Thursday, May 10, 2012

Sceptre takes our gaming to the third dimension


I recently got an email in regards to reviewing a 3D TV from Sceptre and while I am not a huge fan in terms of 3D, I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to see what it is like to game in 3D, with exception to the 3DS as the screen is small and gives me a headache most of the time I use it. The unit we received was the E320BV-FHDD 32 inch LED 3D HDTV, and while it seems like a mouthful, that is the last time I will refer to it in such a manner. Now to get the features out of the way, this set comes fully equipped with 3 HDMI ports, 2 passive glasses, USB port, and 1920 by 1080 maximum resolution, time to break out the 3D games and see if this set makes them pop.
Let’s start from the beginning, I was a bit skeptical of the newer brand and how it would look in comparison to the older, well trusted brands. The first thing I noticed upon setting up to play with, was the 3 HDMI inputs….hooray! Next up, it is a nice glossy black TV that is not only thin but has a narrow border as the speakers are in the back instead of the sides or bottom. The picture was vibrant, significantly brighter than my LCD when viewing in standard 2D. In order to put the 3D to the test, I decided to use my 3D Blu-Ray of Disney’s Tron Legacy, Up, Uncharted 3, and Wipeout Fury. The amount of depth that was added on all was nice and subtle, not in your face abuse of the still newish technology, making your eyes strain. The only thing I noticed was that the picture isn’t as bright or as detailed in the games, but may have just had to be done to be able to keep gameplay running smoothly. Not only was viewing mostly painless, but switching between 2D and 3D was faster and easier than I anticipated.
I typically use a sound bar as my home audio system, not relying on the television’s speakers for audio. In the purpose of my review though I had to quit spoiling my ears and see how the audio on this TV performs.  I did not particularly enjoy the speakers on this set as they were on the back side of the device and put out a distant and somewhat muffled sound. Like I said, with a surround sound or sound bar you don’t have to rely on the set for sound. Two sets of glasses come in the box, which is nice for two people, but unfortunately my household consists of three people. Luckily, Avengers had just come out and wanted to see it in 3D, so after the movie, I gave the theater glasses a shot, and what do you know they worked and are actually more comfortable in my opinion. Lastly, I had stated 3D viewing was mostly painless, what I meant was I had no problem viewing movies or playing games, but anything longer than a couple hours of use, I would feel a slight headache coming on.
My opinion has been on the fence regarding all this 3D that is being shoved down our throats, I love 3D movies, but hate wearing the glasses, the Nintendo 3DS does not require glasses but hard to keep the image in focus if you move at all. After spending time with Sceptre’s 3D TV, I really enjoyed it, it was a bit small for the size but if the bigger ones look as good as this, I know where I will be looking when it is time to replace the LCD I currently use, as the price is nice, I don’t use my TV speakers now, it has a vibrant picture, and it has Energy Star V5.3, that’s right, an estimated yearly energy cost of 11 bucks.

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