VU LCD LC-47R27

Some time ago I did a feature on lesser known LCD TV manufacturers, and ended by mentioning the name of a brand called VU. Not much is known about VU in India; not even in the AV market. I did hear that a friend picked up a full-HD LCD TV of this make for under 80 K during Diwali, but that of course was the festive price. Anyway, I now have a higher end model in the Tech2 lab – the LC-47R27.

So does this baby win the best debutant award? I should check if it’s speech-ready or something; it definitely looks poised enough to impress! But first I need to highlight one point: VU’s website needs to be made more comprehensive, with more info available. But then that’s part of my job, so here’s my bit towards greater media exposure…

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Design and Features
The LC-47R27 is big, but not too cumbersome. When compared to other 47-inchers it’s sort of like a macho man’s TV. This is probably thanks to the broad, black bezel. The back panel and speaker are black too, with a smooth finish, as is the simple rectangular stand. The stand has to be screwed in, and so does the massive horizontal speaker, which needs to be wired. In the unit I got they came already fixed, which saved me a bit of fiddling around.

The TV looks like some 70s film noir detective with its all-black finish. Perhaps the only thing that occasions a bit of contrast is a thin column of round silver buttons on the right panel. These are for basic operations such as power, volume etc.

A unique thing is the bare and flat back panel, with connections concealed facing downwards on the bottom half. So there’s some exercise involved in connecting the wires, and as the TV is big and heavy, even rotating it takes a few more Newtons. The last sentence is straight from “Memoirs of a Couch Potato”, the latest video on Tech2. Check it out; it shows you different ways to not do anything at all.

Speaking of connections, there is one HDMI, a VGA in, 2 composite ins, 2 component ins and a composite AV out, so you’ll not run into any problem there. Maybe I’m thinking of the fact that multiple HDMI-ins are the in thing these days. The surprise jolt, however, comes in the form of a USB 2.0 input on the left panel.

The panel is 16:9, full HD at 1920 x 1080 pixels, with quite a high brightness rating of 100 cd/m2. The contrast is 3600:1 (dynamic) while the response time is a surprisingly impressive 6.5 ms. The speakers deliver 20 watts total. That wraps up the specs of this newcomer. Let me remind you that some of these values are very good.

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Performance
This TV requires 16 amperes to run, so it comes with a plug that’s used for things like air-conditioners. Make sure you have an outlet of that caliber, or an appropriate extension box. We plugged in a Pioneer DVD player via HDMI and also a desktop machine with Transformers HD version. The PS3 was waiting in line, jumping around like the attention-seeker it is. Calibration did not take long; the factory settings were pretty much aligned optimally.

Brightness and contrast was quite good, with nice delivery on still or slow moving landscape images. Object-oriented, high-detail images were okay, not too special, as the detail and sharpness of the TV lacked a certain sizzle that I’ve seen in other TVs. It wasn’t washed out or anything, just blurry where more precise lines should have been.

Motion scenes were satisfactory, but slight motion blur was visible, along with the usual suspects: jaggies and dotcrawl, though in small amounts. The color, on the other hand, was as good as the high-end czars of the LCD market, and this is without any marketing claims of proprietary features, at least not any that I noticed. The palette was vast and widely encompassed lots of intricate hues.
Conclusion

So here’s another name to consider, and at a reasonable price. Rs 1,25,000 for a full-HD 47-inch device is a value pick. But again, videophiles and discerning customers need to take note of the slight discrepancies that surfaced. A demo is definitely recommended though.