Olevia 537H
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"Great for the price" on by mcstltan
Pros: HD & SD picture quality, improved user interface and remote, price
Cons: Slow start-up when turning on
Summary: Olevia sent me this TV as a warranty replacement for my LT37HVS that died after six weeks (went from great pic, to flawed pic, to no picture whatsoever). I've only had it a week, but all is well so far and it is better than the model it replaced. I've seen it for 1k on the web already, so the price is right too.
The 537H is much lighter than the LT37HVS, which makes it more manageable on my articulating wall mount. The new remote is much better as it is backlit, programmable and has better range. However, for some reason it still doesn't want to control my Dish DVR or Yamaha receiver, so it could be better. The menus are also improved, but the PIP funcitionality is still limited.
PQ is great in HD and pretty good in SD for an LCD. The built-in tuner also picked up more local HD channels than my Dish receiver, so not bad there either.
The start-up time on this unit seems longer than the LT37HVS, which is a little annoying but forgiveable in this price range.
Overall I'm quite happy with the TV so far. Of course, I was satisfied with the LT37HVS the first few weeks too, until the pic went out.... -
"Impressive, once you get past it's ugly face" on by talbotman
Pros: Great HD picture quality; connectivity options; low price
Cons: Not very good-looking; some bugs
Summary: I owned a Sony LCD for a short time before buying this Olevia, and I must say that saving $500 and gaining 5 more inches of diagonal real estate outweighs the losses (including the pride factor of going from a respected name brand to a relative no-name brand).
The picture quality is great in HD (I receive over-the-air), and not-so-great in SD. DVDs played through a progressive machine look good (even without upconverting); just make sure you get the right settings on the DVD player--I had to call tech support to figure out why the picture was warped. I agree with everyone else that the 10-15 second delay after power-up is annoying, but I'm used to it now.
A previous user complained about cycling through all the sources on the remote. Yes, it can be time-consuming, but believe me, this Olevia beats the Sony by a mile. The Sony took about 5 seconds to go through each source (even if nothing was connected to it), but this Olevia can jump through all 12 sources in the same amount of time.
There are some minor bugs that need to be ironed out: 1. can't jump from the highest channel 62 to the lowest channel 2 using the channel up button, but when I added channel 67 (which I had deleted from channel scan)...it was OK. 2. Firmware upgrade never worked, but tech support said that if the TV was working fine, I didn't need to upgrade the firmware. If I didn't mind having a problem upgrading the firmware, then no need to upgrade it! ha ha...
The TV is just butt-ugly compared to most other sets out there. From the front it's not so obvious (the bottom speakers don't look bad to me), but from the side, it's just not a sharp-looking set. It's so fat that it could almost pass for a rear-projection unit (it looks about 10 inches thick not including the stand). Could use an extreme makeover.
But, I'm not complaining since, as I mentioned before, I got this set for $500 less than a smaller Sony ($800 at Target.com vs. $1300 at Costco). Friends and family members are impressed by sharp, vivid picture, especially during NFL football games which are just awesome to watch on this set. -
"Great Picture Quality, Very low price!" on by edcherylx
Pros: Picture Quality, upgradeable firmware, HDMI, 1080i & good sound.
Cons: 10 sec startup time.
Summary: We bought the Olevia as our first HDTV. Since HDTV's are going to have much different technology soon, we opted to jump in on the low price side. However, for the price of 875.00 this 37" Olevia is a GREAT deal. The picture quality is AMAZING. We hooked our TV up via the HDMI cables and the HD channels from our cable are simply georgous!! Regular TV is ok from sitting back on the couch, if you walk up to the TV, you do see some pixels. We hooked our DVD player up via component cables and the DVD's look amazing as if they are HD which is nice.
The TV has various adjustments including the ability to shift the image up, down, left or right a few pixles. This sometimes needs to be done as some HD channels have a little white line on one side or another.
We are very happy with this purchase and now we hate our other TV's. lol -
"Good Value" on by minnow101
Pros: Price Point
Cons: Remote Control
Summary: I've had the 537H since last fall and paid $1,000 for it then. Since then the price has fallen extensively where now I've seen it for under $700. Wow !!! The setup is a little confusing as the TV ships in "showroom" mode which limits your ability to change menu options. So the first thing you need to do is change the mode to "HOME". Olevia remote controller codes are non-existent so your remote you may have for your cable box, satellite TV receiver, DVD player etc. will not work. Period. Get a learning remote and use that to control all of your AV gear(unless of course you enjoy juggling a handful of remotes
). As others have reported, the TV takes several seconds to "boot up" so to speak. By pressing the source button on the Olivia remote, you will however get an instantaneous signal. That assumes of course that your going to use the supplied remote. We've gotten used to the delay and it is no longer a real issue here however. There are a ton of inputs on the rear of the set and you will have no problem running out of where to plug in your peripherals. I've got a DVD player, Satellite receiver, cable box and Amplifier all plugged in and I haven't even come close to filling all the input holes !! This TV is a terrific value for the dollar. I still haven't seen any competitor even come close this price point on a 37" LCD TV.Updated
I would also recommend that you check the return policy of whomever your going to buy this from. Many have reported that the TV can arrive damaged, as it is usually shipped w/o any extra over packaging. Olevia does not provide any protection between the cardboard box and the LCD screen such as additional cardboard or Styrofoam. Some merchants policies state that if you sign for the TV upon delivery then it's on you to resolve the issue with the manufacturer. So please check the box and open the box before letting the UPS or FedEx guy back onto his truck. -
"15 second startup time - ouch!!" on by zadew
Pros: HD picture quality, reasonably good remote
Cons: 15 second startup time!!!! appearance (ymmv)
Summary: Like the previous reviewer, I received my 537H as a replacement for a broken LT37HVS. While the picture quality is very similar (no obvious improvement or decline), and there are a few new connectivity options, there are some serious issues.
When you turn on the TV nothing happens for 10 seconds and then for the next 3 to 5 seconds a big Olevia logo just shows on the screen. So if you want to turn on your TV for just a second, it ain't gonna happen. It takes 15 seconds from pressing the button to seeing your TV. I've never had a TV like that (SD or HD) and I'm not sure what's the cause of the technological regression.
While the remote has improved in some areas (universal remote, backlit, etc.) it has gotten significantly worse in at least one area. The LT37HVS remote had buttons dedicated to switching between sources. This remote simply has you toggle through all of the options (I admit, I may just not have figured out how to do this correctly).
I should also say, that I, at least find the new TV far less attractive. They could have improved things dramatically if they just made the bottom speaker detachable.
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