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Guest -> RE: $ 538.00 Emerson LC320EM9 32 inch 720p LCD HDTV with 1500:1 Contrast ratio (6/5/2008 10:50:31 PM)
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Yes, It is a 16:9 aspect ratio. I looked at and played with the settings on all of the 32" LCD HD TVs at my local Wal-Mart in Lebanon, OH on 3 different occasions. I decided to buy this one. I was able to make it look very good, as good as or better than the more expensive 32" 720p LCD TVS with the feed they had going to all of the TVs in the store.
Mine will be used for the kids to play Wii when they get one for their birthday in a couple of weeks. I set it up and played with the TV tuner using over the air and analog cable when I got it home. I am pleased with the results so far. My main TV is a 60" Sony 1080i SXRD TV so my being pleased with a 720p 32" is saying something. Although I am not a videophile I am sensitive to color tones, sharpness, and brightness/contrast. I did not and will not be using a calibration disk on it. I made it look good to my eye and that is what counts for me.
Based on the specs the only disadvantage would be brightness is 360 versus 450 or 500 for most other sets but that did not affect my ability to make it look good. Out of box it was a little too red and little too bright for me - I dialed those back and am happy with the picture.
I have not used digital cable box, DVD, VCR, game console, etc or had it in a really bright sunny room to comment on those configurations.
Mine has model number "LC320EM9 3" on the sticker on the back. The book says it is for model "LC320EM9" and for "LC320EM9 3" - I'm not sure what the difference is. Mine has 2 composite inputs versus 1 that I have seen listed in some spec sheets so that may be the difference but I have no confirmation that is the case.
Speakers are 5 watts versus 10 to 15 watts on the more expensive units, but volume output is fine and the speakers actually had a little more bass than some of the other TVs I compared too. Keep in mind that a little more bass is actually nothing to write home about with the small speakers in this class of TVs.
It has NTSC (analog broadcast) and ATSC (digital broadcast) tuners. I don't know if it has a QAM tuner (to get digital channels off the standard analog cable feed) since I don't know whether our cable company supports it and I don't really know much about it (I use a digital cable box on the main TV). It did not find any digital channels when we did autoscan with it plugged into the cable (with no cable box). I don't see any mention of QAM in the manual.
The menu and setup is easy to use and intuitive. The remote is well thought out with dedicated buttons to:
- Change the display from standard, full, zoom, etc
- Change the input selection(antenna, HDMI, etc).
- Capture still image
- Display channel Info
- Audio: Stereo, Mono, language selection
- Sleep Timer
- Last Channel, Mute, Volume, Channel, number pad (with - to enter digital ATSC channel numbers), enter, navigation pad, and power, and setup.
Based on my experience I think this TV is a great deal - I was able to get the 2 year extended warranty for $58. That is the TV plus a total warranty of 3 years for less than the base price of most of the 32" TV's they had.
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