GadgetGuy.com.au

• Plasma and LCD TVs
• PVRs
• Projectors and Screens
• Set-Top Boxes
• Blu-ray and HD DVD
• AV Receivers
• DVD Recorders
• DVD Players
• Surround Sound
• Speakers
• Audio Systems
• Headphones
• AV Furniture
• Media Centres
• Universal Remotes
• Bundled AV Systems
• Hi-Fi Components

Kogan X46

Reviewer: Thomas Bartlett

Kogan was in current affairs reporting last year. No, it was not being chased over back fences, but being held up as an example of how a direct to the consumer sales operation can yield huge savings.

The Kogan X46 offers a 116.8 cm widescreen high resolution LCD panel, and costs just $2,099. That is all the review you actually need. A 46 inch LCD TV for just a bit over two grand, how could you go wrong? Let's face it, if it works even moderately well, this is killer value for money.

But you ought to know what you're getting, so let's press on.

The TV comes with an analog, but not a digital, tuner. We don't think this is a great loss, since you can pick up a cheap external HD tuner, or even a PVR.

It has one HDMI input, so if you have a few different HDMI sources you'll need a switch box. With HDMI it supported all signals from standard definition 480i and 576i, up to 1080p, but the latter only in US-style 60 frames per second format. So this will work nicely with most Blu-ray and HD DVDs.

With standard definition PAL DVDs, the picture was a little jerky on occasion, suggesting that the TV converts our 50 frames per second to 60 frames internally. This isn't noticeable most of the time.

The TV doesn't use any kind of dynamic processing, so it has a fairly modest contrast ratio. The black levels aren't very deep if you watch the TV in dark conditions, so it's best to leave the lights on. There was also a bit of overscan, so the edges of the picture were lost beyond the display area.

Sure, you can address all those matters with a different TV, but you'd better be prepared to pay a whole lot more money for it.

Get GadgetGuy.com.au content delivered right to your inbox, on the day we write it! It's quick, it's fresh, it's easy to subscribe, and you'll never miss a thing!

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner