Orion TV-19 PL 110 D

...it it's full name: an Orion TV 19PL110D.

If you've ever bought an LCD or plasma television from Toshiba or Sharp, the chances are it was manufactured by Orion as it happens to be one of the world's largest OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) of televisions

We chose this model because out of all the televisions in this size, this particular model had the best overall technical specifications. For instance the higher ...
...should be. This one has a pixel resolution of 1440 x 900. The contrast ratio is also important when comparing like for like. This is the measurement of the difference in light intensity between the brightest white and the darkest black, of which this has a score of 800:1. This was one of the best when we were looking, some of the televisions only have a contrast of 500 or 600.

Our television arrived by courier just a few days after ... more

For the last 15 years or so, my husband and I have had a little portable television in our bedroom. Made by Thomson, it stood the test of time well, until it packed up early last year. I don't have the money or the inclination to upgrade any electronic equipment we own simply because there is a newer, 'must have' item on the market, and the last time I needed to replace our main television set was about five years previously.

A lot has changed in the television market place since then, as I soon discovered. For a start, now you have a choice of either a flat screen LCD or plasma screen. Gone are the days when 'the box' really was a CRT box! I was also pleased to find that the prices have dropped dramatically in the last few years.

My main criteria when choosing which one to buy was simply the price and the size of the screen. As we don't watch a huge amount of television in the bedroom, I didn't lean towards any particular manufacturer as I might have done if I were buying a new main television set for the living room. I was also just looking for a portable TV in the region of a 19 or 20 inch screen. Having checked the local retailers, and compared prices online, the best I could find for our circumstances was a digital LCD made by Orion. To give it it's full name: an Orion TV 19PL110D.

If you've ever bought an LCD or plasma television from Toshiba or Sharp, the chances are it was manufactured by Orion as it happens to be one of the world's largest OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) of televisions

We chose this model because out of all the televisions in this size, this particular model had the best overall technical specifications. For instance the higher the pixel resolution, then the sharper and clearer the images should be. This one has a pixel resolution of 1440 x 900. The contrast ratio is also important when comparing like for like. This is the measurement of the difference in light intensity between the brightest white and the darkest black, of which this has a score of 800:1. This was one of the best when we were looking, some of the televisions only have a contrast of 500 or 600.

Our television arrived by courier just a few days after ordering. The first thing that struck me were how big the box was that it was packed in, and secondly how light the box was to carry, despite it's size. I'd moved the old television out of the way earlier in the day, and remember thinking how heavy it was to carry despite it also being just 19 inches.

I carried the box upstairs with ease and opened it up on the bed near to it's new home as I have a habit of misplacing any small parts by leaving them nowhere near where they're needed.

Along with the television was a 34 page instruction manual, the remote control and some batteries, a black plastic stand and a quick set-up guide leaflet. It doesn't come supplied with an aerial, which wasn't a problem for me, I simply used the existing aerial I had from the old television.

There are various safety warnings listed inside the front cover of the manual, such as leaving a 10cm gap all around the TV for ease of ventilation, and to place the TV away from any immediate heat sources such as fires. These are pretty self explanatory, but it's probably best to check them all first before deciding where to set up your television. The manual is easy to understand and very well laid out.

With the help of the five steps featured on the quick set-up leaflet, it took just minutes for me to have our television working.

~ It's features ~

For a basic television that was near the bottom of my price range, it has a lot of features such as Freeview built in, so you get access to certain digital channels, and it's High Definition (HD) ready. This means it can display HD signals provided it's connected to a suitable receiver or a Sky box for instance. The sound is Nicam stereo sound, and you can attach a separate surround sound system if you want, more of which later.

It's lightweight enough to be wall-mounted, although I've placed mine on it's stand on one of our shelves.

The TV is black, with the outer trim being shiny and reflective. Overall it looks compact and modern. There are seven main buttons which are all located on the top of the TV. I prefer this as I think having them on the front spoils the overall appearance.

~ The picture quality ~

The quality of the picture produced by the flat screen is almost perfect, provided you are watching almost level with the television. Then, I find the picture quality is sharp and clear. Unfortunately, this isn't the case when watching it lying down though. Looking up at the screen, the picture can sometimes fade to a blur. This is most noticeable when the images on the screen are dark. If I'm watching a late night thriller for instance, where the backdrops tend to be dark and atmospheric, it's nigh on impossible to tell what's going on without adjusting my position. This might be the case with most LCD televisions, but it?s definitely worse than our main CRT television downstairs.

~ The Back side view ~

On the rear of the television you'll find all the input and output sockets. Going down the right hand side there is the following:

DVB Common Interface ~ this lets you insert a suitable Smart Card if you want any additional Pay TV services, which we won't be using.
Headphone socket ~ can be used with headphones that have a mini plug of 3.5mm
AV2 input ~ for linking a video camera or games console, again not something we'll need.
Component input ~ they recommend using this if you want to connect a device which has Component video output sockets such as a satellite receiver or video recorder. It apparently enhances the picture quality by reducing the interference you'll receive. Again, not something we've used.
Coaxial digital audio output socket ~ For linking to a suitable digital decoder or amplifier. I can't see us ever wanting a surround sound system rigged up in our bedroom, the sound we get directly from the television is more than adequate in a relatively small room.

And along the bottom from left to right is:

The power supply ~ for attaching the mains lead.
A Scart socket, for attaching any equipment already mentioned.
The aerial input socket.
HDMI input ~ This is where you would link your Sky box or a HD receiver in order to get High Definition signals
A PC/HDMI Audio input socket ~ for linking the TV to your computer's audio output
PC monitor input ~ We don't intend to use it as a monitor, unless our existing one packs up, maybe.

Also, in the middle of the TV at the back you'll see the four bracket holes where you would attach a wall mounting bracket. The manual advises you to use all four of these to make sure it's properly secure.

~ The Remote Control ~

This has more features than I know what to do with! Most of them, I imagine are standard on all televisions, but I'll give a quick run down of the main ones we use most often.

~ A choice of Analogue or digital menus. Pressing either will take you to a main menu where you are presented with a choice of 13 on screen languages. This is where you can also manually channel tune, or change the order of the channels as they are already.

~ The Guide button, which shows the programmes which are currently being broadcast, together with the next available programme, and a brief description of each on the television screen. This is the handiest feature on the remote and the one that we use the most. You can then toggle between the channel listings by using the four arrow buttons in the middle of the remote. Between the four arrow buttons, is a larger 'Enter' button. If you find a programme you'd rather watch on another channel, you simply toggle to it using your up and down buttons, and press the 'Enter' button and it takes you there.

~ The picture size button. You have a choice of picture sizes which are either 4:3, Full screen, 14:9, 16:9 or cinema. Our preference is 16:9, which is basically just the 4:3 but enlarged. You should really try them all until you find the one you're most comfortable with. Basically, they're all based on the 4:3 size, but distorted to some extent.

Naturally, there's also volume up and down buttons, together with the 10 channel buttons and four coloured buttons, which can be used with interactive broadcasts on Freeview channels.

Also, I should point out that the buttons on the remote glow slightly in the dark. This is good, inasmuch as it makes it easier for us to see what we need to press in the dark, because we often don't leave any lights on. The downside though is that it presumably wastes the batteries life in glowing even when it's not in use.

It's also worth noting that you also have the option of setting a 'Parental Lock' on this television, should it be situated in a child's bedroom or where younger viewers may be watching. There are a choice of 15 programmable aged based ratings from 4 (years old) to 18, and when the little nippers are old enough, you can set it back to 'none'. To set the lock, you will need to override the default password of '0000', and insert your own. Be warned, when you subsequently want to change the rating, you will need to have remembered your password. Again, this is not something we've had to use.

~ Overall ~

We've both been impressed with this in comparison to the television it has replaced, and when we bought it last January it was very good value for money. We bought it in January '08 for £189 from Currys Online. If you are looking to buy a television right now, all the main retailers are desperate for your custom and seem to be having ongoing sales, so you may find that this particular model is not the most competitively priced.

I would be more than happy to buy this one again, because although the picture quality could be better in the dark, the tech spec I mentioned earlier leads me to think that it's probably on a par with other models in this price range, if not slightly better.  

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