Teac LCD228HDM LCD TV

The Teac LCD228HDM is a 22in LCD television with a multi-card reader and USB 2.0 port that let you display photos and play videos and music. A range of inputs allows external devices like an HDD recorder or desktop PC to be connected.

Like most other small-screen TVs — barring the fashion-forward Sony Bravia KDL22S5700 — the Teac LCD228HDM has a black casing with a piano-black fascia. A thin mirror-finish accent runs along the lower bezel.

The Teac LCD228HDM has HDMI, component, composite, VGA and S-Video inputs. Only one of each port is provided, but this is adequate for a TV that's likely to be used as a secondary screen; it’s unlikely you’ll have more than one or two devices plugged in simultaneously. We used the LCD228HDM as a PC monitor using the VGA input, and watched a few Blu-ray movies using the HDMI output of a Samsung BD-P1600 Blu-ray player.

The quoted contrast ratio of 1000:1 isn’t particularly impressive, but for watching broadcast television and compressed video files it’s acceptable. We spent a short amount of time tweaking the Teac LCD228HDM to gain the best possible picture; an on-screen menu allows adjustment of sharpness, colour saturation and brightness levels.

An HD-compatible digital television tuner ensures you’ll get all the latest Freeview goodies; there’s no analog back-up. The Teach LCD228HDM has a native resolution of 1680x1050 pixels, which means both 4:3 and 16:9 content must be stretched to fully fill the screen. Various zoom options are available, so you can ensure the correct aspect ratio is selected. When left on the automatic setting, we noticed occasional scaling issues, with visible distortion and artefacts.

The Teac LCD228HDM doesn’t have the integrated DVD player of some other small TVs like the Tyagi 2298; instead it includes a USB2.0 port and an SD/MMC card slot on the screen’s side. We found that DiVX, JPEG and MP3 files were successfully decoded. Other formats may be supported, but Teac does not provide a list on its Web site. We were able to get video files of up to 480p resolution working, but our high-definition DivX and MKV files were unable to play.

It is not a fantastic screen in terms of picture quality, but the inclusion of multimedia playback options means the Teac LCD228HDM is a good all-in-one option for a study or bedroom. If you can stretch to an extra couple of hundred dollars, though, the Sony Bravia KDL22S5700’s network connectivity and superior screen look very tempting.