DVD & HDTV Reviews

I purchased this as a Christmas gift for a friend and I always like to set things up to make sure the item is working before I give it to the party in question.
Setup was a breeze, very intuitive. I hooked it up to the cable system and it found every channel, it only took about 5 minutes and I was watching a very sharp picture on the 7" screen. Sound was good also, I think she will be thrilled with it. I got this as a lightening deal, but I think it is worth the full retail price.

I received this order very quickly, set it up with an HDMI cable on my 42 inch plasma. First test I did was grab some of my downloaded tv shows in DivX format and load them on a 4GB thumb drive. I plugged the drive into the player, pushed the USB button and it loaded all my DivX files like clockwork. I bought this unit because of the price because my main DVD/DivX player (which is the Pioneer DV-48av)is in my bedroom. This DVD player does an excellent job of up converting standard DVD’s and the operation of both the file playing and DVD playing seems to be smooth so far. I haven’t tried to play MP3’s or pictures on it yet but I’m sure it would be fine for that also.

It plays DVDs and CDs from all zones as the title indicates! Good quality.
Model is slim and chique.
(Note that this works with 120-240 v adaptor, great to use in the americas and if you plan to travel abroad with this to other parts of the world also)

Bought this after hunting around for a DVD player and getting thoroughly confused by the different options available. My requirements were as follows:
1) I wanted a Multi region player since I have discs from India and the US and I also make my own at home.
2) I wanted a USB input on the player and preferably the ability to play DivX files
3) I wanted to have the option to use HDMI at a later stage when I purchase a HDTV
I rejected all the Philips DVP series players because of poor reviews I found in other brand reviews (like for other Pioneer players). Many of them said those didnt last long. I am not fond of SONY because SONY has the reputation of being very selective about what it plays and is very fussy when it comes to slightly damaged discs.
I chose this because most Pioneer players had wonderful (if fewer) reviews and I decided to try it out. It arrived fast and it works great. I have used the standard component cables to connect it to my CRT TV and it works great. The unit is very light and sleek (black) and comes with a component cable and two power cables (one for the US socket and the other for the European I assume). I am yet to try the USB input though. The Dv-420vk is one of the newer Pioneer models compared to the 610 and others. I saw this on the Pioneer website selling for around the same price.
One quick tip: look for the other sellers when buying this product because the "featured merchant" seems to be charging a premium for both the product and the shipping. I bought it from NewEra products and it arrived in good time and great shape.

This is a nice set for a small area, such as a kitchen or bath, or small bedroom. Picture appears excellent, depending on the source channel. It auto-tuned all of the analog & digital channels from Comcast, and filtered out the scrambled (premium) channels. The set displays guide information (channel name, program) for many of the digital channels, but not the analog channels. The included stand can be rotated to 90 degrees and used as a wall mount, or a standard VESA mount (separately purchased) may be used. Changes channels quite fast.
The biggest annoyance is the relatively tinny sound, followed by the 9-10 second power-on time. There’s a fair bit of tweaking room on the sound menu, but the low end isn’t quite as full as one would like for a set listened to from a distance. The sound weakness was the main factor in dropping my rating to 4 stars.
There aren’t many options for a small *white* television set. I might have considered Sharp but their 19-inch white set has been discontinued. All in all, it’s a decent set with a few shortcomings.

This TV was just recently released as of the time of this review, and it’s one of the best TVs under $500 you can find on the market. I did a LOT of research looking for what I wanted in a TV. I’ve been wanting a nice flatscreen for a while now. I’ve been holding out as and quality has been improving while prices have been dropping. I finally settled on this Panasonic.
I wanted a TV for primarily movies (Hi Def and standard or upconverted Def) and video games (Hi Def and standard def). I do not have a cable subscription and am not interested in HD cable services. That being said, I also wanted a TV that would double as a humongous PC monitor. I’m pleased to say this TV meets and exceeds my needs so far. It’s a big upgrade from the 20 inch tube TV I was using before the VIERA.
The LCD TV is nice looking and has a variety of cable inputs. Both the remote and menu systems are top-notch and useful. This TV puts out true 720p resolution and has 4:3 ratio (standard, full-frame) and zoom scaling as well. For TVs 32 inches and under, 1080p (while nice) is not necessary, as you’d be hard pressed to notice a dramatic difference with your HDMI or component sources. The picture is super sharp, and the image control available with this TV is pretty impressive. You can really play with the picture and color. I was laughing at the ability to essentially reproduce that 60’s Technicolor supersaturation if you want. It really brings films to life. You can make up to 4 preset color choices, too- One for films, one for sports or live action TV, one for video games, one for kid’s cartoons, etc, etc.
There is 1 stuck pixel on the TV. This is to be expected, and is not noticeable unless you’re looking for stuck or dead pixels from about 18 inches away. I cannot see the pixel when watching, though, only when I’m up close on the screen. This is not an issue at all. You cannot pick out 1 dead pixel on a TV of this resolution. 1 out of over 1 million pixels, the rest are flawless.
I’ve just gotten this, and haven’t fully tested all the bells and whistles, like the SD card port or the VIERA Link HDMI software (waiting for 1080p media player, coming in the mail). PC to TV was effortless and looked great. Even my old PS2 looked pretty good, albeit jaggy. I think that’s more the game than the TV, though.
I almost went and got a $300 or $375 no-name tv at Walmart or Target, but I’m glad I paid a bit more for a higher-quality product. This Panasonic is really, really, well built, and is a near-perfect 32 inch TV. I’m more than happy with my purchase. As I test it out more, I plan to update this review, but so far, I’m loving it! This Panasonic is a great TV at an affordable price point, and 32 inches is perfect for most small to medium sized rooms.
Also, if you have any specific questions, post ‘em and I’ll do my best to answer.
**UPDATE**
I’ve had the TV for a while now and still love it. I got an upconverting Sony DVD player (model DVPNS710HB ) that puts out 480p, 720p, and 1080i upconverts of standard DVDs. I bought a $3 HDMI cable from buy.com (skip the $100 monster cables, trust me) and the picture is fantastic. The trick is that since the TV displays 720p, by switching the DVD player to send the data in 720p, you get a native resolution that lets the image look its best on the TV. While the TV has a scaler built in, having the DVD player scan and scale and then transmit via HDMI produces a signifigantly clearer picture. Some of the DVDs I have that were shot on digital video look very, very close to HD programming. My digitally remastered James Bond DVDs also look signifigantly better than through a component DVD player. I was impressed.
As for the other features- the SD card reader is too slow for my tastes. It takes a few seconds to load each picture. Of course, I have a VGA connector hooked up, so its much more convenient to load the pictures to my PC and view them thru windows. HQ images look AMAZING on this TV, though. I had always shot digital pictures at high resolutions, but couldn’t really see them as they were meant to be seen, only having a 15 inch LCD. With the new TV as my monitor, my pictures now look 100 times better.
Another cool feature- through Viera Link, the HDMI Sony DVD player works with the Panasonic remote- no programing needed. I simply went into the Viera Link menu and selected the HDMI DVD player, now my DVD player will start and stop when I power on the TV and I can control it all from my TV remote. Very cool.

After having spent several months researching, considering options, & agonizing over choices, I am completely happy with this TV - can actually say, `I love it!’ Therefore, for the first time ever, I’m providing a customer review:
Picture quality:
SD very good & much better than expected; HD quality terrific.
Better than what I expected based on the display loops they run at Best Buy. Motion flow produces very smooth picture.
DVD quality:
Terrific; better than expected. (Don’t have Blu-ray)
Matte screen:
My room is very bright. Samsung’s ultra-clear panel on the 650 model is as shiny & reflective as glass - like looking in a mirror. The 630’s matte screen is perfect for my needs, yet I’m still getting a very clear picture with great contrast ratio. I only knew this model existed by reading customer comments at Amazon, as Samsung doesn’t appear to promote this model.
Settings:
TV has lots of options for picture & sound settings. Easy to adjust, test, play around with.
Connection to Cable Box/DVR:
To be able to use my cable DVR remote with the TV, I had to call the cable company to get the volume control to work - just needed a special code.
Sound:
OK; better than expected.
Set aesthetics:
Attractive. Originally nervous about the red Touch of Color - but it is very subtle; looks more brown/burgundy. Does NOT look like the bright red stripe that is pictured in Amazon’s product info.
Amazon `Enhanced Delivery’:
Very good. Delivery by CEVA was on-time. Team of two guys took their shoes off at the door without being asked, unpacked the TV, mounted it on the stand, placed it on my TV console, & hooked up connections to cable.
Warranty:
Set comes with standard one-year warranty from Samsung. But, for peace of mind, I added an additional two-year warranty (for a total of 3-yrs coverage) offered by Square Trade for Amazon customers for just an extra $99. This Amazon/SquareTrade package is a much better extended warranty deal than I could have gotten from other retail or online sellers.

The back of your home entertainment system can be one of the more intimidating places in your home–to many, it’s just a confusing maze of wires. To watch high-def content, you’ll need the right connections for your high-def cable or satellite box, or for your Blu-ray player. There are several ways to connect these devices, but the best way is with an HDMI cable. HDMI is a "secure" digital cable that protects against people trying to steal high-def movies or programming. Component cables also work for delivering video to your HDTV, but they are analog and impossible to protect against piracy, so the industry is trying to phase these out over time. But for now, they’ll work for most content. On the audio side, we recommend a single optical cable that delivers up to eight channels of sound to your receiver through a fiber optic cable.

M. Jameson says:

I received a Sony KDL-40VL160 TV for Xmas. The TV is equipped with 4 HDMi inputs, one designated for PC and a vga for PC.
I have a problem with HDMI/PC input. When switching from HDMi/PC to another HDMi input and then back, the TV says " No signal available". At which time I have to unplug the cable from the PC to the TV and then plug in back in, then it recaptures the signal.
I am using DVI->HDMi cable, Which is precisly what the HDMI/PC input is designed for. Called Sony, was told there is nothing I can do short of putting an A/V receiver in line between the two as it will repeat the signal, thereby correcting my Problem.
My Question is: Will an HMDi repeater or an HDMI video card (as opposed to DVI) accomplish the same goal?

EarlyMon says:

Definitely related to a hardware sleep issue. Have you tried this potential workaround? Before switching away from your HTPC, put it to sleep explicitly, then switch over to TV - and then when switching back, switch back to the HTPC (expect to see the "no signal" dialog), but then a mouse or keyboard click to perform the wake up.
That may well work, as the explicit, user-controlled sleep and wakeup is designed to keep everything - OS, software, and hardware - synchronized for re-turn-on and operation.
Hope this helps, let me know.
EDIT and PS - There’s nothing magical about the HDMI/PC port other than it anticipates the common DVI->HDMI + independent_sound connections - same for VGA/sound inputs. The problem isn’t port-limited by the TV.
PPS - My suggested workaround is completely safe for your TV and PC hardware.

rickscott says:

I have seen the chart recommending a particluar size screen based on the number of feet away, but I’m wondering if you can or should go any larger than their recommendations? My wife and I sit about 11 feet away and I was thinking we would go 52-55 but would we likely be real happy with a 47? I don’t really want to spend unnecessarilly but also don’t want to end up wishing we had bought one a bit larger. Thanks

Debra K. Roberts says:

With the technology that goes into the to these LCD TV’S today the picture clarity is so crisp and clear the distance chart isn’t a lot of help. I can only tell you my experience. I purchased the 46 inch Samsung last year and I sit around 11 feet from the screen. I wish I had bought the 52 or maybe the 55. If you can afford the 55 inch…buy it. At 11 to 14 feet you wont regret. Not buying the bigger screen is one of the most common regrets when buying big screen TV’s.

Opinunated says:

I sit 10.5′ from my Panasonic 58". I would have hated it if I had purchased a 50" and that is my opinion after a year of viewing.
You will find many people who have regretted purchasing too small a screen and only a "handful" who though they bought too large a one.
Actually Sheila’s husband represents a first for me, ie, a documented case of someone who thought the screen was too large. He must really hate going to a movie theater!
Opinunated
PS: A good rule of thumb - sit between 1.7 and 2.3 times the diagonal measurement of the screen

@Joel Batiz:

I looking to buy a new TV and I come to this two, I seen them both but can’t decide, I was also looking at the 7000 series but still can’t decide can anyone tell me witch one would be better for me, I will use it for my PS3, 360 and blue ray.

@Daniel Kim:

Generally, when the spec’s are similar, I would go with the Samsung unless there’s a significant price difference. Spec’s on the B750 are slightly better than the Z5100: 150,000 to 1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio to 100,000 to 1. That said, most human eyes cannot possibly discern the difference between those differences. The build quality of these two TV’s are pretty similar as well. All in all, I would think the two TV’s are similar enough that I would recommend that you go with the Samsung unless there’s over a 10% difference in price (i.e. Z5100 is cheaper). In other words, if the Sony is over $200 cheaper, I would go with that.
Right now, the Samsung is ~$1,700 on amazon while the Z5100 is $1,938. So I would get the Samsung if I had to buy it now. Meanwhile, I doubt Z5100 will go a whole lot cheaper anytime soon (although I’ve said stuff like that and eaten my words before). Good luck.

@EdM says:

Both Sony and Sammy make good HDTVs. You should use your eyes to try to see which you like better. This is hard to do, though, unless you go to a store with A/V rooms well set up.
Also, you should check around for prices. Sometimes one place has them for a fair amount cheaper than another place. Also, especially for a larger set, look into the delivery and setup option.
If not too costly, or especially if free, that way you get to check out the set in case of breakage inside the carton. Pretty rare, but if it happens to you, that can save some pain with returning as they’re still at your house or apartment.