GROUP TEST
FIVE EAST PIECES
HEAD
21-INCH NICAM TVs
COPY
Hitachi C2146TN £379.99
Whilst most TV manufacturers seem to want to
conceal the stereo speakers on their NICAM TVs Hitachi are not afraid to make a
feature of them on the C2146TV. They’re stuck out on the sides of the screen
where they add a to the overall width of the set, making it seem a little larger
than it actually is, though it’s none the worse for that.
Hitachi have played it fairly safe with the
features. In addition to NICAM and fastext it has a semi-automatic set-up
routine, twin SCART AV inputs on the back, a set of front-mounted AV sockets
(including an S-Video connector), on/off timer and a full set of menu-driven
on-screen displays. Tuning operations are carried out from the remote control;
the sweep tuner gives the user the option to set the order in which stations
appear, a teletext channel ident appears at the bottom the screen.
Incidentally, the remote handset will also control the main functions on
Hitachi VCRs.
Selections from the on-screen menu are made
using the fastext colour buttons, which takes a little getting used to but in
the end it’s just as quick as the more usual number or moving cursor systems
used by other manufacturers. In fact the set is very well behaved, though
actual channel changing is comparatively slow, and the picture takes a moment
or two to settle between stations.
The picture is reasonably sharp, with a good
contrast range, even in strong ambient light, though colours are a mite
restrained, moreover the factory default on our sample had the saturation set a
little too high. Sound performance is fair to middling. In spite of the
wide-set speakers stereo seperation is not appreciably better than rival
models, the stereo-wide option helps expand the soundstage a little but it only
really comes alive on heavily engineered soundtracks. Average picture and sound
but a very fair price.
HE Rating 75%
HITACHI SALES (UK) LTD. Telephone 0181-849
2000
Panasonic
HE Rating
PANASONIC UK LTD. Telephone (01344) 862444
Philips 21PT532B, £379.99
Philips are currently riding high with their
top-rated big-screen sets and if the 21PT352 is anything to go by they’ll be
enjoying a similar level of success with their latest 21-incher. They’ve
adopted the same styling cues as the larger sets, and the side mounted, forward
facing speakers give it an agreeably chunky appearance.
Operationally it’s good news from the word go,
with a very smooth on-screen display, that leaps out of the bottom of the
screen and scrolls back down with a colour-coded menu selection. It has both
manual and automatic installation; the auto system works well, though the tuner
is quite sensitive and will store weaker stations, that have to be weeded out
using the channel sort facility, and this can take a while.
It’s unusally well featured for the price.
Top of the list has to be individual picture and sound settings for each
channel. This takes care of the small but annoying differences between
broadcast TV and external sources like VCRs, satellite tuners and video disc
players. It also has channel naming, programme list, a headphone socket with
its own volume control, spatial sound, child lock, sleep-timer, 16:9 display
mode for widescreen material, picture tint and sharpness controls. The remote
handset is quite unusual too, it has a set of programmable keys that can be
assigned to frequently used functions, and it will control Philips VCRs. In
addition to twin SCARTs and a front AV terminal there’s a pair of stereo
line-audio outputs on the back panel.
No complaints about picture quality, it’s
bright with bags of contrast, colours look clean and lifelike. The speakers are
quite directional, they deliver a surprisingly full-bodied sound with better than average seperation. Definitely
one for the short list, a fine performer, lots of useful features, and very
reasonably priced.
HE Rating 95%
PHILIPS CONSUMER ELECTRONICS. Telephone
0181-689 4444
Sony KV-X2182U £499.99
The moment the KV-X2182 is switched on it’s
obvious that the picture is going to be special. Even before it has been tuned
in, with a screen full of noise, the Hi Black Triniton tube gives a real sense
of depth. It looks good too, compact, uncluttered with smoothly curving lines
and discreet side-facing speakers. Sony have kept tried to keep it as simple to
use as possible, and that’s reflected in the two-faced remote handset. On one
side there’s a set of basic, everyday channel, text and volume controls; turn
it round in its sleeve and there’s a full set of function buttons and controls
for Sony VCRs.
The set has automatic, or manual set-up
routines. In the auto mode one button press triggers the sweep tuner which
seeks out all locally available stations and assigns them channels numbers, in
the usual order. Channel idents of up to five characters can be composed using
the manual tuning options. The multi-lungual menu controlled on-screen display
uses the fastext colour buttons to access the various options, which covers all
picture and sound adjustments, plus special functions like the sleep timer and
parental lock. Normal stereo sound is augmented by a spatial effect and
loudness presets; additional picture adjustments cover hue and sharpness, and
there’s a 16:9 mode, for replaying widescreen-recorded material.
On the back panel there’s a pair of SCART
sockets; a concealed AV terminal (including an S-Video and headphone socket) is
on the front. AV inputs and outputs are configured from the OSD.
Picture quality is excellent, vibrant and
detailed with pin-sharp registration and vivid colours. Unfortunately this is
not quite matched by the sound output, which at best is fairly average.
Frequency coverage is good though, and the NICAM sound is very clean, but the
side mounted speakers produce a muddy stereo image. A treat for the eyes but
the sound is a bit ordinary and the price is on the steep side, even for Sony.
HE Rating 80%
SONY UK LTD
Telephone (01932) 816000
Toshiba 2145DB, £449.99
Toshiba give audio quality a high priority on
their top-end TVs, and this has filtered down to their smaller-screen models,
including the 2145DB, which has a Quadryl sound system. This utilises a pair of
additional forward-firing speakers mounted on the top of the cabinet. Sounds
from these speakers reach the listener a fraction of a second after the main
speakers, creating a fatter, more dramatic sound.
The cosmetics are fairly restrained; the
Quadryl speakers peer slightly over the top of the cabinet but they’re not
intrusive and the styling is generally quite pleasing.
There’s a set of function, channel change and
volume up/down buttons, behind a hinged flap on the front panel, along with a
AV terminal that include both composite and S-Video inputs. Around the back
there’s a pair of SCART sockets and an unusual picture centring control which
can be safely ignored as it’s factory set.
The rest of the feature list is fairly
routine. It has a sleep timer and auto-off facility, that switches the TV off
in the absence of a signal, handy for those who fall asleep in front of the TV.
The initial set-up and AV adjustments are carried out using the on-screen
display. Tuning is semi automatic and quite long-winded as it involves a fair
amount of button pushing. The on-screen display is used for all AV adjustments,
there’s no menu as such, displays appear as and when function buttons are
pressed.
On-screen performance is qood, the picture is
crisp with plenty of detail, colours are bright and natural looking. Quadryl
sound is a big improvement over the usual two-speaker stereo on most other 21-inch
sets, there’s a quite distinct feeling of depth, though stereo separation is
not markedly better than its rivals. A beefy sound and fine picture, well worth
considering.
HE Rating 85%
TOSHIBA UK LTD. Telephone (01276) 62222
BOX COPY 1
THE BEST OF THE BUNCH
Picture quality
Sound quality
Cuteness factor
Best features
Build quality
Overall value for money Philips 21PT532B
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Ó R. Maybury 1995 1209
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