Haier HLT71 7-Inch Handheld LCD TV
by Haier
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List Price: Our Price: $120.00 You Save: $9.99 (8%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $59.99 (click here) Category: Home Theater See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Haier HLT71 7-Inch Handheld LCD TV
Customer Review: It's OK for the price I guess
Summary: 3 Stars
Was walking through Targ*** two days ago and saw about 75 of these on clearance for $32. Apparently reduced from $139. Maybe, maybe not. Would seem awfully overpriced at that original amount. The clearance stickers plastered over each other went $139, $119, $99, $79 then $32. Guess they couldn't shift them. But hey, at $32, I'll try it out. I've no idea who "Haier" are...never heard of them.
For the price, I guess it's OK. I'm right at the east end of the Phoenix valley. Beyond here, it's pretty much just coyotes and cactus, so the antenna is probably desperately trying to find a decent signal. No luck really. But connecting it to the cable worked a charm. Found all the channels no problems. Tried a couple of other antennas (including a powered signal amplifier type) but didn't achieve much better results. Well yes I pulled in a couple of extra Spanish language stations, but my Spanish skills are limited to saying "tortilla" "por favor" or "feliz navidad". Picture quality ? I imagine we get so used to HD these days that anything less looks pixelated and fuzzy, but the picture on this is fine. Not brilliant, certainly not high definition by any stretch of the imagination but it's pretty much what I expected. Looks like a TV picture, works like a TV. Does what it says, not expecting it to sing and dance.
I like the rubberized surround, feels like it could take a few minor knocks. The control buttons themselves are the usual cheap silvery plastic we see all the time but they work, so that's no problem. Other than those, it seems like quite a solid piece of equipment. I usually never read manuals. I like to "plug and play" and see how intuitive the operation is. I like the RCA inputs for connecting external video/audio sources and the vehicle lighter socket connection could come in handy. It has a remote control too which is a nice touch, although I haven't tried that out yet. I'll also have to plug the mini USB in and see what happens (or I could just "RTFM" if you know what I mean). (Edit: Just connected the TV USB port into the computer. Just gives an error. The USB port is not even mentioned in the manual. Future development perhaps?)
So for my money, it's fine. The price was at a kind of sweet point for me. Nice price reduction and not too much to hand over even if it didn't work as expected. I'll probably keep it around to play with it and find where in the house or in the field that it operates best. Or I could rewrap it and give it to someone as a Christmas present.
Feliz navidad!
Customer Review: Great little tool for photographers!
Summary: 4 Stars
This review is based on the TV strictly as a photographer - I did not use the Antenna/TV-Functions of it.
Most cameras nowadays include video-out functions - mostly to connect to a TV or monitor and display your photos without needing to download them to a computer. Some cameras (most DSLR's and some point and shoots) allow you to see the photos live as they're taken, or even see the live preview ("Live View") before the shot is taken. That's what makes this a neat little item!
Before getting this, I looked at various models - I ended up with the Haier for 3 reasons: Battery life was good, it uses a normal A/V input (Red, White, Yellow -- a lot used a proprietary connector), and it has a tripod mount on the bottom.
While the tripod mount is a bit odd for those looking to use it as a TV, it's an awesome addition for a photographer! Mount it on a gorillapod, a tripod, a monopod or even a superclamp, and that's exactly what I did. I was able to connect the TV to a superclamp, attach that to a monopod (gripping it) with a DSLR on top, and an AV cable connecting the camera to the TV. This gave me a live view of what the camera was seeing (allowing me to hold the monopod up to get high-angle shots), triggering it with a remote shutter release ( Yong Nuo New 2.4GHZ Wireless Remote Control RF-602 C1 for Canon EOS 30/33/50/300/300D/350D(REBLE XT) and 400D (Reble XTI)/ 450D/500D/550D/1000D/ Contax N /645 ). I found it to be VERY helpful in checking focus, reviewing shots and seeing what was going on when there was no way for me to view the LCD screen on the back of the camera. I imagine this would work fantastic for those who do video (being able to look at a larger, detachable LCD screen while either you or someone else is working the camera -- especially for those high or low shots where you just cant get behind the cameras screen)
For this purpose, it did a great job. Battery lasted a long time, only issue was the odd resolution it uses (somewhat low, but so are all of these portable TV's). It seems rugged/sturdy and don't see having any problems with it. For what I wanted it for, it did everything very nicely!
Customer Review: Excellent choice for emergency TV
Summary: 4 Stars
As I'm sure is the case for many others, the changeover to digital broadcast rendered the small battery operated TV I keep on hand for emergencies obsolete, so I had to go looking for a suitable HD replacement. I purchased one of these because of price, its similarity in size to my old set, and favorable reviews comparing it to the competition.
Out of the box you need to install the battery for it to work, a minor inconvenience. It's use is intuitive, a good thing since I don't tend to read instructions until I get in trouble. I was able to immediately get the set to scan in multiple local HD broadcasts, and most importantly it found all of the stations that are best at staying on air in emergency situations. I did not have the issue some others reported of needing to rescan, confirmed by a quick check after more than a month in storage. The picture is excellent given the small size of the set, and incredibly better than my old one. The supplied antenna is adequate for my needs, although if you want to use the set for regular viewing you probably should invest in one with better gain.
I'm downgrading the set slightly because L-ion batteries do not have great shelf life and the one included is non-standard. The set does need to have the battery installed to work, incidentally. My concern is that when I do pull it out for emergency use the battery will be too weak to be useful, although even then the set should still work OK off an either the AC or car adapter (one is included). It is true the set won't charge off of the car adapter, but if you really are concerned about that, I suggest you simply get a DC to AC adapter for your car to plug the unit's AC adapter into, which of course will then charge the set's battery. It's a good idea to have one of these anyway ... lots of other AC only stuff can then be used. Just be sure you get one that can produce enough Watts; really good ones are available for about $20. The set's normal draw is 10 Watts, but the draw is more when in rapid charge mode for a low battery ... my Watt meter shows as high as 18 Watts, but good DC to AC adapters comfortably produce 75 Watts on up (steer clear of the 5 Watt el cheapo models).
Customer Review: Remote control is basically useless, antenna input is awkward and unwieldy
Summary: 3 Stars
I purchased this little TV to keep on my desk because it's part of my job to keep up with the news. The remote control is absolutely terrible. It must be within about two inches of the TV to work at all, if then. I've changed the batteries twice - buying new batteries each time, and it didn't help at all.
Given it's so small and within reach, you'd think that's no big deal, right? But - here's the thing: if I reach over to change the channel, it's so lightweight, pressing the buttons actually knocks over the TV. So, I have to pick it up to change the channel. It's just a nuisance, especially since the cable input is on the top right, which, since it's so lightweight, is a very awkward place to attach a heavy coaxial cable.
The most annoying thing is pressing the TINY numbers on the remote six times to get it to react....then not be able to get the second number to register in time before it switches to the one-number channel.
Oh, and in the picture of the remote above? The blue buttons don't change the channels. They're just for the setup. The up/down and volume buttons are the teeny ones on bottom and right; and I have to poke them HARD with my fingernail to make it work. From two inches away.
The other problem I have with this TV is the "zoom" feature. It doesn't zoom, it stretches. So, if a channel is broadcasting a show that would fit perfectly into the 16:9 format, the zoom feature stretches out instead of fitting it to the screen. The black bars at the top and bottom remain the same thickness, and all the people look fat. That's not zoom! That's stretching, and it looks terrible.
The picture quality? It's ok, kinda washed out. My twenty-year-old 13" Fisher looks a million times better. I tried adjusting the Haier right next to my old Fisher, and the Haier couldn't come close to the sharpness and color correctness. For the record, I've worked as a pro printer in photo labs for several years, so I know a lot about color. The controls on the Haier barely register any changes, even taken to the extremes.
In summary? What I'd hoped to be a handy little desk accessory is too annoying to rely on.
Customer Review: Preliminary Review of Haier HLT71 7-inch Portable LCD TV
Summary: 3 Stars
I received this little TV for Christmas and have not spent much time with it yet, so these are my first impressions. I work with ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) and CERT (Community emergency Response Team) and so I do a lot of "preparing" to respond to emergencies and/or being able to survive comfortably during one. So when I learned about this little portable TV that could receive the new digital signals, I thought it would be a good replacement for my old portable model that would no longer be able to receive TV signals.
So, to date, here are my first impressions: First, the price, at just over $100, was reasonable. It is a color TV with battery, AC charger and DC mobile plug (cigarette lighter style). It also has a cable connection for either cable TV or a remote antenna. It came with a warning that the antenna must never be rotated in reverse direction so I screwed it on very carefully but discovered that it loosens quite easily anyway. It can be hand-tightened again but comes loose again. This is clearly a disappointing feature. However, I plan to experiment with bigger antennas anyway so this is not unresolveable. It has automatic tuning that seeks and finds TV stations. So I was able to receive about 4 local stations rather quickly. The signal varied and the pictures were far from perfect but I could get the information I need when I needed it. Our rollover to digital is next month and I am looking forward to that to see if there is any significant improvement in the signals in general. The other thing I discovered is that the small battery does not hold a charge for very long and maybe it is not intended to do so. I need to research that some more before saying if this is a negative or just the way it was intended, to work off either AC or DC external batteries. The size is perfect for portability. I wish it had come with at least a soft case but it is easy to find them at any store. In fact, I found a brand new IBM mini laptop case that fit my mini EEE PC perfectly. I'm looking for another one for this little guy.
73's (best wishes in HAM)
KE7JSS