Frugal HD
Hi-def for the masses
When 32-inch LCD TVs first limbo'd below P100,000 late last year, it officially marked the beginning of the HDTV era in RP. Though local HD broadcast doesn't seem to be in sight just yet, these sub 100-grand screens proved to be the perfect HD stepping stone for PS3 and Xbox 360 owners, and video download junkies.
Little did we know that long time PC monitor maker Viewsonic was also into whipping out HDTVs so this one caught us completely by surprise.
Observe: it's a whopping 40-incher complete with standard component and PC inputs (no DVI though) and a state-of-the-art HDMI port that allows you to forget about spaghetti wiring your cables at the back. Its design rivals that of a Philips Ambilight and its specs goes toe-to-toe with Samsung's Bordeaux.
The N40G6W can do 720p, currently second only in HD resolution next only to 1080p. Snippets from animated movies like Cars and Happily Never After looked fantastic even when you're up close. Colors are vivid but there is noticeable banding on some scenes with wooden textures, more so during nightscapes. Fast-moving scenes are also handled quite well with the panel shwoing minimal motion blur. This could be attributed to the set's fast 8-millisecond response time.
Also nifty is the long forgotten Picture-in-picture function of TVs past. With this ViewSonic, you could watch analog (yup, good old NTSC) broadcasts along with your Blu-ray or HD-DVD movies simultaneously.
The screen however, fails when it comes to color contrast. Featuring a paltry 1000:1 rating, bright scenes come out fine but the moment blacks and deep tones come into play, they look very washed out, grayish to be precise. The speakers, too, are underachievers sounding tinny and weak, but then again, that's a given on most hi-def sets.
For the lot of us however who are willing to forgive these flaws, the ViewSonic N4066W's price tag should be more than enough to justify saving up for it one. Joey Tuazon
VIEWSONIC N40G6W | P88,000
www.viewsonic.com
TECH 40-inch LCD. 1366x768 resolution. 8ms response time. Input signals: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i. Ports: 2 x RCA, 2 x component, 1 x D-Sub, 1 x HDMI, 1 x PC Audio, 1 x Headphone. 1015x755x280. 33kgs.
LOVE Dirt cheap price. Great color reproduction. Bright display.
HATE Poor contrast ratio. Unappealing remote sensor in the middle.
WE SAY You've bought their monitors, now get their TV!
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T3 Magazine Philippines - May 2007 Issue
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 TOSHIBA 42WLT68
Contrast ratio
In simple terms, contrast ratio means the number of “steps” between the blackest black and the whitest white. The rating 1000:1 means there is approximately a 1000-step difference between the two extremes. Contrast ratios of most flat screens today range from 5000:1 to 15000:1. Sharp recently developed a screen that has a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.
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