The almost 10-year-old 25-inch TV we’ve been using in our bedroom blew about a month ago. My husband made due watching his ESPN on a tiny 13-inch that we had for about a week before he got antsy about getting a replacement. He saw this 27-inch Syntax Olevia 427V LCD television on sale on the CompUSA site a few weeks ago and ordered it on the spot. He wanted an LCD wide screen that he could either put on a shelf or mount on the wall and he wanted it to be usable as a third (yes, he already uses two) monitor for his uber-PC. Other than those basic requirements, he (and I) just wanted a decent quality TV. It didn’t need to have a perfect picture or an elite sound system since it wouldn’t be our primary living room TV. Despite our simple expectations, we returned this LCD TV after only two weeks of use.

The basics
As my husband wanted, this 130-watt, Energy Star, HDTV-ready Syntax Olevia 427V can be used as both a television (resolution up to 1080i) and a computer display (resolution up to 1360 x 768 through HDMI or VGA). It has an ATSC/NTSC tuner and there are video input ports for HDMI, component, VGA, S-video, and composite cables. The 427V has an aspect ratio of 16:9, uses an ATI Xilleon Technology video processor, is upgradeable via USB, and has V-chip parental controls. It does not have Picture in Picture. It measures 33.5 inches in width by 19.5 inches in height by 7.5 inches in depth and comes with a one-year warranty.

What’s in the box
Other than the actual unit, which is fairly light (maybe 30 lbs.) and attached to a stand, the only other items included were the remote (which is simple and user friendly) with 2 AA batteries, a CD instruction manual, the rather short outlet plug (we needed an extension cord), and a basic setup sheet. Surprise, surprise, there aren’t any HDMI/component/composite cables included. Not a big deal for us since we had extra composite cables lying around and the hi-def (HD) box we got the next day from our cable company provided us with the proper hookup.

Setup
The toughest part of setup was finding the right cables (since none are included) and getting an extension cord. I was a little taken aback that there is no printed manual. But there is a sheet of quick startup info and a CD included with the full manual. My husband perused it after the fact to get some tips on correcting the sound. He did the setting up so I can’t comment too much. But there was minimal grunting and no cursing, so it couldn’t have been too bad.

Our experience
I suppose the price we paid should’ve tipped us off about the poor quality of this unit but we were just happy about the great bargain. While this TV retails for $699.99 at CompUSA normally, and other comparable name-brand 27 inch LCDs retail for at least a hundred dollars more than that, we purchased our Syntax Olevia 427V for about $500, and that was with shipping and tax. Yeah, I know. Too good to be true.

The picture quality was a little grainy when we first hooked up this TV but that was because we didn’t have it connected with either component or HDMI cables to an HD cable box. But I picked up an HD box the day after we received the TV and my husband switched the cables. What a difference! I’ll admit, I have seen better picture quality but not in my house and certainly not for this price. My husband and I were very impressed with the high definition performance. It was definitely clearer than the high def of our Samsung 47 inch projection TV. And the great thing about it was that no matter where we stood in the room, the picture was clear (the Syntax 427V has a 178-degree viewing angle). With our Samsung, the picture grays or gets distorted if we’re viewing it from the side or if we’re not seated at its level. With this TV, it didn’t matter if we were standing, sitting, or lounging in bed. The picture always looked good. It was crisp and very lifelike. My husband also liked the lighting feature this TV had (there are settings for dimming the screen according to how much room lighting there is).

The sound quality of this TV is what we couldn’t live with. At first, without the component or HDMI cables, it was atrocious. Lots of static and the volume would fade in and out every few minutes. The overall sound was also muted so that, even at its loudest setting, it sounded like a conversational tone. We actually never hooked this TV up with an HDMI cable, which I’m a little regretful of after reading the other review of this set. So it’s possible that all of our trouble could’ve been resolved with that better connection. We did, however, use an HD box with component cables and the sound quality was much better; still there was static. For me, it was tolerable given the price we paid and how often I sit and watch TV for extended periods. But for my husband, who sits next to the TV from the time he comes home until bedtime, it was unacceptable. We were sure something was wrong with the speakers on our unit and decided to return it.

Personally, I had two issues with this TV that may seem trivial to others but they bothered me. The first was the darn blue light of death. When the TV is shut off, a small blue indicator light stays on at the front panel. Since our unit sat up on the dresser directly facing my side of the bed, I was stared down by this Eye of Sauron thing throughout the night. It illuminated the whole room at night and even bothered my husband, who usually sleeps facing the opposite wall. Had we kept this TV longer, I probably would’ve stuck some duct tape over it. Usually blue lights are less offensive, but this one was too bright.

The other issue I had was the startup. Maybe it’s an LCD thing (this was the only LCD TV I’ve used), but there was a delay between the time I pressed the on button on the remote to when the actual display and sound came on. It was long enough to make me wonder if I hadn’t pushed hard enough on the button. But, lo and behold, a couple seconds later, the set was on.

Had we held onto this TV, my husband would’ve mounted it to the wall. He had looked into buying the mounting device and the one meant specifically for this model (WM30D tilting wall mount) retails for something like $150, but there are some cheaper no-name brands for maybe half that. Since we did return it when we did, we never hooked it up as a computer monitor or to my husband’s PS2 so I can’t comment on those aspects.

Overall
As long as you’ve got this TV hooked up using HDMI cables, you don’t watch it for hours on end, and you don’t mind a little background static once in a while, this is a decent TV for the price (3/3.5 stars). But after only two weeks of sitting beside it (with component cables), my husband couldn’t take it anymore. Simple things like the ticking sound at the commercial break of his favorite show (24) sounded annoying and way off. It’s possible we got a bad set or that we really needed to use the HDMI cables, but while doing this review I read elsewhere on the Net of people having sound issues with this model. If it was just a speaker issue, maybe that would’ve been resolved by having this TV hooked up to an independent sound system. We didn’t try that. We’ve always just relied on TV speakers for sound, and before now have been happy.

From the manufacturer
High contrast ratios and fast response times mean rapid-action viewing such as sporting events or adventure films is displayed with super clarity and truly comes alive! With a super-wide 178-degree viewing angle, images look spectacular wherever you are seated. Perfect for home or office viewing, these LCD HDTVs also excel as computer displays with support for TV resolutions up to 1080i, and PC resolutions up to 1360 x 768 through HDMI and VGA. Olevia's surround-sound audio processor creates an awesome listening environment while watching TV, movies or playing games. RS-232 control enables you to connect your Olevia HDTV to a home entertainment system. Once you see the new Olevia, you'll agree that you've never seen HDTV like this!


Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 449 t & s