I have mixed feelings about the menu system - the main categories being management, TV, audio, RGB, PC, and PIP. Of course, television menu controls aren’t supposed to be graphically superior, but it would’ve been nice if this menu looked a little more 21st century. I liked how you could see the picture behind the menu when adjusting, but I also noticed some words were hard to read because they were hidden by the picture on the screen. This isn’t a deal breaker though because the menu features the options most people want, and they’re easy to adjust.
REMOTE CONTROL
I liked the remote control. While it won’t light up at night, it was well-labeled and all the buttons were easy to press. Because of its design, menu functions were easy to perform as was adjusting the aspect ratio, input choice, and PIP window.
PICTURE QUALITY
Overall, I think the picture was excellent when playing a DVD or connected to a PC – in this case the PowerSpec MCE410 Media Center. It demonstrated a good-not-great picture while watching television through a standard digital satellite service, and I didn’t notice any negatives with the 15:9 aspect ratio.
I watched hours of TV through the composite, S-Video, component, DVI, and RF inputs, and thought the PowerSpec held its own with most higher-priced big-name models. I wasn't disappointed with the resolution. There were times when the screen displayed blemishes or digital artifacts, but I put some of the blame on my weak satellite signal because the artifacts only occurred on some channels. When I used the PIP option to display another signal of the same channel, I was amazed at the clarity of the channel in the PIP window versus the picture on the main screen.
I recommend setting RGB colors, contrast, and brightness because the picture did improve after my alterations. There are different color pallets to choose from called Automatic Picture Control - normal, clear, dark, and theatre. You can also adjust the aspect ratio with your remote control to one of four modes - full, 4:3, zoom, and periscope. I wondered if ghosting would be an issue because of the PowerSpec's 25 m/s response time. For the most part it wasn't, but there was slight blurring on moving text like a crawl or ticker. The blurring was subtle, and all words were easy to read from a distance of 10 feet.
Don’t let a low price fool you. The strength of this television is its ability to display high-end images. When playing a DVD or using as a computer monitor, the resolution was wonderful. I was really impressed with how noticeable the difference was between the 480i digital satellite signal and the 480p DVD disc. As a computer monitor, the picture looked sharp as expected since this television is made by a computer manufacturer. I wasn’t able to watch a lot of HD on the PowerSpec, but what I saw looked as it should - good.
PICTURE-IN-PICTURE
While I like the idea of picture-in-picture, it just didn't work for me on this television. It’s a good thought for people who use the LCD as a television and PC monitor, but the logistics of the PIP window don’t add up. There are four window size options and it is easy to move the window to a corner on the screen, but it would’ve been nice to be able to split the window 50-50 between the TV and PC. The PIP doesn’t have a dual tuner, which means you won’t be able to watch two different television channels simultaneously unless your receiver is a dual tuner, which doesn’t apply to most. On the positive, the PIP was easy to adjust with the remote control, and the TV picture looks amazing in the smaller PIP window.
OTHER FEATURES
I liked how the user controls were placed on top of the unit, which made them easy to find and read. The parental controls were easy to use, there is a sleep timer, and the viewing angles were good. Something I thought was interesting was the automatic power-off if the television doesn’t receive a signal for ten minutes. The manual says not to place the television in an enclosed area, and I can’t stress that enough. When the set is on it gets warm, and I could see how inadequate ventilation would cause problems down the road. The cooling fan wasn’t too loud.
