Test of 26-inch LCD TVs: the little toilers of the TV front

Long gone are the days when vendors used to determine customer social class by the size of the diagonal of the purchased LCD TV. Until about five years ago, the relationship between the step of the social ladder and the number of inches was, oddly enough, inversely proportional – naturally, looking through the eyes of bored salespeople. If multi-diagonal LCD living room decorations were perceived as something really worth taking low-end credit for, their smaller counterparts were perceived as evidence of “gluttony”.

Today, “small” LCD TVs are bought for kitchens, cottages and children’s rooms. And consequently there are appropriate requirements for them – the comfort of use in small rooms. We probably won’t be mistaken if we assume that the lion’s share of TV usage with a small diagonal is in the kitchen, so let’s consider this segment of the TV market from the kitchen ergonomics point of view.

Taking into account that you often have to watch TV in the kitchen on the run, moving from the stove to the fridge and sink, perhaps the most important but not the only factor is the VISION CORNER.

Due to the matrix structure metaphorically speaking the direction of the crystals there is more distortion in transverse movement relative to the screen than in longitudinal one, therefore the vertical viewing angle is always smaller than the horizontal one. Before you buy, you should decide exactly where you are going to put the TV, because if the screen is below or above eye level, in most models you will see that the image turns white or black accordingly.

A common misconception is that if the screen is at eye level the loss of quality in the horizontal direction will be small, because all manufacturers indicate a horizontal angle of not less than 170 degrees. In fact some manufacturers honestly claim that you can get a comfortable picture only when viewing at an angle of 90 degrees./65 deg. horizontal/vertical , t. e. practically “at a distance”. So do not be surprised by “horizontal” distortion of many models when buying, for example, on the Internet – when in operation you have not seen the TV. There’s no cheating here, it’s just that this appliance is designed to work in slightly different conditions than you anticipated. So don’t be lazy to see the model in reality.

Another misconception is the claim that only Sharp TVs have a good vertical viewing angle. So it was a few years ago when producers of flat TVs could be counted on the fingers, but now the situation is different, the number of producers has increased, the model range has become more diverse, and some parties can be made in different places. Not bad indicators are found in some Philips and Toshiba devices – you need to look at the specific model.

An important factor when choosing is the location of connectors. If you are planning to hang the TV set directly on the wall, without swivel mounts, of course, then the entire user interface must not be placed on the back wall.

This design is very well implemented in many models of Hyundai TV sets, peculiarly implemented in Samsung devices – the rear panel is not homogeneous, but as if stepped. t. e. hang close you can, all connectors are “recessed”, and the connection is made from the bottom. Let us remind you that the “close to the wall” way of installation is acceptable, if the problem with the viewing area is already solved. t. e. If the viewer will look straight into the screen, it does not matter what viewing angle the TV has, but if the viewer is looking at the side or bottom, the viewing angle should be really good. Considering that many models with a good viewing angle have connectors on the back wall, mounting with a hanger makes it easier to use, especially since ventilation slots are often behind the case and manufacturers advise to leave at least 10 cm on each side to circulate cooling air.

Another factor that affects the comfort of connection is the location of the power supply – inside the device or in a remote version, depending on your taste.

It is clear that a remote power supply reduces the weight of the TV, while the internal one removes the necessity of hiding it in the depths of the kitchen cupboard – and vice versa. Many users are more sympathetic to the built-in power supply.

The ability to properly read video content from USB is more relevant for this segment of the TV market than for TVs with a large diagonal. k. Many people don’t want to put a DVD player in their kitchen.

It is worth mentioning that the presence of a USB plug in the device is not an indication of the ability to watch video. For example, some devices when working with an external source can only display image files and play music – such as Toshiba 15DV703 and Philips 19PFL5404. However, knowing the love of Philips engineers for regular posting of new firmware, there is hope that someday this TV will “wake up” to the status of “TV with built-in player.

Therefore, be careful when choosing, don’t be lazy to look in the manual or on the manufacturer’s website – otherwise you may face a situation when the USB-connector is made for service purposes Sharp LC-19S7 .

Two more factors are probably more important for “kitchen-garden” TVs than for their bigger brothers – good connectivity and the ability to adjust the image size.

If you need a DVD player in your kitchen that can be connected to an existing DVD player, it’s worth thinking about whether you’ll have to bother with adapters. If, for instance, you are planning to use the TV at the country house where they often take outdated equipment, the relevance of the commutation increases.

Strange as it may seem, not all widescreen models have a possibility to enlarge the image, and TV broadcasts in 4:3 format, and a certain part of people buy TV just to watch the air.

Of course, in order to choose the right TV set it is necessary to know exactly what it should be able to do. For example, if you plan to watch one channel with TV series/football in the kitchen, you don’t have to think about switching to DVD-player, channel switching speed, etc., but you can hang it right up close to the TV-set. d. If you need “all in one” – quality playback of terrestrial signal, video content and music – the task, of course, becomes more complicated. And it is moreover necessary to be very responsible in choosing a TV for a kid’s room – if you need it there at all.