Just wondering if any of the new models have audio hiss like some of last year's models?

I'd like to purchase a 537h but currently receive my HD programming over the air (using a large antenna in attic) and standard cable (no box, just an out of the wall coaxial connection). How do I watch bring them both into the 537h with only one coaxial input? Is there some way to combine the signals?

I don't anything about QAM, but from reading this post it seems to allow you to receive HD programming through a standard cable connection? Is this correct? Is it available from comcast in Mobile, AL? Thanks!

I'd like to purchase a 537h but currently receive my HD programming over the air (using a large antenna in attic) and standard cable (no box, just an out of the wall coaxial connection). How do I watch bring them both into the 537h with only one coaxial input? Is there some way to combine the signals?

I don't anything about QAM, but from reading this post it seems to allow you to receive HD programming through a standard cable connection? Is this correct? Is it available from comcast in Mobile, AL? Thanks!

If your lucky and your cable company sends all of the network hd signals unencrypted, as most are doing now, then you will have no need for the antenna. However, if they don't, then you could get a splitter and feed both cable and antenna into the rf. However, you would probably have to re-scan for channels every time you switch sources. Yes, 2 separate tuners with 2 rf connectors would be better.

just want to add my 2 cents on the discussion about the video processor of the 237v model.... my guess is that it uses MTK. i say that based on a few factors:

1. the specifications shown on [EDIT].

2. the product's page (http://www.olevia.com/jsp/products/specs.jsp?pid=237v) on Olevia's site states that.

3. the word "MTK" appears on the filename of the online PDF manual (http://www.olevia.com/jsp/products/pdf/UM-En_MTK_237_240_242_060824.pdf).

4. this page (http://www.olevia.com/jsp/support/downloads.jsp) at Olevia's site suggests that all TVs with 37, 40 and 42 inches use the MTK processor. all TVs smaller than 37 inches seem to use ATI.... well, at least for series 3 and above.

If you go to the products page and click on features it says that the 237v has an ATI video processor. One of these is obviously wrong. What I think may have happened is that the product pages of these 2 models are so similar, that when they posted the page they simply forgot to change the video processor. But, when it came to the features page the change was made. (Just a guess).
I ordered the 537H because I thought I was getting a better video processor. Now, a universal remote is ok, but it is probably not a great one, the in-home warranty is worth something, but the better video processor is the deal maker. If that is not the case then I might change my order. Can someone please get to the bottom of this and get the real info.

any thoughts on the Olevias vs. the Samsung 32" LN-S3241D LCD HDTV ? size is not really an issue for me as i'd be perfectly happy with either a good 32" or a good 37". i just want a solid performing TV.

i think this Samsung is an old model.

is the vid processor (ATI Xileon or MDK) better on the Olevia?

I just canceled my order for the 537h from Target.com. and placed the order with tigerdirect.com. Much better deal even with the 10% off at Target. Lower price and no shipping or sales tax. If you live in one of the states in which they want to charge you sales tax, then go to their sister site globalcomputer.com and they won't charge the sales tax. That's what I had to do because I live in Florida and Tiger Direct has 2 stores here. Part of the savings is a rebate, however they have a new program that allows you to receive your rebate in 3 days.

i'm posting this msg here because it's related to Olevia, but if the Mods believe my msg would fit better in some other section of the forum, pls feel free to move it.

i plan to ocassionally play videos in my computer and watch them on my Olevia 37" 237v (once i receive it), but i dont know which connection would give me the best picture quality. between the "VGA" and "S-Video" connections, which one would output videos better?

but my guess is that VGA is better, but i'd like to know for sure before buying the 15-ft cable i need. what you guys think?

thnx in advance!

between the "VGA" and "S-Video" connections, which one would output videos better?Wouldn't the DVI connection be the best? I think "VGA" would be analog.

between the "VGA" and "S-Video" connections, which one would output videos better?

but my guess is that VGA is better, but i'd like to know for sure before buying the 15-ft cable i need. what you guys think?

thnx in advance!

You are correct sir. :)

I also cancelled my Target order. Check out J&R for a price drop
on the 537H.

I also cancelled my Target order. Check out J&R for a price drop
on the 537H.

Ooh nice. Thanks, I was about to get the 237v from Newegg. It's totally worth the few extra bucks (after shipping) for the In-Home warranty on the 537h.

Go through GlobalComputer.com or TigerDirect.com and you don't even pay for shipping. I ordered it around 5 am and they said it will ship out today.
This tv keeps dropping like this and it will be free by Christmas!

Go through GlobalComputer.com or TigerDirect.com and you don't even pay for shipping. I ordered it around 5 am and they said it will ship out today.
This tv keeps dropping like this and it will be free by Christmas!

Where do you see free shipping on Global? (Cant use Tiger, as I am in FL)

Im getting $60+ for shipping on checkout. :(

Where do you see free shipping on Global? (Cant use Tiger, as I am in FL)

Im getting $60+ for shipping on checkout. :(

Ditto

was gonna buy another one even with shipping its still 360 dollars less than what i paid for mine 2 months ago :mad:

I just wrote a long explanation of how I placed my order, but I deleted it because I just went back to their site and I see that they are now charging for shipping.
Either free shipping was just for yesterday, and I lucked out by ordering really early before they opened today and made the change, or there was never supposed to be free shipping and after I placed my order they realized their mistake and made the change. Either way I guess I lucked out, sorry guys!
Just keep checking every day, I'm sure it will change again or someone else will have at a lower price. Good luck!
I also used a mastercard that doubles the manufacturers warranty, so I have 2 years in-home warranty service.

below

I just purchased the Olevia 337H from Microcenter... GREAT BUY. This is a perfect size for my smaller living room. I have run into one problem that i am sure is fixable but i do not know what to do yet. The screen has a green tint/hue over it. Everything is greenish. For instance the HD in ESPNHD, in the lower right corer, is brown (not red). Anyone else experiencing this problem? Im sure its just a color/tint adjustment, but havent been able to get it just right yet. Ive already tried switching to Native, didnt do much.

I just purchased the Olevia 337H from Microcenter... GREAT BUY. This is a perfect size for my smaller living room. I have run into one problem that i am sure is fixable but i do not know what to do yet. The screen has a green tint/hue over it. Everything is greenish. For instance the HD in ESPNHD, in the lower right corer, is brown (not red). Anyone else experiencing this problem? Im sure its just a color/tint adjustment, but havent been able to get it just right yet. Ive already tried switching to Native, didnt do much.

How are you connected to the tv. If you are using component cables, then it may be bad cables or they are just not pushed in all the way. If it's cable to rf or hdmi, I can't help you.

Well, before the moderator gets around to reviewing this thread again, here's my two cents:

My wiife and I drove 63 miles from Baltimore to Fairfax and waited in line five hours (and survived a near-stampede) to get a 542i at Microcenter for $750 out the door with the additional hundred off for using their credit card.

People were picking up one-each of the 32, 37, and 42 at the doorbuster prices.

At this point, I'll wait and see how the 747i pans out for other forum members before I take delivery of it.

Obviously, the two sets are apples and oranges, but my wife and I had a good time, and I'm grateful for what I got. The store had 340 units of 542i, and there were about 1,200 people in the line behind us at 6:00 am when the store opened, so I'm certain many folks were turned away.

The ten people who got a $200 laptop were there from 3:00 pm Thanksgiving day.

How are you connected to the tv. If you are using component cables, then it may be bad cables or they are just not pushed in all the way. If it's cable to rf or hdmi, I can't help you.

I had the Red component video cable plugged into one of the red audio inputs, rookie mistake. It looks GREAT now.

My next question is... i have a comcast motorola cable box and i am wondering if i should set it to output 720p or 1080i with this TV?

for those of you who purchased through tigerdirect, are you getting the 4 yr warranty direct from Olevia warranty for $219?

if you order from target, you can purchase a 3yr Target warranty for $79.

anyone have experience with the Target warranty?

i am reposting this question as i am in dire need of opinions:

any thoughts on the Olevias vs. the Samsung 32" LN-S3241D LCD HDTV ? size is not really an issue for me as i'd be perfectly happy with either a good 32" or a good 37". i just want a solid performing TV.

i think this Samsung is an old model.

is the vid processor (ATI Xileon or MDK) better on the Olevia?

Just got back from Black Friday at Microcenter. I don't think I've ever seen that many TVs move in my life. 99% of these were 542i, 537H, 337H and 532H. Literally multiple boxes in every checkout line. I counted 15 people with at least 1 large Olevia box waiting for cars or trucks to drive by as I was walking in AND when I was walking out. Many buying 3 or 4(Ebay or multiple rooms?). Safe to say, Olevia had a really good day. And I've been to plenty of stores today. Nothing like that anywhere else.

Wouldn't the DVI connection be the best? I think "VGA" would be analog.

for the graphic card i currently have, DVI is not an option. :(

I too braved the early wake-up and long line at Micro Center to grab a 532i at three hundred and sixty-nine and a 542i at seven hundred and ninety-nine. I'm waiting to get a 747i for myself, but at these prices, I couldn't resist....figured I could give them as gifts or sell them off at a profit. It's interesting that news of this Black Friday promotion was not part of any newspaper add or insert. Can you imagine what the scene would have looked like had they run this in the papers? Circuit City's Black Friday promo on the 532i was one hundred and thirty more than at Micro Center. If I was the merch. manager at CC, I would have kicked some buyer's butt.

i just canceled my order from Newegg (237v) and ordered the 537h from J&R. i dont know if there are big differences between the 2 models (besides the speakers and the home service), but since the latter is 3 generations ahead, i think it's better not to take any chances....the price difference is minimum, after all.

Just got back from Black Friday at Microcenter. I don't think I've ever seen that many TVs move in my life. 99% of these were 542i, 537H, 337H and 532H. Literally multiple boxes in every checkout line. I counted 15 people with at least 1 large Olevia box waiting for cars or trucks to drive by as I was walking in AND when I was walking out. Many buying 3 or 4(Ebay or multiple rooms?). Safe to say, Olevia had a really good day. And I've been to plenty of stores today. Nothing like that anywhere else.

they made you carry it through the checkout line? At the Minneapolis store, they handed vouchers out at 6am, you went inside and paid, and then drove around back and picked up the tv. It was very organized. Quite impressive.


I picked up the 542I and it looks great.

I guess the question is - did Microcenter lose any money on of these TVs? My assumption would be no, meaning that's about the wholesale price of these things - meaning at regular or even discounted prices there's still lots of profit in them.

Not a problem. Enjoy

Thanks for the pics, now I have a good size reference in a normal room. I ordered mine from mwave a couple of days ago (just over $1100 shipped!) and can't wait for it to arrive. I looked all over for the vertical dimensions without the speakers attached. Looks like it should be about 27.8" if I'm right based on the WxH ratio I'm seeing in your pics. :)

Just got back from Black Friday at Microcenter. I don't think I've ever seen that many TVs move in my life. 99% of these were 542i, 537H, 337H and 532H. Literally multiple boxes in every checkout line. I counted 15 people with at least 1 large Olevia box waiting for cars or trucks to drive by as I was walking in AND when I was walking out. Many buying 3 or 4(Ebay or multiple rooms?). Safe to say, Olevia had a really good day. And I've been to plenty of stores today. Nothing like that anywhere else.

Man a 542i for $799?! I wish there was a Microcenter near me. I just paid $1166 to have one delivered from MWave and according to Pricegrabber that was pretty good. Then again, I don't venture out on Black Friday. :-P

I just canceled my order for the 537h from Target.com. and placed the order with tigerdirect.com. Much better deal even with the 10% off at Target. Lower price and no shipping or sales tax. If you live in one of the states in which they want to charge you sales tax, then go to their sister site globalcomputer.com and they won't charge the sales tax. That's what I had to do because I live in Florida and Tiger Direct has 2 stores here. Part of the savings is a rebate, however they have a new program that allows you to receive your rebate in 3 days.
Thanks for the reminder about globalcomputer.com. Shipping charges to Florida double though. :(

Anyone get the 532H from microcenter today? How is everyone liking it? Thanks

542i is anyone else seeig uneven black in areas of the screen when it's dark? Looks like there is light (maybe it's called pixel bleed?) in some spots. As if it's eminating from the edges of the screen? Is this about normal for this set? Thanks guys.

The light spots are REALLY noticiable when watching a movie in 2.35:1 widescreen. It's bad enough that the black bars at the top and bottom of the screen in spaces seem to nearly blend into the movie. This is most prominent in the top right and bottom left of the screen. Should I take it back to microcenter and get another one?

I guess the question is - did Microcenter lose any money on of these TVs? My assumption would be no, meaning that's about the wholesale price of these things - meaning at regular or even discounted prices there's still lots of profit in them.

There's no question they lost money...about $130 on each 32"... more on the 42". Circuit City was selling the 32" at their net cost and only had about 24 units per store. Micro Center had hundreds of each model at each store and was selling them for $130 less than CC. They may cut their losses somewhat if not everyone files for the rebates. But I suspect it was a cooly calculated move on the part of Micro Center management to get bodies...particularly the tech heads...into the store, and to make loyal customers of them.

i order the 537h at tigerdirect for 749.99 plus $50 rebate can`t beat that i had ordered from mwave and canceled after i saw $699. at tiger

Those that have comcast cable, i purchased the 337H and i am wondering if i should set the cable box to output 1080i or 720p with this set? Same goes for the 332H or 542i.

I actually went to Microcenter to pick up some HDDs and DVD Burners(mucho cheapo at the Microcenter). Am already a 537H owner. I don't know what system they used. I'm guessing 32" and lower would be carry yourself on some rolling carts. Bigger sets seemed to be outside. Can't confirm that, but it was still amazing to see all of these sets of one brand out there. DFW has a ton of Olevia owners now. Perhaps a few will show up here.

As for the uneven blacks, I get at with some settings(especially set to bright room). After doing some setup in MCE, the blacks became much better. I think the section where you're matching the guys black shirt, tie and coat.

I have comcast as well. I'd go 720p. Closer to native and sharper picture in general. 1080i gives slight squigglies and slightly jagged lines. Hate that a cable box has to do that, while OTA will just show whatever the source is.

The light spots are REALLY noticiable when watching a movie in 2.35:1 widescreen. It's bad enough that the black bars at the top and bottom of the screen in spaces seem to nearly blend into the movie. This is most prominent in the top right and bottom left of the screen. Should I take it back to microcenter and get another one?

I have light spots on my screen too and I'm not sure if that's a normal thing for LCD HDTV's. If they are not, is there any way to lessen them?

I have light spots on my screen too and I'm not sure if that's a normal thing for LCD HDTV's. If they are not, is there any way to lessen them?

Its normal, but can be minimized with darker settings. I'd look for somekind of setup disk or program to help normalize blacks and contrast.

Its normal, but can be minimized with darker settings. I'd look for somekind of setup disk or program to help normalize blacks and contrast.

Mine is pretty bad. It definitely didn't look that way in the store. It is especially annoying when watching movies with black bars top and bottom. Sometimes it's hard to even see where the black bars end and the movies beings because they sort or wash into one. I'm thinking about exchanging it for the same model. I hope microcenter doesn't try to charge a restocking fee for an exchange.

Adjusting the lights and darks just seem to result in both the dark and light portions getting equally darker, resulting in the same effect.

If you are talking about light bleeding from the corners or sides onto a black screen, that is very typical of most lcd screens. It usually isn't severe enough to affect the picture, and believe it or not, it actually gets better over time. After a couple of months you will see it much less. Even Sony has this, if you read the Sony forums, you will see that mentioned.

Mine is pretty bad. It definitely didn't look that way in the store. It is especially annoying when watching movies with black bars top and bottom. Sometimes it's hard to even see where the black bars end and the movies beings because they sort or wash into one. I'm thinking about exchanging it for the same model. I hope microcenter doesn't try to charge a restocking fee for an exchange.

Adjusting the lights and darks just seem to result in both the dark and light portions getting equally darker, resulting in the same effect.

Sorry if you mentioned it before, but did you switch from "Showroom" to "Home" mode? I heard that on the 542i model and possibly others that out of the box by default this set is in "Showroom" Supposedly it makes a big difference in the black level. My 542i is still in the box from my VERY early MC purchase, still recovering from sleep deprivation

Hmm... 537H or 237V? Which would you choose at the same price? I hear everyone talking about the 537H, when the 237V seems to have the same specs, and (imo) a nicer design.

Hmm... 537H or 237V? Which would you choose at the same price? I hear everyone talking about the 537H, when the 237V seems to have the same specs, and (imo) a nicer design.

I had the same dilemma. I chose the 537 due to the warranty. 1 Year in home is nice to have...

Hmm... 537H or 237V? Which would you choose at the same price? I hear everyone talking about the 537H, when the 237V seems to have the same specs, and (imo) a nicer design.

I just bought the 237V for the looks. I took a little gamble, because with the 237V's warranty you ship it back at your own expense. The 537H is "on site".

The 237V remote is not universal.

Olevia says there's less menu "settings". I wonder if that can be cured with firmware?

I also would rather deal with Newegg. ;)

Sorry if you mentioned it before, but did you switch from "Showroom" to "Home" mode? I heard that on the 542i model and possibly others that out of the box by default this set is in "Showroom" Supposedly it makes a big difference in the black level. My 542i is still in the box from my VERY early MC purchase, still recovering from sleep deprivation

So far I have it set to Home, 6500 color and medium light. It's still there. If it goes
away overtime great, if not I'd be screwed for waiting aroud. Tom at Audioholics
suggested I use either Avia or Digital Video Essentials. Does anyone know where I can pick up a copy of either of these instore?

It looks like clouds eminating from the bottom left and top right of the screen. Thanks for your input gentlemen. I'm going to do what I can as far as calibration to eliminate it. If not, it's going back. Note: Tom who reviewed this set didn't experience any of this at all so I'm thinking it might be going back by sunday.

Anyone have some color settings for 542i?

I know each setting will be different, but I'm just looking for a quick set up to get GF approval.

Thanks.

So far I have it set to Home, 6500 color and medium light. It's still there. If it goes
away overtime great, if not I'd be screwed for waiting aroud. Tom at Audioholics
suggested I use either Avia or Digital Video Essentials. Does anyone know where I can pick up a copy of either of these instore?

It looks like clouds eminating from the bottom left and top right of the screen. Thanks for your input gentlemen. I'm going to do what I can as far as calibration to eliminate it. If not, it's going back. Note: Tom who reviewed this set didn't experience any of this at all so I'm thinking it might be going back by sunday.
Circuit City used to have Video Essentials in stock.
Looks like on the web only now.

It's interesting that news of this Black Friday promotion was not part of any newspaper add or insert.


Really? Out here they were advertised out the wazoo.

Last Sunday, there was a teaser ad in the Mercury News which stated the prices. The store had the 3 sale TV's on disply out by themselves and were talking up the sale, and the ad ran in the Merc yesterday.

Fatwallet.com has a 46 page thread about these TV's which was a child thread off the overall MicroCenter Black Friday ad.

There's no question they lost money...about $130 on each 32"... more on the 42". Circuit City was selling the 32" at their net cost and only had about 24 units per store. Micro Center had hundreds of each model at each store and was selling them for $130 less than CC. They may cut their losses somewhat if not everyone files for the rebates. But I suspect it was a cooly calculated move on the part of Micro Center management to get bodies...particularly the tech heads...into the store, and to make loyal customers of them.

I am afraid that they did not make any new customers at their Santa Clara store today, and probably lost some "regulars".

Instead of handing out the vouchers along the line(at least 600+ people) they just had 3 employees walk out directly in front of the store to the edge of the sidewalk and start giving the vouchers out to anyone who asked...they got MOBBED, and at the end, they were just holding the vouchers up and letting people grab them out of their hands.

It was an absolute zoo...

"Does anyone know where I can pick up a copy of either of these instore?"


I know you don't have the time to wait to rent this, but as mentined in other threads, this can be rented from Netflix and Hollywood . I had to wait for 2-3 weeks for AVE, and I'm at 4 weeks and waiting for Avia....

Avia or Digital Video Essentials. Does anyone know where I can pick up a copy of either of these instore?.

I bought the original Digital Video Essentials at Frys.
Maybe check out the AVS, Monster, ISF disk?
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/announcement.php?f=138&announcementid=98

Anyone have some color settings for 542i?

I know each setting will be different, but I'm just looking for a quick set up to get GF approval.

Thanks.
Since they dont use numbers, it is tough to relate the settings.

Going to try to find a contact and BEG that they show us the values when we make changes. Every other TV that I have heard of does..this is nutty!!!!

Another option I would like is to be able to "disable" inputs...I do not, and hope to never have anything connected to composite, S-video or VGA, I would love to be able to "lock out" those inputs so I can cycle between the ones I actually use much quicker.

Any other requests? Does anyone have a good contact to try to get these implemented?

Overall I am pretty happy with the set..but since I can't do drastic changes at once, I am not sure how good it can get.

Didn't know the setting don't use numbers until I played with it a little. Very odd indeed.
I too would like the ability to skip inputs since this unit does not appear to have shortcut options to inputs.

Since they dont use numbers, it is tough to relate the settings.

Going to try to find a contact and BEG that they show us the values when we make changes. Every other TV that I have heard of does..this is nutty!!!!

Another option I would like is to be able to "disable" inputs...I do not, and hope to never have anything connected to composite, S-video or VGA, I would love to be able to "lock out" those inputs so I can cycle between the ones I actually use much quicker.

Any other requests? Does anyone have a good contact to try to get these implemented?

Overall I am pretty happy with the set..but since I can't do drastic changes at once, I am not sure how good it can get.

"Does anyone know where I can pick up a copy of either of these instore?"


I know you don't have the time to wait to rent this, but as mentined in other threads, this can be rented from Netflix and Hollywood . I had to wait for 2-3 weeks for AVE, and I'm at 4 weeks and waiting for Avia....

Thanks Zappcat, HC2 and DAC21. I'll check out my local CC just incase, otherwise
I'll get on the wait list for netflicks. I went back to MC to talk to the sales people about the etreme pixel bleed/clouding issue I have with the 542i I just purchased. Sales was generally clueless and sent me to the tech support dept. Thech guy was smart and knew his stuff, he said it was probably a bad panel or something wrong with the power regulation of the backlight and there was nothing I could do. It was the only one they had heard of all day so far. No hassel, no trying to convince me that it's normal, he told me to just bring it in and swap it. Easy as that. :)

I got me my local Microcenter aroung 1:30am. I dozed off in a lawn chair while bundled in my parka until around 4:00am, that's when crazyness happened. The whole line that wrapped around the store just took off running towards the door. Full out sprint with people jockeying for position, even a rumor of a woman getting knocked down and run over. We ended up in a "line" that was 10 people wide. I'm surprised no one was injured with hundreds of people running at full speed carrying blankets and folding chairs. They totaly screwed up on the vouchers, they didn't hand them out before the store opened as advertised. We had to choose between one of the 3 tv offers when we got inside, they wouldn't let us buy more than one (of any size). Wasn't a total disaster as they claim to have had more than 500 541i's!

I have light spots on my screen too and I'm not sure if that's a normal thing for LCD HDTV's. If they are not, is there any way to lessen them?

Microcenter told me it was likely a defect and to bring it in to swap for another. You may want to go that route as well.

i heard debate about this a few posts back, regarding if the 237 had the ati or mtk chipset. someone on another forum contacted sytax-brillian about the chipset in the 237 and the 537 and he confirmed they both have the MTK MDDI chipset. the rep promised the other forum member this would be changed on their website, and this is amazing i took a look at the specs a minute ago, and the change has taken place the correct video processor is shown, go take a look!

Also, the people who think olevia is a no name company, or that their tv's ARENT worth a crap do they recall, that they have a supply agreement with lg.phillipns, here is an exerpt from syntax-brillian's site from march.

"Under the terms of the agreement, LG.Philips LCD will significantly expand its supply of large and wide LCD TV panels to Syntax-Brillian. This agreement is a win-win proposition for the two companies, as LG.Philips LCD will acquire a steady demand base in the fast-growing LCD TV panel market, while Syntax-Brillian will secure a stable supply of high-quality LCD TV panels. This deal is expected to help LG.Philips LCD and Syntax-Brillian solidify their leadership roles in the LCD TV panel and overall TV set markets, respectively.

The agreement includes the full line of LG.Philips panels: 20-inch, 23-inch, 32-inch, 37-inch, 42-inch and 47-inch, with the majority of panels in the high-demand 37-inch and 42-inch form factor."

i think people often forget they are getting lg.phillips tv's with any purchase of olevia's products, generally at half the cost

I am interested in the 537H, but can't seem to find it in store. Anyone have a suggestion where I could look at this display?

I am interested in the 537H, but can't seem to find it in store. Anyone have a suggestion where I could look at this display?

I know my local microcenter has them on display. Not sure if there are any Microcenters where you live, not that many stores nationwide.

I got to my store around 3:30am and was not happy to be 130th in line, with only 80 of each TV in stock I didn't think I had a chance. The guy at spot #1 got there 7pm the nigh before, and 80th in line got there around 2am. Around 5am there was a similar stampede for the front door, but it wasn't as bad as another poster mentioned... this was more "line consolidation" as some folks got impatient and just left, while others packed up their tents, grills, chairs, etc. creating gaps. At about 5:50 some people that had just pulled into the parking lot had the balls to just walk up to the front door and stand there, cutting in front of about 600 angry/cold BF campers. After a lot of angry yelling, I was happy to see MC mgmt push them to the back of the line and keep things in order by handing out vouchers in a orderly fashion. I came to get one of each TV (for personal use, not resale) and was disappointed the last 32" was given to the 110th person, but I did get a 37" and the 542i, so I can't complain. I was going to use the 32" as my PC monitor, but now that I think about it I am probably better off going with the Dell 3007 anyway (once the prices drop to a reasonable level).

Unfortunately the way they handled the delivery of TVs after we paid was horrible. They were so unorganized with their inventory that some people waited over 3 hours just to get their TV pulled from the back... it was crazy. I ran over to Best Buy to get some things, came back and they still had not brought mine down. Hope they learned their lesson for next year. Overall it was not as bad of an experience as it could have been, compared to others around the country anyway. And the funny thing is that around 1pm they still had a few 542i's left!

Now that I have caught up on some of my sleep... the fun begins with playing with the sets... :)

Microcenter told me it was likely a defect and to bring it in to swap for another. You may want to go that route as well.

Keep us up to date with your new unit. My 542i has a slightly uneven backlight (kind of spotty in places). Its really only noticable on dark scenes and on the black bars a little. I'm wondering if swapping units solves your problem.

I know my local microcenter has them on display. Not sure if there are any Microcenters where you live, not that many stores nationwide.
ok, i'll check out microcenter tomorrow. I went to their website and the only olevia i find is a 42" monitor.

Keep us up to date with your new unit. My 542i has a slightly uneven backlight (kind of spotty in places). Its really only noticable on dark scenes and on the black bars a little. I'm wondering if swapping units solves your problem.

Will do. I'll be swapping it tomorrow and will let you know once I've got it home and have had chance to look at it. The one on display in the store is pretty much dead even all over as far as backlight goes. Mine isn't even close.

I just added Avia and Digital Video Essentials to the top of by Blockbuster queue and will also see if my local store(s) have them. Also have set the mode to home, not demo/show and playing around with the settings. Pic is ok for animated cartoons, but any other channel looks soft and increasing sharpness does not help. Granted I am working with cable straight from the wall (using ReplayTV and then component cables to the TV), so I know I don't have the best signal.

In the meantime, I have a few questions...

1. Unrelatd, but what is the purpose of having the RS-232 feature... what practical use does that have?

2. I registered my TV on Olevia's site, and clicked on FutureProof my TV to download the latest firmware, but keep getting a "your serial # is invalid" message... does it take a few hours for my registration to go through first maybe??

3. As mentioned, I am currently using straight cable from the wall to Replay TV, then component cable to the TV, but will eventually get a regular (non-HD) cable box from Comcast. Since I have 10 TVs in the house, I have had to very carefully manage all of my splitters. All of the "important" TVs are on the first splitter line, and all of the "others" like kids, kitchen, etc. are on the 2nd/3rd splitter the end of the line where I really don't care about signal degredation. I just ordered the Motorola DBA-100S1 Broadband Drop Amplifier Signal Booster, as was told this would help better the picture throughout the house, with or without the cable box. Is this the case?

Any other tips on what I can do to increase PQ would be greatly appreciated, such as whether it's worth using S-video cables from Replay to the TV. TIA

I had a similar problem getting the firware update. I think considering thousands of us just picked up Olevia TVs it may be the biggest demand their servers have ever seen. They were not prepared for this or there was no quick/economic fix to the problem. It took about 1.5 hours but i am currently downloading the 5.12mb firmware download. There are about 50 problems it fixes. I don't want to list them all here but I have experienced about 5 of them already.

Having said that I am very happy with my 542H especially at the end price of $799 + tax (well once I get my $200 rebate). I probably would have prefered the 537H or 532H because I alreday have a great Samsung DLP 50" for the living room. This is going in the bedroom - but I did not feel like waiting in line at 2am like others at MicroCenter. I came back at 9am and there was no line. I walked back to the TV aread and someone just got the last 537H voucher.

I have not had a problem with picture. I have DTV but through my apatment and AT&T so I can not get HD. I plugged my XBOX360 and played a few rounds of Gears of War and it looked very good. Except for a few items ... and wouldn't you know it they are listed in the firmware update.

The firmware update feature is why I decided on this lower end product. I normally stick with Samsung or Sony but I was pissed when Samsung came out with 5 versions of my DLP TV and if they had a firware port a few problems I have would go away. No problem... my BestBuy warrenty has 3 more years and I already have two repairs done.. (light balast was bad 2 weeks in and then 8 months in the main board shorted out - they were fixed at my house and within days of my call). One more repair and I get the latest Samsung 50" DLP.

I think I need some input on my new 232v from CC. :confused:
In the store the TV shows in heavy greenish, and my set does the same when the source is 1080i from Dishnetwork 6000 in HD mode. I adjust color and tint and it still looks green on the screen. But it shows the right color when source is 480i from 6000 in SD mode. Any one knows what need to set to correct the color?


Thanks in advance.

Microcenter told me it was likely a defect and to bring it in to swap for another. You may want to go that route as well.

Does your panel look like the picture I've attached? For those familiar with LCD HDTV's, is this odd lighting when the screen is completely black normal? I've fooled around with various settings, but have not been able to reduce it at all.

Note: The picture turned out a bluish color, but it's actually all black, but just wanted to show what the light blotches look like.

I'm having the same problem using my Xbox 360 through component. There is a green tint covering the entire screen and gets much worse if I turn up the color. I tried adjusting all the settings for a good 30min and couldn't get it to look right.

I just registered the TV at Olevea's website and it said there isn't a firmware upgrade for my model (232v) so I'm going to take it back to CC tomorrow and hopefully try to get a new one.

I set up the 542i and made sure I'm in "Home Mode" (not showroom). I only have standard cable (comcast), with the cable from wall outlet directly hooked into the RF input of the LCDTV. I can see the 542i scanning for cable TV channels (about 159 channels); strangle enough, the scan is followed by a "No signal" message. If I switch to "Air", I get something like 22 channels and the tuner can tune to these. However, if I switch to "cable" (standard or auto), I receive the "No Signal" message inspite of the fact that during scanning, both digital and analog register a total of 159 channels.

Anyone else ecnountered this problem ? Or if anyone has some suggestions, they will be really helpful. THanks in advance.

misterfridge2005

Thanks Zappcat, HC2 and DAC21. I'll check out my local CC just incase, otherwise
I'll get on the wait list for netflicks. I went back to MC to talk to the sales people about the etreme pixel bleed/clouding issue I have with the 542i I just purchased. Sales was generally clueless and sent me to the tech support dept. Thech guy was smart and knew his stuff, he said it was probably a bad panel or something wrong with the power regulation of the backlight and there was nothing I could do. It was the only one they had heard of all day so far. No hassel, no trying to convince me that it's normal, he told me to just bring it in and swap it. Easy as that. :)

I got me my local Microcenter aroung 1:30am. I dozed off in a lawn chair while bundled in my parka until around 4:00am, that's when crazyness happened. The whole line that wrapped around the store just took off running towards the door. Full out sprint with people jockeying for position, even a rumor of a woman getting knocked down and run over. We ended up in a "line" that was 10 people wide. I'm surprised no one was injured with hundreds of people running at full speed carrying blankets and folding chairs. They totaly screwed up on the vouchers, they didn't hand them out before the store opened as advertised. We had to choose between one of the 3 tv offers when we got inside, they wouldn't let us buy more than one (of any size). Wasn't a total disaster as they claim to have had more than 500 541i's!
I just remembered something, some of the Lucas Arts dvd's have calibration chapters and I think some of the bigger movies have calibration chapters-try some of the Pixar,maybe some of the newer movies like King Kong, Lord of the Rings...?

I'm having the same problem using my Xbox 360 through component. There is a green tint covering the entire screen and gets much worse if I turn up the color. I tried adjusting all the settings for a good 30min and couldn't get it to look right.

I just registered the TV at Olevea's website and it said there isn't a firmware upgrade for my model (232v) so I'm going to take it back to CC tomorrow and hopefully try to get a new one.

It's not the TV, its more than likely the way you hooked up the Component cables. I have the 337H and it is a little confusing on the back, read the manual carefully and make sure you have the Red component cable plugged into the Red component input and not a red AUDIO input. I did this when i first set the tv up as there were 2 red inputs right next to each other. I fixed it, and the picture is beautiful for $500.

"Does anyone know where I can pick up a copy of either of these instore?"


I know you don't have the time to wait to rent this, but as mentined in other threads, this can be rented from Netflix and Hollywood . I had to wait for 2-3 weeks for AVE, and I'm at 4 weeks and waiting for Avia....

These sets come calibrated to both Avia and DVE standards....waste of money IMO.....

These sets come calibrated to both Avia and DVE standards....waste of money IMO.....
Where did you hear that? If that's true, it would explain why the reviewer on Audiohalics said he only got slight improvements after spending hours in calibration. I can't post the URL here because I have less than five posts, but google should find it.

Quote:
"Calibrating the Television
We used the Sencore Color Pro 5000 (CP5000) to calibrate the display. As I stated, I used the 6500_User menu to adjust the color of the unit. With the 6500 auto setting, the unit came nearly dead on with a slight blue bias. I spent hours calibrating the set and I only really managed to get it a bit closer to the target with a bit of a red emphasis. The blacks were the hardest to get right for me but that was probably more a function of reviewing back to back plasmas before this LCD. With a bit of tweaking (and really, it didn’t take all that much) this unit looked fantastic. Even out of the box, just adjusting the Power Up to Home, Lighting setting to Medium, and the Color Temp to 6500 will ensure you’ll be looking at a very well calibrated image with nearly no work on your part."

I wanted a 542i at the Cambridge MC but I was told by sales reps they got no more after the morning rush, despite rumor of an afternoon shipment. I'll have to settle for one coming in from mwave at $1162 shipped.

Had this discussion with someone b4 search the posts. Was going to link Olevias website with the info but their site has been down for a few hours now

Ok I was bored and did the search for you....go to post #104......Brochaos works for Olevia in sales IIRC. :)

Hmm... 537H or 237V? Which would you choose at the same price? I hear everyone talking about the 537H, when the 237V seems to have the same specs, and (imo) a nicer design.


I ended up first going with the 237V at newegg as it was the cheaper of the two. I could not appreciate a 33% increase in the features of the 537H over the 237V for the 33% increase in its cost ($699 v. $999).

Then I found the 537H at tigerdirect for $749 and a $50 rebate and so I ended up going with the 537H.

I admit that I like the side speaker styling of the 237V over the 537H, but I could not pass on more features and saving $10.00 after the rebate. Both TV's will be great either way.

I used the Tuner to get the HD/ local channels of the air . Mine also said 'No signal' BUT when i actually changed the channel nos thru the remote I could see the channel. Make sure your Remote has the TV selection.

i just canceled my order from Newegg (237v) and ordered the 537h from J&R. i dont know if there are big differences between the 2 models (besides the speakers and the home service), but since the latter is 3 generations ahead, i think it's better not to take any chances....the price difference is minimum, after all.


I did the same thing with the 237V and 537H from Newegg and Tigerdirect for the same reasons.

Thanks to everyone who has posted updates on the price drops for the 537H. I ordered one from Target on Thanksgiving, so I was able to spend BF picking up other items and not having to worry about an HDTV. Then, when I had some free time Friday, I checked back on this site and discovered that TigerDirect and others had undercut Target's price. So, instead of waiting a month for delivery from Target, I cancelled that order and bought one from Tiger for $100 less. The best part is that they've already shipped the unit!

I picked up a 337H from the Cambridge MA Microcenter on Friday. From what I've read here the Cambridge store took a fairly organized approach... I got there at about 4:30 AM, got in line with about 250 people in front of me, at about 5 AM they started handing out the vouchers and then at 6 started letting customers in 50 at a time. They had quickly run out of vouchers for the 532H but still had plenty of the 37" and 42" vouchers by the time they got to where I was in line. I did the credit card thing which required me to wait until about 8:30 to actually purchase the TV, and then waited in my car in line for about 2 hours to pick it up and got back home about 11 AM. The set is great! I was looking at it next to the 537H in the store and thought the 537 had a slightly better picture, but at home I think the picture is about as good as can be. I curently have my comcast box upconverting everything to 1080i. Tried 720p and could not tell the difference. When I had the 480i bypass set to either 480i or 480p (to allow the TV to do the upconverting for SD signals), the picture was slightly stretched horizontally, so I turned the 480i bypass off and have the cable box doing all the upconverting.

What would be useful would be the 4-digit remote code so I could control the TV's power and volume with my comcast universal remote. I tried every code listed under Goldstar, Phillips, RCA and Yamaha but none of them worked. I did manage to get my Harmony 659 to work the TV by telling the remote that it is a 332H, but not all the functions are implemented. I have not tried the JP1 hack with the comcast remote - at brief glance noone has done a device profile for any of the newer Olevia TVs. Any help with the remote issues would be appreciated. Thanks, Ken A.

I think I read somewhere where the LG remote code works for the Olevia as well.

I set up the 542i and made sure I'm in "Home Mode" (not showroom). I only have standard cable (comcast), with the cable from wall outlet directly hooked into the RF input of the LCDTV. I can see the 542i scanning for cable TV channels (about 159 channels); strangle enough, the scan is followed by a "No signal" message. If I switch to "Air", I get something like 22 channels and the tuner can tune to these. However, if I switch to "cable" (standard or auto), I receive the "No Signal" message inspite of the fact that during scanning, both digital and analog register a total of 159 channels.

Anyone else ecnountered this problem ? Or if anyone has some suggestions, they will be really helpful. THanks in advance.

misterfridge2005

That is not a problem with the tv, it is a problem with the signal strength of that particular channel from your cable company. When you scan digital channels your tv will initially pick-up all of them, including many you are not supposed to get. Some of those channels are strong enough to initially be picked-up, but the signal strengh wavers and your tv can no longer find the channel it just memorized, so it says no signal or updating channel database. Try to get off that particular channel by scanning up or down. If that doesn't work, then directly enter a specific channel number into the remote and it should change stations and pick up that channel.

So I picked up the Olevia 232V from CC yesterday. I was wondering if anyone has experienced any gaming lag with it? I didn't know this concept existed before today, and now I'm worried when I set my TV up later that my N64/DC and earlier will be unplayable. :(

Edit: Now also paranoid about ghosting. *sob* Anyone get any of that?

There's no question they lost money...about $130 on each 32"... more on the 42". Circuit City was selling the 32" at their net cost and only had about 24 units per store. Micro Center had hundreds of each model at each store and was selling them for $130 less than CC. They may cut their losses somewhat if not everyone files for the rebates. But I suspect it was a cooly calculated move on the part of Micro Center management to get bodies...particularly the tech heads...into the store, and to make loyal customers of them.
Somehow I can't see MC "investing" $130+/customer - that's a lot of money for such a small chain. They could have gotten a better deal from Olevia than CC did. It will be interesting to see if they deliver on the rebates.

Hi there

I got my Olevia 542i from the Microcenter. The rep insisted that i take the $150 (silver protection from MC) to cover anything wrong for 3 years. is it worh to take it? they even offer a Gold protection for $350 which would also cover the damage to monitor(physical).Any thoughts on this?

Thanks

Joe :)

Waited too long to pull the trigger on the 537H. J&R is out of stock until ??? Target.com won't have stock until after Christmas. TigerDirect has raised the price back to a much higher price. Don't remember the other TigerDirect related company,but they have probably raised the price also.

Anyone seeing a good deal, a heads up would be appreciated.

I made up my mind after reading a good PCMag review. They rated the VIZIO slightly higher but the price on the VIZIO is much higher at Costco and Sams.

I have ordered from both J&R and Target. Keep my fingers crossed that I will get lucky from one of them and then I can cancel the other one.

:)

I picked the 542i from the Fairfax, VA Microcenter. That was truly a ridiculous line but they were somewhat organized (at 4 am when I got there the line mobbed the door for some reason and then 5 cop cars showed up--cops were telling people to go the the end of the line. Overall the crowd was okay, talked HDTV with everyone for the from 4 am to the 7:45 when I actually made it into the store). They had a huge stock (around 400 maybe) of the 542i's as the line in front of me was easily 600 to 800 people.

Anyway, picture is great, but I'm having a problem saving the screen position change setting after I turn the set off. I have some noise on some digital channels at the top of the screen and have moved the picture up vertically to get rid of it but when the set is turned off, the setting for the vertical adjustment goes back to the default. I've verified I'm in "Home" mode and in "Full Screen". I was in 1:1 on the screen mode but changed it to Full Screen as the manual states that is what the vertical/horizontal settings should adjust.

Changes to settings such as Brightness do save but the vertical adjustment does not when the set is powered off then on again. I'm using the component 1 input with a Comcast digital HDTV box.

The SyntaxGroups site is down now and the Olevia site is crashing when I try to register the set so I haven't been able to see if I have the latest firmware or if a firmware update will fix this.

My firmware is 542-B11-060608B

Any help is appreciated.

I got the 30 inch Olevia 2 years ago on Black Friday for 999 AR from Microcenter in LA and I can't believe I got the 42 inch for even cheaper at 799 AR yesterday from the one in Fairfax, VA (like I said, the line was freaking ridiculous).

Anyone know how to tone down that blue light on the unit.
It's like a spot light in a dark room.

Thanks.

The SyntaxGroups site is down now and the Olevia site is crashing when I try to register the set so I haven't been able to see if I have the latest firmware or if a firmware update will fix this.

My firmware is 542-B11-060608B

Any help is appreciated.

I got the 30 inch Olevia 2 years ago on Black Friday for 999 AR from Microcenter in LA and I can't believe I got the 42 inch for even cheaper at 799 AR yesterday from the one in Fairfax, VA (like I said, the line was freaking ridiculous).

You have the original firmware. I'm downloading the latest now, yes the site is flaky, they have a bad "path" through the site (I do ecommerce for a living). Here's how you get in:

1. Don't go through "Register Product" on the left hand side.
2. Click on "FutureProof your TV"
3. Enter your serial #. It will fail and say not registered. Click on the link it displays to register your TV.
4. Enter all your info including your serial # on the page that comes up.
5. Once you submit the page you'll get a firmware download page. It'll ask for your email and password. It will fail. Click on the link it displays to "Create Account".
6. Enter your email and a password on the create account page. Once you submit you'll be on the firmware page.
7. Be forewarned, the download will be slow, it'll take 20 to 30 minutes.

The site is VERY badly designed, I do this for a living and it's obvious they didn't QA all the site code.

Hope this helps,

TC

Anyone know how to tone down that blue light on the unit.
It's like a spot light in a dark room.

Thanks.

Most folks put a piece of black electrical tape over it. Really.

Another new 542i owner here. Thanks to the information in this thread, and the MC deal, I picked one up yesterday. The MC in Troy, MI was on the ball...I was about 300th in line at 4AM. At about 5AM they had two managers start at the front of the line and ask each person what they were there for, then handed out a voucher. You could only get one item per person. The number at the top of my 542i voucher was 0039, so they had plenty of 42's. They let people in, about 25 at a time, at 5AM. After you paid, you drove to the pickup line that went by the loading dock. There were two lines, side by side, so they loaded two vehicles at a time...that took about 20 minutes. Overall, they did an awesome job.

I replaced a Sceptre 1080p set, 37", with the 542i. I run an HTPC, so all scaling is by a 6600GT & PureVideo decoders. The bigger size is nice, but 1360x768 will take some time to get used to. HD looks as good to me, but SD looks a little worse (bigger screen size, bigger pixel size). I've calibrated it with the "GetGray" calibration disk (from AVS, do a search) @6500_User, "Dark Room" for the backlight. The desktop is at 0-255, and Video via SageTV, VMR9 is at 16-235. Calibrating color on the desktop with a color bars bitmap translates well over to video...only a couple taps on the decoder were needed to tweak it. The set doesn't crush R,G,B, the ramps looked good. I do see the "cloudy" backlighting on a solid black or grey background, but I can't detect it when viewing content at all. I'm happy with the set.

Olevia's servers are crushed...can someone point me to the procedure for updating the firmware? I read one where it stated not to use the display as primary, as you couldn't finish the procedure once the set turns off...but there weren't step by step instructions.

Thanks,

P

Olevia's servers are crushed...can someone point me to the procedure for updating the firmware? I read one where it stated not to use the display as primary, as you couldn't finish the procedure once the set turns off...but there weren't step by step instructions.

Thanks,

P

Here ya go: 542i Firmware update instructions (http://www.olevia.com/jsp/firmware/files/MTK_FirmwareDownloadInstructions.doc)

Right click on the link and choose "Save As" to save it as file to your PC (rather than opening it right away). It will take a while to download.

Hope this helps,
TC

Olevia's servers are crushed...can someone point me to the procedure for updating the firmware? I read one where it stated not to use the display as primary, as you couldn't finish the procedure once the set turns off...but there weren't step by step instructions.

Thanks,

P

Polypro dont use the tv as your PC monitor to do the firmware update. D/L the update install the USB driver then you turn the TV on then it will tell you to choose the right comport. I had 1 choice com3. press step 1 the you disconnect the power cord for 10 seconds reconnect it power tv on then go to step 2 disconnect the powercord again for 10 seconds then your finished. Not a complete step by step but close. I just updated my 537h after owning it for 2 months and it was pretty easy. took half hour to D/L the update at a whopping 4k speed then 40 minutes to D/L the instructions.

Anyone know how to tone down that blue light on the unit.
It's like a spot light in a dark room.

Thanks.

Heh, my media room/office used to look like the bridge of an Imperial Star Destroyer, so I feel your pain.

I used black nail polish to carefully put a small dab over annoying led's. It lets some of the light still shine through, but dims them appropriately. You can always use some acetone on a qtip to remove it as well, so it's not a permanent thing. Way more appealing to the eye than a strip of black tape, imo. :)

Does your panel look like the picture I've attached? For those familiar with LCD HDTV's, is this odd lighting when the screen is completely black normal? I've fooled around with various settings, but have not been able to reduce it at all.

Note: The picture turned out a bluish color, but it's actually all black, but just wanted to show what the light blotches look like.

That looks similar to what I'm getting, although yours looks a bit more severe. A few others have complained about it now, I wonder if its something that affects all of these sets.

You have the original firmware. I'm downloading the latest now, yes the site is flaky, they have a bad "path" through the site (I do ecommerce for a living). Here's how you get in:

1. Don't go through "Register Product" on the left hand side.
2. Click on "FutureProof your TV"
3. Enter your serial #. It will fail and say not registered. Click on the link it displays to register your TV.
4. Enter all your info including your serial # on the page that comes up.
5. Once you submit the page you'll get a firmware download page. It'll ask for your email and password. It will fail. Click on the link it displays to "Create Account".
6. Enter your email and a password on the create account page. Once you submit you'll be on the firmware page.
7. Be forewarned, the download will be slow, it'll take 20 to 30 minutes.

The site is VERY badly designed, I do this for a living and it's obvious they didn't QA all the site code.

Hope this helps,

TC

Thanks. I share your opinion on their site. Guess what, I was able to register the product successfully and it created an account for me but the firmware download page isn't recognizing email and my password. I'll just keep trying.

I'm going through www.olevia.com for anyone that is trying to get through to their site as I usually access it through www.syntaxgroups.com but that seems down right now.

Tony, phipp...thanks! I got everything I need. I'm thinking of installing the USB driver on a laptop and running the USB cord to the TV from that. My HTPC will still be hooked up with the TV displaying the desktop over HDMI. *I'll be doing the upgrade from the laptop*. Does that sound like a plan?

P

Thanks. I share your opinion on their site. Guess what, I was able to register the product successfully and it created an account for me but the firmware download page isn't recognizing email and my password. I'll just keep trying.

I'm going through www.olevia.com for anyone that is trying to get through to their site as I usually access it through www.syntaxgroups.com but that seems down right now.

I'll save you the trouble ;)

542i Latest firmware download (http://www.olevia.com/jsp/firmware/files/542_060831C-083106.zip)

Again, right-click on it and "Save Target As"...

Tony, phipp...thanks! I got everything I need. I'm thinking of installing the USB driver on a laptop and running the USB cord to the TV from that. My HTPC will still be hooked up with the TV displaying the desktop over HDMI. *I'll be doing the upgrade from the laptop*. Does that sound like a plan?

P

Using the laptop is the way to go :cool:

Tony, phipp...thanks! I got everything I need. I'm thinking of installing the USB driver on a laptop and running the USB cord to the TV from that. My HTPC will still be hooked up with the TV displaying the desktop over HDMI. *I'll be doing the upgrade from the laptop*. Does that sound like a plan?

P
as long as the update is D/L'ed to the laptop I see NP with doing it that way

Also this firmware update did not fix the day of the week issue on my tv. It still reads 2 days ahead unless you set the month to December then its the right day of the week :(

Just picked up the 332H myself... I'm new to HDTVs, LCDs, etc... so I'm reading up here intently.

Got it, thanks! I'll be back in a few....:)

P

Just wanted to let you guys know that the "wrong day of the month bug" on the 537h has been fixed with a new firmware release. Juan from Olevia tech support just sent me an e-mail about that.
What firmware version fixes this and how do I get it? I've upgraded to 537-B11-060831C, That's the most recent one (released 10/10/06) that shows up for me on their website, but I still have this bug....November and December are switched when I try and set the date.

thanks!

Two questions about the 542i:

1) The setting for Syntax TVs on my TiVo Series 2 remote doesn't work. Anyone find one that does?

2) What kind of stands are you guys using/buying?

Ack! I just got notice that my 537h order was CANCELLED from J&R due to over selling the unit! It is now unavailable on their site, and everyone else has hiked the price back up! I can't believe my luck. :(

I phoned their sales dept and the guy tells me they only had about 30 units in stock, but sold 100+ on the web. Boo...

So, if anyone sees any good pricing on it equivalent to yesterdays deals, please give a shout. I would go for the 237v, but I think I really want that in home warranty.

Two questions about the 542i:

1) The setting for Syntax TVs on my TiVo Series 2 remote doesn't work. Anyone find one that does?

2) What kind of stands are you guys using/buying?

I just picked up this one. (https://www.consumerswarehouse.com/shop/default.aspx?store=furnakit&catcode=FCG&prodID=OS-20222)

This is the only one that fit my criteria:

1. Cheap, I didn't want to spend more than $150 since eventually I'd be getting a whole wall entertainment unit once I remodeled my living room.
2. Had to be less than 50" wide to fit in the space I had in mind at the present.
3. had to fit all my A/V components (Cable box, A/V Receiver, HTPC, VCR, PS2)
4. Same width as the 542i, didn't plan for that, but it worked out that way.

Hope this helps,
TC

What firmware version fixes this and how do I get it? I've upgraded to 537-B11-060831C, That's the most recent one (released 10/10/06) that shows up for me on their website, but I still have this bug....November and December are switched when I try and set the date.

thanks!
Ditto :(

The site is telling me there is no firmware available for the 332H.

Olevia 532H - I am looking (like a lot of other people) for the remote code for comcast remote. I have tried all the RCA, LG, Goldstar codes and nothing works in the comcast remote.

Comcast does not have one either.

Ideas? Thanks

BTW, Minneapolis Micro Center was organized and all the people in line behaved well. Vouchers handed out and people could get more than 1 tv, but they had to be different sizes.

At 4pm they opened the vouchers for everyone that did not pick up their tv by 3 or so. The hotest item was the 32".

I actually bought a voucher off of craigslist because they were out of the 32 when they got to me in line.

Thanks to everyone who has posted updates on the price drops for the 537H. I ordered one from Target on Thanksgiving, so I was able to spend BF picking up other items and not having to worry about an HDTV. Then, when I had some free time Friday, I checked back on this site and discovered that TigerDirect and others had undercut Target's price. So, instead of waiting a month for delivery from Target, I cancelled that order and bought one from Tiger for $100 less. The best part is that they've already shipped the unit!


I ordered my 537H from Amazon on Monday, for the $7**.00 price, :p and they got it from Target. They claim they don't price match which is stated in their policies, but when I was checking shipping on Friday, I noticed Amazon then had it for $6**.00. from TigerDirect

CRAP! :mad:

I took a chance and emailed Amazon explaining that it's now $1**.00 cheaper on their own site, just a few days later, and asking for a price match back to my credit card. They GRANTED it! WOOHOO! :D :D :D

So, I got the 537H for $6**.00 and it's already being shipped by UPS, and is scheduled to be at my house on Tuesday.

Amazon just made my Thanksgiving, and I didn't have to wait in any lines to get it!

:p :p :p

I'm currently using a Inspiron 700m with the latest Intel Extreme Graphics 2 driver to output a signal to the 542i, via VGA. Everything worked great prior to my updating the firmware on the HDTV. Before the firmware I could get any resolution I wanted that the laptop could output, now after adding the firmware I am limited to 640x480, which doesn't meet my needs in the least.

I'm hoping someone who owns this HDTV or not has any idea what is going on. I appreciate any help that is given.

For the life of me, I can't seem to find the $6** price you say on TigerDirect for the 537H. I am very interested in this unit. Could someone help me out?

I believe it was a yesterday-only deal.

For the life of me, I can't seem to find the $6** price you say on TigerDirect for the 537H. I am very interested in this unit. Could someone help me out?

forget it BF pricing all prices are right back up there please no more price talk or the Mods with lock this thread

Got it, thanks! I'll be back in a few....:)

P

Completed...with a little drama:) Step 1 went well, unplugged and turned back on. On step 2, the MTK Tool hung at "waiting"... I let it sit for 5- 10 minutes, no joy. Since I knew step 2 hadn't erased or written, I re-booted the laptop and went back into step 2...it wrote the .bin fine. Unplugged and turned back on, checked thr firmware revision, and all is well. Thanks again.

P

I'm looking to pick the 537H up as an upgrade to my LT26HVX. Would you say the performance is similar to this TV? If I was happy with this earlier Olevia, will I be happy with the 537H?

Also, does anyone have any calibration data for this?

For the 537H users out there, do you use this TV in 720p or 1080i?

The Minneapolis Microcenter was way more organized than some of the other stores. They even hired two city police officers to monitor the employees handing out vouchers and regulated the number of people entering the store. Once you paid inside, you just drove around back and waited in another line to get your tv loaded up. It was a little slow but at least it was organized.

For the 537H users out there, do you use this TV in 720p or 1080i?

both I set the Sa8300 HD-DVR to let both pass thru :)

Ack! I just got notice that my 537h order was CANCELLED from J&R due to over selling the unit! It is now unavailable on their site, and everyone else has hiked the price back up! I can't believe my luck. :(

I phoned their sales dept and the guy tells me they only had about 30 units in stock, but sold 100+ on the web. Boo...

So, if anyone sees any good pricing on it equivalent to yesterdays deals, please give a shout. I would go for the 237v, but I think I really want that in home warranty.


When did you order? When I ordered it was accepted as "Temporarily Out of Stock".

No cancellation notice yet.

Ack! I just got notice that my 537h order was CANCELLED from J&R due to over selling the unit! It is now unavailable on their site, and everyone else has hiked the price back up! I can't believe my luck. :(

I phoned their sales dept and the guy tells me they only had about 30 units in stock, but sold 100+ on the web. Boo...

So, if anyone sees any good pricing on it equivalent to yesterdays deals, please give a shout. I would go for the 237v, but I think I really want that in home warranty.


What time did you order yours i order mine earlier in the morning about 8am or so and my order has not be cancelled yet *Knock on Wood* i also ardered from Target they have it for seven ninety nine and seventy nine for a 3 year warranty its only 30 more than J&R you have to wait for Target but hey better order now and wait than have to pay 1000+ when the price goes back up. I hope my J&R order ships and ill cancel me Target order.

I noticed im my email it says all orders are reviewed carefully maybe they wont cancel an order with an extended warranty plan. I work in retail and i know those things are pure profit. Its unlikely they would cancel and order with one than without one.

Mine was in stock when i ordered it said ships 1 - 2 buisness days

It's not the TV, its more than likely the way you hooked up the Component cables. I have the 337H and it is a little confusing on the back, read the manual carefully and make sure you have the Red component cable plugged into the Red component input and not a red AUDIO input. I did this when i first set the tv up as there were 2 red inputs right next to each other. I fixed it, and the picture is beautiful for $500.

Unfortunatly this is not the problem and I have everything connected correctly.

I did that hooking up my friends dvd player to component those damn things arent labeled and i was like why is it green like that. LOL

Sorry if I am changing the subject on this thread. I am considering purchasing the 537H model. I see that it has VGA, and HDMI. I currently have my powerbook plugged into a DVI monitor using mac mini dvi>DVI adapter. I just wanted to make sure that I could plug my powerbook into this TV. I would just need to get a DVI>HDMI cable correct?

Since no one seems to be able to help me regarding the limited resolution when output from my laptop, does anyone know how I can download old firmware for the 542i?

Since no one seems to be able to help me regarding the limited resolution when output from my laptop, does anyone know how I can download old firmware for the 542i?

What did their tech support say when you contacted them about the issue?
What suggestions did they give you to download older firmware?

I have not contacted them yet, so do not know the answers....

EDIT: When I just connected my laptop, initially it only showed 640x480. SO, I went into the advanced tab and then MONITOR, and UNCHECKED "do not display resolutions this monitor does not support" I then had several more options. 1024x768 looks pretty good on my monitor

I'm currently using a Inspiron 700m with the latest Intel Extreme Graphics 2 driver to output a signal to the 542i, via VGA. Everything worked great prior to my updating the firmware on the HDTV. Before the firmware I could get any resolution I wanted that the laptop could output, now after adding the firmware I am limited to 640x480, which doesn't meet my needs in the least.

I'm hoping someone who owns this HDTV or not has any idea what is going on. I appreciate any help that is given.

Check the graphic driver settings on your laptop and make sure the 542i is recognized as an LCD display and not a TV. Make sure the refresh rate is set correctly (ie, one that will not exceed the display).

Well I decided to mess around with the TV (232v) a little more before I take it back. I hooked up my dvd player through component and everything worked fine and the green tint went away. So I thought well maybe its bad wires on my 360. So I plugged the 360 back in and on comes back the green tint. But then I switched settings in the dashboard to 480p and it went away. As soon as I switch back to 720p or 1080i the green tint came back. So looks like I'll be taking it back and hope for a new one that doesn't have the same issue.

Does your panel look like the picture I've attached? For those familiar with LCD HDTV's, is this odd lighting when the screen is completely black normal? I've fooled around with various settings, but have not been able to reduce it at all.

Note: The picture turned out a bluish color, but it's actually all black, but just wanted to show what the light blotches look like.

Hey I'm not sure mine looked as bad as that. I can't really tell from the pic if it's actually as light as it appears. Mine was really only in the bottom left and top right. I took it back to MC today, hassle free. I've got a new one hooked up to my 360 right now and it looks great. There is just a bit of the lightness in the top right corner but it's hardly noticable compared to the one I returned. I can only see it if the screen is totaly black. If the screen has black bars at the top and bottom I don't notice it at all. Over all there are some light spots here and there but this new set is much more uniform. At the great BF price of july-sept-sept I can live with subtle light spots, I'm happy with it. Now I have to see what HD cable looks like when I pick up a box on Monday.

I would like to repost the TIVO code question. Does anyone have a good code to put into the TIVO remote to control a 542?

In regards to Flux's post above. My XBOX 360 looks great in 720p and 1080i (I prefer 720p). Good luck on your return. I might suggest one thing. Ask a friend to borrow their 360 cables and see if that resolves the issue. You may need to buy new cables. My friend had a similar problem with his high priced Sharp (I do admit it has a better picture but at 3 times what I paid for mine). My cords worked fine. When he first called me I had to remind him to set the switch on the cord to HD. He had it on regular TV still. It got better but still had a problem. It is easier to go pick up a new cord than exchange the TV.

What did their tech support say when you contacted them about the issue?
What suggestions did they give you to download older firmware?

I have not contacted them yet, so do not know the answers....

EDIT: When I just connected my laptop, initially it only showed 640x480. SO, I went into the advanced tab and then MONITOR, and UNCHECKED "do not display resolutions this monitor does not support" I then had several more options. 1024x768 looks pretty good on my monitor

I never thought to even try that, being I figured it was referring to refresh rates alone. Sure enough that did the trick, although I'm not sure why the firmware upgrade would show that the LCD could only display 640x480. Thanks for the help and I'm sure many will have that question after a firmware upgrade, probably end up a sticky if there ever is a dedicated thread with tips and tricks etc.

Hey I'm not sure mine looked as bad as that. I can't really tell from the pic if it's actually as light as it appears. Mine was really only in the bottom left and top right. I took it back to MC today, hassle free. I've got a new one hooked up to my 360 right now and it looks great. There is just a bit of the lightness in the top right corner but it's hardly noticable compared to the one I returned. I can only see it if the screen is totaly black. If the screen has black bars at the top and bottom I don't notice it at all. Over all there are some light spots here and there but this new set is much more uniform. At the great BF price of july-sept-sept I can live with subtle light spots, I'm happy with it. Now I have to see what HD cable looks like when I pick up a box on Monday.

My local MC is out of stock currently, but I checked out the display and it doesn't feature the problems my set has. So he said for me to send off the rebate and that it would be no problem to do an exchange when they get more in next week. He even said this is the first time they didn't keep some from being sold for returns, but with the popularity of this set, can't blame them for selling every last one.

Hi, I just set up the 542i that I bought at Microcenter yesterday. The back lighting has some issues. Its really bad at the lower left corner, very concentrated bright area leading up from the bottom of the display and then spreading out. The lower right has another concentrated bright area and the top right has a large, difused area. Here's a pic of the screen I uploaded.

Anyone find any fixes yet? I already emailed tech support.

Hi, I just set up the 542i that I bought at Microcenter yesterday. The back lighting has some issues. Its really bad at the lower left corner, very concentrated bright area leading up from the bottom of the display and then spreading out. The lower right has another concentrated bright area and the top right has a large, difused area. Here's a pic of the screen I uploaded.

Anyone find any fixes yet? I already emailed tech support.

Pretty much the same as my screen, minus the circle of light I have. I'm exchanging mine for a new one.

I am one of the many who got a MicroCenter 532H. It took about 13 hours from when I starting waiting inline to getting home. If I had known it would take that long I would have brought the 232V from Circuit City.com I had it in my cart all ready to check out before deciding to brave the BF madness.

The TV picture looks great on both the internal tuner and via the HDTV Wonder in my computer. The big minus is that there is no digital audio out from the internal tuner but I would at least like to have sound come from something better than the internal speakers. However, I'm having trouble with the line level audio out to my receiver. It is very low and only works while the internal speakers are enabled which defeats the point. Whenever I turn off the internal speakers via the audio menu, the outputs are silent as well.
Is there a setting I missed somewhere?

Hi, I just set up the 542i that I bought at Microcenter yesterday. The back lighting has some issues. Its really bad at the lower left corner, very concentrated bright area leading up from the bottom of the display and then spreading out. The lower right has another concentrated bright area and the top right has a large, difused area. Here's a pic of the screen I uploaded.

Anyone find any fixes yet? I already emailed tech support.

Well, I called Microcenter and they have a few more in stock. I'm packing up the TV and going to exchange it right now.

Well, I called Microcenter and they have a few more in stock. I'm packing up the TV and going to exchange it right now.


Hey daveEVU. Be sure to tell us how that new set turns out. Like I said my exchanged set still exhibits a bit of the issue but it is so minor I'm not going to return it again. Just curious how your 2nd one turns out. Good luck!

Well I have the new one but I'm waiting for a friend to come over and help me get it out of the car and set up. When I was there I asked if they had many other returns. One was returned for the same issue with the back light and another was returned for problems with the remote - they actually had them bring the whole unit back for an issue with the remote...........

I wonder if this is a wide spread issue considering that this is only the 2nd day after the sale and there's already so many of us with problems. I mean, you have to figure that a lot of people will just say screw it, thats what I get for $800. By the way the price in the store was back up to over $1500

Are any of you having issues with the 337h? I have one of those that I bought yesterday too that I'm in the process of selling

Just hooked up the 542i and I can see some minor backlighting in the upper right and lower left hand corners, of course only when there's no signal input/black background. Wife says she sees nothing. I really think it's just the nature of these sets/LCDs in general. If I stare hard enough I can see the backligthing on my 24" Dell LCD PC monitor when there's no input.

LCDs will not give you true blacks, especially at this price point.

I'll hold onto the set and if I don't like the way it looks within the next year I'll just have Syntax send someone out. More than likely they can turn done the intensity on the backlight... I wouldn't be surprised if one could actually do it via software/service menu.

Has anyone ever found out how to access the service menus on these sets?

Well, just set up my Xbox with 480p on the 332H... the screen is all garbled. It doesn't work at all with 480p and that's the only HD source I have.

Just hooked up the 542i and I can see some minor backlighting in the upper right and lower left hand corners, of course only when there's no signal input/black background. Wife says she sees nothing. I really think it's just the nature of these sets/LCDs in general. If I stare hard enough I can see the backligthing on my 24" Dell LCD PC monitor when there's no input.

LCDs will not give you true blacks, especially at this price point.

I'll hold onto the set and if I don't like the way it looks within the next year I'll just have Syntax send someone out. More than likely they can turn done the intensity on the backlight... I wouldn't be surprised if one could actually do it via software/service menu.

Has anyone ever found out how to access the service menus on these sets?

We must have gotten the same batch cause I see the backlight in the exact same places. For the price, I'm going to use this as a practice set. Good set for learning tweaking, calibrating, and testing input devices. I'll wait until next summer to buy a hopefully top of the line set. Although there probably is no such thing. HD on the set is pretty good, but SD really is bad. At least with my Comcast setup.

I just picked up the 337 from MC yesterday and am quite happy with the picture. Im going to be primarily using it for gaming with my 360 and believe I have set my picture up pretty well. Can anyone offer me their settings since I am a first time HDTV owner? Also can anyone tell me what the blacklighting issues people are having looks like, or somehow send me a picture? Thanks and any help provided would be much appreciated.

Well, just set up my Xbox with 480p on the 332H... the screen is all garbled. It doesn't work at all with 480p and that's the only HD source I have.

480P is not HD.
did you hook up a Xbox or xbox 360?

Not HD... okay. It's an Xbox, not 360. Either way, the TV should support 480p, according to the manual. Yet it doesn't actually seem to work.

We must have gotten the same batch cause I see the backlight in the exact same places. For the price, I'm going to use this as a practice set. Good set for learning tweaking, calibrating, and testing input devices. I'll wait until next summer to buy a hopefully top of the line set. Although there probably is no such thing. HD on the set is pretty good, but SD really is bad. At least with my Comcast setup.

That was my plan also. This is not my "dream" set, I simply bought it to get HD until I remodel my livingroom (by moving a doorway I'll be able to fit a >56" display against a wall). Watching HD college football tonight on ABC I can see banding/contouring on high contrast scenes and pixelation on fast motion scenes. Wife thinks it's fine, then again, her vision isn't perfect :rolleyes:

Ran the THX calibrator on the "Monsters Inc" DVD and the grayscale test was horrendous... this display can't show the drop shadow behind the THX logo (any CRT display can). Also, you could see "tinted grays on some of the grayscale boxes. Those two issues alone indicate this set needs to be calibrated badly. Just trying to decide whether I should try to do it myself with one of the calibration discs or hire a pro.

You have the original firmware. I'm downloading the latest now, yes the site is flaky, they have a bad "path" through the site (I do ecommerce for a living). Here's how you get in:

1. Don't go through "Register Product" on the left hand side.
2. Click on "FutureProof your TV"
3. Enter your serial #. It will fail and say not registered. Click on the link it displays to register your TV.
4. Enter all your info including your serial # on the page that comes up.
5. Once you submit the page you'll get a firmware download page. It'll ask for your email and password. It will fail. Click on the link it displays to "Create Account".
6. Enter your email and a password on the create account page. Once you submit you'll be on the firmware page.
7. Be forewarned, the download will be slow, it'll take 20 to 30 minutes.

The site is VERY badly designed, I do this for a living and it's obvious they didn't QA all the site code.

Hope this helps,

TC

Can I use a Mac to perform the 542i firmware upgrade, or does it have to be a pc?

Not HD... okay. It's an Xbox, not 360. Either way, the TV should support 480p, according to the manual. Yet it doesn't actually seem to work.

Its stage that it doesnt work, must be defective. one more thing hdtv usally works better in in hd resolutions. 420P is ED, a Hdtv's will never really look good on 420p output.

Can I use a Mac to perform the 542i firmware upgrade, or does it have to be a pc?

I believe the software that does the upgrade is only available for Windows. If you have a newer Intel based Mac you could run Bootcamp and load Windows on it.

Its stage that it doesnt work, must be defective. one more thing hdtv usally works better in in hd resolutions. 420P is ED, a Hdtv's will never really look good on 420p output.


Don't really care if it's perfect... it's better than standard, which is what I've always been using.

Put an email in to tech support. Any idea of their turnaround time?


EDIT:

Tried it with Knights of the Old Republic... it works and is better than standard component. Does not work at all with Fable, which supposedly supports 480p as well. Has anyone else ever experienced this? I'm new to (real or not) HD.

Don't really care if it's perfect... it's better than standard, which is what I've always been using.

Put an email in to tech support. Any idea of their turnaround time?


EDIT:

Tried it with Knights of the Old Republic... it works and is better than standard component. Does not work at all with Fable, which supposedly supports 480p as well. Has anyone else ever experienced this? I'm new to (real or not) HD.


are you running fable from the dvd or the harddrive, because i heard that there are some problems running fable in 420p from the harddrive.

Watching HD college football tonight on ABC I can see banding/contouring on high contrast scenes and pixelation on fast motion scenes. Wife thinks it's fine, then again, her vision isn't perfect :rolleyes:

.

The banding and pixelation could be in the source- I see this on my AE700 from OTA HD sports at times, depending on the bitrate from my OTA locals.

If you are using a sat or cable box for your HD channels, these providers often reduce the bitrate even lower than OTA, causing these artifacts.

The banding and pixelation could be in the source- I see this on my AE700 from OTA HD sports at times, depending on the bitrate from my OTA locals.

If you are using a sat or cable box for your HD channels, these providers often reduce the bitrate even lower than OTA, causing these artifacts.

That's a good point. Right now feeding the cable line straight into the set (will pick up a HD box tomorrow), but like you said, cable operator could be compressing the bitrate to save some bandwidth.

Once I hook up my HTPC and play some true HD video files I guess I'll see the "true" capabilities of this set with regard to fast moving scenes and false contouring.

are you running fable from the dvd or the harddrive, because i heard that there are some problems running fable in 420p from the harddrive.

Stock Xbox... running from the disc. No network connectivity, probably has never been on Live.

I've got Comcast now, but when I had satellite, sometimes the signal would go in and out. I now see this with this new 542. I'm going to call them and see if there is a signal booster they can apply to my line. It's worth a shot.

Anyone know how to tone down that blue light on the unit.
It's like a spot light in a dark room.

Thanks.

I peeled the "advertising sticker" off of the front of the set and stuck a piece of electrical tape to the backside of it so that the sticky side was attached to the sticker and not the TV and reapplied the advertising sticker over the BLUE led, allowing just a itsy bitsy amount of light to show.


Also, am I the only one that wants to use a universal remote and select directly between HDMI and the ATSC tuner without cycling thru all the other inputs? Anyone have a solution? Remote codes available ANYWHERE?

Chadtower -- how are you hooking the xbox up to the tv? You need the high def pack if you want it to do 480P. You also need to go into the xbox dashboard and tell it you have a widescreen that supports 720p and 480p. You games should then play widescreen.

Heh, my media room/office used to look like the bridge of an Imperial Star Destroyer, so I feel your pain.

I used black nail polish to carefully put a small dab over annoying led's. It lets some of the light still shine through, but dims them appropriately. You can always use some acetone on a qtip to remove it as well, so it's not a permanent thing. Way more appealing to the eye than a strip of black tape, imo. :)

I use black electrical tape. Only 2 mm wide. very discrete.

It's interesting, it looks like people with way more expensive tvs (sony xbr) have the same uneven backlighting issue. Some of the pictures in that thread are absolutely horrendous:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=748779&page=1

I posted this in the 542i thread as well. just lookin for as much insight as possible. I ordered the 537H TV online yesterday. It has not shipped yet so I at least until Monday to decide if I really want the TV.

i ordered based on positive impressions in this thread and the review on audioholics.com

today i went to CC and CUSA to check out the Olevias, and I don't think I was very impressed. compared to Samsung, Sharp and JVC the black levels seemed poor, colors weren't as vibrant and the picture wasn't as sharp. overall, the picture seemed washed out, and just didn't have that "pop" to it. granted, neither CC or CUSA carry the 5 series or any model with the MDK chip. i saw several models with the ATI and Pixelworks chips. to me, the 337H with the Pixelworks chip looked the best.

knowing that Olevia uses LG panels, i also checked out some LG LCDs. i wasn't impressed with these either as they also seemed to share some of the same problems. is this what LG panels are like? is it possible that the stores just didn't have them set up right? will the 5 series with the MDK chip look better than anything I saw today?

i bought this TV because it seemed like it offered great quality for the price. however, if i'm not happy watching it, the purchase doesn't make much sense at all. i'm really hoping that you guys will say the TV is better than my impressions at the stores, but either way, your honest opinion would be appreciated.

I was able to get my 542i (BF Microcenter purchase) set up yesterday, and had some time today to play with the unit. Everything looks good, but I do have one problem that I have not seen mentioned in the threads here at AVS.

This issue occurred the very first time that I powered up the unit. It also occurs anytime I leave the set turned off (standby mode) for more than a few hours, and then turn the set on. When this issue occurs, the set powers up, and after the Olevia startup screen is displayed, the currently selected video source is displayed, BUT, there is no sound, and there is a huge amount of video distortion. The distortion appears as large blocks, usually covering about 1/4 of the screen, or sometimes as large noise bars covering 1/4 to 1/2 of the screen. On some occurrences, the speakers will emit a sharp crackling sound as well.

If I power the set down, then back up, the problem goes away.

I currently have 3 video sources plugged in to the set, one OTA hd antenna feed, one component DVD feed, and one S-VHS standard def Tivo feed.

Any thoughts? Should I try to go back to Microcenter to see about an exchange (assuming they have any more in stock since BF)?

Thanks,
Tom

i've also found a couple more reviews of the 542i if anyone's interested:

http://peripherals.about.com/od/displaysmonitors/fr/olevia542i.htm

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/home-theater-audio-video-blogs/2120-engadget-hd-review-olevia-542i-42-inch-lcd.html

and for the sake of completeness, here's the previous audioholics review that we've all read:

http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/olevia-542i-LCD-TVp1.php

Rob, my 542i is NOT as bad as some of those Sonys! These folks even claim they can see the lighting variations during regular viewing, which I definitely do not.

This guy in the thread reiterated what I said before:

All LCD's have non-uniform backlighting to some degree. It's just a question of how large the brightness difference is and whether it is noticable to the human eye. My 46XBR2 for example, is very slightly brighter in a couple of the corners but this is only visible (barely) with no input, the lights out, and brightness and backlight cranked. At normal settings, even in the dark, it is not visible. I don't consider this a defect in my case. In the case of someone who had more severe backlighting issues, it might be different. My point is, a lot of people have unrealistic expectations about what this technology is capable of. Lumping all backlight uniformity issues together is ridiculous, since it is present everywhere and the more minor issues are expected and are NOT defects.

After seeing those Sony backlighting pics though, i consider my set to be near perfect :)

Hey! Everyone calm down about this backlighting leakage nonsense. I am an lcd veteran. I have 4 lcd's, my sister has 2, my son has 2, my daughter has 2. All different makes from cheap to best, and ALL of them had some backlight leakage on a black screen when new. This does minimize or goes away completely over time. I don't know the technical reasons for it, but maybe it's as simple as the lights are too bright when brand new. After a couple of months use, you will see a vast improvement. This should not be a cause for anxiety and certainly not a reason to retun it. It is simply the state of lcd technology at this time.

Now, as the sets the Mojo_lo saw at CC AND CompUsa. I also was at CompUsa today and thought the Olevias wer unimpressive, however the ones on display were the old models and I do expect the 537H that I have ordered to perform better. But, that being said, the plain fact of the matter is that LG does not make the best panels. If you direct compare LG to any other major brand in a side by side test, the LG will lose almost everytime. Their blacks are not as black and on off angle viewing their blacks tend to look blue. However, if you got a BF deal like most of did then these sets are a steal. I bought this for my bedroom, I think I have a resonalbe expectation for what the picture and performance will be like. I am still in the market for a bigger set for my family room. For that purchase I am waiting for the right deal on a better brand set.

Just a quick question, I have some super cheapo component cables attached to my video switcher, I was hoping to get better one but I am a extreme tightwad, I already have very good quality(metal plug) RCA type cables(i use them for audio) can I just use a couple of sets of those,I know the colors won't match but other than that should they work well?

I think Sharp Aquis is the only good LCD for black lighting/picture quality. PC Mag has their 32" as their editors pick and HDTV gift for christmas. The lowest price for a 32" was a hundred more than I paid for my Olevia 42". Now I admit is not for my BF deal at MC, I would have gone to Sharp and settled for the smaller size.

As far as the cables go, have them tested (some radio shacks have testers at their locations and will do it for free. I have Monster Cables for my other HD TV. This one only has generic cables and in HD looks great. I guess if I wanted to test the difference I could disconnect them from my other TV and try them out here but until I have a problem I will not do it.

As far as remotes, I will wait a few months and then see what happens, as far as updates from TIVO or Olevia. If they do not do it, I may see what Harmony has to offer but at just over $12x.x0 for a Harmony remote, I will be patient.

I wonder if this is a wide spread issue considering that this is only the 2nd day after the sale and there's already so many of us with problems. I mean, you have to figure that a lot of people will just say screw it, thats what I get for $800. By the way the price in the store was back up to over $1500

I don't think it's really a widespread "problem". My MC claims to have sold 500-600 of the 542i's alone. With a typical home electronics failure rate of 1-3% that about 5-18 sets that have some sort of issue. The light spot on my new set is in the top right corner, for the most part it's something I can live with. I hardly notice it unless I really stare at it. And like you said, for the price it's not an issue I can complain too much about. It's also not my dream tv, just something to play 360 on for the most part. Sort of a starter set.

I looked at my XBOX 360 forum and there are a lot of people who are just now getting their first HD TV.. They all love 360 more... it also begs the question why people without a 1080p HDTV would want to pay for a PS3. Gears of War also kicks ass and looks better on this than my Samsung DLP HDTV.

I can feel everyone's pain on the diffective TV. I bought three XBOXs in the first month and sold 1 of them within the first hour of buying it (paid for one of the ones I kept). Both of the ones I kept had issues. One did not work at all and the other was hit or miss on locking in online game play. It took 5 months to get a new one instock at BestBuy.

I was able to get my 542i (BF Microcenter purchase) set up yesterday, and had some time today to play with the unit. Everything looks good, but I do have one problem that I have not seen mentioned in the threads here at AVS.

This issue occurred the very first time that I powered up the unit. It also occurs anytime I leave the set turned off (standby mode) for more than a few hours, and then turn the set on. When this issue occurs, the set powers up, and after the Olevia startup screen is displayed, the currently selected video source is displayed, BUT, there is no sound, and there is a huge amount of video distortion. The distortion appears as large blocks, usually covering about 1/4 of the screen, or sometimes as large noise bars covering 1/4 to 1/2 of the screen. On some occurrences, the speakers will emit a sharp crackling sound as well.

If I power the set down, then back up, the problem goes away.

I currently have 3 video sources plugged in to the set, one OTA hd antenna feed, one component DVD feed, and one S-VHS standard def Tivo feed.

Any thoughts? Should I try to go back to Microcenter to see about an exchange (assuming they have any more in stock since BF)?

Thanks,
Tom

I would definitely take it back. Sounds like something that's going to eventually cause the set not to turn on at all. Not acceptable.

I was just wondering, what's the main difference between the 237V and the 537V. Are the panels really that much different? Which one of these are comparable to the LT26HVX? If I don't need the HD Tuner, is the 237V and the 537V basically the same set?

Besides the speaker position and the built in tuner, I think they are the same TV.

Do you think I'm better off buying a Samsung if I'm really picky about response times?

I was just wondering, what's the main difference between the 237V and the 537V. Are the panels really that much different? Which one of these are comparable to the LT26HVX? If I don't need the HD Tuner, is the 237V and the 537V basically the same set?
The main differences are:

1) The 237v's speakers are vertically mounted while the 537h has horizontally mounted speakers.

2) The 537h has an ON-SITE Warranty while the 237v is an exchange warranty (you need to send it back to the manufacturer for repair or replacement).

3) The 537h has a universal remote while the 237v's is a dedicated remote.

In addition, there are some minor programming differences which most, if not all, will even notice.

If you don't want a tuner then you need to be looking at the 337h as it does not have a tuner. It does use the same display but it has a different chipset!

Now, as the sets the Mojo_lo saw at CC AND CompUsa. I also was at CompUsa today and thought the Olevias wer unimpressive, however the ones on display were the old models and I do expect the 537H that I have ordered to perform better. But, that being said, the plain fact of the matter is that LG does not make the best panels. If you direct compare LG to any other major brand in a side by side test, the LG will lose almost everytime. Their blacks are not as black and on off angle viewing their blacks tend to look blue. However, if you got a BF deal like most of did then these sets are a steal. I bought this for my bedroom, I think I have a resonalbe expectation for what the picture and performance will be like. I am still in the market for a bigger set for my family room. For that purchase I am waiting for the right deal on a better brand set.

i also noticed that the older models (model number beginning with LT) were the worst.

the 337H, which i believe is a newer model, actually looked OK, tho not as good as the sammy LN-S3251D below it. it was also next to a Sharp (the LC-37D40U if I remember correctly) and favored even better in this comparison. at times i even thought i liked the 337H better than the Sharp, but certain scenes revealed its deficiency in displaying blacks.

i also noticed that the older models (model number beginning with LT) were the worst.

the 337H, which i believe is a newer model, actually looked OK, tho not as good as the sammy LN-S3251D below it. it was also next to a Sharp (the LC-37D40U if I remember correctly) and favored even better in this comparison. at times i even thought i liked the 337H better than the Sharp, but certain scenes revealed its deficiency in displaying blacks.
Unfortunately, looking at televisions in a showroom is a gamble. If the remote or menu button is available to you, make sure all the TV's are using the same settings, especially brightness and contrast. The Olevias have a "Showroom" setting and a "Home" setting. The "Showroom" setting zooms up the brightness and sharpness so the Olevias can compete with all the other zoomed-up TV's.
What you see in a showroom is usually quite different from a home setting.
How many flourescent lights were washing out pictures?
In retail, if you want to push a certain brand, you set the brightness and contrast way up and turn the other TV's settings back down to normal. The customer sees an bright picture and thinks this one has a better picture. Granted, some retailers are getting away from this and using a viewing room, but still make sure they haven't set the controls on that $2000 TV to look better than that $1200 TV.

I was just wondering, what's the main difference between the 237V and the 537V. Are the panels really that much different? Which one of these are comparable to the LT26HVX? If I don't need the HD Tuner, is the 237V and the 537V basically the same set?

do your homework. go to olevias website and they have this handy lil thing and it actually will compare models side by side. :rolleyes:

What upconverting DVD players are people using with the 537H? I'm considering the OPPO 71 but it has some underscanning issues and that's a concern. I'm looking in the $150. - $300. range but the budget is flexible.

David

do your homework. go to olevias website and they have this handy lil thing and it actually will compare models side by side. :rolleyes:


do your homework. Have you tried going to Olevia's site lately? :rolleyes:

Black Friday destroyed it.

Edit: There is a "back door", but many are certainly going have a hard time finding it:.
http://www.olevia.com/jsp/products/compare.jsp?pidFrom=237v&pidTo=537H

Hi there

I got my Olevia 542i from the Microcenter. The rep insisted that i take the $150 (silver protection from MC) to cover anything wrong for 3 years. is it worh to take it?

Did you see Consumer Reports recently on EXTENDED WARRANTIES? Basically ONLY two times you should get them... Rear Projection TV's and APPLE MACS (due to a limited 90 day Tech support)..Other then that Including LCD TV's..They state use the Manufacturers warranty and then Pay for the REpair if it is ever needed..something like an estimated 8% Failure rate on LCD TV's after 4 years.. And they said the Warranty usually costs more then the repair..

Rob

For those who have mounted thier 542I on the Wall... What is the SIZE of the Screw used to mount the Brackets to the TV I have a Peerless Tilt Mount but Ididn't get a good measurement on the Screw hole in the back of the 542I... What did you use? Thanks!!

ROb

It should definitely be broken up... it's nearly impossible to wade through now.

Mods Note:

Some posts have been re-moved due to some of the comments.

Please be nice.

Thanks.

Dave

the 542i thread already exists (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8992997#post8992997)

Did you see Consumer Reports recently on EXTENDED WARRANTIES? Basically ONLY two times you should get them... Rear Projection TV's and APPLE MACS (due to a limited 90 day Tech support)..Other then that Including LCD TV's..They state use the Manufacturers warranty and then Pay for the REpair if it is ever needed..something like an estimated 8% Failure rate on LCD TV's after 4 years.. And they said the Warranty usually costs more then the repair..

Rob


Also to go with the above, I repair pc's for a living, including LCD monitors. There's not a whole lot of difference between an LCD monitor and an LCD tv. The most likely part to go bad, is the INVERTER board for the backlight. This creates the high voltage needed to fire the fluorescent lamp. When this goes bad, the backlight usually doesn't light up at all. SOMETIMES, (at least on laptops), you can flip the little lid switch (for closing the lid on the laptop) multiple times, and the lcd will light up for a second. That's a dead giveaway that the inverter board is bad, but not completely dead. Some of these boards use PICO fuses (real tiny micro sized fuses) that can blow out on a power surge, these can be replaced by any regular person that can solder a wire.

So, why pay big bucks for an extended warranty, when most likely in the future, you will ONLY have to pay the price for a new inverter board? They are a piece of cake to replace, remove a shield cover, unplug several cables, unscrew the board, install a new one, replace the shild, and back together and running!

Also check your Visa cards, to see if they double your warranty. My does, and I used it to buy my 537H. I think all Platinum cards do this, but it's worth a phone call to find out.

the 542i thread already exists (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8992997#post8992997)

Good deal.

So many new people are going to be receiving (or already have) the 537H, 437V and 237V after the Thanksgiving sales.



Here is a new thread dedicated to the 537H, 437V & 237V. I have linked working Olevia product and comparison sites in the thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=757419

nice.

What upconverting DVD players are people using with the 537H? I'm considering the OPPO 71 but it has some underscanning issues and that's a concern. I'm looking in the $150. - $300. range but the budget is flexible.

David

If you are honestly willing to pay up to $300 for an upconverting DVD player, you might want to see about stretching the budget up to $400 and get a full blown HD-DVD player.

This will give you the option of using HD-DVD's and will upconvert your current DVD's also.

I hope to be able to swing one of these during the run up to Xmas.

The HD-XA1, which was the top of the line Gen 1 players is between $470-$550, usually with a bunch of free movies, and the HD-A1 gets as low as $400.

This will give you the option of using HD-DVD's and will upconvert your current DVD's also.
What's the advantage if the display isn't capable of 1080P? If there is an advantage, I'll definitely stretch the budget.

David

My 532H, all of a sudden, will not let me have any digital over-the-air broadcast channels and just a handful or less analog station ota broadcast. It was working fine yesterday. Normally i get around 20 analog and 17 digital stations. I use an hd outdoor antenna which has been moved around and then did an auto program ota search over and over again to no avail. All the connections check out ok. Auto program search for cable works fine.
Any ideas as to whats up? Anyone else having problems?

Thanks

What's the advantage if the display isn't capable of 1080P? If there is an advantage, I'll definitely stretch the budget.

David

It depends on what formats the player can output.

My 542i looks GREAT when showing 720p at 1:1. I have slight empty space, but since it is 1:1, there are no compression artifacts, etc.

1080i also looks very good when I set it to Aspect.

A standard DVD player either outputs at 480i or 480p(if it is a progressive player). I think the picture is fine when using the TV's scaler on this TV, but I have heard that the HD DVD drives have better scalers, so they can output a clean scaled image which would look better on the TV.

Of course HD DVD- movies will be drastically better than a SD DVD which has been upscaled.

Ack! I just got notice that my 537h order was CANCELLED from J&R due to over selling the unit! It is now unavailable on their site, and everyone else has hiked the price back up! I can't believe my luck.


When did you order? When I ordered it was accepted as "Temporarily Out of Stock".
No cancellation notice yet.

my 537H order from J&R hasnt been cancelled yet. but if it does get canceled, no prob....i'll patiently wait for another great deal. prices of LCDs have been dropping like crazy. soon a 37" set from Olevia will be going for $500. :)

I was able to get my 542i (BF Microcenter purchase) set up yesterday, and had some time today to play with the unit. Everything looks good, but I do have one problem that I have not seen mentioned in the threads here at AVS.

This issue occurred the very first time that I powered up the unit. It also occurs anytime I leave the set turned off (standby mode) for more than a few hours, and then turn the set on. When this issue occurs, the set powers up, and after the Olevia startup screen is displayed, the currently selected video source is displayed, BUT, there is no sound, and there is a huge amount of video distortion. The distortion appears as large blocks, usually covering about 1/4 of the screen, or sometimes as large noise bars covering 1/4 to 1/2 of the screen. On some occurrences, the speakers will emit a sharp crackling sound as well.

If I power the set down, then back up, the problem goes away.

I currently have 3 video sources plugged in to the set, one OTA hd antenna feed, one component DVD feed, and one S-VHS standard def Tivo feed.

Any thoughts? Should I try to go back to Microcenter to see about an exchange (assuming they have any more in stock since BF)?

Thanks,
Tom

I have the exact same problem w/ one of my 42" that I bought from microcenter... i wonder if more people are experiencing the same problem... any help would be awesome

If you are honestly willing to pay up to $300 for an upconverting DVD player, you might want to see about stretching the budget up to $400 and get a full blown HD-DVD player.

This will give you the option of using HD-DVD's and will upconvert your current DVD's also.

I hope to be able to swing one of these during the run up to Xmas.

The HD-XA1, which was the top of the line Gen 1 players is between $470-$550, usually with a bunch of free movies, and the HD-A1 gets as low as $400.

I would not buy an HD DVD of any kind until the dust settles. Check out the price of a High Def DVD and the limited availability. See the following article.

http://www.slate.com/id/2153877/fr/rss/

An excerpt from the article.

"Sony's decision to support Blu-ray in the PlayStation 3 is a strong-arm tactic to drive demand for Blu-ray-encoded movies. But this loss-leading move could sink Sony's new console—and maybe even the whole company—when Blu-ray stalls out."

Also in the wings is Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD) which will hold up to 3.9 terabytes.

I just picked up a 337H from Frys and I am loving it for HDTV (using dvi to hdmi ) on comcast.

I'm having an issue with the Xbox 360 vga cable however. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get audio out of the TV speakers with the VGA source.

I have the microsoft vga cable plugged into the vga port in the back, the Video is working (and looking) great. There is no place to plug in the red/white audio cables while using the VGA source. The HDMI input has 2 audio ports next to it, however the vga port does not.

There is a line level audio input next to the vga port. I tried using the supplied converter with the 360 vga cables (red/white audio to stereo mini line level) and did not receive sound on the VGA source. I then attempted to hook up my computer speakers to the line out port and still did not receive audio.

Am I missing something?

thanks,

Jeff

Yeah, it only seems to work when you plug into the stereo miniplug input. My 332H is the same way despite the manual saying otherwise.

what is the difference between Full Screen, Aspect and 1:1? I have a 337H and i think the picture looks better in 1080i than 720p, but how do these screen settings affect the resolution?

Well, I'm pissed.

Besides the green tint problem that's been plaguing the component connection with the Xbox 360.

I was watching football today on FOX HD... when for no reason whatsoever... my new Olevia 32 inch (232v) turns off.

I just got it on Black Friday. Hooked it up Friday evening around 10pm. Less then 48 hours later about 6pm EST tonight... it shuts off.

I didn't know if some energystar thing had kicked in, or I accidentally hit the remote. But... I tried to turn it back on, and it wouldn't turn back on.

I flipped the switch in the back a million times, unplugged and plugged it back in from both ends of the power cord. Tried to turn it on via the panel, tried to turn it on via remote.

The blue light still comes on and off when I press power on the remote or the tv... but the unit won't power/start up.

There is no good reason for this.

I e-mailed Olevia about it... but I intend to call first thing tomorrow. I wish I could do more but papers and school are calling.

Has anyone else had a similar problem? It seems the case with other models of Olevia... but I haven't read up on anything about the 232v.

Anyone got any advice, ideas, or sympathy?

For the past 40 or so hours though I was loving the tv. I thought it looked great. I just want one that works now.

Thanks.

-Steve

Your problem sounds more serious but I have noticed with my 3mo. old 532H that sometimes when I turn it on, it turns itself back off immidiately. I have noticed this occur 4 or 5 times when using the remote. In my case, it seems to only occur with the remote but I'm still testing it. Could be a Remote or battery issue I hope. More worrisome is that I have turned the set on at least twice now, heard a slight pop and then have no Audio through the built in Tuner. Turning the set off and back on seems to fix things. This set has a decent warranty so I have plenty of time to see if these turn out to be something more serious like a failing componet or power supply.

Well, I'm pissed.

Besides the green tint problem that's been plaguing the component connection with the Xbox 360.

I was watching football today on FOX HD... when for no reason whatsoever... my new Olevia 32 inch (232v) turns off.

I just got it on Black Friday. Hooked it up Friday evening around 10pm. Less then 48 hours later about 6pm EST tonight... it shuts off.

I didn't know if some energystar thing had kicked in, or I accidentally hit the remote. But... I tried to turn it back on, and it wouldn't turn back on.

I flipped the switch in the back a million times, unplugged and plugged it back in from both ends of the power cord. Tried to turn it on via the panel, tried to turn it on via remote.

The blue light still comes on and off when I press power on the remote or the tv... but the unit won't power/start up.

There is no good reason for this.

I e-mailed Olevia about it... but I intend to call first thing tomorrow. I wish I could do more but papers and school are calling.

Has anyone else had a similar problem? It seems the case with other models of Olevia... but I haven't read up on anything about the 232v.

Anyone got any advice, ideas, or sympathy?

For the past 40 or so hours though I was loving the tv. I thought it looked great. I just want one that works now.

Thanks.

-Steve

I've seen that with my week old 332H... when it's cold, it just shuts itself back off sometimes. Once it has been on a couple of minutes that stops happening. One time I got audio but the screen was still off.

Do all of the 5xx series offer the one year in home warranty?

Thanks

Are these (possible) power supply issues common to LCD tvs in general? not common at all? Freak occurrences with our sets. Common to Olevia?

I was able to get my 542i (BF Microcenter purchase) set up yesterday, and had some time today to play with the unit. Everything looks good, but I do have one problem that I have not seen mentioned in the threads here at AVS.

This issue occurred the very first time that I powered up the unit. It also occurs anytime I leave the set turned off (standby mode) for more than a few hours, and then turn the set on. When this issue occurs, the set powers up, and after the Olevia startup screen is displayed, the currently selected video source is displayed, BUT, there is no sound, and there is a huge amount of video distortion. The distortion appears as large blocks, usually covering about 1/4 of the screen, or sometimes as large noise bars covering 1/4 to 1/2 of the screen. On some occurrences, the speakers will emit a sharp crackling sound as well.

If I power the set down, then back up, the problem goes away.

I currently have 3 video sources plugged in to the set, one OTA hd antenna feed, one component DVD feed, and one S-VHS standard def Tivo feed.

Any thoughts? Should I try to go back to Microcenter to see about an exchange (assuming they have any more in stock since BF)?

Thanks,
Tom
I got my 532h from Microcenter. I found the simliar problem. when I power it on, after the olevia screen is displayed and before the selected video is displayed, screen flashes twice, also the large white strips appear. sometimes the speakers make a sharp sound. This issue occurs every time when the TV is power on.

Any suggestion?

So does the 427v have or not have the 480i issue?

The 427v is at newegg for $499 and am wondering whether this issue still exists. I am planning on gaming with the Wii on here and I am hoping there won't be any problems.

I would not buy an HD DVD of any kind until the dust settles. Check out the price of a High Def DVD and the limited availability. See the following article.

http://www.slate.com/id/2153877/fr/rss/

An excerpt from the article.

"Sony's decision to support Blu-ray in the PlayStation 3 is a strong-arm tactic to drive demand for Blu-ray-encoded movies. But this loss-leading move could sink Sony's new console—and maybe even the whole company—when Blu-ray stalls out."

Also in the wings is Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD) which will hold up to 3.9 terabytes.

IMNSHO this is bad advice. HD-DVD is delivering an outstanding PQ today at a reasonable price. There are no shortages of movies or players with this great thing called the "Internet", you may have heard of it :p

If you've got a HD set, why not view movies the best they can possibly look? Just to be fair and not sound like some HD fanboy - BD also looks fabulous, the players are a bit more expensive but the prices are coming down. Have a look at the catalogs for each, the price for players, and figure out if one of them makes sense. Oh and the Toshiba HD-A1 does great upconversion over HDMI of SD movies, every bit as good as both the Oppo and Panasonic S77 upconverting players I own.

What's the advantage if the display isn't capable of 1080P? If there is an advantage, I'll definitely stretch the budget.

David

1080p is absolutely not necessary to spot the improvements in HD or BD. Your display will do 720p and look a lot better than 480p SD-DVD. I had the Toshiba HD-A1, then bought the Xbox 360 add-on and spent quite a bit of time viewing both on different display devices (none of them 1080p unfortunately). HD-DVD movies look quite a bit better than SD, but the differences are a little subtle at first, particularly if you've had an upscaling DVD player and a decent display. After watching for awhile, you'll easily notice the improvements. Even my wife, who could really care less about how it looks, commented on how much better HD-DVD looks, compared with the Oppo and Panasonic S77 players we own.

As an upconverting player, when connected via HDMI, the HD-A1 was just as good as the Oppo and Panny, even better in some respects with less noticeable macroblocking (both SD upconverting players use the Faroudja DCDi).

My 532H turns on with this same sequence as well.

I got my 532h from Microcenter. I found the simliar problem. when I power it on, after the olevia screen is displayed and before the selected video is displayed, screen flashes twice, also the large white strips appear. sometimes the speakers make a sharp sound. This issue occurs every time when the TV is power on.

Any suggestion?

Have the people with the power issue done the firware update at www.olevia.com? I had some power issues - such as turning off during set-up and some (not all) of the issues above. I did the firmware update and now NO MORE POWER ISSUES.

Good luck to you all. I went back to MC (Houston, TX) to get more 2GB SD memory cards ($16 during BF Weekend Sales) and asked about returns on the 542 and they said they had 3 but no longer had any in stock to exchange. They were not sure when they would get more in the future. I suggest you try and get the problem fixed via firmware before taking it back to the store as you will have to wait for a new set.

As far as the discussion on to buy HD DVD or not to buy it. I agree if you are buying a new DVD player go HD. I too have a XBOX 360 and will be getting the HD DVD add on in a few months (budget issues with all the new games coming out). I want to know how many people have a PS3 and of the number how many have a TV that is capable of displaying 1080p. I bet it is a small number compared to the number of people with 1080i or 720p that have an HD DVD stand alone or XBOX 360 add-on device. Study history so you do not repeat the mistakes of the past. BlueRay will be squashed just like BETA was by VHS. It is about money... it is cheaper to produce movies in HD and as such more people can afford them creatiing a bigger market demand for them. I have a friend that had one of the old Laser Disk players where the disc was the size of an old 45 and he keeps it to remind him to think twice before buying new technology.

There is no downloadable Firmware available for the 532H when I input my serial number as of today. What model did you do a Firmware update on?

Have the people with the power issue done the firware update at www.olevia.com? I had some power issues - such as turning off during set-up and some (not all) of the issues above. I did the firmware update and now NO MORE POWER ISSUES.

Good luck to you all. I went back to MC (Houston, TX) to get more 2GB SD memory cards ($16 during BF Weekend Sales) and asked about returns on the 542 and they said they had 3 but no longer had any in stock to exchange. They were not sure when they would get more in the future. I suggest you try and get the problem fixed via firmware before taking it back to the store as you will have to wait for a new set.

jpb1978,

I just replied to your post in the other Olevia thread. Here are the highlights...

I am one of the folks with power on issues. I have the 542i.

I have checked my firmware level, and discovered that my set was shipped with firmware 542-B11-060807A. There is only 1 newer revision available (Firmware 542-B11-060831C). The release notes from Olevia for this latest release say...

Solve the issues below:
1. Main-> TV analog, Sub->HDMI
Choose screen to Main source, use up and down to choose VGA_component. Then let OSD disappear automatically. Press right key to sub picture and left key to main picture, there's no audio out.
2. Press "Freeze", then press "Mute" and "Mute" again. Picture wasn't frozen.
3. When the input is tuner and the screen is in 1:1, Aspect, panoramic, Zoom1 or Zoom2, I execute the ¡§Auto¡¨ or ¡§Cropping¡¨ function. The screen will become full screen.


None of the listed items appear to be related to the problems that I am having.

That being said, I do plan to bring my laptop home from work tomorrow night to perform the upgrade. I will let you know if it makes a difference.

Also, my local Microcenter is unsure when they will get another shipment. If they do not get more in the next 15 days, I could have issues with the return/rebate. The rebate paperwork needs to be mailed within 15 days! I may also try calling Olevia support tomorrow to see what they have to say.

Which TV do you have??

Thanks,
Tom

Global Computer and Tiger Direct are now selling the 537H below BF price.

My 532H turns on with this same sequence as well.

Mine as well. It seems like a normal startup sequence to me.
I believe the problem foilingfool is describing on his 542i is different. He has to power cycle again to get normal operation.

I did some more investigating with the line level audio output on my 532H. They only output sound when the speakers are set to on in the menus but it is not affected by the volume level. So, I can turn the volume all the way down and still get sound through my receiver.

This doesn't seem to match what the manual says should happen though. Anyone using the audio out on their TV with the internal speakers off?

Do all of the 5xx series offer the one year in home warranty?

Thanks

Yes. That's one of the advantages of getting a 5 series.

Well, I'm pissed.

...I didn't know if some energystar thing had kicked in, or I accidentally hit the remote. But... I tried to turn it back on, and it wouldn't turn back on.

I flipped the switch in the back a million times, unplugged and plugged it back in from both ends of the power cord. Tried to turn it on via the panel, tried to turn it on via remote.

The blue light still comes on and off when I press power on the remote or the tv... but the unit won't power/start up....

Thanks.

-Steve

Probably not the issue but...I thought my TV had a power problem until I realized it took ~8 seconds to see the "Olevia" boot screen, and ~13 seconds for the desktop (HTPC) to appear.

P

Well I have the new one but I'm waiting for a friend to come over and help me get it out of the car and set up. When I was there I asked if they had many other returns. One was returned for the same issue with the back light and another was returned for problems with the remote - they actually had them bring the whole unit back for an issue with the remote...........

I wonder if this is a wide spread issue considering that this is only the 2nd day after the sale and there's already so many of us with problems. I mean, you have to figure that a lot of people will just say screw it, thats what I get for $800. By the way the price in the store was back up to over $1500

Are any of you having issues with the 337h? I have one of those that I bought yesterday too that I'm in the process of selling


Well I set up the new 542i that I picked up in exchange. Its perfect. Can't be happier with it!

Lucky, I missed getting to MC since I was doing the family thing. It pained me greatly to see that 42" deal go by.

The blue light still comes on and off when I press power on the remote or the tv... but the unit won't power/start up.



Try pressing the source button to change the source. I thought this happened to me today when I press power, the blue light went off, and I saw no picture. But, it was because it was set to the vga input and my computer was off.

Go through GlobalComputer.com or TigerDirect.com and you don't even pay for shipping. I ordered it around 5 am and they said it will ship out today.
This tv keeps dropping like this and it will be free by Christmas!

Has anyone bought from Global? Are they part of Tiger? They only offer a 30 day DOA exchange. They have a $50 rebate on the 537H and I have had trouble in the past getting a rebate from Tiger.

Sorry if this is off topic but it does concern the Olevia 537H.

:)

Yes the same company. I believe with the online
rebate program Tiger/Global is doing better with rebates.

Has anyone bought from Global? Are they part of Tiger? They only offer a 30 day DOA exchange. They have a $50 rebate on the 537H and I have had trouble in the past getting a rebate from Tiger.
I went to the rebate site and the rebate was only valid in Canada and payable in Canadian dollars.

David

I went to the rebate site and the rebate was only valid in Canada and payable in Canadian dollars.

David

There is one for Canada and one for U.S. Here is the U.S. link.

http://www.onrebate.com/OfferDetails.aspx?rebid=9840

I ordered. Delivery in 3 to 5 days.

There is one for Canada and one for U.S. Here is the U.S. link.
http://www.onrebate.com/OfferDetails.aspx?rebid=9840
I ordered. Delivery in 3 to 5 days.
Thanks. I just tried it with IE and it came up but only the Canadian rebate came up on Foxfire 2.0. I owe ya a beer. :cool:

David

Update.

I just called Olevia a little bit ago to explain what was going on with my tv, the Olevia 232v.

Got TV on black friday. Hooked it up Friday night. Worked great, except for green tint on component hookup with Xbox 360. Shut off for no reason last night, Sunday around 6pm. Wouldn't turn on. Not even this morning. Came home today this afternoon... the backlight on LCD would light up and that's it. No Olevia logo, nothing. Just black screen lit up. Blue led light worked. It wasn't on the wrong source or anything like that.

Anyway... I called Olevia tech support. After being on hold for 40 minutes, finally got through. Their phone system is interesting, because at random times... it'll sound like you're disconnected... it'll just be completely silent for about 10 minutes... then finally, an automatic voice will come on and say... thanks for holding... if you can't hold on any longer please visit the website FAQ... kind of encouraging you to hang up. Eventually.. the phone will ring again... and you'll finally get through to someone.

Anyway... I spoke to this nice guy, if not seemingly in a rush... but don't they all sound that way... named Jay.

He ran me through a couple of tests involving... unplugging the tv for 1 minute. Plugging it back in. Turning on the tv. Pressing the source and/or menu buttons to see if anything would show up. No dice. Unplug... make sure blue led light finally turns off... plug back in, turn tv on.. see if anything shows up. No? Ok.

He said it looks like your motherboard has failed.

I should take it back to Circuit City and have them replace it. I said... first off, Circuit City doesn't have any in stock, I want my tv now. 2nd, I don't have the box, so I don't even know if they'll take it back. And I don't want a refund... these are black friday prices.

He then said... well to send it to Olevia... I would have to pay for shipping to ship my defective tv to them... then they'd ship me a new tv. He told me the higher models have a better warranty, and that's why they don't have to pay shipping.

I told him I just got the tv 2 days ago. This was crazy.

Then he remembered... (supposedly, maybe its standard procedure)... that in the first 30 days of the warranty... they have the 1:1 replacement thing... which he called a courtesy service in which they'll send you tv, after printing out and faxing a form (with credit card info as collateral) with a copy of receipt. You'll get a new tv, and then you send the defective one back in the same box. You don't have to pay for shipping.

So I said that was more like it. So he e-mailed me the form. I printed it out... faxed it along with a copy of my receipt.

I asked him how long it would take for me to get tv. He said up to 2 weeks. I said why so long.

He says... once they get my fax... they have to eventually get through it... processing... may take up to a week to get to my name... maybe less. Once they process my info, then they ship it immediately... and they ship 5 day UPS Ground shipping. Hence why it make take up to 2 weeks. Could be less though he said.

Do know that they're in California, and I'm in South Florida.

As an ancillary question, I asked why, before the tv died.... would there be a green tint when I hooked up my 360 via component. He said it was a symptom of a bad motherboard. That that problem was common in earlier models of their tvs, but they have a firmware upgrae for it to fix the problem.

They don't have a firmware upgrade for my tv because it's a newer model tv, and they fixed the problem, and it shouldn't be on the 232v. So if you have a 232v he said with that problem... green tint.... then you probably have a bad motherboard. Just FYI. I thought that was interesting.

He assured me new tv should have a good motherboard, and hence not have that problem.

I asked him if it was going to be a new tv or a refurbished tv. He said I would get a new tv because the tv I was returning was a new tv. That's usually how it works. On top of that... he said the 232v's they have in stock are all new. They don't have any refurbished.

Anyway, I'm glad I got that taken care of. Sucks I have to wait 2 weeks... but I think it's an omen anyway. I have law school exams over the next 2 weeks. :-)

Hopefully the new tv I get is fine and I don't have any problems in the future.

jpb1978,

I just replied to your post in the other Olevia thread. Here are the highlights...

I am one of the folks with power on issues. I have the 542i.

I have checked my firmware level, and discovered that my set was shipped with firmware 542-B11-060807A. There is only 1 newer revision available (Firmware 542-B11-060831C). The release notes from Olevia for this latest release say...

Solve the issues below:
1. Main-> TV analog, Sub->HDMI
Choose screen to Main source, use up and down to choose VGA_component. Then let OSD disappear automatically. Press right key to sub picture and left key to main picture, there's no audio out.
2. Press "Freeze", then press "Mute" and "Mute" again. Picture wasn't frozen.
3. When the input is tuner and the screen is in 1:1, Aspect, panoramic, Zoom1 or Zoom2, I execute the ¡§Auto¡¨ or ¡§Cropping¡¨ function. The screen will become full screen.


None of the listed items appear to be related to the problems that I am having.

That being said, I do plan to bring my laptop home from work tomorrow night to perform the upgrade. I will let you know if it makes a difference.

Also, my local Microcenter is unsure when they will get another shipment. If they do not get more in the next 15 days, I could have issues with the return/rebate. The rebate paperwork needs to be mailed within 15 days! I may also try calling Olevia support tomorrow to see what they have to say.

Which TV do you have??

Thanks,
Tom


Well, no luck for me... I was able to download the latest firmware this evening, and perform an update to the 542i. I am still having the issues with the noise blocks on a power up. Again, this only happens when the set has been off for a while. I have to power down and power back up to get a normal picture. Sometimes it take 3-4 power cycles to get back to a good picture. Looks like I will be heading back to Microcenter tomorrow to see what they can do. If they are still out of stock, I may end up calling Olevia to see how to proceed :(

I have seen posts by a couple of others who are having the same issue. Has any one with this issue been able to resolve it without a replacement?

Thanks,
Tom

foilingfool,

Sorry to hear the firmware did not work. I hope MC has a replacment for you soon. If not you should ask Olevia for the same deal Steveskg got. Infact, you may be able to get them to come to you and fix it in your house. The 5 series comes with 1yr in home service.

Good Luck and thanks for sharing as others have had the same problem.

A green screen/tint/hue is actually an effect of a bad motherboard, so he certainly wasnt lying there. Happened with my brand new Samsung.... twice, returned it and got the cheaper 337H, saved $500 and couldnt be happier.

I just purchased the Olevia 532H. This is the nicest tv I have owned. CRT my whole life. My question is.. Sometimes with the 532 when ESPN commercial breaks, then comes back, it makes a sharp almost gun shot like sound. Is this normal? Also, when I play video games (a gun shooting game,) the first shot is always the loudest. Even a lot of times when the program comes back from commercial break, it makes the small sharp POP sound. Is this all normal? Is it maybe apart of the surround sound? I couldn't figure out how to turn on the surround sound.

Thanks

I purchased a 542i from MC. I am a newbie to LCD. How do i find the firmware. How do i identify the issues you guys are discussing. It looks fine to me. Is there a test DVD I can run to see the correctness. One issue i found was after auto channel search, the TV shuts off. This has been fixed using Firmware 542-B11-060807A. I will be updating the Firmware 542-B11-060831C. Also If i have an older firmware before Firmware 542-B11-060807A, do i need to update Firmware 542-B11-060807A before updating latest one.

buytamil,

I answered you in the 542i specific thread here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9010860&&#post9010860

P

Does anyone know what is going on with the customer service? I have tried over the last 2 days to get through, and nothing. It also appears that have changed their number since the last time i've called. I was promised a partial refund, and now i've bought another tv and this just isnt looking good.

So I looked at some of the info and demos at http://www.hqv.com. If this deinterlacing chipset does all that it claims, it sounds like it may make sense to configure your DVD player for interlaced output and let HQV handle the de-interlacing.

Do we know if the chipset performs pixel-based deinterlacing for 1080i as well as 480i?

thomase - When the 7xx series sets are finally available, we should be able to answer your question.

I read in this thread that 542i has QAM tuner. What are these tuners for atsc/ntsc/qam. I have basic comcast cable [ $15 ]. I get around 20 digital stations. some are HD and some are not. Also i get some movie channels randomly. I have an accurian receiver I got an year before from Radioshack. Is it possible to use that or i dont need that.

My Olevia LCD made it impossible to play Guitar Hero normally.

The LCD calibration in Guitar Hero 2 came to 80-100ms of lag.

However, I must admit it felt much worse than gaining 80-100ms
of lag in a FPS online. Perhaps this is because my Guitar Hero
play is even more sensitive to lag than FPS play. (surprising)

If you play an FPS online, you may already know what adding
100ms to your ping feels like. If you can accept that, then
I imagine an Olevia like my 437v would not be a problem.

If you play Guitar Hero, you can feel similar LCD lag by
trying one of the display/kiosk units for Guitar Hero II.
The small LCD at my Best Buy's GH2 kiosk seems to have
less lag than my Olevia, and I still consider it horrible.

If you care about this sort of thing and really want an LCD
for gaming, you should look into well-reviewed PC monitors.

The S-IPS panel was one reason I selected the Olevia I did.
This is supposed to be a great new panel technology as you
should find with some research.

I do not believe the panel is responsible for the Olevia lag.
Upscaling could be a problem, but my experiments with 1:1 pixel
mode indicate the lag comes from other components in the system.

This may simply be something overlooked in selecting TV parts,
at least compared to most game-friendly PC monitors.

In the end, I am going to use my CRT for a while longer, and hope
new technologies allow me to buy a slim display again. If I wanted
something bigger for movies/hd, I would consider a projector.

Feel free to shoot me down since I'm just jumping in here. Is you PS2 hooked up with component cables and displaying in progressive mode?

If not, I don' understand how 1:1 pixel mode is even possible because it will HAVE to deinterlace a 480i signal. Furthermore, is 1:1 pixel mode valid when the signal resolution is not equal to the panel's native resolution (even when outputing progressive)?

Does anyone have an opinion on how the Olevia 337H compares to the Vizio VX37L (from costco)? I picked up the 337H on black friday at fry's and am trying to decide if I should keep it or go for the Vizio.

Also, when I checked out at Fry's they offered me a 5 year in home warranty for a relatively low price. I have the option of canceling it within the first 30 days. Has anyone had any experience with these type of warranties and should I keep it?

thanks,

Jeff

Does anyone know what is going on with the customer service? I have tried over the last 2 days to get through, and nothing. It also appears that have changed their number since the last time i've called. I was promised a partial refund, and now i've bought another tv and this just isnt looking good.

Their service is the slowest in the industry. I've yet to hear back from them on the faulty audio output on the 537H. I think it's a systemwide glitch they don't want to respond to.

The last set I bought was a nightmare trying to get them to mail a rebate. It took 7 months, and dozens of promises. It's amazing the set didn't die, because I'd be out of luck. The only thing they have going for them is a very good product at a very good price. Other than that, its a crapshoot.

Does anyone have an opinion on how the Olevia 337H compares to the Vizio VX37L (from costco)? I picked up the 337H on black friday at fry's and am trying to decide if I should keep it or go for the Vizio.

Also, when I checked out at Fry's they offered me a 5 year in home warranty for a relatively low price. I have the option of canceling it within the first 30 days. Has anyone had any experience with these type of warranties and should I keep it?

thanks,

Jeff

Do you love the picture? I'd say if HD isn't perfect and SD channels aren't acceptable, then you would be happier with the 337H. The big kicker here is customer service. You can't beat Costco - they'll take back anything anytime (not sure if you need an extended warranty - what's it cost?).

Do you love the picture? I'd say if HD isn't perfect and SD channels aren't acceptable, then you would be happier with the 337H. The big kicker here is customer service. You can't beat Costco - they'll take back anything anytime (not sure if you need an extended warranty - what's it cost?).

Picture is stunning in HD. Dvd's off of my 360 pretty good. SD looks horrible unless i put it in 4:3 mode, and still it looks worse than my 20" sony crt. I bought this set for 360/wii gaming and dvds.

For anyone with a 360, are you using the VGA or Component cables?

thanks,

Jeff

Can anybody list what issues firmware: 537-B11_060831D is supposed to address for the 537H?

I had to download it from the backdoor method somebody posted in here, because even though I registered my set on the web, it won't recognize my serial number on that enter page to get to the new firmwares. Does that take a couple days after registering before it'll allow you to make that work?

Also, can somebody who has flashed their 537H with new firmware very recently, post exactly the steps in how they did it, as there are no instruction files included with the firmware download.

By the way, right out of the box, the picture on all sources was really "yellow" pushed. I had to change it to the "9300" from "6500" picture to make it go what looks like normal to me. Did anybody else have this same issue?

Thanks! I really appreciate the help.

Hi all. I am new to the forum. Just got my new 537H delivered from Target. They had the lowest On-Line price ever - I bought mine 2 days before Black Friday for 799!!! With shipping to NJ and tax, the final price was $900.03 delivered! About 2 days ago I went to the Target site again, just to see if they are changing the price, and it was 1349.99. Today, it's down to 899.00 before shipping/tax. If any of you are interested in a good deal, you should monitor their site daily - I bet the price will go down to $799.99 for the Holiday.. However, if you do want to lock in the price and get it on time, order now - They are now showing 2-6 weeks delivery delays ( Must be due to the item being sold out with the low $799.99 price tag )...

With all that, I do have a question - Can someone please explain how to tune or search for channels? I am sure I went to each and every item in the on screen menu, but I can't find the option for 'Channel Search' ! AARRRGGG!

PLEASE HELP!!

Update - Just went to check again - they are offering free shipping with the 899 price tag.

-- still need to know how to search for channels :)

As previously posted, the Dish remote codes in the manual for the 537H don't work. After much trial and error, I've found that code 3030 works to control my Dish Network 301 receiver and also the basic satellite functions on my 508 DishPVR. I can't get the Olevia universal remote to control the PVR functions though.

Can someone please offer any advice as to how to reduce video noise or pixelation on an LCD TV. I have a new Olevia 337H with a dnx pixelworks chipset, i know its not the best quality LCD TV, but for $500 i couldnt resist as i dont yet have a flat panel HDTV.

My biggest issue with the TV is that for some reason it looks nearly perfect when displaying a PS3 game or Blu-Ray through 720p. However when i try to watch Comcast through my 6412 motorola box (on 720p, this issue is not nearly as problematic in 1080i, but it is still there - it is especially bad in 480i), the picture becomes quite pixelated/fuzzy around the edges of moving images (players in a basketball game for example). I have turned the noise reduction option on the TV to HIGH, but i havent yet changed another thing on the TV. Would turning the sharpness up hurt or help this problem? What about contrast or brightness?

Would a program like Digital Video Essentials help this issue? Or are those programs more for color adjustments?

And finally, would connecting my cable box via HDMI instead of component help this pixelation/noise issue? Or shouldnt it matter a whole lot? My PS3 is hooked up via HDMI, but my cable box hates HDMI - it seems to work up until i change the source and try and change it back to HDMI.

Thank you!

Can someone please offer any advice as to how to reduce video noise or pixelation on an LCD TV. I have a new Olevia 337H with a dnx pixelworks chipset, i know its not the best quality LCD TV, but for $500 i couldnt resist as i dont yet have a flat panel HDTV.

My biggest issue with the TV is that for some reason it looks nearly perfect when displaying a PS3 game or Blu-Ray through 720p. However when i try to watch Comcast through my 6412 motorola box (on 720p, this issue is not nearly as problematic in 1080i, but it is still there - it is especially bad in 480i), the picture becomes quite pixelated/fuzzy around the edges of moving images (players in a basketball game for example). I have turned the noise reduction option on the TV to HIGH, but i havent yet changed another thing on the TV. Would turning the sharpness up hurt or help this problem? What about contrast or brightness?

Would a program like Digital Video Essentials help this issue? Or are those programs more for color adjustments?

And finally, would connecting my cable box via HDMI instead of component help this pixelation/noise issue? Or shouldnt it matter a whole lot? My PS3 is hooked up via HDMI, but my cable box hates HDMI - it seems to work up until i change the source and try and change it back to HDMI.

Thank you!

If the game is coming over in 1080i, there's nothing you can do. If it's in 720p, it shouldn't be as pixelated. All LCD's suffer this issue if sports are broadcast in 1080i. This is true in SD as well, but not as bad. If it's too much to handle, I suggest swapping to a plasma set.

I posted this in the 542i thread as well. I fired up my new MC bought 542i for the first time last night, basically no problem VERY happy. This morning when I powered up the audio is defaulting to "Church" output mode. It's a very irratating reverb output.

To fix this I .....Menu>audio>idiva>Classis or livingroom>enter and I get the correct sounding audio output. But sure enough if I power off the tv then turn it back on "Church" is back. Funny that when this set was first powered up it was in normal audio output mode, now this. It has the original firmware, is there a fix with new FM?

Furthermore, is 1:1 pixel mode valid when the signal resolution is not equal to the panel's native resolution (even when outputing progressive)?

I believe that 1:1 is only available on some inputs, but as long as the option is there, you can do it.

If you do it on 480 video, you will get a tiny window, smack dab in the middle of the screen, only 480 pixels wide.

I actually run my XBox360 HD DVD drive in 1:1 so that I have no stretching/artifacting from the TV. It causes slight black bars on all sides, but looks georgeous.

Update - Just went to check again - they are offering free shipping with the....
Your first two posts are probably going to be deleted this evening for violating the rules of the Forum, so watch that. Quoting prices is not permitted, just to warn you ahead of time!

Can someone please offer any advice as to how to reduce video noise or pixelation on an LCD TV. I have a new Olevia 337H with a dnx pixelworks chipset, i know its not the best quality LCD TV, but for $500 i couldnt resist as i dont yet have a flat panel HDTV.

My biggest issue with the TV is that for some reason it looks nearly perfect when displaying a PS3 game or Blu-Ray through 720p. However when i try to watch Comcast through my 6412 motorola box (on 720p, this issue is not nearly as problematic in 1080i, but it is still there - it is especially bad in 480i), the picture becomes quite pixelated/fuzzy around the edges of moving images (players in a basketball game for example). I have turned the noise reduction option on the TV to HIGH, but i havent yet changed another thing on the TV. Would turning the sharpness up hurt or help this problem? What about contrast or brightness?

Would a program like Digital Video Essentials help this issue? Or are those programs more for color adjustments?

And finally, would connecting my cable box via HDMI instead of component help this pixelation/noise issue? Or shouldnt it matter a whole lot? My PS3 is hooked up via HDMI, but my cable box hates HDMI - it seems to work up until i change the source and try and change it back to HDMI.

Thank you!

Caveat - I don't own this TV (my 537 is on backorder with Target) but DO own other HD sets and use the same Moto box and am a Comcast customer. That being said, noise reduction usually ends up causing other problems with PQ, I'd recommend turning it off. Also you're going to see overall blockiness even on HD signals, particular with sports programming with fast-moving scenes, with most cable/satellite feeds. They have to compress the signal to fit into their total bandwidth capacity, you may in fact be seeing the ugly byproduct of this.

Is an OTA signal a possibility? Would be interesting to compare what's coming over an antenna vs. the cable feed, and see if it's truly the TV or the incoming signal, maybe a combination of both. Keep us posted, would be interested in hearing how you make out.

Hey darkmatter ... I have the luxury of doing side by side comparisons between cable box HD and over the air (via htpc). The wife and kids were out of town a few weeks ago and I spent several hours on Sunday afternoon doing this comparison while watching NASCAR on NBC and football on CBS and ABC. The bottom line is that the differences were very minor. The over the air picture was just a tad cleaner (as expected) but I was pleased with the cable box image. I couldn't notice any difference at greater than 6 feet.

A much better discussion would be the comparison between 720p and 1080i. I've noticed that 720p on Fox and ABC is MUCH better at fast motion than 1080i on NBC and CBS but 1080i looks a little sharper on static images (think halftime shows). Right now I'd give ABC college football my best rating followed closely by Fox. I noticed a lot of macroblocking during the HD Madona concert on NBC the other night. Is it macroblocking or mpeg2 artifacting? I don't know for sure but it was very distracting.