Celcus LCD32S913
Why Pay More for a TV? - Celcus LCD32S913 LCD TV

Product Type: Celcus 3D LCD TV

Newest Review: ... most other budget brand TVs (probably made in the same factory in all honesty), a sort of grey writing on black background, so if you've ow... more

Why Pay More for a TV?
Celcus LCD32S913

DanB7290

Member Name: DanB7290

Product:

Celcus LCD32S913

Date: 05/12/12

Rating:

Advantages: Great price, many features, full 1080p HD

Disadvantages: Only one HDMI port

Last Christmas, I was in the market for a 32" TV, simply for playing on my PS3 and watching Blu Rays. I came across this in my local Sainsbury's as a "manager's special" for £200. Given that I worked at another Sainsbury's, I used my staff discount on it, which was 15% at the time, so paid £170 for it. Not bad for a full, 1080p HDTV. I will admit, it was kind of bought out of me contracting shiny shiny syndrome, as my Dad had just bought a 47" LG LED TV for his house. My flat couldn't quite fit one that big in it, and I didn't have the budget required.
First thing you notice is, that while not as big as the old CRT TVs (remember those?) it is rather thick compared to the newer LED TVs. That said, it fits in my living room perfectly. Setup is a doddle, it uses the same UI as most other budget brand TVs (probably made in the same factory in all honesty), a sort of grey writing on black background, so if you've owned cheaper TVs before then it'll be familiar, although you don't need to have a degree in Electronic Engineering to work out how to use this thing. Setup time was around 5 minutes, during which time it found all the Freeview channels and radio stations. Picture quality will depend on your aerial I guess, but I have no problems with mine whatsoever; although not quite HD quality (you'd need a Freeview HD box for that), it does seem a bit sharper than standard definition.
Hooking it up to the PS3, things get even better. It displays HD video up to the full 1080p, and the quality here is amazing. Blu-Rays are excellent; I know it's a cliche, but you can actually see the beads of sweat of the characters' forehead on The Expendables, it is that sharp.
Gamers will be pretty impressed too; after browsing through electronics stores, the salesmen there always told me that there would be noticeable motion blur playing games on an LCD screen, and I 'needed' a plasma screen. I'm guessing that was just sales talk, although I am aware that plasma screens are better for fast moving pictures. But I have no problem using an LCD screen. Admittedly, my eyesight isn't the greatest, but I cannot see this motion blur at all. Playing Call of Duty is a dream on this thing, and when watching a replay on Gran Turismo 5, my girlfriend thought I was actually watching motor racing. It's that good.
Downsides? If I'm being REALLY picky, it's only got one HDMI port. This is a minor irritation when you have multiple HD devices to plug in, but there are ways around it. I have a PS3 and Apple TV, and previously I just switched the one HDMI cable between the two depending which one I wanted to use. But then I went and bought a 3 input, 1 output HDMI splitter, and 2 more HDMI cables, and it all works seamlessly now. If you're not in the 21st century yet, there is the old fashioned SCART plug in the back, along with the red, white and yellow AV plugs, although I'm using the AV plugs in conjunction with the PS3 to have a decent surround sound setup. What's more, you can get a VGA cable and plug your computer in, using it as a 32" computer monitor.
I have not had a chance to use the 3D function yet, as I don't have any 3D glasses, but will report back when I do, as I've just worked out how to use the 3D function in Black Ops 2.

All in all then, this is a fantastic TV at a very reasonable price (even more reasonable if you work at Sainsbury's!), if it had more HDMI ports it'd be perfect. I don't see why you'd pay more for a branded TV to be honest.

Summary: Great TV on a budget

Processing/Quality:    Processing/Quality
Reliability:    Reliability
Ease of use:    Ease of use
Installation:    Installation
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Features:    Features