Syntax Olevia LT32HV 32-Inch Widescreen HD-Ready LCD TV
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.)<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />\\"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.