr seeing it in the 60's or 70's :)

thanks much

EDIT: Found the page with the timing insructions (one of about 30 pages, prolly :)

Page 76

3 setting did the trick.

some day ill mess with dvi again, but im just happy not to have to tweak for tonight

Which leaves, by my count;
Polypro
jpconard
Koui
Astral Abyss ?
with possibly defective DVI Port/EDID info on their sets.

Remove me :) Never had a DVI problem...I was just whining that I hoped the firmware update didn't give me one :D

P

I was on DVI mode through the source pc.

i thought i was using 1920 x 1080 natively. i had it set to 1920 x 1080 before and after nvidia driver updates.

i had a cable from monoprice, that i thought may be the issue.
i then switched to the supplied DVI to HDMI and still overscan green/pink dots (same issue)

I am now on the VGA, and have 1920 with 1:1, but i still see some pink/greens now and then. would like to mess with timing. anyone know the page that has the steps to get to the timing menu on the tv? i rememebr seeing it in the 60's or 70's :)

thanks much

EDIT: Found the page with the timing insructions (one of about 30 pages, prolly :)

Page 76

3 setting did the trick.

some day ill mess with dvi again, but im just happy not to have to tweak for tonight


In the nVidia driver displays do you have it set to treat monitor as HDTV? Try going over to the custom settings and see if it reads 1920x1080 sometimes the timmings can get out of sync.

In the nVidia driver displays do you have it set to treat monitor as HDTV? Try going over to the custom settings and see if it reads 1920x1080 sometimes the timmings can get out of sync.

Custom timings show 1920 x 1080, but i dont see where it tells me in the driver panel to treat display as HDTV.

Make sure you are in the DVI mode on the HDMI input.
HDCP and HDMI modes have overscan. Once you are in the DVI, center from your video card properties. And I hope you are not setting it at 1980x1020?
The native resolution is 1920x1080

Got mine hooked up about 10 minutes ago. from C*

Debug 0111
06/01/16 14:58
t370hw01
1920 x 1080

i had it set to 1280 x 1020 (from old monitor setting) it look nice but stretched out.

i set then set it to 1980 x 1020 (DVI to HDMI port; it works) and i could see some judder on the text.

i rebooted, and now no judder but some overscans on all sides.

any suggesions on how to get it centered?
what other things can i inform you guys about.

thanks!

When your TV is displaying a 1920x1080 signal, what happens if you press the aspect button on your remote? Is there any difference between between the native resolution and full? And does everyone use HDMI in order to display 1920x1080 on their monitors?

Hey folks.

Another lurker chiming in who's been following this thread for months. Finally decided to pull the trigger on one.

It'll be used for PC gaming and general TV/DVD stuff, replacing a Dell 2001FP that was serving double duty as a TV/monitor.

I'm not quite clear if the set comes with an HDMI/DVI adapter or cable? For hookup with a PC would you recommend an HDMI/DVI adapter and an HDMI cable, or an HDMI/DVI cable?

I was thinking HDMI cable with the DVI adapter would be more future proof if I wanted to hook up other HDMI devices down the road, but an adapter is also another point for failure (in my paranoid way of thinking anyway).

I plan on using a 25 or 35ft cable length if that makes any difference. The PC has to stay on the opposite side of the room.

Hey folks.

Another lurker chiming in who's been following this thread for months. Finally decided to pull the trigger on one.

It'll be used for PC gaming and general TV/DVD stuff, replacing a Dell 2001FP that was serving double duty as a TV/monitor.

I'm not quite clear if the set comes with an HDMI/DVI adapter or cable? For hookup with a PC would you recommend an HDMI/DVI adapter and an HDMI cable, or an HDMI/DVI cable?

I was thinking HDMI cable with the DVI adapter would be more future proof if I wanted to hook up other HDMI devices down the road, but an adapter is also another point for failure (in my paranoid way of thinking anyway).

I plan on using a 25 or 35ft cable length if that makes any difference. The PC has to stay on the opposite side of the room.

The cable it comes with has a DVI end and an HDMI end, so it is both an adapter and cable. 35ft seems like a long way. You'll probably have to get some sort of booster box to put in line.

The cable it comes with has a DVI end and an HDMI end, so it is both an adapter and cable. 35ft seems like a long way. You'll probably have to get some sort of booster box to put in line.
I use monoprice 35ft cables and they are fine at 1080p.

I favor getting the actual cable you need rather than using adapters. Less troubles that way. If you have to get adapters, get a few of them, in case you get a bad one.

The cable it comes with has a DVI end and an HDMI end, so it is both an adapter and cable. 35ft seems like a long way. You'll probably have to get some sort of booster box to put in line.

Thank you. I'd generally refer to that as a cable and something like this (sorry can't link yet): search Monoprice for 2029 - as an adapter. But technically that cable would be an adapter too I suppose.

I use monoprice 35ft cables and they are fine at 1080p.

I noticed your comments on the cables/adapter at Monoprice, thanks for that little review. Would you say there's any appreciable difference in using the adapter vs using a DVI/HDMI cable? You noted in the comments that one culprit was an adapter which is one of my concerns - adding more points of potential failure.

Or am I just worrying too much about nothing? :)

Edit: Oops I see you edited while I was posting. Answered my question, thanks.

ordered fromt eh big C on 3/15, arrived monday, 3/27:

Debug 0111
06/01/16 14:58
t370hw01
1920 x 1080

a few things....

1. I have a power switch in that back of the unit. Does that mean I have a v1 set with upgraded firmware? I have not tried QAM yet, I will tonight. If there is no QAM, I will probably return it, even though its looks beautiful (mostly) running OSX on my mac mini.

2. I noticed in this thread some people were able to get into an "advanced" menu wherre they could adjust things like "vivid color", "skin tone", "gamma" etc. Where is that menu? In my menu setup I DO have one extra menu group, which is the 1st menu group shown, but I can't navigate to it, it is apparently "blocked"?

3. In looking at everyone else's calibration settings, is it odd that those settings to me are WAAAAYYY off, to the point where the sceen is unviewable? Like setting constrast in the 30-40 range, which many people have done makes the screen nearly pitch black. Is it possbile I have a different menu with different ranges in my TV? I wonder that becuase where everyone else has a setting for "brightness", I only have a menu option for "black level". I understand they are the same thing, but I wonder why everyone always lists "brightness" and not "black level". BTW, everyone's "brightness" is way off what would even be viewable for me also.

Maybe someone could post what they see in their "image settings menu" to see if its like mine (i would post mine but I think my n00bness prevents me from putting images up).

thanks again to everyone who has been posting so much valuable info.

/mario

One last thing...

I have my X37 connected through DVI/HDMI on an Intel Mac Mini. While the screen looks very nice, on the upper left side there appears to be some internittant noise (looks like little colorful squiggles) with ONLY certain colors, namely blue and green...so far.

I have determined that it does not appear to be a problem with the panel itself, because I only see the noise if the IF that part of the screen is painted blue or green. As soon as I move a window over that area with say a gray or black area there is no noise at all.

Anyone see something like this before? ideas? cable? extrenal interference? timing settings?

/mario

"Yeah, it seems like you do. Can you check and see if the updated firmware saves the opacity etc. settings in the DTV menu. That would be nice"

Not sure what you mean by this.

"[wishful thinking]
And could you check to see if there is now a menu option labeled Dynamic Contrast or DCI when using the component inputs that would allow turning off the auto-contrast "feature"?
[/wishful thinking] "

No such option, and I dont see the "dynamic contrast" effect during any time while watching HDTV through component inputs.

I don't know why I have an updated firmware, this set seems the exact as my v2 set; of course with the "jitter" fix and working hdmi-dvi pc input.

ordered fromt eh big C on 3/15, arrived monday, 3/27:

Debug 0111
06/01/16 14:58
t370hw01
1920 x 1080

a few things....

1. I have a power switch in that back of the unit. Does that mean I have a v1 set with upgraded firmware? I have not tried QAM yet, I will tonight. If there is no QAM, I will probably return it, even though its looks beautiful (mostly) running OSX on my mac mini.

2. I noticed in this thread some people were able to get into an "advanced" menu wherre they could adjust things like "vivid color", "skin tone", "gamma" etc. Where is that menu? In my menu setup I DO have one extra menu group, which is the 1st menu group shown, but I can't navigate to it, it is apparently "blocked"?

3. In looking at everyone else's calibration settings, is it odd that those settings to me are WAAAAYYY off, to the point where the sceen is unviewable? Like setting constrast in the 30-40 range, which many people have done makes the screen nearly pitch black. Is it possbile I have a different menu with different ranges in my TV? I wonder that becuase where everyone else has a setting for "brightness", I only have a menu option for "black level". I understand they are the same thing, but I wonder why everyone always lists "brightness" and not "black level". BTW, everyone's "brightness" is way off what would even be viewable for me also.

Maybe someone could post what they see in their "image settings menu" to see if its like mine (i would post mine but I think my n00bness prevents me from putting images up).

thanks again to everyone who has been posting so much valuable info.

/mario

Each set of inputs should have its own menu, and the options are not the same across the board. For example, there is a black level setting over the DVI input, but not with DTV. Only brightness and contrast. It is strange that your set has a switch on the back. I suspect we really have no idea what is going on with the different versions, but I guess whether or not you get QAM will be telling.

Hi, everyone. First post here. This forum and the threads on the X37 specifically were a huge help to me in making the decision to purchase an LCD panel. I took delivery of the X37 yesterday, and set it up this afternoon. Very happy with it out of the box, in terms of color and image quality. Haven't noticed any dead pixels yet.

I have one question that has popped up.

We have Comcast DVR using the dual-tuner Motorola set-top box. Connection to the X37 is DVI -> HDMI using the supplied cable.

When viewing HD channels I occasionally see artifacts, in the form of tiny rectangles of green color flickering in one area of the screen or another. If I change the DVR to output 1080i, which I assume is the optimal resolution for this set, I get artifacts in the same color all over screen, primarily at color boundaries (i.e. outlining a face, or some other area of distinct color).

I don't see any artifacts of this kind viewing DVDs at 480p, or SD TV at 480p.

I will scan the thread and the rest of the forum later to see if this has happened to anyone else. My initial instinct is that the artifacts are coming out of the DVR and not the TV, but I am not sure.

Any thoughts?

"Yeah, it seems like you do. Can you check and see if the updated firmware saves the opacity etc. settings in the DTV menu. That would be nice"

Not sure what you mean by this.

"[wishful thinking]
And could you check to see if there is now a menu option labeled Dynamic Contrast or DCI when using the component inputs that would allow turning off the auto-contrast "feature"?
[/wishful thinking] "

No such option, and I dont see the "dynamic contrast" effect during any time while watching HDTV through component inputs.

I don't know why I have an updated firmware, this set seems the exact as my v2 set; of course with the "jitter" fix and working hdmi-dvi pc input.

I have seen the DCI menu on the composite. i will make a point to check for this menu option on the components tonight. But to verify at the very least, there IS an DCI menu somewhere :)

Make sure you are in the DVI mode on the HDMI input.
HDCP and HDMI modes have overscan. Once you are in the DVI, center from your video card properties. And I hope you are not setting it at 1980x1020?
The native resolution is 1920x1080

Errrr. Late night excitement was setting in there. yes, 1920 x 1080.

I was sure to use the PC Source - DVI mode. Is this what you are referring to?

Hi, everyone. First post here. This forum and the threads on the X37 specifically were a huge help to me in making the decision to purchase an LCD panel. I took delivery of the X37 yesterday, and set it up this afternoon. Very happy with it out of the box, in terms of color and image quality. Haven't noticed any dead pixels yet.

I have one question that has popped up.

We have Comcast DVR using the dual-tuner Motorola set-top box. Connection to the X37 is DVI -> HDMI using the supplied cable.

1) When viewing HD channels I occasionally see artifacts, in the form of tiny rectangles of green color flickering in one area of the screen or another. If I change the DVR to output 1080i, which I assume is the optimal resolution for this set, I get artifacts in the same color all over screen, primarily at color boundaries (i.e. outlining a face, or some other area of distinct color).

I don't see any artifacts of this kind viewing DVDs at 480p, or SD TV at 480p.

I will scan the thread and the rest of the forum later to see if this has happened to anyone else. My initial instinct is that the artifacts are coming out of the DVR and not the TV, but I am not sure.

Any thoughts?


I had the issue of pink and green dots in high motion scenes. I set my timing to 3, and it was perfect in all resolutions.

1) On the TV, press both volume buttons at same time to enter debug menu.
2)When in debug menu, press 1 on remote.
3) You should see a list containing Timing.
4) Use the remote to set the timing accordingly.
5) press exit when done.

I was playing a high motion video in the backround to help me get the correct setting.

Thanks very much for the tip, daquint! I will give that a try after dinner and see if it solves the problem.

Guess I will need to go read all 100,000,000 pages of the thread and pick up some other tips too :)

Thanks very much for the tip, daquint! I will give that a try after dinner and see if it solves the problem.

Guess I will need to go read all 100,000,000 pages of the thread and pick up some other tips too :)

heh no probs.

i had used the "Search this thread tool" and looked for "timings" last night for the info above, btw. pretty handy :)

I'm seeing something similar, although the pixels are
white. Not stuck on/off, but a few speckles here and there
depending upon the motion of the scene.

Will try the timing adj. tonight to see if it helps.

I received mine this week. So far so good.. I'm
really impressed.. watching our local (Phx AZ)
PBS station is amazing. Also the local NBC affiliate
broadcasts a lot of prime time at full 1920x1080
(tonight show, west wing, er etc) very very cool.

have the 14.58 jan 16 firmware BTW.

I hooked up my Mac G4 Tower (Nvidia GeForce 3 card
with an ADC -> DVI converter) Computer and LCD
synced flawlessly, and things looked great. I want a
Mac Mini (dual core) now!!!

Anyone need a circa 1998 Zenith INTEQ 35" SD set?

cheers

-tim

Hey, daquint, that setting worked like a charm. I had green artifacts all over the screen in 1080i, and as soon as I set "memory delay" to 3 they disappeared. Strange that they just don't set it that way to begin with.

For anyone who is interested, this set was purchased from New**g about ten days ago, and has:

Debug 0111
06/01/16 14:58
T370HW01
1920 x 1080

Thanks again for your help, and I will remember the search tool next time. :)

does anybody know what chip is in the 37 (pixelworks dnx)?
I have a 42 coming and would like to know what chip sceptre is using!

Just ordered this display from Costco on Sunday and it arrived today!
This thread is quite a community of TV owners, really great to have such a resource available. Thank you to everyone who has ever posted in this thread! I have already got a couple good decisioin making bits of info from here. Unfortunately I have not had time to read the whole thread, and in my excitement of my TV just arriving, can anyone give me a quick guide as to what to do first? (Basically I am going to be playing Xbox360 on this TV)

Hey, daquint, that setting worked like a charm. I had green artifacts all over the screen in 1080i, and as soon as I set "memory delay" to 3 they disappeared. Strange that they just don't set it that way to begin with.

For anyone who is interested, this set was purchased from New**g about ten days ago, and has:

Debug 0111
06/01/16 14:58
T370HW01
1920 x 1080

Thanks again for your help, and I will remember the search tool next time. :)

dont thank me. i have a feeling that the same tips get regurgitated every ten pages or so when a new flock of noobs (US!) get their sets delivered. :)

its the sceptre 37 pioneers to thank for keeping this thread alive and informative

glad it worked out for you though. have fun!

Just ordered this display from Costco on Sunday and it arrived today!
This thread is quite a community of TV owners, really great to have such a resource available. Thank you to everyone who has ever posted in this thread! I have already got a couple good decisioin making bits of info from here. Unfortunately I have not had time to read the whole thread, and in my excitement of my TV just arriving, can anyone give me a quick guide as to what to do first? (Basically I am going to be playing Xbox360 on this TV)

Unpack it and set it up? :)

In our case it was a 3-hour chore, since the arrival of our first widescreen TV meant that we had to break down everything, get rid of the old cabinet, move in a new cabinet, clean all the components, and set everything up again. Well worth it though.

I guess you're referring to technical steps, but really all you need to do is set it up, use the supplied DVI->HDMI cable to connect to the xbox, and you should be good to go.

The 360 doesn't have DVI out, so use either the 360's VGA or component cable to connect video. Component is the one with three connections, marked Red, Blue, and Green, as opposed to composite which just has one yellow connection. If you're using the 360's component cable make sure to change the switch on it (near where the cable plugs into the 360) to HD.

If you're running audio to the X37SV (I hope not) then hook that up as well.

Next go into the 360 Dashboard and choose 720p or 1080i output. Try both and see which you like better. There was one report in this thread that 1080i looks better. I'm hoping not as this implies that the X37SV's 720p->1080i conversion is crap. I'm getting mine Friday and my 360 will be one of the main sources.

If you really want to freak out, or freak someone else out (April 1st is coming soon). Push the two volume buttons on the TV to enter the debug menu, then press the (100/- )button on the remote. It turns the display green and purple. To correct it, press (3) on the remote and select yes to do the white balance.

Does anybody use their TVs at 1920x1080 without using the HDMI port?

[...]
Does anybody use their TVs at 1920x1080 without using the HDMI port?

You mean, apart from watching HDTV at 1080i?

Dave Kristol

If you really want to freak out, or freak someone else out (April 1st is coming soon). Push the two volume buttons on the TV to enter the debug menu, then press the (100/- )button on the remote. It turns the display green and purple. To correct it, press (3) on the remote and select yes to do the white balance.

Does anybody use their TVs at 1920x1080 without using the HDMI port?

I do. I use the 1st Xbox via component (through VGA) for upscaling my DVDs and playback of my LAN music and pics. Though I typically run it at 720p for the box because of the graphical burden on memory that 1080i presents.

For the 360 I use the other component input at 1080i.

Lastly, I've tested the PC with the enclosed HDMI2DVI plug and it works well.


Hope that helps you.


Does anyone know how we can do a firmware update, should one ever be available. I'm really hoping that Sceptre fixes the DCI issue. Wishful thinking I s'pose.

I'll probablybe ordering this TV on the first of the month also primarily to play xbox360 and to hook up a media center PC. I also want to wait and see the reviews on the new Westinghouse before I commit to anything though.

On a side note. Most users report washed out colors when using xbox360 via vga cables. I've had better PQ using the component. I've noticed this issue on my old Syntax lt37hvs and on a 19" crt. Also from what I've read it's better to set the xbox360 to 1080i and let it do the scaling. That way the TV will recieve a 1:1 pixel match. But please experiment and share your findings on this thread. I'm very curious.

Also. Does anyone know if newegg ships the sceptre with newest/newer firmware?

OHH MAN This is the worst I just unpacked it and hooked it up (perfect size, i was worried) but certain parts of scenes like dark blue I think have this strange green fuzz in them! Its really bad! Like darker spots in movies but also darker spots in pictuires too i can clearly see it its not a temporary thing. What is this stuff? Its not in all dark areas, just certain ones, like it'd be in someones hat or something. Is there some setting i can use to get rid of this? Anyone seen anything like this?
I am using an xbox 360 with the component cables (I double checked to make sure they were plugged in right)

Yeah, I am currently using my xbox 360 and running the optical out of xbox to optical in on my sound card.

Well in that case set your XP sound to digital out, and then go in to your sound cards controls and look for something like spdif out when using your optical cable.

Custom timings show 1920 x 1080, but i dont see where it tells me in the driver panel to treat display as HDTV.

In your display property's there is nView display settings, on the lower right you will see a button saying device settings click on that it will take you to a drop down menu saying treat digital display as HDTV, select TV format etc....

What is the highest refresh rate for this set at1920x1080?AP

Pixel clock @ 148.50 @ 60.053 MHz I was actually kinda surprised it held at these timmings :)

BTW: I shot off an email to Sceptre about the new FW 06/03/03 and asked what revisions they made with the new update no word as of yet.

OHH MAN This is the worst I just unpacked it and hooked it up (perfect size, i was worried) but certain parts of scenes like dark blue I think have this strange green fuzz in them! Its really bad! Like darker spots in movies but also darker spots in pictuires too i can clearly see it its not a temporary thing. What is this stuff? Its not in all dark areas, just certain ones, like it'd be in someones hat or something. Is there some setting i can use to get rid of this? Anyone seen anything like this?
I am using an xbox 360 with the component cables (I double checked to make sure they were plugged in right)


You can probably adjust that in the debug menu.

Edit: Guys I still can't see the auto contrast either in component using my DCT 6200 or DTV watching HD cable content. I do have all of my adjustments in user mode so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. But I just can't see the the levels going up or down it stays the same as far as I can tell.

Pixel clock @ 148.50 @ 60.053 MHz I was actually kinda surprised it held at these timmings :)

BTW: I shot off an email to Sceptre about the new FW 06/03/03 and asked what revisions they made with the new update no word as of yet.


I am looking at this wrong or does it say it will support 85mhz, check out screenshot.
AP

I'll probablybe ordering this TV on the first of the month also primarily to play xbox360 and to hook up a media center PC. I also want to wait and see the reviews on the new Westinghouse before I commit to anything though.

On a side note. Most users report washed out colors when using xbox360 via vga cables. I've had better PQ using the component. I've noticed this issue on my old Syntax lt37hvs and on a 19" crt. Also from what I've read it's better to set the xbox360 to 1080i and let it do the scaling. That way the TV will recieve a 1:1 pixel match. But please experiment and share your findings on this thread. I'm very curious.

Also. Does anyone know if newegg ships the sceptre with newest/newer firmware?


I was running the 360 at 1080i but than went to 720p because the frame drops in Oblivion were noticeable. IMO, the difference in quality is neglible... I can't see it. You're right about the VGA washout. It really cheapened the experience in CoD. Component has it's own problems on the 360, that is, it's too dark on a lot of games. So I always have to overcompensate and than switch back when I'm done. The lesser of two evils I guess as there isn't much to do with the washed out VGA, and the cable is $40!

I would check in your displays manager for the refresh rate all thats telling you is what the max support is. On the bottom right there should be a force detect button click on that and a drop down menu should appear there it should list what the card can support. Radeons aren't very friendly when HDTV is involved because you cannot manually input your custom values. But as far as I can tell it's reading EDID proper the only difference is maybe it's forcing interlace mode instead of progressive but I doubt it.... it could be worth checking into.

Golly, not to jump on a certain vid card bandwagon because I used to have a Radeon HIS 9800 (before Newegg traded me a Apollo Nvidia 6800 for it) but I"m glad I'm running Nividia. I've never run into all these issues of oversanning, no detection, resolution not supported by drivers, etc.. And with built in overclocking (coolbits) well... Luck of the vid/tv card draw I suppose.

I finally got around to testing QAM....no QAM love for me.

My set has a power switch on the back and I have "06/01/16 13:58" firmware....so it seems I have a V1 set with updated firmware. I ordered pretty recently too, 3/15 order date, 3/27 arrival.

Too bad, cuz I really liked the PQ, but if I cant tune HD channels over cox cable...BAH. I'm going to return it to the big C.

You can probably adjust that in the debug menu.

Sweet I went in and cranked some crazy setting (delay I think it was? Dont remember) up one notch and now the green fuzziness from dark areas is gone. :D
Thanks!

You can probably adjust that in the debug menu.

Edit: Guys I still can't see the auto contrast either in component using my DCT 6200 or DTV watching HD cable content. I do have all of my adjustments in user mode so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. But I just can't see the the levels going up or down it stays the same as far as I can tell.


It's strange but at first I thought the problem didn't exist in my Sceptre but have found that seems to be noticable on certain shows!! I'm a big 24 fan on Monday nights and for some reason It is VERY noticable on that show. The rest of the week I never seem to notice it. I have Comcast cable and am connected to the Sceptre using a DCT-6200 inputed thru the component inputs

It sounds like the memory delay setting. Push both volume buttons on your TV, and push (1) on your remote. Adjust it to 3 or 4, and the green lines should disappear.

I did buy a VGA to component video cable yesterday from an on-line company, so I'll see what happens with it. I'm hoping to get 1080p resolution that fills up the whole screen.

I am looking at this wrong or does it say it will support 85mhz, check out screenshot.
AP

I don't believe that it is implying that it can do the max. res. and the max. refresh concurrently. My guess is that it means you can do 85mhz at, say, 640x480. And can do, 1920x1080 at, apparently, 60mhz.

BTW: I shot off an email to Sceptre about the new FW 06/03/03 and asked what revisions they made with the new update no word as of yet.

Good luck getting an informative response ;)

I will say it again, I believe that Sceptre would be doing themselves a great service through actively participating on this forum and providing these type of technical answers to the user community at large. This would certainly be much more efficient than fielding email after email or call after call for the same questions again and again.

It is not the same thing as expecting that whatever replies they do provide in individual email responses would be forwarded by the "replyee" to this forum thread since there is; a)always a question of trusting the messenger, and b)typical followup questions would best be handled by direct communication.

If you cannot get authorization for "official" participation, please consider at least, unofficially participating using a nom de plume to at least guide us to ask the right questions.

As an example question that I would love to hear Sceptre's technical explanation;

Is the memory delay timing adjustment feature a "good" thing or a "bad" thing?

In other words, is this an adjustable parameter that we should be thanking Sceptre for including since it allows finer granularity of adjustment and wider input device compatability than other vendors provide?

OR, is this a kludge to compensate for inferior design or component quality?

Does any other vendor provide a similiar feature on their comparable LCD panels?

I finally got around to testing QAM....no QAM love for me.

My set has a power switch on the back and I have "06/01/16 13:58" firmware....so it seems I have a V1 set with updated firmware. I ordered pretty recently too, 3/15 order date, 3/27 arrival.

Too bad, cuz I really liked the PQ, but if I cant tune HD channels over cox cable...BAH. I'm going to return it to the big C.

Well take heart in that this correlates well with our assumption that the 13:58 firmware seems to be used with sets without the QAM tuner. (Just to be sure, when you accessed the DTV menu, you did not see any options for scanning Cable; Std, IRC or HRC - and not just relying on the scan not showing any digital cable channels?)

Very dissapointing that Sceptre/Costco is still trying to ship out the V1 sets. (I wonder if it is the same set that keeps getting sent back, repackaged, and sent out again, hoping for an unsuspecting buyer :eek: )

Edit: Guys I still can't see the auto contrast either in component using my DCT 6200 or DTV watching HD cable content. I do have all of my adjustments in user mode so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. But I just can't see the the levels going up or down it stays the same as far as I can tell.

If I may ask, could someone please post screen shots of each input option and the respective menu options available. I would like to get to the bottom of the question of which inputs offer Dynamic Contrast/DCI menu option (by firmware version if necessary) and feel that I am flying somewhat blind without having the set.

Nimo, have you had a chance to look at the screen shot examples posted by one of the 42" users. There were several shots that clearly showed the degree of contrast adjustment that seemed to be occuring for that member.

Good luck getting an informative response ;)

I will say it again, I believe that Sceptre would be doing themselves a great service through actively participating on this forum and providing these type of technical answers to the user community at large. This would certainly be much more efficient than fielding email after email or call after call for the same questions again and again.
[...]

I think this would be terrific for us, but we have to be aware that not every Sceptre buyer or prospective customer knows about this forum. While Sceptre could direct people here, there might be enough bad press here that Sceptre might be reluctant to let folks see it. BTW, do we know that Sceptre is even aware of this forum?

I think something that would help us all, particularly new folks faced with the prospect of scanning zillions of old messages, would be an FAQ, since there are certainly a lot of questions that get asked frequently.

Here are a few sample questions:
1) What are the different firmware versions of the 37"? What's different about them?
2) How do I find out what version I've got?
3) I've got green dots/lines on the screen. Can I do anything about it?
4) I want to tune HD from my cable system. Can I? How?
5) I want to use the set as a monitor for games. How do I set it up?
6) I want to use the set with my PC. How do I set it up?
7) Should I buy the set? If so, what should I be concerned about?

Does AVS Forum provide a place to stash such a file?

Dave Kristol

Well take heart in that this correlates well with our assumption that the 13:58 firmware seems to be used with sets without the QAM tuner. (Just to be sure, when you accessed the DTV menu, you did not see any options for scanning Cable; Std, IRC or HRC - and not just relying on the scan not showing any digital cable channels?)
[...]

Well, that's not quite true, at least in my case. I have a V2 set (no rear power switch) with 05/09/23 firmware. I do have a QAM menu. The problem is that scanning the cable in any of the modes comes up empty. But, given information about where the digital/HD channels are actually parked on the cable, I can tune them manually! So the QAM tuner is there, but the scanning is broken. (For now, though, I'm using OTA HD.)

Dave Kristol

Well take heart in that this correlates well with our assumption that the 13:58 firmware seems to be used with sets without the QAM tuner. (Just to be sure, when you accessed the DTV menu, you did not see any options for scanning Cable; Std, IRC or HRC - and not just relying on the scan not showing any digital cable channels?)

ya, I checked the scan sub menu, not options for scanning Cable IRC or HRC...sadness.

I finally got around to testing QAM....no QAM love for me.

My set has a power switch on the back and I have "06/01/16 13:58" firmware....so it seems I have a V1 set with updated firmware. I ordered pretty recently too, 3/15 order date, 3/27 arrival.

Too bad, cuz I really liked the PQ, but if I cant tune HD channels over cox cable...BAH. I'm going to return it to the big C.
I have the exact same situation as marvlush. Ordered on 3/15 delivered yesterday, 3/29, with the firmware being "06/01/16 13:58". No options for scanning over cable in DTV. I'm terribly disappointed by this because I ordered this set largely for the QAM tuner. Now I'm going to return it and try ordering another with the hope it'll be a QAM enabled set.

I was running the 360 at 1080i but than went to 720p because the frame drops in Oblivion were noticeable. IMO, the difference in quality is neglible... I can't see it. You're right about the VGA washout. It really cheapened the experience in CoD. Component has it's own problems on the 360, that is, it's too dark on a lot of games. So I always have to overcompensate and than switch back when I'm done. The lesser of two evils I guess as there isn't much to do with the washed out VGA, and the cable is $40!


Is there any way to adjust the contrast at the XBox 360 itself?

The reason I am asking, is that currently I am forced to use the VGA (HDMI doesn't work) and I had to adjust the ATI cadalyst settings, particularly the contrast down to 80 (from 100, default).

Normally I just adjust the settings for MPEG-2 playback in the NVidia decoder (at least with v1 set on HDMI), but in this case it was needed across the board for every type of display. Colors were washed out, the Media Center calibration for contrast was way off.

I tried the contrast setting at the TV but it did not help. Only by setting it at the PC (ATI catylist) was I able to get the Media Center calibration correct, then everything even the windows desktop and icons looked much better.

This is just a suggestion, as I don't have Xbox360 and don't know if you can adjust settings at the Xbox level.

No color/contrast/brightness adjustments in the Xbox360 OS itself, but some games have brightness controls. Im afraid thats it. Stinks because the 360-VGA connectoin does offer superior clarity compared to component, but drab colors compared to component.

Ok, sadly I dropped my X37 back off at C* for store credit...about to reorder one. Ayone else with recent orders still getting V1 (no QAM) sets?

tia.

Hi all,

First time poster, long time lurker of this thread. Like many, I've recently ordered the Sceptre from the Big C. I ordered this past Monday (3/27/06), and I live in NYC so I still have a few days before it arrives.. Can anyone who has ordered on or after 3/15 verify if they have received a V3 set? I'm nervous that as the rebate period ends, the Big C might just be getting rid of the V1 sets, and then cease selling them at all.

Thanks... this forum is great, and I'll be back many many times once I get my set.

Ordered 3/17/2006
Just received my X37SV today, 3/30/2006. How nice of Costco to wait to the 10th business day to deliver it.

DEBUG 0111
06/01/16 13:58
T370HW01
1920 X 1080

The unit has a back-panel power switch and, as would be expected, no QAM tuner.
That was a bit disappointing but by not a deal-breaker. I had planned to use OTA anyways.
I also have the internal SPDIF port that bobn4burton confirmed works back in post #336.
I haven't confirmed if my port works yet.
My real concern with the unit was a working HDMI/DVI port and I'm glad to report that it is working great.
The Naga is functioning as a plug 'n play monitor and is displaying 1920x1080 without any effort.
I can switch between sources and turn the monitor on and off and the display is immediately restored.

I first tested the panel, without any calibration, by playing the 1080p trailer for King Kong.
Today, for the first time, I have seen true high-definition and it was amazing.
The detail shown on Kong gave me chills.
That being said, does anybody really want to see every pore and hair on Jack Black's face?
The WMV-HD version of The Fifth Element was also impressive.

The details of my unit would make it an updated V1, or V1+, by forum convention.
I inspected the unit and all the things that came with it very closely and feel confident that I'm this TV's first owner.
Sceptre's production and inventory is an absolute mystery. One day a guy receives a unit with a brand-new firmware version, 06/03/03 12:12, the next a bunch of people are receiving TV's that I think should have been out of inventory for months.
All things considered the X37SV is an awesome monitor and a good TV. I think it's a keeper.

Somebody who lives near City Of Industry should locate the nearest bar and find a Sceptre employee. Buy them drinks until they spill the beans...or have Mitnick call them:)

P

I think Im going to order mine from Newegg, they keep very low inventory for price competition purposes and with shipping they are cheaper than costco for non-members like me. (I guess Im not allowed to post that) I'll post my resluts.

Not really worried about the QAM issue since I only have basic analog cable.

I pulled the trigger on this set on 3/22/06 and the TV was supposed to be delivered yesterday. However since I was at work they left a post-it note saying it would be delivered today. I left a little comment on the post-it note asking the delivery guy if he could please deliver it after 5 as I am at work until then. The status on the website says that a 2nd delivery attempt was made and a 3rd attempt will be made but it doesn't say when. Hopefully when I get home I will see the note saying the delivery will be made in the late afternoon.

I'm doing an internship so I don't know anybody that can help me go pick up the set and carry it to my 3rd floor apt. Hopefully the delivery guy will be nice enough to deliver it after 5 that way I can help him carry it and he'll get $20 out of the deal.

I'll post later tonight what happened...

I am interested in bypassing my cable STB for the QAM tuner (and check if it even has QAM) but how would i go about hooking up my tivo? it would seems that there is actually no way to hook up tivo like this since the TIVO does not have QAM.

Am i right that i cant hook up a tivo with the QAM tuner?

I guess i could use two different inputs and switch to the TIVO inputs for recoded content. Of course, that still requires an STB. ><

I think Im going to order mine from Newegg, they keep very low inventory for price competition purposes and with shipping they are cheaper than costco for non-members like me. (I guess Im not allowed to post that) I'll post my resluts.

Not really worried about the QAM issue since I only have basic analog cable.

Ya know, I would just join Costco. If you aren't happy with the set for whatever reason (dead/stuck pixels) you can just return it and get all your money back (including shipping). Newegg will require you to go through the manufacturer. ie, you're stuck.

I would never buy something like an LCD online (sight unseen) without a liberal return policy.

Is there any way to adjust the contrast at the XBox 360 itself?

Xbox, Yes

Xbox, 360 afaik, no.. that flexiblity is not built in

And even still on the former, it requires a modded xbox and the appropriate software (xbox media center) to make those adjustments and it's only for movie playback .

No color/contrast/brightness adjustments in the Xbox360 OS itself, but some games have brightness controls. Im afraid thats it. Stinks because the 360-VGA connectoin does offer superior clarity compared to component, but drab colors compared to component.

Yes, you're defintely correct. I wish there was a best of both worlds. It would seem if those VGA issues were taken care of, we'd have a clear winner. As it stands though (and as I've stated), it's better to deal with the stinky brightness/contrast/clarity of the component for now, because at least it can be adjusted somewhat. Though I shouldn't stay that because the picture is still phenomenal.

I am interested in bypassing my cable STB for the QAM tuner (and check if it even has QAM) but how would i go about hooking up my tivo? it would seems that there is actually no way to hook up tivo like this since the TIVO does not have QAM.

Am i right that i cant hook up a tivo with the QAM tuner?

I guess i could use two different inputs and switch to the TIVO inputs for recoded content. Of course, that still requires an STB. ><

You didn't say why you use a STB. Is it to get to premium programming? Or because your current TV isn't cable-ready? Or...

TiVo only understands analog cable. You can buy TiVo-like HD DVRs. Sony makes one that you can find for $600-1000. The good news is, it requires no subscription, and (I think) it has a built-in QAM tuner.

I think you could split your cable feed, run one into the ATSC input and the other into TiVo. But, of course, you could not record the HD programming on TiVo, just the stuff you've presumably been recording already.

You may find that the DTV signals (including HD) on your cable behave differently from the way they would on OTA HD. In particular, the extra information that comes with OTA HD signals appears to be missing. So, for example, here in NJ on Comcast cable, Ch.4 (NBC-HD) appears on 110-1, and Ch. 5 (ABC-HD) appears on 110-2. For OTA HD, you would tune the DTV setting to either 4 or 5. But with QAM, you have to tune DTV to 110 for NBC, which gets you 110-1. To get to ABC, 110-2, you have to tune to 110, then hit Ch ^ to go from 110-1 to 110-2, which you can't get to directly. The STB hides all this, of course, assuming it handles DTV at all.

Dave Kristol

From several of the recent postings, I conclude the version numbering scheme is broken. In particular, it appears that sets with a rear power switch have no QAM tuner. Those with a front power switch have a QAM tuner. Those with both a front power switch and 05/09/23 firmware (I have one of these) have a QAM tuner that doesn't scan properly, but that can tune manually. Sets with a front power switch and 06/01/16 firmware have a QAM tuner that scans properly. Some people have recently gotten rear-power switch sets and 06/01/16 firmware. Based on my observation above, I'm (now) not surprised they have no QAM tuner.

So, I think there are two independent variables at work: the hardware configuration (power switch rear or front) and firmware. Sets with a rear power switch never have QAM tuners. (I invite counterexamples.)

Dave Kristol

I think this would be terrific for us, but we have to be aware that not every Sceptre buyer or prospective customer knows about this forum. While Sceptre could direct people here, there might be enough bad press here that Sceptre might be reluctant to let folks see it.


I didn't mean to suggest that this would be their only method of communicating with the Internet community, nor even the "official" one (I would be even more impressed if they setup a monitored BBS available from their web site). But they could develop a lot of goodwill among the many owners that participate here, and much more quickly diffuse problem issues before bad or misinformation is widely spread.


BTW, do we know that Sceptre is even aware of this forum?


Yes, we've got a pretty good idea that they are.

From several of the recent postings, I conclude the version numbering scheme is broken. In particular, it appears that sets with a rear power switch have no QAM tuner. Those with a front power switch have a QAM tuner. Those with both a front power switch and 05/09/23 firmware (I have one of these) have a QAM tuner that doesn't scan properly, but that can tune manually. Sets with a front power switch and 06/01/16 firmware have a QAM tuner that scans properly. Some people have recently gotten rear-power switch sets and 06/01/16 firmware. Based on my observation above, I'm (now) not surprised they have no QAM tuner.

So, I think there are two independent variables at work: the hardware configuration (power switch rear or front) and firmware. Sets with a rear power switch never have QAM tuners. (I invite counterexamples.)

Dave Kristol

Actually, there are three (at least) variables at work, which is why several pages back I suggested that we use "+" to designate the inclusion of the newest firmware - which I believe gives us;

V1 Power switch in back. No QAM tuner. Original firmware (??/??/??)
V1+ Power switch in back. No QAM tuner. With firmware upgrade - 06/01/16 13:58.
V2 No power switch. No QAM tuner. Original firmware (05/09/23 ??:??)
V2+ No power switch. No QAM tuner. With firmware upgrade - 06/01/16 13:58.
V3 No power switch. QAM tuner. Original firmware - 06/01/16 14:58
V3+ No power switch. QAM tuner. With firmware upgrade - latest firmware 06/03/03 12:12.

(A V2 with QAM that has been re-flashed, essentially becomes a V3).

So I believe, that every set that I have observed follows the pattern that if the set has a QAM tuner, Sceptre re-flashes with the 06/01/16 14:58 firmware, if it does not have a QAM tuner they use the 06/01/16 13:58 firmware. Regardless of whether it is a V1 or a V2.

Remember, they switched the V2s from no QAM to QAM capable tuner boards mid production run so apparently there are some redheaded step-V2s out there (such as yours) that don't have the QAM hardware/software integrated properly and don't scan properly).


I was recently concerned that the pattern did not hold when marvlush posted;

ordered fromt eh big C on 3/15, arrived monday, 3/27:

Debug 0111
06/01/16 14:58
t370hw01
1920 x 1080

a few things....

1. I have a power switch in that back of the unit.

But then he posted


My set has a power switch on the back and I have "06/01/16 13:58" firmware....so it seems I have a V1 set with updated firmware.

Thanks to VenomXTF for making me aware of a new online review (http://www.hothardware.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=800&cid=2) of the Sceptre 37"

http://www.hothardware.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=800&cid=2

Just flipped through it, haven't read it, looks pretty thorough.

I just received mine also. Order 3/20. No QAM. Not a big deal
since I have comcast HD tuner.

The big problem I have with the set is the black/white crush.
Especially black, there's no grey detail. Dark objects look like
a ball of black. There's no way to do grayscale adjustments
on some inputs w/o service menu access. I have colorimeter.
If any of you know, appreciate if you can let us all know.

I have Panny 42WD8K and 50HD8K. Although this LCD looks
good and brighter at times, it just can not match the color balance
and clarity of the plasmas.

I think I will return it if I can't solve the black problem.

tlnmp

I was recently concerned that the pattern did not hold when marlush posted;



Yes, that was a cut n' paste typo, it WAS 13:58, not 14:58

I wonder if that 06/03/03 addresses anything with the DCI because having it vary from input to input and only having it only accesible via system on my analog is getting annoying. NTSC is probably the last place it matters anyway because of the crappy picture. I notice the dynamic changes the most in HD OTA. I want the firmware update (or future updates), but how would we update if Sceptre gave it to us? I know there's a USB port so would it be a boostrap prog that we could run via pc or perhaps hyperterminal?


BTW DON, my set is 14:58 06/01/16. Is that what you meant (in lieu of 48)


Regards

[...]
I believe, that every set that I have observed follows the pattern that if the set has a QAM tuner, Sceptre re-flashes with the 06/01/16 14:58 firmware, if it does not have a QAM tuner they use the 06/01/16 13:58 firmware. Regardless of whether it is a V1 or a V2.


Well, I hate to mess up your pattern, but my set has no power switch, does have a QAM tuner, and has firmware:
DEBUG 0107
05/09/23 19:43
T370HW01
1920 x 1080

I must have bought my set right on the cusp of the changeover, because it was delivered on 1/16/06, so obviously it couldn't have 1/16/06 firmware.

Dave Kristol

Well, after 24 hours with the 37" Sceptre I can second the positive HotHardware review posted above.

The set was purchased from New*gg, and is a v2 (or whatever, soft power button only, latest firmware).

The only issue I had on setup was green artifacts at 1080i, and that was solved by setting the memory delay to 3 as described in this thread.

I am using the Comcast 6412 from Motorola, and a cheapo progressive scan DVD player from Sony. HD TV content looks absolutely phenomenal on this thing. The kids and I just watched Shrek 2 on HBOHD broadcast in 1080, and it knocked my socks off. Standard def TV is very acceptable doubled up to 480p. DVD's are also acceptable, but this has me seriously thinking about an upscaling DVD player, or moving to a dedicated HTPC so I can run windvd/ffdshow.

Maybe a tiny bit of backlight bleed in the upper corners, but I don't notice it. As others have mentioned the panel is blazingly bright. If you want to watch HD content in a tanning booth... get this panel. I cranked the contrast back to 25 and the brightness to 15 and it's perfect. I may play with the lamp intensity tomorrow. Colors are stunningly beautiful. Black levels aren't as good as a plasma, but they're good enough for us. I haven't seen the issues with collapsed dark areas noted by the previous poster at my current settings.

All in all I think this is one hell of an LCD for the price. Given the features, the resolution, and the build quality, and now that they seem to have the softare and hardware issues worked out, I don't see how you can beat it, really. ~$1500 for full 1920 x 1080 (in an 8ms panel with full 24-bit color depth) bodes well for the future, me thinks.

I watched a movie using my laptop's DVD player and it was a lot better than a standard DVD player.



I guess i could use two different inputs and switch to the TIVO inputs for recoded content. Of course, that still requires an STB. ><

My Dad uses the Tivo on another input at 480i, and only records programs at 640x480.

I have another stupid question. Is there any way to delete channels in the lineup on ATSC digital over-the-air broadcast? I can block them, but I have to press the channel up&down over about 6 channels that I don't want. I just had a thought to use the manal scan, but is there another way?

Thanks.

http://www.hothardware.com/image_popup.cfm?image=big_inputs1.jpg&articleid=800&t=a

I noticed that in the reveiwed TV, there is an extra input that my TV doesn't have. Do you guys know what the port next to the HDMI input is?



Tip: I found out that you can pull down on the ATSC connector on the back of the TV and it comes off. Making it much easier to twist on the coax.

I mentioned it in the review, but the mystery connector seems to be USB for firmware updating. Now if only Sceptre would allow users to update the firmware themselves...

I finally took the leap of faith and ordered the Sceptre 37 online from C***** today.What is the latest version firmware that you are getting with your Sceptre 37's.I live in Homer,Alaska and I am subscribed to D***n******* with a 301 receiver.A p4 with 2.4 cpu and ATI AIW 9800 pro.What would you a/v pioneers suggest I make to upgrade to the latest STB and htpc equipment.
There isn't a better forum anywhere than AVS!!!
I would like to thank everyone in advance for the forthcoming advice.

Besides no QAM, one other thing that was a nuisance to me on my V1 set was that my HTPC could not put my monitor to sleep when it went into standby. Instead the TV would just lose the signal, leave the screen on and display a "no signal" warning.

I think the V2 sets also had the same issue.

Can someone with 3/3/06 firmware hook up a computer to the DVI/HDMI port and see if this issue persisits in V3 sets?

BTW, i was using a mac mini, and other people had the same issue with PCs, so it doesnt seem to be OS or related to any specific hardware, probably a problem with the X37 itself.

BTW DON, my set is 14:58 06/01/16. Is that what you meant (in lieu of 48)




Yep, sorry, corrected the typo.

Well, I hate to mess up your pattern, but my set has no power switch, does have a QAM tuner, and has firmware: 05/09/23 19:43

I must have bought my set right on the cusp of the changeover, because it was delivered on 1/16/06, so obviously it couldn't have 1/16/06 firmware.

Dave Kristol

Dave,

I believe that actually makes sense, and does follow what I think happend;

Remember, they switched the V2s from no QAM to QAM capable tuner boards mid production run so apparently there are some redheaded step-V2s out there (such as yours) that don't have the QAM hardware/software integrated properly and don't scan properly).

I think that you received one of the redheaded step-sets where they upgraded the production line to include the newer tuner board with the QAM chipset, but hadn't fully integrated the software needed to make it work properly. Now, if you sent your's in for the firmware upgrade, and they flashed with the 06/01/16 14:58 firmware, your QAM scanning should then work properly (You would then essentially have a V3 set... and I would actually look like I know what I'm talking about :D )

I bought it from newegg on 3-17-06, and mine is :

Debug 0111
06/01/16 13:58
T370HW01
1920x1080

It doesn't have the power switch on the back.


http://www.hothardware.com/image_popup.cfm?image=big_inputs1.jpg&articleid=800&t=a

I noticed that in the reveiwed TV, there is an extra input that my TV doesn't have. Do you guys know what the port next to the HDMI input is?



Caps, I know this will sound like a silly question, but are you sure that the power switch is not on the back?

One of the details that we often forget to mention (and should go into the FAQ) is that the other distinguishing characteristic between the V1 and the V2 (besides the power switch location) is the "mystery" port that appeard on the V2s (the Sceptre 42" media box labels it as a "Service" port). If your set does not have the service port, I would have considered that a V1 set.

http://www.hothardware.com/image_popup.cfm?image=big_inputs1.jpg&articleid=800&t=a

Tip: I found out that you can pull down on the ATSC connector on the back of the TV and it comes off. Making it much easier to twist on the coax.


That happened to me a coule of weeks ago. Same with the NTSC tuner. They're extender couplings or whatever you'd call them. I thought I broke the connector at ffirst, as the case with my prior sony, but they slip back on nicely.

Caps, I know this will sound like a silly question, but are you sure that the power switch is not on the back?


I don't see a power switch on the back anywhere. Maybe I should take the back cover off and see if that port is really there, and they just didn't cut out the hole for it.

I think I have figured out a way to get Picture-in-Picture using 2 DTV sources. I have my 'old' ATSC tuner that I should be able to connect through s-video. My other antenna is 300 miles away, so I will have to wait until mid-April before I can get it and test out my theory.

Is there a better way to program the OTA HD channels then using the manual scan to only add the channels you want through the manual edit menu?

And, I'm still wondering what happens (if anything) when you press the aspect button on your remote to switch between Full and Native, if it is a 1920x1080 input source? My TV does nothing, and I'm not sure if it should even need to get stretched out at that resolution. I have to wait until early next week to see if the vga->component video cable does anything to fix my problem.

I have another stupid question. Is there any way to delete channels in the lineup on ATSC digital over-the-air broadcast? I can block them, but I have to press the channel up&down over about 6 channels that I don't want. I just had a thought to use the manal scan, but is there another way?.


[...]
Is there a better way to program the OTA HD channels then using the manual scan to only add the channels you want through the manual edit menu?

Can you better describe what the problem is that you're trying to solve? You can always tune directly to a channel by just entering its number in DTV mode. How does that not do what you want?

In the Edit mode for OTA channels, there's a way to mark a channel as blocked or as a favorite. Unfortunately, if the blocking works as well as the favorites, your preferences will be forgotten when you turn the set off. :rolleyes:

Dave Kristol

In the regular analog OTA menu, there is a way to add and delete channels from the lineup. On my other ATSC tuner, I have this ability as well. But, I haven't figured out how to skip over channel 43-1,43-2,43-3 when I press the channel up button to go from 26-1 -> 45-1. I currently block them, but it still goes to that channel and displays a message saying "This channel is Blocked".

I think I can solve this by manuallysetting up the lineup. I was trying to enter 26-1 in, but it won't allow dashes, so I think the real channle number is 19 and that is what it wants. You can find the convesion numbers in the program guide I think.

I will try and post a few pictures this weekend of the VGA problem I have.

Dave,

I believe that actually makes sense, and does follow what I think happend;
I think that you received one of the redheaded step-sets where they upgraded the production line to include the newer tuner board with the QAM chipset, but hadn't fully integrated the software needed to make it work properly. Now, if you sent your's in for the firmware upgrade, and they flashed with the 06/01/16 14:58 firmware, your QAM scanning should then work properly (You would then essentially have a V3 set... and I would actually look like I know what I'm talking about :D )




Red-Headed Step Set here too :) Newegg purchase in Nov '05

P

Can you better describe what the problem is that you're trying to solve? You can always tune directly to a channel by just entering its number in DTV mode. How does that not do what you want?

In the Edit mode for OTA channels, there's a way to mark a channel as blocked or as a favorite. Unfortunately, if the blocking works as well as the favorites, your preferences will be forgotten when you turn the set off. :rolleyes:

Dave Kristol

These preferences can be saved if you hit the 'Menu' button to exit that screen rather than the 'exit' button.

In the regular analog OTA menu, there is a way to add and delete channels from the lineup. On my other ATSC tuner, I have this ability as well. But, I haven't figured out how to skip over channel 43-1,43-2,43-3 when I press the channel up button to go from 26-1 -> 45-1. I currently block them, but it still goes to that channel and displays a message saying "This channel is Blocked".

I think I can solve this by manuallysetting up the lineup. I was trying to enter 26-1 in, but it won't allow dashes, so I think the real channle number is 19 and that is what it wants. You can find the convesion numbers in the program guide I think.
[...]

The trick is that there are channels and there are frequency slots. (Sorry, I don't know the correct technical terms.) You can find the mapping from frequency slots to channels on antennaweb.org. You need to enter frequency slots in the manual scan box, and that may result in one or more channels. (So some single frequency slot maps for you to 43-1, 43-2, ....)

I guess in principle you could wipe all the scanned OTA channels and just enter manually the ones you care about, but I don't know how to erase all the OTA channels. Oh, wait, I guess you can begin an OTA scan and stop it right away.

I guess I still don't understand why, if you know you want to go from 26-1 to 45-1, you don't just enter 45 in DTV mode.

Dave Kristol

Just got the sceptre and am having a small problem I would like to run by you experts. I have my HD cable box connected to the monitor via hdmi. I noticed that after watching it for alittle, if I shut off both the monitor and cable box, I will have a problem when I turn them both back on. When I hit the power on both the components, the monitor will just show a bluescreen with 'M: HDMI' in the upper left corner. Nothing else. I have to cyle the power a bunch of times to get the picture back.


Any ideas?

I think I have figured out a way to get Picture-in-Picture using 2 DTV sources. I have my 'old' ATSC tuner that I should be able to connect through s-video. My other antenna is 300 miles away, so I will have to wait until mid-April before I can get it and test out my theory.


You cannot get HD content over s-video. It would be standard definition digital.

Sure do love this TV, but the volume changes are really noticeable now that I'm running my video feed through a receiver and out to external speakers.

Is there any device that can level the volume?

I'm using the DVI/HDMI cable from my Comcast set top box.
Using a Pioneer VX-455 receiver

Thanks.

Tim

Seems like Sceptre is shipping out Version 1 sets more frequently now...maybe from the inventory of returned units?? Just got my set yesterday

Ordered: 3/20
Delivered: 3/30

My unit has a powerswitch in the back, no service port, and no QAM menu. I'm thinking of ordering a replacement and return this set when the other arrive...but worrying that I will get another v1 as a replacement.

Just tried to view the TV at Costco, and it says the item is gone. I thought today was the last day!

Just tried to view the TV at Costco, and it says the item is gone. I thought today was the last day!

Doh! I was almost going to pull the trigger myself. Wha happened? :confused:

You cannot get HD content over s-video. It would be standard definition digital.

Yeah, I figured that much, but I wouldn't swap the channels, I would just have 2 remotes that could control two screens(Although one is small and 640x480). I don't really need PIP, it is more of something to try out,and to be able to tell when the commercials are over. I don't even watch that much TV anymore though.

Costco sometimes runs out of stock. I'm not sure about the rebate deal in April, but they will probably get some more in. It has happened before.

Does anybody else have a hard time using these small 17" LCD displays when you are at work or someplace else? I miss my monitor, I should put a request in for a new display at work.

Just tried to view the TV at Costco, and it says the item is gone. I thought today was the last day!

That happened a few weeks ago, too, but it reappeared. That may happen again.

Dave Kristol

Thanks to VenomXTF for making me aware of a new online review (http://www.hothardware.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=800&cid=2) of the Sceptre 37"

http://www.hothardware.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=800&cid=2

Just flipped through it, haven't read it, looks pretty thorough.

VenomXTF,

I finally had a chance to read the review and was thankful to see a thorough, objective analysis. (BTW, happened to see the screen shots and made the screen name/gamertag connection ;) ). If you could add/update some screen shots of the menu settings while in HDMI/DVI, ATSC and NTSC that would be great (or if anyone else would care to take some clear shots of their menus, that would be appreciated as well).

Thanks

Just tried to view the TV at Costco, and it says the item is gone. I thought today was the last day!




That happened a few weeks ago, too, but it reappeared. That may happen again.

Dave Kristol

Hmmm. I wonder if Costco management is slapping some wrists again about *someone* shipping out old (Version 1) stock?

In browsing this thread the past week. It seems everyone who ordered X37 in the past couple weeks from C* is getting a V1 set.

Has anyone who got a set from C* in the past week got anything other than a V1 set? Maybe that's why there's a rebate (was a rebate)?

Just an observation...

I just received a V2 set today from Costco. I see no power switch on the back and it does have the service port next to the hdmi port. FW version is 1/16/06.

I was going to re-order tonight to avoid hassles and it is gone. I guess Costco will have to ship one out at the same price, then I'll return mine with bad HDMI port.

Or is Costco washing their hands of Sceptre?

For those receiving V1 sets is the bezel the old paint job or is it painted like the v2/v3 sets? I don't really care about the QAM, kind of prefer the newer paint job, but mainly just want working VGA and HDMI ports with a no-defect screen (few bad pixels I could live with).

It is not uncommon for items to disappear from Costco's website only to reappear at another time. It actually happens quite often for a variety of products, I am not sure why. I would not read anything in to it.

For what it is worth, I ordered my second set on 3/20 and it shipped on 3/24 and it was a V3 set (V3 No power switch. QAM tuner. Original firmware - 06/01/16 14:58). I am a VERY happy camper. Love my set. :)

donsev, glad you liked it. I can't post anything here because of my current post count, but when I get a chance I will take those menu photos for you and post them in our HH forum. It's no easy job taking so many photos of everything, and then throwing away most of them that don't turn out good, so I got as much of the menu that the time allowed. I'm more than glad to help with the information though, so any other requests, questions, and comments are welcome.

If you guys ever run into computer problems, feel free to ask in our forum :)

In browsing this thread the past week. It seems everyone who ordered X37 in the past couple weeks from C* is getting a V1 set.

Has anyone who got a set from C* in the past week got anything other than a V1 set? Maybe that's why there's a rebate (was a rebate)?

Just an observation...


How do you know if you have a V3 set? Newbie to all this here - AP

I also got around to trying out my new Sceptre tonight.

Ordered: 03/22/06
Shipped: 03/24/06
Recived: 03/31/06 (Would of recived it on 03/28/06 but delivery confilcts delayed arrival)

Debug 0111
06/01/16 14:58
T370HW01
1920X1080

I believe I can confirm that this is a V3 b/c I've ran JitterTest and dropped 0 frames
(keep in mind I have a fairly dated system):
MB: Gigabyte 8I-EXP(v2.0)
RAM: 1.5gb
Video: ATI AIW 7500 (don't laugh)
HDD: 2x300gb Maxtor
Sound: SB Audigy2 Platinum eX


I didn't even unwrap the speakers because I'll be using my computers 5.1 speakers to power sound.

Before I shutdown my machine (with old CRT) I forced the resolution to 1920x1080 then shut the machine down. While getting everything set up I hooked up my Comcast (Dallas Area) cable to the ATSC tuner and began scanning. I first tried Cable HRC and got no channels, second I tried Cable STD and got 55 channels with alot of them being audio channels. I finally scanned using Cable IRC and got 70+ channels with some that I don't get over my regular cable connection (ie NFL Network, DiscoveryTimes, ect). Honestly the channel scan took longer the I thought it would I was expecting the type of channel scan done by old tv's. After the scan was complete I flipped thru the channels and can say I was quite surprised with the channels that spanned the whole screen. This is my first experiance with HD so I won't even try to go into any detail about black levels or any of that stuff. I can say that I did watch various channels with scrolling tickers at the bottom of the screen and I can honestly say that the tickers were very smooth (no studder).

Three things I noted:
1. As others have mentioned changing digital channels is rather slow
2. Green artifacts were apprent in DTV mode but this was fixed by adjusting the timing as listed in the forums
3. The TV's different aspect options suck. The zoom features simply zooms into the image if you have a 4:3 image you would think it would try to scale it to 16:9 but it simply zooms into the image and you can still see the black bars on the sides.

On to what I bought the LCD for.... my PC.
As soon as I started my computer my BIOS screen was shown on the LCD, this was the same for the WinXP boot screen. I had no problems setting up the LCD b/c it was detected by XP flawlessly. I tried playing a Amazon WMVHD clip but due to my video card playback was not smooth (hopefully the AIW 9800Pro will fix this) however all other videos or movies (Xvid *.avi) played back really smooth. Browsing websites was smooth while scrolling, no studder. A screen cap of my desktop can be found below. These ladies really seem to pop off the screen when viewed thru the LCD.

home[dot]comcast[dot]net/~neomoon/Desktop.jpg

I'm very happy with this display. I'm sleepy now and will post more later.

How do you know if you have a V3 set? Newbie to all this here - AP

NO power switch on the back of the panel (soft switch in front). "Mystery" port in back next to the HDMI connector (actually a service port), and firmware date of 06/01/16 14:58 (if you got lucky and have a later firmware date, you win the V3+ prize!)

While getting everything set up I hooked up my Comcast (Dallas Area) cable to the ATSC tuner and began scanning. I first tried Cable HRC and got no channels, second I tried Cable STD and got 55 channels with alot of them being audio channels. I finally scanned using Cable IRC and got 70+ channels with some that I don't get over my regular cable connection (ie NFL Network, DiscoveryTimes, ect).

Very interesting results. Has anyone else tried scanning each of the Cable options to see if you get differing results/add'l channels.

On Fox Business news--Costco to change return policy-60 day limit!!!

I just found this forum--great stuff!!

Got my new Sceptre last night:
06/01/16 firmware
No rear power switch
QAM works
As far as I can tell, no stuck/broken pixels
Very bright picture, even with the LCD turned down to 0
Speakers really suck
Costco came through for me!

Scanning of Comcast in Addison/Carrollton, TX system
I only have a cable modem connection and I believe they have filtered out much of the bandwidth--with cable connected to a normal TV, I get nothing. If I had a clear connection without filters, would I get all channels? (I do not intend to climb the telephone pole and pull wires, this is simply an exercise in curiousity)

Cable - STD - 88 channels
Cable - HRC - 0 channels
Cable - IRC - 84 channels

On both STD and IRC, about 60 of the channels are music only.
I would say that the channel changing delay (5 - 8 seconds after you push the up/down button) and the funky channel numbers (90.5, etc.) make the use of the QAM receiver as a cable box replacement unworkable.

Most of the channels you would expect on a cable system (CNN, Fox News, etc.) are missing from the channels I got through scanning. A few suprises--Showtime, on demand sports.

the x37v does not seem to be on sale anymore at c....

I saw a single Sceptre at a local Costco, but it looks "returned" -- box is a little beat up, opened. I'm tempted to buy but I'm afraid of getting a bad TV or V1 one. What should I try to look for?

Would someone with a set mind measuring the actual base/footprint of the stand?

Gonna be TV stand shopping soon and need to know the smallest thing I can get away with.

Thanks.

Actually, there are three (at least) variables at work, which is why several pages back I suggested that we use "+" to designate the inclusion of the newest firmware - which I believe gives us;

V1 Power switch in back. No QAM tuner. Original firmware (??/??/??)
V1+ Power switch in back. No QAM tuner. With firmware upgrade - 06/01/16 13:58.
V2 No power switch. No QAM tuner. Original firmware (05/09/23 ??:??)
V2+ No power switch. No QAM tuner. With firmware upgrade - 06/01/16 13:58.
V3 No power switch. QAM tuner. Original firmware - 06/01/16 14:58
V3+ No power switch. QAM tuner. With firmware upgrade - latest firmware 06/03/03 12:12.

(A V2 with QAM that has been re-flashed, essentially becomes a V3).


Thinking about this some more, I think there are two independent variables:

1) Where the power switch is.
2) What firmware version is installed.

Because hardware configurations are harder to change and roll out, I think (1) predicts whether a QAM tuner is on-board. Power switch in back == no QAM. (I think your statement that V2 and V2+ have no QAM tuner is incorrect. Has anyone claimed a set that has no rear power switch and also has no QAM tuner menu?)

(2) The firmware dictates how well the QAM tuner is supported. The 05/09/23 firmware with a no-power-switch TV (I have one of these) does support QAM, but it does not handle scanning the QAM bands correctly. It will, however, tune known stations manually. The 06/01/16 firmware does the scan correctly.

The 06/01/16 also solves the judder problem, correct?

We don't yet know what improvements the 06/03/03 firmware provides.

Anyway, a notation like this might be simpler and clearer:
HhFf, where h is 'p' for with-power-switch, 'n' for no-power-switch, and f is 050923, 060116, 060303.

So, my set is HnF050923. It has a poorly-supported QAM tuner.

Just a possible alternative....

Dave Kristol

A screen cap of my desktop can be found below. These ladies really seem to pop off the screen when viewed thru the LCD.

home[dot]comcast[dot]net/~neomoon/Desktop.jpg

I'm very happy with this display. I'm sleepy now and will post more later.

Would you mind posting that desktop image without the icons...I am looking for some high-resolution pictures now that I am running at 1920x1080 if anybody else has any good ones, post them here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=662838

What does QAM stand for? I don't have cable, and won't be getting it in the future, so do I really need it? The two shows I watch that are on cable stations can be purchased via iTunes or DVD. (The Daily Show & Battlestar Glactica). 85% of what my TV will be used for is PC and DVD use. The other 15% is OTA HD.

Would someone with a set mind measuring the actual base/footprint of the stand?

Gonna be TV stand shopping soon and need to know the smallest thing I can get away with.

Thanks.

Base is 10"x(19" wide)

The screen is 37.5" across without speakers. Add 8" if the speakers are attached.

Remewmber that it is ~60lbs, and you don't want something that could fall over, or get bumped into by someone.

Would it be possible to wire the speakers that came with this TV into my receiver as center speakers? Would it sound bad or blow them up?

Would it be possible to wire the speakers that came with this TV into my receiver as center speakers? Would it sound bad or blow them up?

yes, yes, and yes. They are small speakers with spring clip terminals. No reason you can't hook any amp to it you want, but seeing as they are designed for being driven by the internal amp of the TV which is likely 15W or less (I don't actually know) and the sound quality of them has been much maligned you might not want to. Having said that I have the speakers attached and they are a big upgrade from the crappy mono speaker in my old 27" tube TV. I am just using it to watch TV though.

It looks like I'm not able to attach them. There are holes for the screws, but no threads for them to grip onto.

Thinking about this some more, I think there are two independent variables:

1) Where the power switch is.
2) What firmware version is installed.

Because hardware configurations are harder to change and roll out, I think (1) predicts whether a QAM tuner is on-board. Power switch in back == no QAM.


I readily admit that our grouping of these versions is tenuous at best (and part of my recomendation that Sceptre actively participate here - in a vacuum, all kinds of suppositions can go unchecked. But, except for Caps18 set with the front power switch and NO service port, I know of no other set that doesn't fit the pattern.

My hunch, given the appearance once again of old V1 sets, that (cover your eyes Caps18) that he has a Franken-set, cobbled together from various parts and shipped out as new.

(I think your statement that V2 and V2+ have no QAM tuner is incorrect. Has anyone claimed a set that has no rear power switch and also has no QAM tuner menu?)

I haven't taken the time to double-check the thread, but I am fairly certain that the initial owners who received the V2 sets did check for and not find QAM support. That and the reply from Sceptre tech support that the set did not support QAM, convinced everyone to not bother looking anymore (which is why when they started arriving with the QAM tuner, it took a while for folks to notice). But when they switched over to QAM, no one who knows is talking. It certainly could have been shortly after the V2 was released so that population size could be small.


(2) The firmware dictates how well the QAM tuner is supported. The 05/09/23 firmware with a no-power-switch TV (I have one of these) does support QAM, but it does not handle scanning the QAM bands correctly. It will, however, tune known stations manually. The 06/01/16 firmware does the scan correctly.

That does seem to be the case.


The 06/01/16 also solves the judder problem, correct?

By all accounts, yes.


We don't yet know what improvements the 06/03/03 firmware provides.


No, whatever "improvements" have been made are obviously well hidden.



So, my set is HnF050923. It has a poorly-supported QAM tuner.

Just a possible alternative....



The sad, sad, fact it is the tremendous effort required just to make sure that we receive a @$%$*& working set when we place an order!

On Fox Business news--Costco to change return policy-60 day limit!!!

I assume this is an April Fool's joke...

Yeshttp://*******.com/qorat

Base is 10"x(19" wide)

The screen is 37.5" across without speakers. Add 8" if the speakers are attached.

Remewmber that it is ~60lbs, and you don't want something that could fall over, or get bumped into by someone.

Thanks.

Yeah I was originally thinking maybe I could have it on top of an A/V rack, but on second thought that probably isn't a very good idea. I think I'll just go with a conventional TV stand.

My unit is scheduled for delivery on April 4th according to UPS tracking.

I found a difference between me previous ver.2 set with no firmware upgrade and my new firmware upgraded "ver.3" set. There is now a sleep mode through HDMI-DVI connection from the pc. It doesnt temporarily shut the monitor off, but it plainly displays a "no signal" message that dissipates when the mouse is moved.

Just for clarification, windows screensaver is shut off. This appears to be a hardware embedded function. Seems like an update for pc use of the HDMI-DVI connection that has been previous faulted, although very few people have experienced any issues with it.

>> Would it be possible to wire the speakers that came
>> with this TV into my receiver as center speakers?
>> Would it sound bad or blow them up?

I can get these things to 'thump' with the built in
amp. They are really pretty bad. That being said...
my TV viewing room has a crazy 16' vaulted ceiling
that slopes downward to the kitchen (kind of one big
great room with 2nd story loft overlooking?)

My only option for surround is going to an expensive
wireless system, so I picked one of these PS 1000
home theater setups for 'very' cheap at Radio Smack.
It sounds okay.. not like the Bose Cinemate system at
Best Buy.. but its 10x cheaper! :-)

At the same time, I pump the audio through my Yamaha
receiver with older Polk Audio speakers (before they
went mainstream and started to suck.. er uh went to heck)
and an M&K subwoofer.

Once you get everything balanced out properly, it sounds
pretty nice. I'm thinking I'm just doing to ditch the
sceptre supplied speakers, and wire those outputs to
the Yamaha. That way, I'd have a variable audio out
without having to juggle 3 remotes! :-)

We're pleased so far with the set, no complaints here.

Anyone sort this out yet? I'd like to be able to
turn the set on/off and control the volume from
my Cable box remote.

tried to setup on/off and it wasnt consistent?
WTF? one time it would work, next time no.

volume never worked... anyone got this working
properly? thanks in advance

-tim

A few suprises--Showtime, on demand sports.
It's a free preview weekend for Showtime, so that may be why it came through on the scan.

Anyone sort this out yet? I'd like to be able to
turn the set on/off and control the volume from
my Cable box remote.

tried to setup on/off and it wasnt consistent?
WTF? one time it would work, next time no.

volume never worked... anyone got this working
properly? thanks in advance

-tim

ON/OFF for this set is identical to a Sony TV. Unfortunately, channel change and volume are not standard. Bottom line is, unless your cable box remote has a custom "Learning" capability, you are out of luck with this TV. What you CAN do is get a universal remote and program it up for your cable box and this TV by using the learn function.

Steve

I received my 4th set now on Friday, and I've finally got a keeper. Not refurbished, working DVI, and no dead pixels. Whew. An adventure for sure.

One thing I spent some time comparing while I had both sets in the living room, was the built-in ATSC tuner vs a PC based tuner. I can now say with certainty that the PC based tuner/decoder gives a noticibly better picture. The built-in tuner on the Sceptre has a tendency to crush blacks and generally the levels all around don't seem as good. Yes LCDs often don't handle dark scenes well, but the built in tuner makes things particularly bad. I was never able to correct for this with menu settings in a satisfactory manner. Also, there IS definitely an auto contrast feature that is present over the ATSC input and cannot be turned off. The HDMI input doesn't have this, so this is one way of bypassing it. So for those of you who were buying the TV for the tuner, I'd look long and hard at the new Westinghouse that is coming out. It will probably be a better panel, and you might as well use an external tuner anyway. That said, I think I'm the only person to be bothered by the built-in tuner, so unless anyone else chimes in, then just ignore me.

I received my 4th set now on Friday, and I've finally got a keeper. Not refurbished, working DVI, and no dead pixels. Whew. An adventure for sure.

Congratulations! Which firmware version did the set have?

Dave Kristol

Would you mind posting that desktop image without the icons...I am looking for some high-resolution pictures now that I am running at 1920x1080 if anybody else has any good ones, post them here:
edited b/c I can't post links

What does QAM stand for? I don't have cable, and won't be getting it in the future, so do I really need it? The two shows I watch that are on cable stations can be purchased via iTunes or DVD. (The Daily Show & Battlestar Glactica). 85% of what my TV will be used for is PC and DVD use. The other 15% is OTA HD.


I'll do you one better.... when I have some time this week I'll try to upload all my hi-res wallpapers to my webspace. I'll post the link sometime this week.

I'll be using my comcast webspace account to create this webpage, anybody know how much space comcast gives us?

So what about us poor slobs only on our 2nd defective set, with no way to order 3rd or 4th sets at the same price? (It is not at Costco anymore with no guarantee that it will be back, and even if it is, no guarantee it will be at that same price.)

The way I see it, Costco states customer satisfaction, well the money in my pocket is not customer satisfaction. If that was the case I wouldn't have bought the 1st and 2nd units in the first place.

Some of us can't afford to put two or three sets on the credit card within one month's timeframe and don't have the time to be taking them off the wall and back to the store 1 per week.

I think it is ridiculous that Sceptre can't test the ports before shipping the units out.

And by the way I went to order 3rd set on Friday, and my definition of last day means roughly midnight that day (when ordering from an online vendor), not at 3 p.m. central time roughly when the unit was taken off the website.

This also pisses me off to no end.

I guess it is time to vent at somebody high up at Costco.

That's a very interesting observation. I've definitely seen some crushed black from the ATSC tuner and not nearly so bad from my HTPC. I guess that explains why! Fortunately, I'm more in the "don't care that much" crowd.


I received my 4th set now on Friday, and I've finally got a keeper. Not refurbished, working DVI, and no dead pixels. Whew. An adventure for sure.

One thing I spent some time comparing while I had both sets in the living room, was the built-in ATSC tuner vs a PC based tuner. I can now say with certainty that the PC based tuner/decoder gives a noticibly better picture. The built-in tuner on the Sceptre has a tendency to crush blacks and generally the levels all around don't seem as good. Yes LCDs often don't handle dark scenes well, but the built in tuner makes things particularly bad. I was never able to correct for this with menu settings in a satisfactory manner. Also, there IS definitely an auto contrast feature that is present over the ATSC input and cannot be turned off. The HDMI input doesn't have this, so this is one way of bypassing it. So for those of you who were buying the TV for the tuner, I'd look long and hard at the new Westinghouse that is coming out. It will probably be a better panel, and you might as well use an external tuner anyway. That said, I think I'm the only person to be bothered by the built-in tuner, so unless anyone else chimes in, then just ignore me.

I found a difference between me previous ver.2 set with no firmware upgrade and my new firmware upgraded "ver.3" set. There is now a sleep mode through HDMI-DVI connection from the pc. It doesnt temporarily shut the monitor off, but it plainly displays a "no signal" message that dissipates when the mouse is moved.


Yep, that's another feature of the V2's as, I believe, initially reported by Tiberium before they were available for sale.

(Tiberium, are ya out there? Sure could use your contacts to help figure out what's going on with Versions, and whether we should hope for another firmware upgrade to fix the dynamic contrast, menu opacity, etc. etc.)

And by the way I went to order 3rd set on Friday, and my definition of last day means roughly midnight that day (when ordering from an online vendor), not at 3 p.m. central time roughly when the unit was taken off the website.

This also pisses me off to no end.

I guess it is time to vent at somebody high up at Costco.

Heh. As it happens, I ordered my third attempt on Friday morning, before the listing on Costco disappeared. What's interesting to me is that, unlike the previous two purchases, for which I got shipping acknowledgements within a day, I have yet to get one. My order is still "In Processing".

Here's my speculation, without any facts to substantiate: Costco/Spectre ran out of sets in stock and are awaiting a boat-load of new ones from China. Once they arrive, orders like mine will be filled, and the listing on Costco will reappear.

Dave Kristol

And by the way I went to order 3rd set on Friday, and my definition of last day means roughly midnight that day (when ordering from an online vendor), not at 3 p.m. central time roughly when the unit was taken off the website.

This also pisses me off to no end.

I guess it is time to vent at somebody high up at Costco.

JP, I hear you and agree. What is the point of setting an end date/time if it is not followed?




So what about us poor slobs only on our 2nd defective set, with no way to order 3rd or 4th sets at the same price?


Or the poor slobs who spend an inordinate amount of time trying to help the owners of this set battle through the high defect rate in the hope that all (OK, at best, most) of the bugs are resolved by the time they place their order - only to learn that not only aren't all of the bugs fixed yet, but that some of the oldest sets are the last to clear inventory! (On that, I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky that they closed down the ordering before deadline).


I think it is ridiculous that Sceptre can't test the ports before shipping the units out.

What I always ask myself (since this is very much a self selective sample set here), what in the world does the average Joe Sixpack experience in buying this set? Do they not test the different inputs? Do they not care if certain functions don't work? Do they not care if certain obnoxious functions can't be turned off? Do they just live with the "sparklies" and "streaking" and 10% overscan etc. simply because they don't know any better? Or do they just return it?

I honestly don't understand. One would think that this particular product would have one of the highest return rates for a big ticket item that its vendors have ever seen, yet the little internal feedback that we've gotten seemed to indicate that its not enough to raise red flags. Why? (or why not?) :confused:

Back in stock at Costco [EDIT] necessary:
[EDIT]

I got mine mounted on the wall this weekend, and I totally love it. :)

I got mine mounted on the wall this weekend, and I totally love it. :)


Eh? Its not there. Did they remove it again?

Ordered on 3/30, arrived today..

Debug 0111
06/01/16 14:58
t370hw01
1920 x 1080

w/USB service port.....DVI seem fine....

Do not have the chance to try if there's a QAM tuner.

My problem is the remote that it came with does not seem to work. Anyone else have this problem? Any suggestion how to get this resolve?

Wow, it's gone again. I also saw the X37SV listed earlier today at the new price. Could Costco have sold all their new inventory that quickly?

Wow, it's gone again. I also saw the X37SV listed earlier today at the new price. Could Costco have sold all their new inventory that quickly?

Or maybe it was listed mistakenly. I see there's a 32" monitor now shown at Costco, and the picture looks a heckuva lot like the 37". But it doesn't have an ATSC tuner, and it's lower resolution than the 37".

OTOH, I got email this evening that my (delayed) 3rd attempt has been shipped, which I would have predicted based on the 37" having showed up on the website today. I can't wait to find out what configuration it is. :rolleyes:

Dave Kristol

Hey all. Just recently found this amazing site. Also, just received my x37sv!

The firmware is 06/03/03!!
No rear power switch.

Had to set the timing to 3, fixed the artifacts right off!

Haven't had time to bring the DVI capable computer downstairs to check to see if my DVI port works. And I have no clue how to check the whole QAM stuff.... Im planning on watching dvds, and using the DVI port only. ( If it's easy to explain, I would love to check the QAM for you to sort out your versions, but sadly, I'm clueless. No bother if it would be too long to explain to make it worthwhile ^^; )

So, a little problem I think? Whenever I have an 'av source' selected, (ie. xbox, dvd, cable) a horrid crackling, or popping sound comes from the back left of the monitor. It almost sounds like static discharge, but it definitely isn't. It occurs even when I have a source selected that is not hooked up. This does not occur when I have VGA selected.

The noise is MUCH too loud to ignore. Did I get a busted monitor? :(

Thanks for such a great community!

/first post of many to come

Dave

For those with OTA HD antennas, do some stations not show up in widescreen format, but still at 1080i? Is there no way to stretch the picture out? It seems the zoom only works up and down.

And when it is on DVI, I'm assuming that it is from a DVI source using the DVI -> HDMI cable that was included. And when it is on HDMI, it is on a HDMI->HDMI cable that was purchased afterwards. Is that right?

Got my replacement set today.

DEBUG 0112 F2
06/03/03 12:12
T370HW01 1920x1080

So very new firmware.

TV housing is slightly different than a V1 set, most notably in the speakers.

Two stuck pixels, but since I set more than 5 feet back I can tsee them unless I'm right up on the monitor.

QAM works

DVI works

I am totally satisified. Great TV/monitor. I will be recommending this monitor to all my geek friends/coworkers. For the price you can't beat it.

...So, a little problem I think? Whenever I have an 'av source' selected, (ie. xbox, dvd, cable) a horrid crackling, or popping sound comes from the back left of the monitor. It almost sounds like static discharge, but it definitely isn't. It occurs even when I have a source selected that is not hooked up. This does not occur when I have VGA selected.

The noise is MUCH too loud to ignore. Did I get a busted monitor? :(

Dave

I don't know exactly what it is, but I hear a "pop" about once a night myself. I assumed it was heat expansion related and never bothered bringing it up here. Funny thing is, I'll hear it when the TV is off too(Edit:Probably on Cool Down)...thought it was the desk I have it on. It only happens once or twice a night, ie. I'll hear it, and then 4-5 hours later it may "pop" again. I've had my set for almost 6 months, so I wouldn't worry about it. I only use HDMI/DVI so I don't think it's input related.

P

C´mon guys ! post pics of yours monitors !! :D

For those with OTA HD antennas, do some stations not show up in widescreen format, but still at 1080i? Is there no way to stretch the picture out? It seems the zoom only works up and down.

Most OTA HD channel's content is still SD and/or has a 4:3 aspect ratio. The broadcast actually contains the Black Bars on the sides of the picture. Some channels will make this apparent by making the bars colored.
So, a channel broadcasting in 1080i or 720p might look 4:3 but is actually widescreen. Most channels will have programing that fills the screen, usually during prime-time.
On the X37SV cycle through different modes of the Aspect button on the remote and the mode "4:3", could be "16:9" I get their effects reversed, should stretch the sides of the image to fill the screen. This distorts the image but many people don't mind and prefer the filled screen.
I think the "Zoom" mode is only useful when a broadcast is trying to present a widescreen image in 4:3 and adds bars to the top and bottom and you still have the bars on the sides. Zooming will then fill the screen with the image and maintain it's correct ratio.

Wow, it's gone again. I also saw the X37SV listed earlier today at the new price. Could Costco have sold all their new inventory that quickly?

It's back.

Dave Kristol

It's back.

Dave Kristol


Its gone again :(

We're sorry, this product is not available.11042448

for anyone who cares, the X37s with the newest firmware (mine is 3/3/06) still has the sleep mode problem....an HTPC connected through the DVI/HDMI port cant put the TV to sleep.

It just blacks the screen out, but its still turned on and has a disturbing yellow colored "NO SIGNAL" in the corner.

Come to think of it...maybe its an HDMI issue. Have other people put an HDTV to sleep through a HDMI with an HTPC before?

This is my first HDMI set so *ell if I know...

I don't know exactly what it is, but I hear a "pop" about once a night myself. I assumed it was heat expansion related and never bothered bringing it up here. Funny thing is, I'll hear it when the TV is off too(Edit:Probably on Cool Down)...thought it was the desk I have it on. It only happens once or twice a night, ie. I'll hear it, and then 4-5 hours later it may "pop" again. I've had my set for almost 6 months, so I wouldn't worry about it. I only use HDMI/DVI so I don't think it's input related.

P

The noise that I am hearing is a constant sound. It's like its popping corn or something similar.

I had it on for about 4 hours last night and it definitely slowed down to about 3 or 4 crackles every few seconds. But, still... Now, I just turned it on again after having it off all night, and it's back full force.

So, chalk up another return to the big C?

\sigh

EDIT: Any clue why this noise would only occur on a 'souce av' and not a 'source pc'?

Dave

O.k, different sound.

P

For those with working HDMI and later firmware, - If you leave your PC on when connected to the HDMI port and turn off the TV, when you turn it back on does the display resync correctly, or is a re-boot then required?

V1 worked correctly, but I am hearing different things about the later versions.

I would try mine but HDMI doesn't work. I am thinking about the DVI detective if it would solve my problem and still allow TV to be turned off without PC re-boot.

Or I just may go to the new Westinghouse as Pecs mentioned. Waiting to see it at BB.

For those with working HDMI and later firmware, - If you leave your PC on when connected to the HDMI port and turn off the TV, when you turn it back on does the display resync correctly, or is a re-boot then required?

V1 worked correctly, but I am hearing different things about the later versions.


It works for me. I'm on FW version 06/03/03.

Works here: 6600GT using 84.21 drivers, outputting to HDMI/DVI. I can turn off and on with no problem. v2 set (11/05 purchase) with original 9/23 firmware running at 53.307Hz.

P

I can have mine resume from sleep with little to no problem. occasionally in the upper left it will continue to say the resolution and dvi. I have the screen reinitilization program that was pasted about 20 pages back. I have a short of it mappped to ctrl alt I. next time it is onscreen like that, i'll give the program a try to see if it clears up.
if you want the program, try a search of this thread for(.txt) It was saved with a txt extension so it could be posted. just change it to an exe. I don't remember the full file name.

I have a 9500pro ati card with the latest catalyst driver if it helps any. my card is fanless, because the fan died :) it gets really hot, but it will only lock up if I play 3d games on it.
I got a 6200 fanless card, but I had problems getting the hd video to play without stuttering, even after a reformat.

Got mine yesterday with firmware 06/01/16 14:58 and no power switch on the back. Haven't tried QAM functionality yet.

Mine seems to have no problem with recovering from 'sleep' mode. It will display a black screen with yellow 'no signal' text in the corner until I move the mouse or press a key.

Plugged it into my 7900GT to play some Oblivion and it looks absolutely amazing in native res. If you need a game to show off this display, this is it. Didn't need to do anything to get it working - just plugged it in, Windows saw the 2nd display, and cranked the res to 1920x1080.

My only complaint so far is the fact that you can't switch to an input directly. Switching back and forth between TV usage and PC usage is more troublesome than it needs to be.

37" SPECTRE back in C***

37" SPECTRE back in C***

I note that another Sceptre product, the 17" monitor, disappeared from C***, not that it interested me. Go figure....

Dave Kristol

37" SPECTRE back in C***

So no instant/costco rebate now eh? Already at the reduced price. I noticed the 20" wide is available too. Wonder how that would work in the office; very decent price.

Hi all. New to the forum here. I too just purchased the Sceptre 37" LCD TV and I was wondering does anyone noticed a low pitch noise when when watching NTSC or ATSC even when the volume setting is near 0? Is that noise normal? :confused: Also, for this size LCD (37") is it worth it to purchase a DVD upconverter @ 1080P? I was planning on purhcasing the Samsung DVD-HD960.

IMHO, I wouldn't waste your money on a 1080p player. This monitor is best used in conjuction with an HTPC, and I think you are much better off playing everything through that. As for the quality of the picture, it all depends on how good the scaler/deinterlacer on the DVD player is. And in that respect, it is impossible to beat what a PC can do for the price.

IMHO, I wouldn't waste your money on a 1080p player. This monitor is best used in conjuction with an HTPC, and I think you are much better off playing everything through that. As for the quality of the picture, it all depends on how good the scaler/deinterlacer on the DVD player is. And in that respect, it is impossible to beat what a PC can do for the price.


Thanks for your input. But does your Sceptre LCD/TV make a low pitch noise?

IMHO, I wouldn't waste your money on a 1080p player. This monitor is best used in conjuction with an HTPC, and I think you are much better off playing everything through that. As for the quality of the picture, it all depends on how good the scaler/deinterlacer on the DVD player is. And in that respect, it is impossible to beat what a PC can do for the price.

"For the price" would seem to imply that the htpc is the most cost effective of the bunch, which really isn't accurate. As far as which is better, I won't spread conjecture, but I can tell you that my PC (running at 1920x1080) looks worse for playback with Windows Media Player and VLC, then my upscaling DVD player (ala Xbox media center). The Samsung dvd player he mentions costs about $150, has a nice spec sheet and looks a whole let less obtrusive than a great deal many HTPCs end up looking. Of course, there's the mini but at a slightly stiffer price tag (say 3.5x). Though, I've been meaning to ask those of you using the newer Core Duo 1.66 Minis. Can they handle native 1080i content beyond Apple's h.264 variant... say HD Divx or HD .ts/mpeg2? I've read frame rendering problems but I hope I'm wrong because I'm thinking of picking one up down the line. Though, I'd be sold right now if they could throw an option in for a beefier HDD (say 250 or 300GB) and a ATSC Tuner/Capture card. Perhaps a super mac mini to come?

Re: my crackling noise...

One more thing that I have noticed: The higher the lamp light is, the more it will click. On my custom user mode color setting, it clicks very very much because the lamp is high. On the cinema mode, the lamp is low, so it does not click more than once every minute or so. This leads me to believe it does not click when a 'source pc' is selected because the lamp is at its default (low). Do you guys recommend a return?

EDIT: If my lamp is at 4 or higher, it will click. 3 or below, it does not. Could some of you try this and post your results?

EDIT 2: Using the DVI input, or the 'Cinema' setting of the component input, the lamp can be up to 4 without clicks.

Why doesn't my VGA-to-componet (VGA -> YPbPr2) work? I got the cable today, and it just shows the blue screen using either of the two laptops I have. Is it looking for a digital connection or something?

Using the VGA-VGA cable, why doesn't this TV stretch out my desktop? I am running it at 1920x1080 and it only uses 80% of the screen (All the pixels are being shown so it's as if it wants a 2200x1080 source). Do I need to call tech support or send it back? I would rather not.

I might take it into work on Friday and test it with DVI->HDMI, VGA->Component & VGA->VGA cables. They have more powerful desktop computers there. And I will be able to find out what is going on for sure.

I received my replacement V3 with firmware 06/01/16 14:58 two days ago. The DVI finally works with my computer. Aside from one dead pixel, it appears I have a fully functional unit.

I'm much more impressed with this TV/Monitor than any of the three Westinghouse 37w1s I had and returned. No vertical banding, SD looks better, and no backlight noises. I get 19 local DTV channels with just a Terk HDTVi indoor antenna and I'm about 22 miles from the transmitters.

So far I haven't noticed a dynamic contrast problem with the internal ATSC tuner or the component input driven by a Pioneer 563-A DVD player. I get great results playing HD .ts files with PowerDVD6 as long it's setup to take advantage of hardware acceleration and AVIVO deinterlacing on my ATI X1600Pro video card. TheaterTek looks good as well but has problems reading .ts from a DVD-R.

I tried playing the vetrez.ts test files and it doesn't appear that the Sceptre is throwing away half the resolution in 1080i. The files look the same as on the Westy 37w1, which has been verified to pass a full rez signal without bobbing.

I've been pleased with C*'s support getting the replacement and I'm glad to see the X37 back for sale online. If you're on the fence between the Sceptre and the new Westy 37, I'd look long and hard before spending the $$$ difference, especially with C*'s satisfaction guarantee.

"For the price" would seem to imply that the htpc is the most cost effective of the bunch, which really isn't accurate. As far as which is better, I won't spread conjecture, but I can tell you that my PC (running at 1920x1080) looks worse for playback with Windows Media Player and VLC, then my upscaling DVD player (ala Xbox media center). The Samsung dvd player he mentions costs about $150, has a nice spec sheet and looks a whole let less obtrusive than a great deal many HTPCs end up looking. Of course, there's the mini but at a slightly stiffer price tag (say 3.5x). Though, I've been meaning to ask those of you using the newer Core Duo 1.66 Minis. Can they handle native 1080i content beyond Apple's h.264 variant... say HD Divx or HD .ts/mpeg2? I've read frame rendering problems but I hope I'm wrong because I'm thinking of picking one up down the line. Though, I'd be sold right now if they could throw an option in for a beefier HDD (say 250 or 300GB) and a ATSC Tuner/Capture card. Perhaps a super mac mini to come?

What decoder are you using? All I can speak from is experience, and as I've posted on before, I had a 1080i upconverting player that was vastly inferior to what I can play back over my PC using TheaterTek and Nvidia PureVideo. Night and day, in that case. It could be that my DVD player (NeuNeo) just sucked, but it was well reviewed by others, and would just emphasie my point that the quality of the upscaling/deinterlacing varies widely with hardware. The problem could also be related to how the TV was dealing with the 1080i signal that was passed to it. So in that case, a 1080p player might be great, since the TV shouldn't have to do anything but display in its native res. Unless anyone has used that specific player, I think you won't know till you try.

Received mine a couple of days ago (I almost cried in joy when I was notified of the delivery). I'm not hooking it up to a computer (yet; I'm a neophyte) as I'm using it as an HDTV with my TWC-NYC HD DVR (SA 8300). HDMI works fine, though I think I'm getting a better picture with the component hookup. Firmware is 06-01-16; no rear power switch; yay.

My question is regarding aspect ratio and dvd players- I've been following the discussion on upconverting players. Can someone recommend a player that has good zoom functions? I've noticed that while playing DVDs, when I use the aspect button on the Sceptre remote, the zoom-full mode distorts the image a little too much for my liking, but the 16:9 mode leaves black bars a little too large for my liking (my DVD player setting is at 16:9). Any recommendations?

Thanks... (I hope).

Why doesn't my VGA-to-componet (VGA -> YPbPr2) work? I got the cable today, and it just shows the blue screen using either of the two laptops I have. Is it looking for a digital connection or something?

I believe that you are using the Component-VGA (technically not VGA but DB15) cable incorrectly. It is not a signal converter but simply a port adapter. It allows you to connect another component device to the VGA port on the Sceptre, but [i]only because the Sceptre allows switching the VGA-PC port to YPbPr (basically acts like a second set of component inputs).


Using the VGA-VGA cable, why doesn't this TV stretch out my desktop? I am running it at 1920x1080 and it only uses 80% of the screen (All the pixels are being shown so it's as if it wants a 2200x1080 source). Do I need to call tech support or send it back? I would rather not.


First I suggest double checking that you have the aspect ratios set correctly. Secondly, you may want to swap out the VGA cable for another (some have reported a similiar problem which was resolved with a better quality cable).

I'm much more impressed with this TV/Monitor than any of the three Westinghouse 37w1s I had and returned. No vertical banding, SD looks better, and no backlight noises. I get 19 local DTV channels with just a Terk HDTVi indoor antenna and I'm about 22 miles from the transmitters.


Thanks for the comparison to the West 37w1 - any other comments you can provided about the comparison of PQ, in particular HD, would be much appreciated (would you have waited for the newer 37w3 if the replacement Sceptre 37" had not worked out?)



I tried playing the vetrez.ts test files and it doesn't appear that the Sceptre is throwing away half the resolution in 1080i. The files look the same as on the Westy 37w1, which has been verified to pass a full res signal without bobbing.


Pardon my question since I haven't yet completely read the "Throwing Away" thread, but how did you test the vertrez.ts files? Did you burn the files to a DVD and test on a 1080i upconverting DVD player? Or were you able to set your PC video card to output 1080i?

Thanks for the comparison to the West 37w1 - any other comments you can provided about the comparison of PQ, in particular HD, would be much appreciated (would you have waited for the newer 37w3 if the replacement Sceptre 37" had not worked out?)The Westys I returned had different panels (2 CMO & 1 AUO) and 3 different firmware versions. All of them had a graininess (mosquito noise?) and motion micro-stutter on HD material that I don't see on the Sceptre using the same HTPC. What's really impressive to me is how much better the backlighting, white balance, and color purity is on the X37 vs. the Westys using DVI. I never could get the 37w1s set to Gamma 2.2 and 6500K with just three color temp settings. I admit I was disappointed with the Sceptre's VGA PC performance and would have gone with another manufacturer (not Westinghouse) if I had received another X37 without DVI and the ATSC tuner working.

Pardon my question since I haven't yet completely read the "Throwing Away" thread, but how did you test the vertrez.ts files? Did you burn the files to a DVD and test on a 1080i upconverting DVD player? Or were you able to set your PC video card to output 1080i?I played the vetrez files with both PowerDVD6 and TheaterTek 2.2 on my HTPC. The ATI Catalyst Control Center can be set to playback 1080i and 720p through DVI and component. My Pioneer DVD player is a 480p model. I do have some uncompressed 1080i video on my hard drive that was shot with a Sony pro HD camera. I use that footage as an ultimate gauge to test resolution and deinterlacing quality.

How would you compare the black leves and viewing angles between the westy's and spectre. Im kinda on the fence between the two. I had a syntax which looked great but had horrible viewing angles. The only thing that scares me about the spectre is limited number of inputs. Havent found a reasonable priced DVI switcher yet. Unltimately I would need 1 component for xbox360, 1 DVI for comcast HD tuner, something for HTPC, preferrably DVI.

How would you compare the black leves and viewing angles between the westy's and spectre. Im kinda on the fence between the two. I had a syntax which looked great but had horrible viewing angles. The only thing that scares me about the spectre is limited number of inputs. Havent found a reasonable priced DVI switcher yet. Unltimately I would need 1 component for xbox360, 1 DVI for comcast HD tuner, something for HTPC, preferrably DVI.After running my usual battery of tests on both models, I'd say the Sceptre has deeper blacks and a wider viewing angle than the Westy 37w1. I haven't seen the new w3 in action so I don't know how it compares to either. From reading the 42w2 and 37w3 threads, owners report the blacks have improved but vertical banding still seems to be problematic with Westinghouse.

It seems HDMI is the new industry standard interface so I expect HDMI switchers to be more plentiful and cost effective in the near future (hint...check out monoprice). Most cable and satellite companies are going with HDMI on their newest boxes. I'm NOT impressed with over-compressed satellite HD and I'm not going to pay through the wazoo for cable HD. The ATSC tuner in the Sceptre does an excellent job with network HD once you tweak the settings.

The ATSC tuner in the Sceptre does an excellent job with network HD once you tweak the settings.

What do you have your settings "tweaked" at? I thought that it really seemed to crush blacks no matter how I had it configured. Had much better luck going through the PC. But maybe I didn't play around with it long enough...

What do you have your settings "tweaked" at? I thought that it really seemed to crush blacks no matter how I had it configured. Had much better luck going through the PC. But maybe I didn't play around with it long enough...I may have a different tuner board or firmware than you Pecs so YMMV. My tweaks were sharpness to 10 in the Video menu...everything off or 0 in the Advanced menu...and backlight to 3 in the System menu. No black or white crush that I can notice with OTA HD, and I'm pretty sensitive to problems like that after using Avia and DVE with many different displays. It's not like the Sceptre is ISF calibrated, but it's worlds better than anything I could get out of the Westys fed with OTA from a Directv HD box (which I've returned).

EDIT: I've updated the sharpness and backlight settings from the original post to reflect what i see as the best compromise settings for HD and DTV. Dynamic contrast rears its ugly head once in a while now where I didn't notice it before.

... I've been meaning to ask those of you using the newer Core Duo 1.66 Minis. Can they handle native 1080i content beyond Apple's h.264 variant... say HD Divx or HD .ts/mpeg2? ...

I have a core duo mac mini hooked up to this monitor. It plays the Apple's h264 1080p trailers fine. As for 1080p videos in other formats (DIVX XVID WMV), I have yet to come across any (though admitedly I havent been looking). If you can point me to some 1080p divx or xvid files on the net somewhere, I'd be happy to give it a shot. WMV wouls not be a good test since currently I can only play WMV files under Rosetta which is slow-ish even on 480 material.

What decoder are you using? .

using mplayer (http://www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/news.html) compiled into Xbox Media Center, I think decoder varies by content. Many granular and advanced features (plays most formats/subs, drc, auto deinterlace, smooth a/v sync, filters, customizable interface, over/under scan, aspect ratio customizations) I mostly playback mpeg4 xvid stuff in upscale; not sure which mpeg2 decoder is used on that one (for DVDs). Definitely a gamut of different quality players, I'm sure. I was relating more toward the price difference though. I could home theatre rig is going to cost buku more than an upscaling dvd. I'll keep the box, untl (or if) they iron out the Mac Mini. Not HTPCish enough for me yet.

I have a core duo mac mini hooked up to this monitor. It plays the Apple's h264 1080p trailers fine. As for 1080p videos in other formats (DIVX XVID WMV), I have yet to come across any (though admitedly I havent been looking). If you can point me to some 1080p divx or xvid files on the net somewhere, I'd be happy to give it a shot. WMV wouls not be a good test since currently I can only play WMV files under Rosetta which is slow-ish even on 480 material.

Probably not 1080p, mostly 720p and 1080i. I seriously doubt that puppy would handle native 1080p (outside of Apple's "optimized for mac" h.264 stuff) anyway. TV shows are out there in native HD on the web, but the source may be questionable so I'd rather not say in this particular forum. And than there's Nero's h.264 which I like to, but may give the mini problems. I really like that thing though. Really neat design.

My Sceptre X37 arrived 4/5/06,ordered 3/30/06,shipped 4/3/06,which is a fast turnaround for coming to Alaska. C* said it would arrive on 4/11/06.Boy was I glad they were wrong.No power switch on the back.
DEBUG 0112 F2
06/03/03 12:12
T37 QHW01
1920X1080.
I hooked it up to my JVC XV-N310B DVD player by the component cables and it was WOW.I next tried SD by hooking it up with a s-video cable since all we have for satellite is a D*N* 301 reciever.
My wife came into the bedroom while I was flipping thru the channels,she was totally impressed by the SD picture quality.She commented that the X37 was far more superior than the Proview RX326 that I'm returning to C* for sound problems.
I then showed her the Antz movie and she was stunned.She could not believe how crisp and clear it was.
I'll post the the results when I recieve the new equip.I also have a new Helios DVH2085
upscaling 1080P DVD player on the way and I'll post the results.

Forgot to mention a very minor problem while installing my X37 Septre.The screw hole were a little off on both of the inner speaker mounting holes.No big deal.
I'm impressed with this set.

I admit I was disappointed with the Sceptre's VGA PC performance...


Could you elaborate on that? (Sorry if you have already commented on this before)



I played the vetrez files with both PowerDVD6 and TheaterTek 2.2 on my HTPC. The ATI Catalyst Control Center can be set to playback 1080i and 720p through DVI and component.

OK, then just to double check, you set your HTPC video card to display to 1080i and evaluated the vertrez.ts playback over both DVI and component?

The reason why I am being specific about the testing is that I wan't to make sure that someone doesn't try to test the deinterlacing of the Sceptre by running the vertrez.ts files on their HTPC while leaving the video card set to progressive mode by default. A "doh!" moment for sure, since then you are testing the deinterlacing of the media player software and not the Sceptre (but a mistake I made the first time I tried to run the test :o ).

My Sceptre X37 arrived 4/5/06,ordered 3/30/06,shipped 4/3/06,which is a fast turnaround for coming to Alaska. C* said it would arrive on 4/11/06.Boy was I glad they were wrong.No power switch on the back.
DEBUG 0112 F2
06/03/03 12:12
T37 QHW01
1920X1080.
I hooked it up to my JVC XV-N310B DVD player by the component cables and it was WOW.I next tried SD by hooking it up with a s-video cable since all we have for satellite is a D*N* 301 reciever.
My wife came into the bedroom while I was flipping thru the channels,she was totally impressed by the SD picture quality.She commented that the X37 was far more superior than the Proview RX326 that I'm returning to C* for sound problems.
I then showed her the Antz movie and she was stunned.She could not believe how crisp and clear it was.
I'll post the the results when I recieve the new equip.I also have a new Helios DVH2085
upscaling 1080P DVD player on the way and I'll post the results.

That's interesting. My 1st experience was a little different from yours. Maybe the settings or the SD quality where I live dunno... but

When I first plugged in SD, I said WOW, SD looks like hammered dogpoop on this set;must be due to the set being a HD higher res one.

When I plugged in my old Pioneer 3 disc carousel via component, again, I said WOW again. Way to grainy and too much blue tint on LotR Two Towers and no settings adjustment would bring clarity to the picture. Than I plugged in the upscaler, and said, "There, that's much better but still not the greatest because the source is no longer the king". Lastly, I plugged in an antenna and watchd Jay Leno via the ATSC and really said WOW! Crystal Clear... End result? I can defintely see DVD's days are now numbered and I probably won't be buying any more content until it's either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray.

my $0.02

Could you elaborate on that? (Sorry if you have already commented on this before)VGA is an analog signal and it seems to run out of steam at higher resolutions. It works ok on small computer monitors but doesn't do a large 1920x1080 panel justice, IMHO. Color banding, slightly smeared text, moire, and black and white crush troubled me the most using VGA. If you're using an analog signal (or a digital signal that's been through a D/A and A/D conversion) with the Sceptre you're not seeing what this LCD is truly capable of. Using a HTPC with DVI out (or HD-DVD/Blu-ray over HDMI) makes paying more for a 1080p panel worth it.

OK, then just to double check, you set your HTPC video card to display to 1080i and evaluated the vertrez.ts playback over both DVI and component?

The reason why I am being specific about the testing is that I wan't to make sure that someone doesn't try to test the deinterlacing of the Sceptre by running the vertrez.ts files on their HTPC while leaving the video card set to progressive mode by default. A "doh!" moment for sure, since then you are testing the deinterlacing of the media player software and not the Sceptre (but a mistake I made the first time I tried to run the test :o ).I turned deinterlacing off in PowerDVD, TheaterTek 2.2, and set Catalyst Control Center to 1080i (no deinterlacing). I played back the files through DVI first, and then component, using the component adapter supplied with my ATI card.

VGA is an analog signal and it seems to run out of steam at higher resolutions. It works ok on small computer monitors but doesn't do a large 1920x1080 panel justice, IMHO. Color banding, slightly smeared text, moire, and black and white crush troubled me the most using VGA. If you're using an analog signal (or a digital signal that's been through a D/A and A/D conversion) with the Sceptre you're not seeing what this LCD is truly capable of.



I think this is the problem my laptop is having. I swapped the VGA cables with my laptop, and that didn't seem to work, but this desktop works with all of the VGA cables I have. What do I need to get to make my laptop work? Should I get a VGA signal booster?

donsev's right about the VGA->Component really being Component->VGA. I guess if you have some component outputs on a DVD player, you can plug it into the VGA port on the TV. I'll try this out later today, but it won't help with the resolution problem I have.

I may have a different tuner board or firmware than you Pecs so YMMV. My tweaks were sharpness to 15 in the Video menu...everything off or 0 in the Advanced menu...and backlight to 0 in the System menu. No black or white crush that I can notice, and I'm pretty sensitive to problems like that after using Avia and DVE with many different displays. It's not like the Sceptre is ISF calibrated, but it's worlds better than anything I could get out of the Westys.

It could very well be differences in the ATSC broadcasts in our respective locations. It is impossible to really calibrate for TV since every channel broadcasts differently. There were several programs that looked fine with the built-in tuner, but with the PC I get good results across the board.

Everything was just too good to be true. Since rebuilding my pc, I thought I'd try playing some HL2 on the tv today. Keep in mind, the first time I hooked up the sceptre via hdmi2dvi everything went dandy. Now, no matter which resolution I go with (1280x720p or 1920x1080p), there is an overscan whereby I cannot see the edges of the screen... it just goes right outside the screen edge to where I cannot see all of my icons nor the start menu and bottom toolbar. Running Nvidia 6800. The only thing that has changed since than (besides rebuild) is update to March drivers (over february). I'm in the process of going back to Feb. but even the bios has overscan so don't think this will fix it.

Also, can't remember if I had sound before (pretty sure I did) but now, none. Shouldn't the tv take the audio coming in from the pc and output it to the stereo cables to a receiver?

Also, can't remember if I had sound before (pretty sure I did) but now, none. Shouldn't the tv take the audio coming in from the pc and output it to the stereo cables to a receiver?

Nah, DVI from the PC doesn't carry audio. There may be an external audio input that you could plug into, but I haven't used it myself (I use my Onkyo receiver for sound).

Make sure you have the TV set to "DVI" rather than "HDMI". People frequently make that mistake and get the overscan from the computer.

VGA is an analog signal and it seems to run out of steam at higher resolutions. It works ok on small computer monitors but doesn't do a large 1920x1080 panel justice, IMHO. Color banding, slightly smeared text, moire, and black and white crush troubled me the most using VGA. If you're using an analog signal (or a digital signal that's been through a D/A and A/D conversion) with the Sceptre you're not seeing what this LCD is truly capable of. Using a HTPC with DVI out (or HD-DVD/Blu-ray over HDMI) makes paying more for a 1080p panel worth it.

I turned deinterlacing off in PowerDVD, TheaterTek 2.2, and set Catalyst Control Center to 1080i. I played back the files through DVI first, and then component, using the component adapter supplied with my ATI card.

FWIW - I've run my Sceptre (1920x1080) with both VGA and DVI and honestly I couldn't tell the difference between them. The VGA looked just as perfect.

Nah, DVI from the PC doesn't carry audio. There may be an external audio input that you could plug into, but I haven't used it myself (I use my Onkyo receiver for sound).

Make sure you have the TV set to "DVI" rather than "HDMI". People frequently make that mistake and get the overscan from the computer.


I know DVI doesn't carry audio... I'm talking about the green pc soundcard audio out from my pc into the TV's pc audio input. Not working. I too have a 5.1 receiver with that the left/right from my tv goes too... but no sound?!

Regarding the latter, THANKS!!!!! I can't believe what a dolt I am to not have recognized that! When I first plugged in the hdmi i was nudging it around the usb by mistake and saw a few sparks and thought maybe something went kablooey! Now this audio... hmmm....


EDIT: WORKING AUDIO now! Ahhh... sweet sceptre bliss! Thanks again!

FWIW - I've run my Sceptre (1920x1080) with both VGA and DVI and honestly I couldn't tell the difference between them. The VGA looked just as perfect.I based my results on the first Sceptre's VGA performance for the week I had it before it was returned. There's a possibility that VGA, DVI, and ATSC were all wacky on that one. I'll try running VGA on the replacement and see if there's any improvement and get back to ya.

Regarding the latter, THANKS!!!!! I can't believe what a dolt I am to not have recognized that!

HAHAHAHA I did the same exact thing! For about 30 minutes, I just sat there staring at the thing wondering how it worked ok with VGA, but not DVI. Un-observant ones unite!!!


Dave

FWIW - I've run my Sceptre (1920x1080) with both VGA and DVI and honestly I couldn't tell the difference between them. The VGA looked just as perfect.

I am testing out the DVI->HDMI connection right now, and on my PC, the pixels are exactly 1:1. It is a better picture in regards to clarity. For example, in VGA, some of the yellow characters in this forum had a little part bleed over to the next pixel. With DVI, it is precise.

My laptop only has VGA though, and I'm not going to have any problems using it when I get the full screen problem solved.

My laptop only has VGA though, and I'm not going to have any problems using it when I get the full screen problem solved.

I have fixed the problem with it not using the full screen when in PC mode! I had to update the drivers for my laptop. At the gateway support site, they still had the 2004 drivers, but Intel had some drivers from 2006 that worked.

I will have to write a review of this monitor now that it works perfectly.

Look like the issues with earlier versions are being resolved with the latest versions of firmware. I'm interested in what are some of your value when it is tweaked. Please include the following if you can....

-Firmware version
-Which input (DVI, HDMI, DTV, AV1....etc)
-Lamp setting
-Contrast setting
-Brightness setting
-Color
-Tint
-All the Advance Setting

Let's get the most out of this LCD TV as we can.

Look like the issues with earlier versions are being resolved with the latest versions of firmware. I'm interested in what are some of your value when it is tweaked. Please include the following if you can....

-Firmware version
-Which input (DVI, HDMI, DTV, AV1....etc)
-Lamp setting
-Contrast setting
-Brightness setting
-Color
-Tint
-All the Advance Setting

Let's get the most out of this LCD TV as we can.

I would expect there to be variability on a per-set basis that would make it foolish for us to assume one setting is correct for everyone. Am I mistaken?

Dave Kristol

I would expect there to be variability on a per-set basis that would make it foolish for us to assume one setting is correct for everyone. Am I mistaken?

Dave Kristol

Not only would it vary from set to set, but people have different lighting conditions to deal with, and also have different PQ prefreneces. Im the type that likes high contrast and lots of backlighting. So torch mode for me.

Also I rarely tweak for tv viewing but I Im very picky about my xbox360 PQ. Which is super torch mode with colors jacked up until they almost bleed.

BTW I ordered my x37 today from Co****. I almost went with Newegg because I saw a documentary on them and they keep their inventory very shallow, figured newegg is the best bet for v3. But they dont allow returns on large TVs. Figured its best to play it safe. Hope it gets here soon. Anyone recommend a 5.1 or 2.1 speaker setup? Something cheap and black.

Ok - de-lurking- here, I just got my 3rd Sceptre. I’m hooking up the TV via DVI through HDMI to my Media Center PC. (pc uses an NVidia 6600 GT). The TV is the latest version 3 based upon info that I’ve found in this forum:

No power switch on back and firmware settings of:
Debug 0111
06/01/16 14:58
T370HW01 (though the T370 switches between that and T350
every now for a quick millisecond -- at least I think it is a "5")
1920 x1080 he problem I'm having is that the

So, I’m using this TV as a computer monitor just as much as a "tv", but the text (and horizontal lines) just jutters around. The second TV had the same problems, but I thought the "v3" would have fixed this. I'm tired of returning this TV. (the first one had problems where the component input didn't work)

In searching this forum, I tried setting the memory delay to 3, but I didn't notice any change. I've also tried rebooting the computer multiple times. The text doesn't jutter when I use HDMI or HDCP input modes, but of course now my desktop is clipped - not good.

I've read that others have similar problems with the text but I didn't see how they fixed it. If you've had this problem and the memory delay didn't help, please reply with what you did.

-mark

Ok - quick update -- nVidia tools has a device setting for the monitor and it didn't set it up as HDTV ready. After modifying that setting the screen flickered once and then everything looks great.

Now -- I have both the 2nd and 3rd TV sitting in the living room.. gota figure out if I want to keep both ;)

Now I have to understand this QAM thing -- and see if I can get anything on my comcast cable.

-mark

Anyone recommend a 5.1 or 2.1 speaker setup? Something cheap and black.

Check out the 42" THREAD (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=653098&page=49&pp=30) for discussion of the Logitech Z-5500

For those with working HDMI and later firmware, - If you leave your PC on when connected to the HDMI port and turn off the TV, when you turn it back on does the display resync correctly, or is a re-boot then required?No resync problems with my V3 using DVI on the HDMI input. My vid card is an ATI x1600Pro with 6.3 drivers. You mentioned in one of your posts that you're using an ATI card also. In Catalyst Control Center's DVI settings 'Reduce DVI frequency on high-resolution displays' is unchecked and 'Alternate DVI operational mode' is checked. Don't know if that has anything to do with your problem, but it might be worth looking into.

My HDMI is dead, plan to order 3rd set next week.

For those using VGA - you must Auto Tune or you will get pixel bleed, this sets the "phase" correctly. However I sometimes have trouble getting the settings to "save" in the TV.

VGA can be made to look almost as good as DVI, but it takes some tweaking. I had to also reduce the contrast to 80 (from 100) in Catalyst. DVI didn't seem to require this reduction in contrast this on my v1 set. This could be due to the video card as well.

I can second the Logitech Z-5500 praises. You can't go wrong with those. They can be loud when you want, or soft but still give good surround quality.

I just received the Z-2300 (2.1) for son's PC and with a recent rebate also a good deal. Not quite as much power, but good for a smaller room.

Thanks for the responses about the TV resyncing. Sounds like how the V1 set worked, so I plan to re-order rather than a DVI detective device.

I am testing out the DVI->HDMI connection right now, and on my PC, the pixels are exactly 1:1. I assume that you mean you have DVI out from your PC through the HDMI connector but that you select DVI on the PC input of the Sceptre to get 1:1 mapping. When I select HDMI as an input, I have nowhere near 1:1 mapping as much of the picture is cropped.

I assume this will be a huge issue for future digital rights managed content which will only come out on Microsoft Vista as HDMI output and will look poor on the Sceptre.

I assume that you mean you have DVI out from your PC through the HDMI connector but that you select DVI on the PC input of the Sceptre to get 1:1 mapping. When I select HDMI as an input, I have nowhere near 1:1 mapping as much of the picture is cropped.

I assume this will be a huge issue for future digital rights managed content which will only come out on Microsoft Vista as HDMI output and will look poor on the Sceptre.Are the overscan specs different between HDMI/HDCP and DVI/HDCP? I know already there's a colorspace difference. When Vista and HDMI equipped video cards are released we'll see if Microsoft and the vid card vendors have taken these matters into account. It wouldn't make sense to have an overscanned desktop on a PC. Not everyone wants to upgrade to a locked-down Vista PC plus a new monitor either. Maybe the HDMI video cards' drivers will allow us to alter settings for 1:1 over DVI/HDCP or Sceptre will fix it with a firmware upgrade. I guess we'll see how consumers react (vote with their wallets) early next year.

Review of ‘THE Monitor’

I decided that my tax refund would be best spent upgrading my 19” CRT external monitor to a new 37” 1080p LCD HDTV. It also had to be under $2000, and no speakers (or removable ones). The Sceptre was the best one I could find. NewEgg got it to me in 8 days, but the delivery people failed to call me and setup an appointment for me to be at home. So, I had to wait another 3 days. I then set it up at the 1920x1080 resolution, but it didn’t display on the screen correctly. I thought it might be the cables or some settings on the monitor. It turns out that the drivers for my video card were very old. Now that I have the Feb. 2006 ones, it works great!

The problems that I have now are pretty minor. One rubber foot is missing from the stand and there is noting for the screws to grip onto when I try to attach the speakers. I’m not sure how good or bad the speakers are because I have not used them yet. I get some diagonal lines that show up sometimes when there are large areas of certain colors. Some OTA HDTV is very nice to watch. Even some of the big advertisers are making 16:9 commercials. But, I would not buy an HDTV for the programming yet (unless you only watch sports (the Masters looked great today), primetime (some isn’t 16:9) & the late shows. There just isn’t enough of it yet. The big companies, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, WB) should be more like the PBS HD channel. There should be an easier way of getting the channel lineup than disconnecting the antenna, auto scanning, connecting the antenna, and manually entering in the physical channel number instead of the virtual one. I would also like to see this monitor be able to zoom a 4:3 image and stretch it out to 16:9. I think that Sceptre could use a quality control checklist to make sure everything is perfect, and they should have tested it more to get the bugs out before selling the first batch. I’m also having a problem saving the settings and have to adjust the horizontal alignment every time I turn on the TV or switch between VGA and DTV. It could benefit from one or two more HDMI inputs, but buying a switcher box wouldn’t be that hard. And this is going to be really picky, but I would have liked to see a dark grey/black remote control. Eventually, I get an all-in one control though. The manual that came with the TV isn’t worth very much. There is a lot more information in this thread than in the instructions. Thanks for all of the help!

There are a lot of great things about this TV. The best is the 1080p, full 1920x1080 resolution. As a computer monitor, it is perfect. The screen is super bright and yet the contrast is very good, you have to get a magnifying glass out to see the pixels. And I have 0 dead pixels, which is very impressive on a screen this size. Using DVI or VGA out from your computer into the HDMI or VGA port will produce an unbelievable picture. I’ve had this for two weeks and I’m still amazed at it. There is also a program guide when watching DTV to show you what show it is and what resolution it’s at. The monitor isn’t that heavy and I was able to carry it (without the box). Playing Half-Life 2 is unreal. And I have had good luck in picking up all of the channels that I am supposed to OTA. I also like the way it looks. I think the logos are a little bit too big, but I’m not worried about it. Overall, I am very glad I bought it, and would do it again.

Okay, this may seem a little silly, but I've noticed that some people have had more trouble than necessary getting their new Sceptre out of the box. It's been packed nicely to be easy to get at, if you know how. In particular, you don't have to cut anything but two straps. Following these instructions will leave you with packaging you can easily reuse if you need to return your set to C*****.

1) Start with the box positioned with the four plastic handles near the floor.
2) Cut the plastic straps.
3) Ease the bottom of the outer box away from the handles (which are attached to an inner box) and lift the outer box straight up and off the inner box.
4) On the inner box, pull the tab on each plastic handle so it opens up, and remove each one from the inner box.
5) Lift the inner box straight up to expose the Sceptre, two speakers, and box of connectors, nestled in foam and bagged in plastic.

The rest is pretty obvious.

Dave Kristol

I ordered my third-try Sceptre on 3/30, shipped 4/3, delivered 4/7, from C*****. Details:

DEBUG 0112 F2
06/03/03 12:12
T370HW01
1920 x 1080

H/W: R0.2
S/W: M4.70C
Loader: PMON 1.3.8.0
Lib: HAL 7.2.3.0 MW V1.21

My initial try to scan NTSC cable failed to pick up all channels, a problem I've had with TV1 and TV2. This time, though, I tried re-scanning. Twice. After the third scan, I had successfully picked up all the channels. I have no idea why it should take three tries, though I did notice that successive scans only seemed to try to pick up those channels that weren't set from previous scans.

TV3 has a QAM tuner. I scanned Cable STD (Comcast-NJ) and picked up 181 channels between 79-5 and 116-11. Most seem to be music channels or 480i SD channels. I did pick up 7 true HD channels.

I scanned OTA HD and picked up about 25 channels, the same as I was able to get with TV1.

I was curious to find out whether any of the non-features of earlier firmwares had been corrected.

1) This firmware does remember Favorites after power-cycling the set. (Hooray!)
2) This firmware remembers settings for Opacity and I-Plate time across power-cycling. (Hooray!). Unfortunately, though, it fails to apply the remembered Opacity setting when the set is rebooted,... er... turned on again. So the effect is the same as if the setting had not been remembered.

Anything else I should check with the 06/03/03 firmware?

FWIW, I adjusted my User Mode picture settings to the following values by using the THX Optimizer on The Incredibles DVD. YEMV (Your Eyes May Vary):

Contrast 37
Brightness 34
Sharpness 9
Color 33
Tint +1

Note that there appear to be separate sets of picture adjustments for each source.

Bottom line (literally): TV3 looks like a keeper.

Dave Kristol

The Sceptre's DTV Setup menu has something labeled cryptically "EA". Does anyone know what this is?

Dave Kristol

Are the overscan specs different with HDMI/HDCP and DVI/HDCP? I know already there's already a color space difference. When Vista and HDMI equipped video cards are released we'll see if Microsoft and vid card vendors have taken these matters into account. It wouldn't make sense to have an overscanned desktop on a PC. Not everyone wants to upgrade to a locked-down Media Center PC plus a new monitor either. Maybe the HDMI video cards' drivers will allow us to alter settings which will allow 1:1 over DVI/HDCP or Sceptre will fix it with a firmware upgrade. I guess we'll see how consumers react (vote with their wallets) early next year.

I've wondered about this issue as well. I think the above is basically correct, we don't know for sure what will happen. I think people will react with wallets and if the restrictions are too excessive, they won't buy in.

From what I have heard.

1) DVI connectors on the Westinghouse are HDCP compatible so possibly they are the Sceptre too, even though there is a separate HDCP mode?

2) The main issue is that the connection must be digital from PC (DVD or set top box) to the display. So if you have this pure digital connection, I would think you are at least ahead of the game.

3) Sony pictures has decided to not set the flag at least for now, thus not requiring HDCP or even a digital connection (VGA should work for true 1080p on blu-ray, for their movies). Maybe others will follow suit?

4) Vista is supposed to support HDCP where XP does not. Not sure if this is as simple as the OS only, or if the video card will have to be upgraded as well.

On that last point, I would think ATI could be in hot water as they advertised their cards as HDCP compliant, which I read recently that they truly are not. Consumers keep their boxes and purchase based on what they read on the outside of the box.

On point 1 above, I mean "DVI" mode on the Sceptre, not actually a DVI connection.

I think it may be somewhat unfair to blame the MFG. like ATI, I think this whole HDCP issue has been complicated even for the MFG., let alone the consumers. But at the same time, I had a good feeling when I bought the card, but lost that when I read the recent reports.

... I’m also having a problem saving the settings and have to adjust the horizontal alignment every time I turn on the TV or switch between VGA and DTV. ...

I suffered from this as well. My V2 wouldn't remember the VGA picture adjustments across power cycles. It got annoying enough for me that I adjusted the modeline in my video card. I'm running linux so it was pretty easy (ie, as hard as doing anything else in linux), but windows users should be able to do the same. If your video card manufacturer doesn't provide utilities for this (I know that some do, Matrox for example), you could always install Powerstrip.

-J

FWIW, I adjusted my User Mode picture settings to the following values by using the THX Optimizer on The Incredibles DVD. YEMV (Your Eyes May Vary):

Contrast 37
Brightness 34
Sharpness 9
Color 33
Tint +1

Note that there appear to be separate sets of picture adjustments for each source.


Hi, Dave. What do you have the lamp level at with those settings? I want to give them a try as I have not run any optimizer yet. I have my lamp level at 2. Was turned all the way down, but that felt a little dark. Right now my brightness and contrast are at 22 and 25 respectively, no changes to tint or color. The picture looks best in bright, colorful scenes, but seems a little dark and flat in darker scenes. Want to try to bring out some of those details.

Thanks.

Hi, Dave. What do you have the lamp level at with those settings? I want to give them a try as I have not run any optimizer yet. I have my lamp level at 2. Was turned all the way down, but that felt a little dark. Right now my brightness and contrast are at 22 and 25 respectively, no changes to tint or color. The picture looks best in bright, colorful scenes, but seems a little dark and flat in darker scenes. Want to try to bring out some of those details.

Thanks.

I have my Lamp set to 3.

I have noticed the inability to distinguish darks. I guess this is "black crush". I think in general LCDs have less dynamic range than plasmas and CRTs, but more knowledgable folks can comment....

Dave Kristol

I have my Lamp set to 3.

I have noticed the inability to distinguish darks. I guess this is "black crush". I think in general LCDs have less dynamic range than plasmas and CRTs, but more knowledgable folks can comment....

Dave Kristol


I agree. The only choice is too pump up brightness and contrast (to a lesser extent), imo.

Anyone know out of which city/state c**** ships this TV out of? So far mine hasn't shipped and I was just curious.

I got some emails back from the tech guy:
Dear Customer,

None of our TVs will be sold cheaper than it already is. So if you have a TV that happens to need a firmware update, we can do it for you. But you need to send the TV to our facility for the update.

Any TVs sold right now should have the newest firmware. The HDMI encasing breaking off is due to abuse, it is a standard HDMI port. Obviously if people are rough with any electronics, they break.

Best Regards,
Sceptre Technical Support Group
____________________________________________________________ _

I am really interested in this TV now
I read a lot of the pages, and it took HOURS, so I hope I am not repeating the same questions, I apologize.

But I need to know if i need an Antennae to get the ATSC to work properly?

I use basic cable and this very well could cancel it out and save me 15.00!

Also, the display is amazing it seems, I am wondering how well the reputation for Sceptre is for keeping it over the warranty period. Some brands do make great gear but only last a short period of time. Is there a way to extend the warranty as well?

Costco doesnt have it here in Orange Countynor can it be searched on the Costco site. Is it discontinued?

I can have it shipped from Newegg, which would mean a typical delivery less than 24 hours XD I live an hour drive from there, so I get a lot of stuff in 16 hours time!

I have my Lamp set to 3.

I have noticed the inability to distinguish darks. I guess this is "black crush". I think in general LCDs have less dynamic range than plasmas and CRTs, but more knowledgable folks can comment....

Dave Kristol

Thanks for the info. I think it is a general LCD issue, and the HD content with its rich bright colors just highlights the problem. I'll give your settings a try.

But I need to know if i need an Antennae to get the ATSC to work properly?


The antennas cost ~$25 - 75. You do need one, but The old UHF ones might work... I just bought a cheap $25 one and it picks up all of the stations. I only live 10 miles from the tower over flat land though.

Check out antennaweb.org to find out how far away you are and what digital stations are in you area. It will also tell you what direction to point it in.

Anyone know out of which city/state c**** ships this TV out of? So far mine hasn't shipped and I was just curious.

Mine have shipped from Ontario, Cal. I've gone through three (I'm pretty sure I'm done now), and each one arrived, UPS, in less than a week to NJ.

Dave Kristol

[...]
Costco doesnt have it here in Orange Countynor can it be searched on the Costco site. Is it discontinued?
[...]

It's only available from the Costco website, AFAIK. I just checked the website, and it's not there. But this has been happening recently -- it appears and disappears. Just be patient and keep looking.

Dave Kristol

I happen to have another small issue that I've found. In VGA mode on the left side of the screen, when certain colors are displayed, there is a rapid diagonal scan line it looks like.

Has anybody ever seen this issue before?

Should the Fav. channel buttons on my remote toggle through the favorites channels I have programmed into the TV?

On my set if I push one of the Fav. TV buttons (up or down it doesn't matter) it simply brings up the Fav. TV channel window. If I want to surf these channels I have to use the arrow buttons located in the middle of the remote to move up or down the list and finally hit the center button to go to the channel I have selected. Just wondering if this is how everybody else's remotes are like this.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the Fav. channel buttons on my remote are not working correctly.

I have my Lamp set to 3.

I have noticed the inability to distinguish darks. I guess this is "black crush". I think in general LCDs have less dynamic range than plasmas and CRTs, but more knowledgable folks can comment....

Dave Kristol

Hi, Dave. Tried your settings last night with Sopranos in HD as my test. Looked great, much less washed out than my lower contrast/lower lamp settings.

Should the Fav. channel buttons on my remote toggle through the favorites channels I have programmed into the TV?

On my set if I push one of the Fav. TV buttons (up or down it doesn't matter) it simply brings up the Fav. TV channel window. If I want to surf these channels I have to use the arrow buttons located in the middle of the remote to move up or down the list and finally hit the center button to go to the channel I have selected. Just wondering if this is how everybody else's remotes are like this.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the Fav. channel buttons on my remote are not working correctly.

That's the way my set works, too, though it's not the way I would have expected it to work. I have to hit Exit to get the Favorites menu to go away. The Select button in the center does choose the channel, but it does not make the display go away.

I would call this a "design non-feature".

Dave Kristol

They are back on the C*** site right now. Got mine ordered so hopefully delivery will be after Easter.

3rd set, hoping for working HDMI, no or few dead pixels, and working VGA, and of course no stutter (as they had for awhile). Don't really care about the rest.

Out again. :(

How can they have such a small supply? They aren't shipping out refurbs are they? Ones we send back?

On my set if I push one of the Fav. TV buttons (up or down it doesn't matter) it simply brings up the Fav. TV channel window. If I want to surf these channels I have to use the arrow buttons located in the middle of the remote to move up or down the list and finally hit the center button to go to the channel I have selected.

With "DTV" as the source, my TV functions identically. But with the NTSC tuner the up/down Favorites buttons cycle through my Favorite channels like up/down channel buttons.

on a side note Im being told now my tv ordered last week might not ship for 9-10 business days. Which translates to "we sold you a TV we dont even have in stock". C**** doesn't have the greatest costumer service. Oh well.

Ordered 3/30/06, recieved 4/6/06. Shipped out of Ontario. My order said it would take 8-10 days, shipped in 6. Looks to be a rev 2 or rev 3. Not sure how to check my firmware version, but I do have the QAM tuner, and the service port, no powerswitch in the back (even though the manual shows it!). Don't know if they upgraded the speakers or not, but the sound is pretty good out of the set, it gets quite loud. DVD player is a marantz dv7600 over HDMI.

What's the best setting for my dvd player? 1080i? Or 720p?

TV3 has a QAM tuner. I scanned Cable STD (Comcast-NJ) and picked up 181 channels between 79-5 and 116-11. Most seem to be music channels or 480i SD channels. I did pick up 7 true HD channels.

Thanks for the info Dave, it's funny I just re scaned my tv and I got the Fox movie channel but lost Discovery HD, seems Adephia/Comcast is making some changes. The funny part is my DCT 6200 can't pick up the Fox movie. So for anybody back east and west your Sceptre's QAM will get the station it's 88-1 here in wla.

Ahh ch 158 for the DCT just didn't run all the channels.

I just got my TV on 3/30/06, hooked it up this past weekend and is just great, I hooked it up to my Trek HDTVa antenna and I got over 10 HD channels right away, the picture is just great. I love to watch my local channels now.
Then I Hooked up my SD directv and the picture is not so great, it actually looks better on my CRT Non-HD TV. same thing with my PS2, it looks awful, just horrible.

So I am wondering, is the SD picture supposed to look so bad on this TV or is just a matter of tweaking the setup a bit? I am not changing the aspect ratio, so the image is not being strecht or anything, it just looks really bad on its native 4:3 ratio.

Can anyone give me some clues how to get to the advanced setup menu or service menu? I went to the debug screen and I found that pressing numbers you can get to several options that I don't really have a clue what is it about.

BTW
Debug 0112
06/01/16 13:58
power switch on the back, no serivce port, I guess is just a V1 with firmware upgrade, so I am a little concerned this is just a refurbished TV, maybe one of the ones you guys returned a couple months ago, lOl

I really hope any of you guys with the experience in how to tweak this set to get the most out of it can give me some advice.

Thanks in advance

I just got my TV on 3/30/06, hooked it up this past weekend and is just great, I hooked it up to my Trek HDTVa antenna and I got over 10 HD channels right away, the picture is just great. I love to watch my local channels now.
Then I Hooked up my SD directv and the picture is not so great, it actually looks better on my CRT Non-HD TV. same thing with my PS2, it looks awful, just horrible.

So I am wondering, is the SD picture supposed to look so bad on this TV or is just a matter of tweaking the setup a bit? I am not changing the aspect ratio, so the image is not being strecht or anything, it just looks really bad on its native 4:3 ratio.

Can anyone give me some clues how to get to the advanced setup menu or service menu? I went to the debug screen and I found that pressing numbers you can get to several options that I don't really have a clue what is it about.

BTW
Debug 0112
06/01/16 13:58
power switch on the back, no serivce port, I guess is just a V1 with firmware upgrade, so I am a little concerned this is just a refurbished TV, maybe one of the ones you guys returned a couple months ago, lOl

I really hope any of you guys with the experience in how to tweak this set to get the most out of it can give me some advice.

Thanks in advance


How is it hooked up to SDTV & PS2? Composite or SVideo? Then cant expect much - you are just not taking advantage of the unit. Its still a 480i signal. Until you can get to progressive scan 480p or above via component or DVI/HDMI then you just cant expect a TV like to be better than a CRT that was designed for such a signal.

I just got my TV on 3/30/06, hooked it up this past weekend and is just great, I hooked it up to my Trek HDTVa antenna and I got over 10 HD channels right away, the picture is just great. I love to watch my local channels now.
Then I Hooked up my SD directv and the picture is not so great, it actually looks better on my CRT Non-HD TV. same thing with my PS2, it looks awful, just horrible.

So I am wondering, is the SD picture supposed to look so bad on this TV or is just a matter of tweaking the setup a bit? I am not changing the aspect ratio, so the image is not being strecht or anything, it just looks really bad on its native 4:3 ratio.

Can anyone give me some clues how to get to the advanced setup menu or service menu? I went to the debug screen and I found that pressing numbers you can get to several options that I don't really have a clue what is it about.

BTW
Debug 0112
06/01/16 13:58
power switch on the back, no serivce port, I guess is just a V1 with firmware upgrade, so I am a little concerned this is just a refurbished TV, maybe one of the ones you guys returned a couple months ago, lOl

I really hope any of you guys with the experience in how to tweak this set to get the most out of it can give me some advice.

Thanks in advance

I feel you, but I don't think there is much you can do. I felt the same way at first. Xbox @ 480i (or p) and SD looks like crap. I think it's just a matter of putting things in perspective though. This TV is built for higher resolution. As such, lower resolution content that looked a lot better (or so it seemed) on my older sony 43" rptv doesn't look so hot on this tv. Dunno, but perhaps dlp would be more forgiving than lcd technology for lower quality content. Still, it's better now where there is a lot of choices for hd content (whether upscaling, OTA, QAM, or new gen game systems) rather than 1 or 2 years ago when the picking were further and fewer in between.