JVC SP55M-C 55" Television

So I returned to Costco yesterday and I replaced my defective LG 50" TV with a JVC SP55M-C 55" television. Refunding the LG was painless at Costco, and the JVC was $679 after instant rebate. I've had the TV less than an hour a day, but I'll give my initial assessment here:

The TV dimensions are a perfect fit for its location. Although it's 1 inch wider than I would have preferred (48.9" width), it's not noticeable at all and looks excellent. It's a much better fit than the LG 50", which was 44.4" width.

The setup was very easy and intuitive. After the setup I only tweaked a couple things. The picture is fantastic (I think better than the LG), and it doesn't have a glossy panel. The LG's glossy panel was closer to a black mirror.

The local dimming gives incredibly deep blacks, slightly better than the LG. It does not have any hint at all of edge bleeding (flash lighting).

The sound is acceptable, but the LG had it slightly beat in this area. At the end of the day, no big deal.

JVC's traditional remote control (with a QWERTY keyboard on its back) is FAR, FAR better than LG's Magic Remote. LG can keep the weird, pickle shaped remote that acts like an air mouse. It would have been nice if JVC's remote was back lit, but oh well. We're getting along with it just fine.

The TV only has 3 apps that I can find: VUDU, Netflix and Pandora. Since we only use Netflix and Pandora, I couldn't be happier. Oh, and the remote has a shortcut to Netflix.  The LG was loaded with all sorts of crap apps that we would never use. The LG also had internet access and too much other garbage. Uh, I don't want to surf the net or check my Facebook status on the TV.

The JVC does not have 3D (although it advertises "3D" sound). We don't want 3D television anyway, so no big loss.

Short story, we're happy. We'll see how it behaves over time.

I never considered JVC, until the TV floor rep pointed me to it. I spent a couple hours considering the options, and then my wife joined me while we poked at sets for another hour. The more I looked, the more I favored the JVC. The price was also far better than the competition... several hundred less than a comparable Samsung, and $300 less than Vizio.

No regrets so far. It's a beautiful set with an outstanding picture. Viewing angles are excellent and the lack of needless "Lady Gaga" pizazz (garbage features) works for me just fine.

Had the LG not messed up, I would have kept it and its sorry remote. Now I'm grateful it broke down when it did.

Scuzzy; JVC to the rescue.

Wi-Fi Built-in the site says.

I forgot to mention that I have Ethernet wiring directly to the TV, so I have no need for the Wi-Fi feature. I may try it just to make sure it works, but I prefer Ethernet over Wi-Fi when feasible as it provides much better consistency.

FYI I tried the "audio only" last night listening to Pandora, after setting it up to sleep after 60 minutes.

It worked well, pretty much as expected. All it took was a single press of a button on the remote. If it has a flaw, it's that any key pressed on the remote wakes the screen. That includes adjusting the volume. No big deal.