N3000w

At 17kg, ViewSonic's N3000w is a very light 30" LCD TV, and at $3999, it is relatively inexpensive. But it's no lightweight at delivering good picture quality, delivering top-shelf results during colour and DVD quality tests. The usual rear audio/video ports are supplemented by easy-to-access composite video, RCA audio out, and mini-stereo headphone ports on the right side. A pair of two-way stereo speakers (10 watts each) provides virtual surround sound. They did well at medium volume levels in the small simulated living room we use for testing, but we heard some distortion after upping the volume for a televised jazz festival. The on-screen menu is easy to navigate, but you have to move it to a corner of the screen to see the effects of adjustments. There are no preset audio or video modes, and picture format options are limited to wide-screen and standard. You can't save individual settings for each input. Though the N3000w's quick-start guide and other documentation are serviceable, they lack an index. The remote has dedicated buttons for each input (a plus), but unlike the remotes on most other TV sets, it can't be used to control other equipment.