Viewsonic N3751w 37" LCD HDTV
Price: $799 After $200 Rebate Ends 1/31; Normally $999
(Available at MacMall, Buy.com, ZipZoomFly.com, Newegg.com, Mwave.com, OnSale.com, PC Nation, PC Mall, PC Connection and other e-tailers)

SPECIFICATIONS:
Size: 37-inch (1366 x 768) High Resolution Display
Tuner: Integrated ATSC/NTSC HDTV tuner
HD Capability: Supports 480i, 480p, 720i, 720p and 1080i
Response Time: 8ms
Brightness: 500 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
Inputs: 3 HDMI, 1 Component YPbPr, 1 Composite, 1 S-Video, 1 VGA/D-Sub port, 1 RF, 2 RCA Inputs, 1 Headphone jack
Outputs: 1 RCA Out, 1 Optical Digital Audio
Weight: 68.6lbs. With Stand
Dimensions: 37.1" W x 28.6" H x 11.6" D With Stand

PROS:
Viewsonic may not be known in the world of televisions, more so in the land of LCD monitors, but this one is nothing to turn a blind eye towards. Packing by far the most forward thinking connections with 3 HDMI inputs, the N3751w gives you versatility that competitors are charging almost an additional $100 per extra HDMI. Why is this important you ask? Well, component inputs may be the present, but if you are planning on adding multiple HD sources to your TV, the future will require that you have as many ways to connect them. That is a given.

Here's what else is a given: Viewsonic knows how to pull the most out of their LCD monitor's contrast ratio. This rings true with the N3751w. Right from the get-go the quality and depth of blacks on sources ranging from the Xbox 360 to the PS3s Blu-ray, the Viewsonic had everyone's eye. The whites were white and the blacks were black. It did require a little bit of changing some settings, but in a side-by-side with VIZIO's VX37L, the Viewsonic definitely had a crisp quality to its picture. While the VIZIO was much softer, it pointed out the sharpness of the N3751w.

If the casing of the TV may not get you that excited, the functionality behind the TV was a mixed bag. The plus side...a streamlined environment for cord management. Plug in all of your components and snap the rear panel on to hide and corral the cords. That's a nice feature for those that are not willing or wanting to put out the extra expense to hang it on the wall. Keep in mind though that you wouldn't want the cover if you needed to constantly connect or disconnect components.

Finally, the speakers that Viewsonic pumped into the N3751w were surprisingly great. Pumping out 20 watts of Dolby Digital Audio, the bullets were zipping by in Gears of War and Madden 2007 had me on the field getting laid out by Brian Urlacher.

CONS:
What was somewhat surprising is that the N3751w's casing did not look up to par. I'm hoping that the well-received and awarded ViewDock series will rub off some of its glossy, black action to the big boys. With function over form establishing the looks on the front, it seemed to be the reverse on the back.

Normally inputs are located near each other for a reason, but in this case the N3751w totally favored the HDMI inputs and forgot about those Xbox 360 users by placing the component input far from the audio input. This could be a problem if you don't feel like shelling out extra dough on a longer optical cable.

While the casing and the input placement are both minor details, the one that was slightly frustrating was the remote. The buttons that are used most frequently, including the process of switching between inputs was rather tedious. I know that Viewsonic may be used to people pressing buttons on their monitor to change settings, but people LOVE their remotes and this one needs to go back to the drawing board.

OVERALL:
The Viewsonic N3751w is a pumped-up TV that looks to grab attention if not for its looks, for its potential. The option of inputting three HDMI sources along with the sharp picture it produces should have most of you hitting up the e-tailers right now. If that isn't enough for you, this was the only TV that came not only with a VGA cable, but also a composite cable, an S-video cable AND a component cable.

Coming up after the half:

The Olevia 542i 42" LCD HDTV >>>