Loewe Arcada Standard Televisions

Loewe Arcada Standard Televisions 

DESCRIPTION

32 inch Digital TV with digital surround sound audio - Component Video Input - 60 Hz Digital progressive scan - Digital comb filter - picture-in-picture - Digital Picture Formatting (Several Aspect Ratios)

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 16  
[Mar 06, 2003]
green93
AudioPhile

Strength:

Wonderful picture and sound.

Weakness:

This set has gone out three time since I bought it, having the mother board replaced twice. They tell me there are problems with the power supply. Right now I have been waiting for two weeks for a part to arive so the set can be fixed. If you buy Loewe make sure you get a good warrenty.

Very the best when working.

Similar Products Used:

none

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
2
[Oct 24, 2002]
Sean Keyes
AudioPhile

Strength:

A descriptive, superlative picture coupled with a stunning aesthetic. They match the Sonus Faber Grand Piano speakers beautifully for DVD enjoyment that doesn't incorporate a projector. Incidentally my price above is Australian Dollars.

Weakness:

Slight bowing (most apparent for linear objects near the edges of the tube). Inability to operate picture freeze and PIP independently. Teletext is less functional than of years gone by (my reference is the 1999 Loewe Ergo)

In the realms of SDTV The Loewe stable is amongst the finest in the world. The shuddering disparity between the work of Germany's finest television producer and inappropriately named competitors reveals the perils an uniformed purchaser is confronted with. Performance is uncompromised, founded upon a patented digital processing unit. The 2001 Arcada 79cm describes fluid movements with negligible drag, a significant improvement from models of previous years. Those throughout the entire 2001 range incorporating the Digital Motion Interpolation and Digital Movie Mode apppear to be benefiting from this. It is a crying shame to hear of the customer service experiences from those in other countries. I must say I can think of no greater punishment than to have taken away the beauty of a Loewe picture. The widescreen capabilities are also terrific - whilst I am not completely sold on the widescreen concept, the ability to swith to a 16 to 9 ratio is an important versatility. However the scan line appearing at the top of the picture could be done without. In terms of ease of use, the presence of the A-Z help index demands particular merit. You sense the programmers thought most functions through to every end, although not all. The Loewe Arcada is a pleasure to view, simple to use and an honour to own.

Similar Products Used:

Loewe Ergo 68cm 4:3

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jun 26, 2002]
Mr BE
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Looks good even when turned off.

Weakness:

Customer service

I purchased and thoroughly enjoyed the Arcada 32” in piano black finish for the first 18 months of ownership. I received a lot of compliments from friends and family just on the esthetics of the Arcada. It made me feel pretty good about spending over $2,000 for a tv. Then one day after 18 months of trouble-free usage, my Arcada exploded. I heard a tick, tick, tick sound, then boom! As a result, no picture, no sound, nothing, zippo, zilch. The cause? A defective transformer according to the tv technician and that a new transformer should be had in 2-3 days. However, in what should have taken a few days to replace instead took two months. Why? Because I was informed that Loewe instead replaces the entire mother board and not just the transformer. Unfortunately, this mother board, so I was told, was to come from Germany, not from a U.S. based supplier. I was also informed that since September 11th, the New York Port Authority was processing imported goods at a more cautious pace (translation: more delay time). When the mother board finally arrived, I was informed, that it was mis-keyed in the warehouse inventory computer system. This delayed the process another couple of weeks until someone finally figured out what happened. Upon installation of the new mother board, the picture was suddenly larger than the screen. For example while watching CNN, text that normally scrolls at the bottom of the screen, only the top of the letters could be seen. Or if watching ESPN, the scoreboard at the lower right only showed one team of the two teams. And the picture was not only fuzzy; it would occasionally flicker as well. At this point, I was lobbying Loewe for my money back or to be replaced with a current, readily available model. However, Loewe’s position was to replace my Arcada with a ‘duplicate’ model. Although the model I own is no longer being produced, I was informed that Loewe keeps a number of brand-new, never-been-used discontinued models in stock, in a separate warehouse on the east coast for cases such as this. Living on the west coast, once again, in what I had hoped would take no more than two weeks, actually took closer to three months. Part of the reason for the delay, was Loewe’s red tape process. Adding to the delay, I was told, was that the tv was initially mis-packaged as ‘clearance’ instead of ‘replenishment’. Once again, it

Similar Products Used:

Mitsubishi 26" since 1989. Still going strong. No problems ever.

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
3
[Mar 07, 2002]
c chapman
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Nice picture

Weakness:

Poor build quality. Cheap plastic. Remote failed twice.

Complete waste of money. Loewe has zero customer support. Would lnever, ever buy anything from those guys.

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
1
[Jul 06, 2000]
Ed Juline

Strength:

If you aren't watching DVDs using component video than you're not seeing the real picture.

Weakness:

You'll end up watching too much TV....

The truest picture out there. Also, the most asthetic housing on the market. Looks beautiful on or off.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 23, 2001]
Vincent Chen
Audiophile

Strength:

absolutely fabulous picture, and I hate even watching TV most of the time. So 3D looking. That famous German efficiency in its design

Weakness:

price is oh my gosh, get the defibulator out NOW!!

You have got to be kidding to spend this much on a TV right??? Who in thier right mind is going to blow this kind of cash?? You could buy a big screen for this dough. Well, the kind that is "Foward" thinking, tired of his/her gear being obsolete before they open the box. Progressive scan built in, Interface that is awesome, build quality like a top notch Mercedes, what DO YOU WANT?? This is as perfect as it gets period. I am upgrading from this demo model to the Calida. Absolutely awesome. Makes me excited about TV all over again. These TVs' will make anything else look overly vibrant,out of focus and just plain....CHEAP. And I love my Sony still yet. You got to see this picture to believe it folks. Stay tuned, more great viewing to come with these sets. V.C.

Similar Products Used:

Sony,Sony,Sony...

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 21, 2002]
Angelo Lo Certo
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Picture quality - outstanding; digital processing - very competent on PAL and NTSC, as well as DVD; Great design

Weakness:

Failed completely (and expensively after just 2.5 years; Loewe attitude to customer service - non existent!

Let me first say that I searched for Loewe product and made a conscious decision to buy the product, even up against much cheaper competition from the big Japanese producers or European guys like Philips.

Let me also say that I fell in love with the picture quality and design.

Now let me ACTIVELY DISCOURAGE ANYONE from even considering purchasing a Loewe product of any type.

After just 2.5 years (just out of warranty) the picture tube has died (internal short circuit, reason unknown - I am told by the technical people) and it has blown the signal board with it on the way out.

The quoted repair cost is USD1,827.

(I will not repair it - anyone need a boat anchor?)

The company does not care - they have ignored at least 3 emails to date to even comment on why their "premium" products fail so completely, so early. No reply at all.

To further rub salt on the wound - the picture tube is made by Philips. I should have bought a Philips instead.

And let me add, this is a domestic use situation, the same type and amount of usage that any TV set in the world would get used, nothing unusual.

I realise I may be the only one with this extreme type of story, but may it serve as a cautionary tale - I certainly will NEVER buy another product from this company again.

Similar Products Used:

Sony 29" Trinitron - Still going strong after 8 years

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
1
[Oct 11, 2000]
Aimee
Audiophile

Strength:

Incredible picture!! Classy black lacquor finish.

Weakness:

Slow channel surfing.

First of all, my system includes:
Loewe Arcada 32"
Mirage OM-10 fronts;Mirage OMC3 center; Mirage OMR2 rears
Boston Acoustics VR2000 12" subwoofer
Pioneer Elite DV-05 DVD player
Harmon Kardon AV45? dolby digital receiver
And all Audioquest cables & interconnects

I calibrated the television with the AVIA DVD, but the adjustments were minor. In fact, I couldn't even get any blooming even when I tried! The whites are better than I have ever seen, and the Arcada holds black better than any direct view television.
Other televisions I considered were the toshiba tw40X81 and the sony 32" xbr. I actually had the toshiba pre-ordered, and I cancelled it after I saw the loewe televisions. To be fair, I must say that I do not know if the toshiba had been calibrated, but this was a high end store. The toshiba's picture looked grainy in comparison to the loewe. As for the sony, it looked good, but the picture while watching dvds just didn't have the 3 dimensionality of the loewe. Also, at 250 lbs. the sony just wasn't convienent for moving purposes.
I can't really comment on regular television watching because I have a very poor cable connection that doesn't do any television justice.
One thing that may be a concern would be that there is only one component input on the loewe. This shouldn't be a concern for most b/c receivers and preamps are usually equipped with component switching.
Another downside to the loewe would be that it doesn't have 3:2 pulldown. Although with a quality built in line doubler, the ability to adjust to future 16:9 while watching television, and all the other added features loewe has created an outstanding performance value!!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 13, 2001]
Brandon
Audiophile

Strength:

best tv ever made!!!!

Weakness:

none!!



The picture on this tube is so clear. you can do just about everything on this TV. You can zoom in and out on live TV you can do a split screen you could be wacthing Mtv on one half and be watching espn on the other side if you want a good picture buy this tv you'll love it so much.

Similar Products Used:

sony XBR

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 16, 2001]
Steve
Audiophile

Strength:

Excellent picture, ability to sense incoming video format (PAL/NTSC/SECAM -- 4:3/16:9) and adjust accordingly

Weakness:

Glossy chassis and curved tube reflect light sources

I bought this television by mistake. I travel a lot and had recently bought a multi-region DVD player (Pioneer 535)to play European discs (check out www.blackstar.co.uk and amazon.fr for example). A friend told me that all 1080i sets would play PAL (wrong) and I stupidly thought that because the ARCADA did 16:9 that it was 1080i. All ended well, however. I got the right set for the wrong reasons. The dealer got me on the phone with an engineer from Sensory Science and showed me how to access the service menu and make the necessary adjustments for the set to work with my DVD player. The result is wonderful. I can play DVDs from anywhere in the world and in any format. I am still experimenting with my old laserdisc player; I think I'll have to run a composite cable from the player to the set and let the set's superior Y/C circuitry deal with the signal. Broadcast signals from a digital cable box via S-Video is also a problem, but I'm getting closer to a good image.

Similar Products Used:

Sony XBR2

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 16  

(C) Copyright 1996-2018. All Rights Reserved.

audioreview.com and the ConsumerReview Network are business units of Invenda Corporation

Other Web Sites in the ConsumerReview Network:

mtbr.com | roadbikereview.com | carreview.com | photographyreview.com | audioreview.com