~Official Olevia 747i/742i owners thread - Page 156

Too bad there are no MicroCenters in NYC.

Or Seattle. Even the 265's on Ebay are still $3,200


might come in handy

Almost 32 months after first getting it the 747i still can surprise me.

My cable system recently updated the OS of my HD cable box/DVR so that I can choose whether I want the picture to come in at it's native rez (480i, 720p or 1080i depending on program/station). The previous OS on the box also allowed to switch resolutions but it was a pain in the ass and cumbersome so I always left it at 1080i (as in 'SD and HD channels all come into the 747i at 1080i'). For change's sake I've decided to let the cable display SD and HD channels in their native resolutions.

Anywho, before the switch the smaller Picture-in-Picture window whenever I watched more than one channel with the cable box/DVR was always rectangular. But now, since the cable box outputs the stations at their native rez, the shape of the smaller PIP window on the 747i changes depending on whether it's displaying SD (it comes up 4x3 square) or HD content (it's rectangular to accomodate the 16x9 picture). I didn't notice this before because I didn't watch the size of the smaller PIP window change until the cable box started outputting native resolutions. So I tried it with a my XBox 360's HD-DVD player and separate SD and HD discs. Voala: when the smaller PIP window was showing the high-def movie it was 16x9 rectangular, and when it showed the SD DVD the PIP window was 4x3 square. Considering even the newest Samsung TV's have trouble getting PIP properly displayed with an antenna there is some still-powerful PIP technology underneath the 747i's monolith exterior I'm still coming to grips with.

come on dad , you're talking about a real tv here ....................... I did notice that , also you could change it by the "aspect " button . I freak out sometimes because the hd is in rectangular and the sd from directv in 4x3 , so I make the sd rectangular and matchess close to the hd . I've been real pleased with the set so far , the only gripe is I wish they woul've made a 37" or 40" with the same chip for my play room set . I still have a 27" tube to watch sd soccer , it still looks better to me especially the crappy transmissions from argentina ..................................

FYI... Looks like visa came through... Got a quote that show the set unrepairable, so visa said go buy a new set, send them the bill and they will cover the full cost of the original set... Now, which one to replace it with?

The sixty four thousand dollar question. Black Friday is coming.

And where do I get me one of those "VISA"s of which you speak?

Turns out visa has a great protection program... always heard mumblings of it but never really had a need to look into it... until now!!!

http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/benefits/index.html

Also seems other cards have similar services....

^^^ If I were you I'd seriously look around shops and read opinions here at AVS from owners (with the caveat AVS readers are anal and not representative of what 'normal' people would think of a new TV). Personally I'd look at Toshiba REZGA (their top-of-the-line models, not the cheap-ass one's), Vizio 55' models, the top-tier LG LCD's and (if you want to gamble) Mitsubishi. The big S's (Samsung, Sony and Sharp) are OK if (a) you can live with average-to-bad standard definition and (b) gimped-to-useless Picture-in-Picture but there are so many different models for those brands that it's up to you to do the homework of finding out what the pluses/minuses are for each model. Good luck soldier!

How much of a "Budget" do you have? I saw a 65" (120 Hz) Sharp in Sam's Club for ~$3,500.00, or, you might see if Visa would spring for a trip to pick up an Olevia 265T FHD REFURB from MicroCenter ($1,499.99 + Tax + Trip and Transportation costs to your choice of the Minnesota, Maryland, or the Kansas City stores...)

Or, you could buy the one at Sam's Club, and return it after you collect the Visa warranty payment. (There will be "banding" or some other problem justifying the return). You could do the same thing at Costco, but you would have to return it to Costco within 60 days, under their current policy.

In the interim, you could repair your old set and buy a nice trip with your share of the "Bailout" money.

Both budget and size are my limiting factors... Would like to keep it below 1500 and may be able to squeeze a 52" set in its place...

Sony is definitely out due a very sour history with them. Last sony set I had only had a 90 day warranty, (yes it was brand new) blew up at 101 days and sony refused to do anything). This on top of countless other of their products that failed to last more than a year (phones, dvd players, etc).... you get the picture....

At this point I'm favoring the samsung... saw a deal the other day for the 52" 750 series for <1500.. shoulda jumped on it but wanted to do more research...

Not very familiar with the sharps....

Basically would like a set to replace my ol' 747 that is comparable in picture quality for both SD (may be a tough one) and HD... Don't really care much about extra features (PIP, etc.)

OK...You are aware that Visa will pay the entire cost of the new set or the original cost of the old set, whichever is lower. So, I presume that you paid less than $1,500 for the 747i, and that you are willing to put up the difference between the original cost and $1,500. If so, between now and black friday, you should find some very good deals.

Yea.. fortunately/unfortunately I only paid ~$1000 for mine... So I figure I'm willing to kick in an extra 500 or so... I'm by no means a videophile.... just a guys who like a nice picture!

I feel lucky. Took a while with the back and forth with the paper and speaking to people, but in the end they refunded $1360 I had paid (I didn't include the $99 delivery charge from Tiger Direct in the cost). Had already bought a Samsung LN46B540, only lasting three weeks after the death of the 747i and just had to submit that receipt.

This time I bought from CostCo 'cause they double the warranty and I read good things online about their warranty/concierge service. I was going to get it at BestBuy, but there are too many rants online about them not honoring their service plans or else using loopholes to screw over the customer.

The only disappointing thing about the Samsung was the sound quality, since that was one aspect where the 747i shined. I have since got a simple home-theater-in-a-box and so it's not an issue.

I won't say I regret buying the 747i cause it was fun while it lasted, but maybe if I did it over again I would have spent a couple hundred dollars more and got a set from a more stable company, or waited for prices to drop a bit. Olevia did file for Chapter 11 a month after I bought my set, so maybe I could have saved myself some stress, but it was really fun to read this thread, learn what the things in the service menu were and play around with the settings.

I won't miss moving and having to move that unbelievably heavy box though.

Yep, moving on from the 747i will be tough for those of us that have gotten used to this tough old bird and haven't gotten too creamed by defects and/or imperfections (i.e. banding). No other HDTV on the market has the PIP features, built-in sound and inner-circuitry this set has. More advanced technologies have come to market with better contrast ratios and inkier blacks, and now they're affordable at sizes/prices we could only dream of in those 'dark ages' of early 2007. I have a 27" Sony Wega CRT side-by-side with my 747i and it's the best of both worlds. When they're gone they'll truly be gone and their replacements will probably be up to par, but there's something about having Realta on board that gave my 747i viewings a peace of mind over the past three years I wouldn't have gotten from the then-imperfect offerings from the three 'S' and the then-inferior models from LG, Toshiba and (to a lesser extent) Vizio.

dad1153 you pointed out our problem; after REALTA it's tough to go with any other video chip set. Why doesn't VIZIO use HQV chips on their LCD sets as on their last plasma set which sold out as fast as the stores got them in? The least expensive HQV REALTA or REON switcher is $800!

You hit the nail on the head. I read reviews of the Visio 55" on sale at Walfart for $1,499 or thereabouts and they were all good, so I looked at it on the in store HD feed and I have to admit it looks really good (especially for $1,499), but I got a local digital SD station to come in and it looked like ****. I mean completely unwatchable. Man, I wish I could output from the 747's Realta HQV to this set for SD.

Hi,

I use my 747i for Wii (Component) and an HDMI hookup only.

When I switch between the two, I have to go through ALL the sources and it wears my thumb out.

Is there a way I can set it so the only active sources are HDMI1 and Component 1? (And it just goes back and forth?)

Thanks,

Nate

You can buy a Logitech remote, and with proper programming, it will switch between inputs just as you want. Other than that, riding the thumb, is the only method for switching between inputs on Olevia sets. If you need help with the programming, let us know.

Well, I'm moving and I'm gonna take my 747 with me. It's just across town but still, this should be interesting. Lucky I kept the the packaging.

OBTW, just noticed that Fry's Bricks and Mortar stores have the Harmony One remote on sale for $149 with a $50 rebate...Highly recommended at that price.

That is a great price for the Harmony One, I've been wanting to get one. I love my Harmony 550, it's programmed for my 747i (Direct input switching, etc), but I may sell it on EBAY and get one of those. If anyone wants it I can program it to work with your AV system, or you can with the software that comes with it. I have it progammed to control my Onkyo 606, Samsung Blu Ray, Lutron dimmers and panasonic air conditioner now, but I can add or remove components before selling it if anyone is interested.

I purchased the 747i from TD a year ago & have hardly used it. This set has been in the bedroom where I rarely watch TV. My main viewing is done on the Samsung 5679 LED DLP.

My 747i had none of the problems as described in this thread. The mother is heavy though & I am not able to move this sucker to another room at a whim. I have decide to part with it & was wondering what should I be asking for it on CL here in So Cal? Thanks.

Considering the picture quality and other features on this beast, I'd say, not less than $800.00? Can I get an Amen!?

If I am buying, I would point out that Olevia is bankrupt, and you can't get parts, or even repair documentation when it will inevitably be required. Something will certainly fail someday, and that will end the life of this set, reducing its value today.

If I am selling, I would go to the service menu, and quote the power on and backlight on hours to prove how little I had watched the set. I would mention the Silicon Optics Hollywood Quality Video Processor, as well as the superior features of the 747i...Sound quality...excellent PIP...factory calibration...dual atsc/QAM tuners (one for antenna, one for cable)...

I paid $600 + tax for my refurb, I would not sell it for $1,200.

Thanks. Forgot about the service menu options.

I forgot, uh, what is the button combination to get into the service menu again? ( I know. I SHOULD know this.)

If you go to post #3718 posted by thebestthereis(hmmmmm) you will find out again!

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...s#post14440839

What can I say? I'm getting old dude!!

I wonder if the timers are accurate?Bought 06-08
Mine says,Backlight 0n 5071h 20m Power on 12812h 34m
That's 533 days on.No way it has that many days on it.It's only on for 5 or 6 hours a night.

Could your counter problem be that as long as the master power switch is on, the counter counts that as on. I noticed a red light on the back wall unless I turned the master switch off at night?