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ViewSonic N3760W
When we first looked at this tidy, blandly attractive screen it was one of the cheapest 37in sets you could buy. The N3760W lit all the ‘bargain’ buttons and, as a consequence, scored a healthy four stars.
These days the Viewsonic costs even less, so should be even better value, right? Well, no. In the meantime, rivals have brought out next-gen screens that offer more, and at less (if any) of a premium.
However, this is still a likeable TV: it’s got great flexibility in set-up terms,
and getting the best from it is easy thanks to an intuitive remote and correspondingly sensible menus. The analogue-only tuner is a bit ‘thud and blunder’, delivering unyieldingly soft, smeary images that lack some low-light detail, though the colour balance is agreeable and static edges are drawn well.
The Viewsonic gives a far better account of itself when playing back DVDs. Its analogue-derived pictures are nothing like as soft-boiled as the TV reception, tracking motion far more successfully and writing stronger edges.
The picture noise that accompanies the TV pictures is more effectively subdued and even the sound gains some heft and definition. There’s still a shortage of dark-scene detail, though, and some flaring during high-contrast or bright scenes.
Little gain from HDMI
The Viewsonic has the least dramatic improvement when you switch to HDMI: there are noticeable gains in detail and skintone, but digital noise still sticks its oar in, and dusty or smoky scenes need -little excuse to flare promiscuously.
Sadly, the compelling reason to buy the N3760W has been undermined by its competitors. Yes, it’s still fair value for money, and if you have a Freeview tuner box (or similar), you can bypass the set’s miserable TV reception, while still benefiting from its decent DVD performance.
However, price itself is no longer good enough to make the Viewsonic attractive.
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