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12 out of 12 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"The perfect 1080p LCD for people that still want to watch regular TV."
Pros: Outstanding HD/SD performance, calibrated PQ out of the box, PIP options galore, backlit remote, L-O-U-D built-in speakers.
Cons: Average blacks/CR, confusing "wheel" interface, no numerical indicator for adjustments, input access, minor glare from glass, no cable card, incompatible with older game systems, H-E-A-V-Y.
Summary: When I started shopping for a 1080p LCD back in March of 2006 (in anticipation of "future" technologies like Blu-ray, HD-DVD and the PS3) little did I know that a year later I'd eventually wind up with the debut top-tier product of a flat panel manufacturer known for its low-priced budget models. Syntax-Olevia wants its new Series 7 line of 1080p LCD's to compete with the top-tier models from Sony (XBR2/3), Sharp (D62/92U), Samsung (4X95/4X96), etc. This Olevia 747i LCD (and its sibling the 742i) was scheduled to come out in 2006 but was delayed until 2007 because Syntax doesn't get a second chance to make a good first impression (ask Sharp owners of "banded" D62/92U sets). If my week-long experience owning this LCD is any indication then Syntax-Olevia made the right call delaying this puppy until it was done right.
PROS:
With a Silicon-Optix Realta HQV built-in and professional calibration at 6500K temperature (the set's default settings; no need to spend extra $$$ hiring a professional calibrator) the 747i is king when it comes to rendering any resolution lower than 1080p (or 1080p itself, which it does perfectly up to 60Hz) into the screen's native rez. 720p from "Good Morning America" OTA with an antenna? 1080i from HBO-HD or Discovery HD? 480i from a DVD player (component)? 1080p from an Xbox 360 (component for videogames, VGA for 360 games/regular DVD's/HD-DVD's with the add-on) or PS3 with HDMI? Yes on all counts. Is the picture from a regular DVD or standard definition TV on the 747i as good as on a regular tube TV? No, but its as close to perfect as you can get with current LCD technology and beats the hell out of the garbage that passes as watchable SD picture on most flat panel TV's (many of them a lot more expensive than what the 747i sells for). If you want to completely abandon SD signals/DVD's then there are better LCD/plasma sets out there. For the rest of us that still have a substantial amount of DVD's/TV/videogames in our immediate future the 747i is a Godsend.
If you love Picture-in-Picture or Split-Screen options (something Sharp, Samsung, Sony and most CE companies except Mitsubishi have either completely abandoned or pay lip service to) the 747i will make you weep from joy. Any source (even two separate 1080p sources) can be split, PIP'ed or mixed-and-matched with any other with the greatest of ease. I've played "Mario Kart 64" (Nintendo 64) and watched "Without A Trace" (1080i signal from OTA) simultaneously without a hitch. NASCAR coverage on ABC/ESPN and a golf tourney on NBC (both HD)? PS3 with a Blu-ray movie and an XBox 360 with a game? Don't see how or why you'd do the latter, but possible and doable on the 747i.
The built-in speakers total 50W of output and can be side-mounted if you want (though it will cost the price of an upgrade kit that Olevia sells on its website for an obscenely high price). They won't replicate the theater experience for Dolby/DTS fanatics, but for those of us that live in apartment buldings with paper-thin walls (and don't want to settle for the tiny sound from 10W "hidden speakers" in other 1080p LCD's) the 747i speakers rock. A sexy backlit remote that's as responsive as it is ergonomically designed to match the set's functional look complements the package. ATSC and QAM tuners + the whole set already assembled out of the box = plug and watch the moment you unbox this set on your living room den.
CONS:
With "only" a 1,600:1 contrast ratio the 747i won't win any prizes for its rendering of blacks or shadows. Its not that they're bad (they look fine to me) as much as they lack "oomph" compared with the newest Sharp LCD's or the better plasma brands. The "wheel barrel" interface that Syntax-Olevia is so fond of returns for the 747i and becomes second-nature... after hours of fumbling around trying to remember that pressing "up" on the wheel actually means "down," or that clicking the "green" edge of the wheel option to "red" means activation (uhh??!!). Your patience will be severely tested by this set's interface, especially since many of the options like Brightness, Color, Tint and even the Volume control lack a numerical scale to indicate where your settings are. Also, if you want to reach a particular input you'll have to cycle through all the 747i's inputs (which are many) before reaching the one you want by repeteadly clicking 'Source' on the remote control. Very, very inconvenient.
One of the benefits of flat panel TV's versus the old tube TV's is that they weigh less and are easy to hang from a wall or stand. The 747i comes with a heavy glass (similar to the Sony XBR2/3 sets) protecting the screen that bumps the set's weight to a whooping 130 pounds (142 lbs. if you include the attached stand, which is made of plastic instead of metal like lower-priced Olevia LCD models). Consider the set's weight and whether you want to hang it from a wall or not before pulling the trigger. The glass in front of the 747i causes a not-insignificant amount of glare during daylight hours (not on the viewing area but on the glass around the edge of the panel) and the viewing angles are less-than-optimal when not watching the set from a center or close-to-center view. The 747i also lacks cable card support and isn't guaranteed to work with videogames older than the Dreamcast circa 1999. I've had to make the 747i do Picture-in-Picture to view games on Nintendo 64, SNES, Genesis and Saturn on smaller screens because the signal from these consoles will not fill the entire screen or be watchable without PIP. Odd!
OVERALL:
It's not perfect (what new HDTV is?) but you definitely get your money's worth with the Olevia 747i IF you watch as much regular standard definition TV or DVD's as you do HDTV and high def movies. Calibrated out of the box and already assembled, this is the perfect 1080p LCD for people that want to start watching/playing HD or SD TV/games/movies without having to waste time to adjust anything. The tweaking options are there if you want to tweak away, but the fact you don't have to calibrate the 747i to get the best PQ out of it alone makes this bad boy a winner in my book. Highly recommended.Updated
When I first got the 747i there were two visible "egg"-shaped patterns on the screen when there was a completely dark or black screen. These patterns were backlight bleeding from the set's internal circuitry, but after a few days these "eggs" disappeared as the 747i warmed up and was put to regular daily usage. These "eggs" were also spotted by other owners of the 747i at the AVS Forum, who also lost their "eggs" after they used their 747i's for a few days. Also, if you feed your 747i an all-grey blank screen you will spot slight "banding" similar to that that afflicts the Sharp D92U 1080p LCD's. Unlike the Sharp models though, the "bands" on the 747i do not appear or affect viewing of anything on the set in the slightest (I've watched my 747i like a hawk looking for the bands in regular viewing and never found it). If this were to change for the worse I'll update this review and let you guys know.Updated
I've had my Olevia 747i for two months now and the only major problem I've experienced is that the batteries included with the remote control died after less than three weeks of use. Also because it's a new HDTV I can't find codes that make universal remote controls work with it (or the Olevia remote work with my other CE units).
As a TV though this thing is a monster. HD continues to blow my mind ("Planet Earth" on Discovery HD and The Masters on CBS in this set were off-the-charts pretty), and has made even old shows I'd given up on (like "Law & Order" repeats on TNT-HD) seem like new again. HD-DVD movies and XBox 360 games are unbelievably sharp and larger-than-life (wish I could afford Blu-ray though). SD is still a step above competitors (provided the broadcast/DVD is of at least decent quality) and still a reason to choose the 747i if you plan on doing a lot of regular SD TV viewing (you shouldn't give up on your favorite shows just because they're not HD, i.e. "The Price is Right," "Amazing Race," etc.).
Even though prices have fallen and I could get a 747i now for a few hundred dollars less than what I paid for I wouldn't have postponed my early March purchase. This is a winner folks, and this coming from a guy that bought Sony Trinitron/Wega TV sets (for myself and fellow family members) for almost 25 years.
Olevia 747i:
