Syntax Olevia LT30HV 30-Inch HD-Ready Flat-Panel LCD TV
FAQ's missing.  Hopefully this will help
I saw there were problems with the aspect ratio. 3 reviews below me says that the picture looks stretched. There's a solution for this and mine may not be the only solution.  My computer was set to 1024x768. When looking at DVD's through my computer or videos through Media Player or Divx the picture looked stretched. I finally found the Olivia help and told them about this. They say that many movies come in wider than the screen. I knew this but I was looking at a TV source and knew that this could not be wider than HDTV standard.  I looked around and finally found that answer in a site about a software program that lets you change the resolution from what Windows gives you. I did not use the program. I found that to get the correct resolution from your computer you need that (powerstrip progam) only for the 27\\" monitor.   The fix for the 30\\" monitor is easy. Change your settings to 1280 x 760 (760 always remains the same). I changed from 1028 to 1280 and now movies and everything else from my computer do not look stretched.  However, the fonts are a bit difficult to view at this setting so if I'm reading I leave the setting at 1024. I also found that with Divx Viewer I can stretch the picture to the correct size (But not with windows media 10. It may be possible with Windows Media 9)  I also found what a lot of people have said. Standard TV, especially with the mediocre Comcast signal I received, doesn't look good. In fact HDTV magnifies any errors.  I've seen some HD videos through my computer through VGA cable that looked very good.  There are lots of connections on the back. I've done some \\"research on the DVI cable and there's not much information. I can accept that it gives a better signal than the RCA cables (white red and yellow old technology). What I can't figure out is if it's better than VGA. What I've learned is that DVI is supposed to be better because you don't have to convert the signal in the computer from digital to analogue and then change that same signal back to digital for the LCD monitor. If it's digital from the computer the DVI cable will render directly from the digital signal. I do not know if DVI is better than any of the other cables (component especially). If I get one I'll try to update reviews.  If you need more help with the stretching problem, go to the Powerstrip forums. They may have the answer. I found that I did not have to download the Powerstrip program but if you have a 27\\" TV and you are using it from a computer, you may need PoweStrip. However Microsoft may also have a program to render 1024 x 720 or whatever the best resolution is. The problem is that, from what I heard, Windows XP does not come with 720 as a vertical resolution and this is what the 27\\" monitor needs.  So far I am happy with this. I gave it 4 out 5 because Syntax does not handle this stretching (aspect ration) problem, although it doesn't seem that difficult.  I would highly recommend that you also consider getting a wireless keyboard. I do not have one yet, but the monitor is very bright and overwhelming if you sit 6\\" away (This is as it should be) I plan on getting a wireless keyboard and mouse to control windows media player etc... Like a very expensive remote control... I plan on getting DVI cable and maybe component cables (though I may not need them if I get DVI)...  I also will get a simple signal splitter. My computer already comes with a TV tuner. I need to split that signal so that I can also feed the Olevia TV with the cable signal...  I believe that this is a better TV than a computer monitor. I find that sometimes there are not enough pixels to render text. A coma like this \\",\\" is only two pixels. Not a big deal. I think I still like the fact that I can be 3 to 6 feet away and still read it.  There is also a program called TrueType from Microsoft. You can look it up and understand the technology easily enough from their website. You can also click \\"turn on\\" TrueType and you won't be able to tell the difference on a standard monitor. However on the Olevia LCD you will immediately see the difference. However, I think TrueType only comes wit Windows XP. Those with older operating systems may need to download a special program from MS. However, TrueType only does about a 10%-20% improvement, so if you do not have XP, it may not be worth getting TrueType.  For those of you who haven't bought this yet, be careful with the tracking system on Amazon. It's very bad. My Olivia arrived here last Wednesday. The tracking system at Amazon either said \\"We do not have information right now\\" or \\"Leaving xxx on date XXX\\". The problem was that it was not leaving. It had already arrived and I had missed the phone call. So I had to schedule on Friday for Next Tuesday (6 days after it arrived). I looked at the Amazon tracking every day, and everyday it said the same: \\"no info\\" or \\"Left dock\\". I knew who their carrier was (Eagle) did a Google search for their web site. I was stymied for 3 days, until I finally found the site (there's many companies with the same name and this carrier has also changed websites so their empty website points you to the correct place). Their tracking system actually has the correct information!!!! It said it arrived at my local area and the exact date!!!! However this was not reflected on Amazon.  When the Olevia arrived, the carriers were very nice and courteous and accommodating. My wife called and when I arrived they were waiting for me with the Olevia unpacked and ready to be connected. I turned it on, on the floor, plugged the cable on after disconnecting it from my regular TV, tried picture in picture. I signed the paperwork. The movers were very nice and were even going to take the packaging but we chose to keep it.  The Olevia only comes with a VGA cable (I downloaded the instruction book weeks ago and it tells you what it comes with). I chose to use that one rather than the one I had. It's a simple matter to connect the cable from the computer to the Olevia....    New edit.  It took me about 4 days but I finally fixed the video.  I am using this with a computer only so far.  with 1280 x 768 My ati RADEON 9200 would not render text well.  (You should use that resolution for movies to have the right aspect ratio).  The solution, and mind you there may be other solutions, was to use the powerstrip program.  I changed all their setting to the reccomended setting, but not untill I set the Frequency to 80.00 did the text become perfect. If you are having a wigly screen when used as a computer monitor, do a search for powerstrip, and look to their forums.  You may also be able to do something by changing the setting on your video driver some other way, but I wasn't able to.