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"Awesome picture." on by xpios
Pros: Great picture, beautiful detail and color, easy setup, good connections
Cons: clunky non-user friendly remote,slow input changes,clunky menu system
Summary: First, I think the CNET review just confirmed for me how worthless CNET reviews are. I think they are very slanted toward Sony's. I've been out looking at sets for the past 3 months and the best looking sets out there in this price point are the Sony and the JVC. I've visited 3 different stores now and seen the JVC and Sony LED based projection TV's side by side with all setting placed in the middle, and all enhancements off. Hands down the JVC wins in both Color, clarity, brightness, contrast, and detail. Make sure you do the comparison side by side with the same source material going through both. Make sure you also make them run standard def material, DVD upscaled material, and high def material for you to compare them. Everyone who was standing next to me at the store were saying the same thing. The sony looks good...much better than DLP sets, but it looks a little fuzzy and dark when viewed next to the JVC which is brighted, has more contrast, and the detail is very sharp. Look close and see how you can notice details in faces and objects on the JVC you can't see in the Sony. Then again, if you prefer a more "blended" fuzzy look to images, then you may prefer the sony. However, reds were too pronounced on the sony and I agree the yellows are a bit more pronounced on the JVC. However, myself and others at the store actually liked the way the images looked on the JVC about 20% better than the sony. It just seems much more attractive to accentuate yellows than reds.... and things look much more alive and natural on the JVC.
The downside is the remote and the clunky menu system on the JVC... but although the sony remote is much better, it's menu system isn't much of an improvement. Also, for $100 more you can get a universal remote that will make life very easy with the JVC, so the remote and menu don't make much of a difference.
I would be a little dissapointed if what the reviewer says is true about the computer inputs resolution options. However, most of the time i'll be watching movies and HD content with my TV... and games will still look VERY good on this set even with the limited resolution options. -
"OK so, it is a little green but otherwise I'm happy." on by Brons2
Pros: Cheap! $1199 online with free shipping! Accepts 1080p inputs, looks fantastic with my roommate's PS3 and BlueRay movies.
Cons: Not as nice as the Sony SXRD, but oh well. And now I need to buy a Blue Ray of my own, lol.
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. -
"Great TV For The Price!" on by Electronic Junkie
Pros: Great Features, Pricing, & Viewing
Cons: For Price Point - Not Worth Mentioning
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. -
"Are you shure for your 7.3 rating?" on by SYLOMADA
Pros: Excellent light output match all 1920x1080 pixels resolution compelling picture sharp detail great color rendition
Cons: slow input , no particular use for the dynamic mode
Summary: First, I'm french so please excuse my very poor english but i'll do my best.You rate this set 7.3 I believe it's unfair. Here's a point of view absolutely opposite to your's. This point of view is from Randy Tomlinson editor of "Perfect Vision". Here's what he as to say about the JVC 56FH97. I quote:" JVC has found black levels to complement great color rendition. Video noise and artifact have been reduce, and overall picture has detail that's undeniably beautiful and totally involving.THIS ONE'S A REAL CONTENDER FOR THE BEST RPTV ON THE PLANET " (Here's the link to check it out:AVGUIDE.COM) And he add in PERFECTION VISION issue 71: " I raved the Sony SXRD 60xbr1 " The best picture you will see. So now i have to say both the Sony and the JVC are the best picture you will see this year! "It looks like a fair opinion. Still shure about 7.3 rating? You have to be fair and review your rating . Once more excuse my english! I thank you to allow me to express myself.And i hope i'll be able to read this on CNET
Updated
Simply add that my real rating for this JVC is rather 8.8 instead of 8,but i play by the rules. I'm not quite shure it's worth a 9 but shurly much moore than the 8 I previously rated it.Thank you fo adding to my previous comment -
"Hellooooo........CNET - Which way is up?" on by lbnja
Pros: JVC's 56FH97 has all the features CNET claims only come with the 56FN97
Cons: JVC's 56FH97 is not cheaper than the 56FN97 as claimed by CNET
Summary: Quoting CNET's review: "JVC also makes an FN series of rear-projection HDTVs. The main differences between the two is that the FN models are slighly more expensive, their inputs are gold-plated, and they include an RS-232C port to work with custom installation."
The facts are: (1)The FN series are cheaper than the FH series, not "slightly more expensive"; (2) It is the FH series that has the RS232C port and the gold plated inputs, not the FN series; and (3) The FH series does not have a silver cabinet with black bezel, the FN series does.
Does CNET know which JVC model they reviewed? The picture looks like an FH97 but the review sounds very much like an FN97.
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