In a time when most are contented with just rolling out high definition-ready flat panels, BenQ surprises its competitors with an affordably priced and well-equipped DV3750. Not only does it cost a mere AU$4,499, this 37-incher is also one of the rare LCD TVs to come with a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel resolution -- a perfect complement for bringing out the eye candy graphics of the upcoming Xbox 360 and PS3 gaming consoles.
Design
The DV3750 inherits BenQ's trademark all-silver design and incorporates minor cosmetic enhancements to improve its visual appeal. They include a contoured frame and a pair of matching speakers which aid in breaking the boxy silhouette of the set. To maintain a minimalist look, the control buttons are kept out of view on the top-right corner of the panel while the easy access connectivity is located on the left-bottom corner. Accessing the A/V terminals is not as convenient as we like as it is partially concealed by the attached speaker.
 A pretty-looking remote vs. a monotonous main panel. (Click to enlarge) |
With the speakers attached, the unit measures a whopping 1,400mm width and is similar in length with most 42-inchers. Upholding this three-piece, 23.5kg ensemble is a sturdy gun-metal desktop stand which neither tilts nor pivots. Unlike most other TVs except those from Philips, the rear connectivity panel was mounted horizontally below a recessed panel. This design eliminates the need for cabling allowance for a flushed wall mount but complicates installation as it is near impossible to get a good view of the terminals without straining the neck.
The remote is a totally different creature compared to the panel. Dressed in gun-metal/silver finish and decorated with a shiny BenQ imprint, the roundish creation looks chic and futuristic. Matching the stylish design is a set of well-organised buttons which offer a tactile feel offsetting the unit's lack of backlighting. The remote's battery compartment got us stumbled momentarily with its unique cover which pops out at a flip of a switch.
Owners of BenQ projectors will also find the DV3750's icon-based user menu familiar. Nested in the five sub-menus are a fair mix of options for tweaking various aspects of audio and video performance. This ranges from standard brightness and contrast controls to advance settings covering colour enhancement and noise reduction.
Features
The DV3750 is one of the rare gems in Australian to spot a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel LCD panel. With such a high resolution, the set is future-proofed and capable of handling any materials in the market inclusive of the upcoming Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, HD-DVD and Blu-ray. Matching the 2 million-pixel count is a commendable 550 nits brightness, 800:1 contrast ratio and a blazing-fast 8ms response time.
Behind the scenes driving the luscious 37-inch widescreen panel is BenQ's elusive SensEye TV engine. It features advanced picture enhancement technology which automatically optimises colour, clarity, motion and contrast for vivid and true-to-life images.
The company is definitely not cutting corners when it comes to boosting the performance of its flagship LCD TV. Working hand-in-hand with its SensEye engine is the famous Faroudja Directional Correlation Deinterlacing (DCDi) chip. The strength of the DCDi lies in its industry-leading performance in eliminating jaggies and it is a highly sought-after feature by home entertainment enthusiasts.
 You are spoilt for choice when it comes to inputs. (Click to enlarge) |
Engaging pictures are incomplete without compelling audio reproduction. For this matter, BenQ has incorporated not one, but two popular surround sound processing formats in the form of SRS TruSurround XT and Virtual Dolby Pro Logic 2 surround. If that is not enough, you also get a five-band equaliser for those audiophiles who prefer stereo audio playback over pseudo surround sound.
The DV3750 features a mouth-watering set of terminals enough to satisfy even the most demanding users. They include a pair of SCART inputs, a pair of composite A/V inputs with S-Video, two sets of component-video inputs, a PC input and a DVI terminal. Given a choice, we would prefer an HDMI instead of the DVI terminal as it's the standard digital A/V interface found in the latest video playback devices. Nonetheless, this minor issue can be overcomed with an HDMI-to-DVI adapter.
Performance
We kicked off our evaluation with the standard calibration exercise followed by a barrage of Avia test patterns. The outcome of the latter left us in awe as the DV3750 broke the record for achieving perfect scores in all segments from geometry to convergence to colour decoding accuracy. Grayscale tracking which had many TVs at its knee is also a walk in the park for this unit as the deepest shades of black are clearly distinguishable even at a far distance.
 Amazing picture quality from high-resolution HVD. (Click to enlarge) |
To demonstrate the prowess of the panel, BenQ had sent us a high-definition video (HVD) demo disc and player for a glimpse of what is installed for the future. We configured the player to output video at the TV's native resolution and were rewarded with breathtaking, 3D-like pictures which made DVDs look like child's play. Our eyes were glued onscreen trying to come to terms with the razor-sharp images and rich details presented by the set.
Running our usual suite of DVD clips revealed less flattering results though the image quality was still a notch above most other TVs in terms of clarity and details. The white- and black-level performance was excellent with the rich and vibrant colours. Unfortunately, sharpness took a slight toll as the image was heavily upscaled from 480p to 1080i. The problem does not lie with the panel but it is more of a bottleneck with the low-resolution DVDs. That, however, was not a showstopper as the DV3750 put up a riot of colours matched by rich details in Ghost in the Shell: Innocent, festival scene.
We were slightly disappointed with the PC video performance as text displayed in the maximum 1,024 x 768 resolutions turned out softer than expected. This was partially rectified by disabling the built-in video scaler, displaying the PC output in its actual resolution at the expense of a smaller image flanked by black borders.
Audio reproduction from the ported side speakers was one of the best we have heard so far. The onboard 15W stereo amplifier coupled with its five-band equalisers was able to belt out consistently clear and clean sound with sufficient amount of mid-bass. For bass freaks, there is an option to hook up a dedicated powered subwoofer to beef up the low-end extension.
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traveler
16/11/2006, 05:01 PM
rating
9/10
while true 1080, not 1080p (not even from pc over dvi). no closed captions.
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Illucid
09/01/2006, 01:35 PM
Best LCD I saw
Great inputs with digital. Laptop plugs in via DVI and looks awesome - with wireless KB/mouse I can surf the net from the lounge and see it all in perfect clarity.
Cant wait for my new xbox 360 to arrive.
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Sydney Dude
01/01/2006, 12:36 PM
Good but with some major issues
Bought this TV last week - HD material looks stunning on it and it seems in this department the 1920x1080 resolution really pulls it weight. However,with any SD material the set produced some fine horizontal lines that, whilst small, proved fairly distracting. DVD's connected via component didn't look spectacular either. Upon raising these issues to the store was informed that the claimed 8ms response rate was actually more like 14ms. Finally both the design of the screen and the remote look somewhat cheap. With everything taken into consideration, decided to swap it for a 40" Bravia which is superior in all aspects except HD which doesn't look quite as sharp as the BenQ.
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hamuhamu
22/12/2005, 02:16 PM
Best 37 LCD Finally
I have searched for a 37 inch LCD for a few months time, and finally bought the BenQ DV3750 based on its specifications and review here on CNET. I am extremely happy with the TV and the review is 100% trustworthy! I have tested the TV with several sources, including Dvds, PS2 and Xbox. The image is simply stunning and better than Samsung and Sharp's 37 TVs if you compare them side to side (I did at Harvey Norman).
Sharp is claimed to be the best LCD panel maker in the world, however, definitly not the Australian Sharp models. Their specification is out of date and new ones only come out in US. This BenQ LCD is also proof for the future technology 1080p. I cannot wait to see Xbox 360 and PS3 on it.
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