Magnavox 42MF439B/F7 42-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

I don't know if I have a different model than the first reviewer, but I have none of the issues that were written about. My menus disappear quickly and are easy to navigate. Got this tv setup by running the channel programming, and then I set it up on a desk before I wall mounted it. I was watching NFL football in HD 1080i and it's amazing!! The colors are bright and true, and I hate to say, truer color than my more expensive Samsungs, not to say they aren't great tv's also, but the crispness of the picture and black levels are awesome. What I also like about this tv, is that you can change the screen mode, and it keeps the setting for regular tv not in HD, it will keep the wide mode, which fills the 16:9 screen with no black sidebars, yet when on an HD channel, it will display true 16:9 HDTV format. Also, on some LCDTVs, regular tv broadcasts look like crap, but not on this set, regular tv is smooth and good looking, and not pixelated and jagged. I am very picky about lcdtvs, I...Read more

I guess I should have changed the channel while I was staring at this TV in the showroom. Every time you change the channel an annoying (and LARGE) menu screen pops up that obliterates the top-left corner of the screen with:

1) The name of the show being televised (not bad)
2) The type of format display you selected as your default (Zoom In, Automatic, 14.x display, etc.,) I don't really need to be reminded.
3) The LANGUAGE mode you selected...come on...

This pop-up menu is LARGE and blocks out a very big portion of the picture. It also takes too long to load and disappear - so it's very annoying while 'surfing' through channels.

I looked through the manual to see if there is a way of disabling this feature; but alas, I couldn't find one. I'll call Customer Support and if the popup cannot be disabled - I'm considering returning it.

The Good:
Great picture and resolution for the money. Adequate features and super easy setup. Analog image is excellent, and switching display settings is very simple. HDTV is as good as any major brand.

The Bad:
Why is it inexpensive? A few reasons: 1st, no VGA-in port. If you want to connect via VGA for your pc or laptop you're out of luck. Remote is cheap and lacks features. Does take about 1/2 second to switch between channels, but the channel display is a non-issue.

The Ugly:
No optical audio output. Major bummer for connecting older receivers. I bought this for my studio/media room, but without an optical out it's not what I planned. My bad for not checking, but, still a decent upgrade from my old 32" 1st gen lcd.

Overall Opinion:
All in all you get a good quality, Japanese-made lcd tv (with less ports) for a great low price. The onscreen channel display really isn't an issue near as much the lack of in- and...Read more