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Magnavox 19MD357B 19-Inch LCD HDTV with Built In DVD Player
See it at Amazon.com for $418.00Average Customer Rating
(2.5 out of 5)
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(1 out of 5) by L_Mor on Aug 1, 2009Magnavox 19" LCD HDTV w/ DVD Player
Bought Nov '07, started malfunctioning June '09. When turned on after being off for sometime (tipically overnight), the sound would cut off or a piercing whistle would start after a few seconds. None of the controls would work and the unit had to be unplugged, wait a few seconds, replugged, turned on again. This dance would be done 10-15 times before it would settle down and work normally, although with a few crackles and pops for the first few minutes of uninterrupted operation. A search on the Internet indicates that this is a generic problem with many Magnavox models, not just this one. Too bad, as it has a very good image and vibrant colors, good audio (when it works!). Now the unit is out of production, but the problem is carrying over to newer models. Magnavox is not fixing it and I will stay away from their products as well as Norelco and Philips.
Bought Nov '07, started malfunctioning June '09. When turned on after being off for sometime (tipically overnight), the sound would cut off or a piercing whistle would start after a few seconds. None of the controls would work and the unit had to be unplugged, wait a few seconds, replugged, turned on again. This dance would be done 10-15 times before it would settle down and work normally, although with a few crackles and pops for the first few minutes of uninterrupted operation. A search on the Internet indicates that this is a generic problem with many Magnavox models, not just this one. Too bad, as it has a very good image and vibrant colors, good audio (when it works!). Now the unit is out of production, but the problem is carrying over to newer models. Magnavox is not fixing it and I will stay away from their products as well as Norelco and Philips.
Piece of Garbage
(1 out of 5) by zutronics on Jul 31, 2009 (NYC)I remember when I had televisions growing up that were from the 70's - not the most visually pleasing units, but they worked. Well, this POS Magnavox TV is broken a little over a year from the initial purchase. I can't eject my DVD, and I can't turn the thing on. I doubt my warrant will cover it, but I've learned a valuable lesson. Don't buy Magnavox!
I like it.. not a lot but for 200 I think that it's worth it.
(3 out of 5) by David B. Marshall on Jun 27, 2009Magnavox 19MD357B 19-Inch LCD HDTV with Built In DVD Player
I obtained this tv as a promo through direct tv. It was free with a two year contract. I ended up cancelling the contract and the tv ended up costing me [...] bucks. I have found it to be a capable little tv dvd combo. Do not expect very much from it but it is good for the kitchen or an extra room I suppose. The divx player has come in handy. The remote and interface are bulky and lack serious settings. Not to many options. I have it hooked up as my computer monitor and have a hi def tv as an alternate display off the comp. THe tv produces much darker colors and lacks a vibrant look. It is always warm but sometimes this works to its advantage ( well....sometimes) ahh its ok. nothing more.
I obtained this tv as a promo through direct tv. It was free with a two year contract. I ended up cancelling the contract and the tv ended up costing me [...] bucks. I have found it to be a capable little tv dvd combo. Do not expect very much from it but it is good for the kitchen or an extra room I suppose. The divx player has come in handy. The remote and interface are bulky and lack serious settings. Not to many options. I have it hooked up as my computer monitor and have a hi def tv as an alternate display off the comp. THe tv produces much darker colors and lacks a vibrant look. It is always warm but sometimes this works to its advantage ( well....sometimes) ahh its ok. nothing more.
Disposable
(1 out of 5) by G. Halligan on Apr 28, 2009 (FL United States)Very, very disappointed. Our first problem was the design of the DVD player. It allowed multiple DVDs to be inserted...which our toddler did unbeknownst to us. Then the dvd player stopped working altogether. So maybe that's not the fault of the TV. The thing that has me thoroughly annoyed is the same issue that others have reported. Our TV is barely a year old and it now screeches annoyingly loud 'beeps' for lack of a better term. You can not adjust or mute it or even just live with it. It's LOUD! The screen cuts in and out during this process. We now have to replace the whole TV.
Awesome picture; reads all homemada discs; 16:10 HD aspect ratio
(4 out of 5) by Fawn Sandberg on Mar 31, 2009Hi. I read the reviews here before I bought, and learned about the 16:10 aspect ratio problems. However, I went to the Magnavox web site and read the manual first, and saw that the TV "should" support 5 different display modes... so I went ahead and bought it. I incorrectly assumed that the 5 display modes would be available at any time. This is not the case!
The reviews are right -- for some HD TV stations (ABC, NBC, CBS), the TV defaults to 16:10 and there is no way to override it. Everything is tall-and-skinny. Even wierder -- sometimes these same stations will switch to a commercial, and the TV will change to display the commercial in a proper aspect ratio (4:3); then when the TV program comes back on, the TV goes back to tall-and-skinny again (16:10). This is really frustrating!
Some non-network TV stations (like our local PBS and ION/PAX/QUBO), allow you to change the aspect ratio to any of the five modes. Same with the DVD player -- you can easily switch the aspect ratio to your favorite setting.
Other than the 16:10 aspect ratio problem -- this is a GREAT TV! I bought it to replace an older 15" Sylvania LCD TV, and there is no comparison -- the Magnavox LCD screen is AWESOME! Very bright, and crystal-clear. The ATSC tuner seems to be good quality, too -- our Sylvania could only find 25 DTV signals, while the Magnavox found 36! We no longer suffer through signal dropouts, like we did with the Sylvania.
Most important to me -- the DVD player plays all the homemade discs (VCD, SVDC, DVD) that I have burned over the years. You can even put a regular computer CD in, and play MPG files directly from the Windows folders. You will need to be careful inserting discs -- push too hard, and the loader will surely break or jam. I wouldn't let kids put in their own movies! But that is the case with any slot-loading DVD player.
So, bottom line -- if you need a TV to primarily watch network TV, you'd probably be happier with a different brand/model. However, if you primarily watch DVD's (or don't care if your TV stations are tall-and-skinny), then this TV can be a good bargain.
The reviews are right -- for some HD TV stations (ABC, NBC, CBS), the TV defaults to 16:10 and there is no way to override it. Everything is tall-and-skinny. Even wierder -- sometimes these same stations will switch to a commercial, and the TV will change to display the commercial in a proper aspect ratio (4:3); then when the TV program comes back on, the TV goes back to tall-and-skinny again (16:10). This is really frustrating!
Some non-network TV stations (like our local PBS and ION/PAX/QUBO), allow you to change the aspect ratio to any of the five modes. Same with the DVD player -- you can easily switch the aspect ratio to your favorite setting.
Other than the 16:10 aspect ratio problem -- this is a GREAT TV! I bought it to replace an older 15" Sylvania LCD TV, and there is no comparison -- the Magnavox LCD screen is AWESOME! Very bright, and crystal-clear. The ATSC tuner seems to be good quality, too -- our Sylvania could only find 25 DTV signals, while the Magnavox found 36! We no longer suffer through signal dropouts, like we did with the Sylvania.
Most important to me -- the DVD player plays all the homemade discs (VCD, SVDC, DVD) that I have burned over the years. You can even put a regular computer CD in, and play MPG files directly from the Windows folders. You will need to be careful inserting discs -- push too hard, and the loader will surely break or jam. I wouldn't let kids put in their own movies! But that is the case with any slot-loading DVD player.
So, bottom line -- if you need a TV to primarily watch network TV, you'd probably be happier with a different brand/model. However, if you primarily watch DVD's (or don't care if your TV stations are tall-and-skinny), then this TV can be a good bargain.