HaierHLT71 7-Inch Handheld LCD TV (2009 Model)

I am really thrilled with my purchase of this Haier HLT71 7-inch, ATSC 2009-ready portable LCD TV! I have never heard of this name brand Haier, and I had heard many nightmare stories about some of the other name brands having poor pictures on these little screens, so I thought I'd give this Haier a try.I ordered this tv directly from Amazon and it came to me from a seller on Amazon who goes by the name ANTOnline. The seller sent this perfect and fast to start with, which is always a big plus with me. When I opened the box, the set looked very sleek and light weight, just perfect! The tv I received is exactly like the picture shows in this description, black (it is the picture that has the remote control next to the tv), with really simple control buttons on the front. I then looked at the directions, but realized, I didn't need to read them at all! Everything is really obvious! The set has a little slide switch on the side to turn on the power. The antenna screws in really easy. It comes with a plug for the inside electrical outlet, and a plug for the car lighter, and a lightweight rechargeable battery! It has a little remote control which they made very easy to read! After screwing on the antenna (or you can attach your cable cord if you are using it in the house), I basically plugged it in, slid the power switch on, pressed the button to scan for setting the channels, and it does it quickly! In about 1 minute, it was set! I then tried the small battery, and it played perfectly without the electric power!The picture is absolutely gorgeous, as it has the new atsc digital signal receiver built in! To see the local programs in digital on this little screen was fantastic! Colors are crisp, sharp and vivid, just like a big hdtv!I have noticed that some reviews are giving this tv a low rating because it did not pick up any channels with the single rabbit ear that comes with the set. This tv picks up EVERY signal that is being broadcast in your area. Before you buy this tv, you should first go to a website called Antenna Web. On this site, you type in your address and it will show you exactly how many channels you can receive in your area and what type of antenna you will need to pick up the signals. Antenna Web said that in my area I could receive 8 signals, and the single rabbit ear that comes with this tv picked up all 8 channels. When I used a stronger antenna, I picked up 3 more channels. When I used my cable cord, I received over 60 channels, and when I used my cable cord with my box, I picked up 250 channels.Whatever I hooked up to the coaxial input on this tv, this tv picked up! If you live in an area that receives no broadcast signals or you need a high powered antenna to pick up anything, it is not the tv's fault, but your broadcasters. So, if you want to be certain your tv is picking up the signals correctly, go to Antenna Web and check to see what channels you can get in your area and what type of antenna you need to pick up the signals. My single rabbit ear, picked up everything including the hi-def channels, and the reception was crystal clear. (Also, don't forget to go to the tv's menu, and hit the little satellite dish picture, then hit the appropriate air or cable before you scan for your channels. This way you'll be certain your tv will receive the correct signals.)The real plus for me on this tv, is the battery, because of so many electrical outages and bad storms, this is a must have item! The battery has a life of about 2-2 1/2 hours, perfect for a few shows while waiting out bad weather, or even for entertainment when traveling. The fantastic picture really blew me away. I just love the light weight of the tv, even with the battery, it's like a feather! There is even a built in stand to put it on a table! The sound is incredible as well- two speakers and really loud! This is unheard of on these small sets! They even thought of including a plug in for headphones, if you have them (headphones are not included), for quiet listening or for travel! Whoever designed this perfect set, knew what they were doing!I am giving this perfect little tv 5 stars for being able to see a sharp, vivid, gorgeously colored hi-def picture, and set up without reading a direction, but especially because I can play it in my house, in my car, or carry it anywhere with the rechargeable battery, all at a great price too!UPDATE: Haier vs. Axion 7 inch portable tv'sI am posting an update for anyone who is wondering what the differences are between these two portable tv's. A friend of mine purchased the Axion, and she immediately brought it over to compare it to my Haier. Here is what I found:RECEPTION: Antenna Web said I could receive 8 channels in my area. With the single rabbit ear antenna, Haier picked up all 8 channels. Axion picked up 7 channels, but one channel was very fuzzy. When attaching a cable cord, both sets picked up everything.SOUND: For these small sets, the sounds were very similar, but when turning the volume louder, the Haier was louder and not as tinny sounding as the Axion.PICTURE: Both have very nice pictures, with great color, but the Haier definitely has a more hi-def, sharper looking picture.REMOTE CONTROL: Haier's is easier to read, larger and has volume control, where Axion's is smaller and has no volume control.BATTERY: Haier's battery is a plug in and lasts about 2 hours before needing charging. Axion's battery is built in, cannot be removed and lasted a little less than 1 hour before needing to be charged.Overall, the sets are very similar, my personal choice being the Haier, as I think the picture is sharper, the price is better and the battery lasts longer for my needs in bad weather. Haier also has way more picture settings and adjustments in the tv's menu, but the pictures on both these sets are so great, I've never found a need to use them. The bottom line for me is the better picture and price give the edge to Haier, since the reception on these two sets is almost identical.UPDATE: MISSING OR NO CHANNELS AFTER DIGITAL CHANGEThis is an update for anyone who has lost channels or who has no channels after the digital change took place June 12, 2009, whether you re-scanned or not. I received this information to share with all of you from contacting the FCC, CBS, Antenna Web and Elgato Systems Technical Support.They were all very helpful in explaining to me what exactly is going on right now, which is this: Half of the nations tv stations (which at half is 1,760 stations) are running at full power, the other half of 1,760 stations are not. Some stations are completely off the air temporarily, and are available only through cable and satellite. In most major markets some channels are still in lower frequencies which many smaller antennas will NEVER pick up except MAYBE with the highest powered amplified antenna. Digital tv was originally planned to be broadcast in UHF (digital loop antenna needed), which are the higher channels. VHF (rabbit ears), which are the lower analog channels (2-13) was supposed to be gone, but it is not. The new digital tv is being broadcast in 2 different ranges both UHF and VHF.In other words, channels are missing, many channels are in frequencies we cannot pick up and only half of our stations are running at full power! What a mess! Antenna Web is now showing the new RF (Radio Frequency) channels in your area. Each station has 1 RF channel. If you see in your area, any low RF channels from 1-13 range, you will need a really high powered antenna to MAYBE receive your channels.First, go to your tv to re-scan. Remove any batteries. Plug it in to the wall outlet. Find the satellite dish in your menu and set it to air (if using antenna) or cable (if cable is hooked up)and scan. You may have to do this several times and even more re-scans are needed over the next year or two!The FCC recommends, if you are getting nothing, or very few channels, to do the following, before re-scanning:1.) Re-orient the antenna2.) Amplify the antenna (Not recommended by me, as these antenna's need electricity, which means it will be useless when used with the battery)3.) Purchase a new HD antenna that will receive both VHF and UHFWhen you buy an hd antenna for your set, try re-scanning it when you get home a few times to see what you get, if nothing works, return it and try another. (After re-scanning, make sure you try the tv with your battery to see what you can pick up for power outages.) Eventually one will work for your area and you'll be set for the next power outage.With only 1/2 the stations at full power, many channels temporarily missing that went to cable and dish tv, and many running on low analog frequencies, it's amazing our antenna sets are picking up anything right now! Shop till you get a good antenna for your area, and be patient as it will be years before everything is being broadcast in higher frequency digital tv! I hope this helps everyone, as the right antenna is everything right now!UPDATE: MORE HAIER BATTERIES ARE FINALLY HERE! (September 26, 2009)I am so happy that Haier has finally made more batteries available to purchase here on Amazon! Just type in Haier Battery and you'll see many sellers have them advertised and the prices are very competitive, starting at $24.00 plus shipping. I received mine quickly, tested it and we got a little over 4 hours of television with 2 batteries, which will be wonderful when we need a portable for the next power outage!(Without power, I recharged them in my car.)I've had my tv for 2 years now, and it's still like new, so paying for an extra battery is definitely worth it!

Just got mine today, a day early.I work from home and spend hours on my computer everyday. I was looking for something simple that I could sit on my desk so that I could keep caught up on news and sports, or don't have to stop working to catch a favorite program.I looked into DTV adapters or TV cards for my computer...that would have entailed either using one of my monitors for TV, or buying a new monitor to use as a TV...I wasn't too thrilled with either of those options, especially since the reviews on the adapters weren't that great and the good ones all seemed to take up a lot of processor. Besides, I wasn't really sure if I wanted my computer to function as a TV...I have enough stuff going on as it is.I thought of just buying an HDTV that was the same size as my monitors and mount them all...but still I was looking at at least $250 (on the low end) and a 3 monitor mount...just to watch TV ?When I started looking at portables, I was looking specifically for one that had decent reviews and had an input for CATV. I never intended to use it as something I would take out of the office, or for emergencies since I don't live in an area that has bad storms or power outages.The reviews on this unit looked good, most of the complaints seemed to be reception issues based on location..not about the unit itself, and a few days ago the price dropped to $64.99 right in front of my eyes, so I took a chance.Right out of the box I plugged it in, screwed in the antennae (I live in Las Vegas) and saw that I could get about 13 stations with the included antennae. It took a little adjusting to get them all without any time outs or broken signals, but it picked them up fine.Note: Mind you, Vegas is a valley surrounded by mountains... the broadcast towers are up high..surrounding the city and there are not too many tall buildings (outside of the strip) and absolutely no hills throughout the city to block the signals. It's pretty flat. I live dead center of the city, so it's a good ways from the towers on Black Mt....probably 12-15 miles, but there are no obstructions. I can see how if you live in an area with a lot of tall buildings in between you and the signal, big trees everywhere, or a lot of hills..over the air digital reception will probably be a pain without an aftermarket antennae. That's not the units fault.Digital signals are better quality picture and sound..but receiving them over the air is not like it was with the old school signals..you either get a strong signal or nothing..but of course I wanted it to watch cable, so I screwed in my CATV cord (straight from the wall) and hit scan and programmed 70+ stations (it actually said 130). Great ! ESPN, MSNBC, CNN, and all my local stations in HD, and everything else that I normally channel surf.Picture is very nice, crisp even...and the sound from the speakers isn't really bad at all. I mean it's a small unit..how good can it be? It's definitely loud and clear enough, no distortion..better than my netbook, but of course it's inside on my desk.It has all the settings and options to adjust contrast, brightness, sharpness, tint, color, balance. Sleep timer, clock, wide screen, closed caption, favorite channels and more...just like any other TV.There's also TV, and AV input options..can't wait to hook it up to a camera...I'm sure that I can probably configure it to be my video conferencing monitor..keeping my computer monitors free to work while I talk.(Your computer would need an AV-out for that to work)The kickstand is a little flimsy, but it works just fine. There's a spot for a mount underneath to screw in a tripod.Very sound construction...mine has the rubber coating around the outside as well.I see people complaining about the remote control not working properly...mine works just fine. You are only going to be so far away from a 7" screen anyway, probably close enough to just reach out and use the buttons on the unit, so I don't see why it needs to work from across the room..however the big buttons are for the menu, instead of channel and volume...I thought that was a strange layout but not enough to take off points.Other complaints I see are about it not holding stations after you turn it off..so far I don't see that either..It's turns on to the same station that it was on when I turned it off..just like any other TV. It holds all of my stations.I haven't even read the instructions yet..everything is pretty self explanatory and very easy to set up. Plug in the power and screw in the CATV cord and you'll be watching Digital TV in about 2 minutes.I think it's just perfect and exactly what I needed and was looking for, I recommend it, especially at this price.