JVC LT-26DE9BJ Widescreen LCD TV Review
JVC LT-26DE9BJ Wide Screen LCD TV with Built-in PVR
Overview:
Pros
DynaPix plus Picture Engine
160GB HDD PVR
The Freeview+ feature
Good selection of features
Exceptional picture quality
User friendly menu system
Cons
Subtle design
Awful black levels
Lack of D-Sub PC port
JVC LT-26DE9BJ Complete Review:
In between the years 2006 and 2007, everybody wanted to look at 40″ + LCD TVs and anything less than the 40 inch LCD TVs mark seemed to be ancestral. Since the economic downturn, people also have starting to look at the smaller size televisions that are still capable of producing pictures of quality that are equivalent to that of their giant counterparts. The following review is on the 26” LCD TV, the JVC LT-26DE9BJ.
Unlike the impact that you might get from TVs at this level, the moment you switch on the TV you can sense some difference and immediately conclude that JVC has poured some sweat on this model.
Subtle design:
The design of JVC LT-26DE9BJ 26-inch LCD Television is very basic and lacks the style factor. It is just ok, not bad looking. It has a matte black finish and is placed over a rectangular stand. The finish seems to be a little flimsy.
Limited connectivity:
The connectivity offered by JVC to LT-26DE9BJ HD Ready LCD TV are quite limited. There are only two v1.3 HDMI sockets, but you can find three of them in JVC’s 32″ model. The only way by which you will be able to connect your PC to the TV’s display is through HDMI if the PC has been set to the screen’s native resolution. The TV is not having the D-Sub PC port which is a basic flexibility that is offered by every other TV in the market.
User friendly menus:
The menus in JVC LT-26DE9BJ Widescreen LCD TV are very user friendly being bold, sharp and clear. Following the menus through the set-up cannot be made to be much easier. Some adjustments other than that of the basic ones that you will be make are, Flesh Tone adjustment, multi-level noise reduction processing, and backlight tweaking as well as the more typical brightness and contrast alterations. The calibration is straight forward but the TV asks you to make a choice with the backlight. The higher you set the backlight, the more effective your picture looks, but you will have to make a compromise on the depth of the colour levels and the blacks would look pale. But, if you put the backlight completely down, the pictures will be less punchy and the colour balance would be natural.
Ample features:
Being very small, it does not mean that the JVC LT-26DE9BJ LCD HDTV is small in features too. This recording system, ideal for clutter-critical, second-room environments. This TV is having a 160GB hard disk drive on to which you will be able to record the Freeview broadcasts sans any set-top box. These recordings are not any ordinary HD recordings, rather, they are implemented in compliance to the Freeview if a recorder has to get the Freeview+ accreditation.
Freeview+ standard:
The Freeview+ standard must have the following features. Minimum of eight day programming guide, Series link support that allows a timer to record an entire series, the ability to differentiate between two different programs and save as if they are one for instance, if a movie is interrupted by a news broadcast, the ability to offer to record related programmes, the ability to spot and record an alternative showing of a broadcast if there is a time conflict, the ability to update schedule changes even while a TV is in standby and accurate recording, where programmes are recorded based on data from a broadcaster rather than simple time settings. All these features packed in this small 26” TV, sounds great right?
Another great feature is that, the JVC TV records and stores only the relevant parts of the broadcast digital bit stream that contains your desired program which means there will not be any loss in the quality between the original broadcasting and your recording. While certain branded Freeview+ models like that of LG LCD TVs limit you record only one Freeview channel at a time, JVC LT-26DE9BJ High Definition LCD TV allows you to record two Freeview channels at once. But one limitation that you will have to keep in mind is that, you will not be able to record anything else other than Freeview channels on you LT-26DE9BJ as the analogue tuner and AV inputs are all off-limits.
Resolution:
JVC LT-26DE9BJ has a native resolution of 1,366 x 768, “Full HD” fans do not get disappointed. You must know that it is not very practical to stuff 1,920 x 1,080 pixels in to a display of this size and moreover, you will not be able tell apart much difference between a Full HD and a HD ready playback on a screen of this size. Another excuse that we have found to justify the HD ready resolution of LT-26DE9BJ is that, currently all the Freeview channels are broadcasted only in standard definition and so, anything near to that of the standard definition is, lesser burden for the TV’s up-scaling processors.
Picture quality:
The picture quality of JVC LT-26DE9BJ HDTV is very promising. JVC has employed the DynaPix Plus image processing engine which is a quite decent one that efficiently manages the colour, contrast enhancements and also rescales the images in to the TV’s native resolution in a clean way. But the DynaPix Plus engine is not as capable as that of JVC’s DynaPix HD engine. The major disadvantage is that, the TV will not be able to handle the 1080p/24 sources that can be seen in the majority of the current Blu-ray players. This means you will have to set your Blu-ray player to slightly degrade to 1080i which we don’t think you will be happy to do.
The pictures displayed by JVC LT-26DE9BJ Widescreen HD Ready LCD Television are spectacular, outperforming its other rivals. They are bright and colourful and is having excellent colour saturation and raw brightness which is outstanding for a small screen and gives the visual impact which even the big screen TV’s struggle to achieve. The colours are reasonably natural and even that are not are improved to an impressive level with the help of the Flesh Tone feature. Occasional colour stripping can be noticed which you would not have witnessed if the unit had possessed some high end colour processors and more resolution too.
The pictures look exceptionally sharp too both when it is standard definition and HD. The upscaled images look clean and stable and ghosting will be hardly noticed. Along with the sharpness in the pictures, the video noise that can be observed in some of the Freeview broadcasts is controlled, all of this is made possible by the DynaPix Plus image processing engine. But the absence of 100Hz style processing by this engine leads to some inevitable motion blur and occasional judders, and in the case of LT-26DE9BJ, it suffers from lesser resolution loss when compared to its other counterparts.
Awful black levels:
One major disappointment with the picture factor is that, the black levels are very average. This can be noticed in particular when the Dynamic Picture preset is active. The dark scenes are flat and blue-grey. This makes it hard to believe the stunning Colour levels that the TV produced in the daytime telecasts. This situation can be slightly improvised by adjusting the backlight from high to medium from the standard preset menu and also by making some minor tweaks in the TV’s brightness and contrast levels. All these can take the black levels to only average and the limited viewing angle of the TV also contributes to all this.
Recording quality:
All the recordings look exactly the same as the original broadcasts. The remote control plays a major part in this as all the recording and viewing is well handled and managed by it. From BBC to CN, the DE9 produces a clean, sharp and natural picture. Operating the EPG and scheduling recordings is simplicity itself.
Audio:
Talking about the audio, the JVC LT-26DE9BJ has good levels of volume and decent clarity that can be rated to be good for a TV of this size. It lacks some potency and the bass is less, some more of raw power could have done good to LT-26DE9BJ’s audio performance. Sound is typical flat screen fare, a bit brittle at the top and lacking at the bottom, but it is certainly acceptable.
Verdict:
We are certainly impressed by the recording capabilities of the JVC LT-26DE9BJ, but, as you must have guessed, the price has been fixed accordingly. This 26” model is much, much costlier than the Toshiba 26AV505 LCD TV. When you will be able to get external Freeview recorders for much less than the difference of the price between the two TV’s, it is time for you to think and then make a move. But the TV is exceptionally good in the image quality and packed with a lot of other good-bies other than that of its recording capabilities that justifies its price tag. If you are in the market for a Freeview PVR, the JVC could be the set to get. JVC LT-26DE9BJ is a great option for your second room.
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JVC LT-26DE9BJ LCD TV - Technical Specifications, Features
| Manufacturer | JVC |
| Model Name | LT-26DE9BJ |
| Dimensions (W X H X D) mm | 660 x 440 x 90 mm |
| Weight | 9.5kg |
| Colour/Finish | Black |
| Stand type | Table top |
| Display size | 26 inch wide screen |
| Display technology | LCD |
| Resolution | 1366 x 768 |
| Image Aspect Ratio | 16:9 |
| Dynamic Contrast Ratio | 800:1 (Native); 5000:1 (Dynamic) |
| Brightness (cd/m2) | 500 |
| Viewing Angle | 150 / 160 |
| IDTV | DVB-T |
| Response Rate (ms) | 8ms |
| HDD Capacity | 160GB (3.5″) |
| PVR Reservation | Timer Recording by EPG or Manual |
| Speed Playback | Fast forward Rewind Slow Motion |
| HD compatibility | 1080i (1125i) 50/60Hz, 720p (750p) 50/60Hz |
| Image Processing Engine | DynaPix Plus |
| Comb Filter | 3D Y/C |
| Noise Reduction (N/R) | Digital NR |
| Auto Aspect Switching | Yes |
| Number of Tuners | DVB-T x 2 / Analogue x 1 |
| Reception System | Digital Terrestrial |
| EPG | 7 days EPG |
| Stereo System | A2/NICAM, 10W |
| Digital Teletext | MHEG5 UK Profile |
| Features | DynaPix Plus Picture Engine / Hyper Sound / Dynamic Contrast 5000:1 / IDTV (Integrated Digital TV Receiver) x 2 / 160GB HDD PVR (Digital TV Recorder) |
| Connectivity | 21 PIN, SCART x2 HDMI Input x2 Component Input + L,R-IN Audio-IN Video-IN S-IN Headphones Digital Audio Output (Optical SPDI/F) |
| Power Device | Power supply - Internal |
| Max Power Consumption | 105V |
| Warranty | 1 year |
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