Customer Reviews

SVA VR-20 20-Inch Flat-Panel LCD TV

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a great TV and a great unit and looks great. I only have a couple of concerns for those looking to order this. The picture that Amazon has up as of 9/14/04 is not correct. Also between the time I ordered this and received it, the price on Amazon jumped up about $100. I'm not sure if they changed the styling and that is the difference, but at any rate I am very happy since I ended up with a TV priced $100 more than I paid for it and since the styling of the one I got is better than the picture. The model I was shipped does not have the gray plastic molding on the sides, the holes for the speakers are smaller and more numerous it is also shaped more like a picture frame and the controls are at the bottom center instead of on the upper right. One thing to note is that while you can use a VESA standard mounting plate to mount it to a wall or use the included stand, the TV also has two key-hole screw slot mounting holes built into the back of the case so that it can be hung directly onto a wall like a picture. The unit came with probably about $100 worth of cables. Including component video RCA cable set, RGB (VGA) cable, 3 composite video RCA cable sets, S-Video cable, 1/8 Audio cable. Everything is here to hook up to a computer and any video source you can imagine. My unit did not come with remote batteries but no big deal. This is a great TV but I would not have bought it at the current price.

The unit pictured on Amazon as of this writing is the SVA VR-20CG. The one Justin got (see previous review), and the one that should be pictured here, is the SVA VR-20. They are exactly the same unit except for styling.

I opted for the SVA VR-20CG because it looked a bit different than all the other LCD TVs out there. Very nice picture and overall great value. No problem hooking up progressive scan DVD player/recorder to it and it looks great in the bedroom.

You should note that SVA Group is a very reputable company. I went to their website and called tech support before I purchased the unit to ask some general questions. The company's US headquarters are in Southern California and the technician I spoke to was in Southern California and was extremely helpful answering my questions.

The first thing that struck me when I opened the box was the vast amount of cables that come with the TV. There was at least fifty dollars of cables alone included. I was able to easily plug in the TV according to the user's manual and get it on and working within minutes. The image is very bright and the colors are very good out of the box, and are adjustable to be even better. The outer appearance of the television is very appealing. Compared to its competitors, the SVA is much more attractive, it looks exactly like the first customer image. At first, I was disappointed with the dullness of the screen, however, that is fully adjustable to make for a fairly sharp image that I was pleased with. The first real problem that I encountered was mounting the television on the wall. It requires a VESA standard mount, which was not made entirely, clear in the manual. The manual, by the way was surprisingly weak in its information. And my other complaint with the TV is its lack of features, it does have CC and V-chip control but I was hoping for more features from such an expensive TV. However, some people might appreciate its ease of use without the confusing controls of more expensive TVs. Some of the TV's most pleasing aspects were the fact that it makes no high pitched noise when turned on, the image is sharp, bright, and clear, and that the TV is very attractive in its outer styling. Overall however, I was disappointed with the fact that it did not come with a wall mount, that the power adapter is big and bulky when it should have been built in, and that the resolution is too low to display a computer screen over 800x600 even with the sharpness control. Overall, I think that SVA provides an OUTSTANDING value when similar looking and similar qualified Sharp and Toshiba TVs are going for more than twice the money. I would definitely purchase this TV again, without regrets, if I were in the 20" LCD market.

I bought the SVA VR-30 LCD Flat panel less than a year ago. About 10 months after owning it there were thousands of green pixels that appeared over anything dark on the picture. This would come and go but progressively got worse. When I called SVA customer service to have someone come out and look at my TV, while still under warranty, I was rudely informed by their "customer service" department that they only have technicians in La Brea, CA. and no one would be coming to service my TV. Instead I was expected to pay to pack it and ship it out to La Brea, CA. FROM NY. This cost me $219.35. They were not going to pay for the shipping and made a point of telling me if nothing was wrong with my TV, after their inspection, that I was also going to have to pay to ship it back. So, I ship it out and pay the $. Well, big surprise... they claim there is nothing wrong with my TV and now I have to pay them to ship it back to me. ARE YOU KIDDING? Pay $438.70 to get back a TV with green pixels everywhere? This is the worst customer service I have experienced in my life with any product EVER. They refused to give me the name/address of anyone other than the two condescending rude individuals that you get when you call on the phone. When I pointed out that on amazon.com it states that they will service my TV in MY HOME they blamed that on amazon.com. Yet, 3 months later they are still in the section with in home service for large TVs. Do Not Buy This TV nor anything from SVA unless you enjoy paying for products that don't work and being treated as if you are the one in error. I'm buying a Sony tomorrow. I will never buy a SVA product again.

This was my 2nd LCD TV I have bought. The TV comes with many cables so you don't need to buy any. The picture quality is fair. In my opinion it is too, too bright. I noticed on basketball games and hockey games that the playing surface made the whole picture lighter. I tried to adjust it with a video calibration disc but I could not get it to improve. I also didn't like the MS response time of 30mm is way to slow. I f you are watching and active program, sporting event, or news with moving banner at the bottom of the screen you will notice how distorted it will look.

Buyer beware. The power supply boards for the SVA televisions only last about 3 years and costs hundreds of dollars for the part plus installation costs. I'll never purchase another SVA set!