More HDTV For Your Money

[Rasputin]

Now more than ever, both bargain hunters and luxury seekers can find an HDTV to satisfy their high-def needs and their budgets. Whether you want an LCD, plasma, or DLP HDTV set, you can choose from a wide range of prices, and even the high-end models aren't as expensive as you might think. And you'll find more high-def content--from network and cable broadcasts to HD DVD movies--than ever before.

Deals abound in every size and technology category. PC World tested a total of 15 TVs across three popular technologies

(LCD, plasma, and DLP) and three popular screen sizes (37 inches, 42 inches, and 50 to 52 inches). For a little over $1000, you can buy an LCD or plasma TV with impressive picture quality. And today, thanks to DLP technology, a gigantic screen and even 1080p resolution may be within your reach.

To test each of the TVs, we played several high-definition clips, a couple of standard-definition clips, and scenes from two DVDs on each set. Our panel of judges scored each model based on its brightness, sharpness, and color clarity. Our verdict, after a thorough comparison of the sets: Lower-priced HDTVs frequently equal or better the performance of higher-priced sets. In addition to pinpointing which of the tested models are true screen stars, we have tips on how to shop for deals. Armed with this information, you'll be able to tell whether the next bargain that catches your eye is a great deal--or just a snare for the unwary.

Big: LCDs

Chris MannersIn our tests many cheaper HDTVs, including bargain sets from little-known brands like Olevia and Vizio, more than held their own against higher-priced models from makers such as Samsung and Sharp. In the 37-inch LCD category--a size that we've never previously evaluated--the Best Buy award goes to Vizio's L37HDTV, which climbed to the top with particularly high scores for brightness, color, and DVD content. At a street price of just $1000, this set may be the one for shoppers on a limited budget. Not far behind, however, are the $1299 ViewSonic N3760w and the $2000 Sharp Aquos LC-37D90U, the latter model the only LCD we tested that supports a 1080p resolution. Westinghouse's $1299 LTV-37w2 and Olevia's $1499 537H claim the fourth and fifth positions, respectively. Though not as well equipped as other sets, they provide enough of the basic features; and more important, their TV images earned decent scores in our image-quality tests.

Many consumers are familiar with the workings of LCDs, in the form of LCD monitors. For LCD TVs, the technology is the same: A matrix of cells contains Liquid crystals that twist and untwist in response to the provided voltage, allowing light from the source to pass through and thereby creating color images.

A 37-inch LCD TV looks big in a small living room, and it's a good option if you want a wall-mountable model. If this is your ideal dimension for an HDTV, an LCD set is your only budget choice: Aside from Panasonic, no plasma TV manufacturer makes 37-inch models, and DLP televisions aren't made in this size at all.

Dell W3207C Diagonal (inches): 32
Native Resolution (pixels): 1366-by-768
CableCard Ready: No
HD Formats: 720p, 1080i
Price When Reviewed: $1199
Bottom Line: Good performance, stylish design, and features such as side speakers and swiveling stand make for an attractive package.

Vizio VX32LHDTV Diagonal (inches): 32
Native Resolution (pixels): 1366-by-768
CableCard Ready: No
HD Formats: 720p, 1080i
Price When Reviewed: $700
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Bottom Line: An incredibly cheap price distinguishes this LCD TV, which otherwise has decent, but not impressive, design and features.

Panasonic TC-32LX60 Diagonal (inches): 32
Native Resolution (pixels): 1366-by-768
CableCard Ready: No
HD Formats: 720p, 1080i
Price When Reviewed: $1200
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Bottom Line: This solid performers is comfortable to use, but it lacks loudspeakers and a VGA input.

[Rasputin]

The Dell W3207C is a well-rounded 32-inch LCD TV. This $1200 model earned solid scores on every viewing test, and it has an attractive design, too.

The W3207C, which includes both ATSC and NTSC tuners for, respectively, digital and analog signals, consistently pleased our judges in both standard- and high-definition video tests. Greens and reds were correctly saturated in high-def clips. The unit did very well when subjected to bright fluorescent lighting: Despite such intrusive ambient lighting, we could still see vivid colors and good contrast.

The unit's black-and-silver cabinet sits on a round black-and-silver base, which is in turn balanced on a narrow stand. This straightforward design is one of my favorites, and the stand swivels. Dell doesn't skimp on connectors, although they are a little difficult to access on the back of the TV. (I found myself doing contortions to view the labels on the connectors even when using the swiveling stand.) The W3207C has one HDMI, two component, and two composite inputs; however, it lacks the digital audio/optical input that other models offer. Though color-coded, the connector labels lack text descriptions and require some amount of guesswork.

The matching black-and-silver remote control appears iPod-like with its circular navigational control, but it has four directional buttons rather than a touch-sensitive wheel. This remote works only with the TV and not with any other components, but it has cleanly organized buttons. I found the W3207C's on-screen menus easy to use. The main menu appears at the bottom, while the submenus float in the middle of the screen. A row of Tic Tac-sized controls sit on the right side of the TV panel. The white-on-silver labels are a bit hard to read and I found myself squinting to discern letters, but the controls were easy enough to activate. Dell offers a trilingual manual dedicated to this model.

Our listeners found the audio--which comes from built-in speakers mounted on the sides of the cabinet--flat. The SRS TruSurround XT feature did help audio quality. Even so, this somewhat disappointing result surprised us, since Dell says that these speakers are the same as those on the previously reviewed Dell W3201C, except that now they are not detachable. In the W3201C review, we found speaker audio powerful and clear. This time around, however, the same reviewer found the speakers to have less clarity and frequency response (for outputting both bass and treble frequencies). Also, because the speakers are no longer detachable, you can't increase their separation to enhance stereo audio.

All in all, however, the Dell W3207C LCD TV offers a great combination of sleek industrial design, enticing picture quality, and a reasonable price.

[Rasputin]

The distinguishing feature of the Vizio VX32LHDTV is its low price ($700 as of 12/08/06)--less than half the cost of the top-performing model among currently tested 32-inch LCD TVs. And while its economy comes with a few rough edges, the set overall is a good value for the features and image quality that you get.

The VX32LHDTV ranked sixth out of seven in image quality, scoring consistently in the bottom tier across our seven tests. High-definition broadcast video looked washed out and showed some pixilation. However, our test unit scored only six points less than the $1600 Toshiba 32HL66, our top performer, and the Vizio's overall image quality was still considered good.

The low price comes with a few drawbacks. The TV doesn't swivel or allow height adjustments, and the integrated speakers at the bottom of the set are embedded in a wide, distracting silver bar. Plus, I found the placement of the connectors--low on the rear of the back panel--to be inconvenient, although the connectors were nicely color coded.

The VX32LHDTV has plenty of inputs, including two HDMI, two composite, one S-Video, two sets of components, and VGA. The bubbly, visually pleasing on-screen menus are easy to navigate with the slim, silver remote control. There are also separate RGB controls for custom color settings. The unit offers picture-in-picture display, and it has channel, volume, and power buttons on the side of the cabinet.

Overall, Vizio offers a good image and lots of ports for the price. You can get better, but you'll have to pay for it.

[Rasputin]

The Panasonic TC-32LX60 is an attractive LCD HDTV. Its stylish black-and-silver frame and swiveling stand distinguish it from more generic designs, and its good combination of ports, image quality, and price ($1200 as of 12/8/06) make it a good buy, overall.

In our image-quality tests, the TC-32LX60 performed well enough to earn it a rating of Good in all performance categories; however, the $999 Westinghouse LTV-32w6 is about $200 cheaper and earned the same performance score. Our review unit performed best in our high-definition, color quality, and TV detail tests--tying with the Westinghouse model for the top spot in the TV detail category.

The calibrated settings at which we test do not come close to producing the best picture. After tweaking color settings and sharpness just slightly, I got a razor-sharp image. I also found three useful image presets. Cinema mode is great for viewing DVDs and other high-defintion content; vivid mode is spectacular for gaming consoles; and standard mode is best for standard-definition programming.

Sound, however, was subpar at high volumes. During the racing scenes in Seabiscuit, the speakers caused an annoying sound when bass notes caused the TV's plastic housing to vibrate.

The TC-32LX60 has three sets of composite inputs, one of which is on the side of the panel for connecting devices like camcorders. But the provision of just one HDMI input and one set of component inputs may be insufficient for many setups. HDMI hasn't completely replaced component connections yet, so we think sets like this should have more more than one component connection, as such connections provide the second-highest quality of standardized input. (Dell's similarly priced W3207C, for example, has two component inputs.) I would also like to see a VGA or DVI connection for connecting to a PC. I do like the easy-access 1/8-inch headphones jack on the right-side panel of the TV and the built-in NTSC and ATSC tuners. The remote control is simple to use and contains a four-way directional clicker with an iPod-like wheel design.

While Panasonic's specifications claim a 178-degree horizontal and vertical viewing angle, I found that the vertical viewing angle seems to be narrower than the horizontal viewing angle. Even when I sat to the far left or far right, I could still see a good, sharp picture. However, when the TV was higher or lower than eye level (for example, when I was standing), I found the picture quality dimmed and became slightly blurry. If you plan to mount this TV, I would recommend getting a wall mount that lets you tilt the screen.

At $1200 (as of 12/8/06), the Panasonic TC-32LX60 is a good compromise among the 32-inch LCD TVs we tested. The $999 Westinghouse LTV-32w6 performed similarly to the Panasonic, but it had even fewer ports. Other TVs cheaper than this Panasonic did not match up in performance. Neither did the comparably priced Dell W3207C, although the latter does offer an extra component connector.