Polaroid branded LCD TVs with tuners- anybody have comments?

[ahhaa]

I'm looking at a 19” POLAROID HD Widescreen LCD Television TLA-01911C commonly found at Walmarts these days.

It has VGA, S-Vid, etc... a multiplicity of inputs as well as a pretty smart over the air tuner built in for $298. (stall factor: bigger isn't that much more money % wise, as long as its not a 2 year MTBF lemon)

I'm wondering about stuff like the 850 contrast ratio, dead pixels showing up, warranty responses, mounting on the wall (not covered in manual- does that leg come off?) and particularly

...if digital / HD programming has better range than analog. I'm in a fringe reception area surrounded by trees, there are several channels that are pretty marginal in rain, snow, sunset, or during new show finales, etc.

Anybody have some experience with the Polaroid branded models?

thanks !

[edDV]

First understand the company you are dealing with. The "Polaroid" trademark was licensed to Petters Group, a reseller and then Petters Group acquired the shell of the old Polaroid camera company to gain ownership of the trademark. "Polaroid" is now an international merchant, not a manufacturer. Products are designed and made in Asia and distributed by Polaroid under their name.
http://www.polaroid.com/global/printer_friendly.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444176347...bmLocale=en_US

This senario is true for most Walmart type products where Asian products are branded with familiar names to USA/Canadian consumers. "RCA" is no longer a company but Thomson (a French company) acquired the trademark to brand Asian products for sale in the USA. Most don't know the Thomson brand as well as "RCA". Thomson has even licensed the "GE" trademark for consumer product sales in discount chains. GE withdrew from the consumer electronics market over 10 years ago and now licenses the trademark for that segment.

[edDV]

...if digital / HD programming has better range than analog. I'm in a fringe reception area surrounded by trees, there are several channels that are pretty marginal in rain, snow, sunset, or during new show finales, etc.

Better than analog? Maybe not if your local DTV stations are broadcasting at lower power than they will be in 2009. This is often true in small markets where the TV stations can't afford the power bill for two transmitters.

If you are in the fringe and depend on OTA reception, get a recent generation ATSC tuner. Performance gets better every year.

Or, only buy from a store with no questions return policy.

[GKar]

Don't know much about "Polaroid" LCD TV's, however you can at least read customer reviews on a number of LCD tv's here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&SubCategory=411&N=2102640411

At least Walmart has a good return policy.

[ahhaa]

thanks guys! found a few comments online from back in '06, when it was $400; one star was the best it did... hopefully the unit has been improved, but then Walmart bailed on the Ilo Lite-On people when the going got tough.

what's interesting is how little consumer info is out there about this huge changeover- stuff like will a rotor still be necessary, will existing antenna amps still work, will station range improve...

its wierd, cable seems to be king, but with annual cable bills over $1,000 and something like 6 cable shows of any interest to me, I still kinda like broadcast!

[edDV]

thanks guys! found a few comments online from back in '06, when it was $400; one star was the best it did... hopefully the unit has been improved, but then Walmart bailed on the Ilo Lite-On people when the going got tough.

what's interesting is how little consumer info is out there about this huge changeover- stuff like will a rotor still be necessary, will existing antenna amps still work, will station range improve...

its wierd, cable seems to be king, but with annual cable bills over $1,000 and something like 6 cable shows of any interest to me, I still kinda like broadcast!

Lets start at the beginning. Put your address in this site and tell us direction and distance to the stations you want to receive. The analog stations will disappear on 17 Feb, 2009 leaving only the digital stations.
http://www.antennaweb.org/

[lordsmurf]

"RCA" is no longer a company but Thomson (a French company) acquired the trademark to brand Asian products for sale in the USA. Most don't know the Thomson brand as well as "RCA". Thomson has even licensed the "GE" trademark for consumer product sales in discount chains. GE withdrew from the consumer electronics market over 10 years ago and now licenses the trademark for that segment.

Doesn't General Motors have a big stake in Thomson? I know that Hughes, DirecTV, RCA, Thomson and General Motors are all "in bed together" or at least have been in the past 6 years.

[RammHawks]

I'm looking at a 19” POLAROID HD Widescreen LCD Television TLA-01911C commonly found at Walmarts these days.

It has VGA, S-Vid, etc... a multiplicity of inputs as well as a pretty smart over the air tuner built in for $298. (stall factor: bigger isn't that much more money % wise, as long as its not a 2 year MTBF lemon)

I'm wondering about stuff like the 850 contrast ratio, dead pixels showing up, warranty responses, mounting on the wall (not covered in manual- does that leg come off?) and particularly

...if digital / HD programming has better range than analog. I'm in a fringe reception area surrounded by trees, there are several channels that are pretty marginal in rain, snow, sunset, or during new show finales, etc.

Anybody have some experience with the Polaroid branded models?

thanks !

I actually bought this TV about 6 weeks ago at Wal-Mart, and I love it. Picture quality and sound are both better than I expected. The TV feels very sturdy and doesn't feel cheaply made. Overall, I'm very happy with it thus far.

If you have more specific questions, shoot me a PM or an email!