FANTASTIC 7 inch portable LCD TV !
I am really thrilled with my purchase of this Haier HLT71 7-inch ATSC 2009-ready portable LCD TV! I have never heard of this name brand Haier and I had heard many nightmare stories about some of the other name brands having poor pictures on these little screens so I thought I'd give this Haier a try.
I ordered this tv directly from Amazon and it came to me from a seller on Amazon who goes by the name ANTOnline. The seller sent this perfect and fast to start with which is always a big plus with me. When I opened the box the set looked very sleek and light weight just perfect! The tv I received is exactly like the picture shows in this description black (it is the picture that has the remote control next to the tv) with really simple control buttons on the front. I then looked at the directions but realized I didn't need to read them at all! Everything is really obvious! The set has a little slide switch on the side to turn on the power. The antenna screws in really easy. It comes with a plug for the inside electrical outlet and a plug for the car lighter and a lightweight rechargeable battery! It has a little remote control which they made very easy to read! After screwing on the antenna (or you can attach your cable cord if you are using it in the house) I basically plugged it in slid the power switch on pressed the button to scan for setting the channels and it does it quickly! In about 1 minute it was set! I then tried the small battery and it played perfectly without the electric power!
The picture is absolutely gorgeous as it has the new atsc digital signal receiver built in! To see the local programs in digital on this little screen was fantastic! Colors are crisp sharp and vivid just like a big hdtv!
I have noticed that some reviews are giving this tv a low rating because it did not pick up any channels with the single rabbit ear that comes with the set. This tv picks up EVERY signal that is being broadcast in your area. Before you buy this tv you should first go to a website called Antenna Web. On this site you type in your address and it will show you exactly how many channels you can receive in your area and what type of antenna you will need to pick up the signals. Antenna Web said that in my area I could receive 8 signals and the single rabbit ear that comes with this tv picked up all 8 channels. When I used a stronger antenna I picked up 3 more channels. When I used my cable cord I received over 60 channels and when I used my cable cord with my box I picked up 250 channels. Whatever I hooked up to the coaxial input on this tv this tv picked up! If you live in an area that receives no broadcast signals or you need a high powered antenna to pick up anything it is not the tv's fault but your broadcasters. So if you want to be certain your tv is picking up the signals correctly go to Antenna Web and check to see what channels you can get in your area and what type of antenna you need to pick up the signals. My single rabbit ear picked up everything including the hi-def channels and the reception was crystal clear. (Also don't forget to go to the tv's menu and hit the little satellite dish picture then hit the appropriate air or cable before you scan for your channels. This way you'll be certain your tv will receive the correct signals.)
The real plus for me on this tv is the battery because of so many electrical outages and bad storms this is a must have item! The battery has a life of about 2-2 1/2 hours perfect for a few shows while waiting out bad weather or even for entertainment when traveling. The fantastic picture really blew me away. I just love the light weight of the tv even with the battery it's like a feather! There is even a built in stand to put it on a table! The sound is incredible as well- two speakers and really loud! This is unheard of on these small sets! They even thought of including a plug in for headphones if you have them (headphones are not included) for quiet listening or for travel! Whoever designed this perfect set knew what they were doing!
I am giving this perfect little tv 5 stars for being able to see a sharp vivid gorgeously colored hi-def picture and set up without reading a direction but especially because I can play it in my house in my car or carry it anywhere with the rechargeable battery all at a great price too!
UPDATE: Haier vs. Axion 7 inch portable tv's
I am posting an update for anyone who is wondering what the differences are between these two portable tv's. A friend of mine purchased the Axion and she immediately brought it over to compare it to my Haier. Here is what I found:
RECEPTION: Antenna Web said I could receive 8 channels in my area. With the single rabbit ear antenna Haier picked up all 8 channels. Axion picked up 7 channels but one channel was very fuzzy. When attaching a cable cord both sets picked up everything.
SOUND: For these small sets the sounds were very similar but when turning the volume louder the Haier was louder and not as tinny sounding as the Axion.
PICTURE: Both have very nice pictures with great color but the Haier definitely has a more hi-def sharper looking picture.
REMOTE CONTROL: Haier's is easier to read larger and has volume control where Axion's is smaller and has no volume control.
BATTERY: Haier's battery is a plug in and lasts about 2 hours before needing charging. Axion's battery is built in cannot be removed and lasted a little less than 1 hour before needing to be charged.
Overall the sets are very similar my personal choice being the Haier as I think the picture is sharper the price is better and the battery lasts longer for my needs in bad weather. Haier also has way more picture settings and adjustments in the tv's menu but the pictures on both these sets are so great I've never found a need to use them. The bottom line for me is the better picture and price give the edge to Haier since the reception on these two sets is almost identical.
JUNE 12th2009 NEWS UPDATE ON THE DIGITAL CHANGE:
I just read an article on the new digital change taking place titled CHANGE TO DIGITAL TV BROADCASTS ALREADY GETTING POOR RECEPTION. And they mean POOR RECEPTION literally. The article says the following: Many broadcasters across the country are transmitting the new digital signals with temporary transmission towers just to meet the June 12th deadline. Permanent new towers are needed in order to move to a new higher frequency broadcast that should be easier for people's antennas to pick up. Once the new towers are built probably later in 2009 the stations will change to another channel and everyone will have to re-scan their t.v.'s to receive all the new digital channels. Unlike the old analog signals you will never have any snow or static on your set you will either have a perfect picture or one that is totally unwatchable. At this time with so many broadcasters transmitting with temporary towers you need a powerful antenna to receive anything on your set. I thought this article very important to let everyone know that right now a powerful antenna is needed for reception but by the end of the year the permanent towers should be built and running full power and that means any antenna should pick up everything. More importantly remember to scan again to re-program your tv channels after June 12th and again later in the year when all the permanent towers are up. This will get you all the stations that will be changing to a new channel with the new frequencies. I hope this helps everyone so they'll get the most channels out of their tv's!
UPDATE: MISSING OR NO CHANNELS AFTER DIGITAL CHANGE
This is an update for anyone who has lost channels or who has no channels after the digital change took place June 12 2009 whether you re-scanned or not. I received this information to share with all of you from contacting the FCC CBS Antenna Web and Elgato Systems Technical Support. They were all very helpful in explaining to me what exactly is going on right now which is this: Half of the nations tv stations (which at half is 1760 stations) are running at full power the other half of 1760 stations are not. Some stations are completely off the air temporarily and are available only through cable and satellite. In most major markets some channels are still in lower frequencies which many smaller antennas will NEVER pick up except MAYBE with the highest powered amplified antenna. Digital tv was originally planned to be broadcast in UHF (digital loop antenna needed) which are the higher channels. VHF (rabbit ears) which are the lower analog channels (2-13) was supposed to be gone but it is not. The new digital tv is being broadcast in 2 different ranges both UHF and VHF. In other words channels are missing many channels are in frequencies we cannot pick up and only half of our stations are running at full power! What a mess! Antenna Web is now showing the new RF (Radio Frequency) channels in your area. Each station has 1 RF channel. If you see in your area any low RF channels from 1-13 range you will need a really high powered antenna to MAYBE receive your channels.
First go to your tv to re-scan. Remove any batteries. Plug it in to the wall outlet. Find the satellite dish in your menu and set it to air (if using antenna) or cable (if cable is hooked up)and scan. You may have to do this several times and even more re-scans are needed over the next year or two!
The FCC recommends if you are getting nothing or very few channels to do the following before re-scanning:
1.) Re-orient the antenna
2.) Amplify the antenna (Not recommended by me as these antenna's need electricity which means it will be useless when used with the battery)
3.) Purchase a new HD antenna that will receive both VHF and UHF
When you buy an hd antenna for your set try re-scanning it when you get home a few times to see what you get if nothing works return it and try another. (After re-scanning make sure you try the tv with your battery to see what you can pick up for power outages.) Eventually one will work for your area and you'll be set for the next power outage. With only 1/2 the stations at full power many channels temporarily missing that went to cable and dish tv and many running on low analog frequencies it's amazing our antenna sets are picking up anything right now! Shop till you get a good antenna for your area and be patient as it will be years before everything is being broadcast in higher frequency digital tv! I hope this helps everyone as the right antenna is everything right now!
UPDATE: MORE HAIER BATTERIES ARE FINALLY HERE! (September 26 2009)
I am so happy that Haier has finally made more batteries available to purchase here on Amazon! Just type in Haier Battery and you'll see many sellers have them advertised and the prices are very competitive starting at $24.00 plus shipping. I received mine quickly tested it and we got a little over 4 hours of television with 2 batteries which will be wonderful when we need a portable for the next power outage!(Without power I recharged them in my car.)I've had my tv for over a year now and it's still like new so paying for an extra battery is definitely worth it!
INFO ON PENNEY'S TV ADVERTISED ON THIS PAGE FOR $49.99: I purchased the Penneys 7 inch portable TV on this page. It's another great set- great picture great sound better digital receiver as I got 13 channels compared to the 8 channels I get with the Haier using only the single rabbit ear antenna that comes with the sets. I've used both during a recent power outage. The Haier is better because of the removeable batteries giving me 2-2 1/2 hours per battery but for the $50.00 set- you get 2 hours of tv with more channels and you can also recharge the Penneys tv in your car lighter! If you buy the Penneys set scanning is a bit more complicated keep pressing the arrows both over and down until you get the scanner going.
More detail ...
0 comments:
Post a Comment