TV & Home Theater

[David28531]

I am Handicapped & Disabled & Must be hooked up to medical experiment for 6-7 hours a day & remain in bed & awake during this time.  I purchased this TV :   Insignia  LED-LCD HDTV Model: NS-32E570A11

after my 7 month old Dynex™ - 32" Class / 720p / 60Hz D/ LCD HDTV DVD Combo 

Model:DX-32LD150A11  refused to hold & recognize in it's memory HD channels. Guess I should have read the posts from other Dynex users, cuz there are a lot of problems with Dynex. 

Even one of the Managers at my Best Buy store told me that her Dynex same exact TV did the exact same thing.   I am hoping that once repair is done that I will get a  "RA" number so I can get some of my money back on this insignia TV. 

I do not See any difference with the Insigna TV & it is not as clear at home as it was in the store.  

I have Time Warner cable with extended basic cable & within the last 6 months TWC had installed much larger cables underground & the cable is not the problem.  

I did notice that in the store they only had very few channels.   Do they "Tweak" the channels in the store &/or power them differently to get sharper clearer images?? 

I am ready to take the LED Insignia TV back next time I am in town as it is 26 miles each way to get to the closest store.   

I should be able to buy a TV & not have to worry that it is going to die on me. My old  36"Toshiba with a big tube lasted 16+ years.  

Any suggestions on "RELIABLE" LCD 32" TV's that I can afford on just my SS income??

[NoNoBadDog]

Since you do not have the HD package on your cable, your images will not look like they did in the store.  And yes, they do tweak the pictures on the display models in the store.  You state that you have extended basic cable service only.  That means you have no HD feed, and possibly no digital feeds.  Thus you are receiving analog, non-HD signals only.  The "size" of the cables has nothing to do with picture quality. 

Comparing LCD technology to the old tube (CRT) technology is irrelevant. The are two completely different technologies. Since you are buying at the lower end of the scale, you cannot expect them to last 16 years. 

No matter what TV you buy, the picture will not be as crisp and clear as you see in the store until you get HD programming, and even then only those channels will look "good".  Your basic analog channels will continue to look as they do now.  There really isn't much you can do about that.

[David28531]

Yes I do have hd channels & the color on the insignia 42" led TV is so much better than on this lcd/led TV      If they "tweak" the TV's for Display & not for the retail public than this is very deceptive trick of Best Buy.    They should Tweak all sets & not just for display models

[cr_client]

Stores do nothing to "tweak" channels in the store. TVs have many dozens of settings that can be changed by a user at home, and sometiems have presets to switch between certain values that the manufacturer has deemed "optimal" for certain viewing situations. If none of the preset settings offer the picture you desire, you will either need to learn how to change the settings to fit your viewing situation, or pay for a professional calibration.

It took me almost 6 months before I got my TV settings the way that I wanted them to be, using the calibration settings on various Disney DVDs, Star Wars DVDs, and special calibration DVDs, and constantly having a critical eye for everything I watched. After all of that time and effort, my TVs are about as close to profesionally calibrated as I can get them.

Have you had Time Warner out to the house to verify that it's not actually a cable problem? Just because they put "bigger cables" in the ground doesn't mean that the signal to your home is any better. Most cable and satellite companies compress their signal quite a bit on HD, and the quality suffers as a result.

[David28531]

A store GM and a Best Buy corp  Geek Squad Manager  (not a tech or supervisor but the Department Manager) told me that YES GeeK Squad DOES hook up a computer to over 75% of all TV's on display to fine tune them.   That is so they can sell them with beautiful color & fine tuning that makes the pictures "POP"

[David28531]

Remember my 42" Insignia LCD  120Hz that is 2 years old had a Fantastic pic straight out of the box compaired to this 32" LED/LCD TV. 

[cr_client]

And that "fine tuning" requires professional intervention.

A professional ISF-Certified calibration costs a couple hundred dollars, and a true ISF calibration is dependent upon the location of the display unit. A calibration for a store with blazing overhead metal halide lighting is completely different from a calibration for a home's living room with picture windows and sheers, which is different from the calibration for a TV in a room with room-darkening curtains.

Almost every TV manufacturer has a "Store" mode and a "Home" mode. "Store" mode is brighter than any reasonable person should ever have their TV in their own home.

It's also a fallacy to compare a fluorescent-backlit LCD TV with an edge-lit LED LCD TV. They WILL look different straight out of the box.

If you want the best quality picture for your specific viewing situation, you will need to have your TV calibrated for its environment.

[David28531]

Well for $500.00 I am taking the LED/LCD TV back to Best buy for my money back.   I am going to an Independent Retailer that I can get a name brand LCD TV for a 150.00 less & they will deliver it & calibrate it for free as part of their customer service.  This customer service is worth it to me since I am supporting a Local Merchant rather than a Huge Corp that doesn't even have the BALLS to publish their Corp phone number.   My Local Murchant stands behind their TV's with a 3 year promise & if it dies or has a problem I make a call & they come to me. Being disabled & handicapped This is a HUGE PLUS.   When I take the Insignia back to Best Buy   it will be the last time that I set my cane any where near them.

[NoNoBadDog]

Quote

Stores do nothing to "tweak" channels in the store

Quote

Many TVs feature a TORE MODE", and it is most definitely used in Best Buy.  Those models that do not have a store mode are definitely tweaked to make the picture as bright as possible.  Most people shopping for a TV don't know how to evaluate picture quality and buy whatever is brightest.

[David28531]

Then I guess that the GM, Asst Manager, & head of the Geek Squad at the Morehead City, NC store are all feeding me a line of Bull.   All 3 of them told me that they DO TWEAK SOME 32" & EVERYTHING LARGER IN THIS STORE.   All are done by Geek squad with computers hooked up to each TV.     I guess you know more than the Store management.