Tuesday, February 16, 2010

AOC L32H961 32 Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

 Review By Stuart Feibusch : Editor PC NEWS

When I reviewed the AOC L32W961 (July 2009) it was AOC's best 32-inch HDTV. It compared very favorably to some more expensive 32-inch LCD HDTVs. http://www.livinginhd.com/nysoftwareman/blog/2009/06/30/the_best_deal_in_hdtv_gets_better  With their new L32H961 HDTV, AOC now introduces their first 32-inch full 1080p HDTV. It's basically the same fine TV as the L32W961.The remote and menus have stayed the same. However the AOC L32H961 does have a few notable new features.

Visually, the LH32961 is what you would expect of an AOC HDTV. It's a thirty two inch black matte 16:9 LCD screen surrounded by a high gloss black bezel with a swivel stand. On the top left of the bezel are the words "Envision Series". Envision is currently the world’s largest manufacturer of PC monitors. On the bottom of the bezel the the words 1080p proudly appear. The speakers are tilted below the bezel, pointing down. Among the most important new features is it is now a true 1080p unit. The LH32961 also now adds another HDMI input for a total of four. The sound has been improved using SRS Sound. SRS enhances the sound by basically creating 'virtual' surround sound using just two speakers or only the speakers in your TV. This feature works well enough to hear a distinct improvement of the stereo sound using only the TV's small speakers.

For clarification purposes,this HDTV is hooked up using HDMI cables to a cable box and to a Panasonic Blu-Ray player. Because HDMI is a digital interface, it provides the best quality video. Digital video will be sharper than your standard cables which are usually included free with a TV or a DVD player. An HDMI cable helps eliminate the softness and ghosting found with standard cables. Small, high contrast details such as text bring this difference out the most. A high quality HDMI cable may be purchased for as little as five dollars on Monoprice.com.

When this new AOC arrived I wondered could the AOC / Envision people come up with another winner. Performance wise AOC has another fine unit at a very reasonable price. I tested this set using the Blu-Ray movies "Blade Runner the Final Cut & "No Country For Old Men" While Viewing "No Country For Old Men" The sets excellent rendering of shadow detail helped to capture all the detail in the exterior night scenes. With the "Blade Runner" movie, the accurate color and well balanced flesh tones were very evident.

However other than the LH32961 being 1080p there are no major changes. Since this is now a 1080p unit the picture quality has been improved. The menus, remote control and their features all look the same as on the AOC L32W961. Among the changes I would have liked to have seen in the LH32961 is to have this unit to use the 120 Hz or even 240 Hz. technology. Instead of the 60 Hz unit this TV is. The 120 Hz units greatly improve the picture quality by smoothing the action of fast-moving objects and improving their clarity. Had AOC done that with this unit and been able to keep the price low. It really would have stood out from the competition. Although I personally felt the picture was fine the way it is. Some more picture adjustment controls would have been nice for those who enjoy tweaking the picture.

Since all broadcasts are currently in the 720p format or 1080i format. It's important to know why you need a 1080p TV. Other than to best view your Blu-Ray DVDs. 1080p resolution which equates to 1,920x1080 pixels is currently the highest possible HDTV resolution. All high quality 1080p HDTV's are capable of displaying every pixel of the highest-resolution HD broadcasts. They offer more than twice the resolution of the 720p models. HDTV's that are only capable of 1080i have the same 1920x1080 resolution, but convey the images in an interlaced format (the i in 1080i). Progressive-scan formats such as 1080p convey all of the lines of resolution sequentially in a single pass, which makes for a smoother, cleaner image, especially with sports and other motion-intensive content. When you feed a 1080i signal to a 1080p TV. It's converted to 1080p with no resolution conversion. Instead, the 1080i signal is "de-interlaced" for display in 1080p.

Some HDTV's do a better job of this de-interlacing process than others, but usually the artifacts caused by improper de-interlacing are difficult for most viewers to spot. This TV up converts as well or better than other 1080p models I have seen in this price range. So I am happy to report that on the AOC LH32961, I did not see any evidence of video noise. At close inspection, the overall quality of the picture seems brighter, and the colors are better defined. If you plan to use your TV a lot as your computer monitor. A 1080p set also gives you a sharper image when it comes to computer connectivity.

You need to realize that just because the resolution is improved. Don't expect to see a startling difference between this unit and AOC's previous 720p unit. Especially since this is only a 32 inch TV, and if your optimal viewing distance is 7ft or greater. When you're viewing HDTVs 37-inches and smaller, the added resolution usually has only a very minor impact on picture quality.

As it is, the AOC L32H961 is still an excellent unit at an affordable price. With a selling price of $400 it's only about thirty dollars more than their 720p L32W961 model. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants a high quality and low cost, 32- inch full 1080p HDTV.

 Technical Specifications :

Viewable Image Size    31.5"
Brightness (typical)    500 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio    15000:1(DCR)
Response Time     6.5ms Gray-Gray
Resolution (typical)    Widescreen (1920×1080)
Maximum Resolution (PC Input)     1920×1200x60Hz
Colors Supported    > 16 Million
Viewing Angle    Horizontal: 178º/Vertical: 178º
Analog TV Tuning    NTSC
Analog Color System     NTSC
Analog Sound System     MTS+SAP
Closed Caption    Yes
V-Chip Parental Control    Yes
Digital Tuning    ATSC w/ Clear-QAM
Composite Inputs     2
S-Video Inputs    2
Component Inputs    2
HDMI Inputs    4
Signal Input    Analog RGB (Dsub)
Built-in Speakers    Yes / 20W
Power Consumption    250 Watts (max)
Regulation: cULus Yes
Regulation: FCC   Yes
Regulation: ROHS Yes