Thanks to scubadiver and 卡拉 for the information.

I went to COSTCO to check the new 42" VIZIO LCD TV, The new model is definitely a great value for $1300; Congratulations for scubadiver, a best buy for the money.

Compare to the old models, the new one improved the overal design, picture contrast is also much improved, with better default color tuned. Per scubadiver's input, their ATSC tuner is also much improved. I am impressed with VIZIO, the company definitely listened to its customer's opinion.


But I am not sure if I need a 42" TV, as my apartment living room is not that sized.

I had the same feeling about the TV size, thought it was bigger enough, but later found it was not. By some calculation, I found the reason: when you watch standard program(4:3) on the 16:9 TV, only partial of the size is used, which means it equals to a smaller TV.

Here is the table I got when Watching 4:3 content:

Size of a 16x9 TV   =     size of a 4:3 TV
32"                     =     26"
37"                     =     30"
42"                     =     34"


So when I upgraded my old 27" 4:3 TV to a 16:9 32" one, I actually downgraded the TV from 27" to 26" when watching normal content.

My conclusion: 32" is an entry level Home theater; 37" is great for an apartment HT. 42" is great for a large living room or house owners.

But I wont go for the VIZIO 37" upgrade as the new 42" model has so many improvements!

guess what?

I was at Costco today and the 42" Vizio TV is out of stock! I am glad I did it quickly:)

Definitely a great deal! Congratulations to all who got the deal.

I believe VIZIO is a great company, I read an article about Vizio/amtran, their LCD TV shipping volume in North America was ranked 9th in Q4 last year, 7th this Q2, and their target for this year is to be top 5. They have some relationship with Sharp in Taiwan, I guess that is why they can quickly get into the right track the LCD HDTV business.

Since I don't need a 42" one, I will take the Costco deal next week, a 37" Sceptre HDTV for $999. Don't know much about Sceptre's product, hope it would be a good buy.

我也想知道 37" Sceptre HDTV 的情况

俺家是４２" 的Sceptre HDTV 。也是从ＣＯＳＴＣＯ买的，但买得有点早，买贵了。

２０００好几刀！

怎么现在37" 的才９９９刀啊？　少痛很多，　很好的ＤＥＡＬ呀。

Troublemaker 姐 的 42”sceptre 是高端的42"产品，分辨率达到了1920x1080，好像目前没有几家能作这么高分辨率的，应该不会降价太多的。再说这么高的分辨率，看起1080的HD绝对是很养眼的，付些premium 也值得。

COSTCO on sale 的是1366x768 的37"， 是SCEPTRE 的新出的降低分辨率的型号，所以我说不知道质量如何。 好在COSTCO的质量我们是知道的!

我已经在costco.com 定购了3 天， status 还是 processing...   不知要等多久才能到手， 要是可以store buy 就好了。 到时我会POST 我的使用结果的。

最近看了一些关于 Digital TV 的新闻，感觉如下：
* 国会支持 DTV 态度很坚决， 估计很多 deadline 不会再推迟。包括 关闭模拟信号，不许卖非 DTV(SDTV/ EDTV/HDTV) 电视, 有线电视公司必须提供 CableCard 支持等.
* 新上市电视应该是 HDTV, built-in Tuner, CableCard.
* 这两年旧电视会有大的降价幅度.
* 一些用户将取消有线电视/卫星电视, 只看免费的DTV.(只有本地台)
* 有线电视/卫星电视不再花大钱买 digital box, 而选择 CableCard.
不知各位大虾有何不同见解?

About 37" Sceptre HDTV

Ordered on 8/14, delivered on 8/24. SCEPTRE 可能低估了COSTCO的能量, 以至于几天之后就发现根本就没法供货. 于是原来宣布的7 到10 个工作日 ，几天后来改成了15-20个工作日， 目前改称6-8 个星期了.

手上有两台电视了, 于是可以并排比较:

颜色:   反复调较后结论: SCEPTRE 胜出, VIZIO 的对比度不够, 白色不够白, 偏黄, 黑色只是深灰, 单独看不是太大问题, 并排一比就看出不足了, 先天不足, 无法通过调参数改进. 第二代的VIZ42 应该没这个问题.

值得一提的是, SCEPTRE 的出厂设置非常差, 刚开始时简直没法看, 亮处太白, 暗处全黑, 稍为动态大的画面就会丢失细节, 对比度调到0, 再调亮度, 仍无法不丢细节. 直到发现关掉高级设置里的伽马才解决. 建议设置：
DTV

Video Menu:

Contrast 33
Brightness 32
Sharpness 5
Color 29 - 33
Tint 0

Advance Menu:

Vivid: off
Skin: off
Green: off
Blue: LOW
Gama: 0

3rd menu

Lamp: 0
DCI: off


REVIEW: SCEPTRE 37SV-KOMODO vs VIZIO L32HDTV


1. Specification Difference: Fundamental!

Item               Sceptre     vs       VIZIO

Contrast         1000:1 ****       800:1 **
Viewing Angle   176     *           170
Lamp Life         50K hours  ****     60K hours *****

2. DTV Difference:

Item               Sceptre       vs     VIZIO

ATSC tuner         ****               **
Video Quality       *****             ****

3. TV:

Item                 Sceptre       vs     VIZIO
Video Quality       **                 **

4. PC VGA:

Item                 Sceptre       vs     VIZIO

Native Resolution   1360x768         1366x768
Display Quality       *****             *****
Support DDC         No                 Yes *

5. HDMI

Display Quality       *****             *****
HTMI to DVI cable     Included *         N/A

6. Other

PIP and POP         NO                 YES ***
Overal Design         ***                 ****
Build Quality         ***                 ****
Manual               ****                *****
Remote Control       ***                 ****

Total                 44                   46  

基本是平手，尺寸大小的需要决定我升级到 SCEPTRE。

NOTE:

1. ATSC 接收能力比VIZIO 强！ （UPDATED! 原来用得信号分线器使信号衰减, 以至两台效果都不好!） 将RCA 525 放大天线天线放在二楼，单独接一台电视，SCEPTRE 基本可收到20多个数字台(保夸三个中文台), 不过不同台天线位置可能要调整, 高清的节目两台看上去都非常不错. 但有几个台信号(PBS, ABC)很弱, 会有马塞克或停顿, 而同样清款下, VIZ 对信号弱的完全台收不到 .

2. SCEPTRE 37 可能是为了降低成本, 没有PIP 或 POP, POP是用16:9 看并排的两个 4:3 节目, 如果有不同节目同看时非常有用(如PC 和 DVD同时看).

3. SCEPTRE 的 REMOTE 质检有问题, 我的遥控 EXIT 键不起作用, 调台比VIZ慢, 调完台后退不出来, 很烦人, 遥控设计方面, OK 键和周围的方向键挨得太紧而又比周围的键低一大节, 经常按不到位, 可又不像VIZ 的遥控有醒目的LED 指示.   但SCEPTRE 的遥控简单易用， Favorite Key, Picture Key 非常有用！VIZIO 的遥控是UNIVERSAL 的， 可以编程控制DVD，VCR等。

4. 外关设计Sceptre 不如 VIZ32, 整机, 包装, 手册, 遥控全部都显得VIZ 高一个档次.

总体上说
SCEPTRE 37SV KOMODO for $999 和 VIZIO L32HDTV for $799 都是超值的， If size is correct, both good buy.

对于同尺寸同价格的 SCEPTRE X37 和 VIZIO L37

VIZIO L37 的 Contrast = 600:1 要比 L32 再减两分， 考虑到ＤＴＶ　视频效果的重要性， SCEPTRE should be a better choice.

Thanks 一江春水!