Boy, oh boy!
I was scouting around for an LCD TV for my love nest bedroom and after a few days of scouting, I immediately fell in love with this: a Panasonic Viera TX-32LX800M.
The price was a nice S$799. A tad high for a 32-incher with a 1,366 x 768 resolution; even the salesman at Best Denki was asking me why i chose this particular model as there are cheaper ones around. I replied that I like the marketed feature set.
- 100Hz Motion Picture Pro
- IPS Alpha Panel
10,000:1 High Contrast with Intelligent Scene Controller- 24p Playback
- VIERA Link and SD Card Slot
(useless to crow about)
The main draws were the 100Hz and the IPS Alpha panel. Most 100Hz LCD TVs are definitely in a higher price range than this. Sony’s were above S$1k, which was too much for me to spend on. And those were not even 1080p-capable. A 100Hz panel would “smoothen” out fast motion, by drawing an extra frame in between. This is handled by the TV itself, through some magic of algorithms. Since I’m mainly using this for my Wii and PS3, it would definitely help. The IPS Alpha panel (link is very market-speak by the way) is enticing as I’ve always heard of S-PVA or IPS panels being superior in quality as standard TN panels, which you find in your everyday cheap LCD monitors.
The other specs are just bonuses. A high contrast ratio means nothing to me, everything is super high now. The 24p playback is useful since I will definitely be playing movies off my PS3. The VIERA link is bsaically a HDMI remote, controlling devices via the HDMI cable. Not sure what else I can hook up via HDMI, except my PS3 and PC, so it won’t be particularly useful, unless there is some awesomely outrageous must-have gadget in the near future. The SD card slot is simply a cute feature.
All in all, money well spent! 
