ViewSonic N3260w review

Features
ViewSonic's LCD is fully high-definition compatible across HDMI and component inputs. This means that when Sky HD, Blu-ray and HD DVD launch in 2006, you're guaranteed compatibility (although you might need some sort of splitter if you're rich enough to afford them all). The two high-definition formats, 720p and 1080i, are both compatible -- the former fits the native resolution of the LCD panel perfectly, while the latter has to be scaled down to fit. Sky has confirmed that its HD service will be broadcast in both formats. The television is sadly lacking a digital tuner, so you'll have to buy a separate digibox if you want to watch Freeview.

ViewSonic has been a pioneer in the monitor market, constantly reducing response times to the current level of 2ms. Although this TV isn't quite as fast, the LCD panel has a fast response time when compared to other 32-inchers -- 8ms means it's perfect for videogames. Viewsonic doesn't boast anything like Toshiba's Active Vision or Philips' Pixel Plus, but the TV does come with some other image processing technology. Integrated features include motion-adaptive progressive scan, a 3D comb filter and low-level contrast enhancement to improve overall picture quality. Viewsonic's own press material makes a fuss about the television's Picture in Picture functionality, which isn't a particularly useful feature in our experience.

Like many TVs, the ViewSonic has a selection of pre-programmed picture modes including Vivid, Standard and Mild, plus a Custom mode that lets you adjust the contrast and brightness yourself. The only advanced setting in this menu is to toggle Noise Reduction, which eradicates the blockiness of MPEG sources like DVD and digital TV. The likelihood that you'll want to dip into these settings is minimal, though -- the menu system itself is absolutely atrocious. It looks terrible and eschews common TV interface rules for no apparent reason. For example, press the Source button on the remote control and it doesn't cycle through the AV channels -- instead it goes to a menu where you choose between Main Picture and Picture in Picture options. What's even more confusing is that there are PiP options directly accessible from the remote control itself.

We do like the way you can change the resolution of the PC mode, so that the desktop is formatted automatically. If it still doesn't fit, then you can ask the TV to format the PC display automatically, and most modern computers should output in a widescreen format. The 20W combined power of the speakers is quite substantial for a 32-inch TV, and they even boast SRS WOW technology.

Performance
Viewsonic's LCD isn't the best we've seen by a long way, but it excels in some areas that certainly make it worth the money for videogamers. First off, the response time means that the image is stable and doesn't smear, even with interlaced analogue and digital TV sources. Whether you're playing high-definition content or a DVD movie though, the picture from the N3260w's panel is sharp, even in the background details.

We did find that the panel's colour reproduction was quite drastically off , especially on the VGA input. When using a Dell XPS 600 and high-definition content over a VGA connection, reds and oranges were freakishly unnatural, and even turning the colour temperature to 'Cool' didn't seem to do anything. The contrast wasn't as deep as we've seen from Sony's recent Bravia LCD TV, but then the ViewSonic is about two-thirds of the price.

While ViewSonic's previous-generation TVs were massively cheaper than their big-name equivalents, the gap is beginning to close. For us, it's much more attractive to spend another £100-200 on Samsung's LE32R41BD and get a more stylish TV that's easier to use, has a Freeview tuner and more effective picture processing for standard-definition sources and PC use.

Edited by Michael Parsons
Additional editing by Nick Hide