Pros: Nice computer monitor; decent HDTV set; good array of inputs; decent audio
Cons: You'll need cables; SD images are blah; needs tweaking for best images
The Bottom Line: This is a very good computer monitor mated to an acceptable HDTV. If you want a dual-purpose computer monitor capable of HDTV viewing, this is a strong choice.
pvreditor's Full Review: Magnavox 19MF337B/27 19 in. TV
Note: This review is for a Magnavox 19MF337B LCD HDTV, which is identical to a Philips 19MF337B. Both are made by the same company and differ only in the name on the face of the TV. I checked with an Epinions Category Lead for Electronics prior to posting this review and was advised to put the review in this listing.
I recently upgraded my home high-speed Internet service to Verizon's FiOS, a fiber-optic service that offers speeds well in multi-megabit-per-second range. One of the enticements to sign up for a two-year contract was a "free" 19-inch LCD HDTV, which turned out to be the Magnavox 19MF337B.
Looking on the Internet, this TV costs around $350, although Costco and others currently have it listed for around $300. I figure about $10 per month of my FiOS contract goes toward amortizing the cost of this TV.
What it is
The Magnavox 19MF337B is a 19-inch (diagonal) widescreen flatpanel LCD TV. It has built-in ATSC, QAM and analog tuners that work with either off-the-air or cable TV signals. For the time being, it can receive both analog and digital off-the-air signals, although most over-the-air analog television transmission will end in February 2009. What really attracted me to the Magnavox 19MF337B was its array of inputs and its resolution as a computer monitor (1,440 x 900). The unit has analog component inputs to connect to older DVD players, standard analog composite and S-video inputs, a VGA input for computer connection, and an HDMI input to connect to new DVD players and fancy audio systems. Most of the connectors are standard RCA jacks, except for the HDMI, VGA, S-video and computer audio connectors. (The computer audio input is logically a stereo mini phone jack.)
The 19MF337B has a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. Below the screen are two competent speakers and the unit comes with a pretty good remote control. Included with the unit is a table stand that has a loop in back to help organize all the cables running to the TV's back-panel inputs. The back of the TV has the standard VESA four-hole pattern for a wall mount -- the actual wall mount is optional. The top edge of the TV has a few buttons to control the TV.
The case surrounding the screen on this TV is attractive black plastic. I know that some people are starting to clamor for colors other than black for TVs but black is actually best for seeing true colors. Or so my mentors told me when I was a callow youth learning television engineering.
On the downside, the Magnavox 19MF337B came with only one cable: a three-pin power cord. You better have all other necessary cables, because they don't come with this TV. If you want to hook it to an HDMI DVD player and a VGA computer, those three cables can easily set you back $40. ("Three cables," you ask? Yes. You will need an HDMI cable, a VGA cable and an audio cable to connect the computer to the TV.)
The manual for the Magnavox 19MF337B is pretty good, except that it contains very few specifications. No driver CD came with this monitor and there's not a lot of information about it online at www.magnavox.com.
Using it
Setting up the Magnavox 19MF337B was easy -- all I had to do was attach the mount and plug in the power cable. The unit has a cardboard connection guide attached to the back panel that's impossible to miss, but I didn't even need it. Even without the connection guide, the inputs are all easy to find and logically laid out, and right next to the connectors are high-contrast labels showing which connector does what.
Once I turned the 19MF337B on, I had to check the manual briefly to understand what the TV was doing during the initial setup phase. From that point on, the operation was pretty simple. The on-screen menus could be a little easier to figure out, however -- I've done the complete setup a few times now and think the on-screen menus could be more helpful. Everything is done from the remote control, which thoughtfully came with batteries.
The Magnavox 19MF337B looks good with over-the-air HD signals. They are nice and crisp, although I had to adjust the brightness level to make black look blacker on the screen. Flesh tones can sometimes look a little pasty, especially on HD broadcasts of Good Morning America. My big LCD HD television makes better flesh tones. Otherwise, this Magnavox set looks good with off-air HDTV. Not great but good.
The TV looks less good with standard-definition signals, as they look somewhat blocky and jaggedy. That may be because my face was too close to the screen, but HDTV tends to do that -- you get close to see the beautiful HD resolution and at that distance, SD signals look blah. At the moment, I have this TV set up on my dining room table, where my face is only about three feet away. That may be too close for standard-definition viewing, although it's fine for HD viewing. For what it's worth, standard-definition signals look a little better on digital channels than they do on analog channels on this TV. That will be moot in a few months for off-air broadcasts when most analog transmitters are switched off, although it remains a consideration if you get your analog TV from cable.
ATSC reception quality is excellent. The Magnavox 19MF337B picked up a couple dozen digital channels with my small rooftop antenna and most are perfectly solid. This TV will solidly receive channels that my four-year-old ATSC set-top box has trouble receiving, indicating that the Magnavox has the latest generation receiver technology.
This TV really shines as a computer monitor. With native resolution of 1,440 x 900 pixels, the Magnavox 19MF337B makes a darn good computer monitor. Computer images look great and plugging my laptop into the 19MF337B makes it look like a whole new computer. Colors are well saturated and edges are quite crisp. Stepping through files with 10 megapixel images makes the pictures look beautiful. Very nice!
Audio from the 19FM337B is better than a computer-only monitor of the same size. The speakers in this 19-inch Magnavox TV are considerably better than the speakers in the 22-inch Samsung LCD computer monitor I recently bought. I'm not saying that the speakers in the 19FM337B are great, but they are at least "average." Male voices have at least some bass, which is better than the speakers in any computer-only monitor that I've heard. Computer-only monitors seem to have speakers that are uniformly tinny.
So far, I have operated this TV with off-the-air signals and connected to two different laptop computers. Of the two modes of operation, it works best as a computer monitor. It does work fine as a TV but computer images are best. I have not yet tried the analog component, composite or HDMI inputs.
The remote control for the Magnavox 19MF337B is pretty good. The buttons are laid out logically and are easy to read, even for my aging baby-boomer eyes. The remote is lightweight and easy to operate with a single hand.
Summary
I like the Magnavox 19MF337B. It is the perfect TV if you want to watch HDTV and use it as a computer monitor. It's not a great HDTV but it is competent, and it is a very good computer monitor. Usually, a device that claims to do two different demanding jobs does neither very well, but the 19FM337B performs admirably as both an HDTV and a computer monitor.
I recommend the Magnavox 19MF337B -- and keep in mind that it's identical to the Philips 19MF337B.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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