Review: Evesham 32in Alqemi SX LCD TV

Evesham's original collection of flat-screen televisions, released last year, was budget-priced but with picture quality to match. The range has been revamped, redesigned and renamed, with the bigger screens now carrying the HD-Ready badge meaning they're capable of displaying high-definition images from Sky HD, Xbox 360 or compatible up-scaling DVD player.

With the Evesham 32in Alqemi SX, the main inputs of interest are the HDMI connector and component sockets, both of which can be used for displaying high-definition content.
There are also two Scart inputs, s-video and composite sockets. None of these lower-quality connections result in a particularly good picture, though.

The Alqemi SX comes with a digital tuner (or rather, both analogue and digital tuners) for picking up Freeview broadcasts.

The interface and programme guide for digital television are both well designed and easy to use, unlike those on many cheaper TVs. Freeview is not high-definition, however, so on this screen both analogue and digital television look pretty poor because they're enlarged so much. The answer is to plug in a high definition set-top box, such as Sky HD, the forthcoming NTL/Telewest V box or the Evesham iPlayer.

As with all such screens, the Alqemi SX can be used as a computer monitor, by connecting a PC to the VGA port of the display. Picture quality is good, although our test PC found it hard to select the correct resolution for the screen. Over the HDMI and component connections, however, the display quality is excellent, considering the price of the screen.

Compared to a Sony Bravia (at twice the price), picture quality doesn't really compare, but the Evesham is still very good for the price. The only qualm we have in recommending it is that, with the speed at which LCD prices are dropping, it's becoming possible to pick up similar sets with two HDMI ports or better features, at the same price.

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