Insignia (BB house brand)...

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Master [H]

2[H]4U
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Mar 17, 2003
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Hey, I've been looking around at flat screen TV's, and I've noticed that the Insignia brand at Best Buy are on par with the likes of Samsung and LG, yet significantly cheaper. They're awfully tempting at the prices they have, but I don't know about the quality, or who really makes them. Anybody have an Insignia TV? Anybody know who really makes these units.

Specifically, I'm looking at 30" HDTV flat CRT's in the $500-700 range, and if the Insignia's are just as good as brand name (if not close), I'd rather spend less for the same quality. Anyway, any info is much appreciated.
 
To my knowledge, Prima makes Insignia. My boss has a 42" Insignia 1080p ($1800 CND at BB or less) and it's beyond awesome. The only flaw I could find with my limited use of it (seen 1080p content on it, 720p/1080i, Standard Definition TV, and Xbox 360 graphics) is that the blacks are "good", nothing special, and I would also rate the standard definition TV signals as "good". So from what I have seen from that 1080p Insignia, I would rate them as a good value television, and hopefully the CRT you are hunting for will also be good.

I think you should try it out, and return it if you aren't happy. Worth a shot!
 
It's basically like just a touch less sharp than the 34" Sony Wega, and about half the price. Usually house brands do look like ass, but I think I may try it out when I pick one up. I'm gonna wait till I move...one less thing to haul.

Thanks for the info.
 
The boss removed the speakers on the 42" Insignia, and it looks like a normal TV. Do note he put it on his wall so it looks even better ;)
 
My interest was sparked by this brand as I took my monthly browse through future shop today. It was listed in store at $1300 cad

The price for the specs is definitely the best I can find locally, and other than the Westinghouse 37'' 1080p LCD, its the cheapest 1080p capable device I've seen. Do you guys have any other information about the quality of this set or am I gonna have to bite the bullet and buy it to find out?
 
Copying this user review from the site, although I cannot verify the accuracy whatsoever:

Reviewer: John K, Winnipeg

I had been using the Insignia 42 plasma TV. However, it had a few problems so I took it back and upgraded to this little sweety.Ample inputs although another HDMI would have been nice.Picture in picture, picture by picture and picture around picture. Very nice features.The video quality varies considerably with the quality of the source.

On regular cable NTSC signals, you'll find yourself adjusting fairly often to compensate for poor signal qulaity. I would have liked to see a few noise reduction options which were available on the plasma model. However, noise doesn't seem to be as much of an issue. More of an issue would be contrast and brightness settings which vary so much from channel to channel. Too bad you can't have a set that would remember adjustment settings for every TV channel. Lucky they provide a back light setting low, medium and high on top of the brightness and contrast settings.

There is the issue of the low detail in low light pictures. This detail becomes visible if the back light or brightness are turned up, but then the black isn't quite black any more. This is the only thing I can find that could use some improvement, and seems to be an issue more with LCDs than plasmas. The TV remembers your settings for each input, so in most instances you don't need to readjust when changing from cable to HDMI for example.As we all know not all DVDs are created equal, so you may have to adjust depending on the DVD quality.Upconversion has been without any problems at all. Unfortunately, I don't have a 1080p source to test the high end with yet, but 480p, 720p and 1080i have all worked great. Only one video had to be viewed on an s-video input due to poor upconversion, and it was fairly poor quality and very old.

The stand swivels, which is a nice touch. The cable management is great, After routing the cables, there is a cover that goes across all the inputs and cables. You can't see any of them from the front. It even lets you set up to 10 channels as favorites, and you can change channels amongst them from a list.The two tuner inputs are great for anyone who can get HD channels over the air I can't, none in Winnipeg, and it also has digital and HD cable tuners build in. This is a true HD set, and at 1500, how can you go wrongI'm very happy with it, it's a keeper. Because of the 1080p, duel RF inputs, HD and digital tuners, great picture and low price I give it a 55
Click to expand...

I am going to see if they have any sample 1080p input at my local futureshop to show me on this monitor, or if they could hook it up to a computer to see what it looks like. They are usually pretty cool like that at the local store and seem to go out of their way to show you the picture quality before you buy. Helps to know someone who works in the department as well. For 1300 bucks... i am highly considering this tv
 
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