Apex GB55HD09W 55-Inch Projection Widescreen HDTV-Ready TV

by Apex

Product Details

Product Manual [737kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 20.9 x 48.1 x 52.6 inches ; 275 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 305 pounds
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• ASIN: B00006FXGO
• Item model number: GB55HD09W
• Batteries: 2 AAA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #254,946 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The dimensions of the Apex GB55HD09W's huge, 16:9 aspect-ratio screen match those of your favorite DVD movies and most terrestrial HDTV broadcasts. The 55-inch projection set lets you enjoy high-definition quality from progressive-scan DVD players and set-top HDTV decoders, including 480p, 720p, and full 1080i signals. Its one-touch digital convergence provides a simple way for you to reset the screens lenses without costly service calls.

The GB55HD09W also offers 3:2 pulldown correction. DVD mastering introduces a common distortion when adjusting 24-frames-per-second movies to 30 fps video; 3:2 pulldown digitally corrects this distortion, removing the redundant information to display a film-frame-accurate picture on your TV.

Velocity-scan modulation improves the definition at picture edges, creating sharper images by slowing the CRT (cathode-ray tube) beam's horizontal scanning during demanding work--say, when rendering transitions from light to dark parts of an image--and speeding it up when scanning easily rendered sections, like broad dark areas. The GB55HD09W's 3D Y/C comb filter further enhances resolution by removing blurred edges between colors and reducing dot crawl (tiny, moving dots of color along a sharp color separation in a vertical line, as in a depiction of a character's striped T-shirt).

Dual-tuner PIP features include double-window viewing, PIP swap, and the ability to show three and nine sub-box PIP images in your main viewing screen. A great feature called Browsing Channel lets you see what's on other stations and select from all available choices, all without leaving the channel you're currently watching.

In the audio department, BBE sound enhancement and DBS bass enhancement let you tailor the sound to your preference and program, and the set also simulates surround sound through two channels (either the set's or an external pair) for more spacious-sounding audio. If you're listening through external speakers, you can still control the volume right from the remote control when you connect the set's variable audio outputs to your amp or receiver.

The set offers two component-video inputs (for 480i, 480p, 720p, or 1080i signals), three S-video inputs, two rear composite-video-based AV inputs, and a set of front AV inputs for fast-'n'-easy connection with a camcorder or gaming console.

What's in the Box
TV, wheel pads, remote control, remote batteries, and a user's manual.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good TV...while it worked..., February 2, 2004

By 

Ron Benedict "firemanron" (MD, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Apex GB55HD09W 55-Inch Projection Widescreen HDTV-Ready TV (Electronics)

TV just broke, but thanks to the 4 yr warranty I purchased, COMPUSA is going to be replacing the TV with a comparable model, or giving me a credit to purchase another TV...so...looks like I'll be going flatscreen! Apparently from what COMPUSA says, Apex no longer makes parts for these tv's, so they don't even bother fixing them, they just throw them out. Oh well...I stand to gain so won't complain...

(...) I watched the TV in the store and it was somewhat grainy, but the salesman said that the in-store model should have been adjusted more, and that the TV really did have a good picture. They had an 47' Panasonic and a few other models with smaller pictures for around the same price (+/- $200), and he said to stick with this one. Every sales person I have spoken with has said that the Apex TV's are pretty good, but that apex DVD and VCR's aren't so hot. However, they all said that their TV's have been improving lately, especially since they started doing business in the US. Basically, Apex's sales design is to deliver more quantity, while still emphasizing quality, but doing away with a lot of the options that only audiophiles really need. For instance, this TV does not have the plug that allows you plug your home theatre into a computer (PC) based setup from what I am told. However, it hooked up perfectly fine to my surround sound setup.
Now onto the good stuff. The TV arrived, we let it warm up a bit, and then turned it on. I was going to set the cable up, but decided to go straight to DVD as I just bought a new Toshiba progressive scan player (4900 model). I put in Top Gun, and the picture was horrible! I thought to myself, what did I just buy??? Well it turns out the TV requires some adjusting. First you need to set the convergence, which requires you to be sitting in front of the TV, at the level you would normally view the TV at. Do not do this standing up (more on this later...)! It will throw the convergence off and the picture won't be so great when you're sitting down. So I performed this easy adjustment (you just use the remote buttons, nothing really technical). Then I decided to try out Finding Nemo, the animated Disney movie. Nemo has a lot of color complex scenes, with quick movement and I figured this would be a good test of the TV. Well, Nemo looked horrible still! The orange fish appeared to lack a clear border, almost as if the pixels were not where they should be. Well turns out, I initially did the convergence standing up, and when I sat down and readjusted, it was off by a good bit. So I redid that, and the picture improved considerably. However, the colors were off, and the clarity wasn't there yet. Turns out you need to set the TV to use the DVD player's progressive scan function. So I did that, and the picture got better again. Still, wasn't totally thrilled with the color and clarity, but then I turned on another option on the TV that sets it to theatre mode, and the picture looked incredible! Not a pixel out of place! Fish were swimming around the reef and the colors were awesome. I put in Gladiator and watched some of the fight scenes, and they are crisp, clear, and impressive.
Yesterday we watched the Super Bowl with about 25 people coming over, and I swear the TV got even better over the course of those few hours. Everyone there thought we had the HDTV broadcast of the game on, but we had the standard digital cable. How's that for reviews. My buddy has a Mitsubishi and said this TV looked better than his (to be fair, his is about two years old, the new Mitsubishi's are better than the Apex models, but also about twice as much). However, I am going to get the HDTV cable box, it's only a one time $10 fee from my cable company, and that will improve picture clarity even more. I'm looking forward to it!
All in all, I am extremely pleased with this TV. A few things to keep in mind: If you are checking this out in the stores are not impressed, ask the TV salesperson to tune it up, many times from being moved around they don't display the best picture. Also, the stores lighting will wash out the colors. Bring a good DVD to test out the TV's, preferably something with vibrant colors and lots of action to see how the progressive scan works.
Check to see that there is a local Apex certified TV service area around you in case something does go wrong with the TV. You can do this from the apex digital website. In my case, $100 for the 4-year warranty was the way to go. They will come out, pick up the TV, and repair it. When you get it home, make sure to adjust the settings, there is a few presets that you can just set with one click of the remote. Then, you can fine tune it off of the basic presets if you desire. I found the "movie" preset needed some color added, but looked great with that one adjustment.
The TV does feature a number of screen formats. The standard wide screen is great for movies, but many TV programs are not in widescreen just yet. So, this TV offers a few different options. Once stretches the TV picture to fit the screen, but makes some objects appear out of round. However, there is another stretch function that alleviates this problem, and everything appears in normal size again. There is also the standard 4:3:4 aspect ratio, which will place black bars on the side of the picture and display the screen as you would normally see it on a standard TV.
But you will definitely need a progressive scan dvd player, which all dvd players now on the market are. However, if you have an older model, you'll need to upgrade to even watch a dvd on this tv (or any other large screen dvd player). The one drawback to this tv is that when you see a persons face taking up the entire screen you can see the pixels and it appears "digitalized" sometimes. Its nothing horrible, and it certainly does not ruin the experience, its just one of those things that the more expensive TV's seem to take care of. I have also been asked about the reflective screen and window glare. I have the tv in front of the windows, so thats not a problem for me, but this screen isnt quite as reflective as some of the other models. I would say its semi-reflective. I am going to turn the tv around to face the windows and see if its still viewable (more on that next week)
All in all, I am very satisfied with this TV. It has all the necessary options for your typical homeowner, and the picture is very good. For the price, I don't think you could go wrong. My thoughts are that plasma's are going to come down in price, so if I have this for 3 years and turn around and sell it, I will have paid a small price for the satisfaction this TV is going to provide. Looking forward to going home and watching some more movies and I don't normally watch movies a second time!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars limited functionality in progressive input; no 720p, April 9, 2004

By 

Ehud "ehudgavron" (Tucson, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Apex GB55HD09W 55-Inch Projection Widescreen HDTV-Ready TV (Electronics)

Things you find out once you can't make something work and then read the manual...
1. There is no native 720p. It downscans it to 480p.
2. The PIP, auto-off on no-signal, and double-display and still-screen functions only operate on tuner input and Svideo. If you use the progressive inputs NONE of those functions will work.
3. The TV powers on in tuner mode (not in "last source used" mode). It takes 8.5 seconds (timed by my Pronto) from hitting the power button before you can switch it to any alternate input source (Svid, RCA, Component...)
4. The sound output (monitor outs) do NOT work when the component video inputs are selected. In other words, if you use Svid to feed the sources, you can use the TV to feed audio as one source to your audio system. If you use Component, you have to individually feed the audio directly into your audio system and separately switch them.

Mine was ordered 3/22, given to shipper 3/23, delivered
4/7 (yes, it took over two weeks), and the shipper tried
to do a curbside delivery until
I "explained" that they could either do the white glove
delivery that was called for and paid for, or they could
take it back.

It's a good interim until plasma HDs come down in price,
but if you're looking for a long term HDtv, you may want
to wait for true 720p, 1080p, monitor-out on all sources,
powerup with previous source selected, multiple saved
convergence settings (standing, sitting, couch-right,
couch-left, etc.)

E

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Picture. good value.., February 2, 2004

By 

Bubbanet (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Apex GB55HD09W 55-Inch Projection Widescreen HDTV-Ready TV (Electronics)

Picked this one up for the Super Bowl at Comp USA on sale at $999.99. It has all of the technical specs I was looking for (3D comb, 3:2 pulldown, 3 AV and 2 component inputs, dual tuner, picture&picture and PIP, HD ready ETC..). Only has manual convergence but only needs to be done once (very simple and only takes a couple of minutes). Picture quality is as good as or better than others at twice the price. I would rate this one as a best value even at the regular $1599 price.