Syntax Olevia LT27HVX 27-Inch Flat Panel LCD HD-Ready TV
Five Stars for a PC Monitor, Not Rated for a TV
Having only had this product for about five hours I will provide you with my first impression. I am using this as a computer monitor/TV and am very pleased with the quality and capabilities it provides.     I am not sure everything regarding the computer setup being used with this product as a monitor is important but here is what I have: 3.2 Ghz Intel, 2 Gigs Ram, ATI X850XT P, Windows Home XP, and most important a Hauppauge WinGo TV card.     All I have at this point is basic cable with no HD capabilities.    As far as using this as a stand alone TV I would say the following: The color and picture quality are excellent. The remote does not have enough buttons. You have to go though a menu and several buttons to use and turn/off the PIP. The source button does not toggle between items but brings up a menu you have to arrow through before making a selection (Toggle in my opinion is better). Other reviewers have touched on other items. Because the  stretch and compression of the picture in full screen mode is noticeable I prefer the 4:3 aspect ratio. This reduces the screen size to about a 22 inch diagonal picture.    Using this as a computer monitor/TV combo makes this product shine. The picture quality between a direct cable hookup and going through the TV card is the same. In my biased opinion the 25 inch diagonal picture which can be provided by the TV card provides the best picture/aspect to actual ratio compromise. This is the maximum you can get using the TV card. Although full screen is not possible with the TV card it is not problem with a cable splitter to have both options available.    Playing DVDs with Power DVD provides  awesome full screen picture quality without the aspect ratio problem standard TV has.    Having a 27 inch screen for Word of coarse has no value. However, being able to use Word with a TV screen as I am doing now works great. As this is being typed game three of the Dallas/Sun playoff game is being aired. What I have is about a 18.5 inch and 12.5 inch diagonal picture for Word and TV, respectively. Being able to have two screens with TV and the internet with Fantasy football is something I used to do with a 21 inch monitor. Next season there is going to be a new and better stadium provided with this monitor.    With two of the games I have looked at and general internet browsing I have not found any problem with the shift in aspect ratio. For game quality, running at full screen, Colin Mcrae 2005 and The Rise of Legends look and play fantastic.     If you are going to buy this as a computer monitor there are a few tips I would throw your way. Before disconnecting your old monitor set the screen resolution and refresh rate to one this monitor will work with. You cannot change these setting in Safe Mode, I know this because I have tried. Because of the resolution setting set in Rise of Legends was not compatible with this monitor it would not run. This required hooking up the old monitor or reinstalling the game. It is possible there is an easier way and is something to keep in mind.    Because the people in charge of energy conservation have not caught up with these people the monitor power will not be shut off by the power saving features built into the Windows Operating System. Having to turn on/off the monitor each time the computer is turned on/off is a minor annoyance.     Follow up: After having emailed Syntax, I was informed neither built in functions nor software drivers were available for these energy saving features. They stated this was a TV not a computer monitor, and was star complaint with the energy regulations for TVs.      If you are thinking about using a PC with a TV card the software Beyond TV gives you better capabilities than TIVO with no monthly charges. The best feature this program has in my opinion is information and the means to record shows you would not otherwise think about. It also provides the means to transfer recorded media to a PDA which is really cool. If you choose to buy this program and can find Version 3 at a cheaper price than the Version 4 price, buy it. It will have a free upgrade to Version 4.     The specifications on this monitor from some of the information I have seen are not accurate. As far as a computer monitor the three specifications I believe to accurate and important: Maximum resolution: 1360:768 (That is what I am currently using), Brightness 700 cd/m2, and a Response Time of 12 ms. With a product  specification comparison I would expect this one would hold up well. Based upon my personal experience and needs I have given this product a five star rating.    Rich      Update June 4, 2006: I am using the VGA cable supplied with this product. Using a VGA versus a DVI cable gives more options for display resolutions.  To get to the maximum resolution of 1360:768 you must uncheck the box, `Hide modes that modes this monitor cannot display.' This may be why some people incorrectly indicated a maximum display resolution of  1280:1024. This is not a display resolution I would recommend because of aspect distortion.     My earlier comment indicating a full screen display not being available with the TV card being used was not correct. Full screen mode with this TV card can be obtained by selecting the no title option located at the upper right hand corner of the display. There is not any significant difference in the picture quality between using this and a direct cable hook up.  The opinion regarding the best aspect ratio with the title information displayed still stands. If you are going to be using this product with a PC without a HD TV signal, the additional control a standard TV card gives you with the aspect ratio is well worth the money. In addition using the PIP with PC applications is not practical (Maybe possible would be a better word).    The reason the title of this review states, `Not Rated for TV', is because I am not using HD TV. Based upon the quality of the screens produced by my PC using a DVDand gaming software I doubt there would be any problem with the quality of a picture obtained using a HD TV signal. I also neglected to mention the price of this product was considerably less than other the other products with this picture size, having no better quality    Having a few days now to use this product, I have no regrets having purchased it.     Update July 8, 2006:  In my opinion comparing products with other brands and/or sizes on a showroom floor should be the first level used in the process of making a decision of what to buy. As lighting and the type of use you are going to be giving this product are not always reflected on the showroom floor, it is nice to know what the specifications are. Hearing what people have to say from personal experience from such places as this has value as well.    As of this date the specifications listed for this item at Amazon as well as one other site I checked were for the previous model. The fact no one has bothered to point this out until now should tell you something about specifications. As I, and assume you, would prefer to have accurate specifications here are what I got from my manual and Syntax's web site. It is a 9ms response time, 800 cd2/m brightness, and a 1000:1 contrast ratio. The 1600:1 dynamic contrast ratio listed on their Web site is a modern version of horse power rating Sears has been using and others have picked up on.    For my purposes I am still very happy with this product. However, if you plan on using this with neither HD TV nor a computer I would recommend you wait until you are ready to make the jump to HD TV, unless aspect distortion does not bother you.    Update July 22, 2006: If you purchase this monitor there are a few more tips you might find useful in the following comments. With the use of PC applications such as Word, Excel or the internet I would strongly recommend that you set the desktop resolution to 1360x768. However, I have found some of the games I have used do not work atthis resolution. If you find a game does not display after changing the resolution or for some other reason, go to the desktop and change to a lower resolution. This tip would have saved me a lot of time. The Windows shortcut to go to the desktop is the Windows key held down followed by a press and release of the D key. This of coarse does not work with all applications, games in particular but is worth a try before doing a Ctrl-Alt-Del (which works fine, most of the time).     If you fast forward a VHS tape with the default settings while in TV mode, the screen goes blank. What were the people that set this up thinking? Not is the answer. To correct this problem while in TV mode go to Menu then Advanced Picture Adjust and set DNR to Off.    While the length of this review is rather long, it is hoped the content could be easily understood and remembered for future reference. Dealing with all the issues raised here has not changed my opinion that purchasing this product was a good decision. Actually seeing a product such as this before making an internet purchase is something I could not emphasize too much.