The Olevia LCD HDTV Series

Do a search for the best-reviewed HDTVs online, and you'll see plenty of familiar names: Sony, Panasonic, Sharp, Samsung, and others, all with similar high quality and similar prices. But there is often one unfamiliar brand listed up there along with the top performers: Olevia. Their claim to fame is an HDTV with comparable quality to the big-name, well-known brands, but a significantly lower price. How do they do it?

Olevia is a new company, based in the USA. It is a division of Syntax-Brillian, which also owns Vivitar, a camera manufacturer. Olevia markets their HDTVs around the world, and builds them with components from other HDTV manufacturers, such as LG and Sharp. By finding the best deals on high quality components, manufacturing them in the most efficient way possible, and keeping margins low, Olevia can often beat the other guys at their own game, with their own parts. They use a simple naming convention, with a 2,3,4,5,and 7 series:

The 3 Series
The 3 series is the most basic, and includes 5 models ranging from 23 inches to 42 inches. They support up to 720p/1080i resolution, and do not include tuners. Many 3 series sets can be had for under 500 dollars.

The 5 Series
The 5 series is a step up- they have ATSC/NTSC tuners, and a better video processor. The size range in the 5 series is 27 to 42 inches. The 65 inch 565H is often included in the 5 series, but it is an LCoS projection TV, not an LCD. The 5 series sets support up to 720p/1080i resolution, and generally run from about $400 to $1000.

The 7 Series
The 7 series is the top of the line for Olevia, and is only available with a 42 or 47 inch screen. These sets use the highest quality parts, giving them a picture virtually unbeatable by other manufacturers. They also deliver a full 1080p resolution.

The 2 and 4 Series
The 2 and 4 series are newer, and don't always follow the rules of the other series. To find out more about these, click here.

One neat feature of the Olevias is upgradeable firmware: when the research and development team at Olevia updates the software in the sets, customers can load it into their HDTV through the set's USB port.

For Olevia's current HDTV lineup, go to FlatHDTV.net/Olevia.