Anyone buy the PowerSpec 30" LCD TV from Microcenter?

[Pliablemoose]

I'm really tempted, anyone seen one or have an opinion?

Thinking of putting one in exercise room for XBox DDR & use as a TV

 

[BlackPear1]

I've seen it in the local Microcenter and it looks very good. I bought the Olevia 30" during the sale a couple of weeks ago because it has DVI while the PowerSpec doesn't. If you don't need DVI, I think the PowerSpec is a good choice and at the $999 AR current price is also a great deal.

 

[BarneyFife]

I bought the Olevia and I like it. Granted the picture is not as good my sony xbr but its a nice bedroom tv.

 

[tennesota]

I saw the PowerSpec at my local Microcenter; I was very impressed with the visual display.

 

[merlocka]

I'm posting from a laptop connected to my Powespec 30" via analog VGA.

Here is my mini-review.

Not enough inputs. The S-Video and composite are shared inputs. It's either or. That means to have my PS2 hooked up I need to run the DirecTV through the coax input. This normally would piss me off but...

The upscaling on SD isn't that great. I honestly can't see the difference on DirecTV quality between coax, composite, and Svideo. However, it's not bad enough to return it.

No DVI.

I can't find a code on my DirecTV remote which operates the TV.

The volume scale is kinda weird. The jump between mute and lowest volume is too big, IMO.

That's all I can whine about.

I'm running DVD's at 480P and they look great. I've re-watched almost every movie I own.

The VGA analog display quality is great. It's supposed to do 1280x768 (although I can't figure out how to make powerstrip convince the Savage/IX graphics on this laptop to output that resolution) but looks good at 1024x768.

Watching Divx or Xvid movies via the PC display looks great also.

I compared the Powerspec to the Olevia at the store and thought the Olevia might have beter image processing, but I didn't think the DVI port and the slightly better HD quality was worth the extra 250. If the Olevia was 999 I probably would have picked that one.

That said, I'm pretty happy with the Pspec. Now I just have to mount it on the wall.

Oh, and browsing the web from the couch with Bluetooth keyboard and mouse owns.

Now I need to put together a real HDPC.


edit -

all of the above applies after I tweaked the picture settings with the Avia DVD. The factory settings are overboard.

 

[jammur21]

I bought the Olevia. For some reason playing Xbox Karaoke Revolution is nearly impossible for me with the fast scrolling text. That is my one and only complaint as it is fantastic for everything else---DVD, WMV HD, Media Center, Xbox, General PC usage.

The black frame on the Powerspec is a plus for me. The silver 45 degree Olevia frame reflects glare from the side when watching at a distance. I also think it makes the Powerspec look brighter and wider than the Olevia

 

[merlocka]

I recant my above review.

After a week of evaluation, I've determined that this LCD just isn't as good as I wish it was.

- Contrast ratio is bad. You can crank up the backlight and contrast to improve dark detail, but at a HUGE expense in PQ.

- When calibrated to proper white/black levels via the Avia DVD, I notice that the left side of the screen was a slightly different "black" that the right side. VERY ANNOYING.

- SD quality became annoying to me.

- Lack of DVI input began to annoy me as I pondered an upgrade to an HD Sat box. No inputs left.

On the pro side, the quality when running as a PC monitor is still great.

That said, I returned it to MC. I complaned about the problems with this screen to the Manager, and all he said he could do was a 10% open box fee (as opposed to a 15% return restock fee). Although I'm out $120, I couldn't live with this panel.

If anyone is interested, I've done a bunch more research and I believe the Panasonic 37" or 42" EDTV plasma's are the best deals our there right now. Ibuydigital has the 37" for $2025 shipped. The Panasonic EDTV plasma's have awesome contrast ratios, very good at blacks, the EDTV looks good with SD content, looks GREAT with 480p DVD, and (according to many blokes over at AVSforum), the picture quality with HD inputs (which get scaled down a bit to EDTV) look great if you are > 8 feet away and avoid the "screen door" effect.

Now if I can justify $2000 for a TV...

 

[bhf930]

did you get any feedback. i am interested in this model as well . thx. barry