Gateway 30-inch LCD Review
By Ian Bell
March 7th, 2005
Summary
Although the press and media would like to make you think that Gateway is relatively new to the television market, the company has dabbed in this segment before. Last year, Gateway's $2999 dollar plasma television was a top seller because of how affordable it was compared to other plasma televisions offering similar features. It now looks like the company is trying to duplicate this success with their HDTV-ready line of LCD televisions. Priced at $1599, the Gateway 30-inch LCD competes with companies such as Kreisen, Syntax, Viewsonic and Apex to grab the attention of the budget-conscious consumer. Competition in the LCD market is getting fierce and there are many LCD TVs to choose from for under $2000 dollars. Gateway has the boxing gloves on and is ready to put up a good fight.
Full Review
Walking the Catwalk
The Gateway 30-inch LCD TV will most likely either be a hit or a miss when it comes to the way it looks. We love that the LCD panel and electronics appear to “float” over the base or stand of the television. There is a thick clear Plexiglas piece that connects the main unit to its base. We first saw this design concept in Sony's LCD TVs which used a Plexiglas panel in a similar method; it gives televisions a very futuristic look. The rest of Gateway's 30-inch TV is adorned in a black chassis with Gateway's signature gold trim. If you have black home theater components or simply prefer a black TV as opposed to a silver chassis, than you will most likely like the way the Gateway 30-inch LCD looks. Somewhere at Gateway a very important person is telling the OEM manufacturers to put gold somewhere on their products. This is a very poor decision and Gateway needs to leave the gold out of the picture. They may be able to get away with this on the PC side, but when it comes to the rest of the CE products, specifically televisions, there should be two choices at this point in time: silver and black. Some people will simply not purchase a television if there is noticeable gold on the chassis, and we can't blame them. But with our color frustrations out of the way, the Gateway 30-inch LCD does have some positive aspects.
While the screen size of this Gateway unit measures 30 inches diagonally it looks smaller than other 30-inch LCDs we have seen. This is because Gateway chose to position the speakers underneath the display instead of placing them on the sides. This is both good and bad. It can be considered good because it means the unit will be able to fit into most television cabinets that support 32-inch televisions, but at the same time with the speakers so closely together you lose a lot of the stereo sound you would get otherwise. If you have a video cabinet or a nice armoire, the Gateway 30-inch LCD is a great match. You can choose to mount the Gateway 30-inch TV on the wall if you want but expect to pay around $100 dollars for the wall mount kit. The set measures 23.43 inches high by 29.13 inches wide and has a depth of only 7.8 inches. It weighs a tad over 20 pounds and is relatively easy to move due to its dimensions and light weight.
Gateway 30-inch LCD TV
Now because of the low price associated with the Gateway 30-inch LCD, and other televisions in this market segment, you need to expect some corners to be cut; it's almost always a given. For example while we loved the picture on the Kreisen 30-inch LCD, it lacked independent memory input, an advanced universal remote control and HDCP compatibility on its DVI input. Gateway's 30-inch LCD on the other hand has several features that other LCD televisions in this price range do not. First of all, it not only comes with a HDCP compatible DVI input, it also comes with two component video inputs, one for a HDTV signal capable of 1080i and the other which is meant for a DVD player. The Gateway 30-inch TV has a 750:1 contrast ratio with a 16ms response rate and is capable of a 1280x768 resolution at 60Hz. It also comes with an integrated NTSC tuner, one DVI input, two component video inputs, analog VGA input, S-video inputs, and composite and coaxial inputs making sure that this unit is compatible with every component you have.
The remote control is larger than we would have liked and looks pretty out-dated resembling the old RCA remote controls that used to come with the DirecTV satellite boxes if you can remember those. The remote control is capable of controlling eight devices including two televisions, one DVD player, one cable box, one VCR, one amplifier or receiver, one CD player and another single item which you can assign to the auxiliary buttons. Button layout is very simple and intuitive with the navigation buttons located in the center of the remote and the PIP (Picture In Picture) controls located on the bottom. When a button is pressed, the blue backlighting automatically comes on to help you navigate the television when in a low lit room. If you decide to ditch the remote, there are controls located on the bottom of the television itself.
Setup and Testing
The Gateway 30-inch LCD TV comes with two manuals, one for the remote control and the other for the TV itself. It also comes with a power cord, S-Video cable and an audio cable. The quality of the cables is pretty good, comparable to what you would get from Acoustic Research or Radio Shack's higher-end line. If you plan on using this set with your PC or any home theater component that uses a DVI cable, than expect to spend another $50 dollars minimum for that cable. The same applies to the component video cable. The manual for the television is fairly detailed and will show you how to setup your new television and use its menu system. Gateway gives you remote control codes so you can operate your other components using the Gateway remote.
If you plan on hooking up a DVD player, than you will want to use the component video input marked DVD player. This input supports both 480i and 480p signals. If you have one of the new HD DVD players which are capable of up converting the signal to 720P, you will have to use the component video input marked HDTV on it. If you have a HDTV set-top box than you can connect it to the Gateway 30-inch LCD TV using three possible inputs. The HDTV component video inputs support 480i, 480P, 720P and 1080i signal sources. You can also connect your set top box using the analog VGA input or the DVI input.
We were told by our Gateway public relations contact that the DVI input is in fact HDCP compatible, but there is no mention of this on Gateway's website. We recommend asking the Gateway representative helping you about HDCP compatibility when inquiring about this TV. What's very odd is that the manual that comes with this television shows the DVI input being used with a computer, and there is no mention of connecting a set top box using the DVI input. Gateway's support section on their website is missing all information regarding this particular television. It mentions the older 30-inch models, but since that unit has completely different specs, we are positive the support information would not apply to this model.
We used Dish Networks HDTV service and the HDTV component video input on this television for our testing. Since this television is a LCD monitor, you will want to calibrate the picture and color settings from where you will be watching TV the most. The picture on a LCD TV can change depending on which angle you are watching it from. Some LCD TVs are better at giving a broad viewing radius than others. We love the picture on the Gateway 30-inch LCD when looking at it from straight on, but it changes dramatically from a 15 to 45-degree viewing angle much in the same way the older CRT rear projection sets looked from different angles. Black levels are adequate for a television in this price range, although nothing spectacular. Even though the specifications say the contrast ratio is 750:1, this unit did not appear any brighter or sharper than the Kreisen LT-30FMP we reviewed which has a 450:1 ratio.
Setup and testing Cont'd
PC users will love the 1280x768 resolution and using the DVI input instead of the analog VGA input gives you a much sharper looking picture albeit at a 60Hz refresh rate. The response rate is spec'd at 16ms, which is very good for a LCD of this size. We did not notice too much ghosting or trailing while playing PC games. The Kreisen LT-30FMP has a 25ms response rate and looked just as good in our opinion. We noticed that text scrolling along the bottom of CNN had a slight trail when compared to CRT based televisions, but this is to be expected for LCD TVs in this price range.
There are four picture viewing modes: Standard 4:3 mode, Widescreen mode, Panoramic Mode, and Zoom Mode. Although black bars are added to the sides of the picture, Standard Mode should be used when watching traditional 4:3 broadcasts. Widescreen Mode will stretch the 4:3 picture to fill the entire screen. If you are watching a 16:9 broadcast than it should fit the screen without looking stretched, although you will notice space on the top and the bottom of the picture. Panoramic Mode will fill the entire screen and makes a 4:3 broadcast look stretched more than it should, it also appeared to cut off part of the picture in a 16:9 broadcast, although it seemed to change depending on the show. The center of the picture in Panoramic Mode is not stretched but the picture on the left and right sides are. Zoom Mode simply lets you zoom in on the picture and cuts off part of the top and the bottom of the picture.
The Gateway 30-inch LCD features PiP (Picture In Picture) which you can use to watch another video source in a small window. You can swap the video sources and windows if you want to as well. The HDTV, VGA and DVI inputs cannot be used in the PiP window which is a major blow to the unit. That includes 480P progressive scan signals using the DVD input. We loved how the Kreisen 30-inch TV would let you do a split window with both the computer input and the HDTV inputs. We would have liked to have seen more PiP options with the Gateway 30-inch TV, especially since it doubles as a computer monitor.
The menu system works well and has plenty of options to choose from including color controls, parental controls for blocking certain shows and more. The menu options change depending on what type of input you are using. For example, if you are using the VGA or DVI inputs than there is an Auto Picture mode which will automatically change the position and size of the picture depending on the signal format it receives. Gateway left this feature out on the component video and composite video inputs so you will manually have to setup your picture.
On the audio side, it is hard to differentiate stereo sounds from mono since the speakers are so close together. If the volume is turned up you can tell if the movie is in stereo but at lower volumes it sounds like it's in mono. The bass is pretty good for a television of this depth however.
Conclusion
Gateway's latest 30-inch LCD television improves upon its predecessor and shows that Gateway is slowly progressing into the realm of consumer electronics. When compared to other HDTV LCD televisions in the sub $2000 dollar category, the Gateway 30-inch LCD has a lot going for it. It offers two component video inputs, a HDCP compatible DVI input, a 750:1 contrast ratio and a programmable remote control. All of these features are usually associated with higher-end televisions. But the Gateway 30-inch LCD is also not without its drawbacks.
We are not big fans of the gold trim that Gateway is adamant about putting on all of the products that they sell, and the remote control is too cumbersome. The speakers are also too close together and it can be hard to get stereo sound at lower volumes.
People looking for a product that is primarily a monitor first and a television second should look at offerings from Kreisen and Syntax which both sell LCD televisions with PC capabilities at low prices. Although Gateway will surely be upset with us for mentioning this, but the InFocus TD30 appears to be the same exact television and is available in a silver chassis; an alternative to those turned off by Gateway's black and gold. However if you want an affordable television for the bedroom, office or family room, the Gateway 30-inch LCD is worth a look. Serious home theater fans should expect to pay a minimum of $2200+ for a LCD television worthy of their media room. When compared to the Kreisen LT-30FMP 30-inch TV, you are basically paying $250 dollars more for a HDCP compatible DVI input, programmable remote and an extra component video input; picture quality is about equal.
Pros:
- Good picture quality for a TV in this price range
- Comes with a programmable remote control
- Comes with two component video inputs
- Affordable at $1599
- Wall mountable, although Gateway does not sell a wall mount kit
- Physical dimensions allow it to fit in most television cabinets
Cons:
- Limited support on Gateway's website
- Manual is confusing at times and does not mention if the DVI input is HDCP compatible
- Ugly and bulky remote control
- Screen is very directional
- Poor PiP features
Specs
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