Magnavox DLP 50ML8305D/17

i saw this tv too at samsclub, and you're right it was priced lower than i have ever seen a 50" dlp. i thought it looked pretty good, too. i tried calling magnavox to find out how much replacement bulbs are, but they are clueless. they told me to call a local shop and they didn't know either. must be a new model or something.

bigboy, did you end up purchasing a tv this weekend? if so, which one and how do you like it? tia

Hello, my first post here.
I have also seen/considered this set. I saw it at Sam's, and felt it had a nice picture, but I'm unsure of the Magnavox brand. Many say stay clear of it.
I am one of the lucky viewers of the rainbow features on DLP sets, but did not see it on this one for whatever reason. Maybe the right image wasn't on the screen at the time.

Been looking for a new TV, and this fits right into my budget, but it may be RP CRT for me again if this doesn't pan out.

Nice to meet you folks!
Wish I had something more to contribute.

saw this also at sam's club and wrote down the model so i could come home and research...only reviews I saw were 3 people at buy dott calm who seemed happy with their purchases. Wish there was more info on this or magnovox dlps in general. Is the 1200 contrast ratio kinda low for a dlp tv? I'm new to looking for these tv's. Just got a projector and it has over twice that contrast. Picture did seem great though.

still noone has bought this set or know anyone who has? i know magnavox may not have a great reputation, but it's still a dlp with hd4 technology and i thought it looked pretty good at samsclub. cheap as can be too. just looking for a quick review from an owner. thanks

Just picked one up at Sam's for $1100 since it was a return. Won't get the cable box unitl next week but the OTA HDTV picture is outstanding. I couldn't pass it up for that price and I'm happy with it so far. I figure I can always take it back in the next three weeks if I start seeing any problems.

thanks smonroe, keep us updated. after researching every dlp under the sun to death i have a theory about this model. if you look at the old optoma 50" dlp, the shape is nearly identical to this magnavox. dimensionl are almost exactly the same too. i think whoever made the guts for that optoma is the same for this except the hd4 chipset.

Yes, it looks like the Optima. It's made in China (no surprise). I'm new to HDTV, the cable company is coming out next week with the STB. Is there as standard box, such as Scientific America, that they all use? I'm thinking about how I want to cable up my DVD player.

Check the "Local HDTV Info and Reception" forum for your geograhic location for hints on what to look for/ask for from your cable provider.

i just got off the phone with philips support and found out some shocking info regarding the price of the replacement bulbs for this dlp. he quoted me a price just shy of seven hundred dollars! (don't know if i'm allowed to state the exact amount) i've since marked this one off my list.

I have had the 50ML8305D/17 for about a month now and absolutely love it! Outstanding picture. Bought it though Philips Electronics website with a corporate discount for $1200. Wish I had bought 2 as they sold out and raised the price.

No rainbow effect and I read where this was eliminated somehow in this model. I can say I've seen no indication of a problem after a month.

I should have checked on the replacement bulb price before ordering but....I didn't. If anyone one knows of a source can you quote it and the price?

If I can answer any questions from anyone, just let me know.

Before I have heart failure:

1. I'll check other sources

2. This is a new model and by the time I need a bulb I'm hoping the price comes down. (wishful thinking?)

rich, i agree it looks great in the samsclub i saw it at, but that is a screw job if i have ever seen one on the lamp price. i hope that guy i talked to was mistaken, but it sounded like he was reading it off his computer and sounded pretty sure.

I'm also enjoying mine, but I can't get the universal remote that came with the STB to control the TV. I'm thinking of buying a learning remote. Have you had any luck controlling yours with any other remote?

I just found the Magnavox 50ML8305D @ a local store & was considering purchasing it. Has anyone who has purchased this TV been pleased with their purchase? Any additional information on the bulb replacement costs? Cannot find much information on the internet about this model.

Also, I currently do not have digital cable. Will it be worth investing in a HDTV without digital cable?

Thanks!

I was curious if our model had a forum.

Well, I dare say that I think I found the best deal on my TV. It was a return to Sam's Club that I picked up for $500 with nothing wrong! ($1,500 MSRP) There was actually two returns. I bought one and my friend the other. FYI - if you are getting one, get the Sam's warranty for it as it starts AFTER the manufacturer's warranty and covers the bulb as well.

I love the TV and it has looked great watching the World Cup in HDTV via OTA.

I am still looking on the best way to calibrate it though.

Thoughts?

Any new updates from owners on how this model is holding up?

Any new news on the replacement lamp costs?

I just found this model for $1100 with stand and am really considering getting it.

Folks, we just purchased a Magnavox 50ML8105D/17 at Sam's Club as a "return" item for $800. Brought it home, hooked it up to DVD and analog cable and all was good.

Unfortunately, the next day we decided to try out the built-in ATSC tuner (several local digital stations)... we now have the "3 red LEDs" of death.

The symptom: after switching to ATSC source, the TV was unable to find any video signal. Switching back to "Analog TV" still left a black picture. 45 seconds later, the TV shuts itself off with all 3 red LEDs lit.

Now the TV will shut itself off within about 90 seconds with all 3 red LEDs lit, regardless of what we've tried (unplugging from wall, etc; can't change source mode anymore; menu appears, but will just "hang" when trying to select a different source)

Calling Magnavox Support and describing our problem resulted in a very quick verbal diagnosis of "needs a firmware update". We were directed to contact our local Best Buy and schedule a warranty service. Next thursday is our magic day to have a tech come out and service the TV.... hopefully the firmware update will solve our problem.

Anyone else experience or hear of any similar stories with Magnavox hardware? I'm personally concerned that this model was shipped with an apparent catastrophic software problem....

I have a Magnavox 50" DLP TV (Model: 50ML8305D/17). I purchased it back in April of this year with the intention of being able to use it with my Xbox 360 to view HD TV and games.

The picture is incredible, I'm incredibly happy with that.

However, there is a problem with it interacting with my Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 came with a media remote to allow you to play DVD's etc. However, when I first hooked up the Xbox to the TV, I noticed that every time I pressed a button the media remote, it changed a setting on the TV. Somehow they used the exact same infrared signal patterns for the Xbox remote as my TV uses for changing inputs, or turning CC on/off, etc. I reported this to Microsoft who though it might be a faulty remote, so they sent a replacement - which does the same thing (verifying that it is a infrared interaction problem). Also, I noticed that the TV remote will also interact with the Xbox 360 as well, power on/off, play, stop, etc., though none of the buttons match (UP arrow on TV remote doesn't correspond to UP arrow on Xbox remote).

I spoke with Magnavox support, and they only suggested that I put tape over the Xbox IR receiver... Which why would I have bought an expensive HDTV, and an Xbox 360 to have to put tape over the IR sensor because they interact with the other's remote.

I don't know if telling you guys this info helps at all, and I've searched everywhere on message boards to find anything about this TV, but came up with nothing. Either people have the TV and don't use the Xbox 360, or they don't know enough about how to report the problem.

I'm out of options here because neither Microsoft or Magnavox will concede and do something about it.

I just Downloaded the user guides on both and they seem to be the same set. I believe the 8105 is the samsclub model.

Anyway, I just bought this TV at samsclub for 999 after trying flat 37" LCD. I was going nuts with the fish bowl affect of the LCDs. I tried two sets and didn't find that their lines move totally in sync. Two other people in the room didn't notice until I still framed it and went in slow motion. Something about keeping the lines straight makes them move at different speeds. Anyway, bought the 50" DLP thinking for sure that I would find it two big. It is great.

With this set it has a Zoom feature they call 14:9 which when your 4:3 has black bars on the top and bottom, and you have the horizontal black bars, it zooms so that it nearly fills the screen.
I have found no rainbowing, fish bowling (LCD problem), etc.. The only thing is the vertical view angle which I think is a problem with rear projection. I read reviews and heard that the bulb isn't covered by best buy ext warrnty but sam's does. If you are going to buy, buy from sam's. It is cheaper and the warranty is better. Besides you can return the TV for 6 months no questions. This is worth the $40? dollar membership fee.

I am a Tivo user and haven't yet used the HD but the quality of the picture is far better than the Vizio and AKAI LCD's that I have tried out. I was trying to stay in the $1000 range. The movement is excellent. I found the side viewing was pretty good too. I have my computer at about a 45 degree angle and 20-25 ft away and it is crisp. Sitting 10 ft close doesn't seem to be a problem either.

I have seen three complaints on other forums. 1-the HD tuner wants to find the channels everytime or screws with your input select choice. 2-the XBox remote has the same frequencies as the TV and there is a bunch of interference, 3-the bulb went out (seemed both complaints from BBuy) and wasn't under the bb warranty.

at <300 Watts (according to the user guide I just downloaded) it takes less or equal power than the flat screen 42" plasmas.

So far so good. I'm happy because it seemed a steal at the time and now I really think so.

A.

I had the same problem. I bought an expensive harmony remote and still couldn't get it too work with this tv. When I sent the codes via internet the tech said it was weird that the remote showed Microsoft codes. That is why it also works the xbox and vice versa. I still can't get any remotes or codes to work with it. Other than that I have had the tv for about 1 year and love it.

I have purchased this set 14 mos ago at BJ' club for $1400 including stand. I had to return it within 5 days because the picture would cut off after about an hour.
Last week the problem with the 2nd set started. It would cut off in just a few hours sometimes and within about 45 minutes at other times.

I took it to have it repaired and even the repair place was shocked that a replacement bulb for this set was $695 at the least from any supplier.

The repair shop recommended I don't replace it because the bulbs in this set probably won't last more than a year to a year in a half.

Magnavox said there is nothing they can do for me after 1 year of buying this tv.
I am going to buy a plasma (not Magnavox) at bestbuy and get a 4 yr warranty for about $250 (they said the warranty would be good for its bulbs).

my Magnavox 50ml8305D settings

Contrast: 55

Brightness: 60

Color: 60

sharpness: 3

color temp: Warm

digtal processing: pixel plus

Dynamic Contrast: off

DNR: off

Color Echancement: off

Tint: -5

Active Control: off

I've had the 50ML8105D/17 since the first couple of days of the 2006 Winter Olympics (my god they were breathtaking in HD on the 50" screen!).

Anyway, I've had repeated trouble getting HDMI hardware to "talk" to this set. My HD TiVo Series 3 will pass crystal clear picture through but no sound. The same thing was true with a Samsung upconverting DVD player (great pic, no audio). Finally found a Panasonic upconverting DVD player that the TV was willing to play nice with.

Now I want to work my Mac into the setup. I got a DVI to HDMI cable, plug them in, and .... nothing. No picture using HDMI source. In fact the Mac doesn't even act like I'm plugging a video source at all. When I connect the TV & Mac using VGA cables (yuck, analog, right?) both respond instantly. The picture is pretty weak compared to what I've seen this screen do with pure digital inputs.

Anybody else have trouble with their HDMI port not working with certain hardware? Any suggestions or solutions or workarounds?

I have had this unit for about a year and bought the extended warrantee from Sam's Club because a looked up the bulb's price and got the same $695. I love my set but did have to get the sound board replaced under Philips warrantee. Sam's Club extention is one of the few that cover bulb replacement. Best Buy does not. I have since looked up other sites than Philiip's to see how much it would cost through another source.
deadlamp.com/lamps
has the replacement for $196 so if you are out of warrantee look around. It is a beautiful set and I tried a few. The movement and colors are great. The angle of view from the sides is good also but not as good if you are somewhat close and on the floor or standing above it, therefore the veritical (up and down) angle.
The inputs are numerous and many take more than one type, Eg. input 1 & 2 take SVideo as well as composite, input 3 & 4 have component and composite. The RF connector is for analog or HD antenna. Input 5 is HDMI, input 6 VGA and audio, and front panel has a s-video and composite along with headset audio out. So you have 5 composite, 3 S-video, 2 component, 1 RF, 1HDMI, 1VGA+audio possibilities.
The selections for standard screen 4:3 standartd zoom 14:6 and 19:9 (these zoom standard format to fill most of the screen to all the screen with Possible loss of some picture. Gets rid of top and bottom black bars. Then it has the wide screen, subtitle zoom and super zoom (stretches the sides more than the center) It also has normal mode but I have noticed no difference between normal and wide screen. I really like the screen size features of this model.
Hope some of this helps.

I purchased this tv about 4 years ago and all was fine until I took the cable box off. Now I can not get any digital channels. The geek squad just put in a new $900.00 tuner and did not fix the problem. I can not get a digital channel through the coax cable. I am getting them on a tv in another room . Does any know what the problem is. Apparently the geek squad has no answers and I will call them demanding a fix. The owners manual states it is a HDTV which I assume has a digital tuner or I would not have bought it. I knew about the capable tvs and steered clear of those ,so I thought. Does everyone who purchased one of these tvs getting digital through the coax? My dvd player does not have a coax input or I would try that and go to the tv from it with composite or HDMI cable. Please help as my extended warranty ends soon.

@ CRAWFW - the TV doesn't have a ClearQAM tuner (only NTSC and ATSC) - which both refer to over-the-air programming.

Plugging it into a coax cable from your cable company will only give you channels on the ATV - which look like crap because they're Analog cable (320X240 resolution - SDTV).

Unfortunately, my coax input actually broke off the back of the TV (that's twice now since I purchased it, at least once under warranty). On top of that I've got a dead pixel in mine (research into it points to having to replace the DLP chip - more than the TVs worth), and I've had to replace the bulb once (luckily found one on ebay for under $100) since I bought it in April 2006.

The only reason I haven't gotten a replacement HDTV for this thing is because it's hard to find a 50" LCD (not getting Plasma or DLP) under $750. Deals are picking up again before the holiday season.

I finally did put a piece of black electrical tape over the remote sensor on the TV because I was sick of using the TV remote once to turn it on, and then having to use an Xbox game controller instead of the DVD remote I had that worked fine... I still can't believe this TV and the Xbox 360 used the same damn IR channels for their remotes.

I also have enjoyed this tv for almost 5 years now with no problems. As of last night we can watch for about 5 minutes, then the screen goes black, and the red light under the bulb comes on. if I push the power button it resets and works fine for 5 minutes. Any ideas where to start on this one?