Syntax Olevia LT30HV 30-Inch HD-Ready Flat-Panel LCD TV
Price to Quality Leader
I was attracted to this product because of its very low price and a mail-in rebate.  I had been shopping for a traditional crt tv and had thought I was years away from getting a flat panel TV. <br /> <br />While the price certainly attracted me, it was so much cheaper than the norm that I was concerned about quality.  I've had the device for a week now and am pleased to report that it appears to be very good. <br /> <br />Although not quite High Definition, this LCD is of a higher resolution than most of the flat planels you may have seen in stores.  Its 800 x 600 resolution is so, so much better than the poor 640 x 480 res on most of the fore mentioned panels.  And it's half the price of most of those low res screens as well! <br /> <br />I did not previously have alot of experience with LCD flat panels and didn't know if the screen's advertised response time was fast enough or the contrast high enough.  I can report that I see absolutely no image blur during the fastest scene changes.   <br /> <br />However, I would have liked a little more contrast.  If you increase brightness enough to see adequate detail in dark scenes, the true blacks become slightly greyish.  I find it a little annoying that the letter box areas are therefore grey - but not even close to being annoying enough to go back to an \\"old fashioned\\" TV. <br /> <br />The image quality, after setting up unit with the included composite cord, was very nice.  However, after connecting my DVD player to this panel's COMPONENT inputs, the picture was great.  I found that I was actually getting the sensation of \\"being on scene\\" rather than just watching a piece of glass.  Note that this panel does not support progressive video, but the component cable improvement was well worth the cable investment anyway. <br /> <br />Although the picture is better in a dark room, it can tolerate normal room lighting as well.  My display arrived with zero bad pixels. <br /> <br />The tiny 5 watt speakers were surprising clear and pleasant.  The panel surround is well designed, appears to be well built, and looks good.  The remote is surprisingly bulky especially when pared with such a sleek machine, but is easy to use and has equal range to any sony remote I have. <br /> <br />I have some concern over not really knowing anything about this manufacturer or their reliability, but I couldn't be happier with my purchase at the moment.  I know of no better way to get into flat panel, or a similiar quality product at even twice my price. <br /> <br /> <br />