Give your TV a new home from IKEA
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8 out of 8 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Bad Cnet Review - Great TV !"
Pros: Top of the line Picture Quality as good as LCD's twice the price , Great Color Reproduction
Cons: Average Black Level
Summary: This review is way off ! Consumer reports March 06" issue just came in and they reviewed this LCD and it's 26" sibling. They quick picked it as one of their "Best choices among smaller sets". Both the 26" and 32" received ratings placing them at the top of the heap along the big names LCD HDTV's such as Sharp, Sony and Panisonic. In the case of the "26 inch model it is rated directly under them. With the 32" model, only the samsung nudged its way ahead of the Maxent
Also the 26" Maxent was the only 26" inch LCD besides the Sharp Aquos" to get a "very good" ratings in all three of the following ratings, "HD programming" , "DVD playback" , and "Regular TV via high quality Input"
The Cnet review says that you might want to spend a premium to get a closer to home theater experience. They recommend buying a LG 32LX1D. Consumer Reports rated the Maxent 32" as having "very good" HD programming and DVD playback quality. The LG only received a "good" ratings for both marks.
Also the real kicker here is that the Santax 32" (which is just about the same budget price as the Maxent) received a better Cnet score the Maxent did. Consumer Reports begs to differ and it's score does not paint the Santax in a good light compared to the Maxent.
The Cnet article also made a mistake when it said the Maxent has no 2:3 \ 3:2 pulldown, Maxent's tech specs tell a different story.
I checked other sources to see which review was closer to the truth. Since a review by it's very nature, subjective. Other sources such as Home Threater Magazine pretty much tell me the same thing. That is that Cnet dropped the ball on this review and got it all wrong. It is possible that when Cnet reviewed the Maxent LCD that it was in early production and this could be why the TV was not given a fair shake.
I ended up making the purchase and a I can tell you, Consumer Reports was completely correct. Very nice overall picture quality, vibrant colors and HD content looks just amazing. You can go spend the extra money for a Sharp on Sony if you want to but why ? If your buying a tube CRT spending extra for a big name TV is usually worth it but with LCD's that's not always the case. The Maxent (currently $699 at costco) is just about the lowest costing LCD's on the market. it's rare and pleasantly surprising to find a budget TV contending with the big name LCD's twice it's price.
