JVC HD-56FH97

Summary: Just got this TV last Friday off of BuyDig.com, thanks CNET shopper!! Also got the stand for $149, and the whole deal had free shipping with Manna Logistics.

Out of the box, the colors do need some adjustment, but CNET has a nice guide for calibration on the similar HD-56FN97 that helped a lot with the picture. This is the first HD set that I have owned and after the adjustments I am really happy.

I have the cable company HD DVR Box, a Scientific Atlanta 8300 HDC hooked to it via a 10 foot no-name $17.99 HDMI cable and it looks great at 1080i. Football on ESPN HD look great, along with Discovery HD and some other channels. The standard def is not too bad either compared to some of the other TV's that I have seen. For example my parents have the DirecTV Tivo hooked to the 60" XBR1 SXRD Sony and it looks like hell in SD (although, it's beautiful in HD).

I also have an upconverting DVD player. I have tried 3 so far. I first got the Samsung 1080P7 model and that one looked great in 1080i but it would not output at 1080p.

So I took it back and got the Sony DVP-NS77H/B. That one did output at 1080P with my TV but the picture looked horrible at any resolution. There were a lot of visual artifacts, a lot of grainy-ness and some pixelation.

So I took that back and bought the cheapest upconverting SD DVD player that they had, the Philips DVP5982. It also works at the 1080p output but I'd say the picture quality is just OK. I am mulling a return but so far I have not. The staff said the Pioneer was the nicest upconverting DVD player they had. We'll see. I am going to do more research on that. I might just have to bite the bullet on a HD DVD or a Blue-Ray instead. I have 29 more days to take it back.

I do have a nicer HDMI cable that I have used with all three players and my roommate's PS3. It looked amazing with the PS3/Blue-Ray combo so I know it's not the cable...

All in all I am pretty happy with my purchase considering the value. I gave it an 8 Rating of "Excellent" because I don't think that it's "Spectacular" or "Perfect" as I know there are nicer TV's on the market but for the value I think "Excellent" is an accurate characterization.

Summary: I purchased this TV from Buydig.com at an exceptional value with free shipping. Buydig.com is one of the top, and personally I feel the best, Internet businesses for all your consumer electronic needs. Don’t be afraid of buying a big ticket item, TV or otherwise, from Buydig.com. Their pricing and customer service are a plus when making a choice of who to buy from and trust on the Internet. Shipping is fast with courteous shippers and delivery guys.

Once you do your research on Sony and JVC’s LCoS technology, compare features and prices, I think you might agreed that JVC’s 2006 LCoS rear projection TVs is a far better value for basically the same TV from both manufacturers. The bottom line, JVC is cheaper by hundreds of dollars. But I find that Sony customers can be as loyal to Sony as Mac computer owners are to Mac. But keep an open mind when looking at the Sony KDS-55A2020 and comparing it to the JVC HD-56FH97.

Cnet rated Sony’s model as having “inaccurate primary colors.” They also rated JVC’s model as having “inaccurate primary color of green.” Since I didn’t buy a Sony, I can’t say if or how manual adjustments can be made to correct the problem. However, that said, on the JVC’s model the green may be a little exaggerated, but it can be corrected manually. In any case, LCoS technology is a huge improvement over rear projection TVs. They are also a better value in price point and features when compared to any LCD or Plasma in any of the big screen sizes.

JVC HD-56FH97 has a nice cabinet and offers many great features for the price. For their 2007 model the TV cabinet takes on a whole new look, with some improvements. But again the price isn’t going to be so low in comparison to what Buydig.com is giving now on the 2006 models.

If you have HD reception (either by via air, satellite, or cable) at the time of purchase, your out the box experience may be somewhat different than mine. I have Dish, but not HD service. At first when I turned the TV on it looked a little out of focus. Great colors, but fussy faces. As it turned out digital delivery of an analog signal isn’t the best way to show this TV off to friends and family. However, I remembered during my pre-purchase research that someone said on Cnet to set the TV’s adjustments (i.e. color, brightness, etc.) to their recommended settings for the best results in most viewing situations.
You can find these settings on Cnet at:

http://help.cnet.com/calibration/9602-12576_39-0.html?messageID=2507641&kw=calibration

What a difference! I was blow away by all the beautiful colors I didn’t get on my old rear projection TV that was LCD projection technology. The black and white colors make all the difference. Now I even enjoy looking at the shopping channels too. I threw a Lord of the Ring DVD in the player and I thought I was back at my neighborhood theater watching the movie, but with a much better picture. This TV’s ability to upconvert lower resolutions (i.e. 480p, 720p, etc.) to 1080p will make your TV viewing so much more enjoyable. You can always experiment with adjustments from these settings, but over all they will help you get great resolution out the box.

Also, I might add that there are many websites to help you adjust the TV to your preferences for viewing and room conditions. Besides Cnet there are several that show video demonstrations that are very helpful. Just put “tv calibrating” into your favorite search engine. Plus there are many manufacturers of DVD Calibrating disk to help you too. If you want to save money so you can also buy that new audio receiver and/or HD DVD player. This TV is worth a look at before making your choice.