Sylvania LC320SL1 32-inch 720p LCD HDTV, Black

Review by Lene Jensen for Sylvania LC320SL1 32-inch 720p LCD HDTV, Black
Rating:
First let me preamble this with information that I have only had this a few hours, but the technical details about this TV is almost none-existent, so I want to at least give some information.

It is very light. There are 4 screws to get the stand on, and they were easy to screw in. The stand does not swivel. It isn’t very thick, about normal for LCD. Let me get to what is in the box:

TV

Stand

4 screws

Remote control

Batteries for remote control

Warranty card

Getting started guide

Full manual

As for the ports, there are 3 HDMI ports — one on the right side facing the TV and two behind, a USB on the side. Composite on the side as well as back and an analog connection. I was surprised, because what I have seen online is that it only had one.

Menus are easy to work with. The picture quality is good, and the sound is adequate. I have to say I haven’t really tried it out much, since I haven’t had it for long. Set up was a breeze and my cable remote control worked with the code 0171. I think it took me about 5 minutes from the box were delivered until I was watching TV, and I set it up myself.

I will write more once I have it for a little longer.

Review by Dr. Mike for Sylvania LC320SL1 32-inch 720p LCD HDTV, Black
Rating:
This is a good TV so far. I put it in the bedroom. I haven’t used it for anything more than movies while lying in bed at night. I plan on hooking up an antenna and seeing what the HD tuner picks up and will update this review. The fact that I got it through an Amazon special for over $100 off the regular price was what made the difference. It was all about VALUE on this purchase and I’m pleased so far…

Review by BD for Sylvania LC320SL1 32-inch 720p LCD HDTV, Black
Rating:
So we bought this model locally, at a department store, they sold it on sale for $330, strangely since three weeks ago, they have it marked down only to $399 now, so guess it was a good deal, but also bought a three year extended service contract “just in case” for $60($20 per year), I’ve had my share of bad electronics over the years, things can happen even to the best of brands, and if Amazon offers an extended service/replacement plan I suggest you get one if you can afford it. I hated paying extra, but I have bad luck, and as luck would have it, the mp3/cd player boombox we bought that night had to go back cause one speaker new out of the box wasn’t working, and I once saw an expensive large screen t.v. once need hundreds of dollars in repairs cause the electronic board wasn’t soldered completely and gave out after two years, after the warranty expired.

Anyway, its not 1080P, but was cheaper, and is only 720P, but I still don’t know the difference since this is my first hdtv. Three hdmi ports, but plenty of other ports to choose from, what is confusing is that “USB” looking port on it, on the side, the box doesn’t say anything about it, nor do the instructions, and it is marked “service terminal”, which I was thinking was for “service” I suppose, like maybe a technician, who knows, I notice alot of other brands advertising a usb port as a way of showing pics on a memory stick, I don’t own a memory stick but I am computer literate enough to be able to view pics on screen, IF that is what the usb port is for “servicing”, dunno.

If I had to guess anything that could be risky on it, that would be the remote control, it is small, and cheap looking, but seems adequate enough. Right now I am using the “S” video port for regular dvd player, that shows up on “video” on the list, along with component and regular t.v and the three hdmi ports. The way things are, you need as many hdmi ports as possible, and some t.v.’s I noticed only have two or one, and this has three, a good thing. This tv even has the screw on 75 ohm old style connector, a good thing since if I put it in the other end of the home, the satellite service only ran a 75 ohm line to that end of the home, but the other family member watches tv in there mostly and can’t watch t.v with an hd cable cause we are only using one sat box, dual tv mode.

What I was impressed with is the screen formats you can switch to, when I first turned it on, the main screen shown a smaller view as default, but you have to press “format” to go to 16×9 screen format for the whole wide screen to be filled, there is also “movie expand”, “zoom”, and “wide”, make sure to know how to adjust between, having been unfamilar, I thought there was something wrong at first.

Other than that, I had/have the option locally to return the unit within the first thirty days no questions asked if I wasn’t “satisfied”, by the 27th of august, I still can, but there seems to be no reason, 1080P units are still a hundred dollars or more expensive and this is working out just fine, and I don’t have a steller home theater setup to really care, have no blue ray player, and I use a really old stereo receiver for enhanced sound on movies.

I think 720P is just fine for the average person unless you are a kid whose friends all have 1080P, I mean, who cares, the satellite service gave us free hd and a cable and I can’t see a difference compared to non hd channels. I look at 1080P screens and 720P screens at the store playing the same thing and whoopie, big deal, there must be a difference so subtle its hard to tell.

I spent about four hours reading reviews for folks experiences with blue ray players, newer and older, along with t.v. set reviews and I come to believe that blue ray is over rated and unreliable and too new for the technology used to show it, all the blue ray players take about a minute to start up, even the ones saying they’ll do it in five seconds, and some aren’t reliable, there are too many folks on their second and third blue ray player in a couple of years due to some brands just not working one day, sometimes at one year old. I’m about to just get a upconverter to increase the resolution of regular dvd’s, otherwise the latest panasonic or panasonic bd65 or LG 550 or above would technically be supposed safe bets, panasonic always having good track records, and actually, I have a really old five piece carousel panasonic dvd player about ten years old that is still going strong, mainly for cd’s now, but it got used alot, though it has compatibility issues with some recorded backup cd r’s. A word on blue ray, I don’t know if it is a big city thing or what, but they add in the ability on all the new blue rays to download movies and streaming video, but rurally, there isn’t really that much high speed access other than digital satellite, I can’t see myself downloading movies even if I had “it all” high speed to do so, I collect movies, and enjoy renting them at the rental store, it must be a kiddy thing or big city thing to be a big deal to be downloading, almost like those who really go for all the latest cell phone fun.

As for upconverters, using hdmi cables, wow, that can be a problem too if you don’t do some research, I mean, I won’t spend more than fifty bucks for one, and you shouldn’t either, they say the blue ray players “upconvert” regular dvds, supposedly, but there were a few reviews that some weren’t that convinced, so I am thinking it might be prudent to get a cheap upconverter and note the goodness of it and have a blue ray player later or too, I mean, the durability and trouble of starting up these blue ray players might mean it would be wiser to use an upconverter for regular dvds, and leave a blue ray player to playing blue rays only. Frankly, I wouldn’t buy a blue ray player without purchasing at least a two year extended warranty contract like I do locally, maybe even a three year extended warranty on blue ray only, cause they are just too new a technology so far, kind of reminds me of when cd players first came up for sale in the late 80’s, I had one go out on me, and a second have compatibility issues until I purchased an expensive upper brand name for loads of cash, I mean like $400 in 1990. I believe blue ray players is the driving force behind alot of new tv purchases in 720P to 1080P right now, since alot of folks like myself may have multiple tv’s already, including recent flat screen tube models sold just two years ago, now everything is light weight LCD or LED models.

#$$$Oh, one note of interest, I am guessing I am really behind the times, I had to ask what an “LED” tv is, and that is a tv screen backlit by leds’s, which last longer than what backlights LCD screens I suppose, like this LCD sylvania. Really, then there is the whole plasma screen thing, a neighbor blew loads of cash on a plasma screen and swears it aint no better than his older projection t.v.

I just hope that this Sylvania LCD lasts as long as the oldest tv in the house, the well used ten year old Philips Magnavox 26 inch screen, that only has dvd inputs on the back with regular cable connection, its still going.

Hope this helps, I know that I am absolutely reading reviews at amazon all the time, I’ll probably get a dvd upconverter with cable from amazon, hdmi cables are cheaper through amazone than locally.