As my wife and I pondered our Christmas wish list this year, we made a bold decision: We would purchase a new LCD tv to replace our tiny (and yet bulky) 19? CRT monitor tv (because obviously CRT’s are going extinct). It would be the perfect Christmas present to each other, and since we just purchased our first home, it would be the perfect (and much needed) gift!
So I started my usual exhaustive research online for the best type of tv to buy. I eventually realized that LCD was much better than Plasma on so many levels. So LCD it was! I then learned that you want certain features, and I had certain features in mind as well: Plenty of input jacks, great adjustability, great specs, great audio sound, clear and crisp picture, low price, and decent brand!
We also had a hard time deciding on the size (42, 32, 40, or 37?). But we made the decision to get a 32? to fit in our bedroom. After some extensive research on price and features, we found a Dynex 32? LCD HDTV at Bestbuy for only $299.99.
The deal seemed great, but was it? Was the TV worth it? Is Dynex a Good LCD TV? Let’s find out:
First, I went to Bestbuy’s local retail store to look at them in person. I was extremely impressed. The Dynex’s screen was comparable, if not better, than the Samsung, Sony, and other big names. The price was about $100 or so cheaper than other tv’s of the same size. So right off the bat, I am thinking…”Better picture, better price, great reviews…sold!”
I went ahead and purchased the TV off the Bestbuy.com website because they had a free shipping offer! I said, “why not.” That way I didn’t have to get haggled to buy this and that (as you know they do). They did have a few of the 32? dynex tv’s to choose from, but the model I wanted was sold out in the store anyway and only available online. The main difference seemed to be the TV case. On mine, the case was a little larger (which gave the illusion the tv was larger than 32?). It also had a different LED light display at the bottom (just 1, while the other had more lights).
After ordering it online, it took Bestbuy about 5 days to actually ship it. They shipped it via UPS, and that took about 3 more days. So I had my LCD TV about 8 days after purchase, which isn’t too shabby around Christmas time for free shipping.
It came in the regular Dynex box shipped. I got the TV in the room, and opened the box. I first inspected to ensure there was no damage during shipping, and it looked great. One thing I love is that it has a really glossy black case and stand, which looks so sleek and nice sitting in my bedroom. I LOVE the sleekness of this LCD TV! I set this on my dresser at the foot of my bed, so my wife and I can watch tv and play the xbox 360 with comfort. Also, I didn’t mount this either (although you can if you want). The stand it comes with is very sturdy. I was worried that the TV might fall off my dresser if it was bumped and then break, but not so. The stand makes this thing stand firm, and I even bumped my dresser on purpose to check, and it barely budges.
The hookup was a breeze! I had it up and running in minutes. It has plenty of jacks on the back and side. It has HDMI, A/V, VGA (to hook a pc), standard cable, etc. More than enough for the average person, and far better than my old tv which only had 1 cable jack and 1 yellow/white a/v input! I just plugged in the power cord, plugged in my cables from my xbox, etc. and powered on the tv. It was ready to go after a quick setup menu. It has full instructions with it so you can do all of this easily.
The tv has a built in digital tuner, so you can hook it up to an antenna and get free digital broadcast without the need of a converter box. This works great too, but I am going to get a larger antenna and mount that outside for a stronger signal and more channels.
It came with a nice looking silver remote, with very easy to read buttons. It wasn’t very hard to figure out how to change input modes via the remote. It is quite easy to change, for example, from your xbox signal to your pc input. It also has controls on the side of the TV if you ever break your remote or are near the tv, which is handy. Not only that, but the screen is fully adjustable to widescreen, zoom, cinema style, etc., so you can adjust the screen to fit the DVD or video game as you want. Okay, so how does the TV perform? AMAZINGLY!
As far as the Dynex brand, it is relatively new. I had purchased a Dynex router from Bestbuy about 4 years ago, and it still works fine today. So I knew the Dynex brand wasn’t terrible, but I didn’t know about their Tv’s since it is a “generic” brand.
I had already seen a great picture on this tv in the store, and it had great reviews on the site. So I hooked it up eager to see what it may look like in my room! My wife and I were blown away! I put in Halo 3 on the xbox, and I couldn’t believe both the picture and sound! The picture was so crisp, clear, and colorful—and get this—I have an arcade 360 which means it doesn’t even have the high def. cable! This quality is amazing with simply a standard a/v input! I can just imagine with HDMI, or high def cables! I seen things on Halo I never saw on my older 19 inch crt television. And I can finally tell how many grenades I had.
The sound was so loud and deep, I had to turn it down almost immediately. I figured it must have been all the way up, but not even close! At about 25%-30% volume, this thing is LOUD, and I could barely hear my wife talking to me while playing Halo (which is bad because she plays on my team hehe). I can’t imagine full volume on this thing. It would be comparable to a low end surround sound system. But the Halo “chant” at the game intro sounded awesome on this tv, as did the other sound effects. AHHH AHHH OOOOHHH AHHHH…(Halo gamers know what I mean).
As it was being shipped, I had wondered if perhaps I should have went with the 40? for $200 more, but once I plugged this up, I knew I made the right choice. Not only did I save $200 bucks by going with the 32?, but it is just the right size. If it were larger, it would be a little too much for a bedroom. If it were smaller, I would have wanted larger. But it is JUST RIGHT. It is an amazing experience playing the xbox, watching movies, and so forth on this TV. It would also be nice for a living room, but I think I would go with at least 40 in there.
I would absolutely buy this TV again, and I would recommend it to anyone. It is the perfect size for about any room really. I use it for gaming, movies, TV, and so forth, and it exceeds my needs and expectations.
This TV has great features, exceptional screen quality, tremendous sound, low price, and looks sleek! It has great reviews on the Bestbuy site, and I can see why.
In fact, I can’t wait until next year. My wife and I are already seriously thinking of getting a 40? Dynex for the living room area.
The only question left is, “how long will the TV last?” Unfortunately I will have to find that out from experience. I have only had this thing about 1 month now. It may last 5 years, it may last 20. But I reason like this: It was only $299.99. If it broke down soon, it would be covered under warranty. If it lasted even 4 years, I don’t think I would complain too much. By that time, they will probably be better, cheaper, and bigger anyway. But it may well last many more years. Time will tell. But for $299.99, you can’t really go wrong either way. It can always be repaired, or scraped for some money, so I am not worried at all. I stand confident in my Dynex TV, and you should too!
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