Customer Reviews

Haier HLT10 10.2-Inch Handheld TV, Black

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

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:

The screen resolution is 480p. It is not HD, but it does properly fill the screen when watching an HD program either through the TV's tuner, or through the A/V input from an HD STB.

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 analog basic 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 channels look very good, except for that 16:10 thing.....

There are 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.

After reading many reviews complaining about poor reception, let me state: a monopole antenna (the one included with most of these sets) IS NOT, NEVER WAS and NEVER WILL WORK PROPERLY for a 'TV' antenna! In the first place, it's only half an antenna (unless you are really close to your local transmitters). Even 'Rabbit Ears" (a dipole antenna) borders on being called a "TV antenna". The one to use is a "Silver Sensor" (or it's clones) for UHF indoors. This also might work for areas that reverted back to the VHF high band. Remember, I'm talking about the PHYSICAL channel number, not the virtual number they insist to use, which in most cases, is NOT the same!
Hooking this up to an decent outdoor antenna under known conditions, this tuner receives as good as most any other TV. There are a few exceptions, but nothing drastic. It does have some trouble locking on to known good signals sometimes (unknown just why), but for the most part if you are having trouble receiving any local station, the fault is not the TV.

After researching the individual components, I found this is a older design. My set had a manufacturing date of 9/09;
LCD Panel is a Innolux 800x480 LED backlit panel from 2006.
Demodulator is a Samsung VSB/QAM tuner from 2007.
Battery pack is a 'Yoku Energy' 3.7 volt, 2.6 amp Lithium-Ion Polymer pack that occupies just over 1/2 of the battery compartment. There is room for a pack almost 2x in size. Unlike common NiCd or NiMH cells, these are 'flat', staked one above the other. Running time is around three hours. Charge time is more than stated. Six plus hours for a full charge, not three as stated in the manual (with the set in standby or off).

Regarding the previous reviewers comments;
1. On the absence of the "tint" control in the A/V mode. Not true. If there ISN'T a signal connected, the tint control is grayed out (quirk with TV), but with a source connected, it IS available.
2. On the 'stretched' image, looking at a standard alignment pattern, there is very little 'stretch' in the vertical direction. Noticeable, unless your are really looking for it. Under normal viewing, I find it very difficult to see it.

Pros:
1. Cost. Great bang for the buck.
2. No problem with lack of memory for it's channel 'database' unlike their earlier 7" model that looses the channel list when powered off according to dozens of other reviews.
3. Standard 'F' fitting (that hasn't been mentioned in any review) for the antenna input. No odd connector requiring another adapter.
4. Able to do ATSC and QAM even though there is no mention of this anywhere (poor marketing).
5. Able to store separate databases for both OTA and CATV (more poor marketing).
6. Able to receive analog channels (OTA & CATV).
7. Able to add channels that weren't in the original scan. Since there is no 'Add channels" in the menu, this is imperative! Stations usually are received from different directions, doing a scan in one direction will miss any signal not from that direction. If you re-scan, you loose your original database. Most sets now have had the ability to add channels. This does, but in NOT documented (as usual). Just enter the actual PHYSICAL channel number, press enter. If signal is good, the set will ID the main channel and any sub-channels.
8. Doubles as a low cost CCTV monitor, costing half as much for a similar 4x3 CCTV set, but see below.
9. First small, low end LCD that has a three position color temperature control. Surprisingly the "Warm" setting is way too 'warm', almost pink when viewing B&W test patterns. Leave it on the 'Standard" setting. It's close to the TV studio standard (6500 degrees).
10. Choice of the built in flip out stand, or a external pedestal type stand for a more permanent location.
11. Wide/ narrow aspect ratios (improperly named "Zoom"). But, see below.

Cons:
1. This is almost a deal breaker that hasn't been mentioned yet: THERE IS NO STANDBY BUTTON ON THE FRONT PANEL!! You can't put this into standby to fast charge the battery pack without the remote. If you turn the set off via the hidden slide switch and power it up again, the set goes into the 'on' state, NOT the standby state. If you want to charge the battery pack you have to use the remote to place the set in standby. If you loose the remote you are SOOL! HUGE OMISSION!
2. Typical narrow vertical viewing angle (just like all Laptops). Ok from side to side (within reason), but the sweet spot for viewing is within 5 degrees (plus or minus) of around 5 degrees just above being perpendicular to the screen.
3. Older digital tuner (2007). A couple steps below current technology, but adequate for the purpose.
4. There is no signal indicator. 'Good, fair, bad' is not a signal indicator. I can see if the picture is breaking up easier that going into the info screen and seeing what it says. Really dumb feature.
5. Useless balance control and no tone control (not that it would probably matter with 2" speakers).
6. Small buttons on the remote, especially channel up/down.
7. Wide/narrow control should not be available for a digital channel. This only should come into play for analog. When changing channels on CATV systems, one has to keep switching back and forth between wide and narrow unnecessarily.
8 Low audio output including the headphone output when connected to an external amp. & speakers. External audio good, but you have to 'crank' it to get suitable output even when the level is full on the TV.
9. Aux. input needs the color level set almost full, but doing so, it affects color decoder output, running each primary color 'step' together into a continuous 'bar' instead of a stepped pattern from a test signal generator.
10. Brightness level on either input is very low, especially the TV input. See my calibrated settings below.
11. Non standard four contact 1/8" mini plug used for the A/V input. Unlike a typical mono or stereo plug (used for headphones), this plug uses a four circuit pin. A standard 1/8" mono mini would work, but for video only instead of using the bulky supplied A/V cable.

Calibrated settings. The default Contrast (too high) & Brightness (way too low) settings for 'TV' are way off base. (this will probably vary from unit to unit):

Contrast-......TV- 40....A/V- 75
Brightness-...TV- 87....A/V- 75
Sharpness-...TV- 30....A/V- 15
Tint-..............TV- ..0....A/V- ..8
Color-............TV- 55....A/V- 95


Recommended carrying case from CaseLogic;
I found a suitable carrying case for this TV. Model VNA210 for $15. It's a little tight, but not excessively. There is a separate pouch for the 'brick' AC adapter though I would recommend additional protection between the two compartments with the LCD screen facing IN, not out.

(Updated: corrected A/V settings & added case recomendation)

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.

Purchased this TV to use in the summer months on our patio to watch the news while having morning coffee or eating meals outside. We do not watch any other programming on this TV. It is a very small portable TV that meets our needs and should not be used as a PC monitor or some other hi-res application.
The TV is easy to set up and has all accessories that you would need. The picture is fine, and HD programming looks great - for a 10 inch screen.
The only problem experienced was channel reception. We live south of Hartford (CT) about 25 miles and the TV could only lock onto one station. I knew it was an issue with the antenna and not the TV. I purchased a Terk amplified antenna, replaced the cheap telescoping antenna supplied and reception jumped to over 20 channels! Although, we only watch one station for news, I could not receive it until I got the Terk.
The only con for us is the TV's speaker. It has a very tiny speaker so it will fit in the small housing - so the sound quality and volume are very limited. A couple of times had to turn the volume up to 100% to hear the talking heads because of other ambient noise outside.
I would have given this TV 4.5 out of five if it were an option.

The product turns off and on by a switch but the TV doesn't come on unless the remote tells it to. I thought my remote was broke and bought a new one. No luck. Batteries checked with a volt/ohmeter. Haier is an off brand with no US support for a product made in China. Ordered additional batteries and were sent the wrong ones by a respected US supplier, Andrew Electronics. Never ever buy an off brand without finding out if there is a US support center.

My local Target was closing out these TVs @$24 ea. and had 2 left, so I bought both. One was an open box and maybe a display model. I live around a small lake and need an outdoor antenna for all my Tvs and it was the same for these two. That little rod antenna picked up only one station and the roof top antenna got 18. Yes the speakers are a little tinny and not super loud, but OK for a personal TV. I did notice that both Tvs work better with the AC adaptor than the internal rechargeable battery. Even when the batterys are fully charged the picture will go to no signal and loose pixels, or freeze with the internal battery. Two other things, when checking signal strength there is no bar graph saying poor to good with colors, it just comes up with the word good or no signal ect. (Prefer a bar graph) Also the 2 remotes look alike but only opperate the TV they came with (not interchangeable) I asume the 12volt auto adaptor will run the set fine, but have not tried it yet. Probably take one on a camping trip next year. Have run both sets now 2 months with no problems and my first Haier product. Think I got my moneys worth.

I bought this tv mainly to use in our RV. I wanted something that would run off batteries and 12 volts for when we were dry camping. This fills that need. Yes, would have liked to have a bigger screen but couldn't find larger that had rechargeable batteries. My biggest complaint is that out of the box the included antenna did not work (period). I had a leftover telescoping magnetic antenna and when I plugged it in the TV found all local channels so the sensitivity of the TV is very good. For an hdtv the picture is fair to good in sharpness, color and brightness. The audio is adequate unless there is a lot of background noise. Battery life is also good (around 2 hr per charge) but comes with a plug that you can tap in to your 12 volt system and run for days. All in all well worth the money I paid for it. Just remember DO NOT USE the included antenna.

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.

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.

I have bought a LOT of TV's and this is probably the worst TV I have ever bought, horrible... you are wasting your money on this, trust me... I have tried different antennae, different spots around the house... several channels constantly go in and out... no problem with any other TV in my house. If you have one, return it, today. When it does come in it is very nice, when it does. Very aggravating.