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Grundig GU15WDT
by andyLDN
I had been browsing around for a new television for the for quite a while now, but I had certain criteria that needed to be met.
- the base had to be slim enough to fit on my mantlepiece
- had to have built in freeview
- needed to be widescreen
- HD Ready
- reliable brand
- under £140
I ... found the Grundig GU15WDT LCD TV on the Empire Direct website. Grundig is a well known brand which has been around for many years and seems to represent reasonable quality. It's a pretty mid-range brand but seemed to carry all the features that I was after.
The TV arrived in a very compact box, and on taking it out, you only had to clip the base into position before plugging in. The depth of the base is only 12cms, so it can be installed on a narrow ledge with ease. The cables for the power and aerial are inserted into the rear and do not protrude out beyond the rear of the base.
The television has a good variety of connections - a headphone socket, S-Videosocket, AV socket, Rear DC socket, 1x HDMI socket, 1x SCART socket, PC input socket.
The PC socket is an added bonus, as this will allow me to connect my laptop to the television meaning I can watch iplayer on a better screen. The HDMI socket will also be useful to connect my HD Camcorder to play my footage in high definition, but can also be used to connect a range of HD products available such as a Blu-ray player or xbox 360 etc.
When you turn the unit on, the setup is automatic. Both digital freeview and analogue channels were found and you're ready to go. My only real complaint is with the Freeview menu system. With my old freeview box, I was used to getting a 'channel overview' where you could see what was coming up now and next on all channels at a glance. This is not part of the menu on the Grundig, you have to scroll through each channel to see what is showing currently and what is coming on next which is a bit annoying.
Apart from this, it comes with a nice large, easy to use remote control, the picture quality is excellent and the widescreen means you can watch the programs in full screen as they were intended.
The price before delivery on Empire Direct (which offered an excellent service by the way) is £129.99 plus £9.99 delivery which is excellent value for a television with all these features.
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Grundig Amira 32 LW 82-7505 BS
by Dincht
With buying a Playstation 3 it felt about the right time to switch to a High Definition Television, that and most the channels are switching to HD alternatives I searched and searched the market bearing in mind I had a budget to keep in mind.
When I decided to get the Grundig Amira I had to take into account all the details ... that can be found in a description of any website or shop that sells it.
It's often bragged that 1080p are the HDTV's to go for and it's true that the image quality from them is outstanding, but to go for one of them you're going to pay an extra three to four hundred.
The Grundig Amira displays at 720p/1080i which in turn means t's High Definition. Even though it's not 1080p I can't stress the quality in which the television displays.
Connecting to my other electrical appliances with HDMI cable you will never want to watch a normal television again. Not only does this HDTV cater for HDMI but it also has inputs for various other things.
There are plenty of inputs for surround sound, although the speakers built into the television are fine, the fact it allows surround sound is awesome as it really helps immerse you into what you're watching.
There is an input for DVI which if you didn't know is for PC monitors, yes this TV can be used as a PC monitor. Imagine watching youtube or playing your PC games on a 32 inch screen.
32 inches for a HDTV is fine, you could go bigger if you wanted but it all depends on your budget. But for a first time HDTV buyer this is adequate.
The television comes attached to a stand but has slots for it to be mounts on a wall with a HDTV wall mount and although I don't use this at the moment I plan to when I get one.
The controller than comes with the television is long and sleak, with every option you would need to change. An outstanding thing on this would be the picture in picture feature, meaning that it splits the screen into two seperate screens so you could watch a movie on one and check the football scores or the news on the other without interupting your movie.
My advice - If you're a first time HDTV buyer this is a very nice purchase and will open you eyes to how clear HDTV's really are.
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