It is entirely likely that if you try to imagine an LCD TV you are going to think of something with a diagonal screen measurement of a bit more than eight inches. Scale your thoughts down to that dimension and you'll be picturing Evesham's mini LCD TV.

The kit is self-assembly and comes in three main sections: LCD panel, stand and something to connect the two, which incorporates a height adjuster and swivel mechanism catering for movement of the screen by rotating, tilting back and forwards, and raising and lowering its height.

This is more movement than you get from most LCD computer monitors. We didn't get any assembly instructions with the review unit, but it wasn't difficult to figure out how the bits fit together. You could mount the LCD panel on the wall, too, but you don't get fixings for that.

All the connectors are hidden away at the back of the LCD unit, and you can use these to hook up external devices such as a DVD player, games console or any other system that can cope with the provided AV and 15-pin D-Sub leads.

We attached it to a notebook computer and, after a bit of fiddling with settings, got a usable picture. Ideally you need to input at 640 x 480 pixels from a computer. We can't think of a reason why we'd ever want to hook a computer up to this LCD in the real world, though, as we ended up with a smaller display area than that on our laptop.

We're similarly sceptical about hooking up a DVD player. It'll work, but we'd be inclined to buy a portable DVD player instead, which can be had for half the price, is a bit less bulky to carry around and has a built-in battery.

Which leaves the TV usage. This is actually the most viable option. Picture quality is good, and both mains and car power adapters are provided. But even here there is a catch, as Evesham doesn't provide an aerial. There's no Teletext support and we couldn't find a way to plug in a Freeview receiver, leaving us with just the standard broadcast channels to watch. Oh, and the stereo output isn't. It's mono.

Evesham includes a remote control unit and a set of headphones for using the T807 without disturbing everyone else. The headphones and car adapter create the potential for keeping a child quiet on long car journeys, while the headphones alone may allow one family member to absorb themselves in TV viewing while the others do something more fun in the same room.

Verdict
An interesting idea, but only really suitable for niche uses. Evesham is mean in not including a TV antenna, particularly as, of all the potential uses of this kit, its function as a TV is the most compelling.

Company: Evesham Technology

Tags: liquid crystal display evesham television portable dvd player dvd player cigarette lighter receptacle dvd business