Good Basic 26" LCD
Written: Jun 03 '09 (Updated Jun 04 '09)
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Pros: Price, Picture Quality, DVD Included, Inputs
Cons: DVD not Progressive
The Bottom Line: Basic LCD. Price is OK. Picture is Great. Definately worth a look. Would be 3 1/2 stars if this were an acceptable rating.
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| kenprospero's Full Review: Insignia 26" Class / 720p / 60Hz / LCD HDTV DVD Co... |
Introduction
Insignia is a semi-house brand of Best Buy. It's made by an outside vendor, but only sold in this store. Yep, if you're looking at an Insignia product, you're in Best Buy. The store claims that its products are higher quality than true house brand (Dynex) and they'll claim it's as high quality of the ‘name brands', and you know what, maybe it is. S
So, you're looking for a 26" Class TV.. The set is an LCD Flat Panel TV, has a 16:9 Ratio and 720p of resolution and a speed of 60Hz. Now, you're probably saying ... What the heck does all of this mean. Well, friends, you've come to the right place. This review both describes the rightful place of this TV in the HD universe and gives a brief overview of what these numbers mean.
Bottom Line
The bottom line for any TV is how the picture looks. There are lots of sets in lots of price ranges. At the end of the day, if the picture looks good to you, you should consider it. If you can't tell the difference between a more expensive set, unless you want the spend the money for a name brand, some feature, it probably isn't worth it. Everyone's eyes are different, so the only way you're going to know is to go to the store and look. In the store, I was unable to tell the difference in the picture between this set, and others of the same size costing much more. So, I didn't spend the extra money.
So, the set has a good price $379, nice picture. It has generous inputs (discussed in features). It also has a built in DVD, which reduces dresser space if you're putting it in a bedroom. This set is great for a bedroom, or as a second tv. It's digital ready, HD-Digital, so it will play off of an antenna after the digital switch over. 26", however, is probably not large enough as a primary TV for a Home Theatre set up. Also, sound is TV quality, not movie quality, but there are enough inputs that you can upgrade to your heart's content.
The previous paragraph is probably the most important in this review. I don't feel that any 26" Class TV is really suitable for home theatre. For this reason, I do not recommend bells and whistles that can drive the price up. This bias will keep popping up through out this review. You've been warned.
I'll also reproduce the entire spec set at the end of this review
Stars
I sometimes think that people look at the stars and go no further. If you're one of those - I'm torn. I could go with 3 stars, or go with 4. I'm going to call it 3 stars because there are (as of June 2) several less expensive 26"class sets, though this was the best for the money when I bought it.. Also, although the DVD is fine, when you're selling a progressive scan TV, it seems that it should have a progressive scan DVD (more on this below), so with a close call, I'm calling it 3 stars. If 3 ½ were an option, I'd go with that..
What does this mean - it's a solid product at a good price. However, there are others sets out there at a comparable price range. Walmart has Vizio in the same range and a number of sets that are a few dollars cheaper. However, you will find many comparable sets for $100-150 more.
Out of Box Experience
The TV, the base, a remote, power cords, and composite cables (RCA). Basically everything you need to get started.
Assembly is minimal. The base stand attaches to a post, which screws into the back of the set with 8 screws (no screwdriver necessary). After you get everything out of the box, maybe 5 minutes.
Now, you have a choice whether to use the (a) composite cables (three color coded cables, which plug into color coded jacks in the standard cable box, and into color coded jacks on the tv on either the back or the side, (b) HDMI cable - a single cable sold separately, which plugs into the back of the set and the back of a cable box or (c) coaxial cable, directly into the TV (either through a cable box, hooked up into the antenna or directly out of the wall). If you don't have cable, you'll probably use coaxial. Otherwise you have a choice.
If you have cable, and HD features, you'll probably want to use either the composite cable or the HDMI. Which is better? Set up takes 1 minute with HDMI and maybe 3 minutes with composite. Neither is difficult I've searched the internet and have yet to find a compelling answer as to picture quality. But, for what it's worth, some people think HDMI is somewhat better though many people can't tell the difference. HDMI does mean fewer wires, but Composite cables come with the set so are ‘free." If you do go with HDMI, here's some advice. Best Buy will try to sell you this cable for $30 or more. Do not do so. Virtually everyone agrees Cable is Cable, I found HDMI 1.3 cable (supposedly the best) for $5 including postage on Amazon. No need to spend more than $10 in any case. If you don't mind the extra cables, just use the composite cables supplied and save the money.
For setting up, I did the following - Bought a cable splitter and extra coaxial cable, then ran one cable through the cable box, using HDMI to connect to the set, and the other end of the cable to connect through the antenna input. The reason:
HDMI eliminates clutter. While going through the cable box is necessary for premium channels, it requires either 2 remotes or getting a new universal remote.Cable through the antenna allows control using the set's remote alone.Surprisingly, There are certain channels that one only gets directly through the cable (without the box). I don't know that I'll watch these, but it's nice to know they're there. So, by the dual set up, I can either use one remote for most viewing, and still have premium channels when I need them.
Once you're plugged in, set up is menu driven and easy. If you're going through the cable box, no real set up is necessary (however, you have to remember which set of inputs you used, and direct the tv to pick up the signal from that input). If you're using an antenna or the cable directly you choose this option on the set up screen and it will scan the cable to determine what is available on the cable.
As I mentioned, you'll find extra stations due to the fact that many stations split their signal. (For example, in my locale, there are NBC has 4 channels. Normal (4), HD (4.1) and two extra channels (4.2 and 4.3). Think of it a scavenger hunt for what new channels will you have.
Aside from this, you have the usual features - you can block channels, designate ‘favorites' use parental controls, close captioning, etc. etc. Overall, I found set up to be very easy.
Picture
When we were in Best Buy, we could visually compare this set to others both in the same price range, and more expensive. Long and short of it - they all look great with a High Def Signal. Could you see a difference, yes - some were ‘warmer' each had a different color balance. Could I tell you which was better - no, it's a matter of taste. For my eyes, the sets were pretty much equivalent, so I bought based on price.
But while we're discussing picture, when I got home, I found (as I knew I would) that the color mix is programmable according to your taste (you can change the balance), also, there are pre-sets for more or less vivid, sports viewing, etc. All of this is nice, and it works.
So, you only have a non-Hi Def set. Will you notice a difference. Big Yes. The picture is better, much better. Hi Def TV is something you'll notice.
DVD Feature
A selling point of this set for me was the built in DVD. What it means is that I could get rid of the extra box, and free up dresser space. The cost for the Insignia, was only about $30, so it became a no brainer.
The DVD itself is unobtrusive, on the left hand side of the set. Controls are similar to most other DVD's you've seen.. Picture quality is acceptable - movies look nice.
However, a small complaint, this set is a progressive scan set. It appears to be bundled with a cheaper interlaced DVD (I assume if it were a progressive DVD, they'd have mentioned it). Not much of a cost savings, but it's a corner cutting to not include a progressive DVD.
Ok, what does interlaced vs progressive mean. Pay attention, geeks, this is a concept we'll learn more about below, in talking about lines of resolution.
What does it mean - an interlaced tv shows only ½ the lines at any time. First it flashes the ‘even' number lines, then the ‘odd'. It does this so fast that the eye can't directly pick it up. Standard TVs are 480i, which means that there are really only 240 lines alternating.
Progressive tvs, don't flip back and forth, effectively, you're getting all the lines at once. Does this matter? A bit, you may or may not directly notice it, but you get a sharper picture with progressive scanning than interlaced. Bottom line, progressive is better, but may not be noticeable.
Other features
Inputs
Inputs are generous - there are 2 AV inputs, an SVIDEO input, Antenna (coax) Input, 1 Component Inputs, 3 HDMI inputs. A VGA input (you can use it as a computer monitor) and a headphone minijack.
Basically, anything you want to hook up, you'll be able to.
Screen Modes
Ok, your TV is set up, you turn it on to a non-HD channel, and what's the first thing you notice - Not the fantastic picture, No, it's the black bars on the side of your screen. At least until Later in June 2009, most stations still broadcast in standard tv ratio of 4x3 -- 4 units of width for every 3 of height. This set (and all new HD sets) use a 16x9 ratio, meaning it's relatively speaking it's a narrower screen. No problem, but when you broadcast a 4x3 picture, you either have to stretch the picture or you get black bars around the end.
This means you're not using the entire screen, giving you, in effect, a smaller tv. If you do the math (and I did), you'll find that a 26" 16x9 ratio tv showing a 4x3 picture is the equivalent of about a 21" TV.
But man, you paid for 16x9, and you want 16x9. You don't care what those broadcasters are broadcasting, you don't want those black lines. Fear not, there are several screen modes: Wide (stretches the picture), Zoom (blows up the center of the picture, and others). Basically, you can distort the picture (or crop the picture) and use the entire screen if you so desire.
Color Presets
As with most TVs, you can fiddle with the color mix (if you know what you're doing). There are also several pre-sets. Sports mode, vivid mode, etc. Which allows you to do a quick adjust for specific viewing.
Sound Equalizer
Can control the balance, treble, bass, etc.
Brighness/Contrast Ratio
Claimed to be 450 cd/m² with a contrast of 2500-1. I view these numbers as largely hype. Look at the TV and decide what you like.
Sound
Stereo, 5w/channel. Ok for TV, but not super for home theatre.
Other stuff I learned.
In researching this set, I found that advertisements have a confusing set of numbers to describe the TV. Mostly, it's to justify the higher price of a set, and in most cases a normal human being won't notice the difference, but in case you were wondering what these numbers and features mean, read on.
Here's what I take from this. So long as your TV is 720P, there's no need to pay more, unless you're using a tv for home theatre. As this set is too small for home theatre, don't spend the money. Likewise 60hz vs 120hz. If you're a blue ray freak, you may care, most of the rest of us won't.
720p, 1080i , 1080p
480i, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, are all interesting, but when you come down to it, what's most important is how the set looks
Ok, we're going to explain what these numbers mean. Also, and this may be a bit controversial, we're going to make a strong recommendation for the 26" sets, which goes against much of what you may read in advertising. Basically, 720p is fine, there's no need to go to 1080p, and some people think that 1080i isn't even as good as 720p. Here's why.
First - what do the numbers mean.
In this case 720 means the number of lines that are projected on the screen. Standard (non High Def) have 480 lines, so 720 means 50% more lines. But there's more than that.
After each number, there's either a p or an i. These stand for ‘progressive' and ‘interlaced' respectively. As discussed above, Progressive means that all of the lines are broadcast at once. Interlaced means that the screen alternates the odd and even lines (though very quickly). So, given a choice between 720p and 1080i, which should you choose. This is somewhat controversial amongst experts. With 1080i, you get more lines but only half of them (540) are on the screen at any time. 720p, gives you fewer overall lines, but uses a better format and all are on the screen at all times.. Many experts think you get a better picture with 720p than 1080i. Most say it's not worth paying a lot more even if 1080i is a bit better, and with a 26" Class set - unless you sit VERY close, you're not going to be able to see the lines in any event. Unless you can get a very good deal on 1080i, don't spend the money. Even if you do get a very good deal, it may not be a better picture.
So, now you're saying, why compromise - just spend the bucks and get 1080p. More lines and it's progressive!!! I like the thinking. Best of both worlds, and damn the cost.. But .... (sigh there's always a but, isn't there) I say but, there's one small problem with your thinking. Ya see - though 1020p is really great, no TV station in the US (including cable, satellite, etc) broadcasts in 1080p. Many broadcast in both 720p and 1080i So, if you're going to use this TV for ..... say ..... watching TV, getting a screen with 1080p does you no good. So, why do they make 1080p. I'll tell you - blue ray, for example. The high def dvds will take advantage of this.
However, as discussed, this set already comes with a (non-blue ray) dvd player, and, as I've said, I generally don't think this size set is appropriate for home theatre, so don't really recommend Blue Ray for a set this size. So, here's the recommendation.
720p is fine. Don't waste your money upgrading to 1080i or 1080p.
60hz vs 120hz
Ok, hz refers to the number of times the screen refreshes in a second. So, 60hz refreshes 60x a second, while 120hz refreshes at 120hz a second. So, everyone knows - 120 is better than 60 (God knows it's more expensive). Well, this is probably wrong. Remember when we were discussing 1080p vs 1080i, and I said that no one currently broadcasts in 1080p. Well, guess what!! No one broadcasts in 120hz. For watching TV, it does you no good.
So, why do they sell it - you guessed it - blue ray applications. Much of TV is actually produced in 30 frames per second. So, with 60hz each frame is shown twice, 120hz each frame 4 times. You get the same picture. However, many movies are filmed in 24 frames per second. So how does a TV adjust?
Well, 24 doesn't go into 60 evenly, so the 60hz tv compensates by broadcasts the even frames 3 times and the odd frames 2 twice. Some people say that the this so-called 3:2 pulldown, causes blurring in sports or around the edges. If we were reviewing a TV appropriate for home theatre, I'd say test it out. But, as I've said, ad nauseum, the set really is too small for home theatre. Also, because of its size, the blurring should be minimal.
LCD vs Plasma
This is another hot techie question. The answer is simple. I don't think anyone makes a 26" Plasma Set, so if you want this size tv, you're getting LCD.
Conclusion
This set is good for what it is. At 26", you get a nice sized set appropriate for a bedroom. IMO, it's really too small for major home theatre. However, if you want to use this set for Home theatre, you will have ample inputs. It's a nice size, and the DVD means you need less counter space. Its' price is equivalent more or less to store brand TVs. I noticed little or no difference between this set and more expensive sets.
If you're looking for an inexpensive 26" set. This is worth a look.
Complete Product Specifications (from website)
Sound Leveler Yes
A/V Outputs 1
Media Card Slot No
Built-In Player DVD
HDMI Inputs 3
Channel Labeling Yes
PC Inputs 1
Speakers 2
USB Slot No
Watts/Channel 5
Built-In_DVR No
Aspect Ratio 16:9
Vertical Resolution 720p
Speaker Location Bottom
Comb Filter 3D Y/C digital
Screen Refresh Rate
60Hz ENERGY STAR Qualified Yes
Composite Inputs 2
Sleep/Alarm Timer Sleep timer, yes;
alarm, no
TV Type LCD Flat-Panel
Maximum Resolution 1366 x 768
Brightness 450 cd/m²
RF Antenna Input 1
DVI Inputs No
Digital Cable Ready No
V-Chip Yes
Remote Control Type Standard
S-Video Inputs 1
Display Type Flat-panel LCD
Screen Size 26"
Contrast Ratio 2500:1
Component Video Inputs 1 Audio
Outputs 1
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 379
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Epinions.com ID:
kenprospero
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Reviews written: 23
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