Syntax Olevia 30-IN LCD TV/PC Monitor

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not to hijack too much or dipute the validity of the deal, but why would someone want an LCD tv over a plasma? the LCD tvs i have seen in the past didnt impress me all that much
 
because plasma's burn in...

i'm seriously thinking about using this as my main TV/PC monitor...
 
I'm probably going to buy the 2405FPW 24" Dell, and use that as a TV. I'm using the 2005FPW now, it is decent, but the 24" would be so much nicer.

1280 x 768 resolution is pretty damn good for that TV, though .. hmmm.

FEATURES
  • 30" 16:9 Cinema-Style Widescreen Aspect Ratio
  • HDTV Display Ready (480i, 480p, 1080i, 720p)
  • 750:1 High Contrast Ratio
  • Wide XGA 1280 x 768 Resolution
  • High Brightness 700 cd/m2
  • Dual Built-in TV Tuner
  • PIP & Picture Grid Views
  • Digital 3D Comb Filter
  • HDTV Progressive Scan
  • 170 / 170 Degree Wide Viewing Angles
  • VGA (DB15) & DVI/HDCP Inputs
  • Detachable 10W + 10W Surround Speakers
PANELS
  • Active Screen Size (inches): 30" TFT LCD
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Brightness: 700 cd/m2
  • Contrast: 750:1
  • Pixel Resolution (H x V): 1280 x 768
  • Response Time: 12 ms
  • Viewing Angle: 170 (H) / 170 (V)
VIDEO
  • Digital 3D Comb Filter: Yes
  • Progressive Scan: Yes
  • 2:2 / 3:2 Pull Down: Yes
  • Digital Picture Noise Reduction: Yes
  • Resolution Scan: VGA, SVGA, XGA, SXGA, WXGA
  • De-Interlacer: Yes
  • Adjustable Color Temperature: Yes
  • VGA Auto Frequency Correction: Yes
  • TV Auto Frequency Tuning: Yes
AUDIO
  • Surround: Yes
  • Mute: Yes
  • Audio Output: RCA R/L preout and Sub-Woofer Preout
  • Earphone Output: Mini - Stereo Jack x 1
  • Speaker: 10w x 2 (Detachable)
  • Auto Voice Correction: Yes
I/O Port
  • HDTV Input: Y/Pb/Pr x 1 (480i, 480p, 1080I, 720p)
  • Component Input: Y/Cb/Cr x 1 (480i)
  • Composite Video Input: RCA x 1
  • S-Video Input: 4-pin DIN x 1
  • Audio Input: RCA L/R x 4: Mini - Stereo Jack x 1
  • DVI/HDCP Input: DVI - I x 1
  • VGA Input: D Sub - 15 x 1
  • TV System Support: NTSC
  • TV Tuner Input: TV / CATV RF x 1, NTSC Only
  • TV System Support: NTSC / PAL / SECAM (Regional Specific)
  • Service Port: RS232 x 1
OTHER
  • Wall Mounted Type: VESA 200, WM-10D / WM-20D
  • Horizontal Frequency: 30 - 80 KHz
  • Vertical Frequency: 50 - 80 KHz
  • PC Frequency Support: 1280 x 768 @ 60 Hz (Max)
  • Tuner Box: Removable for ATSC Replacement
  • Power Consumption AC: 150 Watts (Max)
  • Dimensions: 21.8" (H) x 35" (W) x 8.8" (D)
  • with Stand: 19.5" (H) x 35" (W) x 4.2" (D)
  • without Stand: 28.5" (W) without Speakers
  • Weight: 50 lbs with Stand: 40 lbs without Stand
  • Safety Certification: CE, FCC, UL, CUL, CB, TUV
  • Energy Star: Yes
FUNCTION
  • TV / Video Switch: Yes
  • Dual Tuner*: Yes
  • Channel Return: Yes
  • MTS: Yes
  • PIP / Split Screen / POP 3 / POP12: Yes
  • Viewing Aspect Ratio: 16:9, 4:3, Zoom
  • Clock / Alarm: Yes
  • Sleep Timer: Yes
  • Favorite Channel: Yes
  • Setting: Yes
  • V-Chip Parental Control: Yes
  • Close Caption: Yes
  • Language: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese
 
I'd say you would still have to check it out in person to see how the picture looks, I just can't justify spending a grand w/o knowing what I'm getting...sooooo, can someone buy one and let me know how it looks. :D
 
poopypants said:
I'd say you would still have to check it out in person to see how the picture looks, I just can't justify spending a grand w/o knowing what I'm getting...sooooo, can someone buy one and let me know how it looks. :D
Click to expand...

They carry these at CompUSA so if you have one nearby you can check one out for yourself (though only in TV format, not in PC format)

CompUSA also has the 27" version, which is almost exactly the same except for the size, for $799.99 after $100 instant savings and $200 rebate....

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=317988&pfp=SEARCH
 
I saw several go out the door while I was there waiting on my order, asked a sales guy what was so popular that was going out the door while I was there. He showed me the display out in the front store where couple of people were playing doom 3 on. I have to admit it was very sweet looking. I didn't get to play around with it, but to me it was damn nice for what it was 999.00. Now of course I can't vouch how long it will last, how relaly good it is.

-Trung
 
Loki008 said:
not to hijack too much or dipute the validity of the deal, but why would someone want an LCD tv over a plasma? the LCD tvs i have seen in the past didnt impress me all that much
Click to expand...
Several reasons. Plasma looks great when new, but:

1. They burn in way too easily, as was mentioned
2. They have a half-life of anywhere from 3-8 years, depending on how much you watch them. Meaning that they will only be half as bright as new at that time, and there is NOTHING that can be done to fix it.

True LCD's don't lose brightness, and with LCD or DLP projection TV's when the bulb dies in 5-8 years you just replace the bulb and it's as good as new. Plasma is the only hi-def format that actually wears out, and rather quickly considering how much they cost.

That said, I've also seen some crappy LCD TV's. Best bang for the buck technology for image quality at a decent price is DLP. You can't hang 'em on the wall but they aren't that thick, maybe 8-10", and they don't burn-in. BTW LCD's can burn-in under the right (or wrong, as it were) conditions, although it's much less likely and severe than plasma.
 
I was gonna pick up a 50" plasma, but after reading some of the things that could go wrong with it I decided to pick up a SONY KDF-60XS955 LCD projection and could not be more happy. Plasmas have a very high contrast ratio, but fade rather quickly. I heard some lose 30% of the contrast ratio within a year if you watch alot of tv. The burn in is another thing. Im not loaded so I cant see myself investing in something that will fade with time. I bet after LCD panels get bigger plasmas will be a thing of the past.
 
Plasma fading and burn-in is such a joke.

I've had a Pioneer unit for 5 years with heavy daily use, with absolutely no issues. Picture is still bright, with no burn in after thousands of hours of gaming and television.

The unit is used with absolutely no effort to avoid burn-in, without getting burn-in.

The bad PR against plasmas is total bull. I know tons of people using plasmas (for years) that have not had any issues. The only plasmas I've seen with burn-in are at airports.
 
bubblethumper said:
Plasma fading and burn-in is such a joke.

I've had a Pioneer unit for 5 years with heavy daily use, with absolutely no issues. Picture is still bright, with no burn in after thousands of hours of gaming and television.

The unit is used with absolutely no effort to avoid burn-in, without getting burn-in.

The bad PR against plasmas is total bull. I know tons of people using plasmas (for years) that have not had any issues. The only plasmas I've seen with burn-in are at airports.
Click to expand...

Ah, yes, the world is wrong because you have a plasma that didn't burn in. What a scientific study. The mere fact that you admit to seeing plasmas with burn-in invalidates the rest of what you said.
 
Decker87 said:
Ah, yes, the world is wrong because you have a plasma that didn't burn in. What a scientific study. The mere fact that you admit to seeing plasmas with burn-in invalidates the rest of what you said.
Click to expand...

Not trying to say it doesn't exist entirely. I'm simply trying to say that it's primarily the application that creates burn-in

And in the application of "home use", they are one of the best solutions out there

Like anything, they have downsides too, but burn-in is not one of them (again, for home use).
 
Decker87 said:
Ah, yes, the world is wrong because you have a plasma that didn't burn in. What a scientific study. The mere fact that you admit to seeing plasmas with burn-in invalidates the rest of what you said.
Click to expand...

noob take a pill, that's his OPINION that he has derived from his EXPERIENCE, he is providing useful information, where as you are flaming. As per scientific study, so far there have been no scientific articles or evidence of any kind posted about plasma burn in. Why don't you either find some and post them or crawl back into your hole and stop the bitch fest?
 
Heh, I rember on the old CRT's used to be you needed a screensaver otherwise you would burn in your desktop, also the Half-life could be a real issue. It will become a MAJOR issue once OLEDs come out. It is one of the biggest problems with OLEDs, namely red which would result in your picture turning more green.
 
bubblethumper said:
Plasma fading and burn-in is such a joke.

The bad PR against plasmas is total bull. I know tons of people using plasmas (for years) that have not had any issues. The only plasmas I've seen with burn-in are at airports.
Click to expand...
I'm glad you've had a positive experience. But the complaints against plasma are hardly "a joke" or "total bull." It's well documented even by the pro-plasma market. 5 minutes of research will bear that out. Don't be in denial just because you own one and are happy with it. All HDTV technologies have their advantages and disadvantages, so it does no good to stick your head in the sand and pretend they don't.

To prove my point, for example, here is a pro-plasma site: http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com

And here is a plasma vs. LCD article on that very site. I'll quote the relevant parts:


Plasma, on the other hand, does not handle static images especially well insofar as "burn-in" is still a major issue with these monitors, as is distortion resulting from lower-resolution panels displaying static images at expanded sizes. Finally, while video images look good on plasmas, there can be some flicker, depending on the quality of the unit and the resolution it's displaying.
Click to expand...
One common source of burn-in is watching a lot of 4:3 TV programming that isn't scaled. Lots of folks don't like the squashed appearance of as stretched 4:3 image and prefer to watch it in "side-letterbox" mode. Plasma owners have found that this results in an unevenly burned-in display where center burns in more than the sides.


LCD manufacturers claim that their displays last, on average, 50,000 to 75,000 hours. In point of fact, an LCD TV will last as long as its backlight does-and those bulbs can actually be replaced! Since this is nothing more than light passing through a prismatic substrate, there is essentially nothing to wear out in an LCD monitor.

Plasma, on the other hand, utilizes slight electric currents to excite a combination of noble gases (i.e., argon, neon, xenon), which then glow red, blue, and/or green. This is an essentially active phenomenon, so the phosphoric elements in plasma displays fade over time. The half-life of these gases is approximately 25,000 to 30,000 thousand hours. At this point, the phosphors will glow half as brightly as they did when the set was new. There is no way to replace these gases; the display simply continues to grow dimmer with use.

Advantage: LCD x 2. LCDs are especially good for long-haul applications like 24/7 signage.
Click to expand...
So you see, while plasma certainly has it's advantages, the cost weighed with what many would consider quite detrimental risks lead many like myself to prefer other technologies. YMMV obviously.
 
No offense to anyone that has posted, please take the opinions/arguements to another thread. I simply posted this in order to give the online community a chance to grab one. $100 for shipping is not that bad, this screen measures 30", therefore the box/dimension is huge.

-Trung
 
Since when did this become the [T]angentForum? Jeebus, save the lcd/plasma arguments for the 10th page.

This definitely looks like a hot deal. Good find on this one. If only this had popped up before the SC420 deal, 193FP deal, and the R3000z deal...I would be all over this!!!
 
Well, I'll apologize for my sidetrack. Somebody asked the question. I answered briefly. Somebody else said that was BS.

I couldn't help myself. I'll try to do better. :)
 
like i said i didnt mean to completly sidetrack the topic, i was just woundering seeing that a few years ago the LCD tv's seemed to pale in compairison to plasma. ill have to swing by bestbuy one of these days and see how they compair
 
like i said i didnt mean to completly sidetrack the topic, i was just woundering seeing that a few years ago the LCD tv's seemed to pale in compairison to plasma. ill have to swing by bestbuy one of these days and see how they compair
 
I went to compusa today after work to see it... it was the 27" and it doesn't look like it had dvi or vga.. and the quality was awful... there was obvious ghosting and there was an aura around things.. no thanks...
 
I bought the Syntax 30" from Target a few weeks ago when they were running a $1199 + free shipping deal plus 10% off. I have tested the monitor extensively since. My impressions using it as a TV and a computer monitor are:

If you need/want a 30" HDTV (and you aren't limited to HDMI for hookup), get this, period. It's the best value out there (even including some direct view HDTV's) and works great for this.

If you need/want a large 30" computer monitor for gaming, etc., get this. It is the best bang for the buck among the 30" LCD monitors out there and one of the few that can take a DVI signal without having an engineering degree to setup. Just plug it in and it works.

I've also test the Dell 30" which is probably the #1 easiest to use as a computer monitor because Windows Update will download a "driver" for it which will allow for better out-of-box settings via DVI without having to use custom settings in Powerstrip.

Speaking of which, I did notice some improvement of image quality when I hooked this to my HTPC and used Powerstrip with the suggested settings from Entech's forum for this monitor. IOW, Powerstrip can help make this monitor look better.

One thing that you might want to be aware of is that this (and many other LCD sets) uses a native res. of 1280x768 _NOT_ the 100% 720P res of 1280x720. This means that the set is really 15:9 not 16:9 and can cause small black bars to be top and bottom when viewing even 16:9 content in native res. There are many fixes/workarounds for this which include running the monitor in non-native 1280x720 which looks fine for TV/DVD viewing but doesn't look as crisp for computer/desktop viewing. (Of course getting a bit off track here).

Before I decided to buy the Syntax, I had looked at the Dell already and tested the "meant for TV" versions of the Sharp and LG. The Dell worked great but was $1899 at the time so wan't in the same ballpark. Neither was the Sharp and LG pricewise and they _SUCKED_ for computer use (they are _really_ meant as TV's).

The Dell has now come down to the $1400 range but if I had it to do all over again, I would get the Syntax from Directron for $999 plus $100 shipping.

BTW, _DO NOT_ trust CompUSA or _any_ other store to have this monitor (or it's smaller/larger siblings) optimized for display. If you are considering this seriously like I did, investigate beyond the "oh that looks like crap" because chances are they have it running non-native or some such.

BTW #2, Standard Definition TV looks like crap on most all HDTV's.

BTW #3, if I were wanting a large screen to use as my MAIN computer viewing, I would not choose this monitor. If I needed large and widescreen, I would choose the Dell 2405FWP which can be had in the $1200 range because of resolution concerns. I need more real estate than 1280x768 for day to day computer use. Not to mention with the 2405 you get 1920x1200 making it the only 1080P capable monitor I know of in the $1200 range.

HTH
 
I have a 27" that I use for my tv in my room. It's decent quality for the price and space it saves.
 
sounds like a great deal, might head over to compusa though to check out the 27" ...

btw, i did some quick calculations to figure out how long a plasma tv would last for a average home user... If the average home user watches 6 hours of tv a day, and the plasma tv's half life is 20,000 hours... The TV will last for over 9 years!

Sorry, i had to just let loose what i would think be obvious =D.
 
BTW, Don't use CompUSA as a way to determine if the TV is good or not. If you ever seen their monitors/TV's they are not calibrated and have been abused by customers messing around with the TV settings. If I was to base my opinions off of CompUSA displays then I would have never bought my Sony HS75P monitors. The best thing to do is simply read reviews of owners.

-Trung
 
Dude, you work for Directron. They tried this same kind of forum spamming a few years ago.
 
I actually just started working. I filled application when I went to buy 2 hard drives there, next thing I get phone call and as of a few days ago i started working. This post can be taken down if it violates any rules.

-Trung
 
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