Customer Reviews

Olevia 32 LCD HDtv, 16/9 Aspect, 1366 768 Horiz. Res Atsc/ntsc Tuners, Charcoal

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

First, I must say that I own the Syntax Olevia 232v and the unit that will be shipped from DiscountJungle IS NOT a 232v. The 232v is easily identified by the two vertical speakers on either side of the screen hence the 232"v" model number. I'm not sure what model this is in the picture but I'd be highly upset if I paid for a 232v and received this instead.

With that said, if you are on the fence about purchasing the Olevia 232v you can carefully and calmly step down and run and grab it as you will not be disappointed in any way.

When I first saw the specs and read the reviews I was like yeah right but finally decided to give it a try after speaking with the Circuit City store manager who said I could simply return it if I didn't like.

The colors are very true and bright for an LCD. The blacks and whites are vivid and rival anything by Sony within $1000. The screen is very bright which is manaually adjustable or adjustable via 3 different presets (dark, medium, bright) depending on the lighting in the room.

Even though Olevias american website doesn't mention it this unit DOES have Clear QAM and the network HD stations are amazing once you get your antenna connected and adjusted. By the way, Olevia's asian website does properly list clear QAM in the 232v specifications. I got about 10 HD channels immediately and there looks like there are about 5 or so that my antenna can't reach.

The sound is decent but I bought a Denon HTIB to handle the audio. Altogether with my PS3, Denon HTIB w/DVD player, and PS3 this is a very nice setup. BTW, Resistance "Fall of Man" in 1080i is simply stunning!

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First I would like to say that I totally back up the first reviewer as far as the make and model of this TV is concerned. It is not the crappy version that you see here on Amazon. I also would not have purchased this one for the price. The version that they have looks like an oversized regular model TV. Nothing I would spend more than $200.00 for. The 232V model I have has two speakers - one on each side. Now let's get to my personal review.

I purchased this TV about two or so weeks ago and I'm extremely pleased. Even though this unit does not carry the so-called brand name, DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS SILENT KILLER! The colors & picture are absolutely stunning. My DVD player comes through with great clarity. WOW! No problems with the volume. I use this with the minimum volume settings and it still appears loud (without the home theater system on). I wanted to test the volume by increasing it, only to hurt my eardrums halfway through. The speakers work great. I also have a SONY Theater System attached to this baby so you know I'm riding high in the clouds. My son is jealous and now he wants this TV. I paid about $550.00 at Circuit City when they were running a sale. You can't go wrong. This TV could hang up there with the other 32" costing hundreds more.

I bet if you put this TV side by side with the other models costing more, you would probably see no difference. I read the reviews on Circuit City's website before I made my final decision and I couldn't be more pleased.

This TV has plenty of hookups in the back of the unit for various devices. There's no shortage here. At the moment, I have two DVD players attached (DVD & Recorder), theater system, and I'm in the process of getting my Direct TV attached next.

I have this unit attached to a swivel wall mount. I was going to write a review about the wall mount, but I do not see it listed on Amazon. The wall mount that they have only has four screws that you would use to attach the unit to the TV mount, mine has six. Since I was going to attach a tv that weighs about 40 pounds, why not get a device that can hold it more firmly. Maybe it's my paronoia, but who wants to come home one day to find their $500.00 unit on the floor in pieces? Be aware, not all wall mounts work with all flat panels. They say universal, but some people have been caught out there big time!!!!!!


(As of 6/9/08, it looks like Amazon has the correct pic of this tv.)

I picked this TV up in April 2007 and viewed it in 480p ("enhanced definition") by upconverting my DirecTV signal through my Panasonic DMR ES-10 DVD recorder. Viewed straight on, the picture was pleasing and sharp, and the colors vivid. From an angle, the picture became fuzzy but I was impressed enough to keep the TV and make the leap into the world of flat screen TV.

Two days ago, I had DirecTV's high def DVR installed and connected it to the TV with spectacular results. The colors and clarity on Miami CSI blew me away, and when watching baseball you can see every drop of sweat, every pore, and even the faces in the crowd are distinct. With the new high def receiver/DVR (which receives local digital and standard definition broadcasts as well), all signals look great, even standard def, from ALL viewing angles. That's key, because the quantity of high def programming is still somewhat limited to selected sports, local news and many prime time shows and movies. In fact, the standard def and digital broadcasts look far better than on my brother's high def SONY flat screen and the high def looks just as good.

For an apartment, bedroom or office, this TV simply can't be beat at this price. My only reservations are the average sound (which can be output to a powered 2.1/5.1 system if you need to add bass) and limited inputs (1 HDMI, 1 component, 1 component/VGA). I have my laptop hooked into the VGA input, and its great to see my digital photos leap to life on the 32" screen. I also recommend that you take the time to learn how to manipulate the aspect ratios on the TV as well as the use of formatting/native/non-native resolution settings that are part of your cable or satellite receiver. Making slight adjustments will ensure the best possible picture, but if you're not into such tinkering the "out of the box" picture is excellent in its own right. The on-screen menus do take some getting used to, but if you are basically comfortable with technology and video equipment, you'll pick it up fast enough. Overall, an amazing value and a great entry point TV for any high-res TV fan. At this price, it makes a lot of sense to go for it!

I bought this Tv for my college dorm and I couldn't be happier. I got mine for around $450. The picture on this tv is excellent. The clear QAM tuner means you can get unencrypted HD channels which is important for me because I can't have a cable box at college and yet i still get all the big football games and network shows in HD. I often use this as a secondary monitor for my laptop when I am gaming. Games look noticeably better on the 1365x768 res of the TV than they do on the higher 1680x1050 res of my tihnkpad t61. The colors are much richer and pixels are more defined. This tv also has plenty of inputs however in the future you may need a hdmi switcher because it only has 1 input.

Some of my friends have the equivalent TV's from the budget companies like vizio and westinghouse and often paid more than I did and my picture is unanimously voted better. Highly Recommended!! The best tv you can get for the money.

My first lcd tv, this has been a great buy. It was highly recommended in Consumer Reports for it's quality and (lack of) price. I do believe it has a QAM tuner because as soon as I connected my non-digital cable, I was picking up hd local channels in 1080i.

Speaking of which, you can really notice the difference in HD and SD when watching the local news. It seems like the news anchors and title bars (at bottom of screen) are broadcasted in HD, but some of the "man on the street" broadcast signals are SD. When they switch over there is a definite difference.

The only reason I rate this 4 stars is due to a single HDMI input. It'd be nice to have 2 so that when I get a digital set-top box, I could switch between the it and dvd more easily. Granted, I bought a HTIB (Onkyo) that has two HDMI in and one out, but most people can't be expected to do the same.

I have had the 232v for 6 months and it's a great television. I paid $550 at CC. I use it mostly to watch movies and play PS3. With standard cable it looks pretty crappy, but I have yet to find an HD set that looks as good as an old CRT playing standard 480i TV. Using the PS3 on it the detail is perfect. I play Call of Duty 4, NCAA 08 and some others and they all look awesome.
Blu Ray and standard widescreen movies using the PS3 are better than movie theater quality. If you use a standard 480i or maybe even 480p DVD player I don't think it will look as good, but it will be better than a tube. I don't care too much for the remote or the menu. The menu is overdone, like they tried to make it too neat. It's a scrolling menu type thing and it's annoying, but I'm not playing with the menu too often so it's not a constant bother. If you get an HD cable box the remote won't matter either, so I don't care about that. This is my third HD television and I have a Sony 50" LCD projection, a 42" Pioneer Plasma and this set. The picture quality is great and I like not having to worry about my bulb dying or burn in. Stupid salesmen will tell you about blurring and how this set is substandard... they're trying to get you to spend money. Remember, if this is your first HDTV, no matter what you buy, it will 10 times better than anything you have. When comparing sets on the floor at the store it's a little tricky. The sets are never configured correctly and they're set at very bright levels.

There are a few high end TVs that look better than this TV, but the picture quality is negligible for the money. I own two other TVs with beautiful brand names on them and this set is just as good with less hassle.

-Bob

I bought this TV from BJs 4 weeks ago and love it. I bought it for $579 and it is worth every penny. For a cheaper priced HDTV, Olevia got it right. The picture and sound quality are phenomenal. The Olevia 232V actually has a better picture than my 52" Mitsubishi HDTV. I only wish this TV had more Component inputs, 1 just isn't enough. Also, my Comcast Universal Remote doesn't work with this TV either. I've seen this remote control issue posted on the web from other buyers too. Buying a dedicated universal remote control may correct this issue, but it's no big deal for me right now to use 2 remotes.
Overall, this is a great buy. I would definitely recommend buying an Olevia TV before spending hundreds more on a more mainstream brand. The lack of more TV inputs prevents me from giving 5-stars.

Don't buy a Syntax Olevia! I bought one and it died almost to the day the warranty went out. Customer service said I would have to pay to ship it back and pay the parts and labor to fix it and that would cost over half of the TV's cost. They wouldn't offer to help with anything and they said they lost my registration card, the same one they used to call me with to ask me how I liked it a week after I bought the TV. So all I can do is to post this to every blog I can to try to inform others.

Out of the box, this LCD seems nice. Have the slightest problem, like replacing the remote or looking for documentation, and watch out. Finding a remote for this set has been virtually impossible. We now have one remote for on/off and another for channel controls. Olevia has been contacted and the replacement remote does not function properly.

In short, I buy a TV with the expectation that little needs to be done to set it up and run it. I have spent hours of time keeping this set in a functional mode.

This is the last Olevia product that ever enters our house. LT32HVM

I purchased the 232v set from Circuit City in September, 2007 and got a very good price on it. Overall I was happy with the product, but found it buggy. The date and time never worked right and Olevia tech support suggested a firmware upgrade, which was the beginning and the end for this set.

The firmware that I downloaded from the Olevia site killed the HDMI port on the set. Consulting with tech support, they sent me another firmware upgrade that killed the set. No picture, no audio. Their return policy does not favor the consumer in anyway.

I had purchased the extended warranty, and I was told that the product is not even repairable, it is a return to vendor. I ended up trading in (and up) my set for a Samsung which looks great. Some picture issues have also gone away, which may be the difference between the 8ms response rate on the Olevia and the 6ms response rate on the Samsung. Overall I am much happier that I paid a few extra dollars and got the Samsung.