Olevia 542i Build Quality

Like most of us, I started my purchasing of displays long before ED was an option, much less HD. Back then, you rarely had to look behind a TV to know what was back there... an RF/coaxial input for the on-roof antenna and maybe a couple of RCAs that you never knew why you'd ever need. Now, inputs, resolutions, deinterlacing, scaling and a host of other issues make display shopping far more complicated than ever. For the common consumer, what is really important is 1) How does it look and 2) How much is it. For videophiles, many more things come into play including mounting options for the unit picture quality, number of inputs, configuration and calibration options, and more.

Build Quality

The 542i is a substantial unit that weighs in at over 100lbs with the included stand and speakers. The unit can be removed from the stand and wall mounted if you like (VESA 100/200 x 200). The speakers come bottom mounted and can be reconfigured to be side mounted with an optional mounting kit. You can also just remove the speakers and lower the display for a cleaner look. I think this is a wonderful option that should be adopted by all that insist on putting visible (and often unused) speakers on their flat panel displays.

The stand was of good quality and was very sturdy. I felt like the unit was sitting a little high (mostly because of the bottom mounted speakers) but it wasn't at all unsteady. The higher end Olevia models have opted for a glass screen but not the 542i. This set eschews that and uses the standard TFT screen. Some have complained that using glass increases reflections and prefer the TFT screen. I noticed absolutely no dead pixels or any other problems with the unit out of the box. The connections were all located on the right side of the unit (if you are facing it) which was kind of a pain for me personally because all my equipment is on the left requiring longer cables than I had available.