Olevia 537H 37-Inch LCD HDTV Reviews

Almost perfect, October 16, 2006

By 

K. Hecker “Ken Hecker” (Fullerton, California USA) –

  

I purchased the Olevia 537h LCD flat panel TV for my mother, as she entered an assisted living community. I wanted her to have the best picture quality. She loves baseball, and has fairly good eyesight.

I had spent some time looking at the Olevia 537h, but had only seen it showing a poor quality documentary. Still, I could see that the picture was excellent. When I installed my unit (which by the way was delivered sooner than expected, and in perfect condition), and first played a DVD, I was more than satisfied with the results (the Platinum edition of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was almost too good. You could see the artists’ every brush stroke). The DVD player was one which Up-converted to HD 1080i quality, and the Olevia was up to the task. The picture was sharp, and the color was pure.

As has been stated, the on-screen display menu system Syntax is so proud of takes some getting used to, and I had to print out the manual from disc to have a reference in front of me. Some things are still not clear (manual-wise, that is) I almost have it fully programmed, but will probably have to find a simpler remote for my mother’s use. I’m using it with an HD antenna, but will probably have to arrange for cable input, as some local stations just don’t come in well. This I know is not the fault of the unit.

Overall it is a gem. The picture looks great in even bright room light. No glare from the screen. The colors are pure. And the price from Amazon is the best I had found.

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A great product at a great price, September 5, 2006

By 

Mark Davey “Kariato” (Evansville, IN United States) –

  

A great product got better. The 537H is the successor to the LT37HVS which was a great product with a heavy internet following because it provided a excellent picture at a very reasonable price. So how did Syntax top the LT37HVS well they kiazen`d(fixed) its few failings the SD picture, ATSC tuner and the remote while retaining the excellent picture and the great price point.

The quality is fantastic, watching PBS’s nature shows just shows off the picture.

The ATSC tuner works great, I live in a rural area and many of our digital stations operate at low power but with a good indoor power antenna I picked up all the broadcast channels without problem. WKET transponder is a good 40 miles away and operates below 100W but came in with no dropouts.

Where this television really separates it self from the other low end HD panels is the SD picture quality. Low end panels normally fail when it up converts an SD 480i signal, the cheap video processors usual included cannot process a decent looking SD picture which a real annoyance since the majority on content will be SD until we go all Digital in 2009 or later if you are using cable sources. The SD up conversion looks great, nearly as good as the up conversion at the local broadcasting stations.

Pros:
Great contrast ratio 1:1600
Excellent colors, bright (though the darks took a little adjustment to get right)
An ATSC tuner that works great.
Lot’s of different sources at the back.
Nice styling

Cons: (Silly small things)
A little thick for a flat panel.
Menu system takes a little getting used too.

I personally believe that it will be hard to find a better 37″ HD panel at this price point.

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Agree with the other reviewers here !, January 5, 2007

I bought the 537H before Thanksgiving for just under $1,000. The price has subsequently dropped to well under $900. Shop the net and get the best price. I did have to update the firmware which requires you to download the drivers and the software from the Olevia site, then hook up your USB cable from the computer to the TV and then follow specific instructions requiring you to unplug the TV two times. Not real user friendly and if Olevia had a little better product control, the consumer wouldn’t have to “reboot” a new TV so to speak. The price is terrific for the size of the screen. The remote control codes are impossible to find and even Olevia admits that 3rd party remote controls will not work, unless you get a learning remote and program that independently. So I have three remotes right now, one with the TV to control the volume, the Time Warner cable box remote to change the channels and the Dish Network remote for the satellite. Got a learning remote on the way to help alleviate the clutter.
The 537H does have many input jacks to accommodate your cable boxes, audio receiver, DVD players etc. The downside is that when your trying to change the input(say going from cable box to satellite TV) you’ve got to go through a whole list of different inputs to get to the one you want. To be specific it is 10 inputs you will scroll through.
If I was going to do it again, I may of spent another $100 or so and looked for more well known maker whose remote codes are more known.
Overall for the money it’s a good set, just be aware that there are some trade offs.

UPDATE March 2007:

I’ve had the 537H since November and now feel competent to write a review after living with this for 4+ months. The TV is now a better buy than when I purchased it for $1,000. It can be had for around $700.00. A terrific value in my opinion. The picture is very, very good. The shipping box is very, very poor. Make sure you know the sellers policy on returns/damaged goods. Don’t let the UPS/FED-EX/DHL whoever leave until after you’ve inspected the box, opened the box and made sure everything is good.
The 537 has plenty of inputs especially at this price point. It has like 10 different component settings available(DVD, SAT, TUNER, S-Video(2), Composite(2), component(2) and HDMI. The problem is that one mist scrawl through all of these to get to the component that you want to watch. There is no way to “turn off” so to speak those that you do not actually have hooked up. The TV does not have a universal remote code, so if your trying to use a remote from another component(say your cable TV remote or satellite remote), your not going to be able to control the TV with those. I ended up getting a SONY learning remote and programmed that with all the codes from the Olevia remote, my DVD player, Amplifier, Satellite TV box and cable box. Another thing a buyer needs to know is that the TV ships in what Olevia calls “Showroom mode.” When you first turn on the TV, you will have to take the TV software out of this mode and put it in “home” mode as this will allow you to change audio and video settings, take the tv out of Closed Captioning(yes it comes with CC activated – Why ??? Who knows ?)and change the audio from “church” mode(the audio is like an echo) to normal mode(again Why ???). The instruction manual is entirely on a CD and you should spend a 1/2 hour or so opening this CD on your computer and reading the set up instructions. The TV does have a base that can be removed for wall mounting but you’ll need an extra long Phillips head screwdriver to reach the screws that are mounted 5 to 6″ up inside the bottom of the base. However once you get it all hooked up and set up, you will really enjoy the picture.

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