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I found this Hikona TV in Tesco's of all places at £79.99. Now, I'm not quite sure where else to purchase this, but Ciao very helpfully tells me that you can buy it online from Ebay and it has been rated by 546 people. I think that it is likely that Tesco were offered these by a wholesaler ... Read review
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A review by beevorm on Hikona TC1400 December 4th, 2006
Author's product rating:
Picture Playback
Satisfactory
Sound Quality
Good
Ease of Use
Simple
Range of Features
Limited
Value for Money
Excellent
Advantages:
Cheap, Easy To Configure, Portable, Great Kitchen TV
Disadvantages:
A Little Small, Not Flat Screen, Limited Navigability On DVD Menu
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
I spend one hell of a lot of time in the kitchen, and in my old apartment it was well and truly separated from any form of media interaction.
I decided that I would get a small TV for the kitchen, although being a lowly IT Consultant I couldn't really afford one of those wall mounted flat screens and due to the irepressible nature of the dirge on terrestrial TV I decided that I needed one with a DVD player built in so that I could just stick on a film or Stand Up comedian and cook away happily listening to that in the background whilst I conjured up some meal for The Blonde and I.
I found this Hikona TV in Tesco's of all places at £79.99. Now, I'm not quite sure where else to purchase this, but Ciao very helpfully tells me that you can buy it online from Ebay and it has been rated by 546 people. I think that it is likely that Tesco were offered these by a wholesaler for a decent price and wanted to shift them quickly as a one off. It seems like they are doing that more and more with electrical items.
Anyhow, the first thing that drew me to this item was the fact that I could fit it into my trolley with ease. No seriously, it did! What I actually meant to say here in the spirit of good review writing was that the unit isn't at all heavy and easy to move around.
I also liked the in built DVD player, and was delighted with the quality of the tray mechanism as I often find on cheaper units that you feel that you can break the drawer by putting the dvd in it. The only thing that disappointed me on this front was the fact that you have to actively press the DVD button to get it to recognise the drive and also, you can't flick between DVD and TV without the DVD resetting. 3 hours into the features of LOTR taught me that one. Funnily enough, The Blonde learnt a new swearword that day!
To be perfectly honest, this little unit merely does what it says on the tin, and at £79.99, you can't really blame it. If you are looking for a top of the line, flat screen, thin tube tv with all the bells whistles and features, then you are deluding yourself if you buy this one.
It doesn't have clever things like DVI inputs (although why you would plug a monitor into a TV is beyond me *grin*) and it doesn't have digital tuners. Hell, it doesn't even have a particularly high energy rating or energy saving feature. It's a budget TV.
The programme channels are very simple to install, although the aeriel isn't particularly strong, so an external £10.99 one is probably in order to get crystal clear pictures.
The remote is a little wieldy but contains the controls for both the DVD player and the TV. The buttons are a little confusing for moving chapters and alikes but the battery life is excellent. You also get about 3 extra days every time you take the back off and rub the batteries!
I have it sat on a shelf at eye level in the kitchen and it copes admirably with the steam and heat that I put out (Both from the food and verbally when it goes wrong), although I am sure that this will shorten its lifespan somewhat.
It will fit perfectly in a small childs bedroom, kitchen or study, although it would be far too small for anywhere else, and potentially too small for one of those big country style kitchen that I dream of.
So, the moral of the story is that this TV is perfect for a small area, where you don't need bells and whistles and are a little bit scared of just what happens if you do press the Red Button and you don't have a huge budget to spend. Buy this one.
Oh, and you can throw a raw potato at it without damaging it.
Advantages: Cheap, lightweight, small Disadvantages: Very basic
The screen
Its quite small & as the other reviewers pointed out, now that we are getting used to flat-screen tvs & monitors, the convex screen may seem old-fashioned & not so comfortable.
This is not a living-room telly. I am short-sighted, but with glasses I can see the screen fairly well from a distance of around 8 feet (sat in my bed lol) & this is fine for a bedroom. I would say however, for a larger room or any further away the normal sighted ... ...can be annoying when there are important details on the programme you are watching that you can't make out. Other than this, the picture quality is absolutely fine. You can adjust brightness etc. using the remote. There are 5 different picture modes, including one for music only channels, 'soft' - less light, 'standard', 'rich' - where you have more light, & 'user', which is basically customised by you. The screen sometimes takes a moment to come ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Picture Playback
Sound Quality
Ease of Use
Range of Features
Value for Money
very helpful
29.03.2007
(05.04.2007)
Quick review of Hikona TC1400 Review ofHikona TC1400by
SammyTara
Having purchased this product 13 months ago, used 5 times, the remote control rarely works (not problem with batteries).
I thought excellent value good spec for the money
I must admit I thought it would last a little longer.
Zero after sales service, although it seems quite easy to purchase a new remote control, this I would if I thought that was the problem.
Very disappointed customer, both with the manufacturer for offering zero customer support, also with Tescos selling an sub-standard product,
Not very good to only have 3 favorable reviews.
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Well basicly a good all round portable tv/dvd combi,well priced(i brought 2)attractive to look at,loads of features,2 scarts,one for dvd output,the other for general AV use.The only down side is there is no tv/av button on the tv itself,you need the remote to select the tv/av,and if the remote "goes walkies"as is often the case then hunt for the remote.
but on the + side i have had both of mine for 14 months and my one in the dinning room is on ... ...as good as the day i bought it.The dvd player is very good with a strong and sturdy drawer.
If you are buying for your kids or for yourself for the bedroom or kitchen then i would recomend this product.Price tag of £79.00 you can't go wrong.Tesco seems to be the only stockist so get yourself down to your local Tesco and purchase one,you won't be dissapointed. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
