Hdtv

There are just a few days left until Father's Day, and you still don't have any idea what to get your old man. Rather than succumb to the old soap-on-a-rope plan, why not try blowing his mind with an HDTV-ready LCD TV.

We know, we know, HDTVs aren't cheap. But they don't have to break the bank either. For less than $2,000, you can get a decent-sized HDTV, and all the picture quality that goes with the technology. Sporting events are more intense and watching Desperate Housewives with Mom won't be such a chore any longer.

Among HDTVs, LCD TVs are a crowd-pleaser. They're lighter than, say, a CRT or rear projection TV, and offer great resolution. An LCD TV's big strength, however, lies in its brightness. The image is much brighter in bright light, making it well-suited to TV watching in direct sunlight or in a well-lit room. Today's best LCD TVs offer very good image quality, and in a brightly lit room, they can actually produce a better-looking image than a good plasma TV.

The three HDTV-ready LCD TVs we've included in this roundup have a built-in TV tuner. All cost around $1,800 or less, with the WinBook PowerSpec 30-inch HD-ready LCD TV coming in at under $1,000 ($999). Two of them, the WinBook and the Dell W2600 26-inch LCD HDTV, are actually widescreen displays. The Dell and Synta Olevia LT32HV offer both analog and digital interfaces, as well as an RF video input. The Syntax offers the widest rated maximum horizontal and vertical viewing angles at 178 degrees, and it's the only one among the three to offer 480p and 1080i resolution, in addition to the 720p resolution they all share.

For more on the different features of the three, check out our comparison table.

Any one of these LCD TVs would be perfectly at home with dad.

In this Roundup:

WinBook PowerSpec 30-inch HD-ready LCD-TV – It delivers decent overall image quality on a 30-inch panel. It features a built-in two-channel speaker system and a remote control that includes buttons for each input.

Syntax Olevia LT32HV 32 – This LCD mates an LG.Philips LCD panel with a PixelWorks video processor. It displayed (pun intended) impressive performance and a reasonable price for its class.

Dell W2600 26-inch LCD HDTV – An ideal choice for cramped spaces, like an apartment or small room, this 26-inch display could be a solid choice as a second TV in the house. The remote control is compact and has lighted keys.

Copyright © 2005 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in PC Magazine.

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