Product Review: Winbook 32MO 32" Flat Panel LCD TV

The 32MO is the third television from Winbook that I've reviewed, and the third time is the charm, right? Right! This is by far my favorite of the three. While I wouldn't put it in the same category as a Philips or Samsung, I wouldn't exactly put it in the doghouse either. The 32MO has some real nice featurers considering the cost for this 32" LCD TV. At the time of this review, the 32MO was priced at $999.99.

What You Get

32" LCD TV
TV stand
Speakers
Remote control
Power cord
Composite cable
1/8" audio cable for PC line-in
Two AAA batteries
User manual
1 year limited warranty

Assembly

Winbook ships the 32MO in three boxes: one for the LCD panel, stand and speakers. I like this concept as each box is designed to protect one specific part instead of trying to protect everything. This should help minimize damage during shipping.

The downside is that you have to assemble it. This is minor as stores like IKEA are making home-assembly a popular hobby for novices and DIY geniuses alike. In all, total asssembly time was about 15 minutes.
Click to view a step-by-step assembly with pictures of the 32MO

Design

The 32MO is a well-designed LCD TV. It looks sharp and powerful. A shiny black plastic liner surrounds the LCD panel, which is a common feature with many flat panel TVs. The speakers are attached to the bottom of the LCD panel, and they help hide the stand from the front view.

The stand has a wide base. It is heavy and sturdy. This is one of the better stands for a LCD TV that I have seen, but I don’t like the fact that it is stationary – meaning it doesn't swivel, tilt or raise up/down.

Menu System

The menu system is easy to navigate. It has nice on-screen graphics that are similar in design to digital cable interfaces. Changing sources is also simple because the source menu is designed and labeled with the user in mind.

Remote Control

The remote control is rather simplisitic in design compared to newer universal models. It is not universal, which means it won't control a device other than the 32MO. However, I like it because anyone could use it without reading a manual. It also has four hot buttons for your favorite channel.

Video Inputs

The video inputs are conveniently located on the side panel and bottom of the back panel. I like the incorporation of the back and side. The side panel was primarily used for TV-based components while the HDMI, DVI and VGA were on the back panel. Here is a list of the connections on the 32MO:

VGA D-Sub 15-pin (1)
DVI-D (1)
HDMI (1)
Composite RCA (2)
S-Video (1)
Component YPbPr/YCbCr (2)
Coaxial (1)
RCA stereo audio (4)

Audio

Not much to say about the audio. It did what it is supposed to do - sound good. The 32MO has 15x15w detachable audio system, which is very good considering many flat panels come with 10x10 or 5x5 built-in speakers.

Overall, the LCD panel is pretty good for a LCD priced under $1000. The 32MO displays colors with excellent brightness. Edges from 5+ feet away are crisp and the overall picture quality is good. The same holds true for video game play, DVD watching and PC interaction. Overall, I liked this picture more than any other Winbook I've reviewed.

However, there is a slight-to-significant jump on any image that moves. It isn't a motion blur. The best way to explain it is to describe text crawls on the bottom of the screen. Words are legible but appear a bit smudged when the text begins to move. The movement is not fluid. Words appear to jump in small increments across the screen.

Fast-moving sports like hockey can be difficult to watch. Regular television programs have this jitter-effect, but it isn't as noticeable. Even sports like curling have issues. Now, I got used to the jitter-effect after several minutes, and it didn’t bother me or affect my enjoyment of the television.

Surprisingly, I didn't notice this jitter-effect while playing video games or watching movies. However, there was a slight ghosting on the credits while playing a DVD through a notebook PC while connected to the 32MO with a DVI cable.