New AWA 81cm LCD TV - BigW again!

[rhyno79 0]

Hi, can anyone tell me if they have any experience with TRIO TV's, I saw a 32" LCD at DSE similar i think to the Big W one being discussed here.

The thing I was mostly confused about was the brightness and contrast.

Is it better for a LCD TV to have a lower brightness specification? because this TV is 800 cd/m2 where 32" models from Sony and Samsung seem to be lower.

Also the contrast seems low at 1200:1, but i notice more expensive brand manufacturers quote 2 ratio's a static and dynamic, with one being around the 1200:1 mark anyway.

I have been doing a bit of research but but obviously not enough, if anyone can help it would be greatly appreciated

[rhyno79 0]

I see Dick Smith has a lot of cheaper 32" LCD TV's, 3 or 4 under $1000.

If any one has seen them compared with a panasonic, sony etc can you let me know how much of a difference there is, obviously they wont be as good, but if they still do a good job of displaying tv and DVD then i am interested.

[Ingram 0]

Well anyone here who got the ORIGINAL 81CM LCD still using it and going along fine?

Mine certainly hasn't skipped a beat at all about 3 years on since getting it. Pretty damn good deal if you ask me. Though I'm planning on upgrading to a 1080P 40+ Inch panel soon.

Long live the AWA 81 Generation 1 people

[sLug 0]

Well anyone here who got the ORIGINAL 81CM LCD still using it and going along fine?

Mine certainly hasn't skipped a beat at all about 3 years on since getting it. Pretty damn good deal if you ask me. Though I'm planning on upgrading to a 1080P 40+ Inch panel soon.

Long live the AWA 81 Generation 1 people

Yep our awa is still going strong although it is mounted on the wall in the bedroom now.Got a 40 inch for the lounge.

[HeDanny 0]

Saw in todays catalogue that Big-W now has the "new" Sanyo 32" LCD for $868. Model in the catalogue is LCD32CA8Z, but a few attempts at google have turned up nothing. Mebbe it is genuinely a new product? Would still like to find out a few more details before I plonk down the dough.

[kulfi 0]

No HD tuner for the Sanyo. It's analog only and with the poor availability of HD Set Top Boxes, you're going to have a hard time getting the good stuff onto it.

I'd suggest looking at a Samsung 32" R81 from the bonus LCD sale thread. It's got a built-in HD tuner. You might be able to get a better deal through someone on that thread otherwise retail for that model is around $1000 these days.

Sanyo LCD $868

Bush HD Set top box from DSE (web special) - $129

Total cost is $997

Might as well buy the proper brand for $1000 with 3-year warranty.

[Dave® 0]

Well anyone here who got the ORIGINAL 81CM LCD still using it and going along fine?

Mine certainly hasn't skipped a beat at all about 3 years on since getting it. Pretty damn good deal if you ask me. Though I'm planning on upgrading to a 1080P 40+ Inch panel soon.

Long live the AWA 81 Generation 1 people

Yep, mine is still getting daily use in the bedroom. I never did find out how to get into the main service menu to adjust the overscan. Someone here did post on how to get into what appears to be the secondary service menu (according to a bit of googling) where you can disable unused inputs etc. IIRC the harmony codes for the AWA include a remote code to access the secondary service menu.

I have recently started eyeing the latest larger LCDs with multiple HDMI inputs and 1080 lines screens etc. If the AWA's speakers were removable so it'd fit into my family room's TV cabinet I'd have replaced the AWA long ago. Though I luv the VGA input and the DVI is fine because I have a small Yamaha amp. It still works great as a HTPC screen.

Edited March 2, 2008 by Dave®

[gomax 0]

Well anyone here who got the ORIGINAL 81CM LCD still using it and going along fine?

Mine certainly hasn't skipped a beat at all about 3 years on since getting it. Pretty damn good deal if you ask me. Though I'm planning on upgrading to a 1080P 40+ Inch panel soon.

Long live the AWA 81 Generation 1 people

Yup, another happy long term user, also about to upgrade to HD LCD, dunno what tho', million $ question lol

[starsky1503560106 0]

I am a long term user of the Gen 1 81cm.

Just got a PS3 yesterday, and in 108i and 720p on the DVI connector it is cropping the image.

Has anyone else experienced this ?

[Ingram 0]

Yes the AWA crops the image a hell of a lot. I use to run my HTPC at 1216x684 resolution to counter the cropping.

Try adjusting it in the service menu?

Hold Menu on both the remote and tv for about 10 seconds.

[starsky1503560106 0]

Yes the AWA crops the image a hell of a lot. I use to run my HTPC at 1216x684 resolution to counter the cropping.

Try adjusting it in the service menu?

Hold Menu on both the remote and tv for about 10 seconds.

Thanks Ingram, I had no idea it had a service menu. Time for a play

[Dave® 0]

Thanks Ingram, I had no idea it had a service menu. Time for a play

I mentioned it just a few posts above. And IIRC it was waaay back around page 32 or something in this topic.

I never did find out how to get into the main service menu to adjust the overscan. Someone here did post on how to get into what appears to be the secondary service menu (according to a bit of googling) where you can disable unused inputs etc

Like I said before, the service menu that is accessable (by holding the menu buttons on both the remote and the tv for about 10 seconds) does not seem to have any overscan adjustments, and it appears to be the secondary service menu. If you google the brand and model that this gen-1 AWA 32cm LCD actually is you'll find photos and references to the main service menu (with no info on how to access it).

Google for "Zenith E44W46LCD & LG 44SZ81 service menu" and you should find a 4 page USA forum thread on the Zenith's service menu and what all the different settings do. They talk about 2 menu pages and their description of the 2nd menu page describes our 'only' menu page. Plus there's this bit that mentions a shorter service menu:

Service Menu keys - if you have a programmable remote, here are some alternate keys to invoke the special menus:

*-018 - invokes a shorter service menu, includes setting contrast of the main and sub PIP windows

*-019 - enters the service menu

I'd like to know how to get out of the shorter menu, or get up a level to the main menu page. Or at the very least get access to overscan and picture positioning adjustments.

But if you do figure out how to adjust the overscan please let us know. Even just being able to centre the picture would be better than nothing...

[Arc1503559859 0]

Hey guys, I did a bit of searching but couldn't find much information and was wondering if someone could help me.

I have one of the older AWA 94cm LCDs, I think the model number is TFTD94G. I couldn't however find any information in my manual about wall mounting one of these suckers... I was just wondering if anyone had done it, and if so does it just use the standard VESA wall mounts? Or were these TVs out before the VESA thing was standard?

I'll try to snap a picture of the back of the TV to make it easier to identify, but for now I thought I would at least just pose the question and see if anyone knew

[Reaping Clarity 0]

I know this thread is kind of dead, but I figured I'd bump it instead of making a new one.

I can't be bothered going through all 55 pages, so I'll just ask now:

Does anyone here know how to fix the overscan problem for the 81cm AWA LCD? Do I have to access the service menu and do some adjustments in there myself? If so how do I access it, and what do I change?

I currently have my STB plugged into the AV1 source and the overscan is getting pretty annoying for me, there's not as much on the component source though. I would really appreciate some thorough instructions on fixing it, THANKS !

Edited August 9, 2008 by Reaping Clarity