Hardware Review: Emerson LC320EM8 32’’ LCD TV
I mentioned in the last post that I had received a new toy over my birthday weekend. I’ve been looking at getting a nice LCD TV for a while and my family knew this, so I received the Emerson LC320EM8 as a gift 
I wanted to take some time to play around with it and decide if I really like it and everything. When it comes to an LCD TV, it seems like there are just tons of brands running around out there, so it makes it difficult to determine what’s good and what to stay away from. I had a bad experience with an Emerson VCR once, so I was interested in seeing how good the quality would be with their TV’s.
Also, I’ve seen that Emerson normally sticks to smaller CRTs and entry level products; it was surprising that they have such a large LCD on the market.
The overall craftsmanship and quality of the TV is good, the buttons which are located on the top of the LCD have a good feel to them. Everything feels good and sturdy on the TV, I didn’t find that anything really feels cheap or like it’s going to break off which is nice. This being my first LCD TV and LCD screen of this size, it was important that the TV felt durable, I don’t want it to fall apart if I decide to move it or whatever. The LCD is also surprisingly light; the shipping weight is only 36 pounds so I’d say the TV itself is around 25-30Lbs, a big change from a 70Lbs CRT.
My only gripe in terms of quality is that the plastic under the screen itself is a little flexible, and for some reason the glossy plastic at the very bottom appears to be chipped at the top. I played around with the display version at the store and it’s the same, so it has to be a manufacture thing. The chipped look on the glossy portion is almost in a pattern, just sort of a weird looking pattern but it’s hardly noticeable.
The LCD has solid specs, maybe not the best on the market but when compared to TVs with similar price or even slightly more expensive, the specs are impressive. The LC320EM8 has a Contrast Ratio of 1000:1, they say that 1,500:1 is optimal, but a lot of entry level LCD’s I’ve seen have 700:1… The numbers really don’t matter anyways, the blacks look great and the colors are very vibrant, not washed out at all. The TV is good and bright with a rating of 420 (cd/m2) which appears to be the market standard. Lastly it supports a resolution of 1366 x 768 which is sort of weird, again it’s the same as many other LCD’s of the same size. I did some research and basically in terms of HDTV resolution conversion, it can technically support 1080i but its native resolution is 720p. We have a 1080p LCD at my work and unfortunately broadcast content currently maxes out at 1080i. I’ve done some comparing in the past with 1080i and 720P and the difference is nearly unnoticeable IMO. So I was perfectly happy with the 720p support.
When it comes to inputs, the TV sports dual Component and Composite, S-Video and HDMI. The HDMI input was important to me for future proofing purposes, unfortunately the LC320EM8 doesn’t have DVI or VGA inputs so I may look into a DVI to HDMI adapter so I can look into using the LCD with a PC.
I wanted to briefly get into the software this TV has in terms of the on-screen display and such. I was really impressed with the simplicity of the options, there isn’t much for audio features but there are a handful of video modes and all of the basic settings you would expect. The OSD in terms of design, like how it looks on the screen is the best I have seen on a TV hands down. It really looks neat, even the volume bar is nice looking with the little icon and everything, very cool.
The TV offers a number of video modes to help size the picture to its 16:9 aspect ratio. One of the options is simply called ‘wide’ which makes the picture look good in terms of how objects and such on the screen are sized, but when things move towards the edge I notice that the ‘wide’ mode has a weird fisheye effect. Otherwise there are other options which essentially stretch the image, or a standard 4:3 option which obvisily will fail to use the screens entire real-estate.
I haven’t had a chance to use the TV’s HD ability; I simply haven’t had time to run new RG6 coax from a new cable jack. I later on found out that like the cable company I work with, they modulate in QAM, and this TV only has an ATSC digital tuner, so I may have to look into getting an over the air antenna for broadcast content, or an HD box from my cable provider. However I did hook up my SD DVD player to one of the component inputs and even at standard definition, the picture looks fantastic.
There you have it, I think I went into everything I wanted to about this TV. Overall I’m very impressed with the quality and features the TV has to offer, especially for its < $500 price tag.
Posted in: Hardware, Reviews, Technology
June 8th, 2007 at 7:24 am
Thanks for review. I have been thinking about purchasing this TV. It’s good to know the picture quality is good and for the price this may be hard to beat.
June 8th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
Markus,
Thank you for writing this review. It’s very helpful. I was looking into buying this tv and wanted some input to add to my own. It’s looking like a go.
June 8th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
Yeah, it really is a good TV. Especially for the price.
Since I have written this review I had went out and purchased a Phillips 50dB amplified ATSC HD antenna.
The HD quality is absolutely amazing. We have another HDTV in the house, a 52″ Magnavox Rear Projection, and this Emerson LCD blows it away.
June 14th, 2007 at 11:37 am
Thanks for the review and update. I began shopping last night for tv a for our roofed terrace. I was figuring a CRT 27-32″ at $300-400. But when I saw the price on the 32″ Emerson LCD, I was impressed. I don’t know much about LCD’s but it looks to be a good buy and your review pretty much is icing on the cake. I was concerned that due to the low price, it was a “cheap” model.
I think I’ll move my old 25″ CRT Sanyo to the terrace and install the Emerson in the living room.
Gracias!!
June 14th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Good review. I am very interested in this tv and was wondering if the input/outputs are in the back or in the side? If it is in the back and you mount your tv then how can you plug dvd players/gaming systems etc. Just curious. Thanks a lot!!!
Chad
June 14th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
The outputs are on the back of the TV however they face downward, so you could mount it flush with a wall and connect everything to the back/bottom of the LCD.
June 15th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Hey, really appreciate the review. I’ve been looking at that modem for about 2 weeks trying to decide if I want purchase it or not and I think after reading this I’ll pick it up tonight. Please keep updates of any changes in it’s status as it may help me and others attack those problems before they happen to us. Thanks again.
June 16th, 2007 at 10:07 am
Mark…
I have also been looking at this TV for a few weeks and had a bad experience with Emerson VCRs in the past. At one time Emerson was a really good name and I thought just like other products they were going to “crap”. Comparing the Emerson to others on the shelf, I was actually amazed that it looked better then others a few hundred dollars higher.. I THANK YOU BIG time for your review… I too am heading out the door to buy it.. I’m sure in 6 months it’s gonna be 50 bucks cheaper but it’s time to get the oversized projection television out of the master bedroom.. I’m off!
thanks again!
June 16th, 2007 at 10:08 am
BTW Tomorrow is my birthday and thought this was a GREAT present to myself!
June 16th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
Great review, but I don’t quite understand much about these TV’s. Is there a built-in HDTV tuner or do I have to have an external HD tuner?
Thanks, Larry
June 16th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
This TV has a built in ATSC tuner, it does not have QAM however, which is required to receive HD with most cable companies.
ATSC is designed for Over-the-air HD content, and it works great at that.
June 18th, 2007 at 9:19 am
As promised I bought the tv and we’re all pleased at home. I’m glad I purchased when I did as the local Walmarts ran out of the product.
Do you have a recommendation regarding cables? The options I have from my sat box are coax, s-video, RCA, and component (RGB). I’m currently using RGB with cables bought at Walmart. They are generic but of a thick gauge. Is it worth it to by monster cables and/or gold tipped cables? How much should I spend?
June 18th, 2007 at 9:31 am
I think the Component cables are going to be your best quality out of those options. Is this an HD box?
Component is going to be the only means in supporting an HD signal. S-Video, Coax, and RCA are going to be lower quality SD outputs. Even if the box isn’t HD, the Component will give you the highest quality 480P picture.
Monster cables are great for very long distances, I don’t think you will notice a difference in such a short run from your satellite receiver.
June 18th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Thanks! I have a Viewsat Ultra FTA receiver. No HD yet.
June 21st, 2007 at 1:01 am
how can I use this tv with my PC then?
June 21st, 2007 at 9:53 pm
With the exception of HD channels have a grainy picture on all my other channels on this Emerson. Also, my Universal remote won’t convert and am having to use 2 different remotes. The Emerson remote to turn it on/off/volume and my Universal to change channels. My previous TV(Sony)had a great picture for all stations including non-HD Channels. What am I doing wrong?
Frustrated, don’t want to return the TV, got a great price. But can’t live with the grainy picture and 2 remotes. HELP!
Thanks!
June 22nd, 2007 at 6:08 am
Tony: If you PC has DVI out, you can purchase a DVI to HDMI conversion cable pretty cheap, you will get full resolution this way.
June 24th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
How do PS3, 360, and Wii games play and look on this TV? Are there any blurs or slow button response time? Also how do Blu-Ray movies look on it?
June 24th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
This LCD has 8ms response. I haven’t done any gaming on the TV as of yet, but from my knowledge of LCD technology anything under 16 ms should be acceptable for fast moving graphics and whatnot.
June 27th, 2007 at 7:15 am
I recently puchased this tv as well and the people seem reddish in color. What are the best settings?
June 27th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Well, I got lucky and FINALLY got my Emerson LCD. I’ve been trying to get one from all of the Walmarts in my area (just west of Chicago) for about 2 weeks now. I’m VERY happy with my purchase and just want to thank you for your review. I haven’t hooked it up to a HD receiver yet, but that is in the works. I have, however, played some xbox games and watched some dvd’s on it. Both look very nice! I haven’t had time to mess with the settings yet. What would you recommend?
June 27th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
I’m the same, haven’t had a chance to really enjoy all of the neat settings of the TV yet. I’m using the out-of-the-box video settings and then the ‘wide’ screen mode.
June 29th, 2007 at 6:45 am
Question. I too am looking at this TV and I will mount on the wall. Does anyone know how to hook up a DVD to this TV when it’s mounted on the wall without running cables up the wall.
July 1st, 2007 at 9:49 pm
hey i was looking into getting a xbox360. and a good lcd hd tv for it. and in the walmart store it looked very nice. just wondering on how you think it would work or anyone. email please to let me know. thanks.
July 2nd, 2007 at 5:07 am
I have cable and should be able to get a digital
signal with the tuner in this TV right???
well, when I did autoscan, it did not find any
digital signals. My brother right up the street
gets the local digital signals with basic cable
also, so what am I doing wrong????
July 2nd, 2007 at 5:50 pm
i also wanted to know if it will support for surround sound and an xbox360 hooked up so i could have saround sound and my xbox all working together.
July 3rd, 2007 at 7:05 pm
AJ, as I said in my review this TV DOES NOT have a QAM tuner, only ATSC. QAM tuner is required to pick up HD channels on Cable, ATSC is for over the air signal.
Look into an external QAM tuner or an HD box from your cable provider.
July 11th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
Mark, Thanks a lot.
September 15th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
[...] my new-ish HD LCD I’m looking into the HD content that DirecTV has to offer. I didn’t get an HD box off the bat, [...]
September 18th, 2007 at 5:03 am
Hi! Great review! I picked this set up on Sunday and, just the other day, I went back to Wallyworld and picked up a Phillips Upconverting DVD player and an HDMI cable. Man! Do my movies look good on this thing!
One problem I’ve run into: yesterday, I decided to use the s-video hook up from my SD Direct TV box (no component out) to the set which improved the picture over the RF input a bit, however, after about five minutes, the signal cuts out and the cable box shuts down. I was just wondering if anyone else was experiencing this when using something other than the RF input from their cable box?
September 30th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
I’ve had this TV for a week now and I’m very pleased with it. However, I’m experiencing the same problem as “John on June 21st, 2007″ with the dual remote issue. My RCA universal remote and a new DirecTV remote do not have the code for this television. I hate to spend more money on more remotes, only find out they don’t possess the code for this model.
Any suggestions anyone?
October 8th, 2007 at 7:21 am
Mark - I just saw the Emerson 32″ at WalMart the other day and I am really thinking of buying it. I don’t have cable in my apartment. Will a really good HD indoor antenna work? Does anyone know?
October 12th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
I am also looking for the code for the universal remote. What was the answer to this question?
October 15th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Purchased this unit and really like it. One problem….my comcast cable remote will not control this T:V no code seem to work and tried scanning for code as well. Miss the all on all off feature of my cable remote.
October 18th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Myra, RCA makes a really nice HD antenna that should work just fine with this tv. We bought our HD antenna from Wal Mart and spent less than $30 on it. Depending on where you live in proximity to a major city, sometimes the signal might be weak, but for the most part, a minor adjustment (placing the antenna in a different spot) usually does the trick.
October 21st, 2007 at 8:06 am
Thanks for the detailed review, Mark!
My husband and I bought this TV yesterday after comparison shopping for LCDs. We had read some negative reviews about the picture quality, but we have seen 3 movies on this till now, all rich in color and graphics - Hero, House of Flying Daggers and Fantastic Four and I have to say that we are very happy with the picture quality. Sound is great too!
We do not have cable at home, but are thinking of subscribing to Comcast. Does Mark or anyone else know about the remote problem and a way to solve it?
The price is about $550 tax at the local Walmart.
October 22nd, 2007 at 2:57 am
Does anyone have the Code for this TV. My Comcast Remote will NOT Work with this. I figured If I could get the Code, this should solve the problem. Theres got to be a Code out there somewhere? NO? If anyone knows can you let me know.
October 22nd, 2007 at 3:48 pm
I went tv shopping last night and picked up this Emerson TV at Wal-mart for $558.
Excellent picture quality and value.
Similar tvs I considered ranged 697(RCA) to 1200(Sony).
Thanks for the review, I totally agree with you views. Enjoy.
October 23rd, 2007 at 1:32 am
I also purchased it at walmart, but Cannot get the Comcast Silver Remote to work with it. Does anyone out there have the Right code? I have had the TV since Friday and am having to use two Remotes. I hate it. I mean I can change the channels with the Comcast Remote, but Can’t get the Volume, Mute Buttons, etc to work with this TV. If anyone Knows the Comcast Remote Code for this TV I would be Truly Grateful. I have searched with the Remote to Find the Code, I have even tried Other Codes From Funai, Sylvania, Magnavox and Emerson. I called Comcast three times and I even Called Emerson Twice. NO ONE HAS THE CODE. WHAT The? I am not giving up yet
October 24th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
I can’t seem to find the code either and I can’t get a code to work when I search for it. I MAY try and buy a new universal remote that will operate both my comcast HD cable box and the TV.
October 25th, 2007 at 7:30 am
It’s possible that the TV is simply too new for the Comcast remotes.
I recently picked up a Logitech Harmony 550 remote which controls everything with ease, check out my review Here.
October 25th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
Yeah, but the problem with the harmony remote is that there’s a decent lag between when you push a button and when it registers with the device. I have a harmony remote.
October 27th, 2007 at 10:12 am
Markus,
Thank you for your review. My 32″ CRT was a great TV while it lasted (three short years)…unfortunately it died due to a transformer blowing from very heavy winds this past week. I didn’t have it connected to a power surge (guess that would have saved it??). I was going to get another cheap CRT, but started looking at the LCD’s - - tired of dealing with a 100 lb. TV. I was very interested in this Emerson because of the price and I had seen mainly positive reviews (all posted in Walmart’s website). But I still wasn’t sure. I wanted to look to see if there were any other reviews out there…so glad I stumbled upon yours. I’m going to buy it today!
Thanks again.
October 28th, 2007 at 2:48 am
Markus,
Well, after 13-plus years our Magnavox in our bedroom finally become terminally ill. I guess I can take responsibility for it, as I started the process of looking to replace it. My wife and I went to Costco, Best Buy, CC and Walmart in search of a replacement. And I’ve got to say for the price, the Emerson spec out better then just about everything we looked at. Watched our first movie last night (using s-video connection couldn’t find any component cables in the office) and we were both very pleased with the unit. Will be calling DirecTV today to have them send us a HD unit. Can’t wait! All ready my wife is talking about putting tis unit into one of guest rooms and getting an even larger one for the bedroom. What’s a poor guy to do?
October 30th, 2007 at 8:54 am
I really appreciate your website–it’s great!
I have a 32″ LCD as well but my problem is using headphones hooked up to it. I have a ton of background noise that I can’t get rid of. Do I need a special converter or something? Does anyone else use headphones with their TV?
November 13th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
Question ~ How well do you think this TV would work without opting for the HD service from DirecTV? Do you know? Thanks.
Also, wondering if there is a slightly larger version of this same TV… ???
November 16th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Hey Markus,
I see that you bought the Harmony remote, and that it works with this TV. What method did you use for it to learn the commands? Ive tried everything, and it will not control the tv at all. Any ideas? Thanks for the great reciew, the TV is above my expectations.
November 17th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
Yeah, I have the Harmony 550, I just put in the TV’s model number and the remote software went online and found it. Very Simple.
November 19th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Sony 8 - Device Universal Learning Remote, RMVl600 for $25 at walmart also worked for this TV, That is the cheapest on i found that I could get to work this TV, it is a great remote and also works my cable box, reciever dvd, love having one remote again
November 20th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
I just picked up this TV a few days ago. This description is very accurate. This is my second HDTV. The picture on this is vbetter than my other (a 50″ DLP). The reason we went with this model was #1 price, and #2, we simply stood back and compared picture quality on several demo models at teh store, and this one was great. Even though I do not have an HD receiver on this TV yet, the quality that I am getting from my SD receiver is so good, it is hard to tell it is not an HD picture I am getting. Again, I am only a couple days into this TV, but so far more than pleased, especially for the price.
November 27th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
I bought the 32″ Emerson. Worked great for about a month — then started getting really bad pic.
especially camera shots from a distance. like a football game - closeups look good but when zoomed out over the field - the players all get “fuzzy”
This tv is running on a coax off the main tv/satellite system in another room. I can’t tell much difference on regular stations vs HD???
November 29th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
I bought the Emerson LS320EM8 back in June. Yesterday morning I turned it on and it turned off by itself in less than 3 minutes. It will not turn on. No green light, nothing. It hasn’t come on since. Has anyone had this problem?
December 1st, 2007 at 8:57 am
I think the comcast/remote issue is with all these Emerson TV’s I got the 20″ at Walmart about a month ago (the one with the built in DVD) and my comcast remote doesn’t work either. I am looking into another universal, though I didn’t wnat to spend the money. Does the universal work with the guide and all the on demand features too?
December 1st, 2007 at 9:36 am
There is nothing wrong with the Emerson TV’s, its the remote itself.
I work for a cable provider and I can say from personal experience that the remotes for the digital boxes are outdated, very outdated. The TV is just simply too new for the remote.
Pick yourself up a Logitech Harmony, it will work with everything.
December 1st, 2007 at 2:42 pm
I’ve had the Emerson LC 3220EM8A HD TV for about a month. Worked with the Direct TV people for a total of about 4 hours trying to get codes to work for the Direct TV remote. NO LUCK. Everything else is good about the TV except I have to use two remotes to operate it.
Called the Emerson people and they just blew me off.
December 26th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
I have spent 2 days with Cablevision, Funai, & Emerson trying to get codes to operate cablevision’s Synergy V RT-U61C remote with Emersons LC 320EM8A,no support what so ever! No one knows or is able to provide code numbers. Tried Sony 8 - Device Universal Learning Remote, RMVl600, wouldn’t work at all. Don’t really enjoy having to use 2 remotes. Any other help would be appreciated!
January 2nd, 2008 at 11:05 pm
i bought this tv about a month or two ago loved it but a battery hit the screen (wii mishap)it cracked the screen and i canot find a replacement even called the 800 # in the manual and they said they did not have any in stock
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:45 pm
I am disappointed to find out that my HD cable box will not convert to the remote from the cable company. I had 4 people from the cable company come to my house to try and use the codes to convert this to the cable remote and could not. I hate to use two remotes. I talked to Emerson customer service and they tried to help and also the cable company. I would up being charged $24.95 and they couldn’t help me. Is there any solution. Otherwise the picture is great, but I cannot turn it off with the cable remote only the remote that came with the television.
January 7th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
After Comcast came and $24.95 later, it was working alright with two remotes. Cut it off one night and cut in on next day - no picture. I tried programing to the cable box - nothing. Called Emerson Support, he was no help, kept putting me on hold. I asked for a supervisor and was told, nothing that they could do. He kept asking me to check the wires in the back. I had not fooled with any wires and he still asked how it was hooked up. So I climbed on a chair and told him they were hooked the way Comcast put them and was working the day before. He said nothing they could do. So, I guess I’ll have to go back to Comcast - what a crock!
January 9th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
I purchased this unit on December 8th 2007 and the motion blur is a big distraction-I’ve fiddled with all different settings and can’t get rid of it-I will be taking this unit back and getting a plasma
January 9th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Sounds like a faulty unit.
I have seen no blur at all and this TV has something like 4ms response so it would be impossible for the human eye to pick up any ghosting effect caused by slow response.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Rick did you ever find a replacement screen?
I have the same cracked screen problem and cant find a replacement anywhere, could you please let me know if you found a place to buy it?
January 15th, 2008 at 9:22 am
Replaced the “motion blur” Emerson with another Emerson and that did the trick-however once I purchased the cable receiver hi def box the picture is so good it’s tough watching my other TV’S- it is incredible- this is an incredible TV for the money-
January 16th, 2008 at 9:59 am
Have had the TV for a few weeks now , also upgraded my cable to HD, and for the money you can’t beat the picture. Have 5 disk DVD and Surround sound hooked to back with no problems.Best to invest in cables only if you need to cut down on amount of wires running to the set. Love it so far.
January 17th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
I’m glad I ran across this site. I, too, have this Emerson TV (my model number has an extra digit on the end: LC320EM82) and I have a Harmony 550 remote. I really like the Emerson which I paid $578 for at Wal-Mart on Black Friday. I watched the price of the preferred Toshiba REGZA 32HL67U which rarely drops below $700 but after a few weeks with the Emerson, I stopped even checking the Toshiba prices. My only complaints about the TV are:
1 - No discrete on/off and input select codes (see below).
2 - Motion blur on some sources.
I think the motion blur is due to over-compression by Dish Network on the local channels. I have SD Dish and this HDTV doesn’t seem to like that but only on local channels as far as I’ve noticed. I plan to upgrade to HD Dish and/or add a OTA antenna for the locals to see if that improves things. Other SD cable channels and all DVDs look much better with no motion blur.
Last week, I happened to buy the Logitech Harmony 550 remote ($79 from Circuit City). It’s being replaced by Logitech although I doubt that my problem is really hardware related and is more likely a firmware bug. We shall see.
My question here is how you have set up the Harmony to control power to the Emerson. As best I can find, there is only a power toggle option for this TV. So when switching activities, starting up, or shutting down the whole system, the power to the TV frequently gets out of sync with the remote. So the next time the remote tries to power on the TV, all it has to work with is a power toggle command which will turn OFF the TV if it is really on already. Discrete PowerOn and PowerOff would sure be nice, but Logitech’s database doesn’t offer that option on this model TV and Emerson’s telephone support didn’t seem to understand what a discrete code even is. The Logitech database doesn’t actually list my LC320EM82. Instead it uses LC320EM81 which may or may not matter in this case.
Does your TV (LC320EM8) have discrete PowerOn and PowerOff comands in the Harmony database? Does the TV respond to those commands accurately or does it just toggle the power each time you send a power command?
If I could find the discrete commands for power on and off (and for discrete input selection, too), I would be 100% satisfied with the Emerson.
January 27th, 2008 at 9:59 am
Maybe a dumb question, but I have the LC320EM82, are the 4 screws in a rectangle shape in the back of the tv to wall mount it? In other words, do I take them out to attach a wall mount. VESA Mount?
January 28th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Yes, the 4 screw holes on the back are for a VESA mount.
The bottom stand is removable also.
January 28th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Markus
Thanks dude!!!
Roger
February 13th, 2008 at 7:16 am
I’ve had this Tv almost a week…I really like it. I think your review was spot on. I also don’t understand the hi-def part. I’m using dish network…so if i get the HD cable to run to the tv…where does it go? It didn’t seem like the manual to the Tv was super helpful in dealing with HD, but im an HD novice, so I don’t really get it…
February 17th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Bought this TV yesterday for $558 at Walmart’s and am really satisfied with the picture it has. I am a Dish Network subscriber and it works well with this set. My only issue now is all my universal remotes are obsolete. None of them will work with this unit, so I will now have to go out and purchase a new one. Thanks for this review on this set it has given me hope that I have purchased a good TV.
February 28th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
i had the 32 inch tv for a while now and havn’t had any problems yet and i read your review at the top and checked out my tv’s shiny black part on the bottom for a chip and there is no chip in it. its the cinser for the remote if its above the red and green light
February 29th, 2008 at 8:08 am
A few corrections and/or tips, since we’ve reviewed this TV ourselves…
The TV *DOES* have a QAM64 and QAM256 tuner. However only unencrypted HD channels (ClearQAM 256) will come through unscrambled. QAM64 is the standard for analog SD cable broadcast, to clarify the distinction.
I use this TV personally as a Home Theater PC display, and here it does excellently for the $$$. Most modern and reasonably priced graphics cards have component video out capabilities within a reasonable price range. In my case I recycled a couple of ATI x1600XT video cards in a Crossfire (dual video card) configuration to both assist h.264 decoding and to support reasonably high end DirectX9 gaming, to good effect. These, like many middle of the road ATI and Nvidia cards, have component video breakout cables.
March 1st, 2008 at 7:29 am
I am looking at the TV at Walmart.com. The description says HDTV. Is this something Emerson added since your first review? I was thinking the converter box for HD is not necessary now. Am I correct? And are you still satisifed with the TV. I have read other reviews on this tv and they claim that it works great for a few months and then it either stops working or the picture goes south.
March 1st, 2008 at 8:50 am
Yes, this is a High Definition TV with a digital ATSC tuner. The converter boxes are for standard def TV’s only and one will not be required for this TV as it’s already a digital television.
March 3rd, 2008 at 10:58 am
This review says you just tested its SD capabilities and said it was great? Also have you tested the Wii on this? I am only concerned about these two qualities (I do not have HD, only concerned about SD quality and Wii). I see this on sale and the boxes are very common in my Wal-Mart, I’m likely to get it this weekend. Anything I missed about this TV?
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Haven’t tried it with a Wii, but SD content looks great. Cartoons and things are very vibrant so I’m sure Wii games will rock.
March 10th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
A correction, since I’ve reviewed this TV myself last year.
The TV *does* have a QAM64/256 tuner, so it can tune analog cable and unscrambled digital cable (i.e. ClearQAM).
It is currently sitting directly in front of me as I type, supporting my Home Theater PC, my Wii, my PS2, my upscaling Oritron DVD Player, and my cable television service (Charter).
And yes, a 1280×720 32″ Windows Vista desktop does indeed rock.
March 12th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
I took my cable remote to the store with me and programmed it to make sure it would work with this TV. Code 10171 worked at the store but wouldn’t when we got the tv home. So far no luck with any combination and I’ve tried ALOT. I’ll be returning this tv tomorrow and going with a Vizio that I know works (my son has one).
March 17th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I tried the Sony 8 RM-VL600 remote and would not work with the Emerson LC320EM82. I guess I got the right Sony 8. None of codes nor learning method. Will pass on buying Harmony as too expensive and wait for universal remotes to catch up to this TV.
March 18th, 2008 at 10:03 am
I tried the Sony 8 remote commander RM-VL600 but had no luck getting it to work with Emerson. Nor could I with the learning mode. On DTV site they say their remotes don’t work with, it is too new. I will wait for universal remotes to catch up with this TV.
March 21st, 2008 at 7:24 am
Can’t seem to find the correct RF code for this TV to store with the remote provided by my cable provider. The remote appears to allow any code to be loaded and also has a search mode manually. However, don’t want to go through 10000 codes. Any light you can shed on this would be appreciated.
March 22nd, 2008 at 11:36 pm
I guest the emerson lc320em81 is too new for comcast remote can’t get it to work.
March 24th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
I have the same problem as a few other people about my display being cracked on the Emerson 32 inch television, and I can’t find a reasonably priced replacement. If anyone knows please reply back.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
I have a like new LC320EM8N and it died and won’t power back on. I’ve had it for 6 months (Oct 2007)and the parts are covered by Funai but the labor is going to cost about $190. What’s the screen worth to you guys that need one?
March 31st, 2008 at 7:22 am
I have the Emerson TV as well and while I was moving last month it got turned over and broke and screen (not on the outside but inside the screen part) and I am trying to find out where I can buy a new display for this TV. I loved this TV the colors were awesome the kids loved it as well so if anyone has any ideas please let me know my email address is wandamejia1978@yahoo.com PLEASE HELP ME!!
April 11th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
I purchased this tv about 6 1/2 months ago… the big ol 19″ wasn’t gonna cut it in my new apt. i use a $9 rabbit ear antenna and pick up HD broadcast in Phoenix area and it is AWESOME!! football games look sweet. i hav an x-box and i have the component(RGB) cables for the x-box and the games look amazing with no lag, check out the 720p games (X-Men Legends II) looks sooo much better with even the component cable vs stock RWY cables on the TV. there are no remotes for under $50 that currently have working codes as of 4/11/08. i have purchased/returned 9 different remotes and do not want to buy a $80 remote, but i might just have to cuz i want it to control all my stereo features as well. i also just cuz i could hooked it up to my radeon X1300 pro card via component connection and yes 1280×720 DOES look sweet but 1360x 720 looks just that much better. the 1366 i forced with my vid card and it squashes. i cannot get it to fill the ENTIRE screen yet but i think its my video card cuz i have issues with some games with my 15″ lcd monitor as well. i could not be happier for the price. my buddy has a 62″ projection HDTV and the “free” broadcast of the superbowl was watched on my TV and not his because it looked so much better. GET THE SERVICE PLAN if you get it from Wal-Mart, it is worth it. i have a cat that likes to get behind the TV cuz its warm back there and i am always coming home dredding that he knocked it off the stand
April 13th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
i bought this t.v. about 3 months ago and was really pleased at first. Then the sound sometimes lags, and the channels can look a little smudgy sometimes, and then out of no where i went to turn it on and the power button flashes for about 2 seconds and it shuts back into stand by mode. Any one else having this problem and any suggestions about how to go abou tfixing this. Not sure if its too late to return it wal-mart for an exchange, so if its a manufacture thing maybe they will fix or replace, you think?
April 22nd, 2008 at 6:26 am
I bought 32 inch emerson 2 days ago woke up this morning and all I see are colors flashing on the screen with the sound of the channel I want to watch. I read trouble shooting and it states to turn it off for 30 mins and turn it back on if you have sound but no picture did this and still does not work. I’m about to take it back in. I bought this because it looked like a good deal now I know better to go with the good deals and just spend a little more money on name brand items this really sucks. Anyone know what is wrong? Or how to fix this?
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:54 pm
This TV does include a qam tuner. If you wish to access HD programming without a converter box via cable you will need to run a scan. From the setup menu select channels>auto scan>cable1hour after only a few minutes the indicator will show digital channels are registering. The entire process takes about 45 minutes. When this is complete you’ll be able to access the hd channel. Email me if you guys have any questions.
April 26th, 2008 at 5:11 am
I can’t believe all you people complaining about the remotes. Oh no, you have to use 2 remotes. Good hell, I’d bet you’d go w/o TV for a month if the remote was lost, just because you’re to friggin lazy to get off your fat ass and turn it on/change the channel by hand. You got a great TV at a great price, and you blame the TV because your remote won’t work with it?
April 26th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
hahahaha
April 29th, 2008 at 11:06 am
I bought an LG 42′ LCD TV from HSN. I have basic cable as well and when I plugged the tv in and turned it on. It cant find any channels with the 75 ohm cable that was provided. Why cant it find any channels during the autoscan?
May 1st, 2008 at 7:17 pm
I have had this TV for a few months and I love it. I don’t have Dish HD just standered and I too notice the motion blur but only on the local channels. I have an external antenna connected and wow. Even with most of the elements for the 25 year old antenna thats been up on top of the house since I moved in 15 years ago pulled in some really good HD channels. The sound is surprisingly well. If you live in a big city, I dont, get a set of rabbit ears or a cheap HD antenna from Wal-Mart and see what you get.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Mark, I got this TV a couple of months ago and I love it! I have DirecTV HD and I was impressed with the clarity. I also have a DVD upverter and my movies look incredible on this TV. It’s a great bargain compared to other name brands and I would recomment it to anyone.
May 9th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
I don’t care about the universal remote or having to use 2 remotes - but my puppy chewed up my remote & now it does not work. I can’t find a place to reorder a remote on the website for tis tv. Any suggestions?
May 10th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
I bought a replacement remote for this tv at newremotecontrol.com It was 29.99 6.00 shipping. That was the cheapest price that I could find, all the other sites were selling it for 39.99 shipping. They shipped very fast; ordered Friday, received Monday.
May 10th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
I’m having the same problem as Nancy above (turn it on, it flashes for about 2 sec and then goes back to standby). Does anyone know how to fix this?
May 14th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
David and Nancy, My tv did the same thing. I have the LC320EM82S model and I called the Customer Service Department on the owners manual (800) 256-2487 They told me to unplug the TV from the power supply and let it reset for 45 mins and the problem should be cleared. I was talking to a co-worker while getting some coffee and he had the same problem with his Sony LCD tv and was also told to unplug for 30 mins to “reset” the tv. It worked for him so I’m optimistic that this will be resolved when I get home to do this.
May 17th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Jesse, Thanks for the info. I unplugged mine overnight. The next morning I still had the same problem, so I returned it to the dealer for an exchange. They did not have exactly the same model. The replacement was $20 more, but after some discussion they swapped it for no additional cost. It seemed prudent to add the extended warranty. I wonder if they went to a new model because of problems. The new one is working fine (so far).
May 17th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I have only had the ‘going back to red light’ problem twice, I tried turning the TV on again and it works fine.
May 24th, 2008 at 9:33 am
got the emerson 32 hd last May, about 5″ from the right hand side have 2 lines running top to bottom 1 green 1 yellow they last about 20 min. then disappear, any solution or reason for this
thank you
June 14th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
I got this tv a few days ago and I am having a problem that customer service has not been able to solve.
I can’t get the stereo sound to work with the digital cable box connected. It works with the cable going directly to the tv, but then I can’t get all of the digital channels and when it goes through the digital box I can only get mono sound.
Can anyone help?
June 30th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I also have a Emerson LCD 32, they have a manufacting defect. You turn off, then they will not come back on. Customer service knows about this they don’t care about you or your TV. My TV is 4 months old, the part to fix will not be in untill Sept. 30
Wal-Mart knows about this too. Funi-Corp is a rip off if you have a Emerson TV take it back to the store ASAP before your 90 days are up. God help you if you have to deal with customer service. Check out other websites.
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Amen Wanda! Our Emerson 32″ died after only 3 months and no one cares except the TV repair guy who offered to fix it for $480…we only paid $550 for it…HELLO??? Ok, I consider this a very expensive life lesson but companies should stand behind what they sell.
July 9th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
I bought the TV after reading ur review and people’s feedback. I am quite happy although I have one issue. The “back” button on the remote doesnt seem to do anything on my TV. I would have thought it would allow me to swap between two channels rapdily.. which is quite basic functionality … and it doesnt (with no pnp, this was my hope of poor man’s pnp!)
Any similar probs/soln?
Thanks…
July 11th, 2008 at 10:35 am
I BOUGHT THE EMERSON 32″ LCD ABOUT 4MONTHS AGO @ WALMART. IT WILL NOT TURN ON AND WALMART WILL NOT EXCHANGE. CALLED EMERSON AND WAS TOLD IT WOULD TAKE 2 OR 3 WEEKS TO CONFIRM OUR RECIEPT AND MAYBE ANOTHER 2 OR 3 WEEKS FOR THEM TO HAVE SOMEONE CONTACT US AND WHO KNOWS HOW LONG TO HAVE SOMEONE FIX IT. WE CALLED A LOCAL TV REPAIR SHOP THAT DOES FACTORY WARRANTY FOR EMERSON BUT WAS TOLD THEY ARE NOT GETTING PAID FROM EMERSON SO THEY WILL NOT WORK ON IT UNLESS I WON’T TO PAY. I WILL SAY THE TV PICTURE AND SOUND WAS GOOD WHILE IT WORKED. BASED ON EMERSONS SERVICE I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS TV.
July 13th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
I just returned this TV to Walmart before my 30 days were up. On satellite I never got anything better then 480i. Push the info button on your remote for this reading.The picture was always blurry or fuzzy. I thought I would double check and bought at 1080i DVD player. I hooked up through the hdmi port. I did not notice much of a difference in picture quality. There sure as heck should have been.
If anyone has owned this TV and I sometimes wonder with some of these reviews. You would also know that any surround sound system you have will not connect to this TV unless you have a digial coax port.
Jim
July 14th, 2008 at 6:06 am
Your going to need a HD receiver from your satellite company to get a better resolution then 480i (Standard Def.)
Most TVs lack RCA sound out, which is why you would hook up your sound system directly to the equipment such as the DVD player or satellite box, otherwise you would be converting it to stereo and then back to digital which defeats the purpose of high quality surround sound.
July 16th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
We have the Emerson LC320EM8 LCD TV which is just over a year old. We have just noticed that sometimes a vertical green line shows up in the middle of the screen and stay there for a while. Has anyone else had this problem? If you have what can we do to get rid of it permanently? If not does anyone have any ideas?
July 21st, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Just purchased this TV from Walmart. I was told by the TV rep at Walmart that this Emerson’s electronics were made by Samsung. That sold it for me because Samsung make the best TV on the market. Can anyone tell me if the info the rep told me was correct? I am concerned because of the mixed reviews for this 32″ Emerson.
July 21st, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Emerson makes their own electronics, however the screen in the LC320EM8 IS made by Samsung.
July 22nd, 2008 at 6:18 pm
I just got the phone with customer support. The guy said THERE IS NO CODE PUBLISHED for remotes. They donot have the code yet. Only the highend remoted that copy the codes will work. He said they get lots of calls for the codeand he wishe they had it. If anybody finds one that will work on a direct tv remote let me know.
August 10th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
Product Info: LCD TV
Serial #: J12728757
Do Not Purchase This LCD!!!
Or any other Emerson/Funai product.
They will not stand behind the warranty.
This LCD only lasted 10 months.
Walmart refered me to the Funai Corporation to resolve the warranty issue.
Below is the story.
Problem: I have been trying to get this issue resolved since march of
2008. It is now July 30 2008. Emerson/Funai Corp will not take care of
this issue. I have contacted the Funai office many times since
march. I have talked with badge numbers Jim1579, Fernando, badge 1963,
badge 1964 Kay, badge 6961, badge 1052 Alexis, supervisor Amanda
61608, badge 1155 plus supervisor Amanda 72408 Funai told me
this TV was unrepairable and i was entitled to a full refund. They
told me they would send out a box to return the LCD in. After several
weeks I called back to find out why I had not received the return
box. Funai advised me that it might take up to a month to receive the
box. After several more weeks with no box i contacted them
again. Funai advised me that they were out of boxes. I asked them if i
could use the box that my new TV came in. A Westinghouse LCD that i
purchased from Walmart. Funi told me that i could use this box to
return the LCD. i packaged and labeled the LCD as Funai
requested. Then i called back to set up a pick up date. The LCD was
supposed to be picked up before June 23 2008. The LCD was not picked up
by that date. I called Funai and was advised that they had a mix up
with the shipping company (Stevens Global). The LCD was finally
picked up on 6 26 08 shipping ticket 88847128. I still have not
received a refund on this item a month later. I can not make any
progress dealing with Funai. I am tired of making phone calls over and
over,with more excuses and no resolutions.
August 25th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
I have had an Emerson LC320EM82S for 11 months now, and it has stopped working just as many others have reported. It will not stay turned on for one second.
This problem is so widespread that consumer groups need to raise Hell with Emerson for charging people to fix a known defect in their product.
August 31st, 2008 at 7:20 pm
I have notice the green line as well. I have a horrow story of mine own involving a DVD recorder and the Funai Corporation. Short Story It started Jun of 2007 and finally finished this April with a refund. Finally. Didn’t realize when I got this TV that it was the same ugly, sloppy corporation. THEY SUCK!!
September 1st, 2008 at 9:01 am
I also have the same problem….won’t power up for more than a second. Last night I went to turn it on and it just started what I see to be a wide spread problem. I purchased this TV at Walmart March 16, 08. I can’t find the reciept. My TV was manufactured Dec 07. I plan to call Emerson although I think I am up the creek with out a paddle. Has anyone had this power problem repaired and how much?
September 1st, 2008 at 11:48 pm
When I hook my pc up to the screen it will work all the way up until it is finished starting up and then the screen will go blue and say that it does not support my pc. Does anyone know why this happens or what I can do to use this as my pc screen?
September 14th, 2008 at 9:20 am
i feel i need to warn others NOT TO PURCHASE THE 32″ EMERSON TV or any other of their products. in march of this year i made the mistake of selecting this product. as it was summer and we are busy we did not use it that much. by june it would not stay on, that is to say when i turn the tv on it switches off within 5 seconds. i have since found out it is a very common problem with this product. i took it back to walmart where i was informed they will not stand by their sale as it was past 90 days since purchase and i should contact emerson. well, we have spent hours on the phone being told to contact several repair shops in distant locations, all of which were unavailable to do the repair. after several weeks of this emerson said they will send us a box for us to send the tv to be fixed. that was a month ago and still no box. meanwhile i am paying for cable and my family has no tv so i purchase a sony which i should have done in the first place. it looks like i will have to pay to have their defective merchandise repaired myself.
September 25th, 2008 at 10:12 am
URGENT - DO NOT BUY THE 32″ EMERSON from Wal-Mart or anyone else. 505 probelms (see BBB in CA web site) and also 545 attempts to return for power failure. I too have the same issue and have been trying since July 28th to get the TV back from Funai. Have contacted BBB, CA Consumer Affairs (BEAR) and next an attorney!
October 1st, 2008 at 8:45 pm
I wish I had viewed the reviews before purchasing my 32″ tv in March 2008. I will be contacting BBB also. My TV does not power up either. I purchased my tv from Walmart.
October 4th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Will be taking my Emerson back. Volume is cutting out randomly, only after a month. After reading these reviews, I have no doubt I am in for more trouble. Thanks for the heads up.
October 8th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Have the emerson LC 320em82s and its 6 months old and DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS TV. it wont power on any longer even after leaving it off for 30 minutes (unplugged).
October 20th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
I am also haveing the Same problem with my 32″ purchased from Wal-Mart. I am told that Emerson does not have enough of the power boards that are going bad. I have requested packaging material to ship my TV back, so we will see what happens. But as been said, I see no urgency from anyone to take care of the customer.
October 20th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
We have had the same issue, as everyone else. The power will only turn on for a second then quickly shuts off. Anyone pay to have this fixed? If so how much? This is really a rip off, 600 bucks down the drain. LC320EM8 Emerson.
October 28th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
I would not suggest anything that Emerson sells, I bought an 32 inch Emerson HDTV in April and now in October nothing comes on the screen and the only way they say they will fix it is if I send it into the warranty company and it will take 6-12 weeks before I would get it back and when I asked about speeding it up, they gave me a saying that it takes a full 3-4 weeks just to run tests on the TV before they really know what is wrong. I know what is wrong, I bought an Emerson TV and I will never again do that and I hope everyone else does too because I do not want anyone else to go through what I am going through.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
I have an Emerson LC320EM82s and it powers on for a couple of seconds. I have surfed the web about this tv and none of the reviews are good. Seems like others are having the same trouble. What I’ve been told is that the transformers need to be changed. That’s if you can get your hands on them. I have found a website, shopjimmy.com, and they sell the circuit boards, but you need to have the product number off of your current board. It should start with BL or BA. Dont’ know how to change it though. The transformer part number is LTZ2PCOMS008. To find out which one is bad you will need to check them with a meter the reading should be beyween 300-600 ohms reading between the last two contacts,closest to the edge of the board, on each side of the transformers. Once you take the back off of the set and take the board off flip it over. I haven’t gotten my hands on any transformers to be able to experiment, but I’m trying. I’ve heard of people fixing this same tv by switching them out though. So, hopefully this will work. The trick is getting a hold of transformers that work. Anyone know where I can get some?
November 25th, 2008 at 1:04 am
Hey Mark
Walmart has this TV on sale on Black Friday for $388 and I was wondering if you’d started experiencing any of the above listed problems with it as yet? Based upon your review I was going to get it but now after reading the rest of the page I’m thinking against it. I’d HATE to have to go through all of this drama on my own especially since I’m not tech-savvy. What’s all of this about OAM anyway, I believe I have digital cable so what’ll that mean for my experience with this set? Assuming of course that you still recommend it….
November 25th, 2008 at 1:31 am
Sorry this is the one they’re offering… Emerson 32″ LCD HDTV w/ Digital Tuner, BLC320EM9 at Wal*Mart - $388.00
Whad’ya think?
November 25th, 2008 at 1:34 am
Okay I’m guessing my previous comment didn’t register. My question is Walmart is offering the TV listed above on Black Friday and I’d wanted to know if a year later you still thought it was a good buy or if you’d started experiencing any of the above listed issues. I’m not tech savvy and would hate to have to experience any of that drama myself. Also, what’s all of this OAM stuff? I believe that I have Digital Cable so what does that mean for me if anything?
November 25th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Hey Terri, thanks for stopping by.
The Emerson TV Wal-Mart has now is slightly different then the LC320EM8 I have. With that said, I would think that if the issues with the original model are well known by Emerson the bugs should be fixed by now. Unlike some of the people who have commented here my TV is still running strong since I wrote the review, it even survived moving to my new home last month.
Maybe I lucked out, but from my experience I would say that this TV is great value, and for the sub $400 Wal-Mart is selling it for on Black Friday it’s a steal!
November 25th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
DONT BUY EMERSON!!!!!! Only watched on the weekends if even that and my EMERSON 32IN LCD broke in a year and one month. also my friend bought the same tv only a couple months after mine. GUESS WHAT HERS BROKE TOO!!! she has to pay for labor? thats crazy. i think all of their 32inch lcd emerson tv break within a year . depending on how much you watch it. piece of crap. wish i could get my money back. EMERSON SUCKS!
November 28th, 2008 at 6:58 am
Hey thanks for the review!
It is Black Friday and a living hell at Walmart at 5 in the morning. I had to fight for this one, and hoped to God it was worth the only $388 dollars I paid for it. I have never seen a deal like this ever, and I have to say I look at T.V.’s online almost every day and I have for years. Just got home and I am still breathing hard, and wanted to see if I spent my money wisely, and I see that all signs are pointing to yes. Thanks!
November 28th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
I am considering buying this TV but now I am second thoughts.
Those of you who had problems. Did try getting refund through credit card?
I normally use AMEX which extends the warranty.
What is the warranty on this product.
November 28th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Correction
I am considering buying this TV but now I am having second thoughts.
Those of you who had problems. Did you try getting a refund through your credit card?
I normally use AMEX which extends the warranty.
What is the warranty on this product.
November 29th, 2008 at 7:56 am
i bought this tv last night, and it loks great other then everytime i change my channels, i see little white dots ….can u help me please…i had my daughters tv in my room for 3 motnhs while she was renovating, and hers didnt do that…did i maybe get a bad tv????
November 29th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Bought the $388 special at Wallie World on Black Friday and find it to be a great TV at an unbelievable price. The Samsung LCD screen Emerson uses on this TV sold me on it. Too bad nobody can find the remote control code. I’ve been unsuccessful programming my old Directv TIVO remote.
November 29th, 2008 at 11:36 am
al,
does your tv show little white dots? everyone is saying it turns on, then within 5 mins turns off, not mine,but who knows down the road. just scares me with all of the negatives…i am using the remote that came with it for now,havent yet tried to do the cable remote. i also got it from Wally World yesterday for 388.00
November 30th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Ok 5 am at Walmart was a trip!!! Black Friday 388.00 was a deal so got the bc320em9 32 inch Emerson flat panel LCD without seeing it on a display they did not have this model out on the floor to view so took a chance on it and I was really surprised nice picture and color easy to use menu and set up. It has plenty of hook up connections on the back, the only problem is programing the remote to my Dish network remote no code will work called Dish nope they could not get it to work, called Emerson they said I needed to call Dish they were very nice hope in a years time I can still say good things like this about this unit and Emerson’s customer service.Right Now would say yes and a great price.
December 1st, 2008 at 10:14 am
Bought this unit on Black Friday for $388 since it looked like a great deal. I have the remote problems everyone else has. But anyway I bought the t.v for football games since my wife kicks me upstairs to watch them and the HD picture looks great! I like it better then my 32″ Samsung. I hope I don’t have the problems everyone is speaking of.
December 1st, 2008 at 3:20 pm
I just bought a sylvania 42″ LCD and I’m having a problem with the settings. Is there any way to not get that “Strectch” on the sides of the screen in wide mode without going to the “Full” mode and losing some of the picture? Would it work if I had a HDMI cable? Thanks.
December 1st, 2008 at 7:29 pm
I waited in line for about 2 1/2 hours for the Emerson LCD 32inch tv at Walmart on Black friday… Well worth the wait.. I been able to watch HD programs with just an antenna, most important, my PS3 works GREAT WITH IT… now i have my sons Wii installed.. great tv for the price… i just hope it last.. since i never heard of emerson..
December 1st, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Bought my BLC320EM9 on black friday… The reviews we found while we were waiting in all that madness were mostly positive. I’m very pleased with my purchase and I don’t think you’re going to find a better TV under $400.
)
I’ve been playing games and watching movies on it all weekend, no problems yet. Great picture (wish I had some HDMI cables to make use of the 720i
Only complaint here is the lack of a universal remote code.
I’ve tried 4 different remotes and just can’t get any that work.
I’ve read a few places that someone got “xxx” remote to work or “yyy” to work…I’ve tried the ones that people suggested but I think they were blowing smoke.
I can program the remotes to any of my other TVs but not this one for some reason.
I hope someone finds a solution soon!
December 1st, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Oh I forgot to add… I even tried a learning remote (its supposed to be able to learn commands from an existing remote if you can’t get a code to work.) and that didn’t do the trick either.
December 2nd, 2008 at 1:26 pm
just found these codes. do not know if they work but iam going to try when i get home. i just got the walmart special emerson BLC320EM9 LCD.sure hope it will last, got the 2 yr. warranty also. here are the codes , 10623 , 10154,10236,10463,10180,10178,10171,10019,10177,10179,10038,10039,10185,10280,10282,10451. i hope one will work.
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:18 am
Hey just got the tv…I have a question….is it mountable on one of them entertainment centers that make it float up? Thanks in advance
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Got the black Friday special, love the set so far, jsut a few minor questions/annoyances:
1) I am running through an HDMI cable from a Time Warner box. Every time I switch a channel and it is in a different standard (480i, 1080i, 720p), the set shows the channel for a second, and then the screen goes blank, displays the input I am using (’HDMI’), and then shows the channel I switched to. I am assuming it it re-setting or verifying, but I don’t think it does this if you are running a co-ax directly into the back. Anyone else see this/know how to stop it?
2) I was able to use the ‘code search’ (991) on the Time Warner remote to find the code, so the power works, but I had to use the code to specify what controls the volume (993) to get my Time Warner report to adjust the TV Volume. You have to make sure that you have NEW batteries in the controller, too. Apparently the cable remote does not put out near the signal that the TV remote does.
3) helpful hint: Use the ‘info’ button on the remote to verfiy that what you are looking at is a ‘true’ HD signal.
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:08 pm
DO NOT BUY THIS TV!! This is NO joke. Go on line and see that HUNDREDS of these tvs die with in 6 months to a year and they charge to fix them. It’s all the same problem (mine lasted 4 months). The TV shuts itself off and doesn’t stay on. It’s a known problem and Emerson will not fix it. There’s a class action lawsuit in the works.
December 3rd, 2008 at 4:41 pm
DONT BUY EMERSON. hardly ever watched my tv broke in a year and one month. POwer supply broke now its going to cost 310$ to fix. Is there a lawsuit out for this anything? since its a huge problem??
December 22nd, 2008 at 3:13 am
Just wondering if anyone else has had the problem I have with the television. I bought this TV and kept it in the box in the den for about 4 months until had bought my upconvert dvd surround system as well as TV stand. Then when finished running all the cables and wire I turned on the tv and and standing close i noticed the oddest thing, a small green dot appearing on the screen toward the right bottom corner. So I unplugged it waited 30 mins. to be safe then plugged it back in to see if would still be there and it is. When the screen is bright you don’t notice it but as soon as it fades to black whamo! there is the green dot. Can anyone help or have any idea what would cause this?
December 22nd, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Do not but Emerson products, unless you can afford to keep replacing it every year..
December 24th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Try remote code 11817.
You can’t be more than 8-10 foot away when you do it. It worked w/my S4000 Universal Electronics (Charter cable) remote.
January 13th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
SONY RM-VL600 REMOTE WORKS ON LC320EM8 Emerson. AND
DIRECT TV AND DVD . YOU HAVE TO PROGRAM EACH KEY, BUT IT WORKS GOOD
January 18th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
dont buy this TV, i purchased one from a local walmart. worked GREAT games were crystal clear, i even hooked up my PC and played games on it (component to S-vid adapter on video cards) i got home from work and went to turn the TV on, it turned on then suddenly shut off .. i thought i must have accidently hit the power button twice or something, went to turn it on again, and it stayed on for about 30 sec then shut off again!, so i checked the plugs all seemed fine didnt smell any burning or odd smells gave the TV a good look over then let it sit for about half an hour, then turned it on again, and this time the screen flashed on for only a sec, and it hasnt worked since, i contacted Emerson about hte problem their customer service is TERRIBLE worste i have ever had. customer support on the phone was hardly useful, each person i was transferd to had a different answer, it tried emails took 2-3 days for a reply and even then each email said to do something different, some said to pull off the serial # sticker and mail it in and wait 4-6 weeks, others said not to pull the sticker off as it would void my waranty, i took the tv in to a local repair shop listed on thier website, got there (2 hour drive) guy said oh im sorry we dont service Emerson products and that they have made many calls and emails asking emerson to take their shop off their website and they have not. all in all its a good TV while it lasts wasted 550 on it. warantly expired for me while tryin to get the right info from emerson support. got a 550 dollar brick now, do NOT BUY this tv. not some bitter customer just tryin to help. look for higher up model of LCD skip over Emerson and their BS.
January 27th, 2009 at 11:34 am
The Emerson 32 inch LC320EM8 S, was bought in February 2008, manufactured in December 2007, it is January 27,2009, well guess what, my television is NOT working, turned off last night and will not come back on. Like others, called customer support, they are willing to pay for parts but I have to pay for the labor, and drive approximately an hour for the technician. I will not ever buy another Emerson TV. *blah*
February 1st, 2009 at 1:11 am
Don’t buy this piece of junk. A few months after got it, starting getting the green line on the screen. Can’t take it back to Wal-Mart cause they don’t back the junk they sell. Emerson doesn’t have any shops to service. You get a tv with a high definition green line down the middle. Worthless product, worthless company, waste of money.
February 2nd, 2009 at 1:07 pm
I just want warn others about this product. My Emerson TV just died after 13 months. It is the same senario as the other posts above. My TV shut down mid movie and wouldn’t turn back on. It’s interesting to seen that this is a trend with these TV’s. Extremely poor product, I will never purchase Emerson again!
February 6th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
I have a good friend that when he sees an Emerson he is unable to speak. He was just saying that if they really wanted to go high end they should put some Fisher components in it..
February 7th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
I have had the exact same problem as others on here. The TV is less than 6 months old and the screen is just blank. Have tried resetting it as instructed- no luck! A total waste of $$$ don’t buy this crap! Lesson learned!
February 10th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
dont buy this tv. i had mine develope lines and it continued to get worse. customer service goes off the manufacture date for the warranty and if it is still in warranty you have to pay for the labor wich is 50 an hour for a minimum off three hours. it is better to buy a name brand rather than a cheap brand.
March 23rd, 2009 at 1:50 pm
My Emerson 32″ LCDTV broke after ~6 months. When I turn it on, it goes on standby mode. I spoke with the supplier and they told me I had to pay for labor. This piece of trash has to be stopped from being in the market. Please, somebody do something. there is hundreds of complaints online and no organization is doing anything about. What is up with Consumer Protection? They don’t care at all? We should all sue emerson to get our $$ back.
April 1st, 2009 at 12:10 am
one more thing, i mean the walmart warranty, not emerson’s. Walmart will come to your home and fix it, unless you’re in a remote area in which case they will pay the shipping. States they include parts and labour.
April 6th, 2009 at 9:08 am
I bought my Emerson LC320EM82 S from Buy.com in September 2008 worked great until January 2009 when It came on for a few seconds to shut off again.
Got it Repaired at warranty service center parts paid a new Inverter Transformer for the Inverter Board labor cost me $125.00.
Now The same thing is happening again after only 2 months of use. Does anyone have the same problem, will this keep happening?
April 9th, 2009 at 11:21 am
I called Funai Customer Support Level 2, I have to send the TV to them and they pay for the whole repair and give a new 3 months warranty. Labor and Parts.
April 10th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Bought this TV from a local WalMart a little less than a year ago. I must say that the picture is very good, and everything was working fine. I went out of town for a week, and when I cam back home, the TV refuses to turn on. I have done everything listed here, shutting it off, unplugging it for 30 minutes or more, and still nothing. I contacted support, and they told me to call a different number. I called the new number, and was told that I needed to bring it to a service area. The closest one being over 3 hours away. They then told me to ship it to them, provided labels to do so at no cost to me, but told me it would take at least 4 to 6 weeks to get back to me???? That’s quite a long time for repairs. My question is that if WalMart knows this product is bad, which by all of the complaints, they definitely should by now, why continue to sell it? What is our recourse as consumers?
April 17th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
I just bought a Emerson LC320EM82, I’ve tried 3 remotes and none of them work, I though it was a hardware problem so i pulled apart and took a look inside, everything looked fine. Now am sure it’s dam remote code, Please let me know what remote it’s compatible with this piece of …
May 3rd, 2009 at 7:57 am
I brought this Emerson LC320EM82 about a year ago. Since then i had sent this tv to the repair shop for the same issues 3 times. I finally gave up on this tv. I will go away for a week then come back home and tv will not turn on. The inverter board keeps going bad even after i repair. The repair shop will give 30 days warranty and then you would have to pay again. I threw it in my dumpster as this is the 4th time this tv died on me. I would recommend save your money and buy a better tv as it is worth the price.
May 13th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Longterm consequences of lorazepam use….
Lorazepam order prescription online….
May 27th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
I have the answer for about $25. I had the exact same problem and I tried every universal remote available including a moderately expensive learning remote. I found the answer at Walmart for about $25. A Phillips universal DVR learning remote. Unlike other learning remotes I tried, this one worked. I’m not about to spend $100+ dollars on a remote for a $400 TV. This one worked and it’s reasonably priced.
June 18th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
BUYER BEWARE THIS TV IS JUNK TRUST ME DO YOUR RESEARCH THE POWER SUPPLY’S ONLY LAST ABOUT A YEAR $400 A YEAR FOR A TV DOES NOT SOUND LIKE MUCH OF A DEAL POWER SUPPLY COST = $179 PLUS LABOR TO INSTALL IT. MINE CUTS OFF AFTER 2 SECONDS THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH ALL THERE LCD TV’S
June 26th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Does anyone have the controller code for Dishnetwork for the Emerson 32″ LC320EMX? I just got one from Wal-Mart for $300. I tried every code I could find so far, but to no avail. Thanks!
July 6th, 2009 at 9:12 am
I purchased this TV from Walmart in Feb. 08, no problem with the TV for 15 months. No it has died on 07/04/09. The TV will not stay on for 1 second. I called/emailed Emerson and they said “there is nothing we can do”. The TV was nearly $600 total…for 15 months worth of use…EMERSON wake up! You are doing consumers wrong! You know this is a problem…fix it!!!
August 9th, 2009 at 12:25 am
I am trying to find the code for the Dish Network remote. I have emailed them and am hoping for a responce. Otherwise I will have 3 remotes to keep track of. Otherwise I love the TV. I got it for $445 including the two year warranty from Walmart. I do agree that Dish overdoes it. The movement is kinda wierd at times, but glad that it isn’t me seeing things.
September 5th, 2009 at 6:05 am
Huh thats weird, i bought the Emerson 32″ LC320EM9 one, which basically looks exactly like the LC320EM8 model. Had it for more than 2 years now and i have no problem at all. I only use it for gaming and i barely watch regular tv. I guess it depends how much u use the the tv till it messes up the power supply.
September 6th, 2009 at 6:54 am
The Emerson televisions are junk. Don’t buy one. Mine fried after seven months. I sent it to New Jersey for repairs that cost me $60. Next time it quits I’m screwed.
September 13th, 2009 at 9:37 am
I love this tv. I have 3 of them (one in each bedroom) and the picture is very very good. The only problem I found was that Direct TV does not have the code they need for the remote. The installer told me that he could run the search button for the code for 2 hours and a code will still be unavailable. Therefore I need to still use my actual tv remote for the power on/off and volume and Direct TV’s remote for all other operations.. Many pother people are having this same problem.
September 21st, 2009 at 12:09 pm
I’ve had this tv for over 2 years now…it finally crapped out on me today. I went to turn it on this morning, the red light was on like normal, but as soon as I hit the power button, the red light went off and nothing happened. I pulled out a screwdriver thinking maybe there was a power surge last night since it was raining outside. Checked the fuse and it looked fine. Checked everything else I could see, nothing looked like it had gotten toasted. I’ve read that it could be something wrong with the power board… Either way, I don’t have the money for a new board, or TV. Thanks Emerson! I hope you like losing your customers.
October 11th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
PIECE OF CRAP television - don’t buy it. I had it only 6 months before it crapped out on me!!! Bad power inverter or something like that. $175 just for the part, not including labor - may as well just buy a new tv!!! Lots and Lots of complaints on this cheap tv. DON’T BUY IT
October 14th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
Worst TV ever!! Stopped working 32 days after purchase, just long enouph for the store warranty to run out. It wouldn’t turn on at all. I called the company and they said they wouldn’t replace it, only pay for parts. Wouldn’t even pay for shipping! Was able to talk Walmart into letting us exchange it for another one. Thankyou Walmart. 2 and a half months later the TV’s picture went bad and we had to buy a new one. You can bet it wasn’t an Emerson! Good luck shoppers
October 15th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
This is by far the crappiest tv you can buy.
October 17th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Bought this one at WM for 398.00 as a bedroom unit. So far no issues after a month. The remote can’t be coded for use with my satellite remote but it’s no big deal, I can handle using 2 remotes - it’s not brain surgery. Good sound and picture. The only issue is the widescreen settings make the picture spread at the sides when panning. There should be a setting to fix that…but I’ll live. Good value for the technology you get.
November 27th, 2009 at 6:55 am
I was just reading everyone’s comments regarding not being able to find the Emerson LC320EMXF 32″ LCD TV code for the Comcast DC50X Digital Transport Adapter. I’m using the Sylvania code of 11864 and the Comcast DC50X remote seems to work fine. Hopefully it’ll work for you as well.
November 28th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
what if you want to hook up this tv to your computer and you dont have the dvi outlet on your computer.
what would be a better way to hook it up to the tv?
also how much does the dvi card cost?
December 12th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
I too have the Emerson 32 digital LCD TV, LC320EM82 S, with the wont stay on problem,after reading everyone blog, I will just cut my losses and donate it, and take the money off my taxes…..then report Emerson/Funai to the BBB, and Consumer Product Commission, wait for my tax return and go get me a RCA….Thanks everyone for the great review should of read them first…..
January 26th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Ok now reading all the new posts I am getting worried it’s been 15 months for mine since I bought bc320em9 32 inch Emerson no problems as of yet and we use it every day and night.So I hope I got one that lasts longer than the posts I been reading and still no code for dish network remote. but otherwise all is good I will keep you all posted
February 1st, 2010 at 9:11 am
I got an emmerson 320EM8A for my birthday just barely over two years ago.And recently me and my daughter was watching a movie and the next morning it wouldn’t even turn on. So I searched on the net about it and found that it has a 4amp fuse next to the power cord,which is the power supply board.We tried replacing the fuse but it would keep blowing them.I don’t know what else to do since repacing the board is probably gonna be more the the tv itself…any idea’s would be of help..thanks
March 7th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Still no luck trying to find a code for a direct tv universal remote for a LC320EMX