I bought this TV to use in the kitchen, intending to hook it into my DISH satellite system. Although the box indicates it will work with "cable", this is not exactly the case.
After messing with this for about a week, I finally realized it had no pre-set channels on it. Therefore, I could not set it to channel 3 or 4 so it could receive the signal from my DISH box. I called Philips Customer Support and confirmed this.
This TV will only work with systems that do not require a box to de-scramble the signal. If that is your intention you should be okay, and this little TV has an absolutely gorgeous picture.
I also suggested to Philips that hardly anyone is familiar with a TV without channels and they really should do a better job of advertising this on the box. I expect we'll see lots of these showing up at a reduced price in the "opened box" category. Like the one I am returning. Philips PT902/37 9" Portable Digital HDTV with FM Tuner
Setting it up took a long time. Setup did not come on automatically the first time I turned it on. Just press options, then make sure it is set to AIR if you are not hooking it up to cable....otherwise it won't receive any channels. Then select channel installation and do an automatic scan. If you don't get enough channels you can try rabbit ears or a better antenna. I used rabbit ears, but the plug on the TV is so restricted that it's very difficult to screw on most antenna connections. Terrible design there. I had to modify a push-on antenna connection with a Dremel tool so it would fit. I couldn't get some of the local channels on the included antenna or rabbit ears (rural area). I finally put the rabbit ears about six feet above floor height in a window and got good reception of local channels with an excellent picture. The remote is poor, with no volume control or on/off button. It does have mute. Sound is what you would expect from a small TV, but acceptable. After all that I am very happy with the TV.
Great picture quality. It takes a bit of time to figure out how to program the channels but besides that, the TV is worth its cost. The TV does not require a converter box to tune the local air channels. It is a great small portable TV for the kitchen use or for taking with you to places. The FM radio feature and cable TV capabilities are a plus as well.
I bought this tv as a gift for my sister to replace a bulky 9 inch tv in her kitchen but as mentioned in another review, this tv will not work with a cable or sattelite box so it did not work for her. She llives in a rural area so just using it for over the air channels would not work either. Unfortunately I didn't give it to her until after the time to return it had passed so I am stuck with it. I can get local channels in my area but am still not happy with this product. The picture is fair but I have noticed you have to be at just the right angle to see it clearly. Also, there are no buttons on the tv to change the channel so you have to use the remote to do that which seems silly since the thing is so small and sitting right in front of you.
Cable TV to expensive, this could be the set for you, i work 3rd shift so i don't get to watch to much TV,..anyway i ordered this after seeing what a good picture it had at thanksgiving dinner over my brother's..for $89.00 it's a great deal,i keep mine plugged up all the time, so the antenna is in a stationary position all of the time,.. i have not tested the battery life,i have not had a reason to take it any where yet so i can't comment on the battery life. The only time i had trouble with receiving channels was when the weather was bad outside! The FM tuner is pretty good also, the overall sound quality is good,...I'm very satisfied with this little TV
Several of us at work purchased this for our boss. He loves it! He has it mounted on the wall in the bathroom so that he can catch up on all the news as he gets ready each morning. He said the picture quality and reception are excellent.
Some design flaws: Why is there no On/Off button or Volume control on the remote? We use the TV in the kitchen and because of where we have it, it's a pain to have to use the slide off/on switch on the left side of the tv, and to have to use the rolling wheel volume control located just above it.
Changing from channel to channel takes a couple of seconds. There can be a lot of delay in the response from the remote...sometimes it just stalls out.
Set up is not intuitve. Manual does not tell how to add Favorite channels...had to call support.
The picture is okay. Seems to get good reception via the antenna. Sound is okay.
Overall for the price, it's decent. If they had the on/off and volume on the remote, probably would give it 4 stars. - Digital Tv - Dtv Ready Portable Tv - Lcd Tv - Kitchen Tv'
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