SyntaxBrillian 5-Series 42" LCD TV - 542I - Refurbished
Olevia 542i - 42" LCD HDTV - 1600:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio

This is the second 542i I have bought. Obviously, I think it is a good performer with a great price ($979.00, no shipping charge). I do wish my cable remote worked with it, and it's a bit creaky in its interactions with my cable box at times, but those are small concerns for a 42-inch LCD HDTV with this good a picture and this great a price.
 
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While I did have some problems getting the order confirmed which delayed the shipping for a couple of weeks. It seemed no one was willing to put forth any effort to close the sale and confirm the order was authentic and not a fraud. As I was shipping the TV to an alternate address as a gift. However after several calls and emails from me to buy.com the order was finally shipped and I couldn't be more pleased with the shipping time or the packaging or the delivery and most of all the product. The TV performs great and is just what my parents wanted without even realizing it. Thank you Buy.com for an amazing deal on a great product.
 
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I had this LCD TV for over 2 months and I'm still in awe with the quality of picture when I watch TV or DVD. I purchased it solely based on other Buy.com customers' reviews. They were all positive, as is my review. I highly recommend this TV. My learning experience is as follows: 1) As with all newer TVs, I had to learn a whole new menagerie of terms for all the new connectors; e.g., HDMI, AV1/2, Composite, S-Video, etc.; not to mention spending another night connecting it to my theater system; 2) I had a hard time finding a new remote or use the one that came with the TV to control ALL my components. Good news: Invest in a Logitech Harmony remote controller. It's a little expensive, but it will offset all the remotes you'll purchase to talk to all your devices, and you'll still have to have several remotes around. The Logitech Harmony (I got the 550 model) is a truely one-click remote controller for all your devices. It has a unbelievable database of components it will control, and constantly updated on the Logitech website. In summary, you'll not regret buying the Olevia 542.
 
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Searching for good value and good quality in a HDTV? We found it in the Olevia 542i. Off the air, local HDTV broadcasts are magnificent on this TV. We were watching PGA Golf on CBS this weekend with excellent clarity. You can actually count the leaves on the trees. And we don't even have HD cable or satellite. There are plenty of good shows on the local stations: CSI, David Letterman, etc. All of them come in very clear and sharp. All you will need is a UHF antenna and get the Olevia to scan for the local channels, both analog and digital. When it finishes the scan, just use the remote to flip through the channels. The digital channels are the ones that come in sharp and clear. We don't even watch the analog channels anymore. You will need some time to get used to the remote control and the menu system. It won't take very long, maybe just a couple of days. We have a DVD player plugged into the Component input of the Olevia. DVD movies are not quite as sharp as the HDTV broadcasts, but still good. We'll have to wait until the HD DVD format issue is resolved before we buy a new player. We're very happy with this purchase. Two thumbs up for BUY.COM
 
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Can't beat the price for what it is. It doesn't have 1080p, but as of now nothing really supports it anyway...except for Blue Ray and HD...but can't buy that junk til you find out which one come out on top. Otherwise you might be stacking a unit on top of your Beta Player. I did have 1 dead pixel, which I can't see from across the room. The internal tuner is slow, about 2 seconds from button press to picture appearing on the next channel, somewhat annoying for channel surfing, but wouldn't stop me from buying it. Only has 1 HDMI port, so only one hookup without a spliter of some sort. Very necessary for DVDs for picture appearance (don't buy a HDMI cable in a retail store, will pay about 400% more for it)
 
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I got it this afternoon. The shipping is quite fast. Packing of the TV is good. Overall the picture is ok for me. The menu system suck. It will take you awhile to get use to it.
 
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Let me get straight to the point. Your not going to find a 42' HDTV with all the great connections and great picture for a price this low. Trust me I've looked. The Olevia 542i is better than I expected. The menu isn't that hard to learn. The picture is excellent. I immediately hooked up my Playstation and computer to it with ease.My friends ask me how much it cost, then look at me like Im a liar after I tell them. Buy.com was excellent in making the order go smooth. Shipping was free. I got it delivered in a few days. I can honestly say this was the most satisfying purchase I've ever made. You can't go wrong with this one.
 
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Good price on TV. Good picture with just digital cable, HD hookup on the way. No tacking information on your web site & after aweek waiting for delivery, emailed & had to make phone call to find out TV was sitting at shipper because my phone # was left off shipping ticket & they couldn't deliver until they got it.
 
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Sweet deal, great review from Consumer Reports... Easy to plug in and get sweet viewing. I use my PS2 to watch DVDs and games, it works nicely. I also bought a wall mount and an indoor antenna to pick up HD broadcasts. It works awesome! I m a west coaster, and the shipping took forever, it felt like. I was mislead by the east coast people getting it in 3 days. Ordered on a Thursday and got it 2 weeks and 1 day later.
 
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I have been using this TV for about two weeks and overall happy with its performance. Pro: 1. Exceptional value. Paid $ 970 at buy.com and was delivered in three days with free shipping. 2. Excellent HD tuner and pictures. I live close to NYC and receive plenty of of OTA HD. SD picture is tolerable. No cable or sattelite so I cannot tell you about them. 3. DVD looks excellent with component input. Haven't tried HDMI yet. Cons: 1. Slow boot time. 2. Switching sources is very annoying. Olevia must fix this by firmware upgrade. One cannot directly pick a input but rather have to rotate through all sources which is very annoying and time consuming 3. Black and gray levels are not great in dark scenes in SD picture. I have been enjoying OTA HD programming since last three years on Infocus 4805, LG 3710 OTA receiver / upconvert DVD and home theater set-up and No flat Panel or projection TV can beat this. 4. Heavy so be carefull. Haven't wall mounted yet
 
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Love the Olevia 542i. Picture is great right out of the box. Even my freinds Sharps and Sony's don't compare. Speakers have better than normal TV sound and very versatile. Can be mounted at bottom, sides, or on wall. Do not buy the bezel and bracket kit ($(140.00) to mount speakers on sides. Just cut existing bezel in half and drill the brackets to match hole pattern on the sides. Bad points: TV cannot be programmed to operate from another remote, TV is heavy for an LCD, on screen menu stinks, and operating manual is on CD only. Goods well outweigh the bad. About Buy.com. The price was the best I could find. The communication was excellent and timely. Shipping was quick and my TV arrived without even a ding in the box.
 
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Overall the unit is great and looks good on the stand. Right out of the box, it was ready to go ... except for the sound. I have to max out the sound levels just to hear anything and then there is an accompanying and annoying hiss that comes from having the signal amplified so much. It does not matter which channel I use, the sound is always poor (although the depth of poor does vary with the channel with some being "less poor" than others). I like the HDMI connection for the Sat box but my sat box does not have an HDMI out *laugh* I think that is something that I will have to upgrade (yet another montly fee from COMCAST no doubt *laugh*). I really like that you can mount the speakers on the side so that it has better appeal when on the wall. Now, I just have to find the right wall mounting bracket ...
 
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I had been looking for a few months for a new TV to make sure I got the right one and I believe I did. I read the reviews about this TV and how fast the delivery was. They weren't exaggerating. I ordered the TV Tuesday night and it was delivered on Friday. The unit is a bit heavy so rent a DVD, have some friends over to help set it up, and then enjoy. There are a variety of inputs to use so even older devices can plug in easy enough but try to stick to the higher end modes (HDMI or Composite). The video quality takes a noticeable hit in the low end input modes.
 
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I did a lot of research and a lot of previewing of various LCD and Plasma TVs before I was willing to spend my hard-earned cash. The Olevia 542i kept on rising to the top of my list. Based on price, the Olevia 542i is a no-brainer. Based on performance ... well, I think the picture is just terrific. I can't see any benefit at all in buying a TV that costs twice as much. The set is crystal clear with great contrast and color. I removed the speakers and lowered (raised?) the stand. The TV is designed to do this -- there are extra holes in the stand so the TV can be mounted lower on the stand. It was very easy to do - a total of six screws need to be removed, then replaced. This is so the speakers can be mounted on the sides of the TV. The TV now stands just under 30" tall, which is a much better fit in my wall unit. The speakers are now in the same cabinet, but behind the TV. The speakers have enough wire attached to mount them five feet away. It all worked out just fine. Did I say the Olevia 542i is terrific? It is! It certainly earned its "Best Buy" rating from Consumer Reports.
 
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This was my first venture into an LCD TV, the HD programmes and functions are great, many easy features, the menus are difficult to navigate and the rest of this TV is great, for the price and quick delivery you really can not go wrong. Great TV.
 
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I love my TV. It is much more than I expected. My husband set it up for me in our bedroom. We love it. Great picture and sound, and loads of extras. The speakers are great. The remote lights up when you press a button! Warning, it is very heavy!!!!!!! The picture is great even if you do not have cable HDTV. You can adjust the aspect ratios and watch 2 things at once. Delivery time was fabulous. I chose budget shipping because it was free. I ordered it on Saturday night after 8 pm and it was here by Tuesday!
 
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The purchase of my Olevia 542i LCD TV went flawlessly. Buy.com made it all happen at a great price. The TV works perfectly; after getting to know how to use the remote. Other than needing help to lift the 96 lb. TV, the set up was smooth and easy. I have used the TV now for over a week and the picture quality and sound are great. This is my first LCD HDTV and Olevia makes a standout product. After some trepidation about buying an unknown brand product, it was the right choice (although I did purchase the extended 2 yr. warranty) and Olevia is living up to its growing reputation. Thanks Buy.com for making it happen from a truly happy consumer.
 
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I bought this after reading others' reviews and getting a great price off the buy.com email special ($949). While it could have slightly better black levels, you can't beat it for the price. Looks good, works great. I'd buy another one at that price. Olevia has a good return policy, which I found out after I saw buy.com's issue with returning large tv's. No worries.
 
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Order processed Tuesday afternoon; on my door step Friday morning. All without paying extra for shipping. Free shipping is great! TV has awesome quality and extremely easy to set up! I have DISH network and am waiting to upgrade to HD when my contract renews (to get a better deal). The picture is great, even without HD signal. TV is a "CR best buy" and I second that notion!!!
 
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I decide to buy the Olevia 542i because of the "Best Buy" rating by Consumer Reports in their March 2007 issue. The price was a lot less than their other recommended HDTVs. I searched the internet for the best price and Buy.com was at least $100 less when you considered they offered free shipping and no sales tax at the time I ordered the product(I noticed that the price has gone up since I made my purchase). I ordered the product on a Monday and it was delivered the following Thursday. Set up was easy and the picture is very good.
 
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First off, free shipping said 7-9 days. I ordered this TV on a Tuesday, and to my surprise it arrived on Friday AM. The TV itself is awesome, HD pic is crisp and clean. It would be hard to find many better 42" LCD's for $1000. My recommendation....Buy this TV.
 
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If you are looking for a big TV...this is definately a great choice. This TV has a great picture and has a lot of components for HDTV. Just didn't realize at first that I needed to purchase HD service extra from the cable company so the picture on most channels is not that great until you get the HD. On screen menu is a little confusing.Is a great TV especially for the price and I am definately satisfied. I bought this TV because the brand was one of the top 5! Great TV!
 
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TV arrived - opened box - plugged it in - connected it to cable. One phone call to the tech desk (3 min wait). Told them I was not getting a picture - They told me what to do - All was great! I have no complaints with the TV or Tech Service. Great Picture and Sound - GREAT BUY
 
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"Wow, that's a big TV" was what crossed my mind when I opened the box to view the enormous gift I bought for my family. The set-up was a breeze and the overall picture is great. I am still waiting to upgrade my cable box for HD, but I know I'll be very happy. I need to say that the delivery of my new TV was fantastic. At the check out lane I was asked if I wanted the free shipping 7-10 days sure why not no rush. I ordered on a Monday and got the TV on that same week Thursday. Way to go Buy.com. Very happy can't wait to order from you guys again.
 
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Ok, I was a bit skeptical to buy a non-name brand TV and online none-the-less, sight unseen. WoW!!! This was a great choice. For those of you who don't think you'd use the VGA hook up think again. I ended up using it the first week of owning it. The sound is pretty good. I still have yet to move the speakers around, but I bet it will be even better with the speakers on the side. The TV is quite slim and not really that heavy. Great picture. The delay to turn on is a bit annoying, but you get used to it and it's not a big deal. Very sharp looking set too. Find it on sale w/ free shipping and BUY IT!!! You will not regret it.
 
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I ordered the TV on Monday at noon. It arrived by FedEx on Thursday at noon. It's big and heavy so I'm glad I could help the truck driver. No bad pixels, great picture. It tunes over the air and also has qam tuner for cable channels which are not scrambled. I have no reservations. Picture is bright and sharp. HD is fantastic. There is a learning curve for all the features. Setting of "show room" locks controls. Set input to tuner before attempting channel scan. This sort of thing. I have friends who will order the next time it goes on sale. Let me know Buy.com. Jack W.
 
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I got this TV on the 4th day after the order. Packaging is not perfect. The engineering of the TV is not perfect. However I think that the TV set up is easy. i set this up for TV viewing and it is perfect. There is one dead pixel (I tried very hard to find it). I still do not know how to adjust the colors etc, but the picture I saw is good enough for me. The remote is better than I expected from what I read from the reviews. The tuner works very well and I can get excellent pictures from over the air HD. there is only one thing I still do not know and I am not sure it is because of me or because of the TV. A. There are several inputs, including one HDMI. I used a DVI-hdmi cable to connect the DVI signal from my computer's graphics card to the hdmi input. I am trying to view some 720p/1080i source. The picture is good but it "flicks". what I mean is that from time to time the screen become black for a second then come back again. This even happens when I just view the computer desktop picture(the one that has my computer, trash can etc). Does this mean that the DVI-HDMI cable is the problem? B. Another thing is that when I was using the above connection, I can not use the Tuner. i can switch to the Tuner input, but the channel stays at 1, I can not change the channel. C. I connected back to VGA input using VGA cable and everything works fine now (But I did turn on and off the TV for quite some time to get the Tuner back). That's why I put 4s here. If someone can help me with this, it will be greatly appreciated. HB
 
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Beautiful picture, lots of input modes. Less than $1000 shipped for a 42" beauty. What more could you want? Well, for one, some decent documentation and a real user manual. Instead you get a poorly written manual on a CD. And a cutesy but confusing on-screen "OSD" control for everything. And an unuseble PIP system. You'd be pulling your hair out if it wasn't for good user-to-user forums such as www.avsforum.com. However, in the end it was well worth the grand!
 
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I ordered this TV on on Saturday after 8 pm. Guess what it is Tuesday and the TV is here!!!!!!!!!!
 
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I have benn looking to purchase a large flat screen TV for over 2 years. The price and reliability have been holding me back. I reviewed many references, including ConsumerReports and they rated this TV a Quick Pick. They were right on. With an HD signal the picture is un-real! The sound from the attached speakers is incredible. The various options and settings are varied enough to allow the picture, audio, screen and colors to be adjusted to your liking. You can also easily wipe them all away and reset to the defaults. A single HDMI cable was all that was needed for the hook-up, but there are several input options. I plan to add surround sound as well. Unit arrive ahead of schedule and it accepted a standard mounting bracket and I have already mounted it onto my stone fireplace. For $1,099 you can't beat the value.
 
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We have had the TV for a few weeks now and are really enjoying it. Shipping was fast with no problems. This is our first HDTV so it took a bit to set it up with the cable box etc. The only complaint that I have is that the on screen menu system takes a bit to get use to. No glare with the LCD is a big plus.<br><br> Current HD setup is with Time Warner. We have a Scientific Atlanta 8300 DVR with HDMI directly out to the Olevia. The 8300 is setup to always send out 1080i and we use the # key on the remote to stretch non HD channels. Works well.<br><br> So far I would recommend this TV...
 
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Our family is so thrilled with this television. It's really beautiful - picture is extremely clear and it's very sleek. Original setup was quite frustrating because we didn't have a computer accessible to run the cd containing the instructions and we received the tv on President's Day. Olevia's customer service was closed! Hmmmm. We muddled through, however, and now we're very happy. I would recommend this product because of it's exceptional quality for the price tag!
 
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Basically, this is well worth the value. The only downsides to this thing are 1) the weight and cumbersomeness of the unit itself, and 2) the ease of the on screen display. It is a big, beautiful, crisp (with DVD as input) picture with (on my unit) no weak spots or dead pixels. Heck, I had a little tube tv before that had no highs or lows when it came to sound, so this tv beats the crap out of that too! If you're thinking of switching over from tube to LCD, this is definately the one to do it with. It is not the best (no 1080p), or the easiest to use, but it is a good tv for a price you won't have any remorse about.
 
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Excelent product for the price. Easy set up out of the box. Very pleased with the shipping. Ground shipping was estimated at 7 to 9 days. I ordered on Monday and the product was delivered on Thursday morning.
 
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I researched this a lot before buying it because it was going to be my for my living room and will be used a lot. I found out that despite a few negatives about the remote I decided to buy it and I am very happy that I did! Absolutely brilliant TV but the instructions are pain to get to since they are on the CD but after you figure out the controls it is very very easy to use. Just remember to turn on Home Room and adjust it to the room it is in and remember if you do not have a cable box from your cable provider to run a Cable Channel Auto Detect or if you go up and down on the remote it will go to Channel 1 and not go anywhere! Other than that this TV is a must! Cheap price that can't be beat! You will not be sorry for getting this so buy it now!
 
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Although it is a little confusing for setup and programming at first, the picture and sound quality is well worth it. The multi-port I/O connections allows you to connect virtually any device that you may have. Very satisfied!!!!
 
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TV arrived in three days with free shipping, was a bit heavy at 90lbs. but once set up works flawlessly, it geta over 200 channels on regular cable without a converter box. Picture is sharp and crisp. I had previously bought the 26" Olivia and liked that set, but this is better.
 
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This TV was just rated as the best buy for 42" LCD's by Consumer Reports. I bought it based on their rating and have been more than pleased with both the price and the product.A Great buy
 
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I am thrilled with the TV. I ordered it on Sunday for standard delivery and it was at my house Tuesday morning. It was exactly as advertised and substanially less expensive than any other site or store that I found and shipping was free. Set up was painless but some of the on-screen programming necessary is a little confusing. I am happy that I used the site, happy with the product and will return for other stuff.
 
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I bought this TV for my 75 year old mother-in -law as a Christmas gift. She loves the TV - the picture blows her away but she was using a cheap 15 year old 21 inch TV. The only practical down side is the TV complicated and she get lost with all the options - I doubt this will be an issue for a techno savey person.
 
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This is my 4th Olevia TV. I previously bought the 26" and 27" TV/Monitors which are used on my wife's computer and mine. My computer monitor doubles as a TV for my HTPC. I also have a 32" Olevia located in a bedroom. I was satisfied enough with those to be comfortable picking up the OLVEIA 42" Model LT42HVI, in July '06, for placement in the armoir in my living room. This is the model with the glass cover. My experience is similar to the previous reviewer. I'm completely satisfied with the value for the money ($1499). The HD performance is wonderful and I rarely use any of my TV's for standard broadcast shows. I use cable HDVR's to record programming in HD and 90% of the time watch live HD or what's recorded. I plan to use a Polk Surroundbar as an external speaker, probably attached to a separate surround sound amplifier. I don't consider the internal speakers on any tv sufficient for movie viewing.
 
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I raffled one of these off at a SuperGame party. We set it up to show it off and the picture was incredible with minimal adjustment. I used a UHF antenna to pull in the free signal and it looked awesome! I bought it on sale which was the best price going for this size TV with HD tuner (this has both tuners) and this price beats what I paid and it still has no tax! The remote has a ton of controls but is somewhat confusing to figure out. The menu system has a lot to be desired, also. But, at this price, I should buy one two! Also, check out the reviews from a major magazine on this model, a "Best Buy."
 
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This LCD shows great in HD at 1080i, I was a little dissapointed with the packaging. I am also having some trouble programming the universal remote control. The directions printed, do not work for the remote control. The LCD has alot of configurations which I am still learning and the options for inputs are plenty which is great. I also like the upgradeability of the firmware through the USB input. The product looks nice in our room. One thing that all buyers of any HD LCD or Plasma should know is that regular TV (non HD) does not show as well or as crisp as it does on a good CRT. So thats a little dissapointing as well. Overall though, I saved a ton of money and I am pleased overall with this product and would recommend it to price conscious consumers.
 
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I have owned last years OLVEIA 42" Model LT42HVI for almost a year which was purchased $2,000. This has been a great LCD. Zero problems, no pixels sticking. The angle of view is is quit good for a LCD. My friend liked mine so well he drove 150 miles to pick one up for $2,000 as well. He likes the sound of the speakers that came with the OLIVIA but then he does not have a surround sound system to compare to. I removed the bottom speakers giving a plasma look. I have suround sound. The LT42HVI has a lot of glass on the front which does has some reflection problems if you have the window blinds open. I do not think this LCD has any more reflection problems than most plasma TV with a glass surface. With proper placement of the set most of the relection problems are eliminated. The only problem I have had is the 2 HDMI imputs. My satellite provider claims to be having problems with outputing a HDMI signal so I have no way of testing to compare the quality of the HDMI compared to the Component 1.2 inputs. I use the Component inputs on the OLIVIA which has an stellar picture in HDTV via DISH Network VIP 622 HDTV reciever. I am also pleased with the onboard ATSC HD/Digital off air tuner which is doing a great job tuning in stellar over the airwave HD and digital local channels. I would not be afraid to buy another OLIVIA HDTV in the future. A lot of feature and qualifty for the money.
 
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