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ViewSonic expands line of 'budget' LCD TVs

Candace Lombardi
In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.
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Candace Lombardi

ViewSonic, the California-based company known for its budget LCDs of decent quality, on Friday released two new larger high-definition LCD TVs with integration capacities.

The 37-inch N3751w, estimated at $999, and the 42-inch N4251w, estimated at $1,499, have many of the functions that until recently were only found on higher-end TVs.

The features on these two new larger models are very similar in functionality to ViewSonic's 32-inch N3251 (click here for review). For example, they come with a built-in ATSC (HD-ready) tuner for receiving over-the-air digital and HD channels, and can handle 1366-by-768-pixel resolution video, the company says.

Both are compatible with HDCP and HDMI formats, and can connect to HD set-top boxes and DVD players. VideoSonic's 37- and 42-inch versions have S-video and component (YPbPr) outputs, SPDIF connections for setting up 2x10W Dolby audio, and a VGA (PC) connection for playing HD video or regular applications from a computer, the company says.

The HDTVs also come with explicit color and photo-illustrated guides for setting up DVD players, video games consoles and external audio systems.