Hi-Def For Less

A few good HDTVs that don’t require a second mortgage

You don’t have to be a famous athlete or wealthy businessperson to enjoy HDTV right now. While you’ll still need a decent chunk of change, numerous HDTV-capable sets on the market today retail for less than $1,000.

That doesn’t mean you’re getting all of the bells and whistles of the more expensive HDTVs. These sub-$1,000 TVs are usually “only” HDTV monitors, lacking built-in ATSC (HDTV) tuners, which means you need to buy a set-top box tuner yourself for a few hundred bucks or lease one from your cable or satellite provider. They also don’t have built-in electronic program guides, CableCARD slots, photo memory card slots, or FireWire/1394 connections, or some of the advanced controls you’ll find in a high-end HDTV.

The good news is, HDTV looks pretty good on these sets.

You may wonder why on earth you’d want a big HDTV with a traditional 4:3 aspect ratio. Believe me, I’ve long wondered the same thing. But think about it this way. Very few people (outside of Mark Cuban) watch HDTV exclusively. If you watch a lot of cable TV, the great majority of what’s on is 4:3. There aren’t that many cable networks broadcasting in HD, and the ones that are don’t always show the programs you like. Plenty of TV shows were never meant to be shown in 16:9: Local news, old sitcoms, lots of ballgames… they’re still just plain old 4:3.

If you just want a cool new TV that has the ability to play 16:9 HDTV programs every once in a while this set is for you. With a 16:9 TV, you’d be watching all of your 4:3 shows with black bars on the side, or stretched to fill the screen. But with this 1080i/480p, 32-inch flat-screen Zenith TV, you watch your 4:3 shows as you always have, and you have the bonus of being able to watch letterboxed HDTV, with full HD resolution.

The heaviest of the bunch we reviewed, at 158 pounds, the C32V37 features a two-tone silver and dark gray cabinet. Oddly enough, this 4:3 unit was the only TV we tested with a built-in ATSC 8-VSB tuner for off-air reception of your local broadcast channels, as well as a QAM digital cable tuner and an NTSC tuner. In other words, this is the only true HDTV we reviewed, as opposed to the rest, which are HDTV monitors. The tuner most likely won’t help you receive cable channels such as ESPN HD or HBO HD, however, without a cable company set-top box—definitely not if the signals are scrambled by your provider.

The C32V37 rivals the Panasonic on the next page for best picture among the units we reviewed. Colors are rendered beautifully, images are crisp and clean. The preset video modes did their jobs well, and the manual adjustments were the typical offerings. Advanced features like tilt correction, velocity scan modulation and 3:2 pulldown are available, as well as two tuner picture-in-picture with split screen.

Built-in audio, with the usual bass, treble and balance controls, is quite good, with 10-watt stereo speakers that handle a range of sounds well. The set offers SRS TruSurround simulated surround, which performs very nicely, and also offers an optical digital out to route Dolby Digital 5.1 sound to a receiver. Other connections on the back include DVI/HDCP, optical digital audio inputs for component and DVI, two antenna inputs, two sets of component A/V inputs, two S-Video inputs, three sets of composite A/V inputs, video monitor out and variable audio out. On the front, beneath the screen and behind a click door, reside basic controls and another set of S-Video and composite A/V inputs.

If you place a premium on picture quality over form factor, this HDTV monitor is for you. While it’s bulky and weighs a hefty 140 pounds, this 1080i/480p set produces stunningly superior HDTV and progressive scan DVD images for its price. What I like about this Panasonic TV is that even at the entry level, it doesn’t feel like the company cuts corners. The menus and remote are minimal, but clean and easy to use. The menus are accessible via an action button, and beyond standard video (color, tint, brightness, picture, sharpness, color temperature) and audio (bass, treble, balance) controls, the set offers nice little additional touches, such as geomagnetic correction and tilt correction. Standard-definition (480i) signals are doubled to 480p, making even traditional analog TV look better. Its aspect ratio controls are kind to 4:3 pictures, as well.

Connections are bountiful. There’s an HDMI input for connecting HDTV set-top boxes or other quality components, as well as two component video inputs. The set also offers three S-Video inputs and four composite A/V inputs, including a set on the front of the TV.

While most HDTV wonks will recommend you hook up a good receiver and 5.1 surround speakers for audio that matches the quality of HDTV video, the built-in audio of this set is well done. The side speakers offer decent range, and the BBE high-definition sound feature makes a TV show like NYPD Blue look and sound like a good movie; other audio features include simulated surround and volume equalization (for keeping volume the same when you switch channels). Since it’s a CRT direct-view, the viewing angles are terrific from any seating position. The set’s even Energy Star-certified.

I’ve seen the HD future of the typical 27- to 32-inch television, and this model is it, at least until DLP rear-projection and LCD flat panels get down to this price level, which will take several years. The good news is, the picture on this TV is better than that of today’s DLPs and LCD flat panels. In terms of video quality, a well-designed CRT direct-view wins out over fixed-pixel displays every time.

CRT rear projection sets may indeed be losing ground to newer, thinner fixed-pixel/microdisplay technologies such as DLP, LCoS and LCD. But that just means that the rest of us have a better shot at acquiring one, as CRT rear-projection is becoming more of a value-priced product. In the case of this Zenith set, you’re getting the bonus of HDTV capability.

This 40-inch, 1080i/480p set is anything but boxy, and the screen looks almost tiny compared to the huge screens you usually see in this space. The silver plastic cabinet is thin; in fact, at a shade under 18 inches deep, it’s not much deeper than some of the larger DLP systems out there. It’s also relatively light (just over 100 pounds), and features carrying handles in the rear and casters on the bottom to make moving it around a snap.

Connectivity options on the back include a DVI-HDTV input, two component video inputs with A/V, three composite A/V inputs, S-video, monitor out and variable audio in (for connection to an amp or receiver), and antenna in. On the side, towards the bottom of the set, are S-Video inputs as well as composite A/V. An NTSC tuner is included for reception of standard (non-HD) TV.

Viewing angles on this set, like that of many CRT rear-projectors, are not terrific. You really have to be sitting at eye level with the screen to get a good picture. The good news is that off-axis viewing from the sides and diagonally, is decent, as long as you’re at the same eye level. The image quality is good, although scan lines on bright aspects of video were a little too visible for my taste. Even the built-in velocity scan modulation, which is supposed to take care of this problem, didn’t help.

Like the Panasonic, this set doubles 480i content to 480p, and also offers 3:2 pulldown for better playback of film-based content. There are preset video and audio modes, as well as standard manual video and audio controls, much like those in the Panasonic. Both automatic and manual CRT convergence tools are available to the user, as well as Virtual Dolby surround.

The stereo speakers, 15 watts each, provided good sound, and the illuminated remote was simple to use. While not the greatest HDTV rear projection system on the market, the R40W46 delivers the biggest HDTV screen you’ll get for under $1,000. -Joe Paone