HP SLC3760N MediaSmart 37 inch LCD HDTV Review

HP’s SLC3760N MediaSmart TV is a 37 inch, 720p (1366 x 769 pixels), LCD, high definition television. As with its sibling models the LC3260N and LC3760N, the SLC3760N’s brightness of 450 cd/m² (nits) is more than adequate for a typical home viewing situation as is the contrast of 1200:1. Many manufacturers have been producing silver colored products but, HP has shown with the SLC3760N 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).

Why Choose an Integrated Networked Media Smart Television?

With the SLC3760N HPs has built a Digital Media Adapter (DMA) into a 37 inch flat panel LCD television to provide a computer network link. One might wonder why they would do this when linking a flat panel LCD to a stand-alone DMA such as an Acoustic Research Digital MediaBridge or the D-Link DSM-520 can achieve a networked media system with similar functionalities. The answer is probably four-fold;

some consumers will be happy to pay the premium for the convenience of an integrated solution rather than spending time on set-up and configuration of twin devices,
techno phobia drives many electronics consumers towards the simplest device to set-up and operate,
some would also take the view that performance problems are also easier to deal with if you have a single supplier,
knowing the display screens resolution and display characteristics (and speaker audio capabilities) when designing the DMA allows streamed media to be optimized for it

Media Smart Capabilities

Media Smart makes it possible to stream photos, music, and movies from networked PCs and Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices over a either a wireless or wired network connection to your HP LCD TV. An important point to note is that HP specify that your PC must have Microsoft’s Windows Media Connect installed excluding Apple products and older operating system PCs. The Media Smart TV will work with any Digital Living Room Network Alliance or universal-plug-and-play-compatible (UPnP) device. HP designed the MediaSmart TV to work with a slate of selected Internet-based service providers (more on this later).

Set-up

Network ((802.11a, b, or g) or wired) connection to your wireless network is menu-driven and automatic with a DHCP-compliant router. To access PC media content you need to run the software disc supplied. The SLC3760N will also recognize any Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) standards compliant Network Attached Server (NAS) such as HP’s new Media Vault.

Operation

The top level interface for the HP SmartMedia TV is very simple with four options; Photos, Videos, Music and Services.

Photos Compatible file formats include; BMP, GIF, JPEG, TIFF, and PNG for photos Photos are listed in submenus as thumbnails. Album cover artwork is displayed when tracks are playing.

Videos Compatible file formats include; DivX, DivX HD, Xvid, Xvid HD, WMV, and WMV HD from a PC. AVI, DVR-MS, DivX (MPEG-4), MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-2, WMV, and WMV-HD. QuickTime and QuickTime HD are not supported and neither are AAC files (no streaming protected AAC tracks from iTunes website).

Music Compatible file formats include; MP2, MP3, WMA, and WMA-Pro for audio. DRM-protected WMA files can be streamed from services such as Napster and Rhapsody however DRM-protected files cannot be played over the optical digital audio output.

Services Services available include; Rhapsody music, the Snapfish photo service and CinemaNow movie downloads, Live365 Internet radio. A HP account is required to gain access to services available. HP intended to add further services over time.

LCD Flat Panel Overview

Some other notable features of the SLC3760N are:

wide 176 degree viewing angle
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 LC3760N 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. It is a universal remote capable of controlling a set-top box or a DVD player. The remote is partially backlit.

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.