Loewe Aconda TV (Loewe Aconda 9381)

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Product:	Loewe Aconda 9381
Date:	23/05/01 (2849 review reads)
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Advantages: German build quality, a picture to die for, looks great

Disadvantages: not so good sound quality, lack of suitable socketry

Good looking TV with nice features, but there are some flaws.
Before I even tell you about Loewe's new Aconda TV, I'm going to have a quick moan. Many DVD players come with Component Video (RGB) and S-video sockets on the back, but some of them don't have SCART. That means that if you want to plug a SCART-less DVD player into your TV you have to use the AV inputs on the front, and using a chunky cable means your telly and you end up with an unfamily-friendly mess. Not right, is it?
What's prompted me to say this is that Loewe's achingly gorgeous Aconda doesn't have anywhere out back for me to stick an S-video lead. I have to trail a cable from the rear of T's Toshiba SD9000 DVD player across
the slick, highly polished silver front of the Loewe (pronounced 'lurve'), flip open the curvy front flap below the screen and plug it in. It's annoying, and on a £1,900 TV, uncalled for. And when you realise Loewe's designed a cable cover for the sockets at the back, the irony of the situation slaps you in the face like a wet fish.
Loewe's not the only TV maker to not think this whole DVD thing through properly either. In fact, I can think of only one company (Toshiba) that offers anything like the variety of TV socketry you need these
days. Grrr.
Not that you could ever be too disparaging about this flatface 32-inch widescreen TV really. It's beautifully bolted together, with scarcely a squeak when fetching it out of its box, and has a wonderfully curvy rump that makes it ideal for plopping into a corner. It even comes
with a sturdy smoked glass stand which you can also use to stick your VCR and DVD player on. The remote control is minimalist
chic personified, clearly laid out and easy to use once you work out what the cryptic symbols and letters on the buttons mean. And the TV also comes with an easily navigable menu system that even enables you to call up an info box if you're unsure what
a particular function does. It can be set up just how you like it in minutes.
The Aconda doesn't skimp on goodies either. You get a picture-in-picture (PIP) mode, which splits the screen in two so you can
watch the footy while your other half sobs at the soaps. You can also use the TV remote to control a Loewe-branded VCR or DVD player using a pop-up set of virtual buttons.
There's the usual choice of picture modes (16:9, cinema, 4:3), Automatic Movie Detection (AMD) which switches the screen mode according to the size of the received TV or video signal, and digital noise reduction.
The Aconda can also be upgraded, you can opt for a built-in satellite decoder or digital TV receiver (there are two smart card slots on the TV's front), a Dolby Digital decoder, an on-line module offering Web access and e-mail, and a VGA module which turns the Aconda into a PC monitor. All of these can be fitted when you order the TV or afterwards.
But it's when you settle down for a quiet night in that the Aconda really delivers. The picture quality is stunning: black areas of the picture are suitably coalmine-like, but there's never any loss of detail in the shadows. This TV picks up every nuance. Colour accuracy is superb too, with everything from subtle skin tones to bright riots of cartoonish red, orange and blue, making whatever you watch appear realistic. The AMD mode is better than most at switching between different aspect ratios, so you never get the idea the TV is hunting for the right screen format, because it locks in and stays there. Even the digital noise reduction and digital motion interpolator modes work well, with scarcely any of the streaking you get on lesser tellies when objects move swiftly across the screen.
If there's anything remotely wrong with the TV's performance, it comes down to the sound. Although it does a credible job of conveying audio information, the Aconda has a tendency to knock the life out of it
, sounding rather drab. Even tweaking the treble and bass controls or messing with the stereo mode doesn't make that much difference, the sound seems locked into the TV's silver frame. Still, at least Loewe
also gives you the option of relaying the sound through your hi-fi speakers instead.
Niggles about the sound quality and lack of suitable socketry aside, the Aconda really is a top-notch TV. It looks the biz when switched off and is even better when turned on. I'll be reluctant to give it back, even with that pesky S-video cable snaking around the front.

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