Monday, November 06, 2006

Dell 2005FPW with the LG LST-3510A HDTV receiver

I have a two year old Dell 20.1" widescreen LCD display (2005FPW). I also have three LG LST-3510A HDTV receiver/DVD players. Just so any Googlers might be curious, yes you can watch HDTV on your DVI capable LCD monitor and this receiver. No, you can't watch upconverted DVDs, at least not with the firmware in this particular 3510A (1.93), it gives me a warning about needing a HDCP connection and refuses to play. HDTV is a little distorted, as the 2005FPW is not a true 16:9 monitor (closer to 16:10), but it looks fine driven at 720p.

I like the 3510A as an HDTV receiver. I bought this particular unit for $49 shipped via an eBay auction, The low price due to the description saying it couldn't play DVDs well. Well, guess what? I don't care. It's a sensitive, reliable, flexible HDTV tuner and that is what matters to me. I can hook it up with DVI, VGA or component connectors to any number of display devices. Plus, it has both coax and optical digital audio connectors. I got another one cheap (not as cheap) with the preferred 1.91 firmware because the seller didn't know how to get it out of Spanish menu mode.

Here's its manual.

As is typical, neither eBay units came with remotes. Luckily, my third unit has a remote. Also, you can get most (not all, the DVD arrow keys are wrong) of the functionality from a cheap One-For-All remote. The One-For-All even has the codes for a proper fast forward/reverse on the DVD player, which the original remote does not have. Even the Harmony remote database has a few holes, so I'm glad to have at least one master remote.

Actually, I have little clue how people choose the proper eBay price for one of these things. I just saw an auction close for $58+shipping on a unit which was clearly marked as broken and being sold for salvage/repair. But it did come with a remote.

I don't really need 3 HDTV receivers. This third one is a family gift.