Price vs. Performance: Olevia's Inexpensive 50" HDTV

[Gregg Lengling]

Olevia is a company you may not have heard of. But if you're in the market for a low-cost HDTV, it's a name worth knowing.
We got our first taste of Olevia with the company's 30-inch LCD HDTV, which was impressive for the price. Now priced at around $1,500, it's still a good entry-level solution to get into the HDTV game. But for Olevia, that was just the beginning. The company has since announced a 37-inch LCD television, as well as a 50-inch LCoS RPTV that we're going to show you.
Olevia's new LCT50HV is a good mix of price and performance. At $2,100, it's one of the lowest-priced 50-inch HDTVs on the market. But with a price that low, is there enough performance to make this a worthwhile offering? That's what we're here to find out. To find out whether Olevia's latest is something to consider.

Speeds and Feeds

Here are the LCT50HV's vital statistics:

Price: $2,099
 
Weight (pounds): 118
 
Dimensions, in inches: 47.3"(W) x 39.3"(H) x 19.3"(D)  
 
Visible screen (diagonal, in inches): 50
 
Native resolutions/aspect ratio: 1388x780 (16:9)
 
Rated contrast ratio/brightness: 1000 : 1, 1000 nits
 
Microdisplay Technology: LCoS
 
Composite inputs: 1 rear, 1 side
 
Component inputs: 2 (YCrCb, YPrPb)
 
Other video and data inputs: VGA, DVI-I (HDMI)
 
Audio inputs: 5 analog stereo
 
Audio outputs: Analog stereo
 
Separate media connection box (YES/NO): No
 
Supported SD, ED, and HD modes: 480i; 480p; 720p; 1080i
 
Film mode (inverse 3:2 pull-dow) (YES/NO): Yes
 
Built-in Tuner: Yes, NTSC
 
CableCARD support?: No
 
Dual-tuner split screen (YES/NO): No
 
Discrete Input Selection Buttons on remote (YES/NO): No
 
User can assign names to input sources (YES/NO): No
 
User can assign separate picture settings to input sources (YES/NO): Yes
 
Audio system: 25W Speakers (x2)
 
Power consumption: 120W (lamp)



Olevia seems to have a lot of the specs right, on paper anyway. As we'll find out shortly, its stated brightness and contrast ratio measurements are overstated. That's an unfortunate industry practice that permeates the A/V industry, both for audio and video specs. This unit lacks CableCARD support or an integrated ATSC (over-the-air HDTV) tuner, though it does have an NTSC standard-definition tuner. But what do you want for under $2,100?