HP’s LC3260N is a 32 inch, 720p (1366 x 769 pixels), LCD, high definition television. The LC3260N’s brightness of 450 cd/m² (nits) is more than adequate for a typical home viewing situation as is the contrast ratio of 1200:1.

Many manufacturers have been producing silver colored products but, HP has shown with the LC3260N how attractive an all-matte-black finish can be.

As with their rear projection televisions, HP have developed their LCD range independently and one area they have put considerable thought into video processing with a digital comb filter, video noise reduction, fine detail enhancement, auto contrast optimization, advanced color management, ambient light adaptation control, film mode processing (3:2 Pull Down).

Some other notable features of the LC3260N are:

• fast 6 ms response time enabling accurate display of action scenes.
• backlight control which controls backlight lamp amplitude (to modify black-levels)
• multiple preset picture modes including Dynamic, Dynamic Fixed, Standard, Movie, and Game
• separate User mode for each input
• selectable color temperatures including Low, Mid-Low, Mid, and High
• optical Picture Control for automatic modulation of the LCDs brightness with ambient lighting level
• ATSC tuner for receiving digital and HDTV broadcasts

Sound System

The HP LC3260N comes with two 10 Watt speakers with WOW patented sound technology by SRS Labs. WOW improves the dynamic audio performance of twin speakers by expanding the size of the audio image and improving the perception of low frequency sound (more deep rumbles for action flicks). To quote SRS Labs, “WOW accomplishes this by providing a panoramic three-dimensional audio image that extends the sound field in both the horizontal and vertical planes, and lowers the perceived bass response well beyond the low frequency limitations of the drivers.”

If you have a tight width to fit your television into then you will appreciate the speakers being located below the screen.

Remote

The remote provided is well designed ergonomically with a comfortable feel in the hand and well sized and positioned buttons. It doesn’t have button backlighting which will probably not be a problem for most purchasers.

Connections

There is a well rounded selection of available connections with twin HDMI inputs being welcome and perhaps only the lack of PC input being a concern to some.

• twin HDMI digital inputs
• 2x component video
• 2x composite video
• S-Video
• RF input

In total there are three A/V inputs and an RF input.

Outputs consist of both analog and digital (ATSC and QAM) and also an optical digital audio output.

What You Might Miss

Some features which may be missed are:

• PIP (picture-in-picture)
• CableCard
• quick set aspect-ratio options for high definition
• color management

Further Reading

Sharp AQuos LC-46D62U and LC-52D62U LCD Televisions Review.

Philips Launch New LCD with ClearLCD Technology.

LCD vs Plasma.

Practical Home Theater: A Guide to Video and Audio Systems (2007 Edition)

Home Theaters and Electronic Houses