Question 1

does this tv ave a remote control ?

Accepted Answer

I recently purchased this tv and yes it comes with a remote + batteries.

One thing to add about the photo they use in the item page - the tv comes with little black plastic supporters that you have to insert under the left and right bottom of the tv - otherwise you risk a cracked screen. So the photo is misleading...otherwise I'm happy with this tv.

Question 2

where are the hdmi inputs and usb- are they on the side?

Accepted Answer

Sorry it took so long to answer. I hadn't actually opened the television yet. Did so this morning.  The HDMI, 3 of them, are on the side of the rear where the composite color inputs are.  Flip the set upside down, you will see the RCA style inputs with different colors. Now follow those connections to the edge and you will see three HDMI ports perpendicular or at a 90 degree angle from the RCA style ports.  Hope this helps.

Question 3

Do the stand swivel?

Accepted Answer

No it doesn't. And I would buy a secondary support system because it is really flimsy. But the TV itself is great.

Question 4

Does the screen on this TV have a matte finish or glossy finish?

Accepted Answer

Not real gloss by no flat either. Do like the unit. Have have two of the 40 inch and one 42. Just put a 42 inch on my sons porch. Sound is much better in the 42 over the 40.

Have the 55 inch at work. All work great for me. The 40 and 42 replaced 10 year old Sony wide picture tube units. Still worked but about 200
Pounds each.

Question 5

Can this HDTV be used as a monitor for a computer such as a laptop?

Accepted Answer

The specification places LIMITS on PC usage at least as far as image quality goes
CRITICAL INFO
Spec says 
"PC Compatibility: Up to SXGA" (note the "up to")

According to Wiki
SXGA=1280x1024

Specifications are tricky things
While you CAN get a 1920x1080 PC image to "fit" on the full screen of the display, it would have to be manipulated (processed) to do so. And, that means image quality would suffer

Therefore, you will NOT get FULL 1920x1080 native resolution FROM A PC. Despite the TV's 1920x1080 claim for other video sources if you try to fit a 1920x1080 PC video signal on this TV, it will be processed by software/firmware and will thus not be as clear as the original 1920x1080 signal from the PC. There is a huge difference between being able to simply fit a video image on the full display, and having the input image resolution equal the image resolution of any display

If you want MAXIMUM image clarity from a PC, what I think is that you will have to set the PC graphics card output to SXGA 1280x1024 (this assumes the PC can provide that output). This will result in "black bars" on all sides of the image displayed on this TV, but should provide the highest quality image. However, if the TV then "resizes" the image to get rid of the black bars and display the image from full side-to-side and top-to-bottom of the display, the image quality WILL be reduced.

However if the TV doesn't do any "resizing" processing, the PC's graphics card firmware/software is more likely to provide better quality than an economy TV when changing X x Y settings. You may even be able to simply have the PC's graphics card "lop off" the image that extends beyond the SXGA limits, which would mean you get the original, UNprocessed video signal within that SXGA "box"...as long as the TV doesn't subsequently do any re-sizing of the SXGA 1280x1024 signal to stretch the video to the edges of the display, that should be the highest quality you could expect with this TV

Question 6

Does the package come with free cables? or an hdmi?

Accepted Answer

Yes it comes with HDMI Cable.  
Also, picture quality is excellent.

The only real negative, thus far, is the digital tuner looses its programming frequently, like once every couple weeks, then the channels have to be re-tuned and program.  Seems to happen when watching DTV stations with weak signals.

Question 7

Does this tv have a headphone jack?

Accepted Answer

It doesn't have a headphone jack per se, but it has stereo audio out on the same kind of mini-jack -- meant to connect to external speakers and such (so, presumably line level output, more or less). Depending on the actual levels out through the jack and the sensitivity of your headphones, it *might* work fine for this purpose, but you'd probably want to use headphones with their own integral volume control. Overall *very* happy with this TV by the way. No problems whatsoever and looks great (and the base is fine -- the screws just hold the bottom plate on, but heavy plastic provides the actual support).

Question 8

I noticed in the reviews of the product one person mentioned there is not audio output. I checked the specs and it shows there is one. Is there the ability to hook up this TV to a receiver and utilize speakers connected to the receiver?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can connect to a receiver with ease. You can utilize both RCA or standard stereo phone output.  I believe the reason the prior user stated that there was difficulty is because the HDMI and audio in and outs are located on an "L" shaped ridge on the inner backside of the set.  That means that some of the ports are vertically oriented while the others are horizontal making them not-so-obvious depending on which way you're looking.

Trust me, it's a very nice set for the money, in fact it's a nice set at nearly twice the money. The brand name may not the recognizable the picture surely speaks for itself.

Hope this helps.
mike

Question 9

from other questions it looks like there is a headphone output, but to clarify: does this use the rca (red/white) or an actual 3.5mm stereo plug? and can you control the volume of the output to the headphones via the remote?

Accepted Answer

Hi William,

Yes, the T.V. supports both RCA and mini 3.5 audio inputs and outputs.   Also, the T.V. can be configured exclusively for external speakers, where the T.V. speakers are off and the volume on the remote will adjust the volume output to the external speakers as you desire.

Also, if the T.V. speakers are on, then the external speakers will continue to work, however, the volume on the remote will then only adjust the volume output to the internal TV speakers.  That is, if TV speakers are on, TV remote only controls TV Speakers' volume.  Yet,externally connected speakers will continue to work.  If TV's internal speakers are off, then the volume on the remote will adjust the volume output to the external speakers.

Hope this helps!

Question 10

Good for gaming? Xbox 360, xbox one, PS3

Accepted Answer

I haven't used it for gaming as I got it for my wife to watch movies.  I have set it up with an Amazon Fire for streaming movies, standard cable, and a blue ray player and it works great.  We use a sound bar rather than the TV for sound so I can't speak to that, but I can say that so far the picture has been great and we've had no problems with it.  I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it turned out.

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