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Olevia TV's. any good or just cheap?


thomwin

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In the latest issue of Consumer Reports (March 07), the 42in. Olevia 542i was the only LCD set rated a "CR Best Buy." The 32in. Olevia 532H also recieved high praise: "very good picture quality across the board, notable for a low-priced set." Though not the top scorers in their respective categories, CR indicates that the Olevia sets they tested were of surprisingly high quality for their price range.

 

I also saw a very positive article on Olevia in the New York Times a few weeks ago. Olevia seems to be a fine choice for a budget-minded buyer. However, both articles state that prices for flat-panel sets are expected to drop sharply again this year (largely because of tough competition from quality budget brands like Olevia). :)

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I posted this in a different thread:

 

I have the 32" and like it very much. 720p, great color, beautiful picture. Does have tuner.

 

Only 2 issues I have are I tried 4 different universal remotes and no go on adding the TV, and there is no coax cable connector in the back so no choice on hooking up regular cable.

 

Love it though. I got it for $540 at ABC 2 months ago and feel it was worth every penny.

 

If you are getting HDTV for the first time though realize the investment in cables you will have to add also, ~$40 each if using nitrogen injected. Again, worth it for the picture though.

 

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/OLEVI...oductDetail.do

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I have the 37" and it's great. Got it for an awesome price (Black Friday deal) and the only thing that is lacking is the fact that it only has a single HDMI port. Make sure you check out the 332/532's standard def picture though, there have been complaints about it (can't remember if it was with the built in tuner only, or any standard def input). When I saw one myself it really was noticeably bad. If you still watch a lot of standard def (e.g. cable/satellite) keep this in mind and check the exact model you are considering (i.e. don't be suckered by having some salesman only show you the WOW hi def stuff unless that's the only thing you're going to watch).

 

Speaking of which, to nuromutt's comment about cables, keep in mind that while getting expensive cables might make a difference for analog cables (composite/component), it's not the case for "digital" cables (DVI,HDMI). If the run is short enough (conservatively say around 3meters), there should be absolutely no difference in picture quality between high priced cables and cheapos (they just need to be produced correctly, not better). For longer runs (> 3meters) then quality _could_ come into play. In theory, a cable manufacturer can't put the HDMI logo on a cable that doesn't meet specs at any length (and being a digital signal, if it meets specs, i.e. if it delivers that bit from point A to point B, then a $200 cable isn't any different than the $20 cable).

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  • 2 weeks later...

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