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Even as recently as Christmas, we seemed to spend most of our time bemoaning the release of expensive LCD TVs that lacked HD compatibility and Freeview tuners. Now though, every TV that arrives at our door not only wears the ‘HD Ready’ badge proudly on its sleeve, but almost always features a digital tuner (some even have two tuners and a hard drive). It’s about time, though — the start of the HD era is mere weeks away with the launch of Sky HD, and the analogue switchover is due to start in certain areas by next year.
The JVC 32DS6B is the latest LCD to comprehensively tick all these feature boxes and wrap them all in a funky chassis. The JVC is a supercar of a TV, with a gorgeous curved stand that makes a refreshing change from the sterile neutrality of Toshiba’s latest range. Unlike Tosh’s dual HDMI-equipped WLT58 TVs though, this JVC only has one digital video input, so its accommodation for future high-definition sources is rather more limited.
At least there are analogue hi-def component and VGA inputs as well, so we’re all sorted for our upscaled DVD and Xbox 360 needs. The integrated digital tuner means you can access Freeview directly from the remote, and there’s even a slot for a TopUp TV card if the standard selection of channels doesn’t fulfil your needs.
The era of dual HDMI-equipped LCDs will soon be upon us, but in the meantime, JVC’s 32-inch LCD is good value at around £1,100. It’s also one of the most stylish LCDs we’ve had in after Sony’s Bravia and Samsung’s R41 ranges. It’s not like 32-inch LCD buyers needed another TV to consider, but the JVC is another very competent flat screen to add to their list. -GC
