Home > Consumer Reviews > Syntax Olevia LT30HV 30-Inch HD-Ready Flat-Panel LCD TV

I ordered this on January 3rd and just received it today and set it up. I did extensive research before buying an LCD TV and this was what I finally decided on. I haven't made any changes to the picture yet and have only viewed the set from regular CATV but am anxious to hook up my XBOX and DVD player via component cables since the set looked wonderful at HHGregg watching the Discovery Channel in HD. The audio output via RCA cables to my receiver is unfortunately not as good as the output on my old CRT. Not a really big deal though. The set is very well put together and I like the fact that you purchase an extended warranty through Syntax. The set is of course very bright and vibrant the way an LCD is advertised to be. I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time in front of this set and believe it was the best bang for my buck.

Updated: I have now messed with all of the settings on this TV and the colors it can display out of any input are amazing. Blacks look black for an LCD with the backlight on just normal. Red is a little overwhelming but blues and greens never looked better. If you intend on watching regular cable make sure to have noise reduction on high. Another thing that is nice is that you can set color and other video options for each individual input. The remote really is something to be desired. Sometimes it works and sometimes it just decides it doesn't work, I can't figure it out(guess it's just cheap). I would like to get a better universal remote but I'm not sure on the codes. I have heard Philips codes work possibly? I might also add that I have removed the speakers that came with the monitor since I use my own home theater speakers. This really makes the monitor itself look very clean and cutting-edge. I was skeptical at first but please do yourself a favor and get this set!

Updated again(January 11, 2005): I have hooked up my dvd and xbox via component video cables to this set. To anyone that doesn't already know, this set does do progressive scan, only on one of the component inputs though. I saw someone say it didn't do progressive content but it does, 480p and 720p as well as 1080i. Also, 480p is NOT HD, 720p and 1080i are HD though. Video games look absolutely detailed and stunning however I wasn't as impressed with DVD content displayed at 480p. DVD content was very good overall but the sharpness that I experienced when playing the XBOX in 480p just wasn't there. I have also found it a bit difficult to find the correct picture settings that give me the most pleasing picture. I am still tweaking the settings though and hopefully I will have them the way I want soon. My main issue is getting skin tones to look accurate on both regular TV and DVD...the skin color always looks a little washed out but I'm sure I can fix that. I have also seen some people mention the buzz on this set. There is a very slight hum that is only audible if you put your ear right up behind the set in a perfectly quiet room. I swear, this set is super quiet as an LCD monitor should be. Read the reviews on www.extremetech.com and www.anandtech.com, I only saw one poor review and that was on CNET.com. PC magazine even gave it 4/5 stars! Great set, I'm really pleased.

This was a great buy and I am extremely impress with this beauty. The picture is flawless when viewing HD channels and from my progressive scan DVD player. It also looks great with my PS2 using the S-video connection. The picture qauality on regular TV is pretty good as well, and varies from channel to channel. The TV also comes with lots of connections for your peripheral equipment. I have it connected to the following, the connections on the TV are in parentheses:
A/V Receiver (Audio Out)
PlayStation 2 (S-Video)
Xbox (A/V)
HDTV Cable box (YPbPr)
CATV (RF cable connection)
Computer (DVI and VGA)
DVD Player (YCbCr)

The split screen set up is relatively easy, and I was able to view my computer screen on one half of the screen and have a video game running on my PS2 on the other half. All in all, this is a great TV at a very affordable price. I plan to get the 27" for my bedroom, and the 20" for my den.

To the reviewer who says it doesn't have CATV input????? How else could it have a dual TV Tuner. The input is there! Mine works great as a TV and is just splendid as a PC Monitor. You need to get PowerStrip to make a custom resolution of 1280 X 768 as that is not a standard Windows Res, but that is easy. Games look incredible on this display, which has a claimed response time of 15ms. Just an excellent piece at a truly bargin price. Could not be happier.

I bought the Olevia LT27HVS (I'm posting my review here because that model is not yet available at Amazon) and am quite happy with it. The problems with the remote control and buzzing and occasional loss of signal that were mentioned by earlier reviewers are nowhere to be found in this current model. The pixels don't seem quite as sharp as on my 15 inch Philips, but inch for inch the price can't be beat so it still gets 5 stars.

HOWEVER, you should be aware that the "S" after the model name of the newer sets stands for "single" rather than dual tuner. This difference would only be important if you want to watch two standard definition, off-the-air channels at once. Doesn't matter to me. The P-in-p, multiple display option is still included though I haven't tried it.

I also want to mention that the 30 inch and 27 inch seem to have the same form factor; the 30 inch fills the frame more completely with more picture and less trim. So if you're buying with a maximum available space in mind, and have a few extra $$, consider the 30 inch.

Just received my 30" HD LCD by truck. It took two weeks to arrive but it was worth the wait. Five minutes after taking out of the box I was watching TV. The picture through my cable company was excellent and I could not be more pleased watching Lord of the Rings on DVD. This set also does a great job converting regular TV to widescreen. The remote is not the best but does the job. Lastly, sound was very good. I highly recommend! (And it does have all the inputs you need including CATV)