Customer Reviews

ViewSonic N3760W 37-Inch LCD HDTV

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

 

 

Recently, I was in the market to replace/upgrade my standard 27 inch CRT television. I love the qualities of LCD (vs. CRT) computer monitors so I decided my next set would be LCD. Like most other reviewers I spent many hours buried in research as I hate the feeling of buyer's remorse...or seeing a better product available for a lower price days after taking delivery. I have had great success with Viewsonic LCD computer monitors but did not consider them (due to lack of awareness) for TV viewing until I came upon this 37 inch beauty on sale at COSTCO online. At $1299 the price seemed almost too good to be true. I checked the Viewsonic web site, and called the company, for more information. The N3760 is their latest product and I was told customers seem to be very happy with the set. As many people know COSTCO has the world's greatest return policy so I decided to order and check it out with a serious at-home test. Just so everyone knows; I examined LCD sets from Sony, Samsung, Syntax, Phillips, Polaroid, and every other brand imaginable. Also, a key area of interest was how good the picture would be with a standard, in my case satellite, signal. Almost every retail store pumps High Definition signals through their flat screen sets on display so standard signal picture quality was a concern. Now to the results: As you can see from my star rating I am extremely pleased with the N3760. The set looks very nice in its all black color and saves a bit of space (width) with its high quality bottom mounted speakers. Set up was very simple with logical instructions and clearly labeled and accessible inputs. I connected my DVD player using the HDMI input and my satellite receiver using S-Video and RCA audio. After turning on the set I checked for dead or fixed pixels...not one! (I am a bit of a perfectionist so no bad pixels was very important to me) Next I selected a standard (I don't have High Def) station and watched some TV. The picture was outstanding! I have noticed a lot of HD sets, both LCD and plasma, have very grainy and sup-par images when using standard signals. This is NOT the case with the Viewsonic. The picture was amazingly sharp with very accurate color, contrast and brightness at the factory default settings. If you want to make changes it is quite simple using the well designed remote. As to picture size and aspect ratio, this is easily adjusted in the menu and you have a choice of wide, zoom, anamorphic, fill all, 1 to 1 or normal. When you change the picture size/type the result is instantly displayed, and visible, as the menu is transparent over what ever source you are watching. Some people have complained that certain sets do not allow changing the picture size/type when using the HDMI input. Again, this is not the case with Viewsonic. Watching a Widescreen DVD using the HDMI input I was able to select any picture type. My DVD player up-converts 480p to 780p or 1080i (sorry about the tech jargon here) and all picture modes were available with each resolution setting. The picture quality was outstanding at all settings. The set has a 8ms response time so there is no noticeable ghosting even during the most action packed scenes. One problem with a lot of LCD sets is the loss of detail in dark or shadowed scenes. I found that turning down the contrast a notch (the blacks were still accurate) and slightly increasing the brightness easily solved this common ailment. Hidden images were now visible in their original theatrical detail. Let's talk sound. The built-in speakers produce amazing sound and have caused me to rarely use the 6 channel surround set-up I have hooked to the set. I may be a bit lazy but I watch most everything, except effects packed action movies, using only the built-in speakers and the sound is accurate and clear even at very high volume levels. A month after my purchase I am a very happy camper! I am sure there are 37 inch LCD sets equal or better in performance but my research shows you will end up paying almost $1000 more for the privilege. I would be very happy with the Viewsonic N3760 at $1800...at $1299 I can not imagine anyone buying anything else. This product receives my highest recommendation.

A truly excellent LCD TV with a razor sharp picture. The built-in high definition digital tuner receives from the roof antenna the many local channel alternates (e.g. 5.0, 5.1, 5.2 etc.) that provide local weather, traffic and other programming 24/7. The TV is portable and lightweight at 68 lbs. The stand that the TV sits on is included (which is often not the case with the big name brands!) and does the job just fine. The inputs at the back of the TV are clearly labeled and include a lid that snaps shut, nicely hiding the unsightly tangle of wires inside the case. Discreet buttons vertically arranged on the right side of the cabinet enable manual control of channel, volume, menu, source and power, in case the remote control is misplaced. And by the way, the ViewSonic is hundreds of dollars less than comparable LCD built in digital tuner HDTVs.

All of this should merit it 5 stars -- except for these issues that I found disagreeable:

1.) The Remote Control. This has to be one of the more poorly designed remotes
available. Rows and rows of small black buttons with microscopic printing make it a challenge to engage the other functions of the TV besides channel select and volume adjust, which are fortunately easier to locate. I would definitely prefer to use my satellite remote with this TV except for Issue #2 --

2.) No universal Remote Codes for this TV. ViewSonic customer service reps. shrug this off as no big deal, but when this is something that every other manufacturer offers, I'm left puzzled at their attitude. Now I'm back to using 2 remote controls when I watch TV, when even my ancient Sharp TV could be operated from the satellite remote. This is definitely less convenient and not customer friendly!

3.) The Picture-in-Picture has huge limitations ViewSonic does not tell you about.
Not in the manual nor on the website. The customer service reps. are not aware of it. The "primary source" can be antenna, cable/satellite, DVD, etc. whatever you like. This is as it should be. However, the "secondary source" MUST be plugged into the HDMI port in order for the PIP to function. Unless you have the absolute newest equipment with HDMI connections, you are out of luck on your PIP. Now I am compelled to lay out quite a bit of money on a new HD receiver if I ever hope to use the PIP function. Quite a disappointment!

Because these issues negatively impact my enjoyment of the TV, I can only rate it
at 3 stars. But that gorgeous picture with that nice price tag does make up for it some!

Bought this TV, the remote doesn't work properly. Have to get up to change channels & volume, can't switch over to other inputs, can't access settings, etc.
After contacting customer support (had to call numerous times, never got the promised call-back, long wait times, etc) I was told that they have no replacement remotes in stock and I'd have to wait until they get them in stock. Rather than return the whole item (I am entitled, but it's a pain and the TV is fine) I said I was willing to accept a universal remote, while I wait. They can't send me a universal and can't even recommend one that works w/ this TV.
It's been three weeks and I'm still waiting and very frustrated.

TV is great, tons of inputs, works pretty well as a monitor. Black case looks very sleek, and the VESA mount I got here works great on the wall. Menus are a little complex, but I can deal. However, the remote was DOA. Making things worse, there are no universal remote codes. I was told the remotes were out of stock, and it could take 4-6 months to get one. That's just unacceptable for a TV this expensive. My 15" APEX TV has universal remote codes. After sending an emails to people higher up the ladder, I got my remote by 9:30 AM next day air. I would buy again, but there are some drawbacks.

I am very pleased with this TV. I can't see spending a thousand dollars more for a Sharp, Sony, Samsung or any of the others. It simply is not worth it. Great picture, even from DirecTV's weak s-video output. Its got HDMI, 2 components, 2 s-videos. Plenty of inputs/outputs. Sound is good, the black cabinet looks good. Never liked the silver stuff. Menus are user friendly. The remote could be better. no (-) button for high def stations. HD looks real good, DVDs look excellent.

This LCD is fine when watching HD programs and even DVDs, the image is nice and sharp, however I got this TV mainly for my XBOX360 and even though it supposedly has a 8ms refresh rate I found the response time on fast-moving action games to be atrocious. As an example, in the game "Oblivion" everything looks fine until you get into heavy combat fighting 2-3 opponents across the screen, they move around violently and swing their weapons at you, when this happen you will see a blurry mess on the LCD, everything will have that "comet" effect and pixelation, the refresh rate just can't keep up.

As for the blacks on this LCD, they arent bad, but they arent anywhere near the blackness of a CRT. The darkest the blacks get is a dark shade of gray... it didn't bother me that much in movies or in games but alot of people are picky on black levels and this TV is deffinetely not the best in that regard.

Overall my only real complaint is the awful response time when playing some videogames, if you just want this for DVD movies or HD programming then it's a nice bargain LCD. But stay away from it if you want this for games.

And finally the TV came with a $100 rebate which makes it even more of a bargain, but I bought mine locally I don't know if you get the rebate from amazon.

I just brought a brand new ViewSonic LCD TV with built-in HD tunner. It came with problems that the HD tunner has to change channel from high number to low number, or it will not show the TV program. Say you want to watch channel 5, if you were at channel 4, move up to 5, the TV shows no program. But if you move up to channel 7, then move down to 5, TV will show the program. It also often drop out the programs, while our other HDTVs made by Toshiba, Samsung, Screpter all working fine, this TV suddenly stop showing the TV progam and display "no signal".
It is DOA, means it like this when we get it.

I called ViewSonic for replacement. They asked for my credit card number to setup an advance replacement. I gave them my credit card number. But they shipped me a refurbished unit that was returned and repaired in the past.

I paid a new TV price, ViewSonic wants me to accept their refurbished TV. I called their support, and talked to their manager. The manager told me that actually they had changed their policy again, since they shipped the refurbished TV to me. They no longer send out replacement any more. When you have a DOA, they will only repair it now.

I had experience with Viewsonic repair in the past. One LCD monitor we sent last year for repair took over four months came back. Another Viewsonic HD12 HD tuner sent for repair got last, after six months, they sent me a replacement. I am not sure I will buy another Viewsonic product any more.

These people cannot support or stand behind their product. They may be the worst ever. My sound (main board) went out in month 15 (just 3 months out of warranty). Customer support can't tell you anything other than to check the yellow pages. Well, after 10 local contacts with HD TV repair shops the truth is self-evident. None of these guys would even try to fix the problem. They won't do business with ViewSonic. Oh, and don't even try to get help directly from ViewSonic or their parts departement. They won't help you diagnose the problem and they won't let you return a part, even if you can convince them to sell you one, which is no easy task. They would NOT tell me about the warranty service centers. They won't let me send it there to get repaired EVEN if I want to pay for the repair. So, yeah, it looks great in the showroom, but your out of luck if ANYTHING goes wrong. The problem with no support for universal remote codes is just icing on the cake.

I've had my Viewsonic for almost 2 years. The picture is fine. However the fact that Viewsonic advertises the Remote as "Universal" is a lie. Attempting to contact customer support proved fruitless.

It's true it does have "Universal" buttons, but these buttons don't work with any other device. To make matters worse, if you hit the wrong button, the remote will not even work with the TV until you select the TV button.

There are no "universal" codes available for this TV either. I have purchased a Logitech remote to replace the Viewsonic remote, but that proved to be a pain to use also.

I would NOT RECOMMEND this TV to anyone, and I will never buy another Viewsonic product again.

its a nice set and decent price. has quite a bit of inputs and options but here are some of its deficiencies:

1. switching from catv to over the air antenna takes over 5 buttons on the remote.

2. also, when you do get hdmi to use the pip option, it again takes over 5 buttons to either swap or turn it off.

3. i have yet to figure out how to change channels in over the air. there is no button for "." or "-" to get to 7.1 for example.

well there are other quirks but these are the main ones causing me to only give it 3 stars