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Bang & Olufsen Beovision Avant
by Randal
Anything made by Bang & Olufsen is bound to be high tech, exceptionally stylish, with quirky features and absolutely gorgeous (oh, and very expensive!!) - and this Beovision Avant TV is no exception.
These models were first introduced in 1995, initially with a VCR option (which I have), and later replacing that with a DVD ... option. Brand new, I believe that they cost was a few thousand pounds (a typical high price when you buy Bang & Olufsen products). Somehow I managed to get one in excellent condition for considerably less from a second hand shop because it didn't have a remote control with it, nor any instructions. Managed to buy a B&O remote for it off of eBay in the end for about £30.
So what do you get for all that money? Well the TV itself is a CRT (the type of TV with the deep back) wide screen, surrounded by a stylish black border. It sits on top of a large speaker set with 4 hidden speakers which looks like a black wall below the TV, with borders that run up either side of the TV part, making it look like the TV is particularly buried in a sound wall. This wall also houses the VCR element just below the screen. You wouldn't notice the VCR bit normally unless you were looking for it because all you get here is the slot to put your tapes in. That all then sits on top of a circular base plate. The whole lot at 108 cm high is as one unit and doesn't come apart, which means it is very heavy at 80 kg and can be cumbersome to move. My TV is 32 inches, but with the speakers and the stand, all in black, it is almost like a sizeable piece of furniture.
The back of the combination is a maze of sockets and plugs with a variety of SCART sockets, various aerial inputs and connections for external speakers and aux outputs.
The remote control itself is also a feat of excellence. In the first place, it is quite heavy being made of metal. Very slim with an LCD screen, it appears to have minimal controls and also has expansion capabilities to control other B&O products. It is also renowned for being one of the most powerful remote controls on the market. Point it anywhere in the room, press the button and then watch the B&O magic begin.
The first thing that happens is that the whole TV assembly begins to slowly and quietly turn to face you. The screen then comes to life and the picture appears as if showing behind a set of electronic curtains being opened. The speakers then open up with surround sound that engulfs you and the whole lot comes to life. You then realise why this creation is worth a few thousand pounds. Turn it off again and the reverse process happens with the TV quietly and slowly turning back to the parked position.
Rather than just being a TV, this is a piece of technical expertise. The wide screen has an excellent picture quality, and the speakers have a number of settings and Dolby Digital to create the perfect sound for your room with clear enough treble and deep enough bass to satisfy any sound quality connoisseur. You can set the stand to any 3 different positions for it to turn to as it comes on, or to change to when you are viewing it. VCR playback controls all operate from the designer remote control. The whole quirky feature of having it quietly turn towards you always amazes our friends and family when they come round.
Admittedly it is very expensive because you are buying a top of the range product from a designer brand. But what you do get in return is undoubtedly a technical creation that will have you and friends talking about and admiring it for years to come.
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Disney DT1350-P 13" TV
by cuturechic
Hannah and Jess have had there disney princess tv for around two years now it was there main christmas present between them. I can remember for sure how much the tv was but i think it was £100 but you can pick them up cheaper now.
I bought it out of woolworths but that shop has closed down now have seen them on ebay as ... well.
The tv is a 15 inch screen surrounded by pink and lilac plastic, the hearts on top of the tv is actually the speakers. There are buttons on the front to change the channel, volume and on / off however the tv comes with a lovely pink princess remote control with big buttons to make it more manageable for kids to use.
As we have the tv on the wall the girls use the remote control. The picture quality is good but the sound is not so great with it being crackly and unclear when up to loud but this is acceptable for a kids tv. It has a scart socket on the back and there dvd player is rigged up to that. I don't know why is a disney princess tv more like a little mermaid tv as she is the only princess featured on it when setting the tv up tuning, volume etc arial will swim over the screen.
All in this tv is ok for the girls bedroom as it only gets used for an hour a night but since buying this tv disney have brought out a lcd tv with a built in dvd player. I think ill save my doooyoo miles and upgrade there tv in time with christmas.
I dont recommend the disney princess tv as there are better ones available at the same prices, this one is outdated.
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Samsung WS-32A116D
by SoadFan
The Samsung WS-32A116D was our main tv for several years. We bought it when it was on an amazing promotion, where by it was reduced to £89. At the time that was a really good price. It was a 32 inch CRT tv which had a good looking modern and minimal appearance when you looked at it head ... on.
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At the time when we purchased the Samsung WS-32A116D we were very happy with the bargain price we paid, though it did take some time to work out how to fit the enormous box which protected it into the boot of the car.
Once out of the box the Samsung WS-32A116D looked very nice when we compared it to the old matt black Bush CRT tv we were replacing. The screen on the Samsung WS-32A116D had a good flat look to it and was enclosed by a very nice silver toned surround. The speakers for the tv were set at each side of the surround and this made for a nice neat looking finish.
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The picture display on the flat glass screen gave a nice clear effect, it was much better than the previous tv we had and at 32 inches in size, it was also much larger. The fact that this was a wide screen tv was something that we were amazed with, as we managed to get the Samsung WS-32A116D for such a cheap price.
The main fault we found with the Samsung WS-32A116D was due to the large amount of space it took up on the tv cabinet. This was mostly down to the rear of the tv, with all its bulky bits and pieces that were needed in order to make the tv function. Whilst the front of the tv looked sleek and modern, its J Lo rear seriously let it down. It was a magnet for dust and rather difficult to get behind to clean properly.
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We had the Samsung WS-32A116D for 4 years before it started to play up and we thought we had gotten very good value for money with the purchase. After all at a total cost of just £89, 4 years viewing worked out at just £22.25 per year. That was incredibly cheap for a 32 inch tv, even if it was a CRT model.
The Samsung WS-32A116D had teletext which was very handy as you could check news and weather and see what was listed as being on tv that night. The stereo sound was rather good at the time, although it wasn't up to the standards of the sounds we get from the surround sound set we run with our current tv. There was a built in digital tuner which we found very handy when setting everything up. The tv was a 100 hertz model which was an improvement over our last tv too.
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The tv worked very well without any problems until the colours went without warning. The problems we had were with the colour tube, which seemed to almost over night turn everything a bewitching shade of vivid green or stormy purple. One minute the tv was fine, the next after a loud pop, the centre of the screen had a kind of large star burst flash of the two colours, right in the centre of the picture.
After half an hour or so the star burst softened and then the whole screen was just a riot of silly colours. The effect was rather fun at the time as Jeremy Clarkson and his lads were on tv at the time, so we watched Top Gear in mad shades were J C had a green face and James May appeared in a fine shade of purple. We did keep the tv working like this for a week or so before we decided it was time to look for a replacement mostly for comedy value.
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The overall size of the tv was 910 cms wide, 555 cms high and 600 cms deep. The viewable screen size was 32 inches. The viewable screen format was 16:9 or 14:9. The tv had Virtual Dolby sound with audio leveller. There were 2 x 10 watt speakers. The tv had integrated digital terrestrial tuners and you could view more than 30 additional channels.
The tv also came with a remote control that worked well enough and there was a sleep timer facility although we didn't use it. There was a rear RF connector and a headphone jack. The whole thing was a heavy beastie and weighed in at over 55 kg, so it wasn't something you could easily move about.
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To give the Samsung WS-32A116D a rating I feel it ought to get 4 stars. It was something we bought very cheaply that lasted for a full 4 years. It had a few useful features and was modern looking at the time of purchase. The picture quality was rather good and the sound was decent enough too. For £89, I feel we had a good deal and you cannot ask for more than that really.
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