Review of the Dynex 32" LCD HDTV DX-32L150A11

Consumers in the market for an affordable HDTV do not want compromise, they want a product that works well and is easy on the wallet. After my family purchased a 55" LED LG TV for around $2,500, I wanted my own for my apartment. Of course, $2,500 was out of my price range, so I settled for the minimally priced Dynex 32" LCD HDTV for $319.99 from Best Buy. In this review, we will examine the pros and cons of this budget TV and give you information on whether or not this TV is worth purchasing.

Features

31.5" LCD Screen
720p HD
2 built-in 8W speakers
3 HDMI Inputs and 1 PC input with audio
Slim 3-7/8" design

Set Up

Set up for the Dynex 32" HDTV was very easy and did not require reading a complicated instruction manual. I simply took the TV out of the box, hooked up the HD cable input and plugged the unit in. After about 15 minutes of searching for channels, the TV came to life. Using the remote was intuitive and very easy, yet again no instructions required.

Picture Quality

HD channels from my Comcast cable were utilized with the 720p pixel resolution. My initial reaction was that the picture quality was very good for such a low priced TV. However, non-HD channels were sized differently, which occurs on all HDTVs. The smaller picture was not ideal as it cut off at least two-inches from both sides of the screen, and at this size, that is a huge loss of picture. Overall, the quality was not on par with most name brand HDTVs, but was more than acceptable on HD channels.

Sound Quality

The two-8W speakers instantly filled up my 22 x 13.5 square foot family room at about 40% volume. When turned up, the speakers did not lose clarity and I did get a sense of the advertised simulated surround sound. The sound quality was more than ideal for such a small TV and required no additional expensive speaker systems, as the built-in speakers worked very well.

Inputs

The TV comes with some cool extra inputs for the price, including a PC hookup. I hooked up my netbook to the TV and got a display that took up about 80% of the screen, however, when switched to full screen the picture was fuzzy and off did not fit the screen. However, unless you plan to use your laptop or netbook for watching video, this feature is a cool extra, but not a make or break point. The HDMI inputs were in convenient locations, perfect for hooking up a game system, Blu-ray player or any other device with an HDMI hookup.

Overall

Overall, the picture and audio quality was above my expectations for the price. Dynex is not a popular name brand in electronics, but this particular TV was a great purchase for the price. I would not recommend the 32" as a family room TV as the size is rather small, but it is great for smaller rooms, apartments or dorm rooms. The only major drawback besides the non-HD channels fitting to the screen was the outer design does not look as slick as the competition. However, at $80 less than the Samsung and LG TVs of the same size, it is a small drawback.

Sources:

Personal experience owning the TVhttp://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dynex%26%23153%3B+-+32%22+Class+/+720p+/+60Hz+/+LCD+HDTV/9558089.p?id=1218124207679&skuId=9558089