Syntax-Brillian Olevia 537H Review

What the reviewers like:
Especially considering its budget price, the Syntax-Brillian Olevia 537H delivers excellent image quality. Color saturation, skin tones and color detail are all good, according to professional testing. The TV handles standard-definition signals better than most LCD HDTVs, and the Olevia 537H has a fairly wide viewing angle. Reviews say the well-designed remote control is another plus.

What the reviewers don't like:
Some testers aren't crazy about the onscreen menu system of the Olevia 537H, which takes some getting used to. Another small complaint is that that TV's manual comes on a CD, so some find looking up answers to be a pain. Though the price is low and overall picture quality is good, some reviews indicate that colors sometimes appear a little drab and that some scenes can be overly dark.

Syntax-Brillian Olevia 537H review highlights

Reviews indicate that the Syntax-Brillian Olevia 537H is a great budget LCD TV and a pretty good television overall, regardless of price. In tests, experts say color reproduction looks realistic -- especially in terms of skin tones. High-def images look great on this 720p LCD TV, and reviews say the Olevia 537H does a good job with standard definition as well. However, the Olevia 537H has a hard-to-use menu system, according to some reviews. Overall, reviews for Sony BRAVIA XBR TVs in the same size class are a bit better. The BRAVIA televisions are also reviewed as easier to use, but experts say the Olevia 537H is the best value for its size.

We found the best comparative review of LCD televisions at Consumer Reports, where the 37-inch Syntax-Brillian Olevia 537H is tested and rated alongside 67 other LCD HDTVs. Unfortunately, the write-up for each tested television is limited to just a couple of sentences. PC World also reviews the Olevia 537H. Editors there regularly test LCD TVs and include the best on a running list of the editors' top-five LCD televisions. While the reviews at PC World are far more detailed than those at Consumer Reports, the magazine reviews far fewer LCD TVs overall. We also found a smattering of owner-written reviews for the Olevia 537H, which is helpful for gauging real-world performance.

Also see full report: LCD TV

*In order of credibility (see our Ratings Criteria).

1. Consumer Reports
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LCD TVs
Editors of Consumer Reports
Feb. 2007

Consumer Reports' editors rate over 50 LCD televisions, including the Syntax-Brillian Olevia 537H. According to this magazine, LCD televisions now have improved viewing angles and fewer issues with reflections and glare than plasma sets, but they don't display deep blacks as well. Although Consumer Reports tests a lot of TVs, editors limit comments for each set to just one or two sentences -- far less detail than some other websites. Still, the magazine updates its ratings on a regular basis, and those ratings are based on competent testing.

2. PC World
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Olevia 537H review
Roy Santos
Oct. 6, 2006

PC World reviews LCD TVs in just two screen sizes -- 32 inches and 37 inches -- with the best TVs making it to a list of the top five in each size category. The editors also assign rating scores, so that it’s easy to spot which TV rates most highly. Value is a big factor in PC World's evaluation, and each television gets a detailed writeup. The Syntax-Brillian Olevia 537H gets a thorough comparative test by editor Roy Santos.

3. AVSForum.com
LCD Flat Panels
Contributors to AVSForum.com

This electronics discussion forum is a good spot for home-theater information in general, and there's an entire section devoted to LCD TVs. The Syntax-Brillian Olevia 537H shares an active thread (over 1,500 posts) with two other Olevia TVs (the 237V and 437V). The Olevia 537H is also discussed in numerous other threads.

4. Amazon.com
Olevia 37" LCD HDTV - 537H review
Contributors to Amazon.com

The Syntax-Brillian Olevia 537H has received almost two dozen user reviews at Amazon.com, enough to be of some use to potential buyers.

5. Epinions
Syntax Olevia 537H reviews
Contributors to Epinions

Epinions also offers users the opportunity to share their opinions about products that they own, but it gets less traffic than Amazon.com. The Syntax-Brillian Olevia 537H is reviewed by only two users (at the time of our visit).

Also see full report: LCD TV

Syntax-Brillian Olevia 537H Review