Sceptre X37SV-Naga review [Text View] - Page 3

nojo

08-31-05, 03:40 PM

judah

08-31-05, 03:40 PM

Hey all,
I got my Sceptre 37" last night and ran it through the paces. VGA at 1920x1080 is awesome, but my HDMI -> DVI picture is total crap. I see green ghosting on black letters and red, blue and green vertical lines when playing back DVDs and recorded HD content.

Any ideas on what could be going on? I used the DVI port on my Radeon 9800 pro first, then switched to the 9800 mobility on my laptop.

Both computers show perfect images when using the vga cable.

I tried out the component and it was fine as well.

Is there a way to test whether it's the monitor or the cable that's hosed (or both?)

Thanks,

-n00b
There are three selections for the DTV input. If you are using DVI from your computer be sure to scroll through the DTV inputs and manually select "DVI," because out of the box the monitor will default to "HDMI" when connected using the DVI to HDMI cable. The button is located on the forward bottom side of the monitor, third from the right I beleive (don't have the monitor in front of me.) I'm sure there is one on the remote too just that I don't use it so I can't say.

jvoncolln

08-31-05, 04:03 PM

So, are you keeping the sharp or is it still up in the air for you. I haven't got the delivery of my scepture but I do plan to buy sharp and bring it home tonite..just to test it out.
For me, its going to be 75% TV and 25% PC usage.

I went to the Costco local to my work (Canoga Park, CA) at lunch and they have the Sharp for $1999. It looks ok, except the high refresh rate may be annoying to many of us. It may be a better choice though for primarily TV use.

I noticed some interesting things on the Sharp:
-It has 3 RF connections. One for analog, one for digital cable and a third for digital air.
-It has 2 i-link (IEEE 1394 ports)
-DVI and HDMI (yes, 2 different ones)
-I don't think it had a VGA connector
-It looked like it had a serial port
-It has the cable card slot
-There is some other slot about 1/3 the width of the cable card slot, I wonder what that may be??
-It of course has non removable speakers.

jvoncolln

08-31-05, 04:04 PM

Thanks for the detailed review Nathannookie. Does anyone know the response time on Sharp? Have been searching for this Q. I think I am going to pick it up tonite.

I think it's supposed to be 16ms, bummer!

mallu2u

08-31-05, 04:17 PM

yes. that alone is the biggest negative for sharp. Will get it home and see if I can live with it.

dkelly

08-31-05, 04:19 PM

Ok here's my review :-p

Appearance wise the set looks nice.

The scalier/deinterlacer is not per my standard.

Cable TV is grainy ... which i didn't have in neither my Panasonic 50'' lcd nor 32'' CRT

I connected the same KISS dvd that i used with my 50'' pana. And the picture is noticeably worse.

There is no Panoramic wide screen for 4:3 material.... unless i didn't notice.

It's not a keeper for me because i really won't connect it to a PC.

I'm also noticing some ghosting... am i hallucinating??

In order for prospective buyers to really be helped by your review they need to know:

What connection / resolution is your KISS hooked up via?

What sources are you seeing ghostings?

Dan K

pospower

08-31-05, 04:20 PM

I just saw the sharp locally I liked the picture colors looked more real than the Sceptre not as bright but very good. HD only as that is all they show on display. as for dvi that is for PC there is no VGA if you have a vga you have to get a converter they are cheap on line.
I'm thinking about it as I do watch a lot of TV. If it has decent computer picture I"ll take back my Sceptre probably A/B them next week. for a few days.

jay

jvoncolln

08-31-05, 04:22 PM

Sceptre X37SV Naga vs. Sharp Aquos LC-37D5U

I had no problem with its response time. There is a Quick Shot mode that they say quickens it.

Did you display quickly moving content like a sports game... to see if there was a noticeable difference in the response times? It looked like the Sharp had some artifacts / pixelization when I saw it at Costco earlier while on an HD baseball game.

mallu2u

08-31-05, 04:24 PM

is there a loss in picture quality/noise when using a DVI-VGA converter? Also, DVI is digital, what about VGA? thanks.

nojo

08-31-05, 04:27 PM

WIZ33 said:
"Ok, onto the PC performance. Once I have the good cable hooked up. Things were as great as what others have said. I played a bunch of WMV HD samples both in 1080p and 720p and they are all stunning. I didn't have a chance to try HL2 yet but I ran City of Heroes in full screen and windowed mode and things works great. I did have a bit of clipping on fast movement but that's probably my laptop GPU hitting it's limit. It should be a lot of fun when I get the shuttle box home from the office with it's more powerful graphics
Card."

Where can download some free HD content?

Zoglog

08-31-05, 04:41 PM

Sceptre X37SV Naga vs. Sharp Aquos LC-37D5U
.

Great Review Nathan, I agree with you all the way there. However I am more of a PC and this TV is going in my room since i'm in an apartment. With all that the Sceptre provides me a bigger advantage than the sharp would. It really comes down to preference, but remember building a HTPC is relatively cheap and simple and with a good HTPC setup u can make up for many of the flaws on the sceptre. Luckily that was my primary purpose for this tv.

WIZ33 said:
"Ok, onto the PC performance. Once I have the good cable hooked up. Things were as great as what others have said. I played a bunch of WMV HD samples both in 1080p and 720p and they are all stunning. I didn't have a chance to try HL2 yet but I ran City of Heroes in full screen and windowed mode and things works great. I did have a bit of clipping on fast movement but that's probably my laptop GPU hitting it's limit. It should be a lot of fun when I get the shuttle box home from the office with it's more powerful graphics
Card."

Where can download some free HD content?

the only place i've seen is those trailers from Microsoft's site and also the Xbox 360 trailers.

Cackedy

08-31-05, 04:47 PM

WIZ33 said:
Where can download some free HD content?

Microsoft, Apple and DivX have HD movie clips you can download for free.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/content_provider/film/ContentShowcase.aspx

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/hdgallery/

http://www.divx.com/movies/browse.php?categoryID=3&src=movietab_hd_from__movies_index_

balvord

08-31-05, 05:18 PM

Hey everyone,

Received my Sceptre 37 this week which I will use primarily for TV/DVD. I currently have my Samsung DVD player with DVI out connected to the Sceptre HDMI and it looks great. I have a Time Warner HD DVR cable box going to the components and this looks great as well. First, does anyone have any recommendations for an OTA HD tuner for the ATSC input? Second, my TW HD DVR box has an HDMI port, so I am hoping to connect that in addition to the DVD player to the TV via an HDMI switcher. Does anyone have a recommendation for an HDMI switcher? Also, I don't know if anyone answered previously about the predefined sound and color curves for the Sceptre, but for what its worth, they are on the remote's sound and picture buttons. Thanks for any advice.

ba

divtune

08-31-05, 06:15 PM

Did you display quickly moving content like a sports game... to see if there was a noticeable difference in the response times? It looked like the Sharp had some artifacts / pixelization when I saw it at Costco earlier while on an HD baseball game.

I think pixelation artifacts would be more a result of the mpeg compression than slow response time. I would expect slow response time to show up as a more blurry moving image.

The Sharp response time at 16 msec is about 1/60 second. 720P is 60 frames per second, so the Sharp would respond fast enough to get the pixels right, but not hold them very long. For 30 (1080i) or 24 frame movie sources, slow response would probably be less noticeable.

That said, I just decided to cancel the Sceptre and get the Sharp locally. I was able to hook it to a Comcast Digital Motorola box through DVI and compare the picture to the 27" Samsung 4:3 HDTV on component input. The Sharp works great with Comcast DVI, while I never got the Samsung working, and had to use components for it.

I tried to see the slow response time on an INHD sports signal with the Comcast box sending 720p, but I really couldn't see any problem with motion. The picture was really nice, though, nicer than the Samsung for HDTV, and equivalent for HD signals.

I haven't hooked up any other inputs to the Sharp yet, but I think it will work great as a monitor for the Comcast digital cable DVI output. It seems to look best with the Comcast box set at 720p with 480p override on SD signals.

So as a HDTV monitor for Comcast digital cable, the Sharp is superb. The menu options and picture scaling work great. I'm definitely keeping this one.

All the Sharp manuals and info are available at:

http://www.sharpusa.com/products/ModelDetailedSpecs/0,1161,1494-,00.html

Wiz33

08-31-05, 07:06 PM

Wiz33

08-31-05, 07:07 PM

phussary

08-31-05, 08:49 PM

Nathannookie

08-31-05, 10:13 PM

Have you hooked a pc up to the Sharp? I'm wondering if the sharp will 1:1 pixel map like the Sceptre does. The Sharp's manual says the highest resolution supported with a pc is 1280x768...is this true or can you get 1366x768 to display correctly?

I havent' tried it yet, had to come to work :). I 'did' on the Sceptre...which was great. I've read that the Sharp has a 1:1 mode....but again, I have to try it.

Nathannookie

08-31-05, 10:26 PM

NATHANCOOKIE, THANKS FOR THE REVIEW! I have the Sharp now and am just waiting for the Sceptre to ship. Now I am thinking of canceling the Sceptre order, if possible. I will rarely be using it with a PC.

I am somewhat dissappointed that I can not get any HD channels in OTA. But I am just using rabbit ears so now I have to research antennas using the sites that have been suggested here before.

I think you'll like the Sharp much better....but yeah, I have to test it with my PC.

Just received some VERY inexpensive DVI cables at http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp
I thought they'd be junk at those prices, but they look very good. I'll try them with my PC tomorrow. I've already packed up the DVI/HDMI cable that came with the Sceptre, which goes back tomorrow.

Yep, it takes a decent antenna to get the ATSC channels. I get most of them, but FOX 11.1 (Los Angeles) breaks up and KCOP 13.1 won't come in at all.

This would be another plus for the Sceptre's tuner. It was able to pull in FOX 11.1 just fine, and occasionally pulled in 13.1, but my levels on both are about -30 or worse.

Nathannookie

08-31-05, 10:39 PM

Did you display quickly moving content like a sports game... to see if there was a noticeable difference in the response times? It looked like the Sharp had some artifacts / pixelization when I saw it at Costco earlier while on an HD baseball game.

Well, there wasn't a game on last night when I set it up....so good question. I watched ABC Monday Night Football on the Sceptre with optical surround sound, and LOVED it. Anyway, I didn't notice any motion blur.

That said, I've seen pixelation on HD content on most TV's, especially on the PBS shows where they'll show fast moving streams or other fast moving objects. I think it results from the MPEG2 not being able to keep up with the motion. It's very hard to compress frames of fast moving objects....and ends up taking more bandwidth. I'm no expert.....just what I've read.

Northville Dave

08-31-05, 11:01 PM

[SIZE=6]

First, I would like to thank all who posted on this thread! What a help you've all been!

So far have only tried the beast on Comcast cable (SD only) and on the ATSC tuner using a couple of old UHF loops that were hanging in the garage.

The PQ of the SD cable programs compared quite favorably with those viewed on my 27" Zenith CRT TV after I adjusted the color settings and increased the noise filtering a bit.

I was able to get about eight OTA channels via the ATSC tuner and all looked great, but some broadcasts at 480i required manual aspect ratio settings.

I have been unable to find a "previous channel" button that works for the DTV tuner.

Has anyone found one?

Dave

Zoglog

08-31-05, 11:22 PM

I think you'll like the Sharp much better....but yeah, I have to test it with my PC.

Just received some VERY inexpensive DVI cables at http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp
I thought they'd be junk at those prices, but they look very good. I'll try them with my PC tomorrow. I've already packed up the DVI/HDMI cable that came with the Sceptre, which goes back tomorrow.

Yep, it takes a decent antenna to get the ATSC channels. I get most of them, but FOX 11.1 (Los Angeles) breaks up and KCOP 13.1 won't come in at all.

This would be another plus for the Sceptre's tuner. It was able to pull in FOX 11.1 just fine, and occasionally pulled in 13.1, but my levels on both are about -30 or worse.

You have to realize with digital signals (like DVI cables) the quality doesn't matter nearly as much as with analog cables like RCA. Digital Signals essentially are just 1's and 0's and as long as it registers those 1's and 0's there is no degredation. Therefore as long as the cable is decently physically built there is no reason to waste your money on those super expensive ones like monster.

daniel18

08-31-05, 11:51 PM

Ok. I didnt move fast enough on the Costco deal. I wanted to see a review or two. Has anyone seen this model (or similar) anywhere? Thanks!

jvoncolln

09-01-05, 12:00 AM

You have to realize with digital signals (like DVI cables) the quality doesn't matter nearly as much as with analog cables like RCA. Digital Signals essentially are just 1's and 0's and as long as it registers those 1's and 0's there is no degredation. Therefore as long as the cable is decently physically built there is no reason to waste your money on those super expensive ones like monster.

Another source for cables:
http://www.cablestogo.com/index.asp?

I've bought DVI, Component, S-video, Audio, Sub cables from them. All work great. Real good prices. Zoglog is right, for DVI-D and HDMI, higher quality than getting the 1s and 0s right is overkill. Bare in mind though, DVI-I and DVI-A has analog signals which are essentially the same RGB signals in a 15 pin VGA cable, so, quality is a bit more important. I use both the digital and analog portions of one of their 5m DVI-I cables with my 720P projector at 100" and I can't tell the difference between the two signals.

Wiz33

09-01-05, 12:10 AM

You have to realize with digital signals (like DVI cables) the quality doesn't matter nearly as much as with analog cables like RCA. Digital Signals essentially are just 1's and 0's and as long as it registers those 1's and 0's there is no degredation. Therefore as long as the cable is decently physically built there is no reason to waste your money on those super expensive ones like monster.

No quite true as they do pick up interference and when they do, it disrupt the signal chain and you end up with noise. That happened to me yesterday when I try to hook my laptop up to the Sceptre, I have 2 DVI to HDMI cable, a 10 ft one that I got with my HD Tivo and a 6 ft one that came with the Sceptre. The 10ft one is also only about 2/3 the diameter of the one from Sceptre. I use the 10ft one first as it let me position the laptop further away from the screen and I ended up with a bunch of white noise on the screen. Switching to the Sceptre cable (looks to be better shielded) fixes the problem right away. I guess at a shorter length, it's ok to use cheaper cable but at anything over 6ft, you better have good quality shielded ones.

bstudios

09-01-05, 12:41 AM

480i looks preety good, not the quality of my 35" JVC tube but acceptable. 480p gives about the same detail but the color seems richer. 720p is about the same as 480p with a bit better detail and 1080i offers the most detail but the color is not as rich as with progressive scan. The difference is so fine that unless I freeze the picture (which does induce a bit of noise). You will have a hard time telling the difference. At 1080i it's very close to my CRT.
...
Bottomline. switching betwen the varies output mode on component will produce pictures of different detail and color saturation but they all look very good and while the 480i image is not quite up to the standard of a CRT. The difference in not large enough at a distance of 7-8 feet for me to feel it's a problem.

So to use this as a display for HD Tivo, would you recommend just leaving the Tivo configured to output 1080i, even for SD or non-1080i HD source material? (I don't have an HD Tivo yet, so I don't know how tedious it is to switch output format, or if it automatically tries to do it.) And do you think it's a good fit for use mainly as an HD Tivo display? Most people here seem interested in it primarily as a computer monitor, but I probably won't be using it like that very much (at least, not anytime soon).

Thanks,
Michael

Griddle

09-01-05, 12:43 AM

When will the Sceptre become available again?

tropicalisland

09-01-05, 01:36 AM

Sceptre X37SV Naga vs. Sharp Aquos LC-37D5U

... the Sharp is being replaced by the LC-37D4U, with quicker response time, but to be honest, I had no problem with its response time. There is a Quick Shot mode that they say quickens it.

also this newer model has:
"Dynamic Contrast Ratio (4000:1) that provides incredible images whether you're watching dark or bright scenes." And the audio system includes BBE with Mach 3 Bass.
And it's dark grey instead of silver.
And it's about $1,000 more. So the current Costco Sharp model looks like a good deal unless that 4000:1 CR produces truely "incredible" blacks with no loss in detail.

JFTTUCAZ

09-01-05, 02:02 AM

Setup a new thread for the Sharp v. Sceptre. thx.

phussary

09-01-05, 03:16 AM

Got my new Sceptre last night and played with it a bit.

My initial impression is that it is an excellent PC/HTPC monitor and television comes second. The scaler/deinterlacer electronics are not as good as my 32" Panasonic LCD but with some tweaking around comes pretty close. It is definitely comparable to an average LCD TV.

The LCD panel has excellent contrast ratios and the colors are bright and brilliant. The unit has more adjustments than the Panasonic or even the 30" Sceptre for that matter, but not as much as the Sharp units.

PC connectivity and resolution is a dream come true. It beats anything I have seen as of yet in this size. At 1920x1080 via HDMI/DVI on my Radeon 9600 you get perfect 1 to 1 pixel matching, no sync issues etc... after all PC monitors is Sceptre's primary business. Even at lower resolutions the text was clear and usable. DVD playback was also very impressive.

The NTSC tuner leaves a lot to be desired with a lot of noise and lousy picture, while the ATSC tuner is not as good as the one built into my Sony 55" LCD but not that bad either. I just ordered a Fusion ATSC tuner for my PC which will hopefully give me a much better picture.

All in all I am very happy with the purchase. I got an excellent high res panel for a very reasonable price. TV is definitely usable but if I want anything better I could always get myself a good scaler and feed the Sceptre a 1080P signal which is what it shines at.

BTW - one of the menu items under SYSTEM is Dynamic Contrast.

ryebren

09-01-05, 06:19 AM

Sceptre X37SV Naga vs. Sharp Aquos LC-37D5U

We have both panels here now…side by side, and I must say that I’m far more pleased with the Sharp. Costco (Torrance CA) did get them in, and they disappeared as fast as they got them in yesterday. My very quick juxtaposition between the two:

The packaging of each was superb, although the Sharp, with its attached speakers was just that much easier to set up.

The Sharp manual is probably 2 pounds. 8.5 x 11 and a good ¾” thick, compared to the tiny manual that comes with the Sceptre. The Sharp is infinitely easier to read and more detailed.

The Sharp menus are infinitely better than the Sceptre. Smaller, finer graphics, and offer more options, with it’s built in TV Guide.

The Sceptre has PIP….I haven’t found it on the Sharp, and am assuming it doesn’t have it, although the Sceptre’s wasn’t exactly great, with it’s limited contrasting inputs.

Remote Control on the Sharp is wonderful, and has 4 buttons for ‘sets’ of favorite channels, and illuminates. The Sceptre’s was just ok.

The Sharp has more inputs, an extra Component, and separate DVI and HDMI inputs.

The Sceptre certainly has more resolution with its true HD 1920x1080….and as a PC monitor obviously takes the cake over the Sharp’s 1366 x 768, but considering that the Sceptre may be downresing 1080i broadcast content to 720p and then upresing again, as a television, they’d be tied in that respect.

The colors are perfect on the Sharp, and most A/V modes are, unlike the Sceptre, adjustable. I’m not happy with any preset on the Sceptre, other than the USER which I was able to adjust. The blacks are handled much better on the Sharp, and DVD and SD TV content looks better. Those A/V presets on the Sceptre are separate, where the Sharp combines audio and video into one preset….Cinema…Standard…etc.

The Sharp’s input selection is on a quick menu, unlike the Sceptre’s two different cycling input selections.

The Sharp has Cable Card, and 3 RF inputs. One additional over the Sceptre used for digital cable.

The Sharp changes channels much faster, and combines the Analog and Digital channels into one selection method. Basically, you go from Channel 4 (analog) right to 4.1 and 4.2, then onto 5.0 and 5.1 etc. If you wanted to skip the analog, you’d just not add them to your favorites.

The Sceptre is MUCH brighter….almost too bright in a dark room, but in daylight, easier to see.

The Sharp goes black when selecting an unused input, unlike the Sceptre that goes full blue. It also has a video off mode, where the sound stays on, but the lamps seem to shut down.

The Sharp has S-Video output, with aspect options, although I haven’t tried it yet. The Sceptre has composite output, which I did try, but it looked pretty bad.

Speaking of Aspect (screen format)…The Sharp, unlike the Sceptre, works well in Auto mode, and after fiddling, each of the Analog and Digital channels formatted correctly by themselves. On the Sceptre, I was constantly manually adjusting.

The TV Guide has a remote blaster (LED) so with its TV Guide, you can have your DVD or VHS recorder record content automatically. My TV Guide hasn’t filled itself with data yet, but from what I’ve read, it’s very good. It’ll turn the TV on or switch channels automatically too if you select that option. I do wonder what will happen to the TV Guide when the Analog channels go black after next year. It seems, and maybe I’m wrong, to use the Analog tuner to get its info.

The Scepter came with lots of cables…including a HDMI to DVI. The Sharp has none, other than a power cord.

Finally for the sound. There is a world of difference between the two. The Sharp is very good for a TV. The speakers are part of the cabinet giving them more enclosure area, and thus the bass, with its little ports as well, sounds much better, and the highs cleaner. As we all know, the Sceptre is horrible in this department. The Sharp’s digital optical output is accessible too, although I haven’t hooked it up yet. To get to the Sceptre's optical output, you have to open the case.

To summarize; the Sceptre, as a PC monitor (with higher res and specs), and a monitor that would be used with some other digital input, is great. But as far as their use as a television goes, the Sharp wins hands down. I’ll be keeping the Sharp, even at $2000 (Costco), a bit more money.

Again, this is a very quick evaluation….just to get some additional info out. From what I’ve read, the Sharp is being replaced by the LC-37D4U, with quicker response time, but to be honest, I had no problem with its response time. There is a Quick Shot mode that they say quickens it.
I agree 100%, returned the Spectre and I am keeping the Sharp...=)

pospower

09-01-05, 09:07 AM

Microsoft, Apple and DivX have HD movie clips you can download for free.

[

http://www.divx.com/movies/browse.php?categoryID=3&src=movietab_hd_from__movies_index_

Can you buy the divx movies to play on my DVD?

sfhub

09-01-05, 11:28 AM

The Sceptre has PIP….I haven’t found it on the Sharp, and am assuming it doesn’t have it, although the Sceptre’s wasn’t exactly great, with it’s limited contrasting inputs.
...
The Sharp has Cable Card, and 3 RF inputs. One additional over the Sceptre used for digital cable.
...
I do wonder what will happen to the TV Guide when the Analog channels go black after next year. It seems, and maybe I’m wrong, to use the Analog tuner to get its info.
...
The Sharp’s digital optical output is accessible too, although I haven’t hooked it up yet. To get to the Sceptre's optical output, you have to open the case.

Great review. Minor additions:

I don't think the Sharp is PIP but it has side-by-side picture. You need to pop open the bottom part of the remote to access the "Twin Picture" controls. There is also an "AV mode" button in this bottom section. It lets you configure Input1-N for "User" mode where the A/V setting will be saved individually for each input. You do this for each input separately, so some can use the default A/V setting and others can be user defined.

The 3 RF inputs are AnalogA, AnalogB (for twin picture), and CableCard(QAM)/ATSC

OTA analog channels are not going black next year. They are going black in 2009 based on current legislation.

Sharp's digital optical out performs very well in my experience. Not only does it output digital for programs which have digital audio content, but it converts analog audio sources (NTSC tuner, svideo input, etc.) to PCM, so your home theater receiver will always get audio and you could if you wanted to completely disable the internal speakers, or only use them for some sources. The volume setting is saved individually for each input, so if you wanted the volume off for DVDs but on for NTSC tuner, it just works. I've heard some TVs only output digital content on their digital out if the source has digital. This makes it a pain to hook up to home theater receiver because you need to switch to analog input when watching analog sources and back to digital when watching digital sources. Try channel surfing that way and it will drive you crazy.

The Sharp is a very well designed product (which you won't see on the spec sheet, but will notice when you use it). The Sceptre is a very good panel that works great for PC. It'd be nice if they two had kids.

sfhub

09-01-05, 11:32 AM

also this newer model has:
"Dynamic Contrast Ratio (4000:1) that provides incredible images whether you're watching dark or bright scenes." And the audio system includes BBE with Mach 3 Bass.
From what we have read about, "Dynamic Contrast Ratio" is just a different way of measuring contrast ratio. I think it started with Samsung or LG and the rest of the industry is starting to follow suit. The same 800:1 contrast ratio comes up as 4000:1 using dynamic contrast ratio rules. At least that is my understanding.

sfhub

09-01-05, 11:35 AM

jmichaelf

09-01-05, 11:39 AM

I just received my Sceptre last night. There is a flurry of blue dots scurrying around about a 4 inch band on the left section of the screen. The electronic programming guide blows and it takes forever to change channels. I'm going to consider this TV for a while longer, but I think I'll end up going for the sharp. I want to use this as a primary TV.

mbotis987

09-01-05, 12:13 PM

Hi,

Thanks to everybody who has been posting. I got the TV in yesterday, and I'm pretty much in agreement with the consensus so far, but I've got a couple of comments and questions. Also, you should know that not only have I never owned an HDTV before, I've really never even spent much time looking at one in the store or at a friend's house.

Here are my questions:

The color of the picture through the ATSC tuner (and the NTSC tuner) doesn't look right to me. Sometimes I think there is too much magenta, some times I think there's too much green, but no matter what I do, I can't get it to look right with the controls on the set. I've read that some of you have gotten satisfactory results. Any tips?

When a channel is waiting to tune in, or when the show fades to black, I can see a vertical band that is a little bit brighter than the rest of the screen. It is on the right side far enough over to be just inside a 4:3 box. It's about 3 or 4" wide. When the TV doesn't have a signal and is solid blue, I don't see any bands.

I connected my laptop to the VGA port, set the background to black, and I can't really see the band as much. That makes me wonder if there's some sort of interference causing it as opposed to it being a flaw in the screen. Any thoughts? Any chance that it will just go away? Any hope?

These are the two potential dealbreakers for me. I don't think I can live with spending almost $2k and seeing that band.

Here are my comments:

My actual setup (which will be in place Saturday) is going to be a cable box that has component video output and includes a two-tuner HD DVR, and built-in PIP. If that goes well, I'm also planning on getting a DVD player that upscales to 1080i (Best Buy has an LG one for around $175 I think) and has an HDMI output. So we'll see how the colors and that band look with everything hooked up.

Last night, I hooked an antenna up to the ATSC tuner. Most of the channels broke up too much to be viewable until after 7:00 or so. I don't claim to have the answer about whether the tuner scales everything down to 720p, but channels over the air look better to me if it says that the show is being broadcast at 720p versus 1080i. I watched "Smallville" (1080i) on WGN (I live in Chicago) last night, and it looked really good, but it was a grainy compared to the American-Idol-but-with-dancers show that was on FOX (720p). Could it just be that the TV is doing a better job of up-converting 720p than de-interlacing 1080i? Actually, does it de-interlace 1080i to show it on this screen? I don't know, but I guess I'd feel better if we could get a definitive answer about the ATSC tuner. I'd like to have the option of not paying for cable or satellite, and it bugs me to think that the tuner might be converting 1080i signals down to 720 lines and then back up to 1080 lines unnecessarily.

Basic cable coming through the NTSC tuner looked awful, but I was expecting that and I don't care.

My PlayStation 2 through the composite video was just unwatchable for games and for DVDs. Wow. Really, just amazingly bad. I'm just going to hook that up to my old TV for playing games.

I connected my laptop through the VGA port and downloaded some 1080p clips from Windows Media. Holy moly!!! Those just looked incredible. That's what I want! I must have watched the "Batman Begins" trailer 15 times last night. It's just fantastic.

The sound isn't good, but compared to a regular, inexpensive TV from 10 years ago, it's by no means a total disaster. I'm going to hook up good speakers this weekend, but if someone is considering this and just wants regular, TV-quality sound, you might be okay with it. Not that the previous posts are wrong, but my expectations were so low that it didn’t seem that bad to me.

Overall, I'm feeling kind of neutral about it at this point. I'll let you know how it goes once I have the cable box in. I’ll compare it to the ATSC tuner and see if I can see any differences.

No dead pixels, by the way. I'm not planning on wall mounting it, so I can't shed any light on those issues.

Thanks again to everyone for the info. I felt like I was well prepared to evaluate it when it arrived. If I can get the colors adjusted right this weekend, I’ll be happier. If anyone has any thoughts about that vertical band, I’d appreciate it. If that and the color issues get resolved, I’m definitely keeping it.

meadowsd123

09-01-05, 12:32 PM

I'd be more inclined to agree with DKelley. I think the main processor is telling us exactly what the (supposed) Zinwell tuner card is sending it. But who knows.

Someone had suggested that this Zinwell tuner was used -- ZAT-520MB.

It shows outputs at both 720p and 1080i

I'm tempted to open the case and see if it has the SPDIF output too.

I don't see how the zinwell tuner can be in there. It states in the PDF that it includes a "Terrestrial 8VSB demodulation Digital Cable Clear QAM". This is a huge feature that most would be interested in, so I doubt Spectre would leave this out the marketing.

nojo

09-01-05, 12:46 PM

How do I test for dead pixels? I am assuming I have to hook it up to my PC. Is there a seperate software program I have to have or is it on my computer already?

Wiz33

09-01-05, 01:14 PM

So to use this as a display for HD Tivo, would you recommend just leaving the Tivo configured to output 1080i, even for SD or non-1080i HD source material? (I don't have an HD Tivo yet, so I don't know how tedious it is to switch output format, or if it automatically tries to do it.) And do you think it's a good fit for use mainly as an HD Tivo display? Most people here seem interested in it primarily as a computer monitor, but I probably won't be using it like that very much (at least, not anytime soon).

Thanks,
Michael

You can set the up arrow on the Tivo remote to switch res on the fly, it's real easy using the onscreen menu. I usually just leave my HD Tivo on 1080i and so far so good. Do you have good OTA reception of HD stations? if you do that the HD Tivo is great as it has 2 OTA ATSC tuner and 2 Sat tuner and you can record any combo of 2 at the same time. But if you do not have good OTA HD, DirecTV's HD programming is quite expensive and limited.

Zoglog

09-01-05, 01:20 PM

No quite true as they do pick up interference and when they do, it disrupt the signal chain and you end up with noise. That happened to me yesterday when I try to hook my laptop up to the Sceptre, I have 2 DVI to HDMI cable, a 10 ft one that I got with my HD Tivo and a 6 ft one that came with the Sceptre. The 10ft one is also only about 2/3 the diameter of the one from Sceptre. I use the 10ft one first as it let me position the laptop further away from the screen and I ended up with a bunch of white noise on the screen. Switching to the Sceptre cable (looks to be better shielded) fixes the problem right away. I guess at a shorter length, it's ok to use cheaper cable but at anything over 6ft, you better have good quality shielded ones.

That's why I said that it doesn't matter as much. I never said it didn't matter at all =) but yes indeed length has a big part to play in it as well. But will you ever need monster cable DVI ? hell no, so don't let those retail stores swindling you to pay 100 for a cable u only have to pay 10 for.

Wiz33

09-01-05, 01:41 PM

mbotis987

09-01-05, 02:06 PM

How do I test for dead pixels? I am assuming I have to hook it up to my PC. Is there a seperate software program I have to have or is it on my computer already?

I don't really know of an official way to do it. I have two on my laptop's computer screen. One of them shows up against a white or light colored background, and the other shows up against a darker background. When I mentioned that I had no dead pixels on my Sceptre, all I did was hook up the computer, set different colored backgrounds and look over the screen. I didn't notice any problems, and I'm not going to try any harder to find any!

jvoncolln

09-01-05, 02:10 PM

Hi,

Here are my questions:

The color of the picture through the ATSC tuner (and the NTSC tuner) doesn't look right to me. Sometimes I think there is too much magenta, some times I think there's too much green, but no matter what I do, I can't get it to look right with the controls on the set. I've read that some of you have gotten satisfactory results. Any tips?

.
.
.

Thanks again to everyone for the info. I felt like I was well prepared to evaluate it when it arrived. If I can get the colors adjusted right this weekend, I’ll be happier. If anyone has any thoughts about that vertical band, I’d appreciate it. If that and the color issues get resolved, I’m definitely keeping it.

There are home theater setup DVDs that have test paterns and step by step guides to help you adjust your picture quality. The following link identifies a couple of those DVDs as well as some basic steps on getting a better quality picture short of having one of those DVDs. I have and use DVE. Adjusting the picure freestyle without a good methodology won't likely get you anywhere close to right.

http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/home_av/tvs/0,39037594,39213503,00.htm

When I get my Sceptre, I'll try to follow their basic guidelines, then use DVE to see how close I came. Don't wait on me though, my order has only been in for less than a week.

mbotis987

09-01-05, 02:10 PM

I also played around with the video setting for a while and I found the best result by just turn down "color" a few notch. I also turn contrast down a bit and increase brightness to compensate.

Thanks for the tip. I had definitely turned the color and contrast settings up from their defaults. Unfortunately, increasing brightness makes that band look more noticeable, but I'll give it a shot.

jvoncolln

09-01-05, 02:18 PM

I don't see how the zinwell tuner can be in there. It states in the PDF that it includes a "Terrestrial 8VSB demodulation Digital Cable Clear QAM". This is a huge feature that most would be interested in, so I doubt Spectre would leave this out the marketing.

Could it just be in there and that they didn't put in a cable card slot?
If that's the case, I would think it would be of little value to use it for marketing purposes.

jvoncolln

09-01-05, 02:23 PM

How do I test for dead pixels? I am assuming I have to hook it up to my PC. Is there a seperate software program I have to have or is it on my computer already?

If you can fill the screen with pure Red, then green, then Blue and for each of the three see if there are any black pixels, that will tell you if any of the three colors are missing from a givin pixel. Then fill the screen with black and see if any pixels are lit (or stuck).

shadyInCA

09-01-05, 08:32 PM

I've just received my Sceptre, and it's looking fine through component, however, can you tell me if this is as expected?

When I hook up my comcast DVR (motorola 6412) I get a picture on HDCP and on HDMI but nothing on AVI. I've cycled through the HDCP, HDMI, AVI settings on the remote, but I just get a blue screen on AVI. Is this expected? The comcast manual implies it is DVI output

DeezMFNutz

09-01-05, 09:00 PM

I just unpacked my Sceptre and I have a few initial impressions. I have only viewed the set for about 45 minutes only via an HDMI->to->HDMI cable from my Cable HD/DVR STB (SA8300HD). The HDMI connection worked without a hitch. The picture quality looks excellent, far better than I was expecting. I still have to calibrate the black levels and color/tint settings, but out of the box with a few eye-ball tweaks that picture looks great. 1080i and 720p broadcasts look phenominal. I have my STB set to output everything at 1080i (including upscaling of of my DTV/SD cable). I must say that SD looks GREAT and is very watchable, better than my Zenith 42inch plasma. Anyways, I am going to calibrate the set and hook-up my HTPC now, but my initial impressions are very favorable.

john trottnow

09-01-05, 09:13 PM

As scheduled, I received delivery of the 37" Sceptre last night and of course played with it for hours. I only have experience with the Aquos driving the boys at Circuit City Crazy, however, I believe that resolution is everything and 1080P is around the corner. I watch football at 1080I and the mpg2 compression and interlaced video cetainly doesn't help. So my conclusion is that features aren't as important as a bright vivid picture at 1920X1080 for well under $2000. Prices will fall to this level soon and at that point I'll consider a 45" aquos touting such resolution. Fiber is the answer because these consumer lcd monitors are way ahead of the quality of transmissions to our homes. I will not be trading in my Sceptre anytime soon!

John Trottnow

jvoncolln

09-01-05, 11:00 PM

mantamet

09-01-05, 11:52 PM

How do I test for dead pixels? I am assuming I have to hook it up to my PC. Is there a seperate software program I have to have or is it on my computer already?

Dead pixel buddy.Just Google for it.

bstudios

09-01-05, 11:54 PM

You can set the up arrow on the Tivo remote to switch res on the fly, it's real easy using the onscreen menu. I usually just leave my HD Tivo on 1080i and so far so good. Do you have good OTA reception of HD stations? if you do that the HD Tivo is great as it has 2 OTA ATSC tuner and 2 Sat tuner and you can record any combo of 2 at the same time. But if you do not have good OTA HD, DirecTV's HD programming is quite expensive and limited.

Thanks for the info. This will be my first foray into HD, so I have no idea about my OTA reception. I'm in Los Angeles proper, so hopefully its prominence as a broadcast market counts for something. I'll just have to give it a shot and see what happens, but if the reception is good, then it sounds like this setup will allow me to appreciate it to its fullest, which is what I was most concerned about.

mantamet

09-02-05, 12:08 AM

[QUOTE=mbotis987]Hi,

When a channel is waiting to tune in, or when the show fades to black, I can see a vertical band that is a little bit brighter than the rest of the screen. It is on the right side far enough over to be just inside a 4:3 box. It's about 3 or 4" wide. When the TV doesn't have a signal and is solid blue, I don't see any bands.

I connected my laptop to the VGA port, set the background to black, and I can't really see the band as much. That makes me wonder if there's some sort of interference causing it as opposed to it being a flaw in the screen. Any thoughts? Any chance that it will just go away? Any hope?

This might be the same problem that the Westinghouse set had.I saw on only one set at BB.I found that the best way to see it is to watch basket ball or hockey.
Yours is the first possible report of this horrible problem.If you have this problem
I don't think it will just go away.This was the deal breaker for me on the Westinghouse. Check the threads on the Westinghouse set. :(

Nathannookie

09-02-05, 12:11 AM

Great review. Minor additions:

I don't think the Sharp is PIP but it has side-by-side picture. You need to pop open the bottom part of the remote to access the "Twin Picture" controls. There is also an "AV mode" button in this bottom section. It lets you configure Input1-N for "User" mode where the A/V setting will be saved individually for each input. You do this for each input separately, so some can use the default A/V setting and others can be user defined.

The 3 RF inputs are AnalogA, AnalogB (for twin picture), and CableCard(QAM)/ATSC

OTA analog channels are not going black next year. They are going black in 2009 based on current legislation.

Sharp's digital optical out performs very well in my experience. Not only does it output digital for programs which have digital audio content, but it converts analog audio sources (NTSC tuner, svideo input, etc.) to PCM, so your home theater receiver will always get audio and you could if you wanted to completely disable the internal speakers, or only use them for some sources. The volume setting is saved individually for each input, so if you wanted the volume off for DVDs but on for NTSC tuner, it just works. I've heard some TVs only output digital content on their digital out if the source has digital. This makes it a pain to hook up to home theater receiver because you need to switch to analog input when watching analog sources and back to digital when watching digital sources. Try channel surfing that way and it will drive you crazy.

The Sharp is a very well designed product (which you won't see on the spec sheet, but will notice when you use it). The Sceptre is a very good panel that works great for PC. It'd be nice if they two had kids.

Nice additional info....Thanks. Cool features.
Guess we need to find a new thread.
JFTTUCAZ suggested we start a new one....but there are a few Sharp Aquos threads already
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=573633&highlight=37D5U

shadyInCA

09-02-05, 12:12 AM

Has anyone tried using a harmony remote with this set?

It doesn't seem to be listed in the database of TVs and there doesn't seem to be an option of having two separate input buttons for cycling between the inputs

Nathannookie

09-02-05, 12:16 AM

I've traded my Sceptre in for the Sharp...but the Sharp sure doesn't like my PC like the Sceptre did. It's supposed to take 1280x768 (or something) max....but I haven't even been that lucky yet. If you want to use a PC, stick with your Sceptre. :)

DeezMFNutz

09-02-05, 12:24 AM

DeezMFNutz

09-02-05, 12:30 AM

Found a few bugs with my unit and I would like others to confirm they see it also.

Bug #1: On HDMI-DVI input, "Black Level" in the first menu doesn't do anything. The slider goes from 0-12 and absolutely nothing changes between 0-12.

Bug #2: Again on HDMI-DVI input (other inputs don't seem to have this problem), If you put anything else than 7 on the "Lamp" option, which is the backlight, the setting will always be put back to 7 (max) the next time you turn on the TV. Note that the menu "shows" your last selection, but the backlight is fully lit (at 7). To reproduce, just put your "Lamp" setting to "0", turn off the TV, and turn it on again.

Bug #3: (Somebody wrote this already) The PIP is always stretch with no way to control the aspect ratio. For somebody like me that can't use the ATSC tuner (cause it doesn't support QAM), PIP becomes utterly useless since there's nothing I can watch that will show WS. At the bare minimum, a 4:3/16:9 toggle would have been nice.

Bug #4: Trying to delete channels I didn't want on my list of channel for NTSC was extremely annoying. I had to get to the channel I wanted to delete, go through multiple menus to finally delete the channel. If I wanted to delete the next one, I had to be extremely quick (aka ~1 second) or else the menu would get dismissed and I would have to start the menu navigation all over again. This way of deleting channels is the worst I've ever seen.

Are all of you able to reproduce those issues?

Thank you.

-eric

As a note regarding bug#2 I have straight HDMI to HDMI and the lamp setting does not reset itself after power cycle. I have not tried the HDMI to DVI yet.

I guess none of these bugs really effects me since I use an outboard HDMI STB/tuner. My STB also handles my PIP fuctionality. Anyway, this set works like an absolute charm with TWC's SA8300HD (my unit has the Pioneer Passport software, not SARA).

I did not even bother to upack and attach the speakers since I use outboard audio as well.

dkelly

09-02-05, 02:55 AM

From what we have read about, "Dynamic Contrast Ratio" is just a different way of measuring contrast ratio. I think it started with Samsung or LG and the rest of the industry is starting to follow suit. The same 800:1 contrast ratio comes up as 4000:1 using dynamic contrast ratio rules. At least that is my understanding.

Some devices can adjust the backlights so that when most of the scene is dark, the backlight gets turned down. This allows for super blacks on mostly dark screens. I'm not sure if that's what they are referring to as dynamic contrast ratio.

Dan K

john trottnow

09-02-05, 03:01 AM

I order the tv on August 18th and live in St. Petersburg Florida

indiprod

09-02-05, 03:11 AM

As a note regarding bug#2 I have straight HDMI to HDMI and the lamp setting does not reset itself after power cycle. I have not tried the HDMI to DVI yet.

I guess none of these bugs really effects me since I use an outboard HDMI STB/tuner. My STB also handles my PIP fuctionality. Anyway, this set works like an absolute charm with TWC's SA8300HD (my unit has the Pioneer Passport software, not SARA).

I did not even bother to upack and attach the speakers since I use outboard audio as well.

Re. Bug #2, I have DVI to HDMI and the lamp setting does not reset itself. It remembers its level the way it should through power cycles. So I don't have this problem on mine. Re. Bug #1, my black level control works the way it should, no problem.

I have attached Bose Companion 2 PC speakers to the headphone output and can control audio level from the remote with good sound and eliminating the buzz that comes through the regular audio outputs. However, whenever I mute the speakers by the remote's mute button, I get an irritating static "thunk" through the speakers when I turn the mute button off to restore the sound. I tried a pair of Logitech PC speakers and they do the same thing.

I think the look of HD 1080i satellite signals is excellent from Dish Network's 811 HD receiver.

dkelly

09-02-05, 03:33 AM

I am really surprised how well TV (digital cable) looks on the sceptre. In all honesty it is probably best to by-pass the sceptre's internal tuners and try to use an outboard solution. I am pretty suprised at all of the returns on this product. I am a pretty picky consumer and the sceptre has far exceeded my expectations so far.....but then again I am not using ANY of the built in tuners everything is outboard. My HTPC synced up at 1920x1080 without a hitch and with no overscan, seemingly 1:1 picel mapping via the VGA input. I will push the monitor this weekend and see how it holds up to a more careful inspection, but so far I am very pleased. Unless some major bug pops-up I will be keeping this set. Also I have no dead or stuck pixels and no VB or blotches.

Salty!

Yeah I don't know of any better looking monitor (not counting built in tuner or sound) than this one. I think that perhaps the returns are a split between drama queens, and people that want an all-in-one tv with no external parts. I'd return it myself if I was just looking for an all-in-one tv and not going to hook anything up to it. But for hooking up via any of the HD inputs, Its so sweet.

Dan K

DeezMFNutz

09-02-05, 08:41 AM

Yeah I don't know of any better looking monitor (not counting built in tuner or sound) than this one. I think that perhaps the returns are a split between drama queens, and people that want an all-in-one tv with no external parts. I'd return it myself if I was just looking for an all-in-one tv and not going to hook anything up to it. But for hooking up via any of the HD inputs, Its so sweet.

Dan K

I agree, the westy and scpetre are really just display monitors, althought the sceptre trys to act as a stand alone TV if you wish. I have not used a stand alone TV in over a decade. I always use outboard tuning and audio. The sceptre just slipped right into place replacing my most excellent panny CRT. I really am quite pleased with my digital cable picture. The SD/DTV on the sceptre with TWC's SA8300HD looks really nice.....in fact much better than SD material with Dish Network's 811 STB and my Zenith Plasma. I will say when comparing LCD to Plasma....there is no comparison head-to-head plasma produces a picture with more colour pop and better blacks. When 1080p plasmas hit a reasonable price point in a couple of years (i would guess 2-2.5 years) I will pick-up a 1080p plasma and move the sceptre to my desk where is can act as computer monitor. But right now today there is no better option for a mixed use monitor (TV/HTPC) than the Sceptre and Westy IMHO. 1080p via a HTPC is just so amazingly killer.

manikin

09-02-05, 09:26 AM

Recieved The unit yesterday and of course hooked it up right away.

The Setup

HTPC -> Moniter VGA input
Comcast HD (Motorola DCT 6200) -> DVI to HDMI cable (supplied)
Sony DVD (Progressive 480P) -> Component
Cable -> NTSC tuner
Antennae -> ATSC (Not hooked up maybe this weekend)

All components redirect sound to the Digital Panasonic reciever.

HTPC as mentioned in all the prior post is phenomenal.
HD via the HDMI is crisp and colors are true to life and brilliant (may be too bright)
SD via the HDMI is so-so similar other HD units i own and have seen in person.
DVDs tested - Matrix (for blacks and Motion blur), Spiderman2, The Incredibles. Colors looked over saturated in the auto color setting. The quick tweaks provided a acceptable picture.
SD via the NTSC tuner looks great in PIP mode but is pixillated when scaled to full screen. (poor Scalar ?)
The component input will require the use of a HT calibration DVD (Aiva or similar).
The Remote is not very intuitive and feels cheap ( a learning remote is a must). The menu settings are very similar to ones seen on LCD computer moniters not TV's.
The TV auto aspect ratio could be better. The HDMI input works great, the component needs to be manually set Hopefully a one time setting only.

Overall a 7.5 on a scale of 1 - 10, Asthetics, price and picture quality being the pluses, Remote, menu nesting, and some ease of use issues being the negatives.
I guess I'm keeping it.
No blotching, dead or stuck pixels, and back light seems to stay on the setting adjusted to.

Mr.Lawrence

09-02-05, 10:06 AM

Ordered on the 20th, arrived yesterday (09/01/05).

Initial impressions...

Box is actually smaller than the box that my 30" Scepter came in. Interesting. It's packaged well, and seems only slightly heavier than my 30".

Out of the box, I expected the monitor case to be a darker black than it is. The color in the online photos make the case look completely black, but it's actually more of a dark charcoal gray. Not a big deal.

I didn't pay much attention to the stand since I plan on mounting it on the wall. I bought a Sanus Universal mount that I hope will work. I haven't even looked at the mounting points on the screen yet, though.

Nice compliment of cables. Component, composite, DVI-HDMI. The remote looks tacky! :)

Testing...

At this point in time, I don't plan to use this as a PC monitor for my PowerBook 15", or my PC laptop, so I won't mention or test this at all.

I make all the connections (except for the speakers), turn it on and immediately notice that there are 2 problems. There is a pin hole size white dot with a halo around it on the bottom right hand side of the screen. Is that a dead pixel? This one spot remains white no mater what the overall picture is. The second problem is that the screen seems to have "mild" hot spots or blotches when the monitor is all black. I can't see these hot spots when the monitor is blue.

My setup is Direct TV (non-HD) through S-video, and Pioneer DVD (non-upscalling) through Component cables. I plugged the S-video cable into the AV1 connection and got nothing but a blue screen??? Checked connections, still nothing. Put a DVD in (Fifth Element) and I'm disappointed! I unplug the S-video cable from AV1 and plug it into AV2 and there's the Direct TV picture. :) :confused: I unplug the S-video from AV2 and plug it back into AV1 and there's the picture. :confused: Oh well.

The Direct TV SD picture looks noticeably worse than it did on my 30" Secptre and also on our 23" Samsung. What's going on?!?! I'm really feeling bummed out now. I had such high expectations for this TV based on my experience with my 30". I hook up the speakers and I'm surprised to find that the speakers sounded better than I was expecting. Everyone complained how awful the speakers were, but to me they sound like the speakers from most TV's I've heard.

I'm really feeling depressed about the SD picture at this point. I mean really depressed. I don't think that I can live with it. So I decide to take a ride over to Best Buy to get an external HD antenna, take a deep breath and to think. Damn!!!

I get home with the antenna, hook it up and begin to search for HD content. 7 channels found. Ok. After the scanning is complete, I begin to scan the HD signals and up pops the Redskins vs. Ravens. Boy does the picture look sharp! The colors are great, and the detail is incredible! I begin to feel better. The Dallas Cowboys are going to look much better (Cowboys fan, living in Maryland).

I watch for a while, switching between SD, HD and DVD. SD looks downright fuzzy. Some stations are better than others. DVD looks passible, but not as good as on my smaller LCD's. I insert iRobot, then LOTR with varying results. HD is spectacular. Hmm.

Since I disconnected the 30" Sceptre to connect the 37", I decide to go downstairs to take a closer look at our 23" Samsung LCD with SD and DVD content. Sure enough, the SD image is just as bad, but on the smaller monitor and from a greater distance the picture looks good. I hadn't noticed that before.

I go back to my new 37" Sceptre and move away from the screen (I was testing at 3' from the screen), and I realize that the larger image is the basically the same as on the Samsung monitor, only larger.

Ok. I'm feeling better.

To sum things up...

- HD content is great.
- If the signal is bad, the image is going to be bad, and the larger the TV the more noticable the poor image will be.
-Overall this monitor with a good signal looks as good as other LCD's that I've seen including the Philips and Sharp
- I can't compare the adjustment options to other brands, so there may be some limitations, but with my initial limited toying with the controls I believe I can find a picture quality that I can live with

My plans...

I'm definetly going to return this set to get one without the defects.
I will continue to learn the various settings so that I can establish the best image adjustment for the content.
I will test my wall mount this evening. I hope that it works.

Larry

leobag

09-02-05, 11:19 AM

I'm definetly going to return this set to get one without the defects.Larry,

Let us know how your exchange process will go. I am concerned because they aren't selling the set anymore (usually means they have no more); and also, how is the exchange going to take place? Will you return the set via parcel (shipping, ouch), or will you return the set to a Costco warehouse, then have them ship another? The latter way is more of a return and re-buy, however, if there is no more for sale... what happens then?

I guess you can always exchange directly with Sceptre.
+

YNOS

09-02-05, 11:23 AM

How do I test for dead pixels? I am assuming I have to hook it up to my PC. Is there a seperate software program I have to have or is it on my computer already?
See Post #42 in this thread.

tucker973

09-02-05, 11:38 AM

Ahh, finally got my set. I've basically come to the same conclusions as everyone else - SD analog cable isn't so hot, but it's acceptable for me (better than the POS TV I had before), especially after turning down the "noise" setting. It washes the picture out a little, but it's not too terrible. The menus aren't the greatest, but I think some people around here really need to chill out. They do the job they're supposed to. So they're not high-rez shaded super awesome looking windows or anything, but I don't plan on staring at the menus for hours and hours, so I could care less at the end of the day.

I've encountered an interesting problem, however, that I'd like to know if anyone else is experiencing. I was eager to hook up my 17" PowerBook to see how awesome everyone has said PC content looks, so I hooked up the DVI cable. 1920x1080 displays OK, but over-saturated and nasty looking over HDMI/HDCP selections as reported earlier.

HOWEVER
On the normal DVI selection, the TV will not display 1920x1080. I tried everything I could think of, but the TV goes black quickly as if it was preparing to switch resolutions, then displays "640x480" and shows a nasty, unscaled picture. I decided to give it a shot over VGA using Apple's DVI-VGA cable and it displayed perfectly. 1080p content is truly stellar - like nothing I've ever seen before. Unfortunately, I can't get full motion playback because my laptop isn't fast enough. But the stills looked great! Xvid-encoded episodes of Arrested Development looked great other than the compression artifacts that are more apparent at such a high resolution, but colors and everything else were fine.

Upscaled DVD playback at 1080i over component via a Zenith DVB318 (with the 'un-fixed' component-out firmware) looks great; a little time tweaking the color settings and the TV is awesome.

So anyway, I will be using this set primarily as a TV and DVD player with occasional input from my PowerBook. Maybe I'm not as picky as others, but I knew going in that SD wasn't going to magically become HD just because I bought a big TV set. My crap-ass cable provider is sending a tech out today to see if I can receive HD over their system. I will be calling DirecTV this afternoon if they can't.

Summary: I plan on having some sort of High-Def source soon enough, SD is passable, DVDs look really good (after being upscaled) and input from computer sources is awesome.

Only oddity I found: TV will not display 1920x1080 from my PowerBook over DVI, only after using a DVI-VGA adapter.

anogaijin

09-02-05, 11:50 AM

meadowsd123

09-02-05, 11:58 AM

I am really surprised how well TV (digital cable) looks on the sceptre. In all honesty it is probably best to by-pass the sceptre's internal tuners and try to use an outboard solution. I am pretty suprised at all of the returns on this product. I am a pretty picky consumer and the sceptre has far exceeded my expectations so far.....but then again I am not using ANY of the built in tuners everything is outboard. My HTPC synced up at 1920x1080 without a hitch and with no overscan, seemingly 1:1 picel mapping via the VGA input. I will push the monitor this weekend and see how it holds up to a more careful inspection, but so far I am very pleased. Unless some major bug pops-up I will be keeping this set. Also I have no dead or stuck pixels and no VB or blotches.

Salty!

I completely agree with the tuner issue, at least for the NTSC tuner. I think it is junk. I had my Sceptre hooked up to the NTSC tuner and was going to return it the picture was so bad, but then thought to try it via component video from my Tivo and it look great. In fact, looks so good that I'm sticking with my basic cable and not going digital.

I've had good luck with the ATSC tuner though. Watched Shanghai Knights last night in 1080i widescreen and was blown away. Can't wait to try my attic antenna to see if I can pull in NBC too.

john trottnow

09-02-05, 12:08 PM

Zoglog

09-02-05, 12:27 PM

I just bought the 32" Naga from Costco, and am having a problem with it that I wanted to see if you 37" guys are having.

I am connecting to the DVI port with my PC, and when I scroll through the other inputs and come back to DVI, it no longer works. I have to disconnect the DVI cable from the back of the unit and reconnect it in order to get a picture. Turning the Naga off and on doesn't fix it either.

I emailed their tech support, and they said that this is how it is supposed to function, and that it's not meant to be used as a PC monitor, but it sounds like a bunch of crap to me. My friend has the BenQ, and his doesn't do this.

Any information is appreciated. Thanks!

nope that doesnt happen at all with the 37" sceptre I have. I noticed many people saying that Sceptre's tech support people are unprofessional and rude. I experiened this same thing with Vizio. I'm just happy I havent had to contact them since my set is working fine for the most part.

tucker973

09-02-05, 12:34 PM

I'm concerned of so many initial deliverys of this monitor having a various amount of problems and so many returns. I don't believe I was offered an extended warranty thru Costco, but if one exists maybe we should all jump om it!

If you bought it from Costco, it is already covered under Costco's lifetime satisfaction guarantee. Which is exactly what it sounds like. This has been mentioned in the thread about seven billion times.

ericjut

09-02-05, 01:04 PM

Regarding the bugs I found, I sent an email to their technical support to ask about these issues, and here's the information I got back.

Problem #1: On HDMI-DVI input, "Black Level" in the first menu doesn't do anything. The slider goes from 0-12 and absolutely nothing changes between 0-12. Could you please let me know what this setting is supposed to do?

Their Answer: Black level has to do with how dark items are on pictures, higher the value, the darker the dark color items are.

My take: Looks like it's supposed to work, but I can assure you it doesn't on mine. Maybe I have a defective unit.

Problem #2: Again on HDMI-DVI input (other inputs don't seem to have this problem), If you put anything else than 7 on the "Lamp" option, which is the backlight, the setting will always be put back to 7 (max) the next time you turn on the TV.
To repro:
1. Select HDMI->DVI
2. Put something white on your screen (open your browser fullscreen).
3. Go into the menu -> Lamp and put the slider to "0" (notice the light output to be a lot less than "7").
4. Turn off the TV
5. Turn on the TV (notice that the light output is back to very bright).
6. Go into the menu -> Lamp and notice that the slider is still at "0" even with the current max brightness.
7. Play with the backlight setting by going to "1" and then back to "0". Notice that the second you change the value, it corrects itself.
Is there a way to fix this issue?

Their Answer: We're looking into this problem.

My take: This is definitely a problem on my unit and it's a blocker issue for me. Looks like I might have a defective unit on that part also.

Problem #3: It seems like the PIP (when used with NTSC signal) is always stretched with no way to control the aspect ratio. Is that true?

Their Answer: PIP should be just 4:3, what do you mean stretched.

My take: I clearly see 4:3 content stretched into 16:9 aspect ratio (everybody fat) when displaying the native resolution of 1920X1080 on my PC. Maybe he didn't understand my question.

Problem #4: Trying to delete channels that I didn't want on my list of channel for NTSC was difficult. I had to get to the channel I wanted to delete, go through multiple menus to finally delete the channel. If I wanted to delete the next one, I had to be extremely quick (aka ~1 second) or else the menu would get dismissed and I would have to start the menu navigation all over again. Is there another way to delete multiple channels?

Their Answer: Sorry, that's the only way.

My take: (sigh)

Problem #5: I was informed that there was a possibility that the tuner would be able to handle QAM, but so far have been unsuccesful in getting it to work. Is there any way to enable the tuner to accept QAM channels?

Their Answer: Ahh, eric from the AVS forum. No, people kept thinking we're using the zinwell's tuner because we had the definition taken from that website. Actually we ended up using an asian brand of ATSC tuner, so QAM support is not available.

My take: I guess that's proof they're reading the forum. :D This also prove that: 1) it's not a Zinwell, 2) forget about QAM and 3) the hardcoded 720p maybe a byproduct of this "asian brand" tuner.

Problem #6: Last, but not the least, I've experienced "blotches" on my screen, which degrades the viewing experience considerably. I've attached a couple of snap shots showing the problem I have. Bright images don't show this issue, but on a solid color background, it's very easy to see that the LCD panel isn't looking uniform. Would you have any suggestions on how I can fix this problem?

Their Answer: That doesn't warrant a defect, the photograph probably does not do it justice. But if you can't really see it I can't comment ont it. if you feel troubled by it, return it to Costco for a new one please.

My take: It's unfortunately bothering me enough and after trying all the units at my local Costco and in other stores, I was not able to see this issue elsewhere.

At this point, too many people are amazed by their screen, and too little have confirmed those issues, which points me to think that I have a defective unit. Since there's no way to get another one for the moment, I guess I'll return mine for now and look elsewhere.

I wish to all of you guys a long life for your new TV.

-eric

ericjut

09-02-05, 01:13 PM

nope that doesnt happen at all with the 37" sceptre I have. I noticed many people saying that Sceptre's tech support people are unprofessional and rude. I experiened this same thing with Vizio. I'm just happy I havent had to contact them since my set is working fine for the most part.

Having dealt with Sceptre's Tech Support multiple times, I definitely don't agree with that statement. They might be a little vague and short in their answers, but that doesn't spell "rude" to me. They've always answered all my questions promptly... which is much more that I can say from other second tier electronics makers.

Speaking of "rude", my experience of Sharp's Tech Support is much more in that ballpark. But that's a story for another day. :D

-eric

ericjut

09-02-05, 01:19 PM

I just bought the 32" Naga from Costco, and am having a problem with it that I wanted to see if you 37" guys are having.

I am connecting to the DVI port with my PC, and when I scroll through the other inputs and come back to DVI, it no longer works. I have to disconnect the DVI cable from the back of the unit and reconnect it in order to get a picture. Turning the Naga off and on doesn't fix it either.

I emailed their tech support, and they said that this is how it is supposed to function, and that it's not meant to be used as a PC monitor, but it sounds like a bunch of crap to me. My friend has the BenQ, and his doesn't do this.

Any information is appreciated. Thanks!

Just to let you know, I do experience this problem too. After some research here and other forums, I found that you might want to try to upgrade your driver and/or look for another video card. Supposedly, it's a card thing. My current card that repros it is an ATI 9200 series. I unfortunately haven't found a way to make it work besides keeping it on the DVI input (and using the PIP to swap between my inputs instead of shuffling on the digital inputs, which seems to be where the problems lie).

Hope this helps.

-eric

lowspeed

09-02-05, 01:56 PM

I think i know why the picture is great in HTPC and not when it needs to scale the picture, it will probablly also expain why the picture is grainy in the non native modes.

I think that the set doesnt use all colors when it needs to scale so it actually does some sort of diethering. Less colors to handle less info to process.

mallu2u

09-02-05, 02:08 PM

thanks for the reply wiz. My laptop does not have dvi. Does have s-video and vga (i think--I guess it must have it , right). will check on the max resolution. I think native is around 1440/1080 or something like it. where should I get a vga cable from?

Have you ever hooked up an external monitor to your laptop? it about the same but you better hope your laptop can support 1920x1080.

You have two options. If your laptop does not have a DVI out, You can go with the VGA port which just work like any VGA port on a computer monitor. Depending on your laptop vidoecard and a good quality cable, it can be as good or very close to what you will get thru the DVI.

If your laptop have a DVI out and you don't need the DVI/HGMI port for some other input (Cable/sat receiver, etc) then use the included DVI to HDMI cable and select DVI under PC source.

Zoglog

09-02-05, 02:22 PM

My video card cannot keep up with the high resolution of this tv =( it makes me very sad lol.

Wiz33

09-02-05, 02:49 PM

Wiz33

09-02-05, 02:50 PM

jpconard

09-02-05, 03:07 PM

This may be more of a PC issue, but I received my TV Wed. I have MCE with ATI X300 PCIx, Nvidia decoder.

Everything is fine, I can play back WMVHD 1080p and 720p just fine, display SD through MCE, and HD through MCE, but the 1080i channels skip a lot. CPU usage is not high.

Do I need a better video card or does it sound like a de-interlacing issue (software)? I noticed the ATI catalyst driver (5.8) has a de-interlacing setting, but I thought the NVidia decoder handled all de-interlacing?

I have tried both the 1280x720 and 1920x1080, both are the same for the problem.

anogaijin

09-02-05, 03:11 PM

What videocard and driver version. Poeple have encounter this problem with older card but sometime a driver update will also fix it.

Running an older Radeon 7000 with Catalyst 5.7. I suppose I could try 5.8, but it looks like it may be the card at this point. If that is the case, are there any inexpensive cards out there that are known to work with a DVI connection? Any help is appreciated. Thanks

Wiz33

09-02-05, 04:18 PM

thanks for the reply wiz. My laptop does not have dvi. Does have s-video and vga (i think--I guess it must have it , right). will check on the max resolution. I think native is around 1440/1080 or something like it. where should I get a vga cable from?

One of the good thing about the Sceptre is that pretty much all the cable is provide (except a HDMI to HDMI). you should have a VGA cable in the box.

Wiz33

09-02-05, 04:20 PM

My video card cannot keep up with the high resolution of this tv =( it makes me very sad lol.

A ATI 9600XT can be had for about $90 and should handle 1920x1080. Newer games may have to run at a lower res though.

Wiz33

09-02-05, 04:23 PM

Zoglog

09-02-05, 04:43 PM

A ATI 9600XT can be had for about $90 and should handle 1920x1080. Newer games may have to run at a lower res though.

I'f you've seen by my previous screenshots I do play games so that' won't cut it; I already have a Geforce 6800 OC which is better but it's still not enough. I NEED like a 7800 GTX

Wiz33

09-02-05, 04:49 PM

I'f you've seen by my previous screenshots I do play games so that' won't cut it; I already have a Geforce 6800 OC which is better but it's still not enough. I NEED like a 7800 GTX

Ouch! major bling bling time ;-) I'm laggin behind with my 9800 pro since I mostly play RTS and RPGs. I only fire up HL2 at full res when I want to WOW visitors ;-)

Zoglog

09-02-05, 05:11 PM

Ouch! major bling bling time ;-) I'm laggin behind with my 9800 pro since I mostly play RTS and RPGs. I only fire up HL2 at full res when I want to WOW visitors ;-)

too bad i'm not bling enough :). Maybe in a year i'll get a GTX when the prices drop and quake 4 comes out along with Quake Wars

DeezMFNutz

09-02-05, 05:13 PM

One of the good thing about the Sceptre is that pretty much all the cable is provide (except a HDMI to HDMI). you should have a VGA cable in the box.

VGA to VGA cable is provided with the sceptre. I had to purchase a HDMI to HDMI cable. monoprices.com has nice cables at rock bottom prices.

hdnewbie

09-02-05, 06:27 PM

Zoglog

09-02-05, 06:58 PM

sounds like the problem is originating from your cablebox

shadyInCA

09-02-05, 07:29 PM

Hi all,
I've been enjoying the Sceptre LCD for three days already - DVDs, XBOX games and a few SD TV shows. Last night I hooked up my my COMCAST Motorola 6200 via the component input on the TV and watched a few shows. The LCD is reporting 480p, but I'm pretty sure that abc and espn do their HDTV broadcasts in 720p and NBC is 1080i. I tried fiddling with the settings on the motorola, but there is no option to force 720p or 1080i output. Is this an issue with the LCD's autodetection of the signal or is the 6200 just putting out a 480p signal? I've tried the DVI output before on my projector, but it blanks out after a few seconds - almost like it disables itself.

Thanks.

-c

I have the Motorola 6412, and in the installation guide it has this section:

Step 3: Set picture resolution from DVR box to TV
The next setting is referred to as “Y Pb Pr OUTPUT” and indicates the picture resolution output from the cable box to your TV. The choices are 480i, 480p, 720p, and 1080i. For most standard TVs, the appropriate setting is 480i. Choose 480p for enhanced definition TVs. For HDTVs, choose either 720p or 1080i. Refer to your TV owner’s manual and choose the setting that indicates the highest picture resolution your television will support.

Does yours have something like that?

SacTownMan

09-02-05, 07:43 PM

Running an older Radeon 7000 with Catalyst 5.7. I suppose I could try 5.8, but it looks like it may be the card at this point. If that is the case, are there any inexpensive cards out there that are known to work with a DVI connection? Any help is appreciated. Thanks

Ouch! A Radeon 7000 is really a very poor card for anything other than surfing the web.

If you are looking for a great 8X AGP card try looking around for a 128 MB ATI 9800 Pro. It has 8 pipes vs 4 for the newer 9600XT's and it wasn't that long ago it was considered one of the best cards you could buy. They can be had for about $150.00 (less than half of their original price). If you pair that with a HDTV Wonder in your HTPC you can have an incredible HTPC setup for about $300.00.
Some hardcore gamers still think the older 9700 series still has a lot of horsepower but they are hard to find.

The newer X-700 or X-800 series would be great also but most are based on PCI Express and that means major hardware upgrades (i.e. new computer).

Zoglog

09-02-05, 07:51 PM

I hope you dont return your TV Eric =) ur our advocate for getting sceptre to fix those bugs lol.

I just read this article on engadget "Until recently HDMI chips were unable to process 1080p/60 and while they’ve broken through those limitations, few (if any) sets actually include these new chips. It’s been rumored that Sony’s Qualia 1080p front-projector will start to include 1080p/60 HDMI technology."
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000303057041/

Does this apply to the sceptre?? Somehow i'm thinking it does but i'm hoping not.

steve

09-02-05, 08:42 PM

Well, my Sceptre arrived today. UPS killed it. The outside box looked ok. The inside box was another story. It has a huge dent right in the middle. Unforunately, this dent was on the front side of the television. When I removed the set from the inside box, I saw that the panel is cracked across the entire face. Not just a single crack, but multiple cracks. In addition, there are smudges, indicating the liquid in the panel has run.

I called Costco. They said I can either return the set to the store for an immediate refund, or they can send me a return shipping label so I can drop off the set at UPS. I will try to get to the store this weekend.

Costco also told me they they can not order a replacement. They are all sold old, although they hope to get more sets some time in October.

I am bummed out by this. I never had an item damaged by UPS before. I waited approx. 6 weeks to order the set, and then had a friend place the order for me as I was out of the country without Internet access. I was looking forward to watching the set tonight and comparing it to the image on a 30 inch LCD set I have and my 9 inch front CRT projector.

I have not seen other posts indicating their set was damaged by UPS. I guess I am the first one. Lucky me.

The only consolation is that as time goes on, better sets will most likely be available at the same price or lower. Also, my broken set is nothing compared to what everyone in MS and LA are going through.

Steve

Zoglog

09-02-05, 08:47 PM

Haydee

09-02-05, 08:54 PM

sold out.. doesn't sound good for those of us still "in process.."

jpconard

09-02-05, 10:47 PM

Anybody else using this with Media Center? I took my x300 back to Compusa (hadn't been 20 days) and upgraded to x700.

It is better, but I still get something strange, skipping when pans on CBS and NBC (1080i channels). I have tried both 1920x1080 and 1280x720. ABC and FOX look great (720p).

Using ATI 5.8 and Nividia Purevideo decoder. I tried a MPEG-2 decoder from elecard. It was better for this problem but not as much adjustment and not as good of a picture.

What resolution is preferred for 1080i and 720p? 1280x720 is fine for both, are others running at 1920x1080 for TV? Is there an advantage one way or the other?

I know for 1080p (WMV-HD) 1920x1080 would be preferred.

I also noticed that the Catalyst control center has settings for de-interlace, but the catalyst control panel does not. Is the ATI drivers attempting de-interlacing, maybe conflicting with Nvidia decoder which also does de-interlacing?

DeezMFNutz

09-02-05, 10:57 PM

Hi all,
I've been enjoying the Sceptre LCD for three days already - DVDs, XBOX games and a few SD TV shows. Last night I hooked up my my COMCAST Motorola 6200 via the component input on the TV and watched a few shows. The LCD is reporting 480p, but I'm pretty sure that abc and espn do their HDTV broadcasts in 720p and NBC is 1080i. I tried fiddling with the settings on the motorola, but there is no option to force 720p or 1080i output. Is this an issue with the LCD's autodetection of the signal or is the 6200 just putting out a 480p signal? I've tried the DVI output before on my projector, but it blanks out after a few seconds - almost like it disables itself.

Thanks.

-c

I used to have a motorola 6412 STB with comcast. You could set the output resolution by turning off the unit and the depress and hold the menu button (on the front of the unit) down. It brings up a set-up menu...I think.....it has been a while since I last had a 6412.....give it a try or google for the 6200 series manual and it will explain in there.

dkelly

09-03-05, 01:05 AM

dkelly

09-03-05, 01:08 AM

jvoncolln

09-03-05, 01:19 AM

Hi all,
I've been enjoying the Sceptre LCD for three days already - DVDs, XBOX games and a few SD TV shows. Last night I hooked up my my COMCAST Motorola 6200 via the component input on the TV and watched a few shows. The LCD is reporting 480p, but I'm pretty sure that abc and espn do their HDTV broadcasts in 720p and NBC is 1080i. I tried fiddling with the settings on the motorola, but there is no option to force 720p or 1080i output. Is this an issue with the LCD's autodetection of the signal or is the 6200 just putting out a 480p signal? I've tried the DVI output before on my projector, but it blanks out after a few seconds - almost like it disables itself.

Thanks.

-c

With your TV on, push the power button on the cable box (power it off), then push the menu button on the front of your cable box. A menu will come up that allows you to select 480p, 720p, or 1080i. A few other settings are also available.

Chears

Rhys

09-03-05, 01:52 AM

mobilebucky

09-03-05, 02:30 AM

Just to let you know, I do experience this problem too. After some research here and other forums, I found that you might want to try to upgrade your driver and/or look for another video card. Supposedly, it's a card thing. My current card that repros it is an ATI 9200 series. I unfortunately haven't found a way to make it work besides keeping it on the DVI input (and using the PIP to swap between my inputs instead of shuffling on the digital inputs, which seems to be where the problems lie).

I have the same problem after I upgrade my ATI 9600 Pro to the latest ATI Catalyst 5.8 driver. It seems I cannot get my HTPC input after I switch from ATSC. I rolled back to the older driver (I forgot to check the Driver version, but I think the driver is some time around 8/2004) then everything works fine again, I can now switch between any sources and still can go back to my DVI-HTPC signal. Maybe just try the older ATI Catalyst driver and see whether it fixed the problem.

Art

Wiz33

09-03-05, 03:05 AM

Well after having my set for a few days, I can say I like the TV but the black level are absolutely horrid!!! I could never watch a 2.35:1 movie on the TV.

BTW, how the do we get that $50 mail in rebate?

I was watching The phatom of the Opera tonight and finally saw this problem as the movie have so many dark color and dark scenes. I ended up turning down contrast and turning up brightness (more than I did earlier) and it actually improved quite a bit, I can make out more detail and the near black have more levels to it. Give it a try.

bobgpsr

09-03-05, 12:12 PM

I've had my X37 a couple days now and have it working well with my PC. I've
found that using a VGA connection from a MyHD 130 to the X37 does not work
for the MyHD's 1920x1080i output capability (probably a X37 limitation).
However when I then used a component breakout cable on the MyHD's VGA
connector and went into the X37's component inputs 1080i worked perfectly!
The MyHD tuner gave a very good picture even on analog cable channels versus
a very noisy picture using the X37's NTSC TV Tuner.

[I]Edit: I've re-routed my cable connection to remove a splitter and the NTSC
picture with a stonger signal is acceptable now. I do not have the MyHD
DVI connection daughter board./I]

I have not yet tried the
X37's ATSC tuner (and may never with the lack of a toslink audio output easily
accessible).

Using VGA from the second output of my 6600GT to the X37 worked fine with
1080p, but I've picked up a longer DVI cable and DVI/HDMI adapter from BB and
now use a straight DVI/HDMI connection at 1080p. The supplied 3ft DVI to HDMI
cable is really too short! Zoomplayer with ffdshow at 2x resizing, Lanczos 2 with
Luma sharpen 0.6 looked very HD like (very good) with various DVDs in my
collection. IMO this is a keeper since I wanted it for use connected to a PC that
had tuners already. The NTSC tuner connection is ok for watching CNN without
having to turn on the computer.

klas

09-03-05, 12:34 PM

just to want to report that I've had this set for a week and I am still amazed how it works with my MCE and that's after being disappointed with 32" Syntax Olevia.The only thing I want to change is the stand. Can someone recommend a good replacement?

NickS

09-03-05, 12:43 PM

I've had my X37 a couple days now and have it working well with my PC. I've
found that using a VGA connection from a MyHD 130 to the X37 does not work
for the MyHD's 1920x1080i output capability (probably a X37 limitation).
However when I then used a component breakout cable on the MyHD's VGA
connector and went into the X37's component inputs 1080i worked perfectly!
The MyHD tuner gave a very good picture even on analog cable channels versus
a very noisy picture using the X37's NTSC TV Tuner. I have not yet tried the
X37's ATSC tuner (and may never with the lack of a toslink audio output easily
accessible).

Using VGA from the second output of my 6600GT to the X37 worked fine with
1080p, but I've picked up a longer DVI cable and DVI/HDMI adapter from BB and
now use a straight DVI/HDMI connection at 1080p. The supplied 3ft DVI to HDMI
cable is really too short! Zoomplayer with ffdshow at 2x resizing, Lanczos 2 with
Luma sharpen 0.6 looked very HD like (very good) with various DVDs in my
collection. IMO this is a keeper since I wanted it for use connected to a PC that
had tuners already. The NTSC tuner connection is ok for watching CNN without
having to turn on the computer.

This is the post that I have been waiting for! Thanks, Bob.

How do you think the MyHD DVI Daughter Card for MDP-130 would work in your application? Would it pass 1080P from the tuner to the X37 and would it pass through 1080P from the video card as well?

Cyrano

09-03-05, 01:11 PM

Well after having my set for a few days, I can say I like the TV but the black level are absolutely horrid!!! I could never watch a 2.35:1 movie on the TV.

Do you have another set to compare it to? (a side-by-side)

I'm not doubting you, I found the same thing with the Sceptre 30" and was wondering about this set. For me the black level is very important. The ability to see in dark, low contrast scenes is one I look for. (I know it can't be CRT-perfect - I own a DLP PJ so I can accept dark-gray as black. ;) )

Rhys

09-03-05, 02:20 PM

Do you have another set to compare it to? (a side-by-side)

I'm not doubting you, I found the same thing with the Sceptre 30" and was wondering about this set. For me the black level is very important. The ability to see in dark, low contrast scenes is one I look for. (I know it can't be CRT-perfect - I own a DLP PJ so I can accept dark-gray as black. ;) )

Well, I had a 27" CRT next to it and watched a little bit of SD cable on both to compare, side by side. The shadow details weren't too bad compared to the CRT. The contrast isn't CRT good but it's not aweful either.

The biggest complaint I have is that the black bars are far from black. :( I have the lamp set at 0 and have played around with the brightness and contrast some, but you start to lose shadow details if you drop the brightness much. During the daytime with moderate ambient light the black bars look ok, but at night time .... bleh! When watching widescreen shows that fill the entire screen it's fine too, but whenever there are black bars my eyes are drawn to them and I'm constantly reminded how non-black they are.

I've never owned a HD TV before and what I didn't realize (and never really thought about) was that on the HD channels any material not shot in widescreen is sent with the black bars encoded on the sides. So 98% of TV watching (SD and HD) is going to have black bars on the side. With SD you can stretch it to fill the screen but the stretch mode is really basic and I prefer watching in the OAR (original aspect ratio). I get my HD from an OTA antenna and the only real HD material is available after 8pm (and even then only on about half the HD stations) except for PBS which starts at 3pm. UPN upsizing Seinfeld to 1080i doesn't make it HD! :p

At this rate I imagine everything will be filmed and broadcast in HD around 2048. Maybe I'll even still be alive to see it!

I have a fp I watch movies on so I only plan on using the Sceptre for TV and console games. Not sure if I'll keep this or not. I suspect the black level issue is going to be common with all lcds so I doubt I'll find a better replacement at this time.

Again, anyone know anything about the $50 mail in rebate? :confused:

edit: BTW, the HD material does look REALLY good on this set. Although if you get close enough (~2 feet) you can see slight compression artifacts in the HD signal. On PBS HD, it's kind of weird; everytime the sceen changes there's about half a second where the compression artifacts are really noticable. I assume that's part of their signal because I don't see this on other HD channels.

And a note about the slow channel changing. I've found that if all my HD stations come in, the tv will switch between them pretty quickly. But if there's a station that has a weak signal and doesn't come in, the tv will take a long pause trying to find it and you have to wait a few seconds before you can change the channel again.

bigsid05

09-03-05, 02:40 PM

Just got back to play with mine last night and I'm satisfied overall. Great HTPC monitor, but I'm mostly going to be using it as a TV for now. Very nice picture from the DVI and VGA inputs.

SD tuner isn't bad, cable running through this house is not very good so I've gotten used to it anyway. ATSC tuner is somewhat grainy as others have said. Not bad picture, but could be better. Picks up channels well. Menus aren't bad either, fairly straightforward.

I had the buzzing issue with the PC plugged in as other people have had, but I won't be using the built in speakers so it doesn't matter to me.

Can't wait for football season to start!

steve

09-03-05, 05:52 PM

Returned my UPS busted set today to a Costco store. They refunded everything, including shipping without any problems. However, there are no more sets available, so they can not send me another one.
Steve

indiprod

09-03-05, 06:37 PM

Well after having my set for a few days, I can say I like the TV but the black level are absolutely horrid!!! I could never watch a 2.35:1 movie on the TV.

BTW, how the do we get that $50 mail in rebate?

Go to the Costco Web site. You can apply for the rebate online.

Re. black level, I suspect an LCD won't match a CRT and I think it's a trade off between a slightly higher black level and the amazing detail of 1080i. Playing with all the adjustments, I found a black level that, although not as black as my CRT, is acceptable to me and I'm pretty picky. Here are my settings:

VIDEO MENU
contrast 34
brightness 18
sharpness 9
color 28
tint 0

ADVANCED MENU
vivid color OFF
skin tone OFF
green LOW
blue LOW
gamma 0

SYSTEM MENU
lamp 0

I found that lowering the lamp to 0 made a big difference. If I remember right, one of the other owners reported trouble with his lamp level not staying at a true 0 once he turned the set off, then on again. It would readout 0, but the level was actually higher. Have you checked to see if yours has that problem? It could explain why you find the black level so bad even though the lamp readout says 0.

Good luck!

Mike G

jmichaelf

09-03-05, 07:02 PM

Took mine back to CostCo today. They gave me 101 $20 bills and change, counted out at the front of the store. Unbelievable. I walked out with my ninja skills in top gear.

Adobe

09-04-05, 12:15 AM

Ken Flick

09-04-05, 12:53 AM

tropicalisland

09-04-05, 01:29 AM

I am counting on being able to display our work (still photography -- see www.catphotogallery.com ) to small groups with outstanding image quality.

Does anyone have any ideas why there is this big discrepancy between the great PQ we get from the ATSC tuner and the murky picture we get from DVDs? All suggestions appreciated.

Ken Flick
I'd be very interested to know about your satisfaction with this monitor regarding your photography work (when you get your PC graphics card)

SacTownMan

09-04-05, 03:39 AM

Dark, Murky, Grainy DVD Picture
I've had my Sceptre for a few days now and while the NTSC picture quality is nothing to write home about, the PQ from the unit's ATSC tuner is just fine, especially the HD programs. I have yet to hook up my PC, but I have a ATI 9600 XT card coming next week and -- based on the forum reviews here -- I am counting on being able to display our work (still photography -- see www.catphotogallery.com ) to small groups with outstanding image quality.

However my wife and I watch a lot of DVD movies and it is here that the X37 is not cutting it so far. Our source is a Panasonic E55 recorder with component input to the panel. And compared to what we were getting from our 32" Proview (which we've held onto, just in case this set turned out to be a dog), the Spectre PQ is darker, muddier and grainier.

Does anyone have any ideas why there is this big discrepancy between the great PQ we get from the ATSC tuner and the murky picture we get from DVDs? All suggestions appreciated.

Ken Flick

Earlier in this thread I suggested to another person interested in upgrading their HTPC's video card to look at an older 9800 Pro or 9700 Pro card over the 9600XT.

I am currently watching the Naga on a Radeon 128 MB AIW 9800 Pro and it looks great at 1920 X 1080.

Both of these older cards have 8 pipes vs 4 and 256 bit memory vs 128 for the 9600XT. Unless you are interested in a new PCI-Express based, HTPC replacement computer, they are still a great choice for a 8X AGP card.

Check out this review:

http://www.digital-daily.com/video/3dmark-2005pro/

It is a comparison of 40 various video cards. Many other video card reviews before this have shown the same thing and I thought that you should at least take a look before committing yourself.

The 128 MB 9800 Pro can be found for about $150.00. It sold for almost $400.00, when new, and was one of the top cards for a long time.

For someone looking for a inexpensive AGP alternative to the new $500.00 ATI or 7800 PCI- Express cards it's a real good value.

I have built 2 HTPC's for friends using the AIW 9600 and AIW 9600XT and they are both happy as clams but if I had it to do over again I would use the 9800 Pro with a HDTV Wonder. Both can be had for around $300.00 and you can spend you money on more memory or a bigger hard drive.

Adobe

09-04-05, 09:46 AM

Are you suppose to be able to plug multiple sources, say an S-video connection and a standard single component (RCA), into the same input (ie. AV1)?

I was able to do this on my previous Sony standard TV and it worked. Which ever source had a signal present it would show on the TV. Then I didnt have to worry about switching things on the TV.

I've done the same thing with the Sceptre, plugged both an S-video and component into AV1 but only the S-video shows up. The component video only shows up when I unplug the S-video.

My question for people that have more experience with other TVs is whether this is normal or not? Is this something I should expect this TV to do?

amert20

09-04-05, 12:39 PM

I have connected my Dish HD receiver to Sceptre 37' with DVI=HDMI connection. I can get good signals with HDMI and HDCP selections when I choose 1080i through my dish receiver. However DVI gives 640x480 resolution picture and half of the picture is cut. When I changed my selection from dish receiver to 720p, all selections show nice picture.

Anybody knows how to fix DVI selection.

bigsid05

09-04-05, 01:30 PM

HOWEVER
On the normal DVI selection, the TV will not display 1920x1080. I tried everything I could think of, but the TV goes black quickly as if it was preparing to switch resolutions, then displays "640x480" and shows a nasty, unscaled picture. I decided to give it a shot over VGA using Apple's DVI-VGA cable and it displayed perfectly. 1080p content is truly stellar - like nothing I've ever seen before. Unfortunately, I can't get full motion playback because my laptop isn't fast enough. But the stills looked great! Xvid-encoded episodes of Arrested Development looked great other than the compression artifacts that are more apparent at such a high resolution, but colors and everything else were fine.

Only oddity I found: TV will not display 1920x1080 from my PowerBook over DVI, only after using a DVI-VGA adapter.

I'm having this problem as well. 1920x1080 over VGA works just fine. Maybe it's a video card issue? I'm testing using my laptop at the moment.

Haydee

09-04-05, 01:36 PM

I am beginning to think I won't get mine by football season :(

I went to the local costco to see if there were any returned ones, no such luck.

Ken Flick

09-04-05, 02:09 PM

Thanks for the Video Card Tip on the 9800 Pro

Originally Posted by SacTownMan
Earlier in this thread I suggested to another person interested in upgrading their HTPC's video card to look at an older 9800 Pro or 9700 Pro card over the 9600XT.

I am currently watching the Naga on a Radeon 128 MB AIW 9800 Pro and it looks great at 1920 X 1080.

Both of these older cards have 8 pipes vs 4 and 256 bit memory vs 128 for the 9600XT. Unless you are interested in a new PCI-Express based, HTPC replacement computer, they are still a great choice for a 8X AGP card.

Check out this review:

http://www.digital-daily.com/video/3dmark-2005pro/

It is a comparison of 40 various video cards. Many other video card reviews before this have shown the same thing and I thought that you should at least take a look before committing yourself.

The 128 MB 9800 Pro can be found for about $150.00. It sold for almost $400.00, when new, and was one of the top cards for a long time.

For someone looking for a inexpensive AGP alternative to the new $500.00 ATI or 7800 PCI- Express cards it's a real good value.

I have built 2 HTPC's for friends using the AIW 9600 and AIW 9600XT and they are both happy as clams but if I had it to do over again I would use the 9800 Pro with a HDTV Wonder. Both can be had for around $300.00 and you can spend you money on more memory or a bigger hard drive.

Thanks, SacTownMan, for the tip on the Radeon 9800 Pro video card. Had I seen your Friday post to someone else on this before I had ordered the 9600 XT, I would have popped for the extra $50 and nearly doubled the 9600 XT’s performance capabilities. But I had already ordered from NewEgg on Thursday and the card had been shipped.

At that point, I was only looking for a modestly priced card that would display still images at 1920x1080. I wasn’t ready to spend $400+ on a bleeding edge card like the Radeon X800 XT or the GeForce 6800 series. But, in the near future I would like to build an HTPC – or have someone savvy like yourself build one for me. And if you say that 9800 Pro, along with ATI’s All in Wonder HD tuner card, would do the trick, I would have happily sprung for the difference. I did check out the link you provided to the site which ranked the performance of 40 Video Cards, and I saw just how much better the 9800 Pro was than the 9600 XT I ordered. And for a bit more, the 9800 XT was even stronger than that.

Oh, well. Live and learn. Having not followed the demands of gaming for 5-6 years, I am a total newbie to this level of video card performance. And sorting through the current ATI and Nvidia product offerings to make an appropriate choice for my needs was a mind numbing experience for a 64 year old geezer.

We are still sitting on a 32" Proview LCD (another recent “Brand X” deal from Costco) and if I cannot get the Sceptre X37 to match the PQ I was getting from the Proview, when watching DVD movies from our Panasonic E55 recorder/player through the component inputs, I doubt that we will keep the X37. For all of its kinky little glitches and shortcomings in other areas, DVDs looked great on our Proview.

Now, DVD movies may look far better when sourced from an HTPC like many fAVS Forum members here have. I wouldn’t know, since I’ve never seen an HTPC and had not even heard of one until a few weeks ago when I joined this Forum. Right now, the Proview is my reference standard for DVD PQ on an LCD and I would be happy if the Sceptre would just match that. But no amount of tweaking has got me there yet.

So unless some forum member has some advice on this, I may have to go the HTPC route – sooner rather than later – in order to do a workaround for watching movies. I just don’t get it, since I hooked up my Zenith 420 external HDTV tuner through the X37's component inputs and the picture looked much cleaner. Maybe this murky DVD picture we’re getting is a problem with the Sceptre’s internal scaler ? I would really like to keep this set, but . . .

Ken Flick

dwangtp

09-04-05, 05:52 PM

First off, HTPC is the way to go. Why? 'Cause alot of the issues of compatibility and "blah,blah,blah" go out the window. The big question becomes, "Is the display high resolution and high quality?" HTPC will do you web surfing, DVD movies (much better than a DVD player mind you), Music archives, Photo Archives, and TV recording. It really doesnt get much better.

And BTW, the 9800pro is really outdated. I know you guys aren't looking to drop $300+ for a video card, but really the 6600GT is a better card for today's games and you can find it around for about $150. You can look up reviews at www.[H]ardocp.com if you want to validate that.

Great AGP's are getting really hard to find, so if you want one, you better get it soon.

If you want a good deal on an ati card, I suggest you check out their Clearance center.

Here's a link. --> http://shop.ati.com/searchresults.asp?dept_id=39

Awhile back, I purchased a refurbished X800XT PE AGP with warrenty for $215 shipped. So I'd check it out if I were you...

PS: Mine included Component adapter cables and a DVI/VGA adaptor. So its not like an OEM or anything.

nascar24

09-04-05, 05:54 PM

The 9800pro is really outdated. I know you guys aren't looking to drop $300+ for a video card, but really the 6600GT is a better card for today's games. You can look up reviews at www.[H]ardocp.com if you want to validate that.

Great AGP's are getting really hard to find, so if you want one, you better get it soon.

If you want a good deal on an ati card, I suggest you check out their Clearance center.

Here's a link. --> http://shop.ati.com/searchresults.asp?dept_id=39

Awhile back, I purchased a refurbished X800XT PE AGP with warrenty for $215 shipped. So I'd check it out if I were you...

The X800pro that they have in stock now for $179 is well worth the price and will play any of todays advanced games on your new TV/monitor. Much better than the 6600GT.

dwangtp

09-04-05, 06:01 PM

Nascar...

Is it ok to post deals like I just did? It seems to be a bad thing for me not too, which is why I did. Oh well.

SacTownMan

09-04-05, 06:20 PM

The X800pro that they have in stock now for $179 is well worth the price and will play any of todays advanced games on your new TV/monitor. Much better than the 6600GT.

Wow! The 9800 Pro is a indeed a big step behind the X800 pro so for $30.00 more that's a great deal.

I didn't mention the 6600GT because I thought it was in the range of $200 to $250.00, and although a great choice for a SLI setup and gaming, I think ATI cards are better suited for HTPC(i.e. All-In-Wonder Series and HDTV Wonder).

I just tried to point out some other decent mid-ranged cards under a $150.00 assuming that he probally spent that much for the 9600XT and were a much better value.

DeezMFNutz

09-04-05, 06:37 PM

Dark, Murky, Grainy DVD Picture
I've had my Sceptre for a few days now and while the NTSC picture quality is nothing to write home about, the PQ from the unit's ATSC tuner is just fine, especially the HD programs. I have yet to hook up my PC, but I have a ATI 9600 XT card coming next week and -- based on the forum reviews here -- I am counting on being able to display our work (still photography -- see www.catphotogallery.com ) to small groups with outstanding image quality.

However my wife and I watch a lot of DVD movies and it is here that the X37 is not cutting it so far. Our source is a Panasonic E55 recorder with component input to the panel. And compared to what we were getting from our 32" Proview (which we've held onto, just in case this set turned out to be a dog), the Spectre PQ is darker, muddier and grainier.

Does anyone have any ideas why there is this big discrepancy between the great PQ we get from the ATSC tuner and the murky picture we get from DVDs? All suggestions appreciated.

Ken Flick

Regarding digital photos, I am not an expert photographer but I appreciate a good photo here and there. My GOOD digital photos look spectacular on the panel, they almost look 3-dimensional. That being said the high resolution really magnifies any photo imprefections and poor shots. Some of my higher ISO shots really demonstrate a lot of noise. BUT that is a testament to the display as it is a true representation of noise that was obtained during image acquisition with the my P&S digital camera. Outdoor and low/normal ISO shots look just amazing. If you have good source material the display will really shine, that holds true with AV sources as well! Just make sure you drive the panel with a PC or HTPC at its NATIVE 1920x1080 resolution, that is going to be critical to having a great image. You can do this via the VGA port or the HDMI port (using the supplied DVI->HDMI cable). I use the VGA port with my powermac and pictures and web browsing and DVD playback are all spectacular with this monitor/TV.

IMO LCD display technology is getting pretty good, however most manufactures are struggling to keep up with the electronics/scaler/tuner portion of the part of making a good LCD panel a good TV as well, this holds true for BOTH first and second tier manufacturers. So if possible you will want to bypass the internal tuners and scalers as much as possible. Using a dedicated HTPC is a great idea. Using an outboard high quality HTDV STB also works great. Using an HTPC for DVD playback or a stand-alone upscaling DVD player would also yield better results with DVD material........that is until blu-ray and HD-DVD come around.....I am betting that HD-DVD/Blu-Ray material will look killer on this set, that will be my next purchase as soon as the dust settles.

ericjut

09-04-05, 09:15 PM

Wow! The 9800 Pro is a indeed a big step behind the X800 pro so for $30.00 more that's a great deal.

I didn't mention the 6600GT because I thought it was in the range of $200 to $250.00, and although a great choice for a SLI setup and gaming, I think ATI cards are better suited for HTPC(i.e. All-In-Wonder Series and HDTV Wonder).

The 6600GT is not a bad card for HTPC either and it's available for a lot less than what you thought.

It might not be a high priority to everybody, but the 6600 series cards have a hardware WMV decompressor which let's you easily enjoy WMV 1080p on a 2.4GHz machine, which is impossible with any ATI card at the moment.

-eric

nascar24

09-04-05, 09:32 PM

Nascar...

Is it ok to post deals like I just did? It seems to be a bad thing for me not too, which is why I did. Oh well.

I think this one is ok, As far as non msrp for display links I believe is where they have stuff against because they have forum advertisers.

nascar24

09-04-05, 09:34 PM

The 6600GT is not a bad card for HTPC either and it's available for a lot less than what you thought.

It might not be a high priority to everybody, but the 6600 series cards have a hardware WMV decompressor which let's you easily enjoy WMV 1080p on a 2.4GHz machine, which is impossible with any ATI card at the moment.

-eric

What do you mean by ATI cards not having something like this as they do have WMV acceleration built right into the control panel of the drivers.

hdnewbie001

09-05-05, 12:03 AM

Hi,

I'm a new to HDTVs. I'm trying to test my Sceptre X37 with DVI from my laptop. I have a IBM T40 laptop and a port replicator. I connected the DVI cable from port replicator to this Sceptre box and I can see the windows desktop on the HDTV screen as well as laptop's LCD screen. However, motion video (playing in Nero or WinDVD or Windows Media application), is showing up in only on the laptop and not on HDTV screen. This window (Nero, etc) shows up blank on HDTV screen.

I'd appreciate if someone can provide guidance on how to see motion video in DVI output from laptop.

Thanks!

bigsid05

09-05-05, 12:16 AM

You need to set the Sceptre as your primary monitor or disable your laptop's LCD. The problem is the video card is only applying the overlay to one video output, which is your laptop LCD.

edit: Is your laptop outputting at 1920x1080 via DVI? Just curious, I want to make sure my issue is due to my laptop and not the display.

klas

09-05-05, 02:22 AM

lowspeed

09-05-05, 02:32 AM

Another thing that bothers me is the dynamic contrast....

The brightness keeps changing in according to the most black level on the screen.

Anyone else notice this ?

Rhys

09-05-05, 03:43 AM

Banding Test.

Can you guys download this clip bellow from microsoft website and report if you see any banding?
http://download.microsoft.com/download/f/f/4/ff4bef15-969a-4b19-a13e-d638d1933e74/MP10_Striker_10mbps.exe

I am running HTPC w/ x300 via DVI and see lots of banding on the monitor

Every WMV9 moive I've downloaded from MS has had banding on every display I watch them on. I've heard the ones you purchase don't have the banding.

bigsid05

09-05-05, 07:56 PM

When playing PS2/Gamecube via component input there is always a 1-inch black strip on the left side of the screen, is this normal? Games are set to 16:9 mode.

xenfinity

09-05-05, 09:48 PM

When playing PS2/Gamecube via component input there is always a 1-inch black strip on the left side of the screen, is this normal? Games are set to 16:9 mode.

Hmmm I had this happen to my dell 24" even with "fill" mode on. I think it's just the way the 2 systems operate. Maybe they were anticipating overscan so they built in a signal to counter it?

Haydee

09-05-05, 09:50 PM

Some games just can't fill the screen. It's not just you.

Any later orderers 27/28 get their orders confirmed yet?

nascar24

09-05-05, 10:03 PM

When playing PS2/Gamecube via component input there is always a 1-inch black strip on the left side of the screen, is this normal? Games are set to 16:9 mode.

I get the samething with my Westy and my XBOX via component so I wouldnt worry about it.

xenfinity

09-05-05, 10:09 PM

Some games just can't fill the screen. It's not just you.

Any later orderers 27/28 get their orders confirmed yet?

Nope not yet man. When I called to ask they said "our schedule of 10-15 days is consistent sir". So we're still looking at another week... Man how am I going to live w/o tv! I sold my dell 24" to buy this. I'm shipping that baby out tommorow when I haven't even gotten my shipping confirmation let alone make sure that hte unit works! Hope I don't get a dud.

Haydee

09-05-05, 10:43 PM

Nope not yet man. When I called to ask they said "our schedule of 10-15 days is consistent sir". So we're still looking at another week... Man how am I going to live w/o tv! I sold my dell 24" to buy this. I'm shipping that baby out tommorow when I haven't even gotten my shipping confirmation let alone make sure that hte unit works! Hope I don't get a dud.

Oh man, I know! Football thursday!

bigsid05

09-05-05, 11:57 PM

xenfinity

09-06-05, 12:35 AM

Good, good, just making sure. My xbox dashboard does fill out the screen, but I still wanted to check with others.

Any insight on the DVI problem from anyone? I'm hoping my laptop DVI just isn't capable of 1920x1080 and that's whats doing it...

Can't wait for Thursday here either!

Well if other people are able to connect via DVI at 1080p then wouldn't you think it's a laptop problem? Have you tried borrowing someone's DVI connection? Graphics card or a spare computer? Just to test it out.

bigsid05

09-06-05, 12:38 AM

My main PC has a dvi output but it's not feasable to test it out with that at the moment. I do think it's just a laptop issue but a couple others had the problem as well so I figured I'd ask to see if any of them did some testing.

Wiz33

09-06-05, 01:15 AM

Wiz33

09-06-05, 01:18 AM

richardorser

09-06-05, 02:34 AM

>>Problem #2: Again on HDMI-DVI input (other inputs don't seem to have this problem), If you put anything else than 7 on the "Lamp" option, which is the backlight, the setting will always be put back to 7 (max) the next time you turn on the TV.
To repro:

1. Select HDMI->DVI
2. Put something white on your screen (open your browser fullscreen).
3. Go into the menu -> Lamp and put the slider to "0" (notice the light output to be a lot less than "7").
4. Turn off the TV
5. Turn on the TV (notice that the light output is back to very bright).
6. Go into the menu -> Lamp and notice that the slider is still at "0" even with the current max brightness.
7. Play with the backlight setting by going to "1" and then back to "0". Notice that the second you change the value, it corrects itself.

Is there a way to fix this issue?

Their Answer: We're looking into this problem.

My take: This is definitely a problem on my unit and it's a blocker issue for me. Looks like I might have a defective unit on that part also.<<

Well, I'll be darned Eric. Mine appears to do the same thing. And, because there appears to be no standby mode, I turn my unit off every time I leave the computer for more than a couple hours. So my lamp must pop right back up to 7 and stay there. The unit puts off a lot of heat. Has anyone measured the power consumption?
BTW, does anyone yet know the bolt size for the 4 threaded mounting holes?

Mr.Lawrence

09-06-05, 07:30 AM

Larry,

Let us know how your exchange process will go. I am concerned because they aren't selling the set anymore (usually means they have no more); and also, how is the exchange going to take place? Will you return the set via parcel (shipping, ouch), or will you return the set to a Costco warehouse, then have them ship another? The latter way is more of a return and re-buy, however, if there is no more for sale... what happens then?

I guess you can always exchange directly with Sceptre.
+

leobag,

Since Costco is currently out of stock on the 37" Sceptre, I will keep the one that I have until they have them back in stock. When they become available, I will order an new one and when it arrives I will take my current one back to my local Costco.

crispytreat

09-06-05, 07:49 AM

Mr.Lawrence

09-06-05, 08:15 AM

nascar24

09-06-05, 08:32 AM

leobag,

Since Costco is currently out of stock on the 37" Sceptre, I will keep the one that I have until they have them back in stock. When they become available, I will order an new one and when it arrives I will take my current one back to my local Costco.

Dont count on it, Costco is known for selling an item out and thats the end of that item for them.

Mr.Lawrence

09-06-05, 09:10 AM

Dont count on it, Costco is known for selling an item out and thats the end of that item for them.

Thanks for your input :rolleyes: , but others have indicated that Costoc expects to have the set back in stock in October! After purchasing my 30" Scepter in September of '04, the availability of that set was on and off many times.

Zoglog

09-06-05, 12:28 PM

When playing PS2/Gamecube via component input there is always a 1-inch black strip on the left side of the screen, is this normal? Games are set to 16:9 mode.

It's pretty normal, and with ps2's you get a little bit of black bar on the left and right side.

donsev

09-06-05, 12:34 PM

The 22"-37" Tilting Wall Mount Item #834059 that was on the same page as the Sceptre 37" LCD TV at Costco on-line doesnt work.

After attaching the rails to the back of TV I could not connect the TV to the mount. The rails on the TV are spread too far apart to fit on the 22"-37" wall mount. From my initial research it looks like Sceptre put the screw holes too far apart for a 37" LCD TV.

It looks like the length on the 32" to 60" mount Costco has will work but Im betting the rails that attach to the back of the TV will be much longer and will stick out above or below the TV.

Plus it looks like it will stick out at least 6" from the wall.

Anybody try the larger tilt mount yet?

Adobe, Thanks for reporting in on the Costco/Peerless wall mount INcompatibility. Unfortunately, this is what I expected, and will likely not work with the "larger" ST640 either;

The Costco unit (the Peerless FPT-220) and the Peerless ST640 are very similiar but the ST640 is rated for 22-49" screens and 150lbs, while the FPT-220 is only rated for 22-37" screens and 80lbs. The only other apparent difference is that the FPT-220 uses a latch to secure the mounting brackets to the wall plate while the ST640 uses a set screw. But most importantly, they are both only 18.65" (474mm) wide.

I just received my ST640 and as I feared, the construction only allows a maximum 16.75" (425mm) distance between the center of the bracket mounting holes when the brackets are extended to their maximum width (let alone not allowing any of the intended left/right adjustment). As the Sceptre reports to have a 440mm (17.3") hole spacing, these two Peerless models do not appear as if they will fit the Sceptre without adapters (do you think anyone at Costco actually checked before posting the link on the Sceptre 37" sale page?).

The Peerless SF640 may work, other than that, yes you likely will have to move up to a larger (>50" Plasma) wall mount.

nascar24

09-06-05, 12:46 PM

Thanks for your input :rolleyes: , but others have indicated that Costoc expects to have the set back in stock in October! After purchasing my 30" Scepter in September of '04, the availability of that set was on and off many times.

No problem :rolleyes:

bennynihon

09-06-05, 01:12 PM

I measured power consumption of the Sceptre last night with one of those Kill-A-Watt units.

120 W (Lamp = 0)
230 W (Lamp = 7)

Unlike Plasmas which fluctuate with each scene, the LCD is consistent as the set is illuminated by the back-light regardless of a dark or bright scene. Since most people find the Lamp at 0 to be plenty bright, 120 W is very low power consumption. I think the Plasma folks would be hard pressed to find a set that has an average power dissipation of 120 W.

I also calibrated the component source of my set using the Avia home theater calibration DVD. Here's what I found to produce the best picture quality per their guidelines.

Contrast: 37 (White Level)
Brightness: 32 (Black Level)
Sharpness: 8
Color: 33
Tint: +1

Make sure to have flesh tone, blue, and green enhancements turned off (and whatever other such enhancements there are).

Whoever says this set does not do a good job as a TV either hasn't properly calibrated it, or has a defective unit. The Sceptre is replacing a 34" CRT HDTV for me, which clearly has the best white/black levels of any technology, and I'm simply amazed at how similar the quality is with the Sceptre LCD. I often find myself forgetting that I'm looking into an LCD, and think that I'm still looking at the old TV.

mallu2u

09-06-05, 01:13 PM

Ditch (Markus)

09-06-05, 01:36 PM

I guess I am going to cancel the order on costco online, if they allow it. bought the sharp 37'' in the meanwhile and really like it. bit more expensive than this tv but lot nicer GUI (from what I have heard abt sceptre), better build quality and sound for sure. Not sure if I can cancel online or would I have to take delivery and then take it back to store for refund. will see.
If there is anyone in northern VA and wants this TV, just PM me.

FYI, Costco doesn't offer an order cancellation process once an item "has" been shipped, but there is an easy solution for you (read below) all the same. Costco is really a first class operation where it's members are concerned.

If your order "hasn't" shipped, call their customer service number immediately (it's listed on their website) and you should be able to cancel and not even have to deal with it further.

If your Sceptre is already enroute and you don't find a local taker for it, here's the FYI on returning it. I did the exact same thing and picked up the Sharp as well (and BTW am very happy with my decision).

You can either accept delivery and return it locally (they may want to give you a Costco Cash Card if you didn't use an Amex card to pay for it), or you can simply refuse delivery (make sure if someone isn't there to refuse delivery that you post a note for the delivery person, as they often leave large packages like that at your door if no one is home). After the delivery attempt (and subsequent refusal) has taken place, either call or email Costco to notify them of your delivery refusal and they will process a full refund back to your credit card (expect approx. 10-15 days for return delivery and credit card processing).

This information came directly from a conversation I had with Costco customer service prior to my refusing delivery. Per their recommendation, I decided not to accept my delivery (easier than returning it in person), and there was absolutely no problem. I sent Costco an email and my Sceptre is now enroute back to their warehouse. The credit should even take place before my Visa billing cycle ends so it's a total no-brainer. I explained that I learned that the Scepter wouldn't meet all of my needs due to some feedback I had read from others that already received their sets and as such wanted to find another set. The CSR was very nice and helpful and didn't have any problems whatsoever.

Good luck to you and enjoy your Sharp!

Cheers ;)

oml

09-06-05, 01:52 PM

Hi I am new guy.
I just received my set last friday, but it has some problem, the left half screed can not display properly, when the brightness is high, it will turn to pink....
is it fixable?

mallu2u

09-06-05, 02:25 PM

thanks for the reply Markus. I dont believe that my TV is enroute since the order status says "in Process" with tracking greyed out. I like the sharp as well. Its a solid product from what I have seen so far.

lowspeed

09-06-05, 02:32 PM

lowspeed

09-06-05, 02:35 PM

bennynihon

09-06-05, 02:44 PM

I'm going to try these settings tonight.

Did u have the lamp set to 0 ? thats what i have it set now.

Yes, this was with the lamp set to 0.

SacTownMan

09-06-05, 03:49 PM

Sceptre 37": Day 4...

I still need to return my set because of a couple of problems, but since Costco is out of stock, I will wait.

Wall mounting...

The original mount that I bought didn't work (Sanus Universal) because once the brackets were mounted on the back of the set, they were to far apart to mount onto the wall plate.

So, I bought another Sanus mount (designed for Plasma's and larger LCD's) and it worked fine. I have the Scepter mounted on the wall angled down 5 degrees.

Picture quality...

I find myself doing a lot of adjusting from one source to another to get the best image. DVD's look good. OTA HD via the built in ATSC tuner are fantastic. SD via DirectTV is so bad on some stations, I find myself switching to OTA HD just to make sure that I'm viewing the same panel. On Saturday I watched most of the Blake vs. Nadal Tennis match, and the OTA HD image is unbelieveable. It was almost as though I was there. Simply amazing!!!

I keep telling myself that if this unit is able to display such a spectacular OTA HD signal, then it has to be the source that's limiting the SD image and not a fault of the set???

I'm going to try connecting my DirectTV Tivo (non-HD) to the Scepter this evening to see if the poor SD signal is at all dependent on the DirectTV tuner. I currently have the basic RCA Direct TV tuner connected to the Sceptre and the SD doesn't look all that good on most stations. My DirectTV TiVo tuner is connected to our 23" Samsung and I think that the SD content is a bit clearer.

We'll see

I too watched the US Open tennis with the OTA tuner this weekend and the picture quality was "stunning". DVD's played through my HTPC look very good but my Surewest digital TV and NTSC sources are poor.

Isn't it strange that when a high quality input (HTPC) or a high quaility, over the air, HDTV signal using the built in tuner can look so incredible the other junk that is broadcast looks so poor.

I equate this to primarily one thing:

"GIGO" Garbage-In-Garbage-Out

I am amazed at the lack of quality HDTV content that is being broadcast in my area. Many of the channels are using 480p and when there are channels that have 720p or 1080i they are choosing to pump crap content over them most of the day.

This monitor/TV is capable of such high resolution that when it asked to display a
480 (or less) signal it does so accurately and the reaction seems to be there is a problem with the set. I would say that there is a problem with expecting a NTSC based signal, or a DVD that is less than 500 lines of resolution, to scale up to a 1920 x 1080 screen and suddenly look great. If someone has that expectation they would most certainly be happier with a lower native resolution monitor that would make their old video or cable sources look better. I purchased this screen for the future and not the past. Of course a 1024 x 768 screen would do a better job of showing poor cable or DVD content and still seem to be doing a great job of HD content.

I bought this set for it's accuracy and from my perspective it's doing a great job of showing me just how bad sources really look when displayed at such a high native resolution.

I always remenber the old saying "You can't make chicken salad out of chicken sh.." and I for one am absolutely convinced that this display is showing me just what it sees from whatever input it is given.

shadyInCA

09-06-05, 04:21 PM

lowspeed

09-06-05, 05:17 PM

Yes, this was with the lamp set to 0.

What about noise reduction ?

bennynihon

09-06-05, 05:29 PM

What about noise reduction ?

I'm not sure what you mean by that? Is there a "noise reduction" setting? If so, then I can't believe I missed it.

jvoncolln

09-06-05, 05:56 PM

I am beginning to think I won't get mine by football season :(

I went to the local costco to see if there were any returned ones, no such luck.

When did you order yours? I ordered on 8/27, not shiped yet.

Zoglog

09-06-05, 06:39 PM

http://www.hardwarezone.com/news/view.php?id=2396&cid=

Hmmm... HDMI 1.2 =(

Ken Flick

09-06-05, 07:21 PM

Murky PQ from DVDs

Originally Posted by SacTownMan
This monitor/TV is capable of such high resolution that when it asked to display a
480 (or less) signal it does so accurately and the reaction seems to be there is a problem with the set. I would say that there is a problem with expecting a NTSC based signal, or a DVD that is less than 500 lines of resolution, to scale up to a 1920 x 1080 screen and suddenly look great. If someone has that expectation they would most certainly be happier with a lower native resolution monitor that would make their old video or cable sources look better. I purchased this screen for the future and not the past. Of course a 1024 x 768 screen would do a better job of showing poor cable or DVD content and still seem to be doing a great job of HD content.

Not to keep flogging the same horse, but . . . I can't understand why my 37" Sceptre can't display a picture from my dvd player of equivalent quality to what my 55" Mitsu (RP CRT) does with the same DVD material from the same DVD player. Your argument, SacTownMan, that you can only scale up a 480p image so far before it looks like garbage, sound s logical. And it would serve to explain why DVD source material looks better -- WAY better -- on my 32" Proview with 1280x720 (or is it 1366x768?) resolution. But my big ol' Mitsu HD relic does (at least to my eyes) a great job as well.

I know the Scepter screen is capable of great imagery -- I've seen it on OTA HD and fully expect, from all I've heard, to see it from my PC when I get it hooked up in a couple of days. So where is the DVD signal falling apart? Am I the only one getting a murky picture that's dark and seems to have a collapsed color palatte? When I try to brighten up the dark picture, the blacks -- and everything else -- gets milky. And yes, I've tweaked all the settings (in component mode) using my Digital Video Essentials DVD

I'm considering replacing my DVD player with an Oppo and letting it do the scaling since someone suggested that the Sceptre's internal scaler might be the problem. But I need to be pretty sure that will be the cure because I've pretty much blown the media budget for a while in terms of household harmony.

Anyone have any other thoughts on this? Or similar experiences with DVD picture quality?

I have to wring good PQ out of this set when watching DVDs or it may have to go back.

Wiz33

09-06-05, 08:04 PM

Murky PQ from DVDs

Not to keep flogging the same horse, but . . . I can't understand why my 37" Sceptre can't display a picture from my dvd player of equivalent quality to what my 55" Mitsu (RP CRT) does with the same DVD material from the same DVD player. Your argument, SacTownMan, that you can only scale up a 480p image so far before it looks like garbage, sound s logical. And it would serve to explain why DVD source material looks better -- WAY better -- on my 32" Proview with 1280x720 (or is it 1366x768?) resolution. But my big ol' Mitsu HD relic does (at least to my eyes) a great job as well.

I know the Scepter screen is capable of great imagery -- I've seen it on OTA HD and fully expect, from all I've heard, to see it from my PC when I get it hooked up in a couple of days. So where is the DVD signal falling apart? Am I the only one getting a murky picture that's dark and seems to have a collapsed color palatte? When I try to brighten up the dark picture, the blacks -- and everything else -- gets milky. And yes, I've tweaked all the settings (in component mode) using my Digital Video Essentials DVD

I'm considering replacing my DVD player with an Oppo and letting it do the scaling since someone suggested that the Sceptre's internal scaler might be the problem. But I need to be pretty sure that will be the cure because I've pretty much blown the media budget for a while in terms of household harmony.

Anyone have any other thoughts on this? Or similar experiences with DVD picture quality?

I have to wring good PQ out of this set when watching DVDs or it may have to go back.

Wait till you got the PC hooked up as all DVD thru PC is progressive scan (which you dvd player may not do) and will give you a much better picture. as for the Black, try a few of the setting that other's have posted, I found them to be quite useful for getting more near black level.

lowspeed

09-06-05, 08:41 PM

I'm not sure what you mean by that? Is there a "noise reduction" setting? If so, then I can't believe I missed it.

Yep there's a noise reduction setting.

Its where the color thingy is ....

check it out....

mine is set to +4.......

JAK666

09-06-05, 09:43 PM

Excellent post by bennynihon (post #660) about how to calibrate the unit using component inputs. As a semi-newbie, some questions & observations:

Q1: I'm using an OTA signal thru the ATSC connector. If I calibrate (under Picture --->"User Mode") using a DVD thru the component inputs, are the settings good for other AV inputs (OTA, etc.) or do you have to calibrate for each input?

Q2: When turning the unit on with the remote, there is a 20-25 second delay B4 picture/sound. Why? (I don't think it's vaccuum tubes warming up...)

Q3: Is there a way (using the remote) to directly access a channel rather than scrolling thru the "memorized" list? How do you enter channel 2-1 without a "-" button?

Q4: bennynihon, what was your "Gamma" setting?

Observation1: I'm using only an OTA signal at present and I want to echo the PQ comments of others--with a good 1080 signal the images are amazing but lower quality/resolution sources are marginal. This may be a combination of a poor scaler and crummy program material. If anyone has used an outboard scaler, I'd be interested in their results.

Observation2: The sensitivity of the OTA tuner seems quite good---I'm on a hillside near San Jose, CA. Using an unamplified (Radio Shack (!)) Yagi, I can get 'Sacratomato' HD signals (approx. 85 miles).

Thx for the collective wisdom! :D

bennynihon

09-06-05, 10:11 PM

Yep there's a noise reduction setting.

Its where the color thingy is ....

check it out....

mine is set to +4.......

What input are you using? The reason I was unaware of a Noise setting is that it is "grayed out" with Component input. The settings I posted are with component input.

lowspeed

09-06-05, 10:18 PM

What input are you using? The reason I was unaware of a Noise setting is that it is "grayed out" with Component input. The settings I posted are with component input.

Ah regular TV :)

bennynihon

09-06-05, 10:29 PM

Excellent post by bennynihon (post #660) about how to calibrate the unit using component inputs. As a semi-newbie, some questions & observations:

Q1: I'm using an OTA signal thru the ATSC connector. If I calibrate (under Picture --->"User Mode") using a DVD thru the component inputs, are the settings good for other AV inputs (OTA, etc.) or do you have to calibrate for each input?

You should certainly start with the values you get from a calibration DVD with the component input when you calibrate the OTA input, and then tweak if necessary. Unfortunately, it'd be tough to be able to get test patterns out of the OTA tuner, but you may find some channel that has some video test patterns.

Mor e ideally you would want to be able to calibrate the picture settings for each and every device you use on a particular input (from a switch for instance). There's only one "user mode" unfortunately, so it's not practical to have to switch the settings each time you switch inputs.

Q2: When turning the unit on with the remote, there is a 20-25 second delay B4 picture/sound. Why? (I don't think it's vaccuum tubes warming up...)

20-25 seconds seems excessive. Is this with the OTA input only? I have about a 2-3 second delay with component.

Q4: bennynihon, what was your "Gamma" setting?

I have Vivid Color, Skin Tone, Green, Blue, and Gamma all to OFF. I didn't rely on these enhancement when doing the calibration. I think Sharpness could be reduced from what I said. 6-8 all seem good.

JAK666

09-06-05, 10:50 PM

bennynihon:

Slow startup with OTA input...haven't tested with other sources but maybe tonite...all other aspects of unit seem to work great...once I get 'em figured out... still stymied by how to directly access a specific channel....thx again!

bigsid05

09-06-05, 11:25 PM

The OTA DTV picture does take a while to come up on my unit when I first start it up, really noticeable if I start the TV up and its already on the DTV input. Other inputs have a small delay. Almost no delay if I switch to DTV later after the TV has been turned on.

mantamet

09-07-05, 12:25 AM

Murky PQ from DVDs

Not to keep flogging the same horse, but . . . I can't understand why my 37" Sceptre can't display a picture from my dvd player of equivalent quality to what my 55" Mitsu (RP CRT) does with the same DVD material from the same DVD player. Your argument, SacTownMan, that you can only scale up a 480p image so far before it looks like garbage, sound s logical. And it would serve to explain why DVD source material looks better -- WAY better -- on my 32" Proview with 1280x720 (or is it 1366x768?) resolution. But my big ol' Mitsu HD relic does (at least to my eyes) a great job as well.

I know the Scepter screen is capable of great imagery -- I've seen it on OTA HD and fully expect, from all I've heard, to see it from my PC when I get it hooked up in a couple of days. So where is the DVD signal falling apart? Am I the only one getting a murky picture that's dark and seems to have a collapsed color palatte? When I try to brighten up the dark picture, the blacks -- and everything else -- gets milky. And yes, I've tweaked all the settings (in component mode) using my Digital Video Essentials DVD

I'm considering replacing my DVD player with an Oppo and letting it do the scaling since someone suggested that the Sceptre's internal scaler might be the problem. But I need to be pretty sure that will be the cure because I've pretty much blown the media budget for a while in terms of household harmony.

Anyone have any other thoughts on this? Or similar experiences with DVD picture quality?

I have to wring good PQ out of this set when watching DVDs or it may have to go back.

I used a panny xp50(top rated in secrets) with componet out and it looked good,but nothing compared to my htpc.I think htpc is the best way to go with this set.Dvd's scaled to 1080p is absolutely awesome on this set.

Ken Flick

09-07-05, 09:24 AM

Murky PQ from DVDs: UPDATE
Major chagrin here and a big "DUH!" A friend brought over boxed DVD set of LOST season I last night and we played some of it. WOW! Huge revelation -- the picture looked fine. Not HD quality, certainly, but every bit as good as DVD looks on our 55" Mitsu and 32" Proview . . . and probably a bit better. I'm stoked! The only (perceived) problem with this set has now been resolved. It's a definite keeper. It's predecessor, the Proview, which was being held in reserve, can now go "home" to Costco.

After much hand wringing (and not nearly enough rigorous troubleshooting analysis) the "Murky Picture" problem can be traced to a the cheesy transfer quality of a boxed set of DVDs which was about all we had been watching DVD-wise since the Sceptre arrived. The DVD set is Season II of Once and Again. I thought we had begun watching the first episodes on the Proview a day or two before the Sceptre arrived. But my sweet wife, who has a far more accurate memory than I do, assured me last night (after the big "Ahah!" with the LOST DVD) that the last thing we watched on the Proview were the last episodes of Season I of Once and Again. So . . . there never was a real apples-to-apples comparison to be made between the PQ of the Proview and the Sceptre. Even though one might fairly assume that the just released Season II set would have been mastered with the same attention to a quality transfer as the Season I set was (three years earlier). THIS WAS WHAT THREW ME. It wasn't the same at all. Last night, after watching LOST, I slotted up a Season I disk of Once and Again and, whaddayaknow, it looked just as good as it did on the Proview . . . or better.

So I want to thank everyone who offered me advice and suggestions while I was on this fools errand. I'm real satisfied with the DVD PQ now, but when I begin jonesing for an even better picture some time in the future, I will definitely consider the Oppo player or the really potent fix you junkies get from your HTPCs.

Zoglog

09-07-05, 02:11 PM

What settings is everyone using on thier PC for thier video cards?

I currently set my Nvidia Geforce 6800 to around

low digital vibrance
85% brightness
1.15 Gamma
and 100% contrast or so.

I did this when I put up some background with some very light purple. However the purple showed up as white on the Sceptre so I did not even know it was there. Fiddling with the TV's settings didnt fix the problem but fiddling with the video card's did work.

kkrull

09-08-05, 09:48 AM

If anyone is planning to return their Sceptre to Costco in Utah, Idaho or Washington state please PM me. Am also looking for someone to not refuse shipment and let me just buy it from them.

jvoncolln

09-08-05, 12:16 PM

If anyone is planning to return their Sceptre to Costco in Utah, Idaho or Washington state please PM me. Am also looking for someone to not refuse shipment and let me just buy it from them.

Has anyone recieved a set in the last few days, or at least a ship notification?
I'm wondering if those of us who ordered late (8/27) will get one. :rolleyes:

YNOS

09-08-05, 12:31 PM

Has anyone recieved a set in the last few days, or at least a ship notification?
I'm wondering if those of us who ordered late (8/27) will get one. :rolleyes:
Maye you'll be one of the lucky ones that gets a second generation set where some of the bugs in the current generation are fixed.

uc35

09-08-05, 01:40 PM

Has anyone found a Swinging Arm wall mount for this TV?

richardfj27

09-08-05, 02:24 PM

I ordered on 8/26 ... still no word :-(

looks like 8/25 or so was the pivot point ... people who ordered before I think have received theirs ... those who ordered after are now waiting for some sort of restocking ...

I WANT MY TV!!!!!!! ... everything is all set up and it'll be plug-n-play the moment I get it ...

richardfj27

09-08-05, 02:29 PM

BTW ... anyone has any experience with a standard progressive scan DVD player for this TV?

I'm debating (with myself) over whether I should wait until I get my Xbox 360 and use it for my DVD player ... or invest in the LG model that upscales to 1080i ...

I'm obviously aware that the upscaling model will probably look much better than the Xbox 360, but if I can avoid the cost / save the space and still get a decent picture I'd probably just wait

So ... if you've tried a 480p DVD signal on this TV I'd love to hear about it ... and also about how you've connected it ...

Zoglog

09-08-05, 02:29 PM

u have my condolences, just imagine how much sweeter it'll be once u get it. Assuming they dont delay it too much lol

meadowsd123

09-08-05, 03:53 PM

I watched the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix at the weekend on Digital Cable (SD) and I thought the picture was very acceptable. I was expecting it to be really bad after comments in this thread.

Analog SD (from my TiVo series 2 via SVideo) isn't so acceptable though :(

What is the source for your Tivo? Garbage in - Garbage out. Mine improved a lot by moving my Tivo upstream from all my splitters. Cable modem and watching a second program while the Tivo is recording splits were killing my signal from basic cable. Still not great on some channels from basic cable, but I think this TV's resolution magnifies a bad picture because if I looked closely the picture wasn't so hot from the Tivo on my 31" Panasonic tube.

nojo

09-08-05, 04:11 PM

richardfj27

09-08-05, 04:29 PM

I have a Progressive Scan DVD player but how do I know what the output is? (480p, etc)

All DVDs are 480i/p ... so the progressive scan DVD player would output 480p, unless you specifically have a upscaling DVD player (which only adjusts the 480p detail that exists on the DVD)

If you have an upscaling DVD player ... you'd likely have an output selector that would allow you to select between 480p/780p/1080i ... or something to that extent ...

How does your DVD hook-up look? ... satisfied? .. how does it compare to the HD broadcasts / or any other true HD picture you display on the TV?

bigsid05

09-08-05, 05:08 PM

720p-capable XBOX games look fantastic.

shadyInCA

09-08-05, 05:47 PM

What is the source for your Tivo? Garbage in - Garbage out. Mine improved a lot by moving my Tivo upstream from all my splitters. Cable modem and watching a second program while the Tivo is recording splits were killing my signal from basic cable. Still not great on some channels from basic cable, but I think this TV's resolution magnifies a bad picture because if I looked closely the picture wasn't so hot from the Tivo on my 31" Panasonic tube.

It's funny, since I wrote that, I've been watching more TiVo content, and it's not as bad as I first thought - however, I can't remember if the stuff I've watched was recorded from the Digital cable box, or from the RF input that I've now set it up with.

Maybe I'm just getting use to it

bobn4burton

09-08-05, 05:50 PM

Griddle

09-08-05, 06:00 PM

Can you set your display to 1280x1024 on this set? And if so how does it look?

richardorser

09-08-05, 06:24 PM

What is the RECALL setting in the menu when using DVI? There are two options: YES & NO.

Haydee

09-08-05, 07:17 PM

bobgpsr

09-08-05, 07:30 PM

jvoncolln

09-08-05, 07:37 PM

As was asked previously...I'm also curious to know if there is anyway to enter in a channel manually (in DTV)? I've tried entering channel numbers manually but that doesn't do anything. The best way I've found to change channels is to use the "favority" button. Pushing this button brings up a menu with all of the channels listed on the left column. I then just scroll to the channel I want and select it.

Is there a better way to switch channels in DTV mode?

Oh, This brings me to a question.
Has anyone asked Sceptre for a comprehensive list of IR codes for this set?

Hopefully they wouldn't have an issue with providing this, as it would only help in the acceptance of the product by people (nearly everyone) using multi function remotes.

I would also be intersted in a comprehensive listing of the menu structure. I think someone promised to do this early on in the thread.

bobn4burton

09-08-05, 07:56 PM

I finally hooked up my UHF antenna feed to the Sceptre X37 a couple of days ago
and have been comparing its picture to that when feed the same station via
a PC hosted MyHD 130 connected via the component inputs @1080i.

IMO the internal ATSC tuner IS scaling a 1080i source signal to 720p since the
same station looks much more detailed and for fine detail, more stable, with the
1080i signal feed in via component. This jives with what the source button
switching indicates for the video input versus what both the MyHD and internal
ATSC tuner indicate what the station is sending via the PSIP info.

So you found the internal ATSC tuner to be inferior to your MyHD? How much difference was there? I eventually plan to build a HTPC for this LCD and then I'll be using the PC for ALL scaling. However...in the meantime I noticed that Radioshack has an OTA HDTV reciever on clearance for 89 bucks with HDMI output. Is the difference enough to warrant purchasing a separate tuner for 90 bucks? Or is it just a slight difference?

SacTownMan

09-08-05, 08:12 PM

Can you set your display to 1280x1024 on this set? And if so how does it look?

I just adjusted my desktop from 1920 x 1080 output from my HTPC (using the vga input) to 1280 x 1024 and it looks quite ugly. It is blurry and the desktop is missing some of the left and right content. I'm not sure you can adjust the screen size to fit like a regular computer monitor but I could be missing something.

nascar24

09-08-05, 08:21 PM

I just adjusted my desktop from 1920 x 1080 output from my HTPC (using the vga input) to 1280 x 1024 and it looks quite ugly. It is blurry and the desktop is missing some of the left and right content. I'm not sure you can adjust the screen size to fit like a regular computer monitor but I could be missing something.

The Westinghouse does this without issue, Of coarse it doesnt look as good as native but not that bad.

nojo

09-08-05, 08:30 PM

All DVDs are 480i/p ... so the progressive scan DVD player would output 480p, unless you specifically have a upscaling DVD player (which only adjusts the 480p detail that exists on the DVD)

If you have an upscaling DVD player ... you'd likely have an output selector that would allow you to select between 480p/780p/1080i ... or something to that extent ...

How does your DVD hook-up look? ... satisfied? .. how does it compare to the HD broadcasts / or any other true HD picture you display on the TV?

I plan to do better comparison tonight between DVD and HD OTA (CBS is the only channel I get). I am also going to compare between different hookup methods for my DVD plaer. What is the best connection usually?

However, I should mention that I am doing this all with the Sharp LC-37" D5U while still waiting for my Sceptre to arrive.

bobgpsr

09-08-05, 08:37 PM

So you found the internal ATSC tuner to be inferior to your MyHD? How much difference was there? I eventually plan to build a HTPC for this LCD and then I'll be using the PC for ALL scaling. However...in the meantime I noticed that Radioshack has an OTA HDTV reciever on clearance for 89 bucks with HDMI output. Is the difference enough to warrant purchasing a separate tuner for 90 bucks? Or is it just a slight difference?

Not huge, but at my 2ft distance when typing at the computer it is somewhat
noticable. At 8 ft it probably is hard to tell. Note that this is only for HDTV
signals that are 1080i. No noticable difference for OTA 720p signals.

A bigger issue is whether you are willing to go inside the X37 case to connect
up the Toslink digital audio interface. HDTV without digital audio quality is a
waste. $89 is a heck of a good price for an external HDTV receiver.

Zagman

09-08-05, 09:44 PM

Has anyone found a Swinging Arm wall mount for this TV?

I bought this wall mount for my 32" proview. My set is vesa 100/200. This mount is vesa 100/200,200

peerless articulating arm for 22"-37" lcd screens (http://www.peerlessindustries.com/profile.cfm?ut=I&id=740SP&sg=FPSS)

comes in silver or black. Shop for it. I got mine for allot cheaper than peerless retail.

SacTownMan

09-08-05, 10:21 PM

The Westinghouse does this without issue, Of coarse it doesnt look as good as native but not that bad.

Man! Let it go will ya! Are you on Westinghouse's payroll or what?

It's a 1920 x 1080 monitor! What would you expect when outputting a lower video setting, via VGA, then the displays native resolution. I can easily change my computer game settings (i.e. 1920 x 1080 to 1600 x 1200 or even 1024 x 768) and send it through with no adverse effect on picture quality. Far Cry looks incredible at 1920 x 1080 but with AA 4X and my HTPC rig that had the AIW 9800Pro I had to drop down to 1600 x 1200 to have smooth game play. I switched over to my HTPC with the AIW X800 XT and 1920 x 1080 plays GREAT and runs without issue!

My Samsung 213T 21.3" LCD computer monitor looks best when set at it's 1600 x 1200 native resolution too! If it's set to a lower resolution the icons and font don't look nearly as sharp (like the Naga did at the lower setting).

mallu2u

09-08-05, 11:38 PM

I cancelled my order with Costco and have decided to keep the sharp 37''

dwangtp

09-09-05, 01:12 AM

Man! Let it go will ya! Are you on Westinghouse's payroll or what?

Actually, I'm glad he said something because I dont think anyone has mentioned that in the Westinghouse thread, and its good information for me to know.

Though I do understand there is a bit too much back and forth of Sceptre this and Westinghouse that...

nascar24

09-09-05, 06:58 AM

Man! Let it go will ya! Are you on Westinghouse's payroll or what?

It's a 1920 x 1080 monitor! What would you expect when outputting a lower video setting, via VGA, then the displays native resolution. I can easily change my computer game settings (i.e. 1920 x 1080 to 1600 x 1200 or even 1024 x 768) and send it through with no adverse effect on picture quality. Far Cry looks incredible at 1920 x 1080 but with AA 4X and my HTPC rig that had the AIW 9800Pro I had to drop down to 1600 x 1200 to have smooth game play. I switched over to my HTPC with the AIW X800 XT and 1920 x 1080 plays GREAT and runs without issue!

My Samsung 213T 21.3" LCD computer monitor looks best when set at it's 1600 x 1200 native resolution too! If it's set to a lower resolution the icons and font don't look nearly as sharp (like the Naga did at the lower setting).

Whatever, Just stating facts get over it allready! :rolleyes:
I stated it worked fine on mine so you wouldn’t think it was ok, I didn’t state anything negative about your beloved Sceptre, Awful touchy about your purchase aren’t we. And NO it shouldnt be cutting off anything on the sides, So NO, If this is what yours is doing it isnt working correctly. :rolleyes: Also if it looks as bad as your saying at non native I would suggest it isnt working that great either as of coarse the Westinghouse doesnt look as good at a lower rez. but it dont look that bad either! Oh yea, Your welcome as well! :rolleyes:

Mr.Lawrence

09-09-05, 07:36 AM

As was asked previously...I'm also curious to know if there is anyway to enter in a channel manually (in DTV)? I've tried entering channel numbers manually but that doesn't do anything. The best way I've found to change channels is to use the "favority" button. Pushing this button brings up a menu with all of the channels listed on the left column. I then just scroll to the channel I want and select it.

Is there a better way to switch channels in DTV mode?

I have not been able to figure out a way to enter the DTV channel numbers manually while using the built in ATSC tuner. So I decided to just enter the channels that I like best into the "Favorites" list. That way I don't have to scroll through the entire list to find the channel I want.

Mr.Lawrence

09-09-05, 07:42 AM

What is the RECALL setting in the menu when using DVI? There are two options: YES & NO.

If I remember correctly, the RECALL choice shows up in a couple of the available menus. Although I haven't tried it, I figured that it was used to return the settings to their Default for which ever menu you happen to be adjusting.

Jim Reeve

09-09-05, 08:03 AM

I needed to unplug my set to do some work in the area and when I plugged it back I now get a red "Out of Range" message whenever I select any source, including off-air and HDCP. Everything works okay, but I'd like to get rid of the message.

Any suggestions?

Northville Dave

09-09-05, 11:29 AM

uc35

09-09-05, 11:56 AM

[QUOTE=Zagman]I bought this wall mount for my 32" proview. My set is vesa 100/200. This mount is vesa 100/200,200

can anyone confirm that the Sceptre will work with the vesa mount 100/200,200?

nojo

09-09-05, 12:48 PM

Have been viewing both sets side-by-side for a week now -

OTA digital PQ is about the same on both sets, although the Sceptre tuner requires a stronger signal to keep from breaking up.

SD cable PQ is nearly equal on the two sets if the Sceptre is connected upstream of signal splitters, otherwise the picture is very noisy.

Using a HD cable box (from Comcast) and the "component" inputs, the Sharp has a better PQ, but this again may be due to the HD box being downstream of the splitters, ie, the Sceptre again requires a stronger signal.

Has anyone found a way to remove an OTA channel from the scan on the Sceptre?

I will probably keep the Sharp and return the Sceptre and the cable box if I can ever get the in-built TV Guide on the Sharp working.

Thanks for the comparison. I am so close to canceling my Sceptre order. Let me know if you are able to get the Sharp's TV Guide listings working. So far, I have had no luck with it.

Last night I connected a 25 foot cable so I could take my indoor antenna (Silver Sensor) upstairs. I now get several OTA digital channels! Signal strength is between 70 & 80. I even get UPN 45 from Phoenix and from Tucson which was confusing for awhile. The PQ is great on the Sharp and since this is my first real TV and I won't be connecting my Media Center PC, I think I will be very happy with the Sharp. But will I ever know for sure, if I cancel my Sceptre now? Hmmm.

nojo

09-09-05, 12:53 PM

Question: A couple nights ago I connected my Media Center PC to the Sharp 37D5U via S video cable. When I powered both up, the picture was in black and white and very grainy. Any ideas why? I assume it was just a matter of having the wrong resolution set or not having the TV set to PC input (had no option to since I was not connected via DVI). A wireless mouse and keyboard is great until you have to bring it all downstairs and dig the sensor boxes and wires out from the computer armoire. : )

Mr.Lawrence

09-09-05, 01:58 PM

[QUOTE=Zagman]I bought this wall mount for my 32" proview. My set is vesa 100/200. This mount is vesa 100/200,200

can anyone confirm that the Sceptre will work with the vesa mount 100/200,200?

I have my 37" Sceptre mounted on the wall. I don't think that it uses any of those VESA sizes. I bought this Sanus mount (model # VMPL2s) https://www.sanus.com/cgi-bin/web_store.cgi?page=products/wallmount/visionmount/VMPL2.html&cart_id=7563519_14317 from Best Buy.

Northville Dave

09-09-05, 03:46 PM

[QUOTE}Last night I connected a 25 foot cable so I could take my indoor antenna (Silver Sensor) upstairs. I now get several OTA digital channels! Signal strength is between 70 & 80. I even get UPN 45 from Phoenix and from Tucson which was confusing for awhile. The PQ is great on the Sharp and since this is my first real TV and I won't be connecting my Media Center PC, I think I will be very happy with the Sharp. But will I ever know for sure, if I cancel my Sceptre now? Hmmm.[/QUOTE]

Nojo -

My OTA testing was done with an old 10" dia. indoor UHF loop, a passive 300/72 ohm matching xformer and about 25' of coax. I was able to get good strength on about 10 channels - I'm located about 30 mi. NW of downtown Detroit. I also tried (but with less success) an amplified Tiga (???) indoor antenna. The Tiga may have been too directional for my location.

Again, has anyone figured out how to get an OTA channel out of the scan list once it's in there?

Dave

Wiz33

09-09-05, 04:14 PM

Wiz33

09-09-05, 04:40 PM

Nojo -

My OTA testing was done with an old 10" dia. indoor UHF loop, a passive 300/72 ohm matching xformer and about 25' of coax. I was able to get good strength on about 10 channels - I'm located about 30 mi. NW of downtown Detroit. I also tried (but with less success) an amplified Tiga (???) indoor antenna. The Tiga may have been too directional for my location.

Again, has anyone figured out how to get an OTA channel out of the scan list once it's in there?

Dave

I'm about 40 miles from my local transmitter. My OTA source (Large directional non-amp fishbone) actually went thru a few loops before getting to the Sceptre. It comes down from the roof (about 30 ft) into the house and goes into a Terk 5x8 Multiswitch. It then goes about 30 ft to the other side of the house, goes thru a Diplexer (which seperate the OTA signal from the DTV signal) which then goes into a 1x2 splitter with one end going to my HD Tivo and the other goes into the Sceptre ATSC (should have gotten a 1x3 so I can hook up the NTSC and not to have to switch around during test).

I get very good pictures from both the HD Tivo and the onboard ATSC. I can't really see a difference between the 2 on HD contents. SD contents from a good source (both in signal strength and the quality of the material) is very close to my 35" JVC CRT but older programs (old re-runs) does seems to look worst then they do on the CRT.

YNOS

09-09-05, 05:12 PM

I finally hooked up my UHF antenna feed to the Sceptre X37 a couple of days ago
and have been comparing its picture to that when feed the same station via
a PC hosted MyHD 130 connected via the component inputs @1080i.

IMO the internal ATSC tuner IS scaling a 1080i source signal to 720p since the
same station looks much more detailed and for fine detail, more stable, with the
1080i signal feed in via component. This jives with what the source button
switching indicates for the video input versus what both the MyHD and internal
ATSC tuner indicate what the station is sending via the PSIP info.
These are my findings as well, although I'm feeding my signal to the Sceptre via HDMI-DVI. If the Sceptre isn't scaling down and then back up the signal, it sure has a poopie tuner in it.

For those of you who are blown away when watching HD from the Sceptre's ATSC tuner, you should try it from an external tuner. It'll blow you even further away. :)

YNOS

09-09-05, 05:25 PM

nascar24

09-09-05, 05:32 PM

Look at the bright side - at least he wasn't pointing out the two DVI ports on the Westy again.

WOW! That was a good one! :rolleyes:
I cant believe how touchy you Sceptre people are! I guess you dont like having things that are not working correctly pointed out to you! :rolleyes:
And, No his Sceptre is not working correctly through his VGA if it is cutting stuff off of his windows desktop at a different rez.:rolleyes: I really cant believe how personel both of you take things like this over a piece of hardware.

SacTownMan

09-09-05, 06:03 PM

Look at the bright side - at least he wasn't pointing out the two DVI ports on the Westy again.

Wow! The "westy" has 2 DVI ports! Oh yea thats right I didn't see that the other twenty times it was pointed out by the Westinghouse reps!

I thought this thread was set up for the OWNERS of the Sceptre to share their experiences and observations. I certainly could care less about the features of the Westinghouse as I have made my purchase and look forward to getting the most out of my display.

Nascar you need to lighten up man! You pissed off two different members on the old Costco thread by constantly being negative and it's getting really old! You keep comparing a HDTV to a Monitor. Maybe that's why the Westinghouse homepage doesn't even list the 37" as a LCD TV but a LCD monitor.

bigsid05

09-09-05, 06:18 PM

Even when I used random lower resolutions with my Sceptre it would not cut anything off. Either it would stretch it to fill the screen or you could use your mouse and 'shift' the view. As in, if you noticed the right side was cut off you could put your mouse over to the right and the focus of the monitor would shift. I'm pretty sure this has to do with the video card seeing that the sceptre monitor has a 1920x1080 native resolution.

nascar24

09-09-05, 08:44 PM

Wow! The "westy" has 2 DVI ports! Oh yea thats right I didn't see that the other twenty times it was pointed out by the Westinghouse reps!

I thought this thread was set up for the OWNERS of the Sceptre to share their experiences and observations. I certainly could care less about the features of the Westinghouse as I have made my purchase and look forward to getting the most out of my display.

Nascar you need to lighten up man! You pissed off two different members on the old Costco thread by constantly being negative and it's getting really old! You keep comparing a HDTV to a Monitor. Maybe that's why the Westinghouse homepage doesn't even list the 37" as a LCD TV but a LCD monitor.

Listen to you rant! And I need to lighten up! LOL! :p :p
Read what you post, Read what I wrote to your orginal post. I dont care what you say about the Westinghouse! Its a Monitor/TV who cares, I could careless. Its a piece of hardware. If your not happy with your purchase of the Sceptre take it back. Because you sure act like it with posts like this. Sure sounds like you should have bought the Westinghouse if your this uptight about the purchase of your Sceptre! LOL :p
I really have to laugh at people who get this bent about something like this, Go outside and take a breather for god sakes!
And I will tell you once again as I told you in the orginal post that had nothing negative in it, Your monitor/tv SHOULD NOT be cutting off the edges if you change rez. If it is, Its a flaw in the Sceptre, This is LCD monitor/TV 101. Weather you like it or not, DO I care that it does this NO! Is it being negative because theres something wrong with your monitor/TV? NO! Just telling you the truth about how it should act, Get over it allready. I guess we are here just to sing praises and not point out the flaws. It should also not scroll, It should resize exactly the way 1920x1080 does.
Ok I will start over,
Yes SacTownMan your Sceptre is working just how it was designed to at that rez. :rolleyes: Unbelievable!

YNOS

09-09-05, 10:44 PM

Haydee

09-10-05, 10:16 AM

MJKDVM

09-10-05, 02:10 PM

We received our new Sceptre X37SV without the remote as did at least one other poster to this forum. I called Customer Service at Sceptre (1-800-788-2878) and was told that they are on backorder and might be in next week. Although the person was very cordial, I don't have much confidence in them since they told me to call back next week to check and also because they apparently knowingly shipped them without the remote eg. no questions asked as to if I had checked the box carefully, etc. As a consequence, we can't access the on-screen menu to set up the unit. Does anyone have a trick to access the on-screen menu without a Sceptre remote so that we can setup the unit? For now we are stuck since their customer serv rep told me that universal and other remotes will not work with Sceptre. (Maybe someone knows differently?) We have it hooked up to our Direct TV/TIVO/DVD. The Sceptre seems to be set by default Cable input so we can't get any of our local TV stations. Anyone have any other ideas? Thanks for your help. Matt

Zoglog

09-10-05, 02:54 PM

720p-capable XBOX games look fantastic.

indeed my friend, games in 1920x1080 from the PC (like fable: lost chapters) look fantastic as well. But as consoles go I remember the first time I went to 720 p from 480 i or p and it's magnificent. 480p may look a bit smoother than I, but when you go 720p it's a world of difference. I just wish more games suipported it =( I gues that's what the 360 is for :D

JAK666

09-10-05, 04:54 PM

We received our new Sceptre X37SV without the remote as did at least one other poster to this forum. I called Customer Service at Sceptre (1-800-788-2878) and was told that they are on backorder and might be in next week.... Matt

Where do you live? If in the San Jose area, I can loan mine for your setup & get you up & running. Also with the lack of documentation with this unit, 2 heads are better than one....

jvoncolln

09-10-05, 05:20 PM

MJKDVM

09-10-05, 06:10 PM

Thanks for your very generous offer but we live in the Charlottesville, VA, area. We hope that you are enjoying your unit. Today we attached it to our progressive DVD player using the supplied HDMI with an adapter for our player and we are very satisfied with the display quality. Hopefully, we can find a remote quickly and get the rest of it operating properly. Take care. Matt

MJKDVM

09-10-05, 06:18 PM

cklk

09-10-05, 07:23 PM

I ordered the 37" Sceptre on 8/25. The status on the costco web site has been "in progress" for the last two weeks. Today, I called customer service and was told that they have a delay with its supplier and will not be available until mid-October. I ask the rep why they did not notify me. She apologized and said that she will bring this matter to her supervisor's attention. I then asked her whether or not there is a subsitute item (I was hoping that they will let me take the Sharp at the same price). Her response was no, but they may reduce the price or give me a credit to compensate for the extra time that I waited, but it will be done only after it is shipped.
If a number of us, who have not received our order, call them, complain and ask for compensation or subsitution, may be they will make a decision on how to compensate us sooner. Let us know what the outcomes are. Thanks.

YNOS

09-10-05, 08:16 PM

This is kind of off topic, but if you bought one of those wall mounts from costco that apperantly doesn't fit. What constitutes the receipt for costco online orders?

Usually, when you buy stuff, it is delivered with this packet taped to the package, but nothing like that here.

Is a printout of the order status page the official receit?
I recently returned an item purchased from Costco.com that didn't include any sort of invoice or receipt. I logged into my account, clicked on the corresponding order and printed out that page. The people at Costco said that was what they needed.

YNOS

09-10-05, 08:24 PM

On a similar matter, we didn't get a packing slip from UPS/Sceptre with our X37, so I've sent an inquiry to both Costco and Sceptre if a copy of our UPS delivery from the tracking webpage, credit card bill and email confirmation from Costco are sufficient to get our rebate.
You submit your rebate through Costco.com. Look for the "Rebates" link on their site. You'll need your order number and the date you purchased the set, which you can look up by logging into your Costco account from the "My Account" link.

YNOS

09-10-05, 09:23 PM

Not working with universal remotes would be a deal breaker for me.
Can ANYONE with this unit verify if you can get a universal remote to work with it? At least by learning the codes from the remote.

If I where you, I would INSIST that they send me a comprehensive IR code list so you can use it with a universal remote untill they get you the actual remote. If you get the list, please post it here.
My Philips Pronto can learn commands from the Sceptre remote just fine. They just meant you won't find a pre-programmed remote with the codes for Sceptre stuff built in.

I sure hope someone can provide discrete codes for this set though. Every time I turn on the set, I have to hit my "Source TV" button 5 times to get the backlight to reset back to 0 (from 7). If there are discrete codes, I could create a macro to turn the set on, switch to DTV, then switch back to DVI. This would result in the backlight automatically going back to 0 every time I turned on the set.

xenfinity

09-11-05, 12:24 AM