A google search brought up zilch.

This 42" model is being offered at Costco's website (item #197490) for its members from July 9 through July 15, for $200 off, bringing it to the startling price of $999.99.

I like to calculate value of televisions by dollars/inch. In this case, it's only $23.81 per inch. Compare to other sets on the market--you'd be lucky to find any for under $30 per inch!

Can anyone shed some light on this model? I posted a request for info on the thread for Philips' 7422/7432 models, but nobody had any info on this, other than Mags are the "budget" line from Philips.

Hopefully somebody has some useful info on this model,

CS

Sounds like a great buy. 1080P for $999. A whole lot more on Amazon.

I'm looking for more info on this as well. I have a budget of $1K to get a new TV, and so far it seems to be between this or the upcoming Vizio, both on sale later this month or early next at Costco.

I'm in the same boat. Love to hear anybody's opinion on this TV vs the Vizio 42 inch LCD.

bump for some info

I guess no info is forthcoming.

While I can't find any real-world reviews of this set, I did notice something.

I've been comparing this set to Philips' 42PFL74 series (7422, 7432) and while the PFL has one more HDMI input, the MF has a higher contrast ratio, 1500:1 vs. the PFL's 1100:1. Otherwise, they seem to have identical specs.

Man, I would love if someone could shed some light on this mystery set.

CS

awaiting for info as well

I read through the spec sheet, and I can't find which version of HDMI it features. I know it's not 1.3, but which earlier version is it?

Can anyone from Magnavox chime in?

I'm also looking for info on this... I want to know what's wrong with the tv... it seems too good to be true.

couldn't find the Magnavox at my local costco... but the same happened with the 47 vizio months back. probably same sort of strategy with this release.

anyway, prices for 1080p are coming down, there's nothing too good to be true about it. for example, if you live in a state other than New York, you can get the Westy LVM-42w2 1080p monitor for $1200, delivered from Buydig. see link:

well, this sure sucks, because i am new to the forum, i can't copy and paste links. just go to the buydig website and search LVM-42w2


and the LWM-37w3 little brother is at costco for a few more days for $799.99 ($894 after taxes and shipping, California). I suppose if you live in a state where Costco doesn't do business, you can skip out on some sales tax. to see link, go to costco and search LVM-37w3. these monitors may lack tuners, but out here, we all pretty much subscribe to HD over cable or satellite.

couldn't find the Magnavox at my local costco... but the same happened with the 47 vizio months back. probably same sort of strategy with this release.
I believe the point here is that this LCD hasn't been released yet. Given that, there is ZERO real world/review experience with it. So we are looking for something/anything on this TV.

Here is the manual link: http://www.p4c.philips.com/na4/4/42mf437b_37b/42mf437b_37b_dfu_aen.pdf

Note: No PIP or POP

So do any of you techies have any opinions on this set after going through the manual?

I'm wondering if the VGA to digital will be a quality conversion on this TV. I've noticed that, while VGA will never be the same quality as DVI, there are quality converters that can be used to get it ALMOST as good as DVI.

Does anyone have good experience running a quality VGA signal to 1080p at this of screen?

Basically, I don't want blurriness or ghosting / shadowing

Any reason to think this is not the Philips 1080P just badged as Magnavox....the shells look the same. I don't understand the excitment over the Visio vs the Philips

Any reason to think this is not the Philips 1080P just badged as Magnavox....the shells look the same. I don't understand the excitment over the Visio vs the Philips
Well for one thing Dr. Who, the magnavox is online only, so the $200 off is a hair over the shipping costs for the TV. If they would ship it to the store for free, then I would seriously be considering it.

But this, plus shipping, plus tax is only going to be like $150 difference between this and the supposed holy grail of the new Vizio GV42(120Hz, 4 HDMI, Cortez, etc...).

Please tell me where I'm wrong.

Well for one thing Dr. Who, the magnavox is online only, so the $200 off is a hair over the shipping costs for the TV. If they would ship it to the store for free, then I would seriously be considering it.

But this, plus shipping, plus tax is only going to be like $150 difference between this and the supposed holy grail of the new Vizio GV42(120Hz, 4 HDMI, Cortez, etc...).

Please tell me where I'm wrong.
It's possible that they will include free shipping with this TV like they did/do with the 42" Sceptre.

I've been waiting for the release of the GV42 but I'm not holding my breath it's going to include everything we believe it's supposed to have.

It's possible that they will include free shipping with this TV like they did/do with the 42" Sceptre.

I've been waiting for the release of the GV42 but I'm not holding my breath it's going to include everything we believe it's supposed to have.
I hope we get to find out before the Vizio deal is over. For those of us looking at these sets, adding close to $200 for shipping is a very important component in our decision making process.

I am planning to get the Vizio VU42LF before the $200 off coupon is expired on July 1, then a week later order the Magnavox 42MF437B online so that I can compare the two side by side. Keep the better one and the lesser one will be returned later.

I think that if some sets are available online only, the shipping should be included as they did with the Sceptre 42", just as Fam Money said.

For something that can easily brake down as HDTV, I would like to buy from Costco for 1 year extra warranty and their good customer service. If the GV42LF is available from Costco for no more than $200 more, I may think about buying it, otherwise I will stay with either VU42LF or 42MF437B.

I am planning to get the Vizio VU42LF before the $200 off coupon is expired on July 1, then a week later order the Magnavox 42MF437B online so that I can compare the two side by side. Keep the better one and the lesser one will be returned later.

I think that if some sets are available online only, the shipping should be included as they did with the Sceptre 42", just as Fam Money said.

For something that can easily brake down as HDTV, I would like to buy from Costco for 1 year extra warranty and their good customer service. If the GV42LF is available from Costco for no more than $200 more, I may think about buying it, otherwise I will stay with either VU42LF or 42MF437B.
Sounds like we are in the same boat. But I believe the NEW GV42 is NOT going to be sold at Costco.

I think that if some sets are available online only, the shipping should be included as they did with the Sceptre 42", just as Fam Money said.
I totally agree with you there. The only reason I bought the Sceptre originally is because it was a "can't lose" situation as the shipping was included in the price. The flip side to it is that the Sharp 46" that is on sale this week is online only like the Magnavox and you have to pay shipping. It could go either way.

OT, I have the Philips 7422 that I exchanged the Sceptre for and I'm quite pleased with it but was possibly interested in the Magnavox but the Philips rep said while a great value the PQ is not equal to the 7422. I await you guys' results, if not there is always hope for the 46"Sceptre coming in August.

We are on the same wavelength, either 42" 1080p VU42LF or 42MF437B will be my first set, the second set will be 46" 1080p Sceptre and the third set will be GV52LF. All my 3 CRT sets died within the last few months, I need 3 new sets and it is the good time to all 3 the next 2-3 months.

Please tell me where I'm wrong.

Good logic...there are some recent model refurbs of Samsung LCD at Secondact....anyone have thoughts on the advisablity of refurbs LCDs....the prices are pretty good

I have never bought from costco online before.
1) Do they automatically charge sales tax for online purchases, and if so is it your regular sales tax rate?
2) Is there a way to find out from costco if shipping will be included on the magnavox 42MF before the vizio deal is over?

Costco online automatically charges sales tax for online purchases and it is your regular sales tax rate.

You can contact them online to ask if they will charge shipping for this Magnavox 42MF437B that is available online only. I checked shipping charges for other similar size sets and the cost is about $30 on average to my home.

Went to lunch and stop by Target today to see if they have any Magnavox. They have 3 37" 720p sets displayed next to one another: the left side is newer Philips, the center is Magnavox and the right side is Olevia. They're running some loop advertising Target merchendises. I do not know if they're calibrated any set or not, but with my eyes I think the PQ of Philips is a tad better than Magnavox and Olevia PQ is way down. The price of Philips at this Target is $1299, Magnavox is $1099 and Olevia is $1199. For these prices and PQ's, I would buy Magnavox over the other two. With this experience, I think 42" 1080p Magnavox 42MF437B at $1k is a steal.

Vizio VU42LF and Magnavox 42MF437B at $1k are good buy. The question is which one is better, the only way to find out is buy both to compare at home for few weeks, keep the better one and return the lesser.

You can contact them online to ask if they will charge shipping for this Magnavox 42MF437B that is available online only. I checked shipping charges for other similar size sets and the cost is about $30 on average to my home.
I just did that and am waiting for a reply. The "shipping & terms" verbiage on the Magnavox is different than other TVs that have shipping included in the price. I'm not sure if that was intentional, or just a general cut&paste oversight in creating the page so far out from the actual release date.


*EDIT*

I just got a response back from costco's customer service

Dear ***,

Thank you for your e-mail to Costco Wholesale.

Shipping will be calculated at checkout based on your ship-to location.

Thank you,

Taylor
Costco Wholesale Corporation
customerservice@costco.com

Anyone know what the pixel pitch of this TV is?

A caution on Magnavox LCD sets.

I work in the electronics dept. of a major retailer. We carry many major brands including Magnavox as well as a couple of "entry level" brands like Vizio and ProTron. In my our dept in the last 6 months we've had to have several of our display sets repaired after they'd only been on display for a few weeks. One was a Samsung with a broken RF terminal. All of the rest were Magnavox, some needed repeated repairs. Magnavox is also the number one brand for returns due to set malfunction. The 47" Magnavox LCD (didn't note the model number) that we put on display 3 weeks ago is already dead.

I realize this is anecdotal but the problems are spread pretty evenly over the entire Magnavox line, not restricted to one or two "problem models" which imho does warrant a caution.

Thanks, Steve. In your experience, have you also seen many Philips LCDs go out for repair? I always thought that Philips & Maganavox were tied together in some way.

Thanks,
jawgee

Up until a couple of weeks ago the only Philips LCD our store carried was a 37" midline ambilight model. The display model never malfunctionned in the 7 months it was up. It had crappy sound quality and low volume but at least seemed reliable. Philips plasmas have been troublesome but not as bad as Magnavox.

Magnavox is the low end division of Philips. Menus on Philips and Magnavox models until very recently have been the same (almost impenetrable in both cases).

Magnavox repair history is troublesome. I had Vizio VU42LF for 2 days and not very happy with the PQ, I think my set has the backlight leak at the top left and right conners. After some adjustings, the PQ is still not as good as 42" 720p Sceptre. I really like to try the Magnavox but with this kind of repair history I am not so sure about taking the risk.

My 17 years old Panasonic CRT died few months ago, but it's performed flawlessly for 17 years until the last day. On the other hand, the rear projector Philips/Magnavox was less than 10 years old, the PQ was okay the first 3-4 years then it started to detoriate on the 5th year and almost impossible to watch any TV and/or DVD the last year before it stop working last month.

For $1k or less, 42" 1080p Vizio is not that good, Magnavox is troublesome, then what else is there ?

...For $1k or less, 42" 1080p Vizio is not that good, Magnavox is troublesome, then what else is there ?

How about the 42" Westinghouse that's on sale at Best Buy? That's in the same price range, though the return policy is 30 days as opposed to 90 days at Costco. No free added warranty either.

Good luck,
jawgee

Since we don't know if shipping is included in the price from Costco's website, lets assume that it is not. Has anyone purchased a similar sized tv that can tell me how much shipping will cost? I am in Chicago.

I checked the shipping cost of Vizio VU42LF to my address in Irvine, CA 92603 and it was $40.28, I don't know how much shipping cost to Chicago. You can get on Costco.com and pretend to buy Vizio VU42LF, process to checkout and the shipping cost to your address will show up at the payment page.

I just stopped by the Costco Home store in Kirkland and they had a Magnavox up on their wall for previewing before the coupon sale. They had a Sony Bravia, Toshiba Regza and a Sharp 62U next to it for comparison.

So here are my thoughts on the TV. This is without any fiddling of any of the TV's they had mounted on the wall. Realize that this TV was compared to 3 other TVs costing twice its price, or more. All hookups are through component.

I like the Matte black finish.
The speakers can be removed, if need be.
The colors looked good. Very close to the other TV's.
Blacks looked decent. Not as inky as the others, but not too shabby at all. Pretty close to the Sharp, but a difference. As stated above, who knows where contrast and blacklights were set at in the controls.
There is motion blur. When looking at a 42" panasonic plasma, you could tell. But the other LCD's all had some motion blur too.
It was as sharp in text as the others except the Bravia. Like I said, I didnt play with any settings at all, so who knows what the settings were at on the TV.

Overall, I liked the TV. For the price, I think it had a great looking picture, and its a good looking TV too. Its not as comparable to the others, but its half the price. I dont believe in comparing apples to oranges. Unfortunately, there were not any other LCD tvs comparable in price next to it. But I would be very happy having this TV and spending half of what the others cost.

The biggest thing I want to know is if it accepts full 1080p pixel for pixel. I hate overscan and see no use for it. Does anyone know the answer?

Does Costco Home store in Kirkland have Vizio VU42LF on display ? This Vizio is the same price as Magnavox, if you have a choice of these two which woud you buy after seeing both sets ?

id love to know the answer to that exact question

They didnt have any of the 42" vizios on display. They have a 37" Vizio on a side wall, but trying to compare the two would be a disservice in my opinion. From what I remember seeing the 42" Vizio in the standard Costco, I prefer the picture of the Magnovox. But since the conditions were not duplicate, that should really be taking with a grain of salt. I too wish they had a Vizio for comparison, as I am anxiously following which TV to purchase with the coupon, and there are only a few days left for the Vizio. I think as long as you dont expect a low priced TV to perform like a much higher priced and higher end TV, it would be a good purchase. Im personally leaning towards the Magnavox. I just want to know that it displays 1080p pixel for pixel with no overscan. :D

Saw either the 1080p or 720p model at Sears yesterday. I don't like the looks of it with the speaker attached.

http://s7.sears.com/is/image/Sears/05771337000?qlt=90,0&resMode=sharp&op_usm=0.9,0.5,0,0

E55KEV, the one you saw at Sears is not the newest modell that will be on sale at Costco on July 9. This Magnavox is very similar to 1080p Philips 42PFL7422/37, except Philips has piano gloss bezel and Magnavox has matte black and a little different in the base design.

LCDFan, thanks for your impressions of the Vizio and Magnavox sets. The only way for people not living around Costco Home stores is to order the Magnavox online to test the set at home. As of today, there is no detailed specs nor any test of the Magnavox. If Costco does not have liberal return policy, I would not have a gut to buy this TV for $1k knowing nothing about it.

E55KEV, the one you saw at Sears is not the newest modell that will be on sale at Costco on July 9. This Magnavox is very similar to 1080p Philips 42PFL7422/37, except Philips has piano gloss bezel and Magnavox has matte black and a little different in the base design.

So, will the speakers be integrated into the Costco unit or removable? Yesterday, Sears did not have any information posted however, there was a owners manual next to it that stated 42MF437B/42MF337B. Perhaps it was the 337B.

The TV frame is similar to Philips 42PFL7422/37, the speaker enclosed is very thin at the bottom of the TV frame. I am not sure if it is removable or not. According the the picture, it can be detached from the frame. The overall design is cleanner than Vizio VU.

The actual photo on Magnavox website: http://www.magnavox.com/index.cfm?event=main&cat_id=1&subcat_id=5&product=105

Well, today is the last day to get the Vizio. I want to pull the trigger on one of these two TVs, but I need some expert advice! Anyone? Time is of the essence!

Go ahead get the Vizio with the $200 off coupon to try it at home for a week. If after one week trying all features and settings and you are not satisfy with it then order the Magnavox. Nobody had done comparing Vizio and Magnavox side by side to be able to tell which set is better.

I had Vizio and will order Magnavox next week.

I will also be picking up this TV. I had the Vizio, but returned it ... as I already am going to be comparing it to the Westinghouse 37w3se

FYI ... the Magnavox is available NOW...

July 2 thru July 15 ... get $200 off!

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11213783&search=42MF437B&Mo=0&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=0&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=42MF437B&Ntt=42MF437B&No=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1

$60 shipping to Northern VA. Would be nice to be able to see this in person 1st. Grrrrrrr

I saw the 42" Phillips 42PFL 7422D at Costco yesterday (N.VA) and thought it looked great. Nice bright clear picture. It was next to a much more expensive Sony and I think it looked better. I saw the Vizio also and did not like its' PG at all. Maybe it was just this display .

A friend was with me and he has a 50" Sony SRXd and he also thought the Phillips was excellent looking and commented that the Phillip's anti-glare coating was better than the Sony next to it.

I see the specs for the Magnavox are very similar to the Phillips. I have been in electronics for a long time and sometimes the specs don't tell the whole story. But with $200 bucks off it seems like a good deal. I'd rather see it first.


Does anyone remember how much the Phillips 42" at Costco was/is?

Thanks

I just ordered one, I have Vizio VU42LF which will be compared with Magnavox. The Vizio costs me only $1087.40 (sale tax is 7.75% in Orange County, CA + $10 E-Waste) compares with $1152.13 for Magnavox (California charges sale tax on S&H). So far Magnavox is $65 disadvantaged (6%) over Vizio, if PQ and other features are not better than Vizio then it will go back to Costco. I will post the comparision of the two sets when the Magnavox is arrived in few days.

I just ordered one, I have Vizio VU42LF which will be compared with Magnavox. The Vizio costs me only $1087.40 (sale tax is 7.75% in Orange County, CA + $10 E-Waste) compares with $1152.13 for Magnavox (California charges sale tax on S&H). So far Magnavox is $65 disadvantaged (6%) over Vizio, if PQ and other features are not better than Vizio then it will go back to Costco. I will post the comparision of the two sets when the Magnavox is arrived in few days.

Can't get much better than this. I'd almost wager you could toss a coin. My 2 cent coin anyway. I await your post.

Can't get much better than this. I'd almost wager you could toss a coin. My 2 cent coin anyway. I await your post.


I'm also curious. Looking forward to reading your review.

Hey Everyone,

I bought the Magnavox from Costco Home today.

I havent had much time to see the TV in action, but this is what ive seen on it so far. This is all from HDMI through comcast or HD DVD at 1080p. SD upscaling is horrible from comcast, but I still need to check different channels. It could also be going from a 30" to a 42" and my eyes picking out more problems. HD content is pretty good, though I didnt get a chance to play with much of the channels. I ran a few HD DVD's through, and they looked great. Tonight Ill run the HD HQV benchmark through my Toshiba HD-XA2 and let you know the results of the TV. So far im pretty happy with it. Good luck to everyone who bit the bullet and purchased one :) The colors are nice and the black level looks pretty decent!

Hey Everyone,

I bought the Magnavox from Costco Home today.

I havent had much time to see the TV in action, but this is what ive seen on it so far. This is all from HDMI through comcast or HD DVD at 1080p. SD upscaling is horrible from comcast, but I still need to check different channels. It could also be going from a 30" to a 42" and my eyes picking out more problems. HD content is pretty good, though I didnt get a chance to play with much of the channels. I ran a few HD DVD's through, and they looked great. Tonight Ill run the HD HQV benchmark through my Toshiba HD-XA2 and let you know the results of the TV. So far im pretty happy with it. Good luck to everyone who bit the bullet and purchased one :) The colors are nice and the black level looks pretty decent!

Any chance you're hooking it up to an HTPC? I want to know if the PC 1080p DVI > HDMI looks ok.

It looked REALLY poor on the recent Vizio and went back to Costco. I'm currently using the 37w3se, but would love the tuners and extra 5" for $200 more

Hey Everyone,

Well, I didnt get a chance to play with the TV much last night, so Im working on it know. Im running it through the HQ HD DVD benchmarks, and Im dissapointed.

First off, the TV does not pass the 1080i resolution tests. Not under video or film. For me this is a big no no. That pretty much seals the deal on this one, back it goes. :(

There is some noise in the test, sometimes its very noticeable and sometimes its not.

The upscaling from 480i is horrible. My buddy and I couldnt believe how bad it looked on SD.

On stations that broadcast 720p, the upscaling looks pretty bad too. It doesnt look like HD at times. Very dissapointed because some of the shows on FOX I really like! And my local PBS station is in 720p, and it does not look HD at all. My feeling is 720p is being downconverted before being upscaled.

1080i shows look pretty good. Not quite as good as I hoped, but pretty sharp and clear.

1080p over HD looks incredible, but thats due to the XA2 realta chip, and not the TV.

Im still working on hooking up a HTPC. But for me, unless your watching a 1080p broadcast or DVD...this is a no go.

Im still working on hooking up a HTPC. But for me, unless your watching a 1080p broadcast or DVD...this is a no go.

But, isn't that why you buy a BIG HDTV in the first place? Everybody knows (or should) if you want SD broadcasts to look good, dust off your old 19" CRT and sit back a few more feet.
Note: EVERY LCD display I have ever seen, no exceptions, looks marginal, at best, with a SD broadcast.

Ok, true, but some do it better than others. I said it was very poor, and I have experience with SD on HDTV's before, many times, with many different TV's. And Im comparing this TV to many larger TV's I have seen at SD broadcast too. And I bought it for the HD broadcast, which I stated before, still doesnt look good in 720p. And since many stations still use 720p as a broadcast format, this wont work. Im looking for an acceptable level of performance for SD, not HD like quality. Theres a difference between acceptable and poor, and in my opinion, looking at it right now, compared to a 61" Panasonic rear projection right next to it, it looks poor. :(

As an addition, from what I can tell, there is also overscan. I cant find a setting in the TV to defeat this feature. Anyone have this TV know how to change this?

Yikes, thanks for the review. I almost hope you got a dud or something, because otherwise I'll be kicking myself for not getting the Vizio. But anyway, thanks again for your opinion!

Who knows, your mileage may vary! Im sure that my picture itself could improve, Comcast is not known for its wonderful picture quality here. But, the scaling and resolution issues have dissapointed me. I want a TV that properly deinterlaces and scales 1080i and 720p, and has no overscan, just 1:1 pixel mapping. :(

LCDFan,

Didn't you also got the Vizio VU42LF ?

I got the Vizio and I am waiting for the Magnavox to be delieved in few days. These two sets will be setup side by side for comparision, the lesser set will be returned.

I got the Vizio and I am waiting for the Magnavox to be delieved in few days. These two sets will be setup side by side for comparision, the lesser set will be returned.
You are my hero. I know which one I'll be routing for ;)

Who knows, your mileage may vary! Im sure that my picture itself could improve, Comcast is not known for its wonderful picture quality here. But, the scaling and resolution issues have dissapointed me. I want a TV that properly deinterlaces and scales 1080i and 720p, and has no overscan, just 1:1 pixel mapping. :(

I hope the milage varies a lot, preferrably in the better direction. :) I've ordered one online thinking I wouldn't find it in any of the local stores -- I called Costco Home (the Kirkland store, right?) and they said they've never had it in stock, but might get some on Friday... even though they are an online only item. I guess they must have sold out fast?

Do you have an opinion on if they were better than the Vizio's? I was wavering between the 42" sets or going for 37", but I was hooked onto the 1080p factor and hoping it would turn out a good set.

I just called Costco Home today and they said that they have over 200 in stock... so I don't know what you're talking about. Call again with the exact model number...

I just called Costco Home today and they said that they have over 200 in stock... so I don't know what you're talking about. Call again with the exact model number...

I did one thing better. I went down to the store.

They did have 200 in stock at the beginning of the day. At the end of the day they had 173 tvs...

... but they're all recalled. The initial shipment all had bad motherboards, preventing them from displaying video properly. Which would go with the initial report about the tv performing badly and failing the tests.

I did one thing better. I went down to the store.

They did have 200 in stock at the beginning of the day. At the end of the day they had 173 tvs...

... but they're all recalled. The initial shipment all had bad motherboards, preventing them from displaying video properly. Which would go with the initial report about the tv performing badly and failing the tests.

Did they say anything about the ones from costco[dot]com were needing to be recalled or just the ones to that specific Costco Home store? I'm just curious if all of the tvs in this promotion are going to be doomed from the start or if it was a few bad batches.

He said it was all of the initial batch for those that went to stores. Online orders were being delayed a couple of days to send a newer batch that supposedly does not have the bad motherboard. It sounded like, from what he said, that it was widespread and that he wasn't happy that the promotion was pushed ahead of schedule because there were quite a few people who bought the sets throughout the day and they only got the recall notice close to end of day.

You are my hero. I know which one I'll be routing for ;)

I think I know which one you're routing for. But I am open minded and just try to get the best 1080p 42" set with as little money as possible. ;)

He said it was all of the initial batch for those that went to stores. Online orders were being delayed a couple of days to send a newer batch that supposedly does not have the bad motherboard. It sounded like, from what he said, that it was widespread and that he wasn't happy that the promotion was pushed ahead of schedule because there were quite a few people who bought the sets throughout the day and they only got the recall notice close to end of day.

Well, waiting for a few days to get a good set isn't bad at all. Look like Costco and Magnavox are doing the right thing, recall defective products before complaints from customers. I think one good thing about buying expensive electronics from Costco is they stand behind what they're selling and try very have to satisfy their customers.

Wow, good to know that maybe this TV doesn't stink and we can hold out hope there is a good deal. I wonder if this means the sale will be extended?

Just checked email. My Magnavox was shipped today from Ontario, CA and estimated arrival is Thursday. Costco charged me $60 to ship this TV less than 50 miles, ouch.

This Magnavox better be excellent, otherwise it will be back to Costco and I will get full refund include shipping charge.

I think I know which one you're routing for. But I am open minded and just try to get the best 1080p 42" set with as little money as possible. ;)
More power to ya. I originally was going to do what you are doing, but I got the veto from the misses. We have a perfect storm of items to purchase and work to the house that needs to be done.

I'll be very interested to hear your eventual report as I'll be living vicariously through you.

Just checked email. My Magnavox was shipped today from Ontario, CA and estimated arrival is Thursday. Costco charged me $60 to ship this TV less than 50 miles, ouch.

This Magnavox better be excellent, otherwise it will be back to Costco and I will get full refund include shipping charge.

Will they refund your shipping? I know a lot of places don't do that.

I am also very interested. I was in Iraq on business when this came out,(Vizio VU42) now I am back I sure would like to find a good 42" 1080p at a reasonable price. Looking forward to your opinions.

Jack

Costco' order status: How to Return: Simply return your purchase to any one of our Costco warehouses worldwide for a refund (including shipping and handling).

If I don't like the Magnavox, then the only cost is pack it up and drive it to Costco warehouse about 6 miles from home to get all my money back. If I think Magnavox is better than Vizio, then I have to pay the $60 shipping charge. There is none available in my local warehouses and probably any warehouse except Costco Homes. I don't like intentionally buying two sets but keeping only one and return the other, this way it costs the seller somewhat, but they did not give us a chance to compare the two sets at their stores without buying both to compare at home.

We will see by Thursday night which set is better on HDTV channels and SD DVD movies.

I wouldnt buy a Magnavox even if it came with a free 5-yr subscription to SCORE magazine & videos. :p Brands to stay away from: Magnavox,Emprex,Sceptre,Insignia,Winbook,. Vizio have really taken off and marketed very well for the market they set out to capture......affordable mediocre-to-midline lcdtvs.I would never own one myself but hey.However, Syntax has thier own line of budget to midline lcds as well priced considerably lower than even Vizio and 5x better quality for the $$ imho.Notably, the 4 & 5-series.They just recently released a 232T/237T/242T series aimed solely at the retail stores market like Target.Apparently, they are actually oem 5-series units w/ some advanced options taken out like rgb ctrl.For what you get it's a sweet buy for the $.Check it out.




But, isn't that why you buy a BIG HDTV in the first place? Everybody knows (or should) if you want SD broadcasts to look good, dust off your old 19" CRT and sit back a few more feet.
Note: EVERY LCD display I have ever seen, no exceptions, looks marginal, at best, with a SD broadcast.

Your right.On most brands/sets SD is downright horrible.....even Sonys&Sharps.After all, HDtvs are made for HD not sd.However since Hd is being incorporated soooo slowly you'd figure the major (overpriced)players like Sharp,Sony,etc; would start including hq vps' in thier top-line sets....but no. However,there is 1 company that has expressed concern over this and took action with thier current Olevia lcd line and that is Syntax-Brillian.I, among many others, here own a Syntax Olevia 747i.It uses the Silicone Optix Realta HQV 12bit vp which is the main top dog right now.SD looks fantastic....near about dvd quality.This is the only set out there which produces not only fantastic hd image quality but sweet SD upscaling & cleanup as well.The 5-series is no slouch either.Infact I just snagged a Olevia 537H 37" from Newegg for 600bones. :)

All the proof/info is in this thread.........
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=814773&page=1&pp=30


-Just my .02,
~S!TH

If you buy either Magnavox or Sceptre from Costco with Am Ex, then you would have up to 3 years warranty, first year by manufacture, second year by Costco and third year by Am Ex. Costco is not known to sell junks and if they offer 1 extra year warranty it means they believe that the TV they are selling are high quality and reliable, otherwise it will cost them a lot of money to fix or replace the broken sets in second year.

I would not buy expensive TV sets from anywhere else without good warranties and services like Costco.

So far comparing Magnavox vs. Vizio. Any review/comparison between magnavox and Philips? Magnavox costs $999 +60 (shipping) =$1060.
and Philips costs $1200 and the diff is $140.
Which one is a good set and worth buying ?

I just order the set from Costco and attached are some spec.

Hope everyone enjoy the new set. :)

Product specifications
Picture/Display
•Aspect ratio: 16:9
•Brightness: 500*cd/m²
•Contrast ratio (typical): 1500:1
•Display screen type: LCD Full HD W-UXGA Act. matrix
•Panel resolution: 1920x1080p
•Picture enhancement: 3/2 - 2/2 motion pull down, 3D Combfilter, 3D MA deinterlacing, Automatic skin tone correction, Black stretch, Blue stretch, 2D/3D noise reduction, Green enhancement, Progressive Scan, White stretch
•Response time (typical): 8 (grey to grey)*ms
•Screen enhancement: Anti-Reflection coated screen
•Viewing angle (H*/*V): 176*/*176*degree
Supported Display Resolution

Resolution
Refresh rate
Computer formats
640 x 480 60Hz
720 x 480 60Hz
800 x 600 60Hz
1024 x 768 60Hz
1280 x 768 60Hz
Video formats
480i 60Hz
480p 60Hz
720p 60Hz
1080i 60Hz
1080p 60Hz
Sound
•Sound System: Mono, Stereo, SAP, Dolby Digital (AC-3)
•Output power (RMS): 2 speakers*@*10w each
•Sound Enhancement: Virtual Surround Sound
Convenience
•Ease of Installation: Autostore, Fine Tuning, PLL Digital Tuning, Plug & Play
•Convenience Enhancements: Sleep Timer
•Ease of Use: Auto Volume Leveller (AVL), On Screen Display, Smart Picture Control, Smart Sound Control, Closed Captioning Full Text
•Remote control type: RC2023608/01 B
•Screen Format Adjustments: Automatic, 4:3, Movie expand 14:9, Movie expand 16:9, Super Zoom, Subtitle Zoom, Widescreen
•Child Protection: Child Lock+Parental Control
Tuner/Reception/Transmission
•Aerial Input: 75 ohm F-type
•Tuner bands: Hyperband, S-Channel, UHF, VHF
•TV system: ATSC, NTSC
•Cable: Unscrambled Digital Cable -QAM
•Video Playback: NTSC
Connectivity
•AV 1: Audio L/R in, YPbPr
•AV 2: Audio L/R in, YPbPr
•AV 3: Audio L/R in, CVBS in, S-Video in
•Front / Side connections: S-video in, CVBS in, Audio L/R in, Headphone out
•PC: 3.5 mm PC audio input x1, VGA-in D-Sub 15HD
•Other connections: HDMI in 2x, S/PDIF out (coaxial)
Power
•Mains power: 90-240 VAC, 50/60 Hz
•Power consumption: 260*W
•Standby power consumption: < 1 W
•Ambient temperature: 5 °C to 40 °C
Dimensions
•Set dimensions in inch (W*x*H*x*D): 40.9*x*27.58*x*4.01*inch
•Set dimensions with stand in inch (W*x*H*x*D): 40.9*x*28.86*x*10.06*inch
•Product weight (lb): 46.2
•Product weight (+stand) (lb): 63.36*lb
•Weight incl. Packaging (lb): 81.84
•Box dimensions in inch (W*x*H*x*D): 46.10*x*29.21*x*13.66*inch

I bought Philips 42PFL5332D/37 a month ago and waiting to see Magnavox reviews to compare. So far I am not really satisfied with my philips 42PFL5332D as it has high visible noise on almost all HD channels particularly in the blacks. I have verizon fios cable and it is the best service in my area for HD. Also the sound quality is really not upto the mark as opposed to any other Dolby digital. SD picture quality is average, but DVDs picture quality is excellent surprisingly. I am waiting to see the magnavox and will decide to trade in for magnavox or to keep my philips.

He said it was all of the initial batch for those that went to stores. Online orders were being delayed a couple of days to send a newer batch that supposedly does not have the bad motherboard. It sounded like, from what he said, that it was widespread and that he wasn't happy that the promotion was pushed ahead of schedule because there were quite a few people who bought the sets throughout the day and they only got the recall notice close to end of day.

Nice ....! I wasn't being cheeky or anything, but I did want to let folks know in the Seattle area that the Magnavox IS available. Now, since I haven't checked the board in a few days, it seems it is recalled. This is poor news.

Are new ones on the way? Are they quickly being fixed without us even knowing?

Again, the true test for me will be whether or not the text looks crisp, colors sharp, using as an HTPC TV/monitor


Anyone who has purchased this, especially those who've checked out the Vizio and found it to be lacking, let me know!

I ordered mine originally online and it's due to arrive on Monday... although looking at UPS it is almost here (departure scan from Portland, Oregon this afternoon)... So either UPS will get it to me on Friday, or it will get it into Seattle and UPS will let it sit in their warehouse over the weekend.

I plan on hooking it up to my PC or notebook (DVI to HDMI converter cable) and I'll see how it looks. That should be enough to see what the output looks like, right, or do I need a video card that supports HDMI out?

Got the Magnavox today, after unpacked and assembled speaker and stand, ran auto scan with cable from the wall. Manavox gets about the same digital and analog channels as Vizio. After calibrating Magnavox, the PQ was not as good as Vizio, the black level was not as black and the white was light gray not as white as Vizio. There is no adjustment for individual RGB levels nor backlight. The Vizio PQ wasn't the greatest of all 42" sets but it is much better than Magnavox. I am trying to do more calibrating to see if it can be better.

HTSS-TR, thanks for the review. I gambled and did not buy the Vizio because of the Magnavox. Hopefully the Vizio will drop $200 off its price soon.

Interesting that Costco now changed the Contrast ratio (typical): 1500:1 to 1200:1. Same as the LGs, right?

Tried comparing movies (Blackhawk Down, Shooter) from Philips 1080p unconveting DVD player DVP5982, the PQ of Vizio is much better than Magnavox. This PQ different alone is enough to justify owning the Vizio because the Vizio can be bought at local warehouse without paying $60 shipping + tax on shipping.

Another small thing but can be importance to some: the remote of Vizio is backlit and can be programmed to control other 3 units and it is much better feel than Magnavox. This remote control alone worths more than $20-$30 to me. So that the total different is about $100 disadvantage to Magnavox with worse PQ.

Don't buy Magnavox if you can wait few weeks for the price of Vizio VU drops back to $999.

Tried comparing movies (Blackhawk Down, Shooter) from Philips 1080p unconveting DVD player DVP5982, the PQ of Vizio is much better than Magnavox. This PQ different alone is enough to justify owning the Vizio because the Vizio can be bought at local warehouse without paying $60 shipping + tax on shipping.

Another small thing but can be importance to some: the remote of Vizio is backlit and can be programmed to control other 3 units and it is much better feel than Magnavox. This remote control alone worths more than $20-$30 to me. So that the total different is about $100 disadvantage to Magnavox with worse PQ.

Don't buy Magnavox if you can wait few weeks for the price of Vizio VU drops back to $999.

I haven't received my Magnavox yet (it appears it will be sitting at the UPS warehouse for the weekend despite arriving there in the morning)... but... is it that much worse than the Vizio? I already thought the Vizio was pretty... bad, from what I could do to compare it against the other tvs at Costco. I thought several of the other 37" tvs and even 42" tvs were better, and that's why I decided to take the chance that the Magnavox wouldn't be any worse.

I know it's pretty much impossible to get a real good idea of the capability of a tv from playing with it in the store, but it was just so much worse than everything else there I couldn't go with the Vizio at the time. Knowing this maybe I'll look into the smaller 37" 720p sets.

Don't buy Magnavox if you can wait few weeks for the price of Vizio VU drops back to $999.

I'd seen this mentioned in the past. Has it been confirmed? I'm not in a huge rush, and if it was in the next month or two, I'd be up for it.

Hey HTSS-TR, did you check into the reported recall of the Magnavox?

Hey HTSS-TR, did you check into the reported recall of the Magnavox?
No, how do I check if it is recalled ? Checking Magnavox website ?

I'd seen this mentioned in the past. Has it been confirmed? I'm not in a huge rush, and if it was in the next month or two, I'd be up for it.

Usually, Costco would have special price for the hot selling TV's during coupon periord few weeks after coupon expired. Check Costco.com one a week you may be able to catch a special price and it can even lower than coupon price.

... is it that much worse than the Vizio? I already thought the Vizio was pretty... bad, from what I could do to compare it against the other tvs at Costco.

It is possible that my set is being recalled because of bad mother board as mentioned earlier by you. My initial reaction after the initial cable scan was "Oh Man !!!" this set is not acceptable, the pictures were bad and I tried tunning all possible options but I could not get it displays the white portion of video as white, what I got was ivory/light beige white, the black is medium gray not even dark gray. Remember that I had both Vizio and Magnavox side by side with the same TV stations in HD and movies for comparision.

I will check if my Magnavox serial number is being recalled or not. If it is recalled I may try second set to see if it will be better than this set. If not, then this set is going back to Costco.

No, how do I check if it is recalled ? Checking Magnavox website ?

Sorry, I was only going off of the info in posts 66 & 68.

Hey guys. Just thought I'd chime in on the issue. I was able to catch the Vizio Sale and purchased one, though I approached the tv purchasing process in reverse order by buying then checking reviews on it. I did run across some reviews that claimed the Vizio sets have a major problem with the volume. Well, for the first time last night, I tried a regular DVD and as noted, the volume shot way down. In fact, I had to, literally, crank it up to the max. (Just for further information) I connected the DVD player to the TV via AV cables. While this is the poorest quality to use, I certainly wouldn't expect the volume to drop that much.

Anyway, just my layman opinion on the set. As for the PQ, I'm not complaining. I mean, for the price it's acceptable.

My dilemma is, I was contemplating taking it back because of the audio issue and purchasing a Magnavox but if the Mag sux that badly then, maybe I'll just try my luck at another Vizio. I mean, all in all i'm happy with the PQ and the options. I just think the volume is really ridiculous.

I'd love to hear if anyone else has experienced this. Thanks guys and I appreciate all of the really great information.

Picked up my set from UPS ... the packaging was a bit dented but the TV was fine. I
think Costco could have had done a better job wrapping the package.

* PC connectivity : I tried only DVI-HDMI. The 1080p mode overscans. Bad. However, and I am
unsure whether this was even intended, the minute I changed to 30i ( from 60p ) the display
properly did 1:1 pixelmapping. However, it seems that the de-interlacer has some problems,
as I saw artefacts on the right hand side of the screen ( jumpiness and such )

* DVD : Tried 576 i/p modes ... I have a sizeable collection of European DVDs.
The set - even isn't advertised - does perform pretty well. The interlaced output
looked better, the picture appeared more crisp.

* Cable TV: It scanned for about 5 minutes and dialed in a lot of analogue and digital
stations. The few HD channels ( CBS Letterman and KQED ) looked quite nice.

* overall PQ: I have to chime in with the other reviewer. Not so great. The whites don't
look white and the black-levels are mediocre. This is ( probably ) my 5th LCD, so I know
what to look for . My 16 months old Viewsonic3760 performs much better here.

* misc : one dead pixel in the lower left side - not a problem

SUMMARY:

PROS:
- clean design looks high-end
- detachable speaker
- more video modes than advertised ( 1080 50p/25i, 576 i/p )
- 1:1 pixelmap in 1080i mode through HDMI ( not sure why, though )

CONS:
- picture quality mediocre
- way too little adjustments
- where's the 1:1 native mode for 1080p ????

I think that this could have been a great TV, considering that essentially you'll get a
Philips WITH detachable speakers plus an extra 15 pin VGA input. But, the designers
of this device are shooting themselves in the foot when they leave out such MUST HAVE
things like a selectable 1:1 mode for the 1080 resolutions.

I will followup with Magnavox customer service and then decide whether I keep the set.

-- Dan

If you're happy with the set and only problem is audio from DVD player, then you should get Philips unconverting DVD player on sale at Costco on Monday with HDMI cable included. I have the same DVD player I bought more than a month ago from BB, the audio from the HDMI is about the same level as TV channels, the PQ is much better than the 7 years old Panasonic. But to get the best audio I connected the digital audio outs from Vizio and DVD player to 7.1 Yamaha receiver for true surround sound.

I think that this could have been a great TV, considering that essentially you'll get a
Philips WITH detachable speakers plus an extra 15 pin VGA input. But, the designers
of this device are shooting themselves in the foot when they leave out such MUST HAVE
things like a selectable 1:1 mode for the 1080 resolutions.
-- Dan
Again, the Philips reps in the other threads say this is NOT a rebranded Philips LCD. It's not made in the same factory(s) as the Philps LCDs.

I just called Magnavox customer service and they didn't know anything about any recall on any TV's for any reason at this time.

Has anyone else confirmed any of this?

I did one thing better. I went down to the store.

They did have 200 in stock at the beginning of the day. At the end of the day they had 173 tvs...

... but they're all recalled. The initial shipment all had bad motherboards, preventing them from displaying video properly. Which would go with the initial report about the tv performing badly and failing the tests.

This post was on July 03. It was the only one about recall.

Followup to my initial post:

There's another PRO worth mentioning. The VGA input accepts 1080p
input flawless ! I think this is great news for everyone using this TV as
HTPC monitor.

Last but not least, I got curious who's manufacturing this set. Removing
the back cover turned out that this set apparently was done by CMO.
This is really surprising me giving the fact that Philips seems to be
Magnavox mother company !

Of course the panel is also made by CMO. Not the high end exactly.
:confused: So, Philips is using CMO panel over their own ?
If I find some time I will post pictures of my findings. The back cover
mentions Philips but inside it's Chi Mei. Hmmm.

-- Dan


Picked up my set from UPS ... the packaging was a bit dented but the TV was fine. I
think Costco could have had done a better job wrapping the package.

* PC connectivity : I tried only DVI-HDMI. The 1080p mode overscans. Bad. However, and I am
unsure whether this was even intended, the minute I changed to 30i ( from 60p ) the display
properly did 1:1 pixelmapping. However, it seems that the de-interlacer has some problems,
as I saw artefacts on the right hand side of the screen ( jumpiness and such )

* DVD : Tried 576 i/p modes ... I have a sizeable collection of European DVDs.
The set - even isn't advertised - does perform pretty well. The interlaced output
looked better, the picture appeared more crisp.

* Cable TV: It scanned for about 5 minutes and dialed in a lot of analogue and digital
stations. The few HD channels ( CBS Letterman and KQED ) looked quite nice.

* overall PQ: I have to chime in with the other reviewer. Not so great. The whites don't
look white and the black-levels are mediocre. This is ( probably ) my 5th LCD, so I know
what to look for . My 16 months old Viewsonic3760 performs much better here.

* misc : one dead pixel in the lower left side - not a problem

SUMMARY:

PROS:
- clean design looks high-end
- detachable speaker
- more video modes than advertised ( 1080 50p/25i, 576 i/p )
- 1:1 pixelmap in 1080i mode through HDMI ( not sure why, though )

CONS:
- picture quality mediocre
- way too little adjustments
- where's the 1:1 native mode for 1080p ????

I think that this could have been a great TV, considering that essentially you'll get a
Philips WITH detachable speakers plus an extra 15 pin VGA input. But, the designers
of this device are shooting themselves in the foot when they leave out such MUST HAVE
things like a selectable 1:1 mode for the 1080 resolutions.

I will followup with Magnavox customer service and then decide whether I keep the set.

-- Dan

Someone get a PC hooked up to this thing :P

Thanks for your info on the Magnavox.

Does CMO make just the LCD panel in the 42" Magnavox, or the entire TV?

I'm wondering, for the Philips that looks the same as the Magnavox, who makes that LCD Panel?

Thanks,

Mike

Anyone else actually ordered recently? I placed my order on 7/3 and am still waiting for shipment. Customer service had nothing to add beyond order processing. Normally I would just attribute delay to holiday or something else if I hadn't seen the rumor on recall...

I ordered on 7/3/07 and the order is still in processing. It's almost a week pass by. I hope it'll ship soon

I just ordered one this weekend on Saturday...The whole story behind this tv and all this information or lack there of is crazy.. Today, I went to the Costco site again and they have the aspect ration listed as 1500:1 again, when before and on other sites they have it listed as 1200:1. Im very confused. Im going to try it out if it ever comes, and if its good Ill keep it, if it sucks I will post so in these forums and let everyone know and promptly return it and probably buy an Aquos.

Also, is this tv capable of displaying 720 p and I?

So I have the Vizio and Magnavox 1080p 42" sets side by side.

I used my notebook plugged into one set, my desktop into the other, and used a spyder pro to calibrate the two displays.

I informally tested 1080p trailers from www.quicktime.com against both tvs. The PQ quality is roughly the same on both sets, although the image seems to have more pop on the Magnavox in 1080p. Same could be said running 720p and 480p trailers on both sets.

The menu system sucks on the Magnavox. You cannot have settings for each input; they all share the same settings. It does have dynamic contrast, which is about the same as the Vizio.

The text on the Magnavox is better in through HDMI with either desktop and notebook attached through a DVI to HDMI connector.

Looks wise the Magnavox looks more high end.

The controller sucks for the Magnavox.

I say the two tvs are a wash; they both are pretty similar, with the Magnavox having better looks and slightly better PQ, the Vizio having more ease of use and far better control and remote.

Anyone else actually ordered recently? I placed my order on 7/3 and am still waiting for shipment. Customer service had nothing to add beyond order processing. Normally I would just attribute delay to holiday or something else if I hadn't seen the rumor on recall...

I ordered 7/5 and it still says in process as of now. I hope they all ship soon.

...
I say the two tvs are a wash; they both are pretty similar, with the Magnavox having better looks and slightly better PQ, the Vizio having more ease of use and far better control and remote.

This may be a true statement, my Magnavox may be defected. I had two Vizio VU sets, and the second set has better PQ than the first set and it does not have backlight feed through like the first set.

Two things that makes me keep the second Vizio are: universal remote and extra cost for S&H of Magnavox, even if I can get a better Magnavox set I would keep Vizio for the above two reasons.

This may be a true statement, my Magnavox may be defected. I had two Vizio VU sets, and the second set has better PQ than the first set and it does not have backlight feed through like the first set.

Two things that makes me keep the second Vizio are: universal remote and extra cost for S&H of Magnavox, even if I can get a better Magnavox set I would keep Vizio for the above two reasons.

I would agree with that. It sounds like the Magnavox I received was better than the one that you received, but the PQ is so similar I would say that all things considered the Vizio is the better choice. The menu system allows for much more control on the Vizio, and I don't see a huge different between component, hdmi and OTA channels between the two. For example the Magnavox doesn't appear to allow custom temperature settings, while the Vizio does.

The Magnavox sure looks better without the ugly speaker at the bottom like the Vizio, and I do like the fact the speaker can be removed. I'll probably keep them both until the weekend and decide which goes back then. I'll try out my 360 and Wii on both and see how they fair, and try my dvd player (upconverts to 1080i) on both. Don't have blu-ray or hd-dvd player, so any true HD content will be games, clips, or maybe a 720p rental from the 360 marketplace. I'll see if I can try out the vga connection too, since my desktop has both DVI and vga.

After tweaking the image settings more and running more tests (PBS HD on both sets at the same time, etc) the image on the Magnavox is actually far better. The dynamic contrast allows multiple levels (off, medium, strong), and in general the contrast on the Magnavox is superior to the Vizio. Blacks are far more black compared to the Vizio, and whites are good. It was a pain tweaking the Magnavox for sure, the menu system really sucks for making modifications to the settings (the settings screen covers nearly half the tv when changing each individual setting). The Magnavox has a sharper image without having artifacts. To match the sharpness of Magnavox the Vizio has to be pushed to maximum sharpness with the Magnavox on sharpness 2, and at that point the Vizio has a lot of sharpening halos/artifacts in comparison.

Anyone else actually ordered recently? I placed my order on 7/3 and am still waiting for shipment. Customer service had nothing to add beyond order processing. Normally I would just attribute delay to holiday or something else if I hadn't seen the rumor on recall...


Recall or no recall, my Magnavox is on its way from Canada and scheduled to be delivered Friday. This is within the normal shipping time frame so worries seem to be unfounded. Performance and picture quality TBD.

I called the Magnavox support center and asked about PC connectivity via DVI-HDMI interface and the response was that this mode was not officially supported. He said that the PC connection was via VGA (at 1920 x 1080) only. He said he was not aware of any plans to make the DVI-HDMI connection for the PC supported.

If there is a way to make this work 1:1 (no overscan), then it will be in spite of Magnavox and not with their help at this time.

I am posting this on my thread about PC connectivity also.

I would agree with that. It sounds like the Magnavox I received was better than the one that you received, but the PQ is so similar I would say that all things considered the Vizio is the better choice. The menu system allows for much more control on the Vizio, and I don't see a huge different between component, hdmi and OTA channels between the two. For example the Magnavox doesn't appear to allow custom temperature settings, while the Vizio does.

The Magnavox sure looks better without the ugly speaker at the bottom like the Vizio, and I do like the fact the speaker can be removed. I'll probably keep them both until the weekend and decide which goes back then. I'll try out my 360 and Wii on both and see how they fair, and try my dvd player (upconverts to 1080i) on both. Don't have blu-ray or hd-dvd player, so any true HD content will be games, clips, or maybe a 720p rental from the 360 marketplace. I'll see if I can try out the vga connection too, since my desktop has both DVI and vga.

Since I was out of country when the Vizio was on sale I would be curious about the gaming quality. The kids both have a Wii and PS3 and I would like to know if there are any problems.


Thanks,
Jack

Spybyscript!!!!! Yes please tell us how the 360 and wii fared. I have a 360 and this is one of the major reasons I want the TV set. I was hoping it would display some of the 1080i games well and the 720's with a respectable PQ.....please do share! By the way, Sony PS3 is dropping their system prices 100 bux next month to keep up with the rest of the crowd. Still think it's too expensive for what you get.

The Wii is fine on the set, but now that I've stepped up from my older 26" hdtv I think it is much better on an older SD tv or a smaller HDTV. Not really any different between the Vizio and Magnavox. I tried Wii Sports and Zelda.

The 360 looks great. I played Forza 2 and Guitar Hero 2 on it... again in some ways Forza looked better on a smaller tv, the lower rez textures for the road and background look worse, but the cars look real nice. I'll try GoW and Dead Rising later and see how they look. The games look nicer on the Magnavox set, but it is not significantly different (I think if I did not have them in the same room and switching back and forth it would be hard to say which was truly better). I'll see if I can borrow a friend's 360 and have them both playing Forza 2 at the same time and see if I can get a comparison between the Vizio and Magnavox at the same time and none of this switching back and forth.

Yeah that sounds cool, GOW is a great game..too short though! Yeah When I initially jumped from my 20" Sharp Aquos lcd to a bigger 36" I thought the picture was slightly worse, but when I started playing the 36", I think the bigger screen pays off more in games like GRAW and such where you need to detect motion quicker and easier with a bigger screen and got accustomed to that. Good to hear though, if it is pretty good graphics with the Magnavox on the 360, Ill get keep it, just as long as you I dont think the bigger screen impairs gameplay.

Also you think the 360 looks better on a sd tv rather than this HD Magnavox? If so Im not sure I want it...

Hello spybyscript,
would you mind sharing your settings ? I could not find a lot of options for picture settings and
I start to wonder whether you were able to uncover some hidden options.

Myself had no such luck in tweaking. The colors on my set are way off. Watching some fed
from PBS HD which featured the SF Golden Gate Bridge .. that Bridge was colored purple-ish ...
this is so bad that it is almost unwatchable! Darker scenes always have a purple-ish tint whereas
the brighter whites appear more greenish.

I've had a chance to compare my set against the 42PFL7432D 42" 1080p LCD HDTV made
by Philips. The menues are pretty similar to the Magnavox - except for the menu color which
is blue-white as opposed to Magnavox red-white style.

Last, about the LCD panel used. Can anyone confirm my findings that NO LG-Philips
panels are used in this set ? You can find out w/o opening the back-cover by directly
standing in front of the TV and looking at the actual pixel shape. If it's square then it might be
from LG , otherwise probably not. The pixel shape of mine is round - and my panel is made
by CMO. BTW, didn't Sharp outsourced or licensed their technology to CMO ? If I look close
up I can see exactly the same pixel pattern on the Sharps .. which are generally considered
the high end stuff.

-- Dan







After tweaking the image settings more and running more tests (PBS HD on both sets at the same time, etc) the image on the Magnavox is actually far better. The dynamic contrast allows multiple levels (off, medium, strong), and in general the contrast on the Magnavox is superior to the Vizio. Blacks are far more black compared to the Vizio, and whites are good. It was a pain tweaking the Magnavox for sure, the menu system really sucks for making modifications to the settings (the settings screen covers nearly half the tv when changing each individual setting). The Magnavox has a sharper image without having artifacts. To match the sharpness of Magnavox the Vizio has to be pushed to maximum sharpness with the Magnavox on sharpness 2, and at that point the Vizio has a lot of sharpening halos/artifacts in comparison.

spybyscript, does 1:1 mapping over hdmi work? hugodan3 say it doesn't. This sound like a nice set but that would be a dealbreaker for me since I'll mainly use it as a PC display.

Also, does VGA sync up nice? I had a westinghouse 42 that had ghosting, though strangely my westy 37 is perfect over 1080p vga.

spybyscript, does 1:1 mapping over hdmi work? hugodan3 say it doesn't. This sound like a nice set but that would be a dealbreaker for me since I'll mainly use it as a PC display.

Also, does VGA sync up nice? I had a westinghouse 42 that had ghosting, though strangely my westy 37 is perfect over 1080p vga.

it's not the tv's job. if your video card can output 1920x1080, then the tv will take whatever signal the video cable sends into it. this is the same with the vizio tv a few weeks back. i returned the vizio now waiting for this mag.

spybyscript, does 1:1 mapping over hdmi work? hugodan3 say it doesn't. This sound like a nice set but that would be a dealbreaker for me since I'll mainly use it as a PC display.

Also, does VGA sync up nice? I had a westinghouse 42 that had ghosting, though strangely my westy 37 is perfect over 1080p vga.

On my set 1080p over VGA works very well. It's almost as good as through HDMI.
Also, I didn't said that 1:1 doesn't work over hdmi I only said that it does APPEAR to
not be supported... in fact by driving the display with 1080i I was able to get the TV
displaying 1:1 ( you've got to change the setting within the 'monitor refresh rate' from 60 to 30 ).
I tested that on a 6200 and a 7600 Nvidia GPU with later drivers.
Oh , last but not least 1280x1024 does NOT have overscan going through HDMI .. but
it's not the native display resolution of course.

Thanks,

Yeah that sounds cool, GOW is a great game..too short though! Yeah When I initially jumped from my 20" Sharp Aquos lcd to a bigger 36" I thought the picture was slightly worse, but when I started playing the 36", I think the bigger screen pays off more in games like GRAW and such where you need to detect motion quicker and easier with a bigger screen and got accustomed to that. Good to hear though, if it is pretty good graphics with the Magnavox on the 360, Ill get keep it, just as long as you I dont think the bigger screen impairs gameplay.

Also you think the 360 looks better on a sd tv rather than this HD Magnavox? If so Im not sure I want it...

I think the Wii looks better on an SD tv, the 360 definitely does not.

My 26" was a HDTV as well. I'm just saying Forza 2 has low rez textures for some of the background/road, and this becomes more noticable on a higher rez/larger tv. I think the 360 looks much, much better on an HDTV in general, but some aspects of Forza doesn't translate well. :)

On my set 1080p over VGA works very well. It's almost as good as through HDMI.
Also, I didn't said that 1:1 doesn't work over hdmi I only said that it does APPEAR to
not be supported... in fact by driving the display with 1080i I was able to get the TV
displaying 1:1 ( you've got to change the setting within the 'monitor refresh rate' from 60 to 30 ).
I tested that on a 6200 and a 7600 Nvidia GPU with later drivers.
Oh , last but not least 1280x1024 does NOT have overscan going through HDMI .. but
it's not the native display resolution of course.

Thanks,

I haven't tried 1080p over VGA since I haven't found one of my old vga cables. I just have DVI and DVI-HDMI cables.
My notebook has a 7900GS, and I'm running Vista. I didn't notice any overscan, but is there an easy way to tell? It looked like everything was shown as expected, although text doesn't look that great unless I up digital noise reduction and sharpness a lot.

Hello spybyscript,
would you mind sharing your settings ? I could not find a lot of options for picture settings and
I start to wonder whether you were able to uncover some hidden options.

Myself had no such luck in tweaking. The colors on my set are way off. Watching some fed
from PBS HD which featured the SF Golden Gate Bridge .. that Bridge was colored purple-ish ...
this is so bad that it is almost unwatchable! Darker scenes always have a purple-ish tint whereas
the brighter whites appear more greenish.
-- Dan

I'll post settings later, at work. But from what it sounds like something is definitely different... I definitely do not have purple tints in the blacks, and the whites a certainly very white. I'd definitely notice green since the desktop on my notebook has a lot of white in it. My wife was most impressed watching the two tvs by the Magnavox because of how good the blacks were compared to the Vizio -- at the time PBS was showing a special on Rembrant, which was great for looking at the differences in color and black/whites between the two sets.

I'll post settings later, at work. But from what it sounds like something is definitely different... I definitely do not have purple tints in the blacks, and the whites a certainly very white. I'd definitely notice green since the desktop on my notebook has a lot of white in it. My wife was most impressed watching the two tvs by the Magnavox because of how good the blacks were compared to the Vizio -- at the time PBS was showing a special on Rembrant, which was great for looking at the differences in color and black/whites between the two sets.

Spy you owe me a grand. Your post will cost me a G at the end of this week! :D :p


I have a Q about costco though....

Can anyone tell me if I get the costco warranty bonus if I buy the TV using someone elses membership but my own CC?

Would really appreciate an answer :p

I haven't tried 1080p over VGA since I haven't found one of my old vga cables. I just have DVI and DVI-HDMI cables.
My notebook has a 7900GS, and I'm running Vista. I didn't notice any overscan, but is there an easy way to tell? It looked like everything was shown as expected, although text doesn't look that great unless I up digital noise reduction and sharpness a lot.

You can tell _very_ easy whether you have overscan, the bottom menu bar
isn't shown as well as all the icons at the border are invisible. Also, you need to crank up
sharpness and noise reduction for good reproduction? Definitly not on my set ! What
I have todo instead is to drive the display interlaced - progressive will lead to the overscan
artefact.

The more I follow the postings the more I am getting the impressions that there
are possibly 2 versions of the set being sold. Strange, but not unusual on budget models,
since the manufacturing is often outsourced. To validate that claim, could you possible
make a check on your TV's LCD panel and tell what shape those tiny pixels have ? Are
those little squares? You are lucked out ... in this case it's good to be square ! :)

Thanks,

Well, I guess I might as well get one at the local costco and find out. The TV looks pretty nice on the floor just showing the component hd tv video, nicer than my westinghouse. The reports do seem conflicted over PC support but their return policy is good.

To validate that claim, could you possible
make a check on your TV's LCD panel and tell what shape those tiny pixels have ? Are
those little squares? You are lucked out ... in this case it's good to be square ! :)

Thanks,

FWIW, the one on the floor had hexagonal pixel arrangement, like the sharp tv's, not the CMO's I've seen before. I have no idea how they get 1:1 pixel mapping on that. Maybe even with some staggering on horizontal lines, it's not obviously visible.

FWIW, the one on the floor had hexagonal pixel arrangement, like the sharp tv's, not the CMO's I've seen before. I have no idea how they get 1:1 pixel mapping on that. Maybe even with some staggering on horizontal lines, it's not obviously visible.

Mine seems to be more like that... the pixels don't look quite round, more hexagon like. I can open the panel on the back later and check...

As far as settings go my settings are:

Contrast: 48
Brightness: 45
Color: 42
Sharpness: 0
Color temperature: cool
Tint: 0
Noise reduction: 0
Dynamic Contrast: medium

Mine seems to be more like that... the pixels don't look quite round, more hexagon like. I can open the panel on the back later and check...



I meant more of the general arrangement of the pixels and not the actual pixel. Most lcd panel have a rectangular layout, kind of how you'd expect an integral grid to be layed out; but the sharps and some mitsu's I've seen like this one has a honeycomb-like arrangement to the pixels, with straight lines up and down, but stagger in the horizontal.

The pixels themselves are still roundish, if anything more so than the squares on square grid lcd's.

What's the deal with setting up your hd capabilities when it comes to Time Warner cable company. Do I just call them and order a new box to be delivered? I also wanted to know if I need to go out and buy some new cables to make sure I get the highest quality for the TV. Looks like the Magnavox is making a little comeback here. Obviously you can't beat a 42" 1080P TV right now for $999.99, whether it's the Vizio or Magnavox both are a steal. If anyone can give me some good advice please let me know.

What's the deal with setting up your hd capabilities when it comes to Time Warner cable company. Do I just call them and order a new box to be delivered? I also wanted to know if I need to go out and buy some new cables to make sure I get the highest quality for the TV. Looks like the Magnavox is making a little comeback here. Obviously you can't beat a 42" 1080P TV right now for $999.99, whether it's the Vizio or Magnavox both are a steal. If anyone can give me some good advice please let me know.

In my area (around Raleigh, NC) you can either can Time Warner to give you a new box or exchange it at the customer service locations where they will exchange your digital box for a HD Digital Box or DVR and be sure to adjust your account to charge you slightly more per month.

I'm pretty sure the box needs and HDMI output so you'll need to buy a HDMI cable to connect it up. I bought some from monoprice so it isn't that expensive.

But this is all in theory since my TV hasn't actually shipped yet! (ordered on 7/5)

In my area (around Raleigh, NC) you can either can Time Warner to give you a new box or exchange it at the customer service locations where they will exchange your digital box for a HD Digital Box or DVR and be sure to adjust your account to charge you slightly more per month.

I'm pretty sure the box needs and HDMI output so you'll need to buy a HDMI cable to connect it up. I bought some from monoprice so it isn't that expensive.

Even if you get an HDMI cable, don't expect a full 1080P picture from a Time Warner box. At least from what I saw on the box I had installed last night, the highest output option is 1080I. You could just as easily use component, although you'll have less clutter with HDMI.

I just went to the Costco web site and shipping & handling on the 42" Magnavox is listed at $59.99 (48 states), UPS Ground

yo

Update:

You can get full 1:1 over vga AND hdmi.

To get 1:1 over HDMI the magnavox must be set as the primary and only display. At least, that is how it is working with my notebook. If I make it the primary and extend to my notebook screen, or vice versa, the Magnavox will overscan.

When the Magnavox is set as the primary display over HDMI everything is beautiful; the text is very sharp and clear, the display is good.

I just went to the Costco web site and shipping/handling on the 42" Magnavox is $59.99, UPS Ground (48 states)

Update:

You can get full 1:1 over vga AND hdmi.

To get 1:1 over HDMI the magnavox must be set as the primary and only display. At least, that is how it is working with my notebook. If I make it the primary and extend to my notebook screen, or vice versa, the Magnavox will overscan.

When the Magnavox is set as the primary display over HDMI everything is beautiful; the text is very sharp and clear, the display is good.

Ahh, oops. When it is set as the primary and only display Windows automatically will set the refresh rate to 30, and the tv will report is is running in 1080i. So no 1080p over hdmi if you want 1:1 pixels. 1080p over HDMI will cause overscan.

The VGA connection is 1080p, full 1:1 and refresh is at 60. However the settings for VGA are limited to contrast and brightness, forcing you to use the controls for your PC to tweak the display. Which is fine, I guess, since that would be a typical situation if you were primarily using a PC with the display.

spybyscript,

Have you done any further testing between the vizio and the mangavox? Is the magnavox still the choice for better picture quality? Also, I was wondering if there is a USB port on this tv for future firmware updates?

spybyscript,

Have you done any further testing between the vizio and the mangavox? Is the magnavox still the choice for better picture quality? Also, I was wondering if there is a USB port on this tv for future firmware updates?

So far I'd say it is, but considering that others have got bad tvs and when I first went to the local Costco home and they said there were problems with the motherboard and they were sent back (although no one else HAS confirmed it, the fact others have drastically different situations implies there were problems with some of the first shipment) I'd say you're taking your chances if you order it online and can't get it at Costco home.

The other caviates would be the limited options to tweak the display, such as no ability to control red/blue/green values for temperature, and changing settings of the tv puts a huge menu that covers a good amount of the right side of the screen which could get in the way of calibration.

On the good hand, the display is nice and bright, the blacks get much deeper than the Vizio, and if you do decide to use dynamic contrast you have medium and maximum settings... I'd say medium is on par with what you get with the Vizio DCR, while maximum really makes the picture pop, although some detail in the blacks do get eaten up. The display does 1:1 over vga @ 1080p, and 1:1 over HDMI @ 1080i.

I don't have any other devices that can plug into HDMI.

A buddy and myself bought the Magnavox from Costco Home on July 9. This is from the batch that came in after the recall. Aside from the mediocre picture quality, he and I both experienced the same issues with the TV. The set changes channels on its own, mostly goes to channel 1, but goes to other channels as well. Then it started turning off and on and muting the volume by itself like it was possessed. My buddy came home from work and his TV was on waiting for him. :)
Needless to say, Im boxing it up and bringing it back tomorrow. I was so excited to get a decent TV for this price. :( Has anyone else had this problem?

You def. need to get the HDMI cable to get the best PQ correct? Looks like it was about 60 bucks Best Buy brand yesterday. I'm just waiting on these damn thing hoping that nothing is wrong with it. Basically though, once I get my HDTV box and HDMI cable I can expect to get the highest quality that the TV is capable up to date correct?

You def. need to get the HDMI cable to get the best PQ correct? Looks like it was about 60 bucks Best Buy brand yesterday. I'm just waiting on these damn thing hoping that nothing is wrong with it. Basically though, once I get my HDTV box and HDMI cable I can expect to get the highest quality that the TV is capable up to date correct?
Order your cables from monoprice.com. Significantly cheaper. As a former BB employee, don't buy cables there.

Also, does anyone know if they would refund the shipping cost if the TV didn't work out?

A buddy and myself bought the Magnavox from Costco Home on July 9. This is from the batch that came in after the recall. Aside from the mediocre picture quality, he and I both experienced the same issues with the TV. The set changes channels on its own, mostly goes to channel 1, but goes to other channels as well. Then it started turning off and on and muting the volume by itself like it was possessed. My buddy came home from work and his TV was on waiting for him. :)
Needless to say, Im boxing it up and bringing it back tomorrow. I was so excited to get a decent TV for this price. :( Has anyone else had this problem?

This makes me feel that the QA for Magnavox seems to be horrible. Someone with a random set that switches channels, another with purples and greens instead of black and white... makes me wonder how long the set I have will last despite it working great so far.

Order your cables from monoprice.com. Significantly cheaper. As a former BB employee, don't buy cables there.

Also, does anyone know if they would refund the shipping cost if the TV didn't work out?

yes, shipping will be refund

My Magnovox was shipped today from California.

Yeah I'm getting a little nervouse about that condition mine is going to come in. I ordered mine July 10th, so hopefully the later the better.

What HDMI cable should I get on Monoprice for my Magnavox? I have no idea... there's 100.

What HDMI cable should I get on Monoprice for my Magnavox? I have no idea... there's 100.

cheapest available

So you are telling me that these HDMI cables I can get for $3.00-4.00 each when they are sold at best buy for $120.00. It's the Male to Male cord that I need correct? I just want to get the best picture from the HDTV digital box to my TV. Just want to make sure I'm ordering the right thing, I'm def. a newbie.

So you are telling me that these HDMI cables I can get for $3.00-4.00 each when they are sold at best buy for $120.00. It's the Male to Male cord that I need correct? I just want to get the best picture from the HDTV digital box to my TV. Just want to make sure I'm ordering the right thing, I'm def. a newbie.No doubt...get the monoprice cables. I've bought quite a few for my 1080p set and they work great.

So you are telling me that these HDMI cables I can get for $3.00-4.00 each when they are sold at best buy for $120.00. It's the Male to Male cord that I need correct? I just want to get the best picture from the HDTV digital box to my TV. Just want to make sure I'm ordering the right thing, I'm def. a newbie.
When I worked at Best Buy, we cut open some of those cables and looked at the guts, you'd be surprised (or maybe not) about how stuff is the same, but might have a major price difference! You could always tell what had horrible markup based on employee price, and cables were the No. 1 offender. I loaded up on that stuff when I worked there.

So you are telling me that these HDMI cables I can get for $3.00-4.00 each when they are sold at best buy for $120.00. It's the Male to Male cord that I need correct? I just want to get the best picture from the HDTV digital box to my TV. Just want to make sure I'm ordering the right thing, I'm def. a newbie.

If anything they're better than the overpriced crap. They actually conform to spec whereas a lot of "designer" cable places lack the instruments to even do the measurements.

By the way, has anyone else been able to get 1:1 mapping on HDMI?

So you are telling me that these HDMI cables I can get for $3.00-4.00 each when they are sold at best buy for $120.00. It's the Male to Male cord that I need correct? I just want to get the best picture from the HDTV digital box to my TV. Just want to make sure I'm ordering the right thing, I'm def. a newbie.

yes the 3 dollar cable is the same as the 120 dollar cable sold at bb. show me proves if I'm wrong.

i can't find the article, but i did recall reading somewhere that for short cable (6' or less), there's no difference in performance from expensive cable vs. cheap-o stuff

OK, I ordered a 6ft and a 3ft HDMI cable since they were so damn cheap, if they work well I may buy a few more. Anyways, lets here some more about the Magnavox TV from Costco, says mine is coming in the 18th and I want to here some good new from the people who already recieved it.

Click here (http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/feature/the-truth-about-monster-cable-part-2-verdict-cheap-cables-keep-upusually-268788.php) for a comparison test between the "cheap" HDMI cable and the expensive ones. In short the 6 ft cheap cables are just fine. The longer the cable the better it needs to be built.

OK, I ordered a 6ft and a 3ft HDMI cable since they were so damn cheap, if they work well I may buy a few more. Anyways, lets here some more about the Magnavox TV from Costco, says mine is coming in the 18th and I want to here some good new from the people who already recieved it.

I purchased the vizio a few weeks back and returned it because side buttons don't work and tv jumps channels by itself. now i have this mag on my wall

appearance. better looking than the vizio. sleeker is better. the tv comes with heavy duty stand. if i ever need to set up on table, it will be handy.

tv quality. SD - crappy, like most other lcd. HD - so, so. i only have a few hd channels from charter standard cable. PS3 - perfect. upon tuning, i m able to get good black depth and ok colors. PC via HDMI. perfect 1:1 pixel mapping at 60HZ. those who says the tv doesn't support 1080p for PC simply don't know what they are doing.

sound. the speakers sux, period.

remote is cheap but functional. i had a free after rebate philips remote from staples a while back. works perfectly for this tv out of the box without entering any code

over all i'm happy.

btw, i got my hdmi cables from monoprice.

Click here (http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/feature/the-truth-about-monster-cable-part-2-verdict-cheap-cables-keep-upusually-268788.php) for a comparison test between the "cheap" HDMI cable and the expensive ones. In short the 6 ft cheap cables are just fine. The longer the cable the better it needs to be built.

Note to all: take notice of the number of posts from these "cable experts" and believe what you will.

Even in very short distances EMI can be a serious inhibitor to a beautiful image and pristine sound. I visited a BB when the new Toshiba HD-A1 came out and picture was awful, full of sparklies and pixelization. I asked the rep to change disks. Same problem. We tried adjusting the monitor. Same issues. I asked him about the HDMI cable and it was a very cheap one supplied by one of the upconverting DVD manufacturers. He got his boss to allow him to open a brand new, top-of-the-line Monster 6' HDMI cable. Once he connected this, the image came alive and all of the sparklies and pixelization were eliminated.

Now BB is an extreme example because they have so much gear in operation that there is bound to be some level of EMI radiating out of some equipment. If you have a cheap cable that is not shielded properly to eliminate this, you will not be able to get the best image possible.

Note to all: take notice of the number of posts from these "cable experts" and believe what you will.

Even in very short distances EMI can be a serious inhibitor to a beautiful image and pristine sound. I visited a BB when the new Toshiba HD-A1 came out and picture was awful, full of sparklies and pixelization. I asked the rep to change disks. Same problem. We tried adjusting the monitor. Same issues. I asked him about the HDMI cable and it was a very cheap one supplied by one of the upconverting DVD manufacturers. He got his boss to allow him to open a brand new, top-of-the-line Monster 6' HDMI cable. Once he connected this, the image came alive and all of the sparklies and pixelization were eliminated.




I believe I'm somewhat of an "expert" since I used to work on the competitor to the instrument on the right in the test above. The pics that you see there are masks being applied to a eye diagram. You can see the 1/0 eye closing at higher bitrates, and the difference between the monoprice ones and Monster are only at very high (past current spec) frequencies.

EMI is not really that much of a problem with microwave signals. The problems are with impedance and crosstalk and connector quality.

My Magnavox has been shipped through UPS and should arrive on the 17th...a little over a week after I ordered it. Anyhow I will post up my impressions once I get it!

Mine's coming the 19th!

I believe I'm somewhat of an "expert" since I used to work on the competitor to the instrument on the right in the test above. The pics that you see there are masks being applied to a eye diagram. You can see the 1/0 eye closing at higher bitrates, and the difference between the monoprice ones and Monster are only at very high (past current spec) frequencies.

EMI is not really that much of a problem with microwave signals. The problems are with impedance and crosstalk and connector quality.

Thanks, AgentHEX.

Note to all: A high post count does not automatically make you an expert.

some high res pictures of the tv in zip package.

http://www.box.net/shared/static/tj51v6ooje.zip

Thanks, AgentHEX.

Note to all: A high post count does not automatically make you an expert.

What about being a paying club member? :D :p

some high res pictures of the tv in zip package.

http://www.box.net/shared/static/tj51v6ooje.zip


Thanks for the pics my man. Looks good to me. Cant wait to receive mine!

Hi,

Can anyone compare the picture on this set to the Westinghouse 37W3? I bought that one about a month ago and I'm wondering if it's work the extra 2 bills to return it for this set?

Thanks,

--Rick

Is this available in-store where I can go buy it locally?

Thanks for the pics, it looks great! Can't wait for mine to come in either! To answer a question posed before this post, the 999 deal from Costco is only available online at costco.com from what I know, and the sale may be close to over if not already. If you are fortunate enought to be near one of maybe 2 or 3 "Home" Costco stores from what I know they are carrying them in the store, but the Costco here does not carry them.

ANyone have anything else to post about this TV? I'm anxious to get mine and want to hear more about it!

Any tips about "best" settings?

Also, are HDMI and VGA the only ways to get 1080P?

Also, are HDMI and VGA the only ways to get 1080P?


Probably, unless the component is 1080p, too. Those are the two important ones.

One funky thing I found with this set on 1080p over vga is that it re-auto syncs every time there's a mode switch. So if that happens when you have a dark background or something, it won't get the edge locations right. Then you have to maximize a window or similar trick and re-sync.

There's also some funkiness when I first turned it on, it puts a black band along the edges. Tried a few other display modes like 1280x1024, put it back to 1080p, and now it works fine.

All in all, it seems finicky over vga, and if that's the primary source, I can't recommend this monitor.

I just got this home, and I'm going to try HDMI soon when I move my desktop computer.

Is this available in-store where I can go buy it locally?

You can only get it locally at costco home stores. Get it today online if you want one since it's the last on-sale day, the shipping is cheap. You can return it in-store if need be.

Hi,

Can anyone compare the picture on this set to the Westinghouse 37W3? I bought that one about a month ago and I'm wondering if it's work the extra 2 bills to return it for this set?

Thanks,

--Rick

I also have the 37W3. This set is nicer for video. The black is a bit blacker, and the backlighting more even. It's similar or a bit nicer than the 42W2 I had once (which for some reason is a slightly nicer panel than the 37, but the 37 firmware is better for computer use).

Overall video difference is maybe 10-15%. Noticeable if you try to notice it, but not really if you're just watching the program. I can't really tell the difference in panel quality for computer usage, the horizontal lines are better defined on the westinghouse rectangular grid setup if you sit really close. The firmware on the westinghouse is way better, more/better inputs, too, so I'd sway the other way for computer applications.

Alright, latest report. I've finally got 1:1 over HDMI to work. This TV is like a living beast. Just like the VGA, at first it stubbornly refuses to go 1:1, preferring to overscan, but after a whole lotta futzing, it finally somehow relented. The last thing I remember doing is going through the HDTV modes and somehow going to 1920x540 (interlaced, but not really as the display showed 540 lines), and then 1920x1080p magically worked after that.

Now I have no idea how to go back to overscan mode should I want that one day for a video input, but that is a tale for another day.

----edit----
I think I figured out why it's overscanning. I'm using the NVidia control panel and there's a "manage custom timings" page, and for some reason the "treat as HDTV" box is select. Turning it off seems to do the trick.

Though be warning, I tried going back and forth a few times and once it got stuck at overscan. Took me quite a while of futzing with the scaling control to get it back to 1:1.

I get the feeling that the Magnavox tv is fine, and using that checkbox causes the vid card to scale out. But the whole think is kinda buggy, my display info says it's at 48hz refresh rate even though I've long deleted any custom timing....

I also have the 37W3. This set is nicer for video. The black is a bit blacker, and the backlighting more even. It's similar or a bit nicer than the 42W2 I had once (which for some reason is a slightly nicer panel than the 37, but the 37 firmware is better for computer use).

Overall video difference is maybe 10-15%. Noticeable if you try to notice it, but not really if you're just watching the program. I can't really tell the difference in panel quality for computer usage, the horizontal lines are better defined on the westinghouse rectangular grid setup if you sit really close. The firmware on the westinghouse is way better, more/better inputs, too, so I'd sway the other way for computer applications.

Thanks AgentHEX. Which firmware version do you have on the Westy? My set as 1.0.

--Rick

My Magnavox set came in with a defect - a permanent vertical line about 10" from the left side of the screen. When the background is dark, the line is green. When the background is light, the line is rainbow colors. Wonder if anyone else had the same problem?

Hey Funk, you just get your TV recently? You just going to take it back to the nearest store?

My Magnavox set came in with a defect - a permanent vertical line about 10" from the left side of the screen. When the background is dark, the line is green. When the background is light, the line is rainbow colors. Wonder if anyone else had the same problem?

UPS really beats the heck out of these tvs. mine came with the box damage and with holes. luckily, tv is good.

I picked mine up today at the Costco Home store in Kirkland. They had a mountain of them in stock, probably close to 100 minimum that I could see.

I can't wait to get home and set it up!!!!

Quick question... I don't yet have a DVD player that supports 1080p or HDMI... am I going to be let down when I hook up the dvd player via ghetto rcas? <--- points and laughs at self... :(

ON that note, what is a good budget DVD player? And I guess my 1 year old Yamaha received (no HDMI) is no good anymore either? :/

damn technology, gotta love it, but you gotta pay to play I guess :(

Quick question... I don't yet have a DVD player that supports 1080p or HDMI... am I going to be let down when I hook up the dvd player via ghetto rcas? <--- points and laughs at self... :(

ON that note, what is a good budget DVD player? And I guess my 1 year old Yamaha received (no HDMI) is no good anymore either? :/

damn technology, gotta love it, but you gotta pay to play I guess :(

As long as you have component outs, it should be fine as the TV will scale correctly. You avoid digi->ana->digi conversion w/ a digital input, but most TV/DVDs already do a bunch of scaling/processing that I don't think you'd see a difference on normal dvds. For smoothest processing, you can use a HTPC like I do :D . The only problem I have w/ HTPC's is that I can't get SPDIF passthrough out to work right, so I have either analog out going to the reciever or 4 ch pcm.

Can anyone share their audio settings? My settings as of right now sound like a 1940's radio staion... Thanks!

OK time is almost up, only 6 more hours eastern time to pull the trigger on this Costco promo. Has anyone else got one of these fired up and tested? I really want to order one but there seems to be a 50/50 split on whether PQ and general quality is up to standards.

I have the Costco shopping cart all loaded up but am hesitant to place the order. Indecision is killing me..............

My Magnavox should be here at my place tomorrow evening, in which I will set it up and play some dvd's and my xbox 360 on it and test it out. I will post my opinions and maybe a few pictures as well. Im a little nervous because it went UPS ground for nearly 7 days now, coming from Cali to VA. I know first hand how much the package loaders treat heavier packages at UPS, I used to be one in college, and UPS has such a quick workpace that often packages are literally tossed and kicked to get them into the trucks into their proper spots! I hope mine isnt too beat up!

I picked mine up today at the Costco Home store in Kirkland. They had a mountain of them in stock, probably close to 100 minimum that I could see.

I can't wait to get home and set it up!!!!

Quick question... I don't yet have a DVD player that supports 1080p or HDMI... am I going to be let down when I hook up the dvd player via ghetto rcas? <--- points and laughs at self... :(

ON that note, what is a good budget DVD player? And I guess my 1 year old Yamaha received (no HDMI) is no good anymore either? :/

damn technology, gotta love it, but you gotta pay to play I guess :(

If you use component cables (Red Blue Green) the video should not be too bad. For budget DVD player, Philips 1080p unconveting player at Costco is a good choice.

You don't need HDMI receiver for your 5.1 surround system. I have 3 years old Yamaha and it still works perfectly. Just connect video cables directly to TV and audio cables directly to receiver. This way you don't need a lot of cables.

Hey Funk, you just get your TV recently? You just going to take it back to the nearest store?

Yeah, I'm probably going to take it to the nearest store. I did receive an email from Costco today though - mentioning that if I wasn't near a store, I could contact them for alternate options. I live right next to a warehouse though, so I'm just going to go there.

Mine was beat up pretty bad by UPS as well. I kinda hope that's what caused the defect ;)

My Im a little nervous because it went UPS ground for nearly 7 days now, coming from Cali to VA. I know first hand how much the package loaders treat heavier packages at UPS, I used to be one in college, and UPS has such a quick workpace that often packages are literally tossed and kicked to get them into the trucks into their proper spots! I hope mine isnt too beat up!

Here's to hoping both are ours are fine. Mine is coming tomorrow as well to North Carolina, so for both of our sakes I hope is treating the TVs kindly. :)

Here's to hoping both are ours are fine. Mine is coming tomorrow as well to North Carolina, so for both of our sakes I hope is treating the TVs kindly. :)


Good luck with that. When I got mine last week, literally half the packaging had a gaping hole. Due to the fact that the tv was mishandled so badly by UPS, I had damage to my tv, It had a a vertical line about half inch wide displayed. I reordered another with the hopes that they'll treat this one with a little more respect. :(

Good luck with that. When I got mine last week, literally half the packaging had a gaping hole. Due to the fact that the tv was mishandled so badly by UPS, I had damage to my tv, It had a a vertical line about half inch wide displayed. I reordered another with the hopes that they'll treat this one with a little more respect. :(

Mostly all shipping companies suck. I ordered a tv from BB and when they came I saw them literally thro my tv off the truck onto the ground :eek: I guess it was because there was snow on the ground because it was winter time but that is ridiculous, but the tv was fine. And one time I ordered a rear projection from PC Richards and when the tv came the whole screen was broke and the delivery guy actually asked if I wanted to keep it and he was serious, so I had to wait another week to get the replacement.

Hi all. I'm completely new to this forum, but I've been following this thread since I first considered buying this TV (which, as you'll see, I did buy). Please feel free to redirect me if this is an inappropriate place for my not-so-"technical" questions.

So, we bought the thing, well knowing that it is not a top-of-the-line TV. We currently have a 32" 3:4 non-flat-panel HDTV 1080i Panasonic that has an above-decent picture, and we like it, but we're getting ready for some home improvement projects and the thought moving around that 217 pound sloth was enough to make us opt for a flat panel, that can stay neatly on the wall. So, I was in no way expecting an "upgrade" at this price, but I was expecting something of at least equal quality considering our Panasonic's at least four years old.

We plugged the thing into our Comcast Motorola cable box with an HDMI cable, and I'm incredibly disappointed with the picture, enough so that I'm ready to stick with our old TV, but I'm hoping we're just missing some key aspecet to HDTV setup.

It's connected via HDMI, and we've set all the cable box's setting to 1080i (no 1080p option), 16:9, etc. The HD channels are just OK. If it's an image that's pretty uncomplicated and nothing's moving very quickly, it looks fine. But with any amount of complexity or fast movement, the image gets slightly pixelated and there's a noticeable amount of artifacts. Non-HD channels are absolutely terrible -- they look like a tiny JPEG image that was artificially enlarged and then saved at the lowest possible quality. I have both my old TV and the Magnavox hooked up side-by-side, and granted, the image on the Panasonic is much smaller, so more forgiving, but the quality difference isn't even comparable.

I thought it was probably an issue with the cable, but then I tried hooking up our DVD player, and the quality is even worse. Completely muted colors and horrible quality (all the sharpness is lost-- more of that JPEG effect, but this time more with noise than artifacts). On our old HDTV it DVDs look perfect. It's just an old standard DVD player with progressive scan, but it's fine. I had it hooked up with compenent cables -- it's pre-HDMI.

Does this sound like a case of poor TV quality, user error, or is my TV too sexy for my components? I've run out of ideas on how to get a good picture out of my cable box or my DVD player! Advise me before I send this darn thing back!

Good luck with that. When I got mine last week, literally half the packaging had a gaping hole. Due to the fact that the tv was mishandled so badly by UPS, I had damage to my tv, It had a a vertical line about half inch wide displayed. I reordered another with the hopes that they'll treat this one with a little more respect. :(

Sorry to hear about that. Luckily I can bring it back to costco and return it if I have to. I'll definitely take pictures of the box before opening as proof in case there are any problems.

It's connected via HDMI, and we've set all the cable box's setting to 1080i (no 1080p option), 16:9, etc. The HD channels are just OK. If it's an image that's pretty uncomplicated and nothing's moving very quickly, it looks fine. But with any amount of complexity or fast movement, the image gets slightly pixelated and there's a noticeable amount of artifacts. Non-HD channels are absolutely terrible -- they look like a tiny JPEG image that was artificially enlarged and then saved at the lowest possible quality. I have both my old TV and the Magnavox hooked up side-by-side, and granted, the image on the Panasonic is much smaller, so more forgiving, but the quality difference isn't even comparable.

I thought it was probably an issue with the cable, but then I tried hooking up our DVD player, and the quality is even worse. Completely muted colors and horrible quality (all the sharpness is lost-- more of that JPEG effect, but this time more with noise than artifacts). On our old HDTV it DVDs look perfect. It's just an old standard DVD player with progressive scan, but it's fine. I had it hooked up with compenent cables -- it's pre-HDMI.

Does this sound like a case of poor TV quality, user error, or is my TV too sexy for my components? I've run out of ideas on how to get a good picture out of my cable box or my DVD player! Advise me before I send this darn thing back!

If you haven't yet, try to calibrate the tv... use video essentials, avia, or other tools if possible... Granted I haven't done much calibration for channel watching, as I've mostly used it hooked up to my PC or 360, but the tv has no problem with muted colors when I play movies (dvd, 1080p trailers, or 720p movies from the xbox live) or motion artifacts. I made a profile for the tv on my notebook using a Spyder pro, and when comparing it against the Vizio the image beat anything that the Vizio was able to put out.

I don't have cable, since I can get most of the channels I want OTA with an antenna in HD. HD channels look better on the Magnavox than my older Samsung 26" CRT HDTV (1080i), but SD channels do look pretty bad... but that seems to be the case for most LCD tvs.

Spy, what settings do you use for audio? Mine sounds like a 1940's radio. Thanks so much!

Spy, what settings do you use for audio? Mine sounds like a 1940's radio. Thanks so much!

Oh that's easy to fix!

I removed the speaker and use my surround system. :)

Well here goes nothing! I finally got my magnavox in the mail today, the box was beat all to hell and I was afraid of some punctured screen. I pulled the tv out and put in PUlp fiction, movie looked good, not as good as my small sharp aquos hd, but very good none the less...Im watching the coachella concert series and it looks great too. Downscaling to regular SD sucks, but most HD's do, I bought this one for dvd's and video gaming, ...the xbox 360 looks super nice on it...no complaints yet!

yeah i agree the speakers that come with it are nothing to call home about,...buy yourself a cheap 200-300 surround system and BAZOOM! POW! KAZZZAAAM!

Yeah Walrus I hope yours gets their in good shape. My box had a couple of huge holes in it and tears..bu the tv was packed nice and tight with lots o nice strofoam bracing...I do notice now upon watching the tv that wehn it gets super busy..the image that is, there is a little change in resolution...nothing I can't deal with for 999 an a 42" lcd for though....overall I think I made a good purchase as long as this thing lasts me at least a good 5 years!

Spy, what settings do you use for audio? Mine sounds like a 1940's radio. Thanks so much!

Another option is to get a couple decent speakers since the set has the normal clamping type speaker outs.

Separate from this, this set can't take audio from analog in if HDMI/digital inputs are selected, so it's annoying can't use the built-in amps like this for computer display.

Good luck with that. When I got mine last week, literally half the packaging had a gaping hole. Due to the fact that the tv was mishandled so badly by UPS, I had damage to my tv, It had a a vertical line about half inch wide displayed. I reordered another with the hopes that they'll treat this one with a little more respect. :(

RX7 - The EXACT same thing happened with mine. Vertical line about a half inch wide. I reordered another one as well. Hopefully we'll be high-fiving eachother when our next one comes in.

Also, I just bought the book "HDTV for Dummies". Hopefully it helps me understand some of this stuff ;)

Yeah Walrus I hope yours gets their in good shape. My box had a couple of huge holes in it and tears..bu the tv was packed nice and tight with lots o nice strofoam bracing...I do notice now upon watching the tv that wehn it gets super busy..the image that is, there is a little change in resolution...nothing I can't deal with for 999 an a 42" lcd for though....overall I think I made a good purchase as long as this thing lasts me at least a good 5 years!

This is my first HDTV and I've got to say it looks pretty awesome. I probably don't know what I'm talking about - and i've yet to put anything 1080P on there, but I'm more than happy for $1128 shipped. The box was only a little bit beat up, and my wife said the UPS guy almost dropped it when putting it in the house, but we're both looking at it now and it seems fine.

Now, if only Time Warner's Navigator box that I just got would stop studdering on HD channels, I'd be all set (it did this on my other standard TV as well, it isn't a TV)

Best of luck to all of those who had problems with their TVs that came in.

My TV has a big dent in the corner. The foam on top of the TV were broken and drop to the middle. It's going back to Costco tomorrow. I didn't event set it up when I see the dent on the corner. Too late for me to reorder. I'll pick any other TV at Costco instead of it shipping to me. GREAT JOB UPS!!!!

I too just got my Maganvox 42MF437B delivered by UPS in a beat-up box with most of the foam shattered to pieces. The TV wasn't dented or anything but you can see tell-tale signs of LCD leakage when you turn it on. UPS must have dropped it. Costco online tells me there are no more in stock. Brilliant !!! I'm getting the UPS guy to take it back.

Well I think that is pretty lame if they said they are all out of stock of the TV if you purchased it with the deal they were having and you had a defective shipment, they should owe you a new one in good condition in which you expected you would get it in when you ordered it. I played the 360 with 5 different games for about 4 hours and the graphics were on point. very nice set for me!

This is my first HDTV and I've got to say it looks pretty awesome. I probably don't know what I'm talking about ...

You are happy with the picture quality and that is the most importance, who cares about black level and constrast ratio !!!

I've owned two other HDTV sets, and this one isn't top of the line for sure, but it definately isn't as to me as a lot of people have been describing...it's not super sharp, but if you want super sharp pictures you would have to fork out 2600 dollars for a sony or aquos of comporable size and resolution display...Overall I think it is a great value and will have countless hours of gaming and dvd watching on it! (Hopefully) :rolleyes:

Hi,

I just got this TV, and I'm pretty happy with the picture quality. I'm mainly using it for movies and X360. The only thing that is bugging me is that i can see 2 pixels that appear to be stuck. When I turn on the TV and there is no signal (blackish background) i can see them, they are colored. Against a white background i can't really see them. I know they aren't dead cause I believe that if they were, they'd appear black against the white background.

What I'm trying to decide is if there is a way to get them unstuck. Anybody know a good method for LCD TVs? Or if it's worth the trouble to package it up and exchange it. Does anybody know what "acceptable" number of pixels is?

I'd hate to return it and get another one with more stuck pixels.

thanks for taking the time to read this.

cheers

Hi,

I just got this TV, and I'm pretty happy with the picture quality. I'm mainly using it for movies and X360. The only thing that is bugging me is that i can see 2 pixels that appear to be stuck. When I turn on the TV and there is no signal (blackish background) i can see them, they are colored. Against a white background i can't really see them. I know they aren't dead cause I believe that if they were, they'd appear black against the white background.

What I'm trying to decide is if there is a way to get them unstuck. Anybody know a good method for LCD TVs? Or if it's worth the trouble to package it up and exchange it. Does anybody know what "acceptable" number of pixels is?

I'd hate to return it and get another one with more stuck pixels.

thanks for taking the time to read this.

cheers

A few stuck pixels are considered 'normal'. Almost every manufacturer provides a disclaimer in their liturature covering this.
Consider also you are most likely getting a panel used in their 'premium' sets that didn't pass muster because of those pixels and ended up in this budget model.
If all else works well, I'd live with it.

Okey, this is a dumb question but I got the TV and I have seperate speakers. I took the audio cord from my speakers to the audio on the TV. How come I can't hear any sound? Do I have to individually take each speaker and put their cords into the TV? On the other TV I just had to have the Audio cord go from the speakers to the TV. Someone shoot me some advice please.

Thanks, spybyscript, for the advice. It's good stuff, but I'm not about to spend additional money just to get a decent picture out of the thing. It should just work!

We took the Magnavox back to Costco. When my husband returned it the guy said that he doesn't know why anyone's buying the Magnavox when the Vizio's so much better made and in the same price range. It's not on sale right now, but since it's in-store, it's hardly any more expensive than the Magnavox+shipping, so we decided to go ahead and try it out, thinking we could return it if we didn't like it.

I have to say, IMO, the picture quality is SO much better than the Magnavox-- in terms of clarity and sharpness, at least. I'd say that its handling of blacks is poorer, but the overall picture quality more than supersedes that. Regarding the DVD playback, it's better, but still nothing compared to our 32" CRT. I'm thinking I just need to go ahead and get an upsamlping DVD player.

I think I was expecting too much for the price of these thing. I thought, "I'm not a videophile, so I won't notice the difference. BUT, I have lived with a good DHTV for several years now, and I'm a graphic designer, so deal with compression, resolution and color issues every day, so maybe I'm a lot more critical and sensitive to video quality than I thought.

Regardless, I like the Vizio better!

Thanks, spybyscript, for the advice. It's good stuff, but I'm not about to spend additional money just to get a decent picture out of the thing. It should just work!

Regardless, I like the Vizio better!

I do a lot of color work, hence owning a spyder pro. The Vizio is easier to set up (the menu system allows way more control over the final image) and out of the box the Vizio probably is better if you just leave the image as is. Since the majority of my comparison was using a PC input, and setting up ICC color profiles for each tv, the Magnavox was better in my case. I'm planning on setting up our desktop as a HTPC, so the majority of content will be going through a PC.

Probably the biggest hit is the inability to tweak the temperature on the Magnavox on the set itself. "Cool" actually was the most accurate, but I believe by default the tv was on either "normal" or "warm" which prevents the tv from getting a good white level (whites are yellow or very yellow in normal/warm). The VGA/PC input allows the PC to calibrate the colors/white level, which resulted in a much better image.

And, judging from the Vizio thread, the Vizio has had it's own share of bad sets with mixed results for image quality. These "cheap" 1080P sets appear to have mediocre at best quality control, which isn't helped by UPS beating up the boxes during transit. I could have had a bad example of a Vizio, because the thing had such a soft image (even with noise reduction turned off and sharpness boosted) that it couldn't compare. Since I got a "good" magnavox, in at least that it doesn't have dents, dead/stuck pixels, or other problems described by the bad sets I'll keep it for awhile and see if it starts to develop problems.

Can you answer my question about sound Spy? It's got to be very easy, I just had to get back to work and I want to see if I can find a solution. It's just a set of surround sound speakers with a main box in which the speakers are connected to and I have an audio cord going from that to the TV but am unable to hear sound. Can you help me??

What I'm trying to decide is if there is a way to get them unstuck. Anybody know a good method for LCD TVs? Or if it's worth the trouble to package it up and exchange it.

I had Sceptre with one stuck pixel at bright blue color, I rubbed it with my thumb several times a day for less than one minute each time, after several days that stuck pixel was gone.

If after a couple months and that stuck pixel can not be fixed and it bothers you each time you turn the TV on, then exchange for another set.

Well, the tv only allows two speakers to be attached to it directly through the ports on the back. You just attach the speakers with regular speaker wire.

If you're attaching a surround system to the tv, I used the coaxial spdif to output the audio from the tv to my receiver.

can anyone tell me the dimensions of the box? I'm wondering if it'll fit in the trunk of an A4 with the seats folded down

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=78837

Here is a link to the speakers I bought, cheap but they sound good in a small room. Why am I having trouble connecting these speakers to my TV. It's the 80 watt power, 5.1 home theatre. Like I said, you should be able to connect them just by the audio cord right?

The speaker system you bought has built-in amplifier in the sub-woofer enclosure, and it should be connected to line-level signal from the source which is your TV. What you are trying is connecting speaker (high) level signals from your TV to this speaker system and it doesn't work that way.

You need a converter to convert speaker level from your TV to line level, then connect that line level to your speaker system with RCA lines.

I have issued a service call to Magnavox. My colors are totally off - as you described the
whites are more towards yellow ( and the greys blueish on my set) . But that doesn't
contribute as bad as - I guess - the actual color decoding. Case in point, it doen't
matter whether I source through HDMI or broadcast. It's always bad - told the guy at
Magnavox customer service that 'if you should see an apricot you'll see a peach' which
I think gave him an instant idea what I was talking about.
So, let's see whether the service center rep will be able to calibrate the TV. If they, I'd certainly
will let you know how they did this .. but given the poor menu choices I am afraid they will
have to exchange components.

Last, I think this isn't a bad TV. It's the main reason why I haven't retuned it to Costco right away.

-- Dan


I do a lot of color work, hence owning a spyder pro. The Vizio is easier to set up (the menu system allows way more control over the final image) and out of the box the Vizio probably is better if you just leave the image as is. Since the majority of my comparison was using a PC input, and setting up ICC color profiles for each tv, the Magnavox was better in my case. I'm planning on setting up our desktop as a HTPC, so the majority of content will be going through a PC.

Probably the biggest hit is the inability to tweak the temperature on the Magnavox on the set itself. "Cool" actually was the most accurate, but I believe by default the tv was on either "normal" or "warm" which prevents the tv from getting a good white level (whites are yellow or very yellow in normal/warm). The VGA/PC input allows the PC to calibrate the colors/white level, which resulted in a much better image.

And, judging from the Vizio thread, the Vizio has had it's own share of bad sets with mixed results for image quality. These "cheap" 1080P sets appear to have mediocre at best quality control, which isn't helped by UPS beating up the boxes during transit. I could have had a bad example of a Vizio, because the thing had such a soft image (even with noise reduction turned off and sharpness boosted) that it couldn't compare. Since I got a "good" magnavox, in at least that it doesn't have dents, dead/stuck pixels, or other problems described by the bad sets I'll keep it for awhile and see if it starts to develop problems.

rnp614: I don't have the exact measurements, but as reference, the box fit in both our Passat and our Prius trunks with the seats down.

Regarding one TV vs. the other: I think it just comes down to what priorities are for individuals. Color accuracy vs contrast levels vs clarity, etc. Each is better or worse depending what your priorities are. I think, too, that by the time I purchased and viewed the Vizio for a while, I already began to understand that my standards on some issues were too high for what I was willing to pay, so I may have been a bit more forgiving when it came to judging the Vizio!

I love the tv, and am glad I bought it. Today I got a flyer from Sears, selling the same tv on sale from $1800 with a "$400" sale, they are selling them for 1400 bux..I think i got a great deal for a little over 1100 with shipping and taxes...no complaints...Im not a videophile either, but this tv is the BOMB!

rnp614: I don't have the exact measurements, but as reference, the box fit in both our Passat and our Prius trunks with the seats down.

Regarding one TV vs. the other: I think it just comes down to what priorities are for individuals. Color accuracy vs contrast levels vs clarity, etc. Each is better or worse depending what your priorities are. I think, too, that by the time I purchased and viewed the Vizio for a while, I already began to understand that my standards on some issues were too high for what I was willing to pay, so I may have been a bit more forgiving when it came to judging the Vizio!

My main happiness with the Magnavox is 1:1 1080P over vga and hdmi on the Magnavox, which wasn't working out on the Vizio... it overscanned for me with HDMI.

I recieved my Magnavox, I got the speakers working with the HDMI. Spy, great call on the settings with HDMI, my picture looks amazing, colors are right on. When I use the standard cables that the cable company gets you my colors are all off. Works with the HDMI though. Def. satisfied with my purchase, TV box was a little worn from UPS but all of the pixels are in top shape. Bang for the buck.

I got mine two days ago and am very happy so far.

The shipping from UPS was a complete disaster, the driver never rang our doorbell, (was probably too lazy to want to lift an 81 lb box around), so I went to the UPS distribution center in to pick it up, and after a long wait, the idiot working there ran his cart into my car.

As for the TV, the set looks very good in my living room and the picture looks great on HDTV cable channels (Comcast in Chicago). I am partial to Sony's picture (they usually look the best to me based on nothing but just looking at them), but for the price, I think the picute on this set is excellent.

When I first got the TV on, I had a problem with a small group of pixels near the middle of the screen that were just froze. A few minutes later, they started working again and I haven't had the problem since, hopefully this won't be a problem.

The speakers suck, but overall I am quite pleased, hopefully this TV will last a the Magnavox I bought 10 years ago and is still going strong.

I just received my set on Tuesday and overall I am really happy with the PQ but there is a minor problem. There are couple spots on the screen relatively big, one is about half and inch and the other is more then an inch, that are a bit darker and you can see these, though you have to try little hard to find them, when the image on the screen is lighter. Basically you cant really tell they are there if you are watching something unless you really try to concentrate on finding these spots.

Initially I thought it might be something on to of the screen and tried to clean the screen using wipes but that didn't help and after looking at it more closely looks like its inside the LCD and I don't think they are 'dead pixels' because during the normal playback the colors seems fine and you cant see any distortions unless its a white background or any other lighter image.

I called up costco and they are sending me a replacement set but has anyone else experienced something similar with this LCD or with another LCD.

Since the majority of my comparison was using a PC input, and setting up ICC color profiles for each tv, the Magnavox was better in my case. I'm planning on setting up our desktop as a HTPC, so the majority of content will be going through a PC.

Probably the biggest hit is the inability to tweak the temperature on the Magnavox on the set itself. "Cool" actually was the most accurate, but I believe by default the tv was on either "normal" or "warm" which prevents the tv from getting a good white level (whites are yellow or very yellow in normal/warm). The VGA/PC input allows the PC to calibrate the colors/white level, which resulted in a much better image.


Can you share the ICC profile?

My biggest problem with the set is that you can't set the backlight level. This set definitely has potential for better blacks, but I can't set the backlight to really low like the westinghouse.

Can you share the ICC profile?
My biggest problem with the set is that you can't set the backlight level. This set definitely has potential for better blacks, but I can't set the backlight to really low like the westinghouse.

I can create an ICC profile, but these are pretty dependent on not just the settings on the tv at the time you create it (since the Spyder2 is actually "looking" at your tv to determine the settings) but also the pc itself. If you give me the settings of your tv, or set the tv to a simple default (such as contrast, brightness and color to 50, DCR off) I could create one. I don't know how well it will look for you, but if it helps any the desktop I used to create the profile on has an ATI 9800pro.

You may be more successful getting getting a Spyder yourself (the "express" edition is about $60 retail), but note that Spyder Express and Pro will only help you when you use your PC as a HTPC. It won't help you calibrate the settings on the tv itself, so if you go to another input such as watching tv on your cable box or playing a game on a console your ICC profile won't mean a thing.

The SpyderTV will calibrate the tv for you, but at $200... I'd rather go for something like Avia or Digital Video Essentials, or even a dvd disc that has the THX optimizer option and calibrate the tv off of that.

That Magnavox TV at Sears isn't the same as the one on the Costco site.

If you give me the settings of your tv, or set the tv to a simple default (such as contrast, brightness and color to 50, DCR off) I could create one. I don't know how well it will look for you, but if it helps any the desktop I used to create the profile on has an ATI 9800pro.



Hmm.. Does it matter the video card as long as it doesn't already map colors and it's digital all the way? I don't really know much about this.

----
I played around w/ settings last night and here's what I thought visually looked good to me (not necessarily accurate, but settings that brought out dark gradients):

Contrast: 46
Brightness: 45
Color: 50 (this seem to have no effect over HDMI)
Temp: Normal (Cool makes gradients pop too much I think).
Sharpness: 0


Another thing I discovered is that when you put it into a "known" mode over HDMI, like 1080p@60hz or 1080i@60fields/s, the TV _will_ overscan. The way to get it to do 1:1 is to use a slight off setting like 59hz refresh (48 is fine too, maybe good for movies?). But always have the TV do scaling.

This was a pain to find out because nVidia drivers are kinda buggy and don't always show what it's outputing correctly.

Hmm.. Does it matter the video card as long as it doesn't already map colors and it's digital all the way? I don't really know much about this.

----
I played around w/ settings last night and here's what I thought visually looked good to me (not necessarily accurate, but settings that brought out dark gradients):

Contrast: 46
Brightness: 45
Color: 50 (this seem to have no effect over HDMI)
Temp: Normal (Cool makes gradients pop too much I think).
Sharpness: 0


Another thing I discovered is that when you put it into a "known" mode over HDMI, like 1080p@60hz or 1080i@60fields/s, the TV _will_ overscan. The way to get it to do 1:1 is to use a slight off setting like 59hz refresh (48 is fine too, maybe good for movies?). But always have the TV do scaling.

This was a pain to find out because nVidia drivers are kinda buggy and don't always show what it's outputing correctly.

That's funny, I was departing ATI a while ago because of their buggy drivers ...
but as other were reporting ATI cards 1:1 support seems to work on this TV !

I'll try your vertical refresh hint later tonite. Thanks!

-- Dan

I just got the Magnavox 42MF437B and have tried connecting it to my Macbook. Mac OS X detects the monitor as 1920 x 1080 (interlaced). I had this issue briefly with my old Westinghouse LVM-37W3 but was able to get it to output into progressive scan by clicking on the monitor icon in the menu bar and selecting the other 1920x1080 option. This however, did not work with the Magnavox. I have tried using the third party app SwitchResX and creating a custom 1920x1080 setting but it does not appear to change anything. I am connecting using a DVI-to-HDMI cable. Any ideas? Thanks.

Like others, mine arrived with major box damage. I set it up and connected it to find that the LCD was shattered in dozens of places. It went back to Costco yesterday.

I am back to square one as far as selecting a TV.

Can someone post pictures of their set in HD.

and i take it that it would be better to go to costco and bring it home myself instead of letting UP-SUCK do it.

and when you drive it back should it be standing up or can you lie it on its back in a trunk or something like that

Can someone post pictures of their set in HD.

and i take it that it would be better to go to costco and bring it home myself instead of letting UPS-UCK do it.

and when you drive it back should it be standing up or can you lie it on its back in a trunk or something like that

Costco doesn't have Magnavox online any more, even at regular price. May be Costco Homes have some left, if you have Costco Home near by you can go there to get one if any available.

Best way to transport is to have it standing up, the next best is have it lay down on its back.

I've been able to get the magnavox to do 1080p over VGA and component, but I can't get HDMI working without overscan. Has anyone managed to get this to work?

1080p over VGA looks great. I originally had a little ghosting, but that went away with a better vga cable. I'm happy with VGA, but HDMI would be nice.

I've also found I get audio from AV3 when using the PC or HDMI inputs. I don't have audio hooked up on either input, so maybe the TV is trying to be smart.

I've been able to get the magnavox to do 1080p over VGA and component, but I can't get HDMI working without overscan. Has anyone managed to get this to work?


Look at my post above.

After having problems with DVI-to-HDMI with my Macbook, I went out and bought the VGA adapter. Over VGA, the resolution was properly detected but there was a bit of ghosting that made the unit hard to use as a monitor.

Following AgentHEX's advice to set the refresh rate to 59Hz, I got the magnavox to display 1080p without interlacing over HDMI. However, I am noticing that lines are somewhat jagged on this screen. I have noticed this on my Xbox 360 as well. I don't know if a 42" is supposed to look that way when you are close to the screen, but the lines appear particularly jaggy on the Magnavox.

After having problems with DVI-to-HDMI with my Macbook, I went out and bought the VGA adapter. Over VGA, the resolution was properly detected but there was a bit of ghosting that made the unit hard to use as a monitor.

Following AgentHEX's advice to set the refresh rate to 59Hz, I got the magnavox to display 1080p without interlacing over HDMI. However, I am noticing that lines are somewhat jagged on this screen. I have noticed this on my Xbox 360 as well. I don't know if a 42" is supposed to look that way when you are close to the screen, but the lines appear particularly jaggy on the Magnavox.

One thing you can try is a better vga cable. I don't get ghosting over vga.

I don't know what you mean by "jaggy", but this monitor has a hexagon pixel pattern, with horizontal lines a tad bit thicker than vertical. Fonts aren't the best, but I don't notice it more than a couple feet away.

----

On a seperate note, this is my first HDTV w/ digital tuner, so I finally hooked up the cable outlet last night and was surprised the number of "digital" channels I got over the el-cheapo Comcast package. The quality of transmission isn't that great for most of them, and they were 4:3, but still pretty watchable. Annoyances include inability to rename or reorder channels and setting being global instead of per channel.

Setting format to automatic for digital channels and 4:3 or 14:9 for analog works ok. The "picture" setting I put to powersaver (contrast:50, brightness:55), since it's the only w/ higher brightness to avoid large black patches. (there's only one customizable picture setting slot, which kinda sucks).

Does an Upscaler make a huge difference on DVDS? Will it show DVDS in 1080 P?

so should i buy it. i just want a lcd that doesnt have any problems with buzzing noises and stuff like that and i want it to look as good as my 4 year old rear projection 1080i dlp mitsubishi tv.

I will mostly use this tv for blu-ray and gaming. i really dont care how the standard PQ looks

Does an Upscaler make a huge difference on DVDS? Will it show DVDS in 1080 P?

Here is how it works

1. DVD disk: 480i (mostly)

2. Stuff in between

3. Display: 1080p

Somewhere in between, you need to convert from the low source to the high display. The converter needs to de-interlace and upscale (not necessarily in that order, though it is the most efficient). Now, the converter can be in the TV, or in the DVD player, or a seperate box.

You can just try the Magnavox built-in converter and see if you're happy with it. Analog connectors are fine for dvd's IMO. The practical reality of it is that when you get a DVD player w/ HDMI, it can usually upscale and deinterlace.

You can try both functionally in the DVD player (most analog players can deinterlace) vs. the TV and see which one is better. I suspect the Magnavox one is better than most cheap dvd players.

I like Vizio VU42LF better than this set (I had both sets side-by-side at home a month agao) for better PQ with HD sources from local broadcasts and standard SD from DVD movies (with upscaling DVD player). The remote control of Vizio is much better and it is universal remote that can control additional 3 devices. Last but not least, I did not have to pay shipping cost of $59.99 + tax on shipping.

If I was you I ould wait until July 30th to see if they will have Vizio VU42LF on sale again for the same price, then you can pick one up at local warehouse for not paying shipping&handling.

I like Vizio VU42LF better than this set (I had both sets side-by-side at home a month agao) for better PQ with HD sources from local broadcasts and standard SD from DVD movies (with upscaling DVD player). The remote control of Vizio is much better and it is universal remote that can control additional 3 devices. Last but not least, I did not have to pay shipping cost of $59.99 + tax on shipping.

If I was you I ould wait until July 30th to see if they will have Vizio VU42LF on sale again for the same price, then you can pick one up at local warehouse for not paying shipping&handling.

is there that much of a difference between the vizio and the magnavox for PQ in HD.

and doesnt the vizio have A LOT of problems with humming noises and audio loss and channels switching off at random along with the tv itself freezing. i dont think ive read anything like that about this magnavox.

i just want pretty good PQ for HD and a tv that isnt going to break every second. as long as its as good a my 4 year old mitsubishi then i would be verry happy. i'll post the model of the mitsusbishi when i get home and get some specifications on it and maybe someone here can help determine by that if this set would be as good

is there that much of a difference between the vizio and the magnavox for PQ in HD.

and doesnt the vizio have A LOT of problems with humming noises and audio loss and channels switching off at random along with the tv itself freezing. i dont think ive read anything like that about this magnavox.

i just want pretty good PQ for HD and a tv that isnt going to break every second. as long as its as good a my 4 year old mitsubishi then i would be verry happy. i'll post the model of the mitsusbishi when i get home and get some specifications on it and maybe someone here can help determine by that if this set would be as good


The TV's not bad for a first version. You can criticize it for lacking features, but the simple features it does have work pretty well. You can to be more specific as to what "be as good" means. I've seen old DLP's, and these cheapos are better brightness, clarity, and geometry.

Mitsu and other large brands may have better video processing, though. Personally I like the JVC vid processor in their LCOS projectors the best. I almost got one since it's only marginally more than these LCD's.

In summary, I think the fundamental tech in the newer flats are better, so with a clean source (I use HTPC), you are golden. With poor source, it's a tossup depending on what you think is important. As a long term investment, I'd think these newer tv's are better since sources are only going to get better.

The TV's not bad for a first version. You can criticize it for lacking features, but the simple features it does have work pretty well. You can to be more specific as to what "be as good" means. I've seen old DLP's, and these cheapos are better brightness, clarity, and geometry.

Mitsu and other large brands may have better video processing, though. Personally I like the JVC vid processor in their LCOS projectors the best. I almost got one since it's only marginally more than these LCD's.

In summary, I think the fundamental tech in the newer flats are better, so with a clean source (I use HTPC), you are golden. With poor source, it's a tossup depending on what you think is important. As a long term investment, I'd think these newer tv's are better since sources are only going to get better.

what I meant by be as good was the PQ and durability. i can care less about pip, the remote, different setting on different inputs etc.

like I said I will be using it mostly for gaming with a 360 and ps3 and watching blu-ra and HD from my cable company which is IO digital cable. so I would judge this by the PQ, SQ and durability. no interest in those features i listed above about pip and the remote etc..

Then this panel should be fine as these are all high end dig sources. Only problem i forsee is the forced overscan at 1080[p|i]@60hz over hdmi, which you can only work around on a HTPC.

ok so here is the model of my mitsubishi rear projection dlp set i was talking about and a link to a website with specs.

Mitsubishi WS-55313

http://www99.epinions.com/pr-Mitsubishi_WS-55313_55_in_Rear_Projection_HDTV-Ready_Television/display_~full_specs

so by reading through this do you think the magnavox is the same regarding PQ.

This set is back on Costco until July 30. I'm debating should I get one since last one was beat up by UPS so I have to bring it back to Costco. Debating between Magnavox and Philips 42PFL7422D/37. There is $340 Difference. Philips has 3 HDMI but no VGA Input. Any Comparision?

that philips they are selling is NOT 1080p. so i would go witt the magnavox.

does this tv have hdmi 1.3 and 24fps

ok so here is the model of my mitsubishi rear projection dlp set i was talking about and a link to a website with specs.

Mitsubishi WS-55313

http://www99.epinions.com/pr-Mitsubishi_WS-55313_55_in_Rear_Projection_HDTV-Ready_Television/display_~full_specs

so by reading through this do you think the magnavox is the same regarding PQ.

BUMP

Dipset420 said:
"that philips they are selling is NOT 1080p. so i would go witt the magnavox."

Dipset420, you are correct the Philips set on Costco website is NOT 1080P. The model is 42PFL5332D/37.

However, the Philips set SM7383 refered to IS 1080P model. The model is 42PFL7422D/37.

PN

Whats up AV Forum! First post here with some n00b questions and issues. I will start one at a time ;).

From the likes and dislikes I decided last sunday to order this Magnavox set, my first HDTV.

It finally came yesterday from UPS. The box handle was ripped and the opening on the top was half taped shut. I guess it wasn't banged around too much...

Once set up I took a close look at the screen. No dead pixels but I have these dark spots about 5 inch down ( I will post pics when I can). Do you all think these spots will work themselves out or is my set damaged? My guess it was from the foam pressing on the display.

Yes the speakers suck... But that not a big issue. My PS2 is really bad over s-video but I plan on picking up the component cables for that tonight.

TIA