Sceptre X37SV-Naga review [Text View] - Page 13

jvargasg

05-17-06, 03:20 PM

You are welcome.... what you have is a "completely low end product" as you can read the review at Guru 3D (http://www.guru3d.com/article/content/124/). I believe that the Sceptre wants/needs more graphical horsepower to drive it properly, especially at a high resolution like 1920x1080. I had one 7900 GTX in my PC for a while, and the set worked beautifully. Even one 256mb 7800 GTX will be fine (considered high end). I have an extra one, if you want to talk, PM me.

Cheers,
...BR
I kinda disagree with you, I think the Sceptre is able to run with this card, it's not so bad I think, it's just not the best card for gaming but other than that it should be enough like Haukjin said.
I havd a really low end card on my PC before I turned it into HTPC, still under construction, it is a Radeon (not sure model) 32mb VGA card and I was able to get 1920x1080 and even watch a DVD with no problems. I am using powerstrip, if that makes a difference.
Now I just got an FX5500 on the mail on monday, got it from newegg, and will be working on it this week, so I will be able to confirm this issue by next week.
I'll post my results here.

jvargasg

05-17-06, 03:40 PM

Sorry folks I may have mislead all of you it's the two volume buttons try the NTSC source with no cable hooked up and try it again I assure you it will bring up the debug menu.

Regards

You can do it on any of the video inputs too, like AV1, don't remeber if it matters to have signal in or not. just try both options and you'll bring up the debug menu 4 sure

jvargasg

05-17-06, 03:50 PM

I also am unable to use HDMI 1920x1080p and HDCP 1920x1080p (cycle thru source PC on remote) when connected thru my HDMI/DVI cable. The desktop is blurred, and not centered corectly. The only mode that works is DVI (cycle thru source PC with remote) with a stable, clear, crisp, centered desktop.

I do not consider it a problem, it's just (I suppose) the coorect mode to use my desktop.

Off course that is the reason.
Let's get our facts together then.
HDMI input on tv is only for real HDMI connections, like dvd players or HD cable boxes, not DVI to HDMI connections like the one coming from your PC
HDCP same as above, not sure really what is the difference with HDMI
DVI only for DVI to HDMI connections, like your computer.
Trying to use your HTPC thru HDMI input selected on your computer is like hooking up your PS2 with components and try to watch it on AV1 (composite or s-video)

RaBoot

05-17-06, 05:12 PM

I kinda disagree with you, I think the Sceptre is able to run with this card, it's not so bad I think, it's just not the best card for gaming but other than that it should be enough like Haukjin said.
I havd a really low end card on my PC before I turned it into HTPC, still under construction, it is a Radeon (not sure model) 32mb VGA card and I was able to get 1920x1080 and even watch a DVD with no problems. I am using powerstrip, if that makes a difference.
Now I just got an FX5500 on the mail on monday, got it from newegg, and will be working on it this week, so I will be able to confirm this issue by next week.
I'll post my results here.

I am new to HDTV and all, 1st set ever. So I stand corrected. Hakujin previously addressed this issue to me, and I understand. A lower end board CAN run the Sceptre. But I will not give in to the fact that the FX5500 is still a low end board, and if someone wants to use thier PC for anything other than viewing TV, email, surfin' the net or word processing, like 3D creation/rendering or 3D gaming, then an upgrade is in order.

RaBoot

05-17-06, 05:23 PM

Off course that is the reason.
Let's get our facts together then.
HDMI input on tv is only for real HDMI connections, like dvd players or HD cable boxes, not DVI to HDMI connections like the one coming from your PC
HDCP same as above, not sure really what is the difference with HDMI
DVI only for DVI to HDMI connections, like your computer.
Trying to use your HTPC thru HDMI input selected on your computer is like hooking up your PS2 with components and try to watch it on AV1 (composite or s-video)

So what exactly is it I am viewing? When I go to PC source....into DVI to my desktop, the Sceptre flashes 1920x1080 in the top left corner of screen.

Do you know if it is 1080i? Or 1080p?

hakujin

05-17-06, 06:11 PM

So what exactly is it I am viewing? When I go to PC source....into DVI to my desktop, the Sceptre flashes 1920x1080 in the top left corner of screen.

Do you know if it is 1080i? Or 1080p?

1080p

RaBoot

05-17-06, 06:54 PM

1080p

Thanks.

techjunkie2005

05-17-06, 11:53 PM

My settings after AVIA are:

Contrast 130
Black level 8

These levels are independent of the LAMP setting.

Can someone tell me how to use the RGB gain settings to adjust for HUE, TINT, and color levels? Thanks.

Venergroup

05-18-06, 03:36 AM

Thanks to all you for all the great info, time for a little payback. Some forum members have asked about the universal remote code for the Sceptre X37SV-Naga. My remote recently stopped working and I contacted Sceptre about replacing it under warranty. I also asked tech support for the code so I could use it with my Time Warner cable remote and I received the following message:

Dear Customer,

The TV uses SONY CODE. If your auto find already found the code, then the functions would be indifferent than the ones you have now. If you want full controllability for the TV you'll need to purchase a dedicated universal remote control such as the Logitech Harmony.

Best Regards,
Sceptre Technical Support Group

The Sony code is 0000. Unfortunately, only the power and mute work with my TW remote. I ended up driving over to Sceptre and the tech support guy that helped me couldn’t have been nicer. It turned out that my remote wasn’t broken; it only needed to be reset. To reset the remote you need to remove the batteries and press several of the buttons for a few seconds. It worked for me.

While I was at Sceptre, I also asked about flashing the firmware my X37SV-Naga just for the hell of it. (V-?, no power switch on back, USB port, Debug 0107, 05/09/23 19:43, T370HW01, 1920 X 1080) The tech support guy told me that, in his opinion, if it isn’t broke don’t fix it.

A few pages back someone asked about the difference between HDMI and HDCP. HDCP is the encryption scheme used by most cable companies (at least in Southern CA) to prevent (or for some, make it a little more difficult) to record their HD content. So far I have only used my X37SV-Naga as a TV and the HDCP mode is fantastic. It is far superior to the YPbPr mode. Better color, contrast, and a clearer, sharper picture with 1080i content.

jvargasg

05-18-06, 09:49 AM

The Sony code is 0000. Unfortunately, only the power and mute work with my TW remote. I ended up driving over to Sceptre and the tech support guy that helped me couldn’t have been nicer. It turned out that my remote wasn’t broken; it only needed to be reset. To reset the remote you need to remove the batteries and press several of the buttons for a few seconds. It worked for me.

I tried almost all of teh sony codes on the manual, I found that several of them work for the Sceptre but with some differences, some of them just power and volume some of them with more features, but I haven't find any code that gives me all the functions of the original remote to use on my universal remote control, so I still have to keep the Sceptre control handy for funcitons like the aspect, CC, and a couple more not su used functions.

If anyone have found a code that would give full functionality please sheare with the not so lucky ones still using the Sceptre control.

sledge1234

05-18-06, 12:39 PM

Why is there overscan on HDCP? If the signal is encrypted digital, wouldn't you think that the overscan had been already corrected?

Crap on the edges is still being broadcasted and we would not wan to see it in our expensive HDTV. Some stations send clean edges others don't.Overscan explanation (http://scanline.ca/overscan/)

I am guessing that Sceptre was just cautious and I do agree that HDCP overscan should be at least adjustable.

semuther

05-18-06, 03:07 PM

If anyone have found a code that would give full functionality please sheare with the not so lucky ones still using the Sceptre control.

There is no appropriate setup code for the Sceptre. There is a process by which you can reprogram and upgrade certain models (made by UEI) universal remotes by using your computer. The explaination for this goes far beyond a simple response here but I would suggest you do some reading at the following site:

http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1009

Note that I have contributed an upgrade file for the Sceptre on the above forum if you decide doing this yourself is within your capabilities.

Steve

apaiz

05-19-06, 02:07 AM

Can somebody share some of their settings for their tv please? I have the current model:

DEBUG 0111
06/01/16 14:58
T370HW01
1920x1080

I have an xbox360 on component please share settings.

DirecTV HDMI please share settings.

DVI to HDMI for my PC please share settings.

I have looked and reviewed this whole thread and could not locate anything similar setup and their settings displays for Picture etc.

Anything would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

APaiz

Jgigs

05-19-06, 08:57 AM

MaxiK

05-19-06, 09:59 AM

The Sony code is 0000. Unfortunately, only the power and mute work with my TW remote. I ended up driving over to Sceptre and the tech support guy that helped me couldn’t have been nicer. It turned out that my remote wasn’t broken; it only needed to be reset. To reset the remote you need to remove the batteries and press several of the buttons for a few seconds. It worked for me.

Same thing happened to my remote. Sceptre tech sent me the following suggestion and it worked. But my question is why did the remote need resetting? What did we do to the remote in the first place?

>Dear Customer,

Please try this first.

Take the batteries out of the remote control. Unplug the power cord off the TV. Wait for 30 minutes. Press the buttons on the remote control randomly without batteries installed. Plug the power cord back into the TV. Put the batteries back into the remote. See if it works now. Thanks.

Best Regards,
Sceptre Technical Support Group

RaBoot

05-19-06, 02:37 PM

I have a weird issue with my sceptre in DVI mode as a pc monitor. It seems as the screen heats up, I start to get some weird effect on the screen. Some wallpapers show a ton of pixel bleeding or tearing. I don't know how to really explain it, but on my current wallpaper, after using the screen for like 20+ mins its like like an inch long and only a few mm wide and it flickers white pixels.

I have the latest firmwire 03-29-06.

Hi....

sounds similar to a problem I had on my PC desktop. Also, I noticed strange blue bleeding pixels on the screen while watching TV. I also noticed on my desktop, if the wallpaper was a low resolution image, many pixels flashed about the screen. Try downloading high res. wallpaper. Here is a nice site:
InterfaceLIFT (http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/).

I emailed Sceptre tech support, and here was thier response:

********WARNING : DO NOT ADJUST ANYTHING ELSE BESIDES WHAT WAS
INSTRUCTED. IF YOU ADJUST OTHER SETTINGS, THERE IS NO WAY TO RESET THE
TV BACK TO IT’S DEFAULT SETTINGS.*******************

Turn on the TV, and press both volume buttons physically located on the
TV simultaneously. A debug message should display. Press the button "1"
on your Sceptre TV remote control. A flat rectangular gray window
should
open at the bottom labeled Memory Delay. Adjust that with your volume +
or – buttons located on the TV remote until the visual anomalies are
gone (USUALLY PEOPLE USE THE VALUE 2 OR BELOW). Press exit multiple
times. Turn off the TV, and unplug the power cord. Wait 5-10 minutes,
and then plug the power cord back to the power source. This should
solve your visual problems.

Best Regards,
Sceptre Technical Support Group

....I changed the value to 4 on my set, and this looked the best
to me.

Jgigs

05-19-06, 03:36 PM

Hi....

sounds similar to a problem I had on my PC desktop. Also, I noticed strange blue bleeding pixels on the screen while watching TV. I also noticed on my desktop, if the wallpaper was a low resolution image, many pixels flashed about the screen. Try downloading high res. wallpaper. Here is a nice site:
InterfaceLIFT (http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/).

I emailed Sceptre tech support, and here was thier response:

********WARNING : DO NOT ADJUST ANYTHING ELSE BESIDES WHAT WAS
INSTRUCTED. IF YOU ADJUST OTHER SETTINGS, THERE IS NO WAY TO RESET THE
TV BACK TO IT’S DEFAULT SETTINGS.*******************

Turn on the TV, and press both volume buttons physically located on the
TV simultaneously. A debug message should display. Press the button "1"
on your Sceptre TV remote control. A flat rectangular gray window
should
open at the bottom labeled Memory Delay. Adjust that with your volume +
or – buttons located on the TV remote until the visual anomalies are
gone (USUALLY PEOPLE USE THE VALUE 2 OR BELOW). Press exit multiple
times. Turn off the TV, and unplug the power cord. Wait 5-10 minutes,
and then plug the power cord back to the power source. This should
solve your visual problems.

Best Regards,
Sceptre Technical Support Group

....I changed the value to 4 on my set, and this looked the best
to me.

Thats the website i currently use for my wallpaper. Now, I already attempted to adjust the timing on the set, but the higher the # (default was at 2) the worse it got, 2 gave be the best results. However, I didn't unplug the set and wait, hopefully that corrects the problem.

Thanks for the reply.

madbull

05-19-06, 05:41 PM

I am thinking of buying of this TV at cosco because of the 1080p feature. I only plan to use the built in TV tuner for receiving OTA HD programs and not using it for gaming or any thing.

Any comments on the PQ of this TV with 1080i and 720p OTA contents would be helpful.
How its PQ compares with the Vizio 32" HDTV?

hakujin

05-21-06, 09:23 PM

Dave Kristol

05-21-06, 09:58 PM

[EDIT]

I just bought this tv not more than a couple of months ago. Now I wonder if C****** is going to do it the easy way, or the hard way. I definitely want my price match and absorbing that much of a price reduction is BS, IMO.

To those of you that've have done returns in the past, or are more acquainted with the return policy what is your take? Will they offer a price match or must I do a return? Will it seem strange on my account if I order another one and then when it gets here, immediately take it back with my [EDIT] receipt?

I would not expect Costco to agree to refund to you the difference between the old price and the new. They are very reasonable, maybe too reasonable, with their return policy, so they would accept the old (not the new) set back, with few questions asked. IMO, though, you would have to go through the exercise of buying a new one and returning the old.

Dave Kristol

hakujin

05-21-06, 11:09 PM

I would not expect Costco to agree to refund to you the difference between the old price and the new. They are very reasonable, maybe too reasonable, with their return policy, so they would accept the old (not the new) set back, with few questions asked. IMO, though, you would have to go through the exercise of buying a new one and returning the old.

Dave Kristol

That's what I expected I guess. I'll probably buy the newer one first and keep the better of the two (ie no v1 refurbished, thank you very much sceptre). Anyway, I'm psyched though... what a great price drop on a great LCD.

Jgigs

05-22-06, 07:41 AM

Thats the website i currently use for my wallpaper. Now, I already attempted to adjust the timing on the set, but the higher the # (default was at 2) the worse it got, 2 gave be the best results. However, I didn't unplug the set and wait, hopefully that corrects the problem.

Thanks for the reply.

Sweet, I just readjusted the timing and it appears to have fixed my problem. However, I had to set it @ 1 for it to work. I tested it for about 20-30 mins, I will do more extensive testing tonight.

waruwaru

05-22-06, 01:00 PM

[EDIT]

I just bought this tv not more than a couple of months ago. Now I wonder if C****** is going to do it the easy way, or the hard way. I definitely want my price match and absorbing that much of a price reduction is BS, IMO.

What you going to do when the price drops another few hundreds in a couple of month? I know how you feel. Computer equipments are like that too. The prices are constantly falling. The best thing to do is to not check the ads/read the forums after you buy a piece of equipment. :)

hakujin

05-22-06, 09:07 PM

What you going to do when the price drops another few hundreds in a couple of month? I know how you feel. Computer equipments are like that too. The prices are constantly falling. The best thing to do is to not check the ads/read the forums after you buy a piece of equipment. :)

I'll definitely be content w/ $500 price drop! If it is this TV that goes on sale (and not a lower res Sceptre 37" (which may be true since no model number was released as of yet) I doubt it'll drop again, any time soon at least. They'll probably mothball this puppy 1st.

Computer equipment, strangely enough, doesn't bother me so much. I'm used to its depreciation; partly because I build my own rigs so I have myself in it, so to speak. My pc has lasted a few years and IMO still worth the money I put into it (less the $500 17" 16ms Hitachi LCD that was once considered cutting edge).

Anyway, the whole reason I even make major purchases at the C is the cushioning the return policy provides. If it didn't I probably wouldn't buy too much there. My #1 complaint with this HD-LCD is the indistinguishable darks. I might end up taking back anyway sooner then later, though only for a newer technology (SED maybe) that meshes the high res of the LCD with the contrast ratio of the plasmas.

kkrull

05-23-06, 05:19 AM

Has anyone figured out a set of codes that control the Sceptre better than the Sony codes? Does anyone know what Sony devices the Sceptre is emulating?

Using a Dish Network remote you don't quite get full functionality remote control of the Sceptre by emulating a sony remote (using code #758).

Specifically I would like to control the volume of the Sceptre from the volume buttons in satellite mode rather than from the TV mode < and > buttons, so that there is no need to switch to TV mode to change volume. Anyone know another way to do this? Anyone know the actual frequencies of the volume so we can get the Sceptre codes in the next dish remote firmware? Anyone use a Sceptre and Dish with a universal remote and like the button layout on the universal better?

Sceptre = Dish
mute = mute (always functional)
power = tv power (always functional)
volume up = > (only in tv mode)
volume down = < (only in tv mode)
scroll source PC = ^ (only in tv mode)
scroll source AV = v (only in tv mode)

Dish has a method to have the Dish remote control the amp instead of the TV, so if I could find a device that happened to use the same codes as the Sceptre for volume, and it was one of the thousand that the Dish remote recognized, I could use that code for volume even if the other buttons didn't match. Any ideas? Anyone got a way to read the volume codes off the Sceptre remote? I am not about to try all thousand combinations.

hakujin

05-23-06, 09:43 AM

I have a 4 year old Kenwood remote that works pretty well with this TV (sony code). The only thing that it doesn't control (that I care about) is the menu enter button, though it can get into the menu and the aspect button doesn't work. Besides that, channel up-down, power, channel numbers, and source pc/source av work fine.

I don't know if this is an option for you, but I have a relay function in my remote (perhaps you do?) which allows me to change volume on my receiver while in tv mode on the remote. Though it sounds like you are using the TV speakers... is that correct?

kkrull

05-23-06, 11:20 AM

I don't know if this is an option for you, but I have a relay function in my remote (perhaps you do?) which allows me to change volume on my receiver while in tv mode on the remote. Though it sounds like you are using the TV speakers... is that correct?I am using the TV speakers for now but yes I can do a relay of sorts, but I need to find a device that uses the sony/sceptre left and right codes for volume, then I program the Dish remote to emulate that remote for AUX, then I tell the Dish remote that AUX is an amplifier and it all works.

Only I haven't found a device that uses the sony left and right codes for volume up and volume down. Obviously this is not a learning remote.

Istari1

05-23-06, 12:18 PM

I've been following this thread for a long time, waiting for this LCD to get all the kinks out and what not. Seems to me its almost time to pull the trigger on this one.

Whats this I am hearing though about a substantial price drop and how credible is the source? Any solid time frame? PM me if ya got info you cant post, thanks.

Nimo

05-23-06, 01:12 PM

DouglasteR

05-23-06, 04:45 PM

The price drop I can see, if Sceptre went with the Chi Mei panels a lower quality panel then it makes sense, because there is a definite loss of PQ with the TV's shipping with the 06/29/03 with the blue light. And I suspect they did just that due to the lack of black level adjustment on the newer panels.

This is SOOO BAD NEWS !! :eek: :( :mad: Wish me luck to get a good one !

And for those who bought from NewEgg, how much time the shipping take ?! :confused:

RaBoot

05-24-06, 12:39 AM

This is SOOO BAD NEWS !! :eek: :( :mad: Wish me luck to get a good one !

And for those who bought from NewEgg, how much time the shipping take ?! :confused:

Placed my order w/ Newegg on 4/7/06 and received my set 4/12/06.

Good luck with your new and awesome Sceptre HDTV!!

hakujin

05-24-06, 01:07 AM

This is SOOO BAD NEWS !! :eek: :( :mad: Wish me luck to get a good one ! [/b]

Unless you bought from CostCo. I hope the its a price reduct on this set because I know a certain Chi Mei panel that has the $1599.99 receipt's name on it because I"m gheettooo ;p

Nimo

05-24-06, 11:53 AM

I hope that's not the case, but the way things seem to be going with this outfit I wouldn't doubt it. But this is pure speculation on my part and I don't want to make people feel bad about their purchases, so please take it with a grain of salt. I also took off the Spectre logo on the front of my tv it's just stuck on with sticky backing, I just grabbed both ends and started wiggling the thing in an up and down motion and it popped right off. The unit looks so much better without it, not to mention while viewing theres nothing gleaming at you. :)

Cloud zer0

05-24-06, 02:56 PM

This is SOOO BAD NEWS !! :eek: :( :mad: Wish me luck to get a good one !

And for those who bought from NewEgg, how much time the shipping take ?! :confused:
I was thinking of buying NEWEGG at first but now its 100 dollars more than costco and doesn't have the same long term return policy.
Did you find an advantage for newegg this time ?

Koui

05-24-06, 03:37 PM

Can anyone with the 06/03/29 11:20 (or later) firmware please list the 3rd row of letters and numbers so it can be verified that Sceptre is still using AUO panels instead of Chi Mei (CMO)? When I sent an email to Sceptre's tech support asking about any change they replied that it was 'confidential information'.

If you'll notice on the AUO (http://www.auo.com/auoDEV/products.php?sec=lcdTV&func=info&product_id=60&items_id=8) website, the panel is listed as model T370HW01, which is what my V3 firmware indicates on the 3rd row. The CMO (http://www.cmo.com.tw/cmo/english/product/showtv.jsp?flag=20040804203848) panel's model no. is V370H1.

If the newest firmware has the CMO panel no. on the 3rd row, then we might be able to verify the change in source without anyone having to remove the back of one of the newest models and checking. There's also the possibility they could have switched panels and kept the old model no. listed in the firmware.

Hopefully there hasn't been a change in panel source at all and a newer firmware update can resolve the problems owners are reporting with the latest production run. With the bugs in the current Sceptre and Westinghouse 1080p LCDs, I can't recommend them to any of my friends or clients, which is a shame since everybody who sees my X37 wants one.

TrungGap

05-24-06, 11:03 PM

I recently purchased a Spectre X-37SV-Naga. I'm having a two issues with it.

One, my SD DirectTV looks really crappy on it. I wonder if there's a setting to make it look better. I basically reduced the sharpness in order to remove as much compression artifacts as possible. I have also increased the brightness to make dark area view. Some how, most of the SD picture, there seem to be two mode either too bright or too dark. Using the built-in HD tuner the HD content looks okay, though SD feed through the built-in OTA DTV tuner looks crappy like DirectTV. So if someone could share their setting...

Second, I can't seem to get 1080p through DVI. I have a NVidia 5200 card. Using the VGA it could display 1080p perfectly aligned and scaled (1:1). However, when I switch to DVI, the 1080p would flicker. In other resolution it's okay...it's just not 1:1 ratio. I've heard people using PowerStrip to fix the problem...unfortunately, I'm clueless on how to go about it.

I've tried plugged my old xbox to the Spectre using RCA, and the image quality looks like crap. However, when I plug the xbox to 60" Sony rear projection, it looks much better. Is it because the LCD is enhancing all the video flaw? But I can't imagine xbox thru RCA would be problem. BTW my xbox360 on the Spectre looks amazing!

I'm seriously thinking of returning this and getting a Samsung DLP (720p).

DouglasteR

05-24-06, 11:28 PM

hakujin

05-25-06, 12:06 AM

I've tried plugged my old xbox to the Spectre using RCA, and the image quality looks like crap. However, when I plug the xbox to 60" Sony rear projection, it looks much better. Is it because the LCD is enhancing all the video flaw? But I can't imagine xbox thru RCA would be problem. BTW my xbox360 on the Spectre looks amazing!

I'm seriously thinking of returning this and getting a Samsung DLP (720p).

I think someone else mentioned that problem with the flicker. Not sure the cure. Try a different vid card?

I don't think this tV looks bad at all with Xbox, perhaps the Xbox graphics are a bit antiquated as it is no 360, but IMO, I love this tV and would take it any day over a DLP with 6-12 month bulb life to the tune of $300+. Try connecting your Xbox via component. Plus, if you mod 'er, you'll get Xbox Media Center (similiar to MCE) @ 720p or 1080i. I only have one Xbox game that looks truly fabulous (with slight slowdown);it's a MLB game that displays @ 720p. I'd have to turn on my box to tell you which one and I don't wanna get up. Main problem with the Xbox though, is most games are full screen. I usually just stretch them though.

Nimo

05-25-06, 12:37 AM

sledge1234

05-25-06, 07:22 AM

sledge1234

05-25-06, 07:26 AM

The price drop I can see, if Sceptre went with the Chi Mei panels a lower quality panel then it makes sense, because there is a definite loss of PQ with the TV's shipping with the 06/29/03 with the blue light. And I suspect they did just that due to the lack of black level adjustment on the newer panels.

I can vouch that the picture on the 06/29/03 is not as good.
It is my third one after v1 and v2 units and I can see the difference.
On the bright side, there are no dead or stuck pixels and DVI sync works fine.

Jgigs

05-25-06, 10:00 AM

So what exactly is the difference in PQ between v2 and v3? Is it the black crush or something else?

Koui

05-25-06, 11:16 AM

So what exactly is the difference in PQ between v2 and v3? Is it the black crush or something else?Should we call the X37s with 06/03/29 firmware revisions and the following problems V4s? I certainly don't have any of this on my V3 :

Black level is no longer listed in the osd and that green push I also mentioned no matter what I did adjustments had no effect, I mean I couldn't get rid of it. This was done using a side by side comparison to my other tv and the tint really stands out when viewing them in this mannor. Especially when looking at a persons face or a white wall or background. Colors are not as vibrant and it may just be me but it seemed to have lost a little clarity/sharpness. I didn't like it one bit, but again ymmv so it just might be this one unit. The red light is still present it's just when you power it up it changes to blue instead of green. I like the green better it's a lot more passive than blue either way it's insignificant. FW 06/3/29 no power switch, blue indicator light, no black level adjustment in VGA PC/DVI mode the green tint may just be my unit so your ymmv. So I'm done as far as my curiosity about firmware upgrades.

Jgigs

05-25-06, 03:51 PM

sledge1234

05-25-06, 04:24 PM

Should we call the X37s with 06/03/29 firmware revisions and the following problems V4s? I certainly don't have any of this on my V3 :
I think it is the contrast on v3. To get the black level to were it was on my v2 I have to sacrifice more black detail. I have not spent much time callibrating in YPbPr but DVI seems to be tonned down and looks washed comparing to before.
I am using the exact same HTPS/video card/OS/Apps as before.

donsev

05-25-06, 04:47 PM

There is a new review for this tv:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1963607,00.asp

He destorys it though. What's becoming weird though, is everybody seems to see different colors. This guy sees a hard bluish push, I heard yellow and also green. He must have been given a pretty bad set though, read what he said about the PC in DVI mode.

That's the thing, he didn't test the PC interface using the DVI setting (as any competent reviewer would have) he tested using the HDMI setting, which will give you precisely the overscan, and rainbow-colored artifacts that he reported.

Using the X37SV as a PC display is also disappointing. Admirably, the X37SV accepts 1,080p (60-Hz) signals via HDMI, but the resulting image was slightly overscanned and appeared too soft for a digital video signal. Examining text at various font sizes revealed rainbow-colored artifacts around letters.

If he had spent 2 minutes perusing this AVSForum thread, he would have found the answer to his (often asked) n00b mistake and been able to report results similiar to his testing via VGA, only even better.

Switching to X37SV's VGA input dramatically improved 1,080p image clarity and eliminated all traces of overscan

In addition, he implies familiarity with the current hot topic of panels "throwing away half the resolution" but elaborates through nothing more than literally repeating the vague statement "resulting in a sacrifice of up to half of the image detail". Based on what? Watching Gladiator? How about test results using the tools that have actually been developed to determine this and are, again, posted in an active AVSForum thread (coincidentally titled "Tested and Failed: throwing away half the Resolution by Gary Merson). Those that have used these testing tools have reported that this set passed the above test and does not "sacrifice of up to half of the image detail."

For film-based DVD movies like Gladiator, the X37SV produced imagery with noticeable flickering and jagged edges—a sign that 3:2 pulldown and deinterlacing were not functioning properly, resulting in a sacrifice of up to half of the image detail.

As anyone who has read my posts know, I am by no means an apologist for Sceptre. Heck, I think that as a consumer electronics company they are often borderline incompetent. But this reviewer seems to actually be incompetent.

Koui

05-25-06, 05:17 PM

I think it is the contrast on v3. To get the black level to were it was on my v2 I have to sacrifice more black detail. I have not spent much time callibrating in YPbPr but DVI seems to be tonned down and looks washed comparing to before.
I am using the exact same HTPS/video card/OS/Apps as before.
sledge, it sounds like you may have skipped a couple of firware revisions from V2 to V3++ (donsev, should we consider it a V4?). I don't recall other V3 owners reporting the differences you're describing. I did a side-by-side direct comparison of my V3 (FW 06/01/16) a couple of months ago to a friend's V2 (FW 05/09/23). Both were driven from the same HTPC via dual DVI video card and they looked almost identical using the same menu settings.

Koui

05-25-06, 05:24 PM

But this reviewer seems to actually be incompetent.I strongly agree!...possibly biased by advertising $$$ as well. No other review I've read of the Sceptre is so scathing and filled with such inaccurate information.

donsev

05-25-06, 06:01 PM

sledge, it sounds like you may have skipped a couple of firware revisions from V2 to V3++ (donsev, should we consider it a V4?). I don't recall other V3 owners reporting the differences you're describing. I did a side-by-side direct comparison of my V3 (FW 06/01/16) a couple of months ago to a friend's V2 (FW 05/09/23). Both were driven from the same HTPC via dual DVI video card and they looked almost identical using the same menu settings.

Beats me :confused:

I currently have the 42" not the 37" so could others please confirm the differences as posted by Nimo;

The price drop I can see, if Sceptre went with the Chi Mei panels a lower quality panel then it makes sense, because there is a definite loss of PQ with the TV's shipping with the 06/29/03 with the blue light. And I suspect they did just that due to the lack of black level adjustment on the newer panels.

Black level is no longer listed in the osd

Is this on all inputs?

I do not understand how they could have removed a Black Level adjustment (on the 37", wouldn't that the equivalent of a "Brightness" setting?).

If these changes are as described, then yes I would say that it would warrant a V-Number upgrade to a 4 (If they actually swapped to a CMO panel, I would say it's a whole new set!)

sarman

05-25-06, 06:40 PM

I've just received my X37SV-NAGA and not happy with the overall picture quality. But that is not the reason I'm returning back to Costco, it does not have any built in cable card slot. I could swear that I've seeing in the description at the costco site that it had it. But somehow now it is no longer there. Does anyone know whether or not this was a typo or this LCD TV never had cable card ever? For that reason I'm returning Sceptre and going with the Westinghouse. Trying to get out any answers from Sceptre is useless. I'm asuming that I should find some type of comparison somewhere in this forum.

Koui

05-25-06, 07:27 PM

Does anyone know whether or not this was a typo or this LCD TV never had cable card ever? For that reason I'm returning Sceptre and going with the Westinghouse. Trying to get out any answers from Sceptre is useless. I'm asuming that I should find some type of comparison somewhere in this forum.
sarman, to the best of my knowledge, neither Sceptre or Westinghouse 1080p LCDs have ever had or advertised cable card capability. Westys don't have internal tuners, so no need for cable card. Newer Sceptres do have QAM tuners though. You're probably going to have to wait for Sharp to release its $3K MSRP 37" 1080p LCD to get what you're looking for.

Jgigs

05-25-06, 11:40 PM

That's the thing, he didn't test the PC interface using the DVI setting (as any competent reviewer would have) he tested using the HDMI setting, which will give you precisely the overscan, and rainbow-colored artifacts that he reported.

If he had spent 2 minutes perusing this AVSForum thread, he would have found the answer to his (often asked) n00b mistake and been able to report results similiar to his testing via VGA, only even better.

In addition, he implies familiarity with the current hot topic of panels "throwing away half the resolution" but elaborates through nothing more than literally repeating the vague statement "resulting in a sacrifice of up to half of the image detail". Based on what? Watching Gladiator? How about test results using the tools that have actually been developed to determine this and are, again, posted in an active AVSForum thread (coincidentally titled "Tested and Failed: throwing away half the Resolution by Gary Merson). Those that have used these testing tools have reported that this set passed the above test and does not "sacrifice of up to half of the image detail."

As anyone who has read my posts know, I am by no means an apologist for Sceptre. Heck, I think that as a consumer electronics company they are often borderline incompetent. But this reviewer seems to actually be incompetent.

Yea, this guy is way off on his review. You pretty much nailed it with your comments. Its like he looked at the TV for a total of 10 mins then made his judgement.

While the TV might not be perfect, there is no way you can bash it as much as this guy. I've shopped around quite a bit for a TV before buying this sucker and while it might not have the best of any, it def seems to be the best all around. His major knock was about the PC display and I think that's its strongest point. Everyone that has seen it, including myself is in awe with the display for a monitor. I couldn't be happier for what I paid for this thing of beauty.

Jgigs

05-25-06, 11:41 PM

What is cable card? I've never heard of such a thing...

DouglasteR

05-26-06, 12:58 AM

Man, that review make me loss my apetite, the only good review is the Hothardware one !!

Im still waiting for my Sceptre, since it dont leave US yet, i think it will take more 2 week to come to me !! When it arrives, i will post pictures from the box to Windows, games and X360 !

Wish me luck to get a good one :p

TrungGap

05-26-06, 01:23 AM

Mine is
Debug 0113 F2
06/03/29 11:20
T370HW01
1920x1080

It is my third one and I feel the panel is different. The power led is now blue (used to be green) The lamp adjustemnts are very subtle comparing to my v1 and v2 Sceptres and the picture is not as good with the same sources as it was on v1 and v2.

I have the exact firmware as you. I don't think the panel is that bad, I have the feeling they have cutted cost in term of processing SD video. After tweaking it a while, I found this setting much better than the default:

Contrast: 31
Brightnes: 40
Sharpness: 4
Color: 35
Tint: 0
Vivid Color: Low
Skin Tone: Low
Green: Low
Blue: Low
Noise: Off (it doesn't seem to much effect)
Gamma: 1
Lamp: 3
DCI: Off

But overall, I'm still disappointed in the quality. HDTV is great, but SD stuff isn't good...

Edited:

I have done additional testing. Hooking it up to my computer and comparing to my 21" NEC CRT. The Spectre isn't performing to par. While I can't seem to run at 1920x1080 via DVI, but managed to run at other resolution, the text is easy to read, however there some serious banding/dithering. Watching video, I can tell a heavy amount of dither in comparison to the CRT. But to be fair, I tried the same test on 17" HP laptop and there wasn't large amount of dithering as the Spectre. Since, I wasn't running 1:1 pixel thru DVI on the Spectre, I switched to VGA. Using VGA, the Spectre could display 1080p. Running the same test, yielded the same dithering/banding problem.

I decided to do the same test with a still picture, to make sure motion and slight different frame was affecting my testing. The image on the Spectre was good, but again I saw the same dithering/banding pattern. At this point, I tripled check to make sure I was running the same color depth on the computer...and it was...and I was disappointed with my Spectre.

So I retract my previous comment about the panel was pretty good. It looks like the panel isn't that good afterall....:(

sledge1234

05-26-06, 07:51 AM

I have the exact firmware as you. I don't think the panel is that bad, I have the feeling they have cutted cost in term of processing SD video. After tweaking it a while, I found this setting much better than the default:

Contrast: 31
Brightnes: 40
Sharpness: 4
Color: 35
Tint: 0
Vivid Color: Low
Skin Tone: Low
Green: Low
Blue: Low
Noise: Off (it doesn't seem to much effect)
Gamma: 1
Lamp: 3
DCI: Off

But overall, I'm still disappointed in the quality. HDTV is great, but SD stuff isn't good...

Edited:

I have done additional testing. Hooking it up to my computer and comparing to my 21" NEC CRT. The Spectre isn't performing to par. While I can't seem to run at 1920x1080 via DVI, but managed to run at other resolution, the text is easy to read, however there some serious banding/dithering. Watching video, I can tell a heavy amount of dither in comparison to the CRT. But to be fair, I tried the same test on 17" HP laptop and there wasn't large amount of dithering as the Spectre. Since, I wasn't running 1:1 pixel thru DVI on the Spectre, I switched to VGA. Using VGA, the Spectre could display 1080p. Running the same test, yielded the same dithering/banding problem.

I decided to do the same test with a still picture, to make sure motion and slight different frame was affecting my testing. The image on the Spectre was good, but again I saw the same dithering/banding pattern. At this point, I tripled check to make sure I was running the same color depth on the computer...and it was...and I was disappointed with my Spectre.

So I retract my previous comment about the panel was pretty good. It looks like the panel isn't that good afterall....:(

Panel is not bad, but it seems to be worse than the previous two Sceptre versions I had.
You do need to get 1920x1080 over DVI, to see good picture from your PC. This is the native resolution and it looks best on the Sceptre. Any other resolution does not look as sharp and clear and can't compare to a CRT. VGA needs tweaking and it still looks nothing like DVI, seems that you need a video card upgrade. Also make sure to use the DVI input setting on the Sceptre, not HTPC or HDMI. SD never looks good on any LCD or other high res. monitor as you scale low quality signal to couple times its size.

donsev

05-26-06, 08:00 AM

Does anyone know whether or not this was a typo or this LCD TV never had cable card ever? For that reason I'm returning Sceptre and going with the Westinghouse.

As Koui has pointed out, neither the Sceptre nor the comparable Westinghouse have a CableCard slot (and likely, neither would any other similiarly priced set).

What is cable card? I've never heard of such a thing...

A QAM tuner allows you to receive unencrypted digital cable channels. A CableCard slot allows the rental (from your local cable company) of a PCCard that then allows the reception of encrypted cable channels.

The problem is that the current CableCard, Version 1, supports only one way communication, meaning that you cannot access most programming guides, Pay-Per-View and Video on Demand type features.

CableCard 2 will allow two way communication, but that standard is likely to be stillborn as they are actively pursuing another, software based, decryption scheme that you would download to your set (I don't recall what they are going to call it).

All this means that CableCard is at best a short-term, minimally useful technology that is already outdated.

water1

05-26-06, 10:06 AM

[EDIT]

Did you also read the resolution and compare the catalog number?

Falcore1

05-26-06, 11:07 AM

The $500.00 off set is not the same unit!

hakujin

05-26-06, 12:43 PM

sarman, to the best of my knowledge, neither Sceptre or Westinghouse 1080p LCDs have ever had or advertised cable card capability. Westys don't have internal tuners, so no need for cable card. Newer Sceptres do have QAM tuners though. You're probably going to have to wait for Sharp to release its $3K MSRP 37" 1080p LCD to get what you're looking for.

Not only that, but cablecard is coming out with a revision that allows card to communicate upstream, and to support OSD menus (like the boxes). Now isn't a good time to buy TV with cablecard at all.

EDIT: Didn't see your post Donsev.

hakujin

05-26-06, 12:46 PM

The $500.00 off set is not the same unit!

How did you confirm that? I haven't seen a model number yet... just reports of what resolution it might be.

absolutly

05-26-06, 02:25 PM

From what I understand this will be a "new" model coming out that is supposedly not 1080p. Bummer

donsev

05-26-06, 03:39 PM

To avoid the wrath of the mods, I suggest searching FatWallet for a current discussion about this particular deal/set.

DouglasteR

05-26-06, 06:39 PM

To avoid the wrath of the mods, I suggest searching FatWallet for a current discussion about this particular deal/set.

After reading that topic in Fatwallet, i think that Scepter indeed launched a lesser set ! Thats too bad :(

sarman

05-27-06, 12:16 PM

Thanks to those who responded my questions in regard to cable card.
Currently there are no 1080p 37" TV's out there that has built-in cable card.
Sceptre is getting packed up today and returned to C. I didn't read the full 103 pages of this thread but one other thing that bother me was Sceptre's tech support, the worst I ever dealt with. No response to my numorous e-mail and voice mails.. :mad:
Does anyone know when Sharp is coming out with their 37" TV that has built in cable card? If I have to wait too long then I will go with Westinghouse and figure out how I will use cable remote 50+ feet a way. I guess I can utilize RF remote extender but I'm just wondering if cable box can drive 100+ feet of cable :confused: .

sarman

05-27-06, 01:41 PM

Currently there are no 1080p 37" TV's out there that has built-in cable card.
.

My apologies...Mitsubishi LT-3780 is a one that has built in cable card slot at more than twice of the Sceptre or westinghouse pricing :eek:

Koui

05-27-06, 06:36 PM

Does anyone know when Sharp is coming out with their 37" TV that has built in cable card?sarman, I was mistaken about the 37D90U Sharp having a cable card slot. Like the Mitsu, it does have iLink (firewire), which isn't the same as cable card, but more useful IMO for certain applications.

water1

05-27-06, 11:02 PM

[QUOTE=Koui]Can anyone with the 06/03/29 11:20 (or later) firmware please list the 3rd row of letters and numbers so it can be verified that Sceptre is still using AUO panels instead of Chi Mei (CMO)? QUOTE]

Got a new one this week with the 06/03/29 11:20 firmware and the third line is still T370HW01.

Nimo

05-28-06, 03:41 PM

Still regardless of the minor bugs with these units I still think it makes a seriously great gaming monitor and tv when in either PC VGA or DVI mode. I've been playing COD2 single player and online @ 1920x1080 with very very good performance. And since using the rev transcoder I had laying around really makes this tv great for viewing my favorite shows in HD. As long as you can stay away from the ATSC, Component and AV inputs (due to DCI) & no blk level adjustment, the blacks can be really dialed in PC mode and it makes watching this tv pretty enjoyable. Since I've been using the DCT 6200 in PC VGA mode it really is nice to see EPG's and have super fast channel surfing and getting all the channels. I placed an order with Kim's new trascoder and hope to have it sometime next month. Until then my old ratty cheapo will have to do.

As far as the new units with the blue light I guess if they are still using AUO's maybe you guys can request and earlier FW or revise what they flashed and get back that PQ it once had. I'm seiously tempted to go down there and have them check the hollow bottoming of the speakers, someone at the 42" inch thread did that and they not only fixed the horrible sound issue but they flashed his FW he said it took like 20 min and he was back online with better sound and a better black level they tweaked in the FW. I don't really care to have them do any adjustments with the blacks on my set as I am happy with it, but if they can fix the sound with a minor tweak I'm all for it.

DouglasteR

05-28-06, 10:36 PM

hakujin

05-29-06, 12:49 AM

Question to those of you who have adjusted your black level...

would this be in DVI mode? Or VGA mode? I simply cannot change it while in DVI mode, the option is whited out along with RGB gain. I presume this has to do with DVI as I also have never been able to make the finder adjustments with my 17" LCD Monitor while using DVI, only VGA. So I'd like to know the verdict here...

Must I use VGA to change RGB and black levels? If so, is the inferior (or so I"m led to believe based on opinions here) PQ of VGA worth the tradeoff for granular control?

Also, I concur with the comment about this being an awesome monitor for PC display. I just finished watching Dracula in 1080p and the PQ is excellent. My mission is to fill up my newly acquired 250GB hard disc drive with all HD content!

EDIT: I Just want to clarify that I do in fact have black level in the menu (unlike newer sets rights?) but I just can't adjust it while in DVI mode. I'm hoping this is a natural limitation while running in DVI mode. I further assume that I can control this in VGA, but to the detriment of "other" problems inherent with VGA on this LCD. Feedback is greatly appreciated.

apaiz

05-29-06, 02:20 AM

I have a Dish VIP211 receiver hooked up thru HDMI Switcher and my pc also using HDMI.

My PC Settings are displayed under DVI mode thru the Sceptre looks great!

Dish VIP211 Receiver Hooked Up HDMI thru DVI mode thru Sceptre picture quality is great, but the regular 4x3 channels have this fuzzy lines on the top, but when I switch it to HDMI mode on the Sceptre they are gone, but picture quality is also lost. I hope that this makes sense to all of you.

Can anybody help or provide some type of feedback?

:confused: :confused: :confused:

Thank you,

APaiz

ursa99

05-29-06, 11:14 AM

Scheduled for delivery Tuesday. Ive had a 50" DLP for 3 years and watched OTA HD and D* HD for just about as long. It should make for an interesting comparison. Not sure what to conclude from the recent 'decline' in pict quality/banding, no black level adjustments etc. etc. so I'll do my own analysis and post my opinion in a day or two. I did buy from Costco so I'm covered if a return is necessary. Why Sceptre apparently changed the firmware and actually degraded pict quality is a mystery. To bad firmware changes can't be user installed.

- ursa

Koui

05-29-06, 12:18 PM

RaBoot

05-29-06, 03:14 PM

hakujin

05-29-06, 07:46 PM

That solves it. I had to go into user mode. Thanks Koui and RaBoot.

kkrull

05-30-06, 01:42 AM

Dish VIP211 Receiver Hooked Up HDMI thru DVI mode thru Sceptre picture quality is great, but the regular 4x3 channels have this fuzzy lines on the top, but when I switch it to HDMI mode on the Sceptre they are gone, but picture quality is also lost.I have a VIP622. If you use HDMI then the Sceptre crops the overscan, or the analog scrap on the edges. Unfortunately that cropping gets rid of the 1:1 pixel mapping which looks so sharp on the 1080i content when you use DVI. Unfortunately you can't have both.

Are you getting local ABC in HD? I am curious if ABC's decision to go with 720p format HD is slowing their Dish Network rollout.

Have you taught the 211 remote to control the Sceptre or do you have a universal remote?

ursa99

05-30-06, 05:41 PM

Mine arrived today. Here is the firmware rev.

DEBUG 0113
06/03/29
T370HW01
1920X1080

S/N: 548R3702AA0064

Tested HDMI and ATSC ports:

HDMI tested using HR10-250 TIVO using OTA HD & SD, Satellite HD, SD and recorded HD.

Installation was fairly easy. No dead pixels thru normal viewing. Haven't put a PC on it yet to do a through test. Plugged in the HD Tivo to the HDMI port and played with the remote to figure out how to select it. Came in just fine. I did create one problem by accidently setting the memory delay to 2. This caused blue speckles on all HDMI sourced materials. I was ready to pack it up when I changed the memory delay back to 3 and that issue was resolved. After some adjustments I got a pretty good pict. I think it overdoes the light areas a bit and there was a bit of red push but in going from channel to channel it sort of averaged out. The pict resolution was very good...colors etc were fine and if you like a bright pict this set is for you as it can light up a room if you crank the adjustments up. HD for all of the 3 input sources above viewed just fine. I had seen the prerecorded material before on my DLP so I had a reference point and the Sceptre held up very nicely. After an hour I put my hand over the top and noticed that there wasn't a lot of heat. I think my SONY 32" Bravia throws more heat.

ATSC: Took me an hour to figure out how to scan for the channels. I got to the channel scan ICON and when you select it a scan bar appears but nothing happens. You have to hit the right > to get it going. It nicely selected all 23 channels in my area. (Lots of mulitcasting). Picture looks fine and the only criticism is the tuner is slow to change. Otherwise ATSC looks very good.

I didn't attach the speakers and used some bookshelf speakers I already had installed so I can't comment on the audio quality. I would guess by the weight of the speakers there isn't much in there to produce decent sound.

Here are some picts:

ursa99

05-30-06, 05:44 PM

You can easily see the blue speckles caused by the memory delay being set to 2 instead of 3. The Hawaiian pict was taken before I fixed the memory delay. The picture is much improved after the fix.

lambretta76

05-30-06, 08:01 PM

RaBoot

05-30-06, 08:12 PM

You can easily see the blue speckles caused by the memory delay being set to 2 instead of 3. The Hawaiian pict was taken before I fixed the memory delay. The picture is much improved after the fix.

I had the same exact "blue rain" on my set while viewing HD content, although not as pronounced as on your set. I set memory delay to 4 (from factory default of 2) as this seemed to give me the best PQ.

I wonder why this occurs while viewing HD content? Anyone? Do other manufac. HDTV's do this? :confused:

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

Thanks,
....Bobby R.

Cloud zer0

05-30-06, 09:05 PM

m1ck3ym0us3

05-30-06, 09:52 PM

I receive mine on the 1st. I'll try to post pictures if i can remember. This will be my 1st HDTV. I will be using it mainly or computer and TV.

ursa99

05-30-06, 10:13 PM

ursa99 - have you owned other LCD TVs in the past? If so, how does this compare to those? I've seen posts where people had upgraded from 32" Sonys and Samsungs and have been happy, but their knowledge may have been a bit less than yours when it comes to these things. Anyways, thanks for the informative posts!

I have a 32" Sony Bravia LCD and the Sceptre picture is at least as good, maybe better. Live HD video is spectacular, digital SD is very good and Satellite SD is fair to good but on a par with the Sony and quite watchable. I'm used to the lower quality Sat SD having watched it for several years on my DLP.

I have not tested component, DVD or PC yet but plan to do so...

ursa

budalb

05-30-06, 10:52 PM

There is no appropriate setup code for the Sceptre. There is a process by which you can reprogram and upgrade certain models (made by UEI) universal remotes by using your computer. The explaination for this goes far beyond a simple response here but I would suggest you do some reading at the following s

Note that I have contributed an upgrade file for the Sceptre on the above forum if you decide doing this yourself is within your capabilities.

Steve

Thanks. This really works. Finally got a remote to control everything including Sceptre 37". I actually modified the settings to be: the Vol+ and - always control TV no matter what mode the remote is on. Everybody who are frustrated with simulating Sceptre remote should read the above page. I bought my remote (One For All URC8910) from Amazon.

Kittunni

05-31-06, 02:08 AM

Nimo

05-31-06, 02:16 AM

I have a 32" Sony Bravia LCD and the Sceptre picture is at least as good, maybe better. Live HD video is spectacular, digital SD is very good and Satellite SD is fair to good but on a par with the Sony and quite watchable. I'm used to the lower quality Sat SD having watched it for several years on my DLP.

I have not tested component, DVD or PC yet but plan to do so...

ursa

That's good to hear I was wondering how these would hold up against the mighty Sony B. As for my experience I have gone through my share of HDTV's my first purchase was a 26" Samsung a couple years back then I went on to the 32" LTN after that I went with the revised version of the LTN it was horrible. I then went with Syntax, and ended up with the Sceptre. This TV just flat out looks and performs better than what I previously had and couldn't be more happier, not only that Costco's got my back if anything ever happens to this set so it's great piece of mind to have without having to buy extended warranty's. Congrates on your Sceptre, I also removed the logo on the lower bezel it's just stuck on with sticky backing and it wiggled right off I stuck it on my Lian Li Intel rig :)

Just thought I'd re post some previous picks in the thread :D it's a good TV!

http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/vs.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/vss.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/vsf.jpg

DouglasteR

05-31-06, 08:09 AM

Mine arrived today, with a different firmware version than what I see you guys posted here.

Here it is

debug 0114A D2
06/04/20 10:15
T370HW01
1920 X 1080

My issue is my comcast digital cable connected via HDMI is always says 480p :-(
Is there a way to change the settings to 1080p?

By the way I have read most of the pages, this thread helped me to buy this LCD TV.

Thanks folks!

I have bought from Newegg almost 2 weeks ago, it take this long to Ship and arrive ?! Im beggining to be worry about :( , anybody here who have bought this set and live in Florida/Miami, how much it taked to ship and arrive ( From NEwegg )?! :o

lambretta76

05-31-06, 09:40 AM

Kittunni - did you purchase yours from newegg or Costco? I was going to buy this TV this morning but the new firmware could either be a good thing or a bad thing... I guess if I buy through Costco I could always just return it, but it's such a hassle.

mikebridge

05-31-06, 10:28 AM

hakujin

05-31-06, 12:57 PM

WOW thats a clear picture!
:o Thanks for taking pictures!
There aren't enough here !!
Not many of the screen!

Your wish is my command...

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y94/babanoosh/CIMG1704.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y94/babanoosh/9816fe4c.jpg

And here is one (or two) of the XBMC UI because I find it so brilliant (on the Sceptre) and I cannot resist...

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y94/babanoosh/HomeScreen2.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y94/babanoosh/HomeScreen.jpg

FYI, I've never had that speckle problem. I find myself extremely luck in that I haven't witnessed a lot of issues that people have had with their lcds here. The only think I'm still as of yet uncertain about is how well VGA holds up to 1920x1080. I do need to know soon, as I don't plan on giving away that HDMI port to PC when I do (sooner or later) buy a HiDef HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player. I must say though... I'm growing more fond of this set. 1080p and 1080i source material look so brilliant, especially after I found the black level adjustment.

06/01/16 1458 Firmware
Memory Delay is set to 2.

EDIT: Nice pics Nimo! I'll have to do a screen capture of some 1080p now!!! Just a sec folks...

DouglasteR

05-31-06, 01:20 PM

Your wish is my command...

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y94/babanoosh/CIMG1704.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y94/babanoosh/9816fe4c.jpg

And here is one (or two) of the XBMC UI because I find it so brilliant (on the Sceptre) and I cannot resist...

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y94/babanoosh/HomeScreen2.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y94/babanoosh/HomeScreen.jpg

FYI, I've never had that speckle problem. I find myself extremely luck in that I haven't witnessed a lot of issues that people have had with their lcds here. The only think I'm still as of yet uncertain about is how well VGA holds up to 1920x1080. I do need to know soon, as I don't plan on giving away that HDMI port to PC when I do (sooner or later) buy a HiDef HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player. I must say though... I'm growing more fond of this set. 1080p and 1080i source material look so brilliant, especially after I found the black level adjustment.

06/01/16 1458 Firmware
Memory Delay is set to 2.

EDIT: Nice pics Nimo! I'll have to do a screen capture of some 1080p now!!! Just a sec folks...

OMFG !! Pleasee MOOOOREE pictures of it, closer, let us see the crisp and the resolution of it !! Put some PC Games on it !! MOOORE pictures !!

ursa99

05-31-06, 01:22 PM

i was wondering about what wide modes the x37sv supports? 4:3? full? zoom? native? 16:9? the last 1920x1080 LCD set i had (emprex 3701) wouldn't do the equivalent of zoom on letterbox'ed SD material, which i found unacceptable.

The Sceptre has the following modes:

Auto
16:9
4:3
Zoom - Full
Zoom - Sub - Title

If your in HDMI or DVI mode these zooms don't do anything useful. I don't have component hooked up so I can't comment on that mode. The manual (really just an insert) is all of 28 pages cover to cover and doesn't explain the zoom modes.

hakujin

05-31-06, 01:37 PM

OMFG !! Pleasee MOOOOREE pictures of it, closer, let us see the crisp and the resolution of it !! Put some PC Games on it !! MOOORE pictures !!

Here are actual screen captures of the desktop and 1080i PBS stuff
http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/9885/desktop5wj.th.jpg (http://img249.imageshack.us/my.php?image=desktop5wj.jpg)
http://img288.imageshack.us/img288/1359/gecko9ic.th.jpg (http://img288.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gecko9ic.jpg)
http://img288.imageshack.us/img288/5656/nature22ar.th.jpg (http://img288.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nature22ar.jpg)
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/1075/nature6zs.th.jpg (http://img339.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nature6zs.jpg)

I hope you like...

EDIT: REFRESH Page if clicked images are still below full res, I've using imageshack, thanks Cloud zer0.

Only some small artifacting because of movment in the capture and .jpeg compression. Looks even better from my end. If any of you are using HTPC and want to kick cpu utilization down a notch, use CoreAVC... I never get much over 30-40% even with source 1080p movie playback, though that's .ts (mpeg2). I'll have to give h.264 a whirl, but I'm expecting simiilar results!

Cloud zer0

05-31-06, 01:39 PM

Your wish is my command...

EDIT: Nice pics Nimo! I'll have to do a screen capture of some 1080p now!!! Just a sec folks...
Yes Please do thanks a lot!

Hey you can try imageshack.us so you can put in much larger pictures! You can do a Megabyte sized pic (max) for free bandwith!
I want to see it clear XD
Photobucket has its limits! Just use the THUMBNAIL so it can link to the larger pic :)

Wow awesome I get paid in a week, I can't wait to order!!! :D

Hey don't ever need to give up on your HDMI. Get the MONOPRICE.com HDMI 2x1 switcher for 24.00 bucks and save yourself the headache and do dvi on it! :)
I hear VGA is pretty damn good, best 1080p vga quality on any tv set (most can't do it/allow it) just a little less focused than the DVI, but I haven't tried myself!

DouglasteR

05-31-06, 01:49 PM

OMFG ! AWESOME IMAGES !! Pleasse post moreee !! Some more photos of the desktop ! :eek:

sylo

05-31-06, 01:51 PM

hey, if i was to play a game at 1280x1024 res on the sceptre is there a way to make it so that it doesnt stretch the image at all?

Cubicle Warrior

05-31-06, 01:53 PM

I'm about as new to this kind of screen as one can get. I've used a 22" CRT for the past 3 years, and just today the Sceptre I ordered arrived (Black x37sv). I had it delivered to work then took it home during lunch. All I had time to do was set it up and boot the PC just to make sure the screen worked, and BOY DOES IT! WOOHOO NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A BIG SCREEN HAHA!

BTW, to the guy asking about buying from Newegg and time to ship. I made my order with Newegg last Monday (5/22) real early in the day. It came from CA to my place of business here in Maine, and I just got it about 1 hour ago. I don't know how much that will help you out, but I figured i'd tell ya what I could.

Now all I did was boot, move the mouse around, and adjust the res from 1024x768 (been using that for sooooo long) to 1920x1080 (I think that was it.... it was the max res available to me with nVidia's current non-beta drivers). I know this thing has all kinds of connections available to it, and i've read a lot about people talking about watching regular TV, HD TV, DVD's, etc... While I may do that from time to time, it will be used first and foremost as a monitor for my PC. More specifically, gaming on my PC.

I have a pair of BFG 6800 U's in SLI in conjunction with 2 GB RAM, Athlon 64 FX55, operating under Win XP. I'm hoping this will be a good monitor for gaming given what I have for hardware. This was a major purchase for me and i'm kinda screwed for the immediate future if it turns out I need to buy more "stuff". Anybody got some examples of how it works with PC games?

My other question(s) was, is their anything I need to do to "set it up" other than plug it in and turn it on? I know that seems stupid, but I really am a big screen n00b and I don't want to overlook anyting or short-change myself. Also, how do I go about finding out what firmware I have? I've read a few posts about how newer firmware isn't as good as the older stuff. Can I "down grade" if needed/wanted? Can I do that myself or is that a bring-it-in-to-some-guy type of thing?

Thanks to everybody for your time and help. :)

hakujin

05-31-06, 02:04 PM

Hey don't ever need to give up on your HDMI. Get the MONOPRICE.com HDMI 2x1 switcher for 24.00 bucks and save yourself the headache and do dvi on it! :)
I hear VGA is pretty damn good, best 1080p vga quality on any tv set (most can't do it/allow it) just a little less focused than the DVI, but I haven't tried myself!

I've always considered that option, but no sure I want to spurge on the switcher or moreso, add more clutter unless I have more then 2 HDMI sources. If the VGA is neglible, I'll go with it. If the difference is apparent, I'll probably go the switcher route.

TReX8

05-31-06, 02:12 PM

Can ursa99, Kittunni or others with the new(er) firmware confirm that the black level and RGB gains control are still available as long as the Color Temp is set to USER? Thanks!

jvargasg

05-31-06, 05:57 PM

Your wish is my command...

And here is one (or two) of the XBMC UI because I find it so brilliant (on the Sceptre) and I cannot resist...

FYI, I've never had that speckle problem. I find myself extremely luck in that I haven't witnessed a lot of issues that people have had with their lcds here. The only think I'm still as of yet uncertain about is how well VGA holds up to 1920x1080. I do need to know soon, as I don't plan on giving away that HDMI port to PC when I do (sooner or later) buy a HiDef HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player. I must say though... I'm growing more fond of this set. 1080p and 1080i source material look so brilliant, especially after I found the black level adjustment.

06/01/16 1458 Firmware
Memory Delay is set to 2.

EDIT: Nice pics Nimo! I'll have to do a screen capture of some 1080p now!!! Just a sec folks...

Hey hakujin, so it looks like you are using this baby for HTPC, so I have a couple of questions for you.
I've the sceptre for a couple of months now, and still undecided if I want to keep it, sometimes it looks so great and sometimes it just looks really bad, like if I stand closer than 4 feet it just looks awful, doesn't matter if is SD directv or OTA HD or 480P DVDs it doesn't look good. Now I went to Costco this weekend and looking at all the Vizios and other HDTVs they have, (not 1080P) the picture was amazing, so I am about to give up my 1080P capabilities just so I can get that kind of picture.
The only hope I have is that I can fix all my PQ problems with an HTPC, so I am putting together one, is not the best but still good enough for this kind of tasks, I got it almost complete, just waiting on my HDTV wonder to complete it. I've been tweaking it a little for DVD playback and the upconversion looks good, so I was wondering if using your HTPC to watch your OTA HD and SD directv (with the aux inputs on the tunner) will actually improve the PQ??? I will be using DVI mode. so is there any way to postprocess the image before it goes out to the TV (ffdshow or similars)?
Now, I like the sceptre and I would love to keep it, but with the prices costco have the other not 1080p sets I am really tempted to just go and change it, the picture looks just so great you can even put your nose 20 inches form the screen and not see pixelation or artifacts.
I am so tempted I need some suggestions to make me keep this V1.

ursa99

05-31-06, 09:32 PM

Can ursa99, Kittunni or others with the new(er) firmware confirm that the black level and RGB gains control are still available as long as the Color Temp is set to USER? Thanks!

I don't see any black level control and the closest thing to RGB I can see is a screen that has VIVID COLOR, SKIN TONE, GREEN, BLUE, NOISE, GAMMA, RECALL. The adjustments within these categories are OFF, LOW, MED, HIGH. There is a backlight contol called LAMP...

ursa

hakujin

05-31-06, 10:37 PM

Hey hakujin, so it looks like you are using this baby for HTPC, so I have a couple of questions for you.
I've the sceptre for a couple of months now, and still undecided if I want to keep it, sometimes it looks so great and sometimes it just looks really bad, like if I stand closer than 4 feet it just looks awful, doesn't matter if is SD directv or OTA HD or 480P DVDs it doesn't look good. Now I went to Costco this weekend and looking at all the Vizios and other HDTVs they have, (not 1080P) the picture was amazing, so I am about to give up my 1080P capabilities just so I can get that kind of picture.
The only hope I have is that I can fix all my PQ problems with an HTPC, so I am putting together one, is not the best but still good enough for this kind of tasks, I got it almost complete, just waiting on my HDTV wonder to complete it. I've been tweaking it a little for DVD playback and the upconversion looks good, so I was wondering if using your HTPC to watch your OTA HD and SD directv (with the aux inputs on the tunner) will actually improve the PQ??? I will be using DVI mode. so is there any way to postprocess the image before it goes out to the TV (ffdshow or similars)?
Now, I like the sceptre and I would love to keep it, but with the prices costco have the other not 1080p sets I am really tempted to just go and change it, the picture looks just so great you can even put your nose 20 inches form the screen and not see pixelation or artifacts.
I am so tempted I need some suggestions to make me keep this V1.

Hmmm... my pc doesn't actually have a tuner card so I couldn't say 100% that the PQ would improve, but there are those here they have tried that and have stated a noticeable improvement. That being said, I guess I don't have the same perception (as yours) of this tv. Of course, SD looks like crap for me. I have a crappy hybrid SD hookup of sorts. My apt. complex provides locals through the antiquated cable system and that connects to dish (on their end). It looks like crap, but so it to be expected I guess. When I first bought this tv, I did try straight DVD hookup and thought it looked horrible but upscaling changed that (xbox). Now I like it. OTA ATSC has always looked super to me... guess I have low expectations since this is my 1st OTA HDTV....

Right now, I'm playing with just hooking up the PC with content already on my pc and I love it.

Question:

What other 1080p HDTVs at CostCo are you referring to? I was just in the store but a few days ago and wasn't thrilled with anything... plus it was mostly all 768p (or like) tvs.

Nimo

05-31-06, 11:13 PM

Mine arrived today, with a different firmware version than what I see you guys posted here.

Here it is

debug 0114A D2
06/04/20 10:15
T370HW01
1920 X 1080

My issue is my comcast digital cable connected via HDMI is always says 480p :-(
Is there a way to change the settings to 1080p?

By the way I have read most of the pages, this thread helped me to buy this LCD TV.

Thanks folks!

If it's the DCT series STB I think you power down then hit the menu button it will show up in the front panel along with your TV. Then just scroll to change aspect ratio I have my SD channels set to 480p and HD set to 1080i.

Can you also check to see if they put the black gain and RGB back in the menu?

Kittunni

06-01-06, 12:57 AM

If it's the DCT series STB I think you power down then hit the menu button it will show up in the front panel along with your TV. Then just scroll to change aspect ratio I have my SD channels set to 480p and HD set to 1080i.

Can you also check to see if they put the black gain and RGB back in the menu?

Thanks Nimo, It worked! Now it looks a lot better in 1080i. I like this thing... Discovery HD and INHD looks terrific. My lamp setting is at 2.

As ursa99 pointed out there is no Black level control(atleast I couldn't find it, if it is there.) But the Green and Blue levels can be adjusted, with off, low, med and high to get an acceptable color temp.

Will post more differences once I explore this thing in coming days..

Please ask me if you need to check any bug fixes with the new firmware.

EDIT: I bought it from Costco on 5/23, shipped from Ontario, CA on 5/24

Polypro

06-01-06, 04:40 AM

Glad I didn't send my V2 in for the FW Upgrade yet:) They keep rolling new ones out...or maybe they're specific to the internal components??? Still loving mine, Robert Heron from PC Mag/DL.TV had to smoking something for that review he wrote. For the HTPC question: If the internal scaler is as bad as was ponted out in the review, HTPC should help. I have my 6600GT set to Display Adapter Scaling, and using the nVIDIA decoders, my Hauppauge PVR500 recorded analog cable sometimes impresses me:) OTA HD with the DVICO Fusion is awesome, as would be expected. DVD's look amazing to me...HD-DVD/Blue-Ray what? :)

P

jvargasg

06-01-06, 09:18 AM

Hmmm... my pc doesn't actually have a tuner card so I couldn't say 100% that the PQ would improve, but there are those here they have tried that and have stated a noticeable improvement. That being said, I guess I don't have the same perception (as yours) of this tv. Of course, SD looks like crap for me. I have a crappy hybrid SD hookup of sorts. My apt. complex provides locals through the antiquated cable system and that connects to dish (on their end). It looks like crap, but so it to be expected I guess. When I first bought this tv, I did try straight DVD hookup and thought it looked horrible but upscaling changed that (xbox). Now I like it. OTA ATSC has always looked super to me... guess I have low expectations since this is my 1st OTA HDTV....

Right now, I'm playing with just hooking up the PC with content already on my pc and I love it.

Question:

What other 1080p HDTVs at CostCo are you referring to? I was just in the store but a few days ago and wasn't thrilled with anything... plus it was mostly all 768p (or like) tvs.

Ok that's fair, I'll let someone else in this forum try and give me some advice in that matter.

Now about the 1080Ps TVs in Costco, there is nothing else besides the Sceptre, and that is only on the website. You may haven't understand what I said, "I am willing to give up the 1080p capabilities and go down to a 720p tv just to get cristal clear PQ" that is what I said, I never mentioned anything else about other 1080p TVs.

I will be working on my HTPC this weekend, will get the tuner tonight, and if that does not look better then I'll guess I will go with any of the 720p Tvs @ Costco.

Nimo

06-01-06, 11:05 AM

Ok that's fair, I'll let someone else in this forum try and give me some advice in that matter.

Now about the 1080Ps TVs in Costco, there is nothing else besides the Sceptre, and that is only on the website. You may haven't understand what I said, "I am willing to give up the 1080p capabilities and go down to a 720p tv just to get cristal clear PQ" that is what I said, I never mentioned anything else about other 1080p TVs.

I will be working on my HTPC this weekend, wilkl get the tuner tonight, and if that does not look better then I'll guess I will go with any of the 720p Tvs @ Costco.

This TV suffers from a serious black crush and the dreaded DCI bug. If you want the best picture out of this TV you should either go HDMI to PC/STB and PC VGA to STB. I have my AMD rig hooked up to my Sceptre using the firewire port for rec and viewing TV shows. You don't really need a tuner card if you decide to go this way there is a firewire hack for XP listed in the HDTV Recording forums. And using VLC to watch TV in realtime. To play back videos I use either nVidia's pure video or PDVD codec in MPC/PDVD. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was using a reverse transcoder for the PC VGA to watch TV on my STB this gives black gains and by passes the DCI bug.

I also got the pure video to work with my Radeon R360 256 card on my Intel rig using MPC and the nVidia codec along with PDVD's audio codec. :D But it only plays in MPC it will break WMP10 for .vob and .ts files but it's funny seen'ing the ATI and nVida in the tasskbar side by side. Yes we can all get along...

But to answer your question you will see a big difference in PQ when you avoid components 1&2 all AV sources.

I took a pic of the pure video decoder in the taskbar, and I also took one of my TV without the logo. Looks better in the Lian li tower don't you think?:D

@Kittunni Thanks for the reply I think your the only one with the latest FW that's
why I wondered if they put back what has gone missing, in color temp be sure your in user mode.
Enjoy!

http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/mpc.jpg

http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/sc.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/in.jpg

DouglasteR

06-01-06, 11:21 AM

This TV suffers from a serious black crush and the dreaded DCI bug. If you want the best picture out of this TV you should either go HDMI to PC/STB and PC VGA to STB. I have my AMD rig hooked up to my Sceptre using the firewire port for rec and viewing TV shows. You don't really need a tuner card if you decide to go this way there is a firewire hack for XP listed in the HTPC forums. And using VLC to watch TV in realtime. To play back videos I use either nVidia's pure video or PDVD codec in MPC/PDVD. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was using a reverse transcoder for the PC VGA to watch TV on my STB this gives black gains and by passes the DCI bug.

I also got the pure video to work with my Radeon R360 256 card on my Intel rig using MPC and the nVidia codec along with PDVD's audio codec. :D But it only plays in MPC it will break WMP10 for .vob and .ts files but it's funny seen'ing the ATI and nVida in the tasskbar side by side. Yes we can all get along...

But to answer your question you will see a big difference in PQ when you avoid components 1&2 all AV sources.

I took a pic of the pure video decoder in the taskbar, and I also took one of my TV without the logo. Looks better in the Lian li tower don't you think?:D

@Kittunni Thanks for the reply I think your the only one with the latest FW that's
why I wondered if they put back what has gone missing, in color temp be sure your in user mode.
Enjoy!

http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/mpc.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/sc.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/in.jpg

Amazing pics Nimo, can you take some photos of it in games, in the exactly angle of that photos !! Amazing ! I Cant wait to mine arrive :(

Nimo

06-01-06, 12:25 PM

Sure Douglas.
FarCry Native: 1920x1080 using the new cry engine HDR SM 3.0
http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/fc.jpg
COD2 Native:
http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/cod2.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/cod2s.jpg
Pacific Fighters: SM 3.0 1600x1200
http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/pf.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/pfa.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/pfa1.jpg

These three games really tax your rig but game play is smooth and fast, PF is a great way to test for ghosting as you can see 0 ghosting in all of the games. But even PF will bring an SLI system to it's knees, it plays COD2 perfect online and single player.

As you know screen shots are pretty useless when trying to compare but it gives you an idea performace wise.

RaBoot

06-01-06, 12:33 PM

I have my AMD rig hooked up to my Sceptre using the firewire port for rec and viewing TV shows. You don't really need a tuner card if you decide to go this way there is a firewire hack for XP listed in the HTPC forums. And using VLC to watch TV in realtime. To play back videos I use either nVidia's pure video or PDVD codec in MPC/PDVD.

Hello Nimo... I find it interesting you rec and view TV shows using a firewire port on your AMD. I do not have a tuner card either. Is there a more detailed thread in these forums on how to go about all this? Do you have a link?

Thank you,
....BR

jvargasg

06-01-06, 12:34 PM

This TV suffers from a serious black crush and the dreaded DCI bug. If you want the best picture out of this TV you should either go HDMI to PC/STB and PC VGA to STB. I have my AMD rig hooked up to my Sceptre using the firewire port for rec and viewing TV shows. You don't really need a tuner card if you decide to go this way there is a firewire hack for XP listed in the HTPC forums. And using VLC to watch TV in realtime. To play back videos I use either nVidia's pure video or PDVD codec in MPC/PDVD. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was using a reverse transcoder for the PC VGA to watch TV on my STB this gives black gains and by passes the DCI bug.

I also got the pure video to work with my Radeon R360 256 card on my Intel rig using MPC and the nVidia codec along with PDVD's audio codec. :D But it only plays in MPC it will break WMP10 for .vob and .ts files but it's funny seen'ing the ATI and nVida in the tasskbar side by side. Yes we can all get along...

But to answer your question you will see a big difference in PQ when you avoid components 1&2 all AV sources.

Well Nimo to tell you the true I didn't get the part with the firewire, I am not familiar with it though, so I guess I won't mess with it until I get more info, but it sounds interesting. any guide you can point me to?
Now I am hooking up my PC thru DVI, and planning in hooked up my directv to the tuner card on the PC so I can wactch SD thru the PC and hopefully get some PQ improvement. DVDs will be played on the PC so that part is covered, I already tried it and it looks good, even though i am still trying to decide for a video player/codec, not sure which one to use, same with the media center, but that is another topic.
For my PS2 I guess I have to live with the component connection because there is no way around for that.

Anyway I'll do some testing over the next week and will post back here.

Thanks

Nimo

06-01-06, 12:50 PM

Hello Nimo... I find it interesting you rec and view TV shows using a firewire port on your AMD. I do not have a tuner card either. Is there a more detailed thread in these forums on how to go about all this? Do you have a link?

Thank you,
....BR

Well Nimo to tell you the true I didn't get the part with the firewire, I am not familiar with it though, so I guess I won't mess with it until I get more info, but it sounds interesting. any guide you can point me to?

Sorry the how to is in the HDTV recorders thread you guys can start at the link I provided if you run into any problems pm me and I'll be glad to help. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=403695
I'm using my DCT 6200 from Adelphia "via" firewire to the PC good luck!

Polypro

06-01-06, 01:05 PM

Hey Nimo,

Have you tried Anamorphic/Raw Aspect, Pixel Adaptive, and Prefer VMR9 for the nVIDIA decoder?

Just wondering.

P

RaBoot

06-01-06, 01:08 PM

Thanks Nimo :cool:

kingjamez

06-01-06, 01:33 PM

DouglasteR

06-01-06, 02:07 PM

Amazing !! I cannot thank you enough Nimo, but i had one last wish ! Can you take the photo of monitor running farcry whit a camera !? Because, printscreen dont give us enough "dimensions" and perspectivity of the size of the monitor

Thanks again !! it would be incredible see some Halflife2 shots too, the huge amount of details in the game would become espetacular in this set :D

Thanks again ! :)

Nimo

06-01-06, 02:55 PM

Hey Nimo,

Have you tried Anamorphic/Raw Aspect, Pixel Adaptive, and Prefer VMR9 for the nVIDIA decoder?

Just wondering.

P

Yes that's the way I run it on my AMD rig, with only OAR DVD's the pic I posted of the decoder was just installed and I didn't configure it at that moment. I just wanted to see if it would work with my Radeon card. I still can't get over the two icons in my taskbar it keeps me amused none the least :D

Thanks for the reply's guys keep up the good work!

hakujin

06-01-06, 03:45 PM

Yes that's the way I run it on my AMD rig, with only OAR DVD's the pic I posted of the decoder was just installed and I didn't configure it at that moment. I just wanted to see if it would work with my Radeon card. I still can't get over the two icons in my taskbar it keeps me amused none the least :D

Thanks for the reply's guys keep up the good work!

I'm running Nivida Pure Video now too. I used it to offload CPU intensive decoding to the GPU, but not even sure if my system is even using it now with CoreAVC filter probably taking the role. I think coreAVC does all decoding in CPU and is still is more efficient. Though, I've never seen that decoder UI you posted that shows the bitrate and what not... is that attributed to the firewire config to your STB? Or do I have to download that somewhere? Perhaps my lack of seeing it, is because of the coreAVC too... though.... I"m not even sure if my 6800 supports pure video, as I know the GTs and Ultras are broken but I thought mine (Apollo 6800 128MB 8X AGP) had it functional...

Polypro

06-01-06, 05:13 PM

Cubicle Warrior

06-01-06, 05:16 PM

Anybody here on the east coast and order one of these from Newegg? How long did yours take to come in? Mine shipped out a couple days ago via AIT, but the tracking number gives no idea as to the time of delievery.

-Jim

Hey jim,

I purchased mine back on the 23rd. It shipped outta California. It got to me yesterday (5/31... I live in Maine). It also shipped via AIT. The AIT website isn't very good for tracking. If you're looking for a date of delivery you must call them. Here are the two numbers I saw on their site:

Station Phone Number: 888-818-6788
Station non-800 Number: 310-538-4383

So far all I can say is it's worth the wait! :)

m1ck3ym0us3

06-01-06, 08:52 PM

Just received mine. Unpacking and taking pictures are now.

kingjamez

06-01-06, 09:19 PM

Thanks Cubical Warrior, I'll give that a try!

-Jim

hakujin

06-01-06, 10:12 PM

Some nVIDIA options can be configured without any media playing through WMP>DVD>Advanced (If it's your default/preferred decoder)((or tools such as Radlight Filter Manager))...others are set with media playing through the tray icon. 6600GT's support all Pure Video features except HD IVT or HD Spacial Temporal Deinterlacing (I forget which one).

Thanks for the reply Nimo.

P

Thanks man... I tried to get to it through windows media player but all that brought up was AC3 options. BTW, I was talking about the 6800GT (and ultras) as opposed to my plain jane 6800. Apparently, the hardware acceleration for HD (mpeg2, i don't think any older ones such as this one support h.264 acceleration) is broken.

Speaking of Nivdia Pure Video, I find nStartMedia shweet for a bundled add-on... for some Sceptre HD playback...what do you guys think? Of course, it's not as functional as my alternative UI (XBMC) or MCE, but for the latter, I wasn't willing to give up domains so not a bad tradeoff, IMO

m1ck3ym0us3

06-01-06, 10:28 PM

ok, i just set everything up and i found some problems. I see a lot of pink around letters and i am also not able to see my system tray and part of the left and right side, and maybe even part of the top of my desktop. Any suggestions?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/s0ysauc369/random/IMG_1465.jpg

m1ck3ym0us3

06-01-06, 10:30 PM

Oh, also, i just took a look at some pictures, and i noticed that there are a lot of pink and blue spots in random places around my screen.

I'm connected through HDMI/DVI. It's set on auto adjust.

hakujin

06-01-06, 10:56 PM

Oh, also, i just took a look at some pictures, and i noticed that there are a lot of pink and blue spots in random places around my screen.

I'm connected through HDMI/DVI. It's set on auto adjust.

as far as the overscan, it seems the common mistake (I made it myself once)... are you on DVI input or HDMI? Ensure the Sceptre is on DVI.

m1ck3ym0us3

06-01-06, 10:56 PM

HDMI to DVI

m1ck3ym0us3

06-01-06, 10:59 PM

ahh i see what you mean, i changed it to DVI. it fixed it. thanks. it also fixed the pink and blue push i had

Kittunni

06-01-06, 11:16 PM

Thanks Nimo, It worked! Now it looks a lot better in 1080i. I like this thing... Discovery HD and INHD looks terrific. My lamp setting is at 2.

As ursa99 pointed out there is no Black level control(atleast I couldn't find it, if it is there.) But the Green and Blue levels can be adjusted, with off, low, med and high to get an acceptable color temp.

Will post more differences once I explore this thing in coming days..

Please ask me if you need to check any bug fixes with the new firmware.

EDIT: I bought it from Costco on 5/23, shipped from Ontario, CA on 5/24

More findings:

In VGA and DVI mode; when the Color temp is set to USER; the R, G and B can be adjusted. :) I think they put it back in the new fw version.

hakujin

06-01-06, 11:17 PM

Polypro

06-02-06, 07:03 AM

Yeah, the nVIDIA decoder is an MPEG2 one. Radlight Filter Manager allows you to set priority.

P

Polypro

06-02-06, 07:07 AM

ahh i see what you mean, i changed it to DVI. it fixed it. thanks. it also fixed the pink and blue push i had

If you do OTA HD with an HTPC, pause it and check for artifacts on the DVI input. I thought my Memory Delay was fine until I paused "Lost" one night...couldn't see them on the moving picture.

P

Nimo

06-02-06, 08:14 AM

More findings:

In VGA and DVI mode; when the Color temp is set to USER; the R, G and B can be adjusted. :) I think they put it back in the new fw version.

RGB gains as far as I remember were always there, just no black level adjustment. Let us know if they put that back.

donsev

06-02-06, 03:11 PM

ahh i see what you mean, i changed it to DVI. it fixed it. thanks. it also fixed the pink and blue push i had

Now if only Robert Heron from the PC Mag online review of the 37" would acknowledge his n00b mistake and correct his review.

BTW, has anyone bothered to let him know how much he messed up the review (I hope so, for his sake, before it goes to print.)

Nimo

06-02-06, 05:45 PM

http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/fca.jpg

Nimo

06-02-06, 07:08 PM

nevermind that problem of mine PolyPro... it looks as though I can see the decoder properties now... it automatically pops up in sys tray with the right media. Seems that purevideo is set to decode my mpeg2 hd stuff but not my (h264) mpeg4 stuff. On top of that nstartmedia just chokes on mpe4 with errors and whatnot... i really like it too...hmmm... wish these filters had a common interface like directshow where I could elect precedence or the like. Codecs are a tricky bunch!

You might want to try the 91.28 drivers I've been using them for a while and it has this neat little switch for inverse telecine :) And RGB Gamma custom settings so you can get up to 9500k I've got mine set to 6500k for videos I really dig these new drivers lots of enhancements with the new control panel. Btw try MPC it will use any codec you want.

DouglasteR

06-02-06, 10:28 PM

http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/fca.jpg

AMAZING Nimo just amazing !! Can you take some more :p ?!

Amazing...

I cant thank you enough :D :cool:

apaiz

06-02-06, 11:43 PM

I have a VIP622. If you use HDMI then the Sceptre crops the overscan, or the analog scrap on the edges. Unfortunately that cropping gets rid of the 1:1 pixel mapping which looks so sharp on the 1080i content when you use DVI. Unfortunately you can't have both.

Are you getting local ABC in HD? I am curious if ABC's decision to go with 720p format HD is slowing their Dish Network rollout.

Have you taught the 211 remote to control the Sceptre or do you have a universal remote?

Thanks for making that clear for me on the overscan thru HDMI.

I am getting ABC in Sacramento thru Dish, are you not receiving ABC yet and where are you located?

I have not even tried to program my 211 remote to control the sceptre, so at the moment I keep having to switch back and forth drives me nuts.

Care to share some of your TV settings thru the DVI source.

AP

Istari1

06-03-06, 03:46 PM

Any new news on when/if they are going to drop the price on this? Thanks.

Rbyers

06-03-06, 06:12 PM

August

BSteely

06-03-06, 06:55 PM

Does the V3 still have the second component input available thru the VGA connector as was the case with the V2? I don't see any mention of that feature in the literature anymore.

kkrull

06-03-06, 09:45 PM

I am getting ABC in Sacramento thru Dish, are you not receiving ABC yet and where are you located? I get ABC in standard definition in Salt Lake even though local HDTV is broadcast on Dish on all other major Salt Lake stations. Are you getting ABC from a local Sacramento affiliate? Is it in HD?

I have not even tried to program my 211 remote to control the sceptre, so at the moment I keep having to switch back and forth drives me nuts. Hold the TV button on the remote until it flashes and then type 758#. Push 'Sat' to go back to normal. Unfortunately you have to switch to 'tv' and use < and > for volume, then switch back to 'sat'. I am working on a fix. Mute and TV power work fine.

Care to share some of your TV settings thru the DVI source. APNot sure what you mean.

Neomoon

06-04-06, 03:52 AM

I know people have already posted pictures of thier desktops on the Sceptre but I figured you people might like to see some more.

This is my second v3 set since Jan since the first one developed a broken HDMI connection. Since I bought a new one and returned the old one I have the v3 with the blue led when the tv is on.

Here is a screencap of my desktop.

http://people.tamu.edu/~neomoon/Desktop_1920x1080.jpg

What makes it so awesome is that Ultramon has a "Stretch Proportional" option in it's wallpaper manager that will make any image fit on my screen. Since the original picture is a 17 Megapixel image (I'll do you guys a favor) (http://people.tamu.edu/~neomoon/Stacy.jpg) the amount of detail seen with this pic compressed to my desktop is amazing. Enjoy

sledge1234

06-04-06, 11:05 AM

Does the V3 still have the second component input available thru the VGA connector as was the case with the V2? I don't see any mention of that feature in the literature anymore.

Yes, there is.

Dan Bither

06-04-06, 12:03 PM

August

I don't have my coupon book handy but I'm pretty sure the August sale is a different model TV. It gave a resolution of 1366 x 768 and looked more like the Westy 1366 x 768 model.

snoods

06-04-06, 11:09 PM

I don't have my coupon book handy but I'm pretty sure the August sale is a different model TV. It gave a resolution of 1366 x 768 and looked more like the Westy 1366 x 768 model.

I went to the big C today and I have the coupon book. The coupon is for August 21 through August 28th, and it the price is $999.99. The picture does not look like my current v3 Sceptre- it has silver trim on the top and bottom, thought the left and right trim remain black. It says that the resolution is 1366x768 (I didn't know that Sceptre had non 1080p 37" sets), and the price listed before the coupon is the same price of the current 1080p set. I'm thinking that one of three things is happening:

1. There's a misprint regarding the resolution.
2. Sceptre is not going with cheaper parts; they're downscaling the resolution but maintaining the same retail price.
3. Sceptre is completely cheaping out and getting out of the 1080p business.

Cloud zer0

06-04-06, 11:38 PM

I went to the big C today and I have the coupon book. The coupon
3. Sceptre is completely cheaping out and getting out of the 1080p business.
Sceptre has had lower res LCD tvs all the time. Just recently they put out a 1080p version. Why do you say they are abandoning 1080p altogether? Don't you think its possible to sell "different" affordability models? Just like
Cars have different models with different addons, and performance, so do other electronics.

snoods

06-04-06, 11:56 PM

Sceptre has had lower res LCD tvs all the time. Just recently they put out a 1080p version. Why do you say they are abandoning 1080p altogether? Don't you think its possible to sell "different" affordability models?

I didn't say they were abandoning 1080p; I said it's a possibility, based on them offering a lower res set at the same retail price as their current 1080p set through a retailer that as of late has been exlcusively selling their 1080p sets for 37" and greater.

DouglasteR

06-05-06, 12:30 AM

This is bad news, they are making that Marketing law that you must sell a good and cheap product to have attention, when the aware is enough, sell the same unit but whit high profit and much less quality! :(

This is very common here in Brazil where we have low to no fiscalization on those crimes :confused:

But pehaps we are all wrong, let us hope that all be a misunderstood !!

Mine is V3 and 1080p i guess, but it IS 1080p

And Nimo where are those pics :D !?

m1ck3ym0us3

06-05-06, 03:21 AM

i dont think Sceptre would drop the 1080p business. thats probably where theyre getting most of their sales IMO.

lambretta76

06-05-06, 09:14 AM

Remember that the retail price on the 1080p 37" is not $1,499.99 - that's the sale price Costco offers. TigerDirect has it for $1,449. The manufacturer's price is actually $1,999.99, though the most expensive I've seen it is $1,679.99 at PC Mall. If their manufacturer's price on this set is $1,499.99, they are saying that 1080p - in their eyes - is worth a $500 charge.

jvargasg

06-05-06, 10:01 AM

I don't know what you guys are talking about, that's just another TV, a 37" LCD 720P with a lower price off course, aim to a different market, for the people that doesn't use it for PC, just a plain 720P HDTV like everything else out there, but with the already known by us, Sceptre low prices. Just hope the quality is good for those of you thinking in get that one. But keep in mind, is not this same unit and they are not replacing it. It's just another model.

ricphu

06-05-06, 04:27 PM

edit

ricphu

06-05-06, 04:29 PM

m1ck3ym0us3

06-05-06, 04:52 PM

nice desktop. drool..

i think theres a program from stardock that lets you use buttons like those.

Neomoon

06-05-06, 09:25 PM

From the look of it you're using windows, how did you get your desktop to behave like a mac?

In order to get the "theme" to change in windows I use a program called StyleXP as far as the taskbar at the bottom I use a program called yzdock. I feel it is better then any other taskbar program out there (i.e. stardock) simply becuase it uses very little if any resources to run.

The calender and todo list is powered by Rainlender, and the gaswatch and folding clock are Yahoo (used to be called Konfabulator) widgets.

Then simply set my desktop to hide all desktop icons and I'm good to go.

hakujin

06-05-06, 09:36 PM

nice desktop. drool..

i think theres a program from stardock that lets you use buttons like those.

I dunno about you guys but to me...

It certainly does point out how crappy bitmap images render in (greater) size. This is one of the reasons Vista will incorporate vector graphics (ala Aero Interface). Too bad there's no way to incorporate the good (Aero) while doing away with the bad (DRM and general intrusivenesss) w/ Vista. Me thinks next year it'll be time for me to go OSX (or successor).

Hey Nimo, I'll try those beta drivers but what does the 9500k and 4500k mean? I've seen that bounced around a lot but I"m not expert. Are those temperature settings that boost the color saturation or the like?

J3p4

06-06-06, 09:42 AM

Neomoon

06-06-06, 03:28 PM

I've spent a while now reading about the first half of this post, and was curious if they have resolved any of those issues in newer revissions.

(issues like whether it displays DTV 1080i content in 1080i without resampling to 720p)

If they have, what is the latest model/revision number for this monitor?

The primary use of this will be as a PC monitor. Looks like a lot of you love the way it looks connected to your comp. I've been going back and forth for about a month now between the X37SV-Naga and the Dell 30" 3007wfp.

Has anyone seen these two in action enough to provide a comparison?

Thanks in advance,
Phil

I have not seen the two in action, but the reason I decided to take the jump for this monitor was based on what I was looking for.

As a college student I had limited funds, I was running a dual monitor setup with two 19" CRTs on my desk. Needless to say they were taking up alot of room on my desk, and it was also very had for me to work on some of my programming projects without the deskspace. I decided to go for dual LCD setup to replace my CRTs, at the same time I figured that now would be a good time for me to jump into the HDTV scene. So I also concidered buying a HDTV tuner to go along with my dual monitor setup.

Then I was selected for an intenship that provided me with some extra money and I began reading about how some people were getting good results with HDTVs as thier computer monitors. I figured this was the way for me to go becuase not only would I get my deskspace back but I would also get a good HDTV at the same time. Sure some people say it's very hard on you neck to sit too close to this set but my setup worked just right for me, and in the end I got a 37" HDTV at the same time. I couldn't be happier with my purchase.

Jgigs

06-06-06, 03:52 PM

Does anyone notice an issue when in a dark image the light pulses? Sometimes when playing games and I go in and out of a dark then bright are the actual light pulses. Same thing happens while watching TV.

I was watching American Beauty on DVD and the chars were smoking weed next to a dimly lit building, the light would fade in and out. Anyone else notice this? I'm starting to think I have a lemon of a TV. :(

J3p4

06-06-06, 05:37 PM

Neomoon,

I also use my PC for programming. The reason I was looking at the Dell is because it offers a native resoluton of 2560x1600, and it's HDCP. Thats a lot of real estate. They are both in the same price range, but the dell has only one input, a DVI connection.

I would imagine an HD card would allow me to use the dell for HDTV and 360/ps3 gaming.

How do the analog channels come through on your spectra?

hakujin

06-06-06, 06:59 PM

Here's some more eye candy for you DouglasteR

1280x720p source though.. smoother framerate for my aging 6800...

Half Life 2 Episode One

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/2338/hl2ep14ke.th.jpg (http://img196.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hl2ep14ke.jpg)
http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/9628/hl2ep125ka.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hl2ep125ka.jpg)

DouglasteR

06-06-06, 09:24 PM

hakujin

06-06-06, 10:00 PM

Thanks for the photos :D ! But i dont want Screenshots, but Photos of the monitor running games by Digicam, SS dont do the justice !!

But thanks again :p

Fair enough, but in my opinion, screenshots are the only way to appreciate the true definition of the Sceptre or to do it justice.

Enjoy your screen when you get it (or if you've gotten it).

Cheers!

DouglasteR

06-06-06, 11:49 PM

Fair enough, but in my opinion, screenshots are the only way to appreciate the true definition of the Sceptre or to do it justice.

Enjoy your screen when you get it (or if you've gotten it).

Cheers!

Of Course, but to me see the dimensions and the size of the panel, must be a high res digicam photo !! 1280x720 ido here too, can you spare some shots of it :D ?

And no, i dont get it yet, but i will bought it this week and will arrive for me at least day 2# i believe ! Wish me luck :D

kingjamez

06-06-06, 11:56 PM

I just got a V1 outer case (power switch on back) with a QAM tuner and 05/09/23 19:43 firmware. I'm having the 60hz judder issue. The judder stops when I go to 53hz in powerstrip. However I eagerly await the PS3 which is said to do 1080P@60hz. I really don't want to go through the hassel of sending this back to Scepter. Is there a known way to fix the judder issue yet, or do I have to send it back for a FW upgrade?

-Jim

s2ktaxi

06-07-06, 12:49 AM

hakujin

06-07-06, 12:59 AM

Of Course, but to me see the dimensions and the size of the panel, must be a high res digicam photo !! 1280x720 ido here too, can you spare some shots of it :D ?

If we've seen one digital pic of the tv itself, haven't we seen them all? I don't mean to sound cynical but there seems to be a pattern... bright blurry screen, and dark bezel that likes to make the aperture wacky type-of-pictures. Plus, the bezel isn't this tv's strong suit.

With all respect, it just doesn't seem to me that there is a whole lot to be gleaned (or frankly appreciated) from a pic of the TV itself, instead of a screenshot which represents what the some of the best content will look like on the tv.

Perhaps I was more blown away then anyone else here when I took my own screenshots of nature on PBS. This TV has colors to die for when equipped with the right content and it took buying this thing to force my PC into the living room. Now I don't want to put it back!

Similiarly, I've had my PC for almost 3 years and haven't used the SPDIF (Optical Out) on my mainboard until now... it's nice finally having static free distortion free audio that doesn't amplify the noise from my case fans... I thought I was going to have to buy a PCI sound card; not anymore!

Now, I don't mean to be greedy as this tv was worth the dough, but if Sceptre (by some stroke of luck) releases this same TV at a $500 price drop come August, I'm going to be an extremely happy camper! [fingers crossed]

m1ck3ym0us3

06-07-06, 02:42 AM

I dunno about you guys but to me...

It certainly does point out how crappy bitmap images render in (greater) size. This is one of the reasons Vista will incorporate vector graphics (ala Aero Interface). Too bad there's no way to incorporate the good (Aero) while doing away with the bad (DRM and general intrusivenesss) w/ Vista. Me thinks next year it'll be time for me to go OSX (or successor).

Hey Nimo, I'll try those beta drivers but what does the 9500k and 4500k mean? I've seen that bounced around a lot but I"m not expert. Are those temperature settings that boost the color saturation or the like?

the drool was for the chick btw lol..

DouglasteR

06-07-06, 08:28 AM

Let me show you some shots hakujin my friend that i would really like to see in this thread, showing both the glory and resolution goodness of the Naga 37 !

http://members.cox.net/mhpetruzz/bf22650c.jpg

hakujin

06-07-06, 09:05 AM

the drool was for the chick btw lol..

most certainly :)

DouglasteR

06-07-06, 09:22 AM

And two more :D

http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/3903/ok13ty.th.jpg (http://img68.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ok13ty.jpg)

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/2123/ok23ai.th.jpg (http://img163.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ok23ai.jpg)

Pecs

06-07-06, 01:37 PM

m1ck3ym0us3

06-07-06, 08:22 PM

Cloud zer0

06-07-06, 09:11 PM

Ordered mine a few minutes ago
I shall join yall in da mayhem that is Sceptre :D
(Costco, I live in CA so it should be a week I think as I convinced my boss to get one too :P)

Nimo

06-08-06, 12:43 AM

Hey Nimo, I'll try those beta drivers but what does the 9500k and 4500k mean? I've seen that bounced around a lot but I"m not expert. Are those temperature settings that boost the color saturation or the like?

Those are color temp settings 6500k is what you try to acheive for overall color balance. Make sure you set viewing to advanced to open up the extra features.

sylo

06-08-06, 12:49 AM

wait, thats a sceptre x37? how come the bevel is so thin? i have an orange led on mine.

no it looks like a dell to me...

DouglasteR

06-08-06, 12:55 AM

wait, thats a sceptre x37? how come the bevel is so thin? i have an orange led on mine.

Certanly not, its a Dell 30'', but its just an exemple of how i need the shots of the Sceptre :o

Look these pics from the Westy 37 ! They are all uber photos !

Can anyone take some photos like these ? Thanks for you patient :)

http://soadstreet.net/lcdtv/tv1.jpg
http://soadstreet.net/lcdtv/tv2.jpg
http://soadstreet.net/lcdtv/tv3.jpg
http://soadstreet.net/lcdtv/tv4.jpg

sylo

06-08-06, 01:33 AM

ill take some when i get my tv on friday

donsev

06-08-06, 11:08 AM

Sorry to double post (and sorry for pacja) but I saw this on the Costco/BB/CC thread and just had to post this here to see if the culprit one of those among us :eek:

Does Coscto resell refurbished Sceptre TVs ?

I just received "new" Sceptre x37 LCD TV/Monitor that I purchased online via Costco. While reading manual, I found an insert in it that at first I didn't know what think about (see below) :(
Why would someone do that ?

It seems that this unit has been returned from some unhappy customer and sold to me. :mad:

I was expecting some of the cons mentioned in that addendum, others items were news to me. However, I was expecting to receive NEW unit and not used/refurbished one !!
Should I return/exchange this LCD TV ?
Are there other 37 LCDs out there with similar feature set and without these issues ?

------------------------- Copied from the insert in manual -------------------------

Supplemental Addendum

Congratulations you have just purchased on of the most ineptly designed HDTV. and it's been previously owned as well!

Some of the wonderful features of this TV:

The inability to display the industry standard HDTV 1080i format through the RGB port. Sure you may be able to switch your equipment to 720p which will work. But why did you by a TV capable of displaying 1080 lines in the first place?

The picture in picture will not work between two HDTV sources. I bet you didn't like HD anyway?

Think if would be nice to be able to select between video sources with separate buttons? Well the designer didn't, and he made it very slow as well.

This set is also equipped with one of the industries slowest DTV tuners. How can you improve on that? Designit so you can't go directly to the subchannel you want to watch. The options is there but the implementations faulty so it doesn't work. Can you say S L O W?

If you think adding an echo to the sound is Surround Sound then you are a happy camper. If you want real Dolby Surround Sound your out of luck, they cleverly did not include Digital Audio Output jack.

You want to watch both digital and analog TV stations? Well you have to buy an antenna splitter and cables because this TV has separate antenna connection. How stupid is that?

Unless you stole this, remember to keep the packing material.

----------------------- end -----------------------------

Fortunately, I can return it to any Costco location and receive full refund inc. SH.

cheers.

Istari1

06-08-06, 02:05 PM

While I am sure you dont find that insert funny. . . well I do. Had me laughing out loud at my desk, maybe I should stop forum surfing at work:) Can we have those mass produced and put into every returned set??? Damn, thats classic.

sfhub

06-08-06, 02:39 PM

If you are lucky the TV is new and the manual is refurbished. It is kind of funny.

Istari1

06-08-06, 03:34 PM

funtownarcade

06-09-06, 01:33 AM

WHAT! As much as I love this TV trust me the 360 menus dont look that good on it, if someone can get it to look like that please let me know. In fact my 360 is really dark.

Anyway I just wanted to say that I bought the cheapest set of bunny ears at Wall Mart, seven bucks! At first I plugged it into the wrong port, and only got two really fuzzy channels, without this thread I would have never known better but after checking here I realized i was plugging them into the wrong port. Of course when I tried to screw it into that port the entire plug fell off the TV! I just stuck it back in there. I also wouldnt have even known about the DTV menu without this thread, I was surprised to see that it picked up 18 CHANNELS, many of which are HD! Beautifull 1080i, still I can't even believe it. The guide is awesome, shows me whats comming on at what time. But is there a way to see whats on on other channels while still watching another channel?

BSteely

06-09-06, 02:09 AM

donsev

06-09-06, 10:37 AM

I have no doubt the TV is used, after all the posts on here of people who are on their 2nd or 3rd one. Do you really think Costco just returns them to sceptre? When you return them they ask why, and if it works properly. If you say yes then they just restock it (maybe they test it also).

I am wondering about this, too. I just received my new, v3 today. Looks to be new. I guess I better check my manual. :D I bought this to replace my v1. My v1 suffered a failure of the HDMI port. It's like a mechanical failure, not an electrical failure. Like solder on some of the pins broke off internally. I have to wrap a rubber band around the HDMI cable and then pull it to one side in order to maintain a connection. So back it goes. But where are returned units going? It seems that somewhere there should be a building bone pile of refurbished units. Where are they?

We don't know (or at least those that know aren't talking) what happens to the sets that are returned. What we do know is that all of the sets ordered through Costco are shipped directly from Sceptre (to my knowledge, no one has reported differently). What this means is that it is Sceptre that is repackaging set for resale as new (if the reports are accurate). This does not leave Costco off the hook, since it has also been reported that they have been informed of this practice.

The best approach would be that those who have received what appear to be repackaged sets, contact Costco customer support to report this to their management. If Costco is "unaware" of this practice that is one thing, if Costco is condoning this practice, that is another issue entirely.

Nimo

06-09-06, 01:16 PM

Polypro

06-09-06, 03:20 PM

You might want to try the 91.28 drivers I've been using them for a while and it has this neat little switch for inverse telecine :) And RGB Gamma custom settings so you can get up to 9500k I've got mine set to 6500k for videos I really dig these new drivers lots of enhancements with the new control panel. Btw try MPC it will use any codec you want.

Hey Nimo,

I tried the 91.28's...switching from a calibrated (Desktop with a video level bitmap, and video with GetGray's calibration disk) display (user mode), to using the 91 seies color temp, everything but 9500K was way to red. Did you re-calibrate for the color temp? Before 91.28, desktop contrast was set with the Sceptre (154), black level with the driver (98%), and gamma with the driver's optimization routine. Video levels were set with the calibration disk and the nVIDIA MPEG2 decoder sliders and Sceptre RGB sliders. Isn't "Calibrated" the same whether nVIDIA's Color Temp setting is used or not?

P

hakujin

06-09-06, 06:44 PM

@ Hakujin ever since I switched to the 91.28's I've been getting really good results using VLC for .ts files my cpu barely wakes up using VLC. I'm getting 0 to 8% cpu usage. Nvidia decoder runs the same files at 30 % along with PDVD 7 Deluxe with audio packs.

That's pretty shweet! What kind of rig are you running? I get about 15 to 20% on the mpeg2 .ts (HD) stuff through both WMP10 and nstantmedia (both with pure video). I haven't tested VLC yet. I've been going through a bunch of nightly builds trying to see if MBAFF H.264 is weeded it out. Apparently not, but I have seen some folks having positive results with the latest CoreAVC (1.1). However, not sure I wanna lay down the cash for it just yet. I'm fiending to play some BBC Planet Earth content on the brilliant Sceptre and it runs about 15fps or less (no hardware acceleration for my card on that one) in PowerDVD 7 and the one VLC that manages to even run it (freeHD) locks up at 100% CPU. If you can try those MBAFF h.264 files on for size and shoot back your results to me. I think if I had a 7900 (and many others), I could offload it, but the other problem is lack of support for MBAFF.

I was having problems with those beta drivers at first. Lots of anomalies like screen constantly cycling same resolution causing the blue screens every 5 seconds and a few other things here and there (such as not being able to change resolution). Seems ok now, for the most part. I actually got so used to the old interface (as opposed to the control panel), I now find it was more intuitive (for me). I'll stick with them though. The deinterlacing option seems nice but it's functionality is rather limited with the 6800s.

It is nice playing the .ts files without stressin' the system isn't it... I think I have that same flick in 1080i ;)

"Pretty, it is" says Yoda.

Nimo

06-09-06, 09:35 PM

Hey Nimo,

I tried the 91.28's...switching from a calibrated (Desktop with a video level bitmap, and video with GetGray's calibration disk) display (user mode), to using the 91 seies color temp, everything but 9500K was way to red. Did you re-calibrate for the color temp? Before 91.28, desktop contrast was set with the Sceptre (154), black level with the driver (98%), and gamma with the driver's optimization routine. Video levels were set with the calibration disk and the nVIDIA MPEG2 decoder sliders and Sceptre RGB sliders. Isn't "Calibrated" the same whether nVIDIA's Color Temp setting is used or not?

P

Everything on the TV is set to user mode but the only thing I touched was the black gain, and the lamp set at 2. Skin tones, colors all set to off Everything else is pretty much at default all other calibrations are done strictly through the PC. Color temp is set to video levels at 6500k, TV’s black gain set at 8 and using the nVidia control panel DT Gamma/Saturation are toned way down to balance out the reds. Brightness & Contrast corrections are also mapped from DT to video here’s a screenie of my settings. No calibration disks were used I always use the built in GUI in the control panel and get a basic setting and then I start custom setting everything the way I like it by eye.
http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/9128.jpg

Hakujin I'll try those files tonight and see how they play, I'm only running a 2 gig "winnie" with two gigs of ram on a raided 0 array with two gigs of PL 3200 OCZ and XFX 7800GT on a DFI Ultra D . As you know nVidia drivers are hit and miss with different systems some people are reverting back to what worked, while others like me are going to stick with these. They pinned a new beta again at nZone 91.31's the only thing I can see different is support for the 7950 GX2 I just friggin installed these ones and don't feel like doing it again. Besides these are not getting very good reviews, but then again neither did 91.28's some like'em others trashed them.

hakujin

06-09-06, 10:03 PM

Hakujin I'll try those files tonight and see how they play,

Please do. It'd be interesting but I think your GPU can handle it, with what's out there now. But tonight?! You must have a fat pipe.

I'm only running a 2 gig "winnie"

What's a winnie?

XFX 7800GT on a DFI Ultra D .

That explains your 10% lower CPU consumption.

As you know nVidia drivers are hit and miss with different systems some people are reverting back to what worked, while others like me are going to stick with these.

Yes, I know. Some posted a loss in performance after converting. I haven't done any game benchmarking but the initial problems were irritating. NPV is occasionally rebooting my pc now too, if I do something erratic in nstantmedia... strange, but probably something else (I've been uninstalling and installing powerdvd a lot. I'm done with that software now... don't want it, don't need it, and no performance gain in the only thing that's not presently playing (all the new BBC MBAFF stuff).

Cloud zer0

06-09-06, 11:25 PM

The TV is here! :D

Version: How do i check what Version it is??
Dead Pixels: NO dead pixels i have seen (and I wont check!, don't want it bugging me lol)
DCI:Strange because I haven't seen the DCI kick in at all yet..
ATSC: Fricking piece of junk input thingy came off!! (yeah I barely touched it)It works, but I ma gonna have to epoxy glue it in lol.
Good news: All sources display correct resolution, 1080i, 720p.
Upscaled 1080i does not reach sides of screen, only true 1080i does.
Box: Theres no original box? Its a plain cardboard box.
HDMI: has same issue that others are having, probably

Problem: I put in S VIDEO from Gamecube to AV1, but selecting it shows NO SIGNAL? <--fixed. The S video input is a pain, it must literally be forced into there.

I got self educated today..
Source PC has the actual DTV (Digital TV/Hidef) input for the ATSC tuner. Yeah I never had this type of setup before..

So theres 3 sources. DTV, Cable and AIR.

DTV looks pretty good even if its 480i, its a lot better looking than Cable 480i and much better than air 480i.

DVI from computer input is something else, totally amazing!! For those who care about black level detail, its great! I have my 22" crt side by side and got it calibrated almost identical to it at 6500K using the USER mode.I can see all the details in underwater scenes and dark scences in say Batman Begins 1080p trailer, I can see everything !
Just had to adjust it correctly.
Anything for any resolution looks great on the DVI pc, 720p looks pretty decent and 480p looks good too. Upscaled video is eye dropping and 1080p is jus breathtaking!
like I said, analog 480i is crap. Just put it on Digital TV and you'll be A-ok that you got an LCD!

about 1080i, For my version it appears the resolution is very clear and compared to my NEC 22" Crt at 1080 res too, Its close, so I don't believe I got one that downscales and upscales again.

Will try to take pix via With games/trailers on!

Next problem:

How to get Clone PC mode with ATi? Its a pain, I want both displays to mirror each other, but at different resolutions , while Sceptre shows full screen overlay and 3d.
It did work with My TV. ATi driver is being a pain, got any ideas?
If i try to change both resolutions independently it asked to "extend my desktop" no, I want cloned desks with different res and one tv to do the Full screen modes.

Finally Yeah besides the problems that I HOPE to be solved, I haven't seen any issues, I sure got lucky and won't need to return! First one is a win!!

Nimo

06-09-06, 11:41 PM

@Polypro I also forgot to mention I turned all the enhancements off in the TV's OSD.

Please do. It'd be interesting but I think your GPU can handle it, with what's out there now. But tonight?! You must have a fat pipe.

Urmm.. that site won't let you play the files unless you live in the UK :mad: :D Girlfriend left for Amsterdam two days ago.

What's a winnie?

AMD 64 3200 Winchester CPU.

(I've been uninstalling and installing powerdvd a lot. I'm done with that software now... don't want it, don't need it, and no performance gain in the only thing that's not presently playing (all the new BBC MBAFF stuff).
What problems are you running into? What are your system specs might I ask?

hakujin

06-10-06, 01:40 AM

Urmm.. that site won't let you play the files unless you live in the UK :mad: :D Girlfriend left for Amsterdam two days ago.

We're on two different wavelengths on this one. ;)

What problems are you running into? What are your system specs might I ask?

Well, little things that that can be resolved... you know, the typical windows things when installing and uninstalling codecs too much. System freeze, error, reboot, yada yada. With PowerDVD, I just feel it's a waste for me. It doesn't do anything more then the others and I"m a bit of a minimalist. However, I did just install the WMP11 Beta, and let me just say... WOW! Vast improvements from before. I love the whole layout and shuffling my SDA smartphone is even cooler now.

My specs are
Abit IC7-G
3.0Ghz Northwood P4
1GB Geil 3200 DDR
Nvidia 6800 128MB AGP

Not important but worth mentioning I guess >
2 Seagate 120GB SATA drives
1 WD 250 PATA drive (w/Serial Adapter)

As I understand it, the new BBC h.264 streams are very high bitrate (20MB+) and use a form of interlacing called MBAFF. Not too many systems can handle these in real time, those that do are maxed to the limit (from what I've read).

CoreAVC just today I think, came out with 1.1 which is supposed to handle those streams but I don't know if my system is capable because I haven't got it.

I

Davandron

06-10-06, 01:50 PM

Ok a quick silly question; what is the animal on the front of the Spectre box?

Kimoto Dragon? Is it wearing a bow tie? It looks really weird as a line art on the box. They have a color version of it on their website:
http://www.sceptre.com/images/sceptre-logo-01.jpg

BTW, I've owned for a while and don't think I've commented. Its a great display, I really like it, but if the menus were worse it wouldn't be usable. My brother-in-law got the Syntax 37 and I have to say it has far better menus and controls.

sylo

06-10-06, 03:12 PM

I got my yesterday, it is amazing, however i think i got one that was repacked... and i have some random blue dots come up when watching dvds on the 360.

here are some pics sorry they are not the best, house it dirty, and the lcd on my camera is broken so im shooting blind...

http://www.uploadfile.info/uploads/a4889a6c63.jpg
http://www.uploadfile.info/uploads/8d24112049.jpg
http://www.uploadfile.info/uploads/6f506b8b71.jpg
http://www.uploadfile.info/uploads/38e2e90d58.jpg

sledge1234

06-10-06, 03:19 PM

It is a Komodo dragon. Sceptre has a line of smaller LCD displays - Komodo.
Ok a quick silly question; what is the animal on the front of the Spectre box?

Kimoto Dragon? Is it wearing a bow tie? It looks really weird as a line art on the box. They have a color version of it on their website:
http://www.sceptre.com/images/sceptre-logo-01.jpg

BTW, I've owned for a while and don't think I've commented. Its a great display, I really like it, but if the menus were worse it wouldn't be usable. My brother-in-law got the Syntax 37 and I have to say it has far better menus and controls.

DouglasteR

06-10-06, 06:06 PM

Nimo

06-10-06, 07:06 PM

How to get Clone PC mode with ATi? Its a pain, I want both displays to mirror each other, but at different resolutions , while Sceptre shows full screen overlay and 3d.

Do you mean like this?
http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/atc.jpg
Everything is a right click do not go into windows property's use only the ATI new control panel. Codecs are run by default depending on your player..

phillipds

06-10-06, 10:13 PM

RaBoot

06-11-06, 01:18 AM

Ok i have read the first 20 pages of this thread and the last few, far to much information to take in at one time.
I have a few question if anyone would be so kind to answer for me.
First of I watch movies and play Xbox 360 and watch a little digital cable. But primarly i want a new set for my 360 and for hd/blueray i plan on getting a ps3 also.
So i have norrowed my selection down to the Sceptra and The westinghouse.
So which should i go for? thanks for the help.

Hi... good choices, the things I can think of at the moment, the Sceptre has built in TV tuners, Westy does not, you have to buy separately, but wait, I just checked the Westy 37, and it says it now has HDTV/NTSC tuners, but I believe the native resolution is 1366x768, not good for a PC monitor. Sceptre has 1 HDMI port and a VGA port, resoultion 1920x1080... nice for PC display. Westy has 2 DVI ports and a VGA port. I think another version has the HDMI + 2 DVI and a VGA (Westy has too many versions of 37", it's hard to keep up!). What is your preference. I went with the Sceptre, and I'm very happy with it. I use it more as a PC monitor than TV (It's excellent as a PC display) , but I find myself watching more TV now, than in the past (I guess because I didn't even have a TV... hehe).

I'm sure you'll get more input from the good people here in this forum.

Best luck in your decision.
....BR

Cloud zer0

06-11-06, 01:41 AM

Ok i have read the first 20 pages of this thread and the last few, far to much information to take in at one time.
I have a few question if anyone would be so kind to answer for me.
First of I watch movies and play Xbox 360 and watch a little digital cable. But primarly i want a new set for my 360 and for hd/blueray i plan on getting a ps3 also.
So i have norrowed my selection down to the Sceptra and The westinghouse.
So which should i go for? thanks for the help.

I own the sceptre and VERY happy with it :D
The westinghouse 1080p 37" i tried in store and adjusted the brightness but it was still VERY GRAY. Black levels were very terrible as well as color purity seemed off.
To me, there is a light and day difference between the two, and just because it is 1080p, doesn't mean it represents quality.
Just my two cents ;)

NIMO I did that, but then when i go click on display 2, it asks me if I want to EXTEND my display, and I have to hit yes, to go on. But once I do that, its no longer cloned mode anymore but extended mode!!!

also I got the ps2 Av1/component/480i to look acceptable now. It seems that it requires more brightness, a bit more Contrast, MORE saturation and More sharpness than all the other sources, they must be all exaggerated a deal to make it work effectively, but still, its very very aliased, stairstepped. However, color quality is a lot better now and has went to crap to "acceptable, and sometimes even "good" -same thing for Gamecube, but GCN its worse on s video.

I still need an answer on
Q: How do check version/debug version?
Whatever ver it is, it comes with none of the problems the others have.

phillipds

06-11-06, 02:37 AM

Forgive my lack of knowlege, but will the 360 with the vga adapter still look as good as HDMI, what is the better standard. The 360 is suposed to come out with a external hd-DVD player and i am hoping that they will come out with a HDMI adapter.

:EDIT:

Ok if this artical turns out to be true i will be pissed.
The first thing I did when I got my hands on the HD-DVD drive mock-up Microsoft had on display at E3 06, was to check its back side. When I found that there was only a power socket and three USB ports, I approached a Microsoft representative to ask where the HDMI port was, or if they plan to release an HDMI Xbox 360 AV cable when the external HD-DVD drive launches. His response was:
i cant post the link because i dont have 5 post yet but, if you head on over to teamxbox and go Editorials it the first one called The Secret HDMI Pact.

DouglasteR

06-11-06, 03:31 AM

And yes, the last dashboard update have fixed the VGA washed colors on X360, now vga is the way on the sceptre :D

Nimo

06-11-06, 05:52 AM

Cloud zer0 after you right click to enable the 2nd monitor go back to desktop and display setup. Right click on the second pictured monitor and a drop down menu will appear it will then list the different arrangments for setting up your monitor. Heres what it should look like just before you go to clone mode.http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/atc.jpg

hakujin

06-11-06, 09:53 AM

i cant post the link because i dont have 5 post yet but, if you head on over to teamxbox and go Editorials it the first one called The Secret HDMI Pact.

I haven't checked out what you're saying, but from what I've read over at the scene, the 360 has a very mimimal chance of ever supporting HDMI because essentially, folks have toggled that port with various (as in all) flags and they are all analog, as in no digital; no hdmi. I think what we might see in the future if hdmi becomes a req for full res is HDMI from HD-DVD player add-on to TV + component video or vga from 360 to TV. Wouldn't that look like garbage? Either that are they might backstab the early adopters and release newer 360s with all digital interfaces. Who knows... they're already lowering the manufacturing process to 65nm for the cpu in January. Maybe when (or if) we have a next gen optical format winner, the drive will be internal. I think I might wait in the meantime (took my 360 back) and just play super, super mario (wii).

And yes, the last dashboard update have fixed the VGA washed colors on X360, now vga is the way on the sceptre :D

That's great news! And eliminated the darkness of component I suppose too eh? Now if we could only get rid of that stupid contrast bug with the Sceptre. It's a shame with this beautiful lcd, but you just about have to hope everything comes out with HDMI and get a switch.

Cloud zer0

06-11-06, 03:03 PM

THanks I did that, but if I do exactly what you tell me, then

Monitor one is 1280x960, (NEC 4:3 CRT ) then Sceptre becomes 1600x1200.
Nimo I really appreciate your time to try to help me! :D

I need Monitor 1 in 1280x960, then sceptre at 1920x1080. Then I chose ENABLE
and hit yes, and made its once again EXTEND mode -_-. I can't change the sceptre to 1920x1080 when the NEC is in 4:3.

It wont let me have 2 different aspect ratio setups, either both monitors are 1920x1080, or both are in any combo of WD resolutions.

Note that this was not a problem when I was using TV out on Monitor +4:3 TV.
I was able to have both in different resolutions.

Another issue,
ZOOMING: I can't zoom in on letterboxes, and then on Zoom full it shifts the image way to the bottom covering up the bottom half, letter boxing the top and left and right, with the bottom has image shifted there.
Theres only a few Zom modes to cyccle on, and how could I go wrong?
Zoom Full, AUTO, 16:9, 4:3 and Zoom subtitle.

I really think I should be allowed to make different threads for problems, as this thread is huge, I think no one even sees most of my questions. I was lucky that you saw mine.

Cloud zer0 after you right click to enable the 2nd monitor go back to desktop and display setup. Right click on the second pictured monitor and a drop down menu will appear it will then list the different arrangments for setting up your monitor. Heres what it should look like just before you go to clone mode.http://home.earthlink.net/~smurfer/atc.jpg

VenomXTF

06-11-06, 06:23 PM

Tried taking a couple photos of Oblivion for the guy that asked. I can also upload the full resolution ones I used in my review, if someone gives me a place that I can upload 1+ meg images, provided I still have them.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i157/venomxtf/IMG_1528.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i157/venomxtf/IMG_1532.jpg

zeca22

06-11-06, 08:47 PM

zeca22

06-11-06, 08:50 PM

BSteely

06-12-06, 12:40 AM

Well, I see others have made this comment ahead of me, but I am not as happy with the picture on my v3 compared with my v1 which broke (HDMI input failed) and had to be returned. I spent a lot of time setting up my v3 this weekend and even had the two running side-by-side for several hours off the same source, which was very enlightening. Here are the things I noticed between the v3 and the v1.

Black didn't look as good, off axis, on the v3 compared with the v1. However, I have to say about this that if I tried to match the brightness of the two sets, which meant putting the v3 on lamp setting 0 and the v1 on lamp setting 4, then the blacks looked more equivalent. But still I felt the v1 was better.

The range of adjustment on the lamp setting is smaller compared to the v1, which wasn't that great to begin with. I am really unhappy about this. Watching TV at night in a darkened room can be painful whenever the picture has a high degree of white or light content in it, even with the lamp set at 0.

But by far the thing that troubles me most is the white point, or lack thereof. I was very happy with the color of my v1. My v3 has a greenish tint to white that I can't get out. It affects the whole picture, including flesh tones.

I notice in debug mode when you hit the 3 button you get a "WHITE BALANCE" menu with the words "SOURCE ERROR" in red and also "YES" and "NO" with no also being in red. Has anyone figured out how to do anything inside this menu? It suggests that the left right arrows will "ADJUST" and the up down arrows will do "ITEM" select, but I can't get those buttons, or any other buttons I have tried on the remote, to do anything.

By the way, both panels are T37HW01 in the debug menu, so it's not like they come from different manufacturers.

VenomXTF

06-12-06, 12:48 AM

PC version. Zeca, I will get more shots soon, it's really hard to get a good focus on the screen. Most shots (you have no idea how many I had to go through and throw out for my review...) come out blurry and it's a big pain in the butt.

zeca22

06-12-06, 12:57 AM

Nimo

06-12-06, 07:50 AM

Cloud zer0, assuming you have force TV detection on and HD resolutions checked off what are the resolutions listed in the TV's desktop area? It should list the resolutions that the 2nd TV can support and 1920x1080 should be listed, if not then check off extend EDID to 2nd display see if it reads the TV's EDID properly. Not only that but some dual DVI headers on certain cards only support dual link on one DVI header might want to check into that.

kidnuclear

06-12-06, 09:28 AM

I went through this thread but due to many differnt opinions i was lost.
so my question is what are the issues,problems,flaws with the v3 & v3++(all of them)

thank u,
zak

Carmichael

06-12-06, 03:17 PM

RaBoot

06-12-06, 03:26 PM

I've had my TV for a few months and I am mostly happy with it but there is one problem that I've noticed, I don't know if it has been mentioned in this thread already.

When viewing HD programming sometimes I notice little purple pixels in certain spots. Sometimes they're randomly showing up in one area that has similar colors or they show up in a semi-random vertical line. Not every pixel in the vertical line is purple but about 10% are and it is very noticable.

This problem does not occur a lot, in fact it is pretty rare. Is it a problem with the TV or possibly something in the cabling or the way I receive HD channels? I'm using a ~7 year old Radioshack roof antenna to get HD OTA.

I just want to know if this is a problem that could get worse or if I should just return/exchange the tv (if I can, we've had it since december, bought from costco).

I emailed Sceptre tech support, and here was thier response:

********WARNING : DO NOT ADJUST ANYTHING ELSE BESIDES WHAT WAS
INSTRUCTED. IF YOU ADJUST OTHER SETTINGS, THERE IS NO WAY TO RESET THE
TV BACK TO IT’S DEFAULT SETTINGS.*******************

Turn on the TV, and press both volume buttons physically located on the
TV simultaneously. A debug message should display. Press the button "1"
on your Sceptre TV remote control. A flat rectangular gray window
should
open at the bottom labeled Memory Delay. Adjust that with your volume +
or – buttons located on the TV remote until the visual anomalies are
gone (USUALLY PEOPLE USE THE VALUE 2 OR BELOW). Press exit multiple
times. Turn off the TV, and unplug the power cord. Wait 5-10 minutes,
and then plug the power cord back to the power source. This should
solve your visual problems.

Best Regards,
Sceptre Technical Support Group

Cloud zer0

06-12-06, 10:21 PM

I tried that on the TV several times, and even on the remote, but nothing happens but volume goes up /down. Maybe my version I can't do it?
Its possible its removed so people stop returning the tv and trading them out.

Btw I am able to get very deep black levels while retaining details compareable to my old crt. Its really amazing and I dont miss the 20" sony trinitron crt at all!

I emailed Sceptre tech support, and here was thier response:

********WARNING : DO NOT ADJUST ANYTHING ELSE BESIDES WHAT WAS
INSTRUCTED. IF YOU ADJUST OTHER SETTINGS, THERE IS NO WAY TO RESET THE
TV BACK TO IT’S DEFAULT SETTINGS.*******************

Turn on the TV, and press both volume buttons physically located on the
TV simultaneously. A debug message should display. Press the button "1"
on your Sceptre TV remote control. A flat rectangular gray window
should
open at the bottom labeled Memory Delay. Adjust that with your volume +
or – buttons located on the TV remote until the visual anomalies are
gone (USUALLY PEOPLE USE THE VALUE 2 OR BELOW). Press exit multiple
times. Turn off the TV, and unplug the power cord. Wait 5-10 minutes,
and then plug the power cord back to the power source. This should
solve your visual problems.

Best Regards,
Sceptre Technical Support Group

RaBoot

06-13-06, 12:19 AM

I tried that on the TV several times, and even on the remote, but nothing happens but volume goes up /down. Maybe my version I can't do it?
Its possible its removed so people stop returning the tv and trading them out.

I believe it's a function of the set to work like the tech prescribed. I do not know why you are not able to use the function. Do you press the buttons at exactly the same time? And I believe the remote does not play a part in the process.

Btw I am able to get very deep black levels while retaining details compareable to my old crt. Its really amazing and I dont miss the 20" sony trinitron crt at all!

That's great, black levels are a big plus I think when watching.

funtownarcade

06-13-06, 01:36 AM

Do all versions have the hidden digital audio out?

Koui

06-13-06, 04:12 AM

Here's proof that newer isn't always better :rolleyes:

Sceptre X37SV-NagaIV (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=687722)

Couldn't Sceptre come-up with an better model name than this? :confused:

lambretta76

06-13-06, 09:29 AM

I just received my Sceptre in time for the World Cup and I have to say that I am very, very impressed with the PQ. They blacks could be blacker (I think that there is a way to do that - I have the lamp at 0 but is there any way to get really nice black levels on the 06/03/29 firmware?), but the 1080i HD output by my Time Warner/SciAtlanta Explorer 8300 HD looks fantastic even over the component video inputs. (I haven't scored an HDMI cable yet - too expensive locally and Amazon has yet to ship.) Even the SD channels don't look too bad at my viewing distance of between 6 and 12 feet. (Some are much better than others.) 480p from my Samsung DVP642 DVD Player looks nice, though I might want to go for an upconverting DVD player at some point in the future.

jvargasg

06-13-06, 10:01 AM

thought I show you all some pictures of over the air HD content on the Sceptre.
Everybody looking at games on computers but I know there is a lot of people like me who use it just for TV.
Pictures don't look as good as in person, but you get the "picture"

Well I tried to attach a couple of pictures but they are over 2mb and limit is 500kb, and the size limit is 800x640 and my pictures are 3072x2304. And I was trying to get the best resolution possible out of my 7.2 megapixel camera just to make justice to the real PQ.

Anyway I modified them just to post them here, but if anyone has got a site that i can upload them in full res and post the link here that would be awsome.

Cloud zer0

06-13-06, 10:01 AM

I think I can agree with you. However for some reason I can get blacks as dark as the monitor "off" screen (watching Star wars new hope) and clearly see vader inside his dark spaceship, (when blowing up the death star).
This occurs on the DVI input. I wasn't able to get the darker black necessary on the other inputs so far.

Not sure why.

I just received my Sceptre in time for the World Cup and I have to say that I am very, very impressed with the PQ. They blacks could be blacker (I think that there is a way to do that - I have the lamp at 0 but is there any way to get really nice black levels on the 06/03/29 firmware?), but the 1080i HD output by my Time Warner/SciAtlanta Explorer 8300 HD looks fantastic even over the component video inputs. (I haven't scored an HDMI cable yet - too expensive locally and Amazon has yet to ship.) Even the SD channels don't look too bad at my viewing distance of between 6 and 12 feet. (Some are much better than others.) 480p from my Samsung DVP642 DVD Player looks nice, though I might want to go for an upconverting DVD player at some point in the future.

BSteely

06-13-06, 10:21 AM

Do all versions have the hidden digital audio out?

No, I think they stopped that after the original v1.

jpconard

06-13-06, 01:35 PM

Koui

06-13-06, 02:50 PM

I don't know but the price looks good for a week in August at a specific retailer.Half the pixels of the NagaIII for two-thirds the price...such a deal !!! :D

Kittunni

06-14-06, 02:10 AM

I notice in debug mode when you hit the 3 button you get a "WHITE BALANCE" menu with the words "SOURCE ERROR" in red and also "YES" and "NO" with no also being in red. Has anyone figured out how to do anything inside this menu? It suggests that the left right arrows will "ADJUST" and the up down arrows will do "ITEM" select, but I can't get those buttons, or any other buttons I have tried on the remote, to do anything.

The White Balance is working only in VGA-PC Mode. It allows you to select the YES, and it auto adjusts the White balance.

kidnuclear

06-14-06, 07:26 AM

what is the most accurate way to determine the firmware version of the this tv, is it the serial number or manifacturing date because on page 87 donsev posted dates does he mean the date that can be accessed in the system menu or what. if its from the serial number could u tell me which version coresponds to each number,
please help i'm a bit confused,
thank u for ur time,
zak

BSteely

06-14-06, 09:37 AM

The White Balance is working only in VGA-PC Mode. It allows you to select the YES, and it auto adjusts the White balance.

Thank you for the explanation.

donsev

06-14-06, 10:14 AM

what is the most accurate way to determine the firmware version of the this tv... on page 87 donsev posted dates does he mean the date that can be accessed in the system menu or what.

Yes. Specifically the Debug menu. Accessed via;
"Turn on the TV, and press both volume buttons physically located on the
TV simultaneously. A debug message should display." (On any input with no signal, press exit in the remote to exit).

The accuracy and relevance of the info displayed here relative to the firmware rev. is unproven.

Cloud zer0

06-14-06, 11:10 AM

Yes. Specifically the Debug menu. Accessed via;
"Turn on the TV, and press both volume buttons physically located on the
TV simultaneously. A debug message should display." (On any input with no signal, press exit in the remote to exit).

The accuracy and relevance of the info displayed here relative to the firmware rev. is unproven.
OK that was KEY info. People failed to tell me that when explaining how to access Debug info , how could they miss it..

Anyway, same one everyone has nowadays
March 29, 06 11:20
T37HW01

bshor

06-14-06, 02:39 PM

I seem to have activated closed captioning on my Sceptre, but only on the AV1 input from my ReplayTV. I can't for the life of me figure how to turn it off (or even how I turned it on). Any ideas?

Koui

06-14-06, 02:45 PM

CCD button on the Sceptre remote (bottom left).

kidnuclear

06-14-06, 03:36 PM

thank u all

hakujin

06-14-06, 06:47 PM

Half the pixels of the NagaIII for two-thirds the price...such a deal !!! :D

Yeah, but you have to ask:

a. How often are most people (inc. myself) utilizing all those extra pixels? I never leave my monitor in 1920 x 1080p for casual web surfing on my xp box; too small! Only when I'm watching a flick with the nStantMedia front end, which then leads to...

b. What is the res of the source material? If it's less then 1080 (h), it's not going to necessarily look better than this lesser Sceptre.

I think $999 is a nice deal for a 37" LCD, no matter which way you look at it. If the LCD is being used primarily for television, web browsing and xbox 360 (which as signs already show will mostly be a 720p machine) or the like, it's good enough. Who knows, if a thread here starts picking up, about good pq relation to this lcd, I may convert. :)

m1ck3ym0us3

06-15-06, 01:42 AM

Yeah, but you have to ask:

a. How often are most people (inc. myself) utilizing all those extra pixels? I never leave my monitor in 1920 x 1080p for casual web surfing on my xp box; too small! Only when I'm watching a flick with the nStantMedia front end, which then leads to...

b. What is the res of the source material? If it's less then 1080 (h), it's not going to necessarily look better than this lesser Sceptre.

I think $999 is a nice deal for a 37" LCD, no matter which way you look at it. If the LCD is being used primarily for television, web browsing and xbox 360 (which as signs already show will mostly be a 720p machine) or the like, it's good enough. Who knows, if a thread here starts picking up, about good pq relation to this lcd, I may convert. :)

i use that resolution to surf the internet...
plus, you can find a lot of high definition content on the internet.

Cloud zer0

06-15-06, 02:33 AM

ALL the time. Digital TV, which is 100% free, about 8 stations are in 1080i.
SO why down res to 768 lines?
ALmost all my HD channels are in 1080i, I only remember having 2 for 720p, even sports are half the time in 1080i.

Ok the fonts are HUGE since the monitor is BIGGER than your typical 19" monitor, so its all relative.

PC games, XBOX 360 games,(720p and1080i) ps3 upcoming games and all Movie will be in 1080p.
Later on all tv will be in digital.

THe monitor function is fantastic and pictures for digital camera which are 7 mp are much better. WHy view a 7mp Picture at .3 mp when you can at LEAST view it at 2 mp? You can also make the fonts larger a few percent if needed, but the START on start menu is like 5 inches wide lol..dont need to!!
*remember what i just said about the monitor being BIGGER.

Are you still reading this? How much more content do you need?
Besides you can upconvert your DVDS as well and make them look actually BETTER.
Now 100% of your content is in 1080 lines.

HELP:
Sceptre is too busy to help me! Called and no reps!!
How can i zoom in on letter box TV shows and films?
Whenever i do, the image gets pushed down to off center cutting off the whole half of the image, but still not zoooming in centrally. Where is letterbox zoom? oh pooie.

Yeah, but you have to ask:

a. How often are most people (inc. myself) utilizing all those extra pixels? I never leave my monitor in 1920 x 1080p for casual web surfing on my xp box; too small! Only when I'm watching a flick with the nStantMedia front end, which then leads to...

b. What is the res of the source material? If it's less then 1080 (h), it's not going to necessarily look better than this lesser Sceptre.

I think $999 is a nice deal for a 37" LCD, no matter which way you look at it. If the LCD is being used primarily for television, web browsing and xbox 360 (which as signs already show will mostly be a 720p machine) or the like, it's good enough. Who knows, if a thread here starts picking up, about good pq relation to this lcd, I may convert. :)

TrungGap

06-15-06, 04:35 AM

Okay, I took some pictures of the Sceptre display DirectTV through SVideo. Notice the horrible color/bleed/etc...

TrungGap

06-15-06, 04:40 AM

Now, using my cheapo $30 video capture card on my computer connecting to the Sceptre through DVI. DirectTV --(RCA/Composite)-->Video capture on computer--(DVI)--> Sceptre. Take a look at WinTVRCA1.jpg and WinTVRCA2.jpg.

Notice a difference? Why couldn't Sceptre put a better scaler....

TrungGap

06-15-06, 04:47 AM

Now, I took a still of a movie where a scene with gradation of brown in the background. On the Sceptre it wasn't smooth, its rather limited color range caused a noticable banding...I took the same picture but now on a CRT monitor (21" running 1600x1200). Now, taking a picture of CRT is kinda hard due the its nature, however in person, you would be very hard to see any kind of banding. The transition from one color to next is smooth. I know you can't compare CRT color range to LCD, however I have used other LCDs and while they can't compare to CRT, they sure beat Sceptre.

Koui

06-15-06, 06:58 AM

Okay, I took some pictures of the Sceptre display DirectTV through SVideo. Notice the horrible color/bleed/etc...What are the Sceptre's menu settings on that SVideo input? I run a SD DirecTV box into AV1/SVideo and I can't get PQ that looks that bad unless I futz with the stuff in the Advanced menu (Vivid Color, Skin Tone, etc).

DirecTV's SD signal resolution starts at 480x480 from the sattelite and gets the anamporphic treatment at the box to 720x480, which is what most CRTs display. The Sceptre has to scale that up again to pillarboxed 4:3 on a 1920x1080 panel. That's a whole lot of pixel-fillin' goin' on. If you think the Sceptre has a sub-par scaler, you should see the mess of a result Westinghouse gets on their 37w1's world-class Genesis/Farajouda scaling solution with a DirecTV signal! :eek:

xiaou2

06-15-06, 08:10 AM

OK, got the Sceptre 37".. pic looks good : ) But...

Im running win98e with unofficial patches.. all working good..

Older ATI Raidion card, sees TV as flat panel on DVI, the TV sets its own
resolution at 1600*1200. ATIs drivers say its at its max.. but its not. And
theres no way to adjust the positioning with this driver. Picture is squished at
this phoney resolution.. and cant adjust even if I could accept that.

(on VGA, doesnt go to as high of resolution, and pic not as good)

Then.. tried a GeForce FX 5500 card. Grabbed the latest drivers...

This card will Not let me go above 1280*1024.. without major issues.

At max res, the picture becomes corrupt and jumps up and down almost 1cm...
at a medium-slow tempo.

Tried to add other res or 1600*1200 for the hell of it... and card wouldnt allow it.

So.. whats up here? Is it that I really need XP to get this working 100% Or,
is there something Im overlooking? Is this gforce card too generic?

What cards are you guys running to get full res?

Anyone running win98se with it? Yeah, i know, Im planning to upgrade soon... :P

Any other ideas or comments?

Tia

hakujin

06-15-06, 09:06 AM

i use that resolution to surf the internet...
plus, you can find a lot of high definition content on the internet.

I'm sure some do. But if you're running XP, stuff gets real tiny. Not totally practical is all I'm saying. Believe me, I know what can be found online. I have a 250GB HD dedicated to HD content. My point is that the 37" isn't bad for the price point, and I don't think the PQ is going to be that big of a difference from this model. I'm not speaking for the uber a/v geek, just an avg. regular joe consumer.

In other words, it's hard for me to understand knocking that new lcd, when this one has SO MANY reported issues of its own.

hakujin

06-15-06, 09:28 AM

ALL the time. Digital TV, which is 100% free, about 8 stations are in 1080i.
SO why down res to 768 lines?

Because it's $500 cheaper? Plus not everyone can pick up OTA. Nevertheless not my point. My point is that the tv is a good deal for the price range and PQ can be neglible to an untrained A/V eye.

PC games, XBOX 360 games,(720p and1080i) ps3 upcoming games and all Movie will be in 1080p.

PC games at that res require a beefy system. I say that as my own chokes on HL2 Ep1 with all the bells and whistles on. I have more reasons then one to feel 360 games for the most part, will be 720p and have a hard enough time with that (eg. oblivion framerate issues). Are there any native 1080 360 games now? I honestly don't know. But again, I don't think there will be very many, if any, native 1080i games for the 360.

Plus, the last report I read (though I could be mistaken) is yet another Sony backpedal. First it was 2 hdmi, now one, then they said everything would be 1080p, not I think 720p is the lowest common denominator. HD-DVD is out now and the toshiba isf 1080i, not progressive. Lastly, the difference between 1080i and 1080p movie playback is ever so slight on a 37", IMO. I have some material of both and I honestly couldn't tell the difference.
Later on all tv will be in digital.

THe monitor function is fantastic and pictures for digital camera which are 7 mp are much better. WHy view a 7mp Picture at .3 mp when you can at LEAST view it at 2 mp? You can also make the fonts larger a few percent if needed, but the START on start menu is like 5 inches wide lol..dont need to!!
*remember what i just said about the monitor being BIGGER.

My monitor isn't sitting on a computer desk, it resides in my living room. I sit about 8-10 ft. away. I have 20/20 and XP is just too small at that resolution, I can barely make out anything. OSX is probably a different story. Mehh... have you ever seen what it looks like when you increase font sizes? scary.

Are you still reading this? How much more content do you need?

Yes I am. :) I think you're totally missing my point, that is, the $999 doesn't look like a bad deal at all, considering the casual user.

Besides you can upconvert your DVDS as well and make them look actually BETTER.
Now 100% of your content is in 1080 lines.

That's probably going to achieve the least difference of them all. A 1080i upscaled DVD is probably analogous to an upscaled 768 display. Both sets will make 1080 lines. The question is whether you'll see difference (without a fine toothed comb). I'm guessing not with low res source content.

No question this is a great tv, but if Sceptre resolves some quality control issues and loses the dynamic contrast, they might have a bigger winner (sales wise) on their hands.

my $.02

Cloud zer0

06-15-06, 09:37 AM

Because it's $500 cheaper? Plus not everyone can pick up OTA.

Yes I am. :) I think you're totally missing my point, that is, the $999 doesn't look like a bad deal at all, considering the casual user.
my $.02

No you miss MY point. ;)You read in between the lines. Stop that! I never said that the 999 dollar tv was a bad deal anywhere in my post. I was merely responding to your
comment that said
"Who uses the fulll 1080 lines anyways?"

No doubt that Sceptre is improving on their TVs. This 1080p panel I got from them is good, but yes needs improvement.
Their newest Naga 4 improves in areas where it needed for sure.