I'd been looking for a new TV for a while, and was immediately taken with this model while doing my weekly shop in Tesco. I hadn't thought much on the Technika TVs previously because I've had mixed experiences with the brand to date. However this TV really grabbed me because of it's sleek, glass, mirror finish screen. I couldn't believe such a fine looking piece of technology was made by Technika initially!

When I got my TV home, I got to setting it up in the bedroom right away. This is a 24" screen, so it's an ideal size for the bedroom. Some people prefer smaller screens of around 19", but at my age, with my eyesight, 24" is necessary. It wasn't hard to get it set up at all, in fact it was a case of putting it in the right place and plugging it in really. I then inserted the enclosed batteries into the remote control, plugged in my indoor aerial, and away I went.

There's an easy install option on here for setting up the TV for the first time, and initially I was unsuccessful in getting it set up I must admit. I only found about six channels on my first attempt! I then moved my aerial and had success on my second attempt though, so this is down to my area and signal strength rather than the TV. Each search took about ten minutes I would guess.

The picture quality on this is first rate, though there is one big drawback to the mirror-finish screen. If you look at the screen from the wrong angle, too high or too low, you can just see outlines instead of solid pictures. It's like you're looking between two sheets of glass with a top and bottom layer of picture on them (if that makes sense?). So you have to be sure to angle this TV in the right place before you get comfy. The stand does allow for the TV to be angled quite easily, but it is very thin and flimsy and I'm a tad concerned that it isn't as weighted as it could be. Perhaps wall-mounting would be a better option with this TV.

The picture quality is great when viewed at the right angle, and though I don't have HD TV yet, I could imagine it would be pretty special to see on this set. There is an obvious difference already between the picture quality of this set and my older style LCD TV. The sound quality is also good, I like that it's crisp, clear and available in a wide range (from mute to boomingly loud!).

The extra facilities are what makes this TV stand out from the crowd. Firstly it's got built in freeview, as already explained, and then it's also got both a built in DVD player and a VGA socket. The DVD player is easy to use and takes about ten seconds to load up and power off when used or when switching between DVD and TV. There's a 'source' button the TV that allows you to hop between the various output settings like DVD and DTV. The all-in-one remote is quite cleverly designed, as it allows you to use the buttons in one way for when your TV is set to DTV, and another way when it is set to DVD. No need to find several remotes when you're using this then!

The VGA socket was important to me, as I do like to watch bits off the internet quite a lot. A VGA socket is compatible with computers including most laptops and netbooks. So for example, I'm on my netbook right now typing away while looking at the text on my TV screen. All I had to do was to plug a VGA lead (£10 from Tesco) into the TV and into my netbook, then select VGA as the source on the TV, and 'output to monitor' on my netbook. It takes a minute or two to do but makes a big difference - a 14" difference in this case! Basically, you can use this TV as a PC monitor. The only thing to be aware of here is that the sound will still from from your computer unit unless you also hook up the audio seperately. Personally I don't feel the need to do that though as I just flip my netbook over and prop it up like a speaker when watching films.

Other options include a full TV guide (not just now and next) text and red button facilities, video connection capabilities and a scart socket. Everything you could want from a decent TV basically. The crowning glory for me has to be the gorgeous finish and design of this TV, and I'm also impressed by the slim depth too. I paid £184 for mine as an ex-display model, but you can also find it online at Tesco Direct for only £210 at present (down from £240) which I think is a very good price. You can get slightly cheaper 24" televisions, but I doubt they'll be as sleek and versatile as this is. I've seen TVs for £100 more which don't even have a VGA socket!