Syntax Olevia LT26HVX 26-Inch Flat-Panel LCD HD-Ready TV
Great TV
I purchased this television as a spare DVD/HD set which doubles as a PC monitor and video gaming TV. It performs very ably all of these functions. <br /> <br />The color decoder is surprisingly accurate out of the box at \\"Middle.\\" The unit calibrates reasonably well with DVE, though I have found that after switching inputs, sometimes the brightness setting is 'off' upon returning to say, the DVI input. It will display the brightness of setting '50' when the slider is actually at 46. A quick trip to the user menu to bump it one tick up or down 'restores' it to the proper brightness for the numerical setting. <br /> <br />The black level is average for an LCD panel - not as good as newer higher end sets, but much better than a normal PC monitor, and more than usable for movies. As with any LCD panel, the black level is much more forgiving during bright scenes than in dark ones. The viewing angles (which are not incredibly forgiving as far as PQ goes) play a role in this, also. The advertised 170-degree viewing angle is a gross overestimation - you see something, but not anything close to a high fidelity picture. I would say the real-world viewing angle is 100 degrees horizontal by 70 degrees vertical - still not bad compared to a projection CRT screen, or a laptop or small PC LCD monitor. <br /> <br />Buyers should know that this is a 15:9 monitor, not 16:9 - this has no impact on picture quality, it just means very tiny black bars on 16:9 dvds, and slightly larger bars on 2.35:1 material. <br /> <br />Nevertheless, for the price, I am stunned that this unit performs as well as it does. I am quite happy with my purchase from that standpoint. The build quality is also very good - this is a solid unit. Less discriminating viewers who make this (or a larger Syntax unit) their first HDTV will likely be blown away.