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| Buying an LCD Flat Panel Television |
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Syntax Olevia
LT32HV
Syntax Groups Corporation is
headquartered in California and is new to the LCD TV market. As is usually the
case with newcomers, they have to undercut the competition by price and try to
offer more options to entice shoppers who are usually nervous about making a
large purchase from a "no-name."
There are two conflicting emotions when looking at this TV. One side of us says
that the price is too sweet to resist, but our sensible side is saying that low
prices usually mean low quality. Well, so far Olevia's TVs have been receiving
very good reviews. And knowing that their panels are manufactured by LG-Philips
is some consolation.
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Syntax OLEVIA
LT32HV
This
is currently the second-largest LCD TV made by this company. They just came out
with a 37" model.
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Lowest prices (as of 10/23/05)
Target - $899.99 after 10% off
TCTENSAV
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LG.Philips is a joint venture of LG
Electronics and Royal Philips Electronics, and is one of the world's largest
manufacturers of flat panel displays. So even though Syntax is relatively
"unknown", the actual screens of their TV's are made by the same company that
sources out to other more recognizable brands. No one says this TV is better
than Sharp, but it is repeatedly the
highest
rated 32-inch LCD TV among those below $2000. And the specs don't lie
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BLUE
is higher/better than SHARP,
RED is below/worse |
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SHARP |
OLEVIA |
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Contrast Ratio |
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800:1 |
1200:1 |
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Aspect Ratio |
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16:9 |
16:9 |
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Native
Resolution |
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1366 x 768 |
1366 x 768 |
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Brightness |
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450 cd/m2 |
800 cd/m2 |
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Response Time |
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< 16ms |
8 ms |
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Tuner |
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Built-in NTSC |
Built-in NTSC |
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Inputs
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HDMI |
1 |
0 |
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DVI |
1 |
1 |
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HD Component |
2 |
2 |
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S-Video |
1 |
3 |
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VGA (for PC input) |
0 |
1 |
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Composite |
3 |
0 |
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Others |
Speakers |
10W |
15W |
| Tuner
Box |
Separate |
Not
separate |
| Viewing
angle |
170° |
178° |
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The specifications of the Olevia are impressive and a few numbers are
significantly better than those of our standard. There is, however, a glaring
deficiency. The lack of an HDMI input to some is a complete turn-off because
there is a belief that future HD signals will only be carried by HDMI and that
DVI will not be allowed to carry high-definition signals. The motion picture
industry is trying to ensure that this occurs and past history shows that they
usually get what they want. The reasoning is that HDMI is better quality, can be
used to
 carry
more than just video and audio and, most importantly, may allow for rights
management (i.e. not permit you to copy/save the images). But this is at least
5-7 years away and the $1000 savings is very tempting. This Olevia TV is
very good
otherwise.Whether the tuner box is separate or not only sways buyers who know
how they want to set up the TV. But remember, you can still wall-mount this TV
but (as we discussed earlier) an AV receiver would be necessary for a cleaner
look. On most TV comparisons, Sharp is still said to
be a better TV. The usual justification is that Sharp has a more user-friendly
On-Screen Display menu (OSD), the remote is better designed, and even things
like "the Sharp looks more sleek". For the average consumer, OSD is only
important when setting up the TV on the first day. Suggestion: spend an extra
hour muddling with an unfriendly OSD, and then relax with the thousand dollars
that were saved.
Update (10/23/05)
New deal found today. Check out
Tech Deals. |
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