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Date: 2005-04-08 Clear & sharp pictures with a CATV & an ADS Upconverter I bought this 32'' model at Target.com last March. Its total price was less than $1600 during promotion, but its picture is the same as the great picture of top LCD brand names when I hooked up an extra ADS HDTV Upconverter less than $200 (with the new firmware 1.8 version). A minimum video broadcast is a stardard CATV for a quality picture, and a progressive DVD player with Monster cables should show the best and super clear picture at 720p format. This added information is for its VGA connection. Since its contrast ratio is 1200:1, connecting a desktop/laptop to its VGA plug is also a good way to see a clear text or a sharp picture of a PC game. My son hooked up a Dell laptop 1.6GHZ Centrino and a Dell 3.0GHZ 800 FSB to this connection, he told me this 32'' monitor shows the best pictures and then ether Dell 19'' flat LCD or Dell 15'' wide laptop screen when he played the 3D newest PC games. I agree with my son that DVI connection is a way to spend more money to upgrade graphic cards but only 20 % clear picture increase. I would recommend to buy this model for expending an enough money. Date: 2005-04-03 Very poor image quality and build quality, poor support Olevia's new 32" LCD TV is surprisingly poor quality, given the good performance of its previous 27" and 30" models. The TV image is extremely dark for an LCD, and very, very coarse. I've never seen such fuzzy and dark images before, even at high brightness and contrast levels. When you play regular TV on this set, you'll be disappointed how pixelated the pictures are. I'm not talking the stretched effect of playing 4:3 aspect ratio images on a 16:9 screen; I had no problem with this on my previous Syntax set, but on this new model, it's simply intolerable. (How the other reviewers fail to gloss over this serious defect is beyond me. All I know is yours truly is an independent reviewer not employed or paid for by Syntax to be its mouthpiece. I write what I observe.) Other than the extreme poor image quality, the TV is slow. The set I tested had several dead pixels, including a bright green one in the dead center, which annoyed the heck out of me. I also observed dead pixels on a display set at my local CompUSA store. Also, the clerk told me that they received several complaints about how slow the TV's response was. The new 32" and 37" models are black (or dark gray? -- I'm kinda color-blind), which looks better in pictures than in person. I'm very disappointed in the picture quality and build quality of the new Syntax TVs. BTW, if you are offered a rebate, do NOT bite. It took over four months and many persistent phone calls for me to get my $100 rebate, and even though the customer service rep was courteous, I was pretty sure if I had never called, they would not have paid me. "You get what you pay for." Nothing holds more truth than this old adage. If you want a good HDTV, go with a better brand like Sony or Sharp. Saving a couple hundred bucks now will prove costly in the long run. Date: 2005-03-28 Incredible Value and Performance I have been interested in purchasing an LCD HDTV for some time, but I felt that prices were simply too high in relation to what I would be getting. In other words, no TV is worth $5000 to me. When I saw the price of this set and read all the great reviews, I decided the time was right. I can now say that I made the right decision. This TV is amazing. The full array of picture settings allow users to achieve the perfect mix of colors, brightness, contrast, etc., to suit their personal preferences, and the split screen and picture-in-picture features are superb. Anamorphic DVDs played at 480p look astonishingly crisp. This is nothing, however, compared to the performance of this TV with true HD signals transmitted at 1080i. The HD image this set produces is flawless and absolutely stunning. Anyone who is looking for the perfect set to introduce them to the world of HDTV can't go wrong here. Date: 2005-03-26 Olevia beats Aquos The Syntax LT32HV is a winner and is best value for quality and price. Brightness, contrast, sound are all very good and stands up to the Sharp models. I bought the Olevia because of the DVI-HDCP capable feature to utilize the DVI video from the digital cable box for best HDTV connection. Other below $1.8K price brands don't have DVI-HDCP; Kreisen promised to have it in May, Hyundai, Proton, etc. don't even bother, and some offer only 1 set of component video inputs, forcing you to use the S-video, which is subpar. However, none including Olevia offer HDMI, but since Cablevision digital box has no HDMI outlet anyway, it's not a concern yet. My DVD is connected to one of the 2 component video ports -- on 480p the picture is great, a 720p upconverted picture would be phenominal. An advanced DVD player with DVI/HDMI outputs would be wasted here, unless you downgrade the HDTV to component to open up the DVI port. If only the speakers could deliver more bass, but otherwise they're adequate. A low-price subwoofer connected to the side subwoofer outlet would greatly improve the sound. ExtremeTech rated this unit a 7, compared to Sharp's midrange Aquos at 9, but at $600 to $1K more. I had returned a Sharp LC-32GA5U for defective sound. No such problem with the Olevia, and not a single dead pixel on the LG-Philips screen. Yes, the choice of aspect ratios could be widened, without stretch distortions, and the clumsy big-foot base could be narrowed a bit. An additional DVI/HDMI port would be super. Otherwise, highly recommended. Date: 2005-03-23 Great deal! Like most people, I was skeptical about buying an expensive appliance from a company with whom I was not familiar. But after receiving my TV last night, I am definitely pleased with it. The picture quality is astonishing. The brightness and contrast are everybit as good as the other readers have written. Hooking my PC up to a 32" screen is a real treat. I don't think I can go back to my old 19" monitor again. The TV also has a multiple picture in picture feature. (You can watch up to 13 channels at once!) However, it only refreshes one screen at a time, so it's not continuous realtime video for all the screens, but no big deal. With the 2-screen picture and picture, both screens run in realtime, so no worries here. I have 2 "small" complaints, however: The remote control isn't that great as I've read. Its control settings are different than most other remotes, and this remote isn't very powerful either. You almost need to point it directly at the TV for it to function at all - even with brand new batteries. Another small complaint is the "zoom" feature on the TV. It still stretches a 4x3 picture even though it crops the top and bottom of it. I don't really understand what Syntax was thinking when they came up with this idea. Fortunately, the regular 4x3 and 16x9 settings are flawless. All in all this TV is a great buy for $1600, and it measures up very nicely with the models double the price. This TV has outstanding picture quality and plenty of features and different inputs. * Price is subject to change. |
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