Sceptre 37" LCD HDTV. Any Common!!!

Nervous-I was planning on buying the 42" Sceptre LCD as soon as it became available at Cosco, but I am now becoming nervous because of the poor SD resolution issues I am reading about. I am planning on upgrading my RCN cable to HDTV, but a lot of content still comes through in SD. Can anyone that owns a 37" Sceptre comment on this issue? If I purchase the 42" Sceptre, will SD viewing be worse than on a lower pixel rated flat screen? How about DVD with a progressive scan DVD player? Any feedback will be appreciated.

 

i'm holding back for the 42" sceptre too. Because it is not $1600 as I was told.

 

I read the article. Interesting, and technical, read. My question to current Sceptre owners..... Does the tv allow you to select your resolution for your input?
Say you have a SD input (over-air or crappy-cable), can you have the tv show at 360 or 480? Instead of trying to force it into HD resolution of 1080p?

 

Sceptre has posted a new set of images for the Septre 42". You get a better view of the Media Box and how it works with the television.

http://www.sceptre.com/Products/LCD/Specifications/View_x42gv-Naga.htm

 

Is it just me, or is there a total lack of digital audio outputs from the Media Box? I didn't see any digital coax or optical in the picture.

 

My Sceptre 37" just died--after 5 months. High hissing, pops, electrical smell, dead. Back to Costco it goes. (I suspect power supply problem...) I'm still trying to determine whether to get another, get the 42" or 32" version, or go in a different direction. Reasonably pleased with the picture-per-cost ratio. Suggestions?

 

The backlight on my Sceptre 37" started flickering when I turned it on. It made the entire screen flicker rapidly and made no difference what the input was. Turning it off and then on again fixed the problem. This happened two days ago, and it hasn't done this since then. But it makes me think there is something going wrong with the monitor. Other than that, I have been extremely happy with the picture quality and hope I won't have to take it back.

 

Capt2278 said:
"Say you have a SD input (over-air or crappy-cable), can you have the tv show at 360 or 480? Instead of trying to force it into HD resolution of 1080p?"

No, the image will show in whatever resolution it is fed to monitor at (640 x 480 for SD?), but you can choose between 4 different "Aspect" modes. None of them look real good to me for SD since they are mainly based around stretching and widescreen. They do work pretty well for DVDs, tho...

FYI all: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=573173&page=1&pp=30 is the AVS Forum thread on this TV. Its > 60 pages long

 

We are coming close to March 6th which is of course the first day the Sceptre 42" goes on sale. I was wondering where I could get a compatible wall mount to hang this crazy large LCD. I emailed Sceptre and they recommended www.ergotron.com. I found that Ergotron had a great selection, affordable prices and Sceptre is listed as a compatible manufacturer. This website might come in handy for current 37" owners and future 42" owners.

 

Thanks Jbren,
I appreciate the reply. So, you think your SD image is crappy? Is it just crappy because you are viewing it on a larger screen? Or do you think that it has more to do with the monitor itself?

Hmmm... a tv blowout and another with a problem with the light. Speaking of which... "backlight"?? what does that mean? Is there a light that shines on the wall behind the tv for an aestetic appeal? Guess I need further training. What is this backlight?

 

capt2278,
My understanding is the lcd screen has a layer of liquid crystals and behind that, a layer that is the white light source which illuminates the crystals. That layer is called the "backlight". In current lcd monitors the backlight is flourescent, and in future ones it may well be led (NEC already makes one with an led backlight, but the monitors are currently very expensive to manufacture).

 

I just unpacked my 37 in. Sceptre. Have no complaints yet, but then again I haven't really done much with it.

There is one HDMI input for this TV. I want to connect DirecTV's HD receiver to it as well as a PC (which I will use for web surfing as well as playing music). Any suggestions of the best way to do this with one HDMI input?

 

I will probably not get another Sceptre--my 37" lasted only 5 months. Returned it to Costco. I need reliability as much as quality image. On the other hand, I just don't see much out there that can compete with Sceptre's price. Any suggstions?

 

here ya go ajaslan,

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/...=hdmi switch&OVKEY=hdmi switch&OVMTC=standard

or here for a bit cheaper model..

http://www.octavainc.com/HDMI switch 2port.htm

 

I feel your pain and I understand. One way of looking at this is... look how cooperative C***co has been. Where else have people found a company this willing to take units back. Can't do this with the cheap online purchases. You are right, the price is very hard to pass up for what you get.

I really hope your situation is unique in that maybe your unit was produced on Monday morning or something.

 

A number of people (including myself) have reported on in the avsforum that they are getting delivered V1 sets with updated firmware. These are not the latest versions of the TV and do NOT include the QAM tuner function. When I called de-Sceptre about it, they said I should return it and order another one. Maybe that one would be a newer version. I took mine back the day after I recived it and came home with a Philips. More money but I have no regrets.

-Chuck

 

Good for you Chuck!! Maybe Septre will finally get the message. CAPPY CUSTOMER SERVICE,JUST DON'T GET IT! I fully intended to buy one but after following this thread for months,I have backed out.

One thing I would like to see is, posts from those that have purchased and are happy with 37"Septre and had no major problems that required or needed a return to Mfg. or Costco. Right now it looks like it would be very few!

bjkimb

 

ajaslan, and others looking for a cheap HDMI/DVI switcher, centronics.com has one that I got for under $60. Model # HDAS-100G. It is a manual switcher, but it works fine for those on a budget.

bjkimb, I am very happy with my 37" (v1, purchased last August) which I use with a Dish HD 811 receiver and a Denon 2910 upconverting DVD player. I am a video professional, and tend to be picky about video display quality. I used the Avia DVD to calibrate the levels and color, and my Sceptre 37" is excellent. HD satellite is outstanding. The 1080p rendering of detail is very realistic, like looking through a window -- better than my RCA 34" CRT. The fast refresh rate is great for action, such as basketball games. You feel like you are really there. The colors are accurate. A few days ago the backlight was flickering, but the problem disappeared when I turned the set on and off and has not returned. If the set ever fails, Costco gives a full refund. Overall I am very pleased.

 

My Sceptre is due to be delivered Monday. I purchased it via Costco's and after reading info in this thead and other forums I'm wondering if Sceptre is dumping returned units by drop shipping them to Costco's customers. I hope it isn't true but if I receive a version 1 unit, I won't even bother finishing unpacking it, I'll return it to Costco's and by something else and it certainly won't be another Sceptre!!!!

 

I agree that Cos*tco is a great company--it seems Seattle-based companies (other than MS) all learned from Nords**om how to do business-with-customers. But Cos*tco will not take a beating on Sceptre and will dump it in a NY second if problems continue. "Branding" is critical to this company, and if Sceptre is sending old or refurbished equipment out--and it's detected--I think the gig is up. Would some one out there run through the protocol for how to detect that folks are getting a new, upgraded Sceptre 37" rather than version-1? Hard for me to pick out of this thread. Thanks!