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"Decent budget flat panel HDTV" on by douglasbehl
Pros: Very low price, large screen, minimalist design
Cons: low contrast ratio, only 1 HDMI port, poor UI
Summary: I bought this tv through buy.com after reading about the deal on gizmodo. Compared to other entry level budget TV's on sale, this is probably the most bang for your buck.
at 32" and with the ability to display 720p and 1080i the resolution matches all but the higher 1080p's nowadays but with a much lower price point. That being said, I'm only able to pipe in xbox 360 games at 480p currently, although i'm trying to troubleshoot this now.
If you are an image quality junkie, then you may want to steer clear, as the contrast ratio is on the lower end at 1000:1 while higher end tv's are popping out 6000:1. In laymans terms, you will see distortion especially in darker areas such as facial shadows where the chipset does not seem to be able to graduate color very well. Brighter colors and midtone areas however are displayed quite well and in vivid clarity which pops right off the screen. Overall, the end result is a display that is biased towards the warmer end of the color spectrum (which I tend to prefer) and only struggles in the deep shadows (on non-HD channels)
The sound is quite good out of this as well, and the TV offers a good choice of pre-set audio output formats that allow enough flexibility for someone who does not have the room for an entire entertainment system.
That being said, I would never pay full price for this TV. HOWEVER on sale, I think people looking for a slim form (i'm in a studio) and large viewing area, but who don't watch enough tv to need a higher end unit should consider this one over other similar priced units such as the Vizo 32" and Westinghouse 32". Compared to both, i would say that the picture quality is slightly above both (the Westinghouse seems to run a bit dull and washed out, while the Vizo can be a bit to soft)
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