Syntax Olevia LT30HV 30-Inch HD-Ready Flat-Panel LCD TV
Can't beat it for the price
We read technical reviews of this LCD HDTV-ready unit on Cnet, anandtech and extremetech before we decided to buy it. Two of the three gave it great reviews (8 of 10 at extremetech) and one panned it. We are glad we took the risk. The picture is amazing. We keep seeing things in DVDs that we never knew were there. Sound was only ok. Decent for a television, but if sound is your object, get a home theatre system (we're running this through the Panasonic 820V - see my other reviews).  I can tell a difference between this set and truly high end plasma or LCD sets, but the difference is small and not worth the high end price. Example: extremetech gives 9 of 10 to a same-size Sharp AQUOS LCD, but you'll pay double the price of the Olevia.<br /><br />Pros:<br />Amazing picture, sharp even from two rooms away<br />Good size for a small room<br />Unbeatable price to value ratio<br />Adequate sound as shipped, easy to route through a home theatre system<br />PC connection was almost plug and play, required 5 mins of fiddling with my laptop, but that was my laptop's problem, not the TVs<br />It's light - I could lift it and maneuver it by myself<br />Gamer chick note - World of Warcraft looked so great I could just cry<br />Set-up and technical menus are fairly easy to navigate once you deal with the balky remote<br />This thing is packed like Fort Knox, double-boxed, custom cut plastic foam inserts etc.  The outer box had some dents but the inner box and the unit were pristine<br /><br />Cons:<br />Print manual is basically useless. Included DVD is not any better<br />Remote is poor quality: tiny range, buttons are not intuitive or even logical, they require several pushes and response time to the remote is SLOW when changing channels (5 sec - I counted) We use our DVD remote for most interactions though, so this is a minor issue to me.<br />Can't evaluate cable picture as I don't have cable<br />Off-the-air tv looked pretty bad, but with no antenna to speak of, that's understandable<br /><br />Overall vote:  No regrets. I would buy it again in a heartbeat.  My final decision was between this and a Sony Grand Wega 42 inch LCD projection model, and I chose this one. The picture is better despite the smaller screen.If the most important aspect of a television purchase for you is picture for price, this is the one to get. If you can afford a grand or 4 more, look higher up.<br /><br />Edit: This television died a noble death on September 4, 2012, missing the 8-year mark by a mere two months. The symptoms suggest an issue with the power supply, and reported repair costs would equal the cost of a new machine. We've ordered a 32\\" Samsung, not out of any dissatisfaction with this model, but due to good reviews on the Samsung.  RIP, Olevia - you served well.