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The JVC LT-32X776 has a couple of attributes that make it seem a little old-fashioned. Its large, opaque on-screen menus look as if they came from a CRT set made in 1989, and they obscure the picture you're trying to adjust. The large remote control, though functional, is about as bland as they come. The TV's panel swivels and tilts, but it doesn't tilt easily, and the unit wobbles a bit on its stand. The set's speakers don't detach; they rest in a thin panel below the screen.
However, the set has a nice selection of input and output ports, including an HDMI port, as well as two FireWire ports for importing from a DV camcorder or exporting to a digital-VHS deck. It also has a CableCard slot and two internal tuners so you can forgo the set-top box to receive digital broadcasts. It has a neat twin-screen picture-in-picture mode, but you can't swap screens if you're viewing something that's coming in through the HDMI port. Also, if you accidentally hit the channel-up button instead of the volume-up button while viewing a DVD, it switches the input, and you'll need to take a minimum of 15 seconds to switch the input back to DVD.
In our image-quality judging, the LT-32X776 scored near the average on all of our tests. High-definition and standard-definition programming looked a tad dull, but our judges gave it high marks for DVD playback; of the test group, only the Samsung LN-R328W scored higher on that test. Compared with some of the other sets in our test group, the LT-32X776 does not have extensive color adjustments.
Upshot: This set has a nice selection of features, but it would benefit from a little style update.
Alan Stafford
