Grundig LCD TV/Freeview/DVD Combi - any good?

JerryU

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I'm considering the Grundig GU19WDVDT on sale at John Lewis for £349. Spec looks pretty good and I think the built-in DVD is multi-region, but the trouble is with a lot of TVs of this size is that sound quality is rubbish (tried a couple of similar DM Techs in Comet recently and the sound was very, very poor in my opinion). Does anyone have any experience of this model, and how does it shape up soundwise? Thanks.
 
Not sure if it is the same model but Costco have a 19 inch grundig LCD with DVD and freeview for £294.
 
I just purchased this set for the kitchen.
Got it from QVC (introductory offer) £299.

On the plus side:
Easy to set up (scanned for both analogue and digital channels without probs)
Sensitive tuner
Integrated DVD player & SD card reader (very handy).
More than adequite sound quality for kitchen use. But don't expect audiophile quality.
Excellent remote.
Comprehensive connections (HDMI, PC, Scart, etc.)
Lots of adjustable picture settings.

The only negative I have found is the limited vertical viewing angle.
I keep the tv on top of a tall fridge. Picture is fine whilst I'm standing up but quickly darkens when sitting down at the table.
This means that I will need to get an adjustable bracket in order to tilt it down (£20 from Ebay).

All in all, a competent tv if mounted in such a way to compensate for the limited viewing angle (vertical more than horizontal).

Note that this model is also available under other brand names (Goodmans), so don't rely on the Grundig name.

Also, the choice of small screen tv's with integrated freeview is growing all the time (at the same price range). Unless you specifically need the extra bells and whistles (integrated SD, DVD), check out other models for better vertical viewing angle.

Specifically on sound: I tried The Matrix dvd on it and was able to raise the sound level 3/4 of the way up without any distortion (didn't go any higher). Don't expect loads of bass but I found the quality more than adequite for my intended use.
There is, however, a Digital output for connection to an external amp. Very handy.

Hodman
 
Hodman, is there any tilt mechanism on the stand? And does it have any audio/video sync problems? I just returned a 17" TV/DVB/DVD combo to M&S (rebadged Cello I believe) because of the vertical viewing angle problem. Bit annoyed 'cos i had checked with the store whether the stand could tilt since it looked like it should but felt like it was going to break when I tried, and so returned it when they said no. It did, but it required a screw driver. Returned it anyway because of the sync issues and because the staff were very rude.
 
Chris,

the stand is a plastic push on type with a very small vertical tilt adjustment (no screws involved).
In my case, this small adjustment isn't enough to eliminate the vertical dimming.

As for the audio/video sync, all I can say is that during my test (I only received the set yesterday) I didn't notice any.
I cycled through the various digital & analogue channels and briefly played a couple of DVD's.
I also played a couple of music videos I have on a 2gb SD card.
Although I wasn't specifically checking for sync probs, I didn't detect any.

I'm at work now but will specifically test it for sync later this evening.


For your info, this is the bracket I ordered from ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LCD-TV-TFT-Pl...ryZ48656QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


Hodman
 
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Having carefully checked all freeview channels and played a couple of DVD's, I can report no issues with audio/video sync on this set.

Just waiting for my bracket so that I can tilt it for optimum viewing angle.

Hodman
 
Thanks, all. Interesting info. I don't think the vertical dimming would be a problem because in the dining room where the set would be, we'd be sitting pretty much at eye level for viewing

Hodman: you mention plenty of adjustable picture settings. Do you mean sizing, because I've found with a lot of these cheaper combis that because many Freeview channels are broadcast in 4:3 you get black bars down each side, unless you select 'Wide' for full screen in which case everything's squashed and dumpy. (My 32" Panasonic in the lounge - a different quality league, I know - automatically compensates for this, giving a full-screen view without any format distortion.)

Incidentally, I wish the quality brands like, say, Sony and Toshiba, would do a 19"/20" combi. I tried a 20" Sony Freeview LCD recently and the sound quality against the DMTechs and Bushes of this world was like chalk and cheese. Much, much better. I'd be prepared to pay more, but combis seem to be frowned upon in more serious circles.

The reason I'm actively considering a combi is that at the moment in the dining room I have my LCD TV plus an outboard digibox and DVD player, and I simply want to get rid of the clutter and have one box do all three jobs. I don't even want to hook up to external audio - though I could - hence my priority on sound quality. Pic quality is, of course, important too.
 
Looking at the manual, picture settings are:
Picture Mode: vivid, standard, mild
Contrast
Brightness
Colour
Tint (for NTNC only)
Sharpness
Display Mode: Wide, 4:3, Original and Zoom
TV Display: 4:3 pan scan, 4:3 Letterbox, 16:9
DCE: Dinamic contrast enhancement
Blue Stretch
Green Stretch
Colour Temp.

For PC use there is:
Horizontal Size
Horizontal Position
Vertical Position
Auto Sync


Digital Audio Output offers:
Off, Raw & PCM

There are loads of other options in various menus.

Apart from the limited vertical viewing angle, I'm very pleased with the set. The sound output has a very good range with no distortion at high volume.

I would find it too small as a main set but perfect for the kitchen (the reason I bought it in the first place.

I hope the above is useful.

Hodman
 
Same model in JL and Costco and now same price - £295 or £299. The Costco guarantee is better than JL.

I've taken 2 of them back to Costco today. The first had something rattling about in its innards. The second had a couple of nuisance problems. You can have the screen in wide or 4.3 so half your programs are deformed. There's an 'original' setting which I hoped would maintain the original aspect ratio. It didn't. Also, the set kept switching back to mono on all analogue channels. You could select stereo but it wouldn't hold.

The sound is as good as you can expect from one of these sets but the unit is at the bottom of the quality ladder. Forget the German quality of Grundigs of yore. This is Bush/Alba. It does everything you ask but it's the Polski Fiat when there are Lexuses (Lexi?) about.
 
Cheers Hodman, does the tilt allow you to take it below horizontal? If not it won't be sufficient for me, either.
 
Chris,

here are some pics to illustrate the vertical tilt limitation and the obvious solution (adding a wall bracket).

The first two photos were taken before I fitted a bracket and with the tv's own stand fully tilted down.
You can clearly see how the screen darkens when sitting down.
The third picture shows the tv installed with a cantilever wall bracket which allows unlimited tilt and swivel. As you can see the picture is perfect whether standing up or sitting down).

It has to be said that this is where the tv 'budget' status is evident, the quality of the screen's backlight.
This seems to be more obvious on these small screen size tv's than larger ones.

Comet sell another version of this same tv without the DVD/SD features.
It was placed on a high shelf alongside other similar sized units from other makes (Toshiba, Sony etc.). Standing underneeth them, the Grundig lost most of it's brightness when the others were still showing an acceptable picture.

For information, I'm also including a photo of the rear connections which, as you can see, are pretty comprehensive.

Hope this is useful.
Hodman
 

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Hi Hodman and Chris,

I am very interested in this model which is still on sale at Costco.

The information you have given is very helpfull and I just wondered whether with the passage of time if you had any further comments good or bad before I go ahead.

Best wishes Waldoc .
 
I've just bought a GU19WDVDPCX from CostCo. I can't get it to display pictures correctly. Although it has a 16:9 in the menu, it doesn't display 16:9. I'm getting stretched pictures, so everyone looks taller than they are and circles are ovals. I'm not best pleased.
 

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