Which to go for, A321 or Q321?

Werewolf

Werewolf

Werewolf

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Hi

I'm looking at getting an LCD TV and both the A321 and Q321 have caught my eye as possible choice, but is there anything better for the same sort of price?

I don't really need digital tuner as we don't get DVB here but it could be handy for the future.
However the set would have to be good for TV (obviously), films/animation, and computer use (connected as a secondary display for HD playback and gaming).


Any suggestions?

Thanks :)
 
Both units have their plus points and its upto you which points attract you more.

Q321 - 1000:1 panel, DVI port is apparently better for linking PC for gaming as will give 1:1 pixelmapping depending on the VGA card you have. Has the built in DVB-T tuner.

Q320 - As above but with built in 14 in 3 multimedia player which you can watch movies, scroll through your digital pictures or play your downloaded MP3/WMA files.

A321 - 1200:1 panel, HDMI port which is better for HD TV but still able to connect PC via a DVI to HDMI cable (and VGA Cards will soon have HDMI out if you believe what the press are saying so this might change).


Both panels have a massive aray of connections. Many people are connecting Xbox 360 via the VGA cable from MS and have said that its a truly amazing picture.

Hope this helps a little.
 
thanks :
Do you know if the A321 will support the full 768x1366 via vga? (my current card only has one dvi output which i'm using) :)
 
Im pretty sure that it will only do 1024x768 through VGA but Ive not tested it - everyone says the link with the 360 is the best though so Im not too sure why if the res is that.....
 
Werewolf said:
thanks :
Do you know if the A321 will support the full 768x1366 via vga? (my current card only has one dvi output which i'm using) :)
Click to expand...

1360x768 is the best you can expect. You might have to force this res with powerstrip as well, the TV's EDID info is incorrect and reports as L17T!

I think I read on avs forums that graphics cards can't output 1366, although I haven't verified that on every gfx card / tv :D
 
With nvidia cards you can try to force 1360*768 (or 1368*768) using the custom settings to set both the the front and back end active pixels with display adaptor scaling. Every other setting will let the TV scale the picture.
 
cheers :)

It's getting more and more tempting (especially as my videocard has HD componant out anyway).

The problem is, I know that the moment I order a new TV a better one will come out cheaper :p
 
At £586 meh, This is on my list soon, I can see them going about £100 cheaper for xmas.

HD is just starting to be the norm now and SD tv will be phased out
 
I must admit i'm not so much after it as a HDTV (well for broadcasts at the moment), but because I need the space in my bedroom*, and it will look so much better on the worktop i'm planning to put in instead of my current desk :)


Oh, and it will be nice playing PC games on a huge screen :D





*the A/Q321 is about a third as deep as my current TV, and less than half the weight.
 
cheets64 said:
At £586 meh, This is on my list soon, I can see them going about £100 cheaper for xmas.

HD is just starting to be the norm now and SD tv will be phased out
Click to expand...

Guys, there is already a massive shortage of LCD and TFT panels due to demand over Xmas period - and due to this, I can tell you that there is more chance of the cost RISING £100 then dropping! But I can tell you definately that the price of LCD TV's and TFT's will increase over the next few months!
 
glad i just bought mine then :D
hopefully they deliver on Monday!
I`ll do a mini review for the A321 if anyone wants
 
Last edited:
I would remove that competitor name quick sharpish if I were you!

Heres what I posted about the A321 on AV Forums

Had to tweak the picture settings as the factory settings are terrible. The brightness and contrast were notched so high my eyes took a few minutes to recover.

Normal TV

The SD performance is pretty poor to be honest, which isn't that suprising for an LCD. The normal RF connection is a bit 'smeary' and fuzzy, through the Sky Link its a bit better. Certainly watchable from a distance but not a patch on the Sony CRT downstairs. Changing between channels is very slow and it can be slow to come out of standby. But does have a good wide viewing angle!!

HTPC and PC Gaming

VGA from the PC looks amazing! Have played DOD:Source on it and didn't notice any motion blurring (although I am used to gaming on LCDs anyway - a person who is used to CRT gaming will probably notice something) and the picture was great.

Hi-def content fed through Zoomplayer/Dscaler with ivtc looks gobsmackingly good on some films. Have seen a few 1080i films on it now and ones that have been encoded well look much better than DVD. The blacks are pretty characteristic of many LCDs that I have seen, lacking the fine details that CRTs and Plasmas have. But still certainly very watchable.

BBC HD also looks great. Some of Planet Earth could be used on demo reels! Even my technophobe parents noticed the difference between SD during Planet Earth.

Having a few GFX card issues with powerstrip so I'm still unsure if its running properly at 1360x768, over VGA it reports as a L17T so I guess this is the infamous EDID problem.

Xbox 360

Recently bought an Xbox 360 Premium, cracked it on via component and was dissapointed with the image having seen it via VGA on a friends monitor. The image was washed out and very dark. Went and bought a MS VGA cable and the difference was immediately obvious. The dashboard looks really crisp and vibrant, and playing the Dead Rising demo was like when I used to go to the arcades and see the difference between my SNES and Virtua Fighter 2 on a massive 50" screen :grin:

Sound

The speakers are average at best. Their range isn't very good but for normal use should be adequate for now. Looking to get an all in one maybe Yamaha AV package to sort out the sound. It really suffers in DD5.1 and DTS Movies where the voices are less pronounced and seem to merge in with the soundtrack/effects.

Haven't really played with the equaliser yet but have found the trusound setting best turned on.

Overall

Pros - Value for money, great when fed HD.
Cons - slow channel / standy operation, poor sound.

Pictures
Have attached a few pics for you all to check out, I'm not exactly a camera master so the quality is a bit variable. Will try and get some PC gaming and Xbox shots.







 
Yeah definately, make sure its the official MS one as well! I heard the latest Xbox 360 patch made unofficial cables less sharp :O

I have also found with the TV if you put the speakers either side then the sound is better but then you can see all the messy cables :(
 
tsinc80697 said:
glad i just bought mine then :D
hopefully they deliver on Monday!
I`ll do a mini review for the A321 if anyone wants
Click to expand...
i've been interested in the Q321 and the A321 for quite some time, would be much appreciated if you can do a review (or just a brief post of your opinions) of the tv :)

Barely Legal said:
Heres what I posted about the A321 on AV Forums
*snip*
Click to expand...
interesting read, i'll more than likely be getting buying an Xbox360 or in the new year anyway - shall keep the VGA cable in mind :)

cheers

edit:
wow... those BBC:HD screens are stunning. :eek:
how do you get BBC:HD (out of curiosity) is it free with Sky Digital/Freeview (etc) ?
 
Thanks Barely Legal, I strongly suspect i'll be placing an order for an A321 monday ;)

Just got to try and think of a way to tell my parents that i've just paid out £600 odd on a new TV ;)

One last question (if you don't mind), how well does stuff look coming in through the scart sockets?
I ask as i'll largely be using it to watch NTL via RGB scart, at least until they do a HD box with only films (and stuff from the PC) via VGA/componant
 
I went for the A321, and had Sky HD installed last Friday - very pleased with it so far. I didn't bother attaching its speakers.
 
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