Haier HLT10 10-Inch Handheld TV, Black

Review by Randy W for Haier HLT10 10-Inch Handheld TV, Black
Rating:
The HD picture is bright and clear, surprisingly good for a TV this small. The Black Levels are better than i expected too. The screen’s aspect ratio is a bit odd – it’s 16:10 (not 16:9). The screen is matte/non-reflective. The casing has a rubbery soft skin.

The digital tuner in this TV is QAM capable, and i discovered that it stores and remembers the Over-The-Air (OTA) channel map and the Cable channel map separately which is really handy. I can have it connected to TWC cable straight from the wall and watch all my local QAM “HD” cable channels and analog cable channels, then when i take it down to the garage and connect it to my UHF/VHF rooftop antenna lead, i just go into the Channel Menu and change the Antenna setting from CABLE to AIR and the previously stored OTA channel map then becomes available. When i bring it back into the house and connect it back to cable from the wall, i go into the same menu and switch it back to CABLE and all of my QAM channels become available. If you switch sources on virtually all other small to large LCD and Plasma TVs you have to re-scan for the channels every time you change sources and that takes several minutes. But with this TV it’s accomplished with just a quick antenna mode setting change. To set up both tuner modes, connect it to a good antenna, put the TV into AIR mode and run a scan the OTA channels. Then for cable TV, connect it to your cable feed from the wall, put the TV into CABLE mode and run a scan for your cable channels.

The Channel menu has a Show/Hide setting where you can select or de-select any of the Cable or OTA channels that have been scanned into the tuner.

You can directly enter the actual channel number using the number keys and the dash (-) key on the remote which takes you directly to that channel (7.1 or 4.2 for instance). Do not hit the Enter key afterwards, that doesn’t work for channel changing.

I can disable any unwanted channels from the “Favorites” list by unchecking them in the setup submenu and the TV will not tune to them when i’m hitting the CH+/CH- keys, but if i enter the direct channel number on the remote the TV will tune to that “disabled” channel.

The Picture Settings Menu doesn’t have a Color Temperature setting, but i discovered it hiding in the Options Menu so don’t be alarmed. It gives the choice of Cool, Normal, or Warm. Normal looks best to me.

The remote is a nice full-featured unit with real buttons, and takes two AAA batteries. Many other little LCD TVs have a cheap flat credit-card type remote where the membrane “buttons” crack over time. It has a Zoom key that gives you the choice of FULL or NORMAL. Both modes are available for all channels so you can always select the correct aspect ratio for SD and HD programming. See the Picture of the Remote to see all the keys it has.

The Antenna signal meter is very basic and is displayed along with other various info when you press the INFO key on the remote. It doesn’t have a numeric range or any sort of strength bar – the only information it gives is BAD or NORMAL or GOOD. When a station’s reception is NORMAL, there is some digital screen freezing and macroblocking so they should have labeled it FAIR instead.

It has a built-in fold-out easel stand with two lean-back settings, and it also comes with a nice removable tilt-adjustable oval-base pedestal stand that snaps into the back of the TV.

It comes with a special Audio/Video adapter cable with male yellow/red/white RCA jacks on one end, and a 3.5mm male A/V pin connector on the other end to stick into the TV’s A/V Input jack (this cable is not listed as being included in the product details on the various websites so it was a nice surprise to find it in the box).

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Cons:

Screen aspect ratio is actually 16:10, not 16:9 like a normal widescreen TV. Round things look a little oval, and people look a little thinner than they really are (as compared to how they normally look on my various 16:9 Plasmas and LCD TVs). A little irritating.

Does Not have bass or treble settings in the Audio Menu, but the tone is decent and acceptable for a small TV like this.

While i can’t get skin tones looking completely accurate, they’re close enough for casual viewing and don’t look horrible or anything. Different channels look more accurate than others too.

The basic analog cable channels don’t look very good, but that’s to be expected on an LCD TV. But SD programming on the digital channels looks pretty good. HD looks great though, except for that 16:10 thing…..

There is no vesa mounting holes on the back or any other way to attach a wall mounting bracket to this TV.

The included antenna is virtually useless unless you’re really close to the broadcast towers so don’t expect much out of it. I’m 29 miles from the towers on Mt. Wilson and the antenna can’t pick up a thing – and i can see the towers on the mountain. This TV needs to be connected to Cable or a good indoor or roof antenna. Some of the digital channels here in L.A. are on VHF, but most are on UHF. The TV gets a perfect signal from my roof antenna on all channels.

Be very careful when removing the clear plastic film covering the screen. It’s kinda tucked under the edge of the bezel and if you just yank it off (like i did) it leaves a bunch of little pieces of film stuck around the edges of the screen. I had to very carefully pick a few dozen pieces out with my needle-tipped tweezers.

Review by John R. Huerkamp for Haier HLT10 10-Inch Handheld TV, Black
Rating:
I already own an older analog Haier 7″ LCD TV that I have been using a a monitor. I feed the signal from a MallinCam astronomical video camera into it and observe live images in that manner. I wanted a larger viewing platform, so I ordered the Haier 10.2″ digital TV. I quickly learned that all LCD screens are not the same. The screen on the new 10.2″ is not capable of being adjusted as dark as that on the older Haier. For normal TV usage, that will not be a problem. But for those wanting to use this device as a monitor, it will. Also when in A/V mode (using the 10.2″ Haier as a monitor) the TINT function is disabled. It is available when viewing the TV. THis makes no sense, as one critical adjustment when using the TV as a monitor is the ability to adjust tint.

Regarding the TV reception, it was poor. I set up the unit in my office in New Orleans, and it tuned in over 12 digital stations. However, I could only watch one. the rest were either highly pixelated or not visible at all. At my home 40 miles north of New Orleans, no stations were detected, making this TV useless during a power outage.

Review by Doug for Haier HLT10 10-Inch Handheld TV, Black
Rating:
Picture is sharp. Tuning and maintaining a picture is a problem. Picture freezes for periods of time and either goes to “No Signal” or resumes at a later time in the broadcast. Not all stations available locally can be tuned in. I had more stations on my analog set but poorer picture quality.

Review by Fergie for Haier HLT10 10-Inch Handheld TV, Black
Rating:
We have been using this TV for about two months. The picture quality is great and we get all of our over-the-air stations with the telescoping antennae. Our only complaint is the sound quality and volume. The sound is tinny–very small speaker. Bigger issue for our use as a bathroom TV is that the sound volume at max is about like low volume on a normal TV.

Review by gemhead for Haier HLT10 10-Inch Handheld TV, Black
Rating:
I bought this product to display channel information when I listen to music channels on my DISH network. I wanted something small enough to be unobtrusive, but big enough to read from across the room. This room is for music only, but with hundreds of channels, you need some way to know where you are. This unit fills the bill. It looks pretty nice, and I can even watch the weather in the morning. Actually, the picture quality is very good as is the color. It has all the adjustment a person could want and it is light weight and easily moved. I am delighted with it, and in the time since I’ve gotten it, I have more reasons to be pleased with it. However, the speakers are very small and the volume is limited. If you are right in front of it, as you would be to watch a show, it will probably be all right. From across the room, I need to turn on the stereo to hear everything.