1 |
Haier HLT71 7-Inch Handheld LCD TV |
  It works great. Rather than use the whip antenna it came with, I had an old set of “rabbit ears” sitting around the house and it works great with it. It receives all our local stations, and we’re about 10-20 miles away from the station. The only thing that needs improvement is the user interface, which is a bit more primitive than you’d expect in the 21st century, and it makes it a little hard to understand what to do sometimes. |
|
2 |
Axion AXN-8701 7-Inch Widescreen Handheld LCD TV with Built-In Tuner, Black |
 For those of us with insomnia who like noise in the background, this portable TV allows; 1. Your partner to sleep, 2. Great portability, and 3. A reasonable price. The picture is clear and crisp, sound is good. Only drawback is there is no volume control on the remote…. Works for me. |
|
3 |
Philips PET729/37 – 7 Inch LCD Portable TV / DVD Player |
 I stalled before i bought this little TV. I really didn’t want to pay full price for it but I really wanted it so I bought it. What a great little TV. Great picture, great reception, sound is expectable. One thing on the reception.. I never used the included antenna. I purchased a separate one named PowerHD-100. Its a little portable sturdy pop up hdtv antenna. Bought it here on Amazon for 29.99. I receive all the local channels except one. |
|
4 |
Innovative DTV Solutions DHT235D 3.5-Inch LCD Pocket Digital TV |
 We have used this tv only occasionally since June 2010. It works fine for a few minutes, then stops. The batteries heat up so much they can’t be touched. When we called the service center yesterday and explained the problem, they immediately directed us to return the tv which we did. They will either repair it or replace it. |
|
5 |
Viore PLC7V95 7-Inch Handheld LCD TV with Built-in Tuner |
 PLEASE DON’T BUY THIS LCD. |
Top 5 Portable TVs
Portable TV Buyers Guide
Have you been considering buying a portable TV for yourself or as a gift for someone else? Here’s a guide to help you with every step of the buying process: from making sure it’s the right form of technology for you needs, to selecting the actual model that you purchase.
Is Portable TV Right For Me?
Think of it this way: we have mobile phones and wireless internet. Television is the only thing that hasn’t necessarily caught up. But that doesn’t need to be the case. For some people, portable TV is the right choice. But for some, it isn’t.
For example, if you spend a lot of time in locations with free wireless access and you simply want to watch reruns or get caught up with local weather and news, then you can access all of these from your computer. If you only want sports scores and don’t care about watching the game itself, you can get these from your phone.
But if you want to watch sports as they happen, watch your favorite show when you know you’re always on the train as it airs, or have access to live weather radar from your car when you’re driving through rural areas—these are all good reasons to buy a portable TV. That’s because in all of these situations, you want up to the minute TV access, and you don’t have the internet access (or the internet doesn’t broadcast what you want live) to get it otherwise.
Features to look for
So once you’ve decided you’re looking to buy a portable TV, keep the following things in mind.
- Size. Generally, portable TVs come in two sizes: standard (7-inch screen) and handheld (2.5-inch screen).
- Format. Some of the standard variety are capable of playing widescreen formatted programming without cutting off the edges.
- Battery life. Handheld often lasts longer, but batteries are getting better. If you’ll go long lengths without plug-in access, check battery longevity.
- Display style. Most modern portable TVs have LCD screens, but some don’t.
- Channel capability. Most stations are moving from analog to digital broadcast, but there’s still some variety out there; a portable TV that can play both will ensure you can always tune in on whatever channels are available.
How To Choose A Portable TV
Choosing a portable TV is in many ways a fun process. By knowing that you want a portable model, you won’t have quite as many decisions to make as you would with a full-size TV (largely because full size models come in so many different sizes that the dimensions alone are a big decision).
But with portable TVs, there are two basic sizes that comprise the vast majority of the market, especially the most popular models: handheld (with 2-3 inch screens) and standard portable (with 7 in screens). The choice between these is one of the first choices you’ll need to make to help narrow down the market and pick the portable TV that best suits your needs. Here’s a run-down of this and other options:
- Style/size. As discussed above, there are two major styles of portable TV: standard and handheld. Standard has a larger screen, often delivers a clearer picture, and is easier for more people to view. Handheld is easier to carry around, uses less power, and is ideal for one person to view by themselves.
- Channels. This isn’t so much a decision as something to be on the look out for. Now that non-cable television is broadcast in digital format (instead of just analog), make sure you get a TV that can read digital. Since we’re still in a time of some transition, you may want to chose a model that gets both digital and analog channels. That way if you’re in an area that hasn’t made the switch, you won’t miss out on any channels.
- Display style. Many of the most popular, best-reviewed models use LCD technology for their displays, but others do not. If you’re partial to LCD or a certain other monitor style, know that there is some variation, so you should look for whichever kind you like best.
- Headphone jack. Almost all have this, but a few don’t. Unless you know you will always use the portable TV in a public space where built-in speakers are okay, you should really get one with a headphone jack so you can keep the sound to yourself (and hear it without having to compete with background noise).
Why Buy A Portable TV?
Portable TVs make watching your favorite television programming more convenient than ever. Sure, it’s always better to catch the big game, or the latest episode of your favorite show, at home in front of a big screen TV, sitting comfortably on the couch with some snacks on hand. But often, life is too busy for that. You may be on the train, or waiting in the drive through lane at the bank, or parked outside of your son or daughter’s school, waiting for them to be let out for the day.
When these are the times you’re sitting, wishing you could just flip through some channels and find something interesting to help you pass the time, then this is exactly why you should buy a portable TV.
For a long time, portable TVs have been limited to handheld models that got bad reception, had fuzzy pictures, and produced tinny sound. There are still handheld portable TVs, but anymore they get clear picture, clear sound, and very good reception.
But the handheld models have been joined by a larger, somewhat different, sibling. For a handheld TV, the screen is usually between 2 and 3 inches wide (usually around 2.3” or 2.5”). But with these newer styles, the screen is 7 inches wide.
Seven inches is a very good size, as this dimension allows you to prop the portable TV up on a desk, table, or even dresser. It can rest easily on your lap while you ride the train, or can be propped up—much like a picture frame—so you don’t have to hold it yourself to watch whatever show is on.
The newest portable TV styles have come a long way in terms of not just dimension, but technology as well. They boast a number of features. For example, most are LCD monitors with very bright, very clear pictures (some have high-brightness and high-resolution aspects built in). Many will pick up both digital and analog signals, so you have access to the most different channels possible.
With a portable TV, handheld or otherwise, you have more options at your fingertips (literally!) Catch the big game, check on the weather, or take in the news whenever and wherever you like.
Comments OffStandalone 7-Inch Portable TVs
There are many, many different portable TV models out there to choose from. The first portable TVs were almost all hand-held. They had screens between 2 and 3 inches across, tinny-sounding speakers, and tall antennas that were prone to breaking.
Today’s handheld portable TVs are much better, and many come in great colors, with LCD screens, and other cutting edge features. But many of the most popular portable TVs are a different style entirely.
Designed to stand on flat space, much like a picture frame, these larger, horizontally-aligned portable TVs are larger, clearer, and much easier to see. With a 7-inch screen being most popular (there are some 10-inch screens available, too), they offer a picture that’s significantly larger than the handheld TV, yet the set itself is still quite small and very portable.
Some of the most popular of these have several features in common:
- Overwhelmingly, the top portable TVs have LCD monitors, for a clear yet energy efficient picture; this helps the batteries (when batteries are used) last much longer.
- They often feature high-resolution and high-brightness technology, for an even more vibrant picture that’s especially good if you’re using the portable TV to watch a sporting event.
- Widescreen formatting. So much of our current TV lineup is actually broadcast in widescreen that if you’re TV can’t adjust to it, you might lose the edges of the picture. Thankfully, many portable TVs are widescreen equipped, so the size of your screen won’t limit your capacity to enjoy the whole of what you’re watching.
- Analog and digital capability. Since TV is being switched from analog to digital (but there’s still a little crossover in some areas), you want your portable set to be able to pick up both. This is particularly true because such TVs are often used for travel. What if you’re in an airport, or staying with a relative and want to watch the news in your room before you go to bed? Having access to whichever channels are available is the best way to get the fullest experience from your portable TV set.
Handheld Portable TVs
A portable TV is a very simple and very convenient way to get TV access to your favorite shows on the go. Sure, watching TV on a laptop is convenient if you happen to be within wireless range. But laptops can be a pain to lug around, and as soon as you’re out of range, you’re also out of luck.
With portable TVs, as long as there’s a signal in the air (and in most places, there’s plenty of TV signal to be found), you can watch TV. How many channels you have access to will depend on what’s standard for your area, but for news, weather, major network television shows, and major network sporting events, your portable TV will give you all the coverage you need. There are two main types of style when it comes to portable TVs: handheld and standalone.
We’ll focus here on the handheld option. These are very small, and are usually vertical in shape so that they can be held in one hand. (Some can be propped up with a little stand in the back, so you can set the handheld set on a table or any other flat surface.) Typically, the screen takes up the top half of the set and a speaker (or two) will take up the bottom half.
These usually have an antennae that can fold against the back of the set, and now that technology has progressed, they get a pretty good picture. The screen is often less than three inches across, and many modern handheld portable TVs use LCD screens to take up minimal space and deliver a very sharp, dynamically colored picture.
Price-wise, a handheld portable TV will usually cost between $50 and $90 for the most popular brands. A few will come in under that around $30, and you can also buy them used and refurbished to cut down on the price as well (although they’re not guaranteed to last as long). As with all things, there are always a few really fancy models that ring in hundreds of dollars higher than the rest, but for most people’s purposes, the $50-$80 range is more than sufficient for a product that delivers exactly what they want.
Comments Off
RSS Feed