Battery-eater for righties
Written: Apr 06 '05 (Updated May 14 '07)
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Pros: price, sound quality, exceptional UHF reception, straightforward use
Cons: strange resolution leads to bad details, holding with left hand blocks screen, battery life
The Bottom Line: For a device with such excellent reception and sound quality, it is sad to see it ruined by screen resolution.
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| thefirstdude02's Full Review: Casio EV-4500 4 in. Portable TV |
I started thinking about buying a small TV about a year and a half ago. They got a lot cheaper and better since then, and the EV-4500 is no exception.
Then, when I was looking around, two-inch TVs cost $150 and reception was non-existent. Of course my demands for reception are probably much greater than the average person's, as the nearest transmitter is 50 miles away, but this TV satisfies. I have a 27" TV with a huge rotating antenna on the roof of my house, and for one UHF channel the EV-4500's 2-foot antenna gets better reception than the ten-foot one on the roof. For most other UHF channels reception is about equal. VHF (channels 2-13) are a completely different story. There is a three or so hour window during the middle of the day when for some reason VHF reception gets much better, but it still is very grainy, and watching for more than a minute hurts your head. However sound reception is always crystal-clear on any channel.
I have several different external antennas, and none of them have improved reception at all. I don't mind the fact that the UHF channel indicator never lines up with the numbers at the bottom of the screen partly because I have never taken it anywhere where I don't know which channel is what, but also because I got used to the difference between the numbers and the indicator.
The next issue I will bring up is the display. Color reproduction is better than my big TV's when the brightness is set properly, however it is hard on the eyes when they are within about two feet of the screen because of its strange resolution. The 4" LCD display has a fixed number of pixels unlike a CRT, DLP, or plasma display, which have a fixed number of vertical pixels, but not horizontal ones. (the term "lines" is used) Standard TV broadcasts are 640 x 480 (480 lines), but many TVs change the 640 into a number more suiting the condition. For instance if the screen is completely black the resolution will be 480 x 1.
However, for the 640 x 480 image to fit into the 305 x 405 screen some interpolation has to be done, and this leads to ugliness in not-very-small details. It would have been MUCH better if the resolution were 340 x 460, which is three quarters of 480 x 640. For this I would rather have the proper 480 line resolution of the big TV with worse color reproduction and no mobility.
Speaking of mobility, you want to use this TV on long car/bus rides, right? forget about it. The first reason is that every time you turn a corner you'll have to readjust the antenna to keep pointing the right way. The second reason is that the constant bumping around of the unit causes unwatchable images. Try it and you'll see what I mean. The third reason is that you'll either have to get a car power adapter or bring along a LOT of batteries. A set of four Ni-MH AA's lasts about three and a half hours on minimum brightness, about 3 hours on normal brightness. The included disposable AA's barely lasted two hours.
Speaking of brightness, although watching TV in the car won't work, if you were to sit on top of the car with sunlight shining directly at the screen, it won't be any harder to see the image than it is inside your house.
Now my quirks with design. It is far too big for the screen size. Why does it have to extend two inches around two sides of the display? And why does it have to be so darn thick? I realize that if it were smaller picture quality and reception would be sacrificed, simply because that's the way manufacturers work. But if someone did some good work on size reduction without compromising quality, I would give this device 4.5/5. In the meantime, it gets 3.5/5 from me.
My main complaint about design is that when I hold the TV in my hands (don't even try holding it with one hand, it'll get tired very quickly), my left thumb covers the left side of the screen. It's very annoying.
I find the four possible stand positions very useful. There is a small black flap that folds out of the back, and then there is a stand that can lock into two positions. Watching TV in bed I use the flap. On the couch I use the stand.
There are so many things that can be adjusted that it will surely please anyone. And with some major design changes it might actually fit in your pocket without having to fill the other one with batteries.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 177.99
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Epinions.com ID:
thefirstdude02
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Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 1 member
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