Why you should buy this TV, from a skeptic!

Why you should buy this TV, from a skeptic!

By Firedogee

I am value shopper who wants the most bang for my buck. I took a risk on this TV (after reading very educated reviews like the one J. Finkel wrote. He did all the work for me.)

Here are (5) quick ways to turn this 3-star sub five hundred dollar TV into a 5-star one thousand dollar set.

1. Don't believe all the negative reviews. The picture on this set is amazing, but not right out of the box. It needs some adjusting. Refer to J. Finkel's review for the exact settings. The picture is beautiful after 10 minutes of tweaking.

2. The sound has no bass. Buy a cheap PC subwoofer (under $20) and plug it into the analog line out. Then switch the line out volume to variable. Voila. I now have a great sound system. My wife said,"that is 100% better!" right after I plugged it in.

3. Sports on this TV is great. I watch a lot of NFL/NCAA football and the picture looks great. Just use the sports setting and if you have a good quality signal like HD cable or HD digital broadcast you will rarely notice any blurring. I was considering a plasma to avoid blurring for sports, but this TV is more than adequate for all the benefits it has over plasma (LED lamps will last forever, bright high-contrast no-glare screen, and this set only weights 20 pounds)

4. Gaming on this tv is the best experience you could hope for. Just plugged in my XBOX360 and set it's output to 1080p to the TV. Never seen anything prettier than Skyrim, Madden 12, Halo Reach, Deadspace 2, and Dance Central. These games are gorgeous in 1080P and play with zero lag on the Game setting. PS. 120HZ TRUmotion is not used for GAME setting and it is for the better...just like all other TVs with this setting, it prevents lag from processing the signal so your movements on the controller are quick and responsive. No loss in quality of the picture without the 120HZ TRUmotion. That's only needed for viewing sports.

5. Smart TV? No. Amazing TV? YES

Before you buy this TV you have to know what you are getting. It is a 42" LED edge-lit LCD 1080P TV. It is not a smart TV and it is not full of bells and whistles. It will give you a bright, beautiful display with accurate colors, plenty of inputs, a 20 degree swivel base, a great viewing angle and sound that needs upgrading for movies/gaming. It will not give you the ability to tweak black levels, but there are plenty of ways to work around that. Just read the other educated reviews. Just like a good marriage, it takes work but rewards far exceed cost. If I want a smart TV I can just plug in my internet connected XBOX 360 (or PS3), laptop, or just buy a Roku player for under a hundred bucks. No sense paying an extra $300 dollars for the "SMART" label.

6. A bonus tip...if all else fails and the screen just doesn't look right to you...turn OFF the ENERGY SAVING MODE! So many reviewers leave that on and never get to see what the set can do in full backlighting.

Bottom Line:

Great Value, Great Picture. This is an excellent no-frills LED HDTV for the price. You won't be disappointed if you understand what you are getting with this TV...for better or worse. Have any questions? Feel free to ask.

423 of 442 people found the following review helpful.