Haier L32D1120 32-Inch 720p LCD HDTV, Black

Unexpectedly FANTASTIC!, October 28, 2011

By 

Ethan A. Winning “ewin64” (Walnut Creek, CA) –

  

  

  

We have had two new HD TVs for just a bit over 5 months. One is a 23″ Sony and one a 32″ LG. The Sony hooked up easily, but the LG was like our first color set. We diddled with picture, sound, aspect ratio, and other settings to get the best picture and sound on each channel. I still don’t know if the differences between channels is resolution, settings, or in the case of the news, makeup. But we were just happy to get it so that we could see all the face lifts…

Now for the Haier, a relatively unknown Chinese brand of high definition TV. I plugged it into our Comcast cable box using an HDMI cable, and bingo, a bright and sharp picture with wonderful sound. For a few minutes I was sure a mistake was made, and we had been given a 1080p instead of the 720 that was on the box. Perhaps anything under 50 inches doesn’t matter. We think that the Haier is just as good and maybe even a little better picture than the LG! Not one factory setting had to be changed!

The sound from the built-in speakers is excellent – in part due to using an HTMI cable – and the Sound Leveler really works. No more spikes when changing channels and it even works on commercials that used to blare 10 db higher than the program.

(The hookups and quality are very good with our DVD player and photographs on a flash drive, but they will not be used very much. The TV will not be used with our computer, so I can’t address that either. Some will complain about the inputs being placed under a lip in the back, but most HD TVs use the same configuration because so many people will wall mount the TV. If the plugs were straight in, the TV would not be flush with the wall.)

Initially, we had so much trouble with the remote from Comcast, that I was about to give this only 4 stars. We can only get HD through the Comcast box, and the Comcast remote – as bad as it is – should be our only remote. But the Comcast remote would not accept the two codes for the Haier TV, and I thought we would have to use two remotes. I called Comcast, and they gave me the same two numbers that came with their box. I called Haier, and they told me that they DIDN’T HAVE CODES FOR Comcast.

All was not lost, however. I went on line, asked for “Comcast remote codes for Haier,” and the second link was a discussion where one respondent said, “Try the codes for DURABRAND.”

The third code under Durabrand (10178), and we were set!

(And, since I’ve now been asked this question 4 times by people who are concerned about whether it will fit into their cabinets, the set is 31.25 inches wide, i.e., side-to-side! The 37.8 inches they refer to is diagonally!)

I said in the title of this review that it was unexpectedly fantastic. Well, this is a phenomenal TV especially considering that it was the least expensive of all 32 inch HD sets. We now have great Hi Def in our bedroom where, in six minutes, I’m going to watch the last game of the World Series! (Sure, I could watch it in the living room, but I like new experiences.)

EW

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Great picture quality with a great price!, November 10, 2011

I purchased this TV to replace an aging 55″ rear projection Mitsubitshi that i had set up in my office. While browsing the deal sites I noticed this TV listed at $197 dollars and clicked the link to the Amazon site. I was not familiar with the Haier brand of televisions and thought of it as a cheap knockoff TV with subpar screens. There were only four reviews of this TV while i was contemplating the purchase and though they were mostly good i was a little leery about buying this. Amazon made the decision easier by offering a 30 day guarantee with free return shipping so I went ahead and purchased the TV. I am a subscriber to Amazon Prime, so 2 day shipping was free. The TV showed up on my doorstep 2 days after the purchase. Thank you Amazon. The box that the TV came in was in great shape. There were no dents and it didn’t look like the box had been abused. The packaging for the TV was superb. I unwrapped the TV and removed the plastic on the front of the TV. The front bezel is a very shiny plastic. The stand which is also a shiny black plastic comes with 4 screws to attach to the TV. This TV comes with a glowing light at the bottom center of the bezel which indicates whether the TV is on or off. It shows red when off and green when on. Nice touch for such a low priced TV. I hooked my DirectTV box to the TV and selected the correct HDMI input. The inputs on the back are not exactly in the best positioning for connection of your devices. I assume they configured the hookups that away because some people like to hang the TV’s on the wall install of the stand. The picture on this TV is very clear with very good color saturation. Some TV’s look a bit washed out but not this TV. Would this TV compare to a high definition TV such a Sony or Samsung? I would say no, but you would pay much more for one of those TV’s. Some people have said that the sound is not very good on this TV. I find that the sound is more than adequate. It gets plenty loud in my office. I’ve never owned any TV where the sound is great coming out of its own speakers. Thats why they have surround systems. People, for the price you cannot go wrong with this TV. If this is the size of TV you are looking for and are wanting to use it in a bedroom or office or anywhere a smaller TV is adequate I would say…Buy it now!!! Before the price goes up.

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