Featured Brands
Other TV Brands
Most Popular TVs
Grundig Lenaro 37 LXW 94-8640 FHD
The Grundig Lenaro 37 LXW 94-8640 FHD TV is a 37" (94 cm) LCD flat-panel TV which combines smart operation with a neat range of optional extras. The full HD set has been on the market since spring 2007, and retails for about 1,800 GBP.
Florian Friedrich, April 11, 2007
- The brilliant picture and high quality HD mode are impressive.
- The remote control is clear and handy, and the screen menu is user-friendly.
- A little too thrifty: Only one HDMI input is clearly not enough.
- Relocation: The headphone socket is on the back of the unit.
Good picture, easy operation, and both at a fair price. Who could say no? Grundig is a traditional German brand, but which currently belongs to the Turkish company Koç-Holding. Nevertheless, there is a dedicated factory assembling Grundig TVs in Turkey.
Development is mostly carried out in Nuremberg, in what used to be the largest Grundig factory, but a small amount now takes place in Turkey's sunnier climes. The multicultural cooperation is proving successful - the Lenaro 37 LXW 94-8640 FHD gets our seal of approval.
2x 
1x 
1x
Digg
del.icio.us
Reddit
GoogleFeatures
Screen Resolution and Connectivity:
Despite the relatively small screen, at 37", the Lenaro brings you the full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The remaining specifications of the set are, however, less spectacular.
Two Scart sockets are the minimum for this audiovisual age, and the YUV input is indispensable for HD devices. A single HDMI input is rather on the stingy side for a TV of the year 2007, even taking into consideration the DVI-I socket Grundig provides (this is a combined connection for analog and digital signals). On the side of the unit, you will find a camcorder input, but not headphone jack, as is customary - this has been banished, rather awkwardly, to the back of the TV.
Built-in TV Receiver for Analog Signals:
The 37 LXW 94-8640 FHD's built-in TV receiver only accepts analog cable signals. Do not fear, however - Grundig does offer a range of compact external digital receivers, which use its "own brand" "Service G-Bus" connection, as well as a Scart connection. Armed with these, the TV can also display digital signals.
The module for cable TV, the DCR 1786 P, costs about 130 GBP, as does the satellite version, the DSR 1776 P. The DVB-T receiver, the DTR 1760, comes at a more affordable 90 GBP. Once connected, the receiver boxes slip seamlessly into the TV's user interfaces. The modules are not, however, designed for HDTV, and they do take up one of the Scart sockets.
Operation
Remote Control and On-Screen Menu:
Grundig has kept a consistent basic layout for both their remote controls and on-screen menus for more than ten years, and both are still exemplary. The handset is ergonomic and compact, and important buttons are easily located. The remote is also supposed to be able to control a number of common DVD players, which can lead to some labeling confusion.
Likewise, it takes many users a while to find the "Picture Format" button - you hardly notice it to the right of the "0" button. Also, if you are looking for the screen menu, you might well choose to press "Menu" or "Top Menu" - the correct button is "I" (for Information). The user does memorize these quirks quite quickly, and can then look forward to using a clear menu, with a built-in, indexed user-manual.
Cable TV Connection and EPG:
The initial setup for the cable TV connection goes off without a glitch. The Grundig sorts all the channels into a practical order and automatically recognizes most of the channel names. The Lenaro 37 LXW 94-8640 FHD offers a fully featured Electronic Program Guide (EPG) for the analog cable connection, but for the add-on tuners, this only works for the current program, providing little more than is available in conventional Teletext. One more thing - the Grundig does not automatically change the picture format for the add-on tuner signals.
TV and DVD Picture Quality
The Grundig does a good job of processing the analog cable signal, but it does not go about it sincerely. There is some trailing at edges, making the picture look a little artificial, and the rather coarse sharpness control hardly helps. If you turn it down, you do lose the ghost edges, but the image looks a bit flat.
The comb filter (this is supposed to cleanly split the color and black/white information, which comes mixed in analog signals), does not work with exact precision, so the colors occasionally flicker on news tickers. Aside from this faux pas, the Grundig displays colors very naturally, even when viewed from the side - unusual for LCD screens.
The Lenaro 37 LXW 94-8640 FHD behaves similarly when receiving its imagery from a DVD player connected to the Scart-RGB socket. Here again, color borders and scrolling texts show trails, which can only be avoided by turning down the brightness, causing the picture to lose some detail.
Color Fidelity and Temperature:
An obvious, blotchy blue cast is visible in the darker scenes from the film "Panic Room", robbing the image of its depth, but apart from that, the color fidelity makes a good impression. Only skin tones show a slightly pink hue, and in black-and-white scenes, the grey tones occasionally look somewhat blue.
Also, the color temperature control does not work perfectly - at lower values, it makes the picture look a little bronzed. To get acceptable overall color, you have to make do with a slightly cooler color temperature setting.
HDTV Picture Quality
The Grundig is in top form when combined with an HD DVD or Blu-ray player. Reproducing details with painstaking accuracy, it even shows up the tiniest wrinkles in the actor's face in "Mission: Impossible 3".
A light waxy effect can be observed when the camera flies over the wood paneling in "Ice Age 2". The absurd crane-climbing sequence from the Blu-ray version of "Casino Royale" is rendered in scrupulous detail, and kindly without overscan. The Lenaro 37 LXW 94-8640 FHD will also accept pictures in the movie-style 24p format, if the player supports it.
Computer Operation and Sound Quality
Computer Operation:
PCs signals are displayed perfectly through the DVI input, since the TV runs in its native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and reproduces the full picture. Digital photos from the PC are crisp, and videos are sharp.
Sound Quality:
Grundig's long-standing HiFi tradition is still clearly noticeable in the Lenaro 37 LXW 94-8640 FHD. Speech is possibly a bit bass-heavy though with the factory settings, but this can be easily fixed using the equalizer. The Grundig then gives a realistic, powerful sound, with clear, pure high tones, and even classical movie soundtracks come across intricately and naturally. Compared to many other flat-panel TVs, this set clearly has the upper hand.
Settings for the best home-theatre performance*
Preset Mode: Manual
Brightness: ca. 50%
Color Intensity: ca. 55%
Contrast: ca. 85%
Sharpness: ca. 33%
White Balance: ca. 33% (7,500 K)
Noise Reduction: Off
Comb Filter: Off
Perfect Clear: Off
* applied to realistic playback from HD-DVD/Blu-ray material through the HDMI interface in a darkened environment. Manufacturing and HDMI playback device deviations may necessitate slight adjustment.
Quick Points Summary
Value for money: Grundig offers top quality at a fair price. Features include a swivel stand and a gorgeous finish.
A little barren: Only two Scart sockets and one HDMI input. Despite the side-mounted camcorder connection, Grundig chose to relegate the headphone jack to the back panel.
Handy: The only irritation is the confusing dual-labeling of some buttons for use with a DVD player.