The Giz Wiz for the week of September 5th, 2012, Netcast 1380

Forget the big screen TV. I wanted something tiny! And I found it.

While most people are searching for a bigger TV, I was searching for something really small. And I wasn’t much interested in the TV part, but I needed a tiny flat screen unit with A/V in. I wanted a new mini-TV monitor for my mini-kitchen. The one I had started just offering just sound; the picture was dead. No use trying to fix something like that. I use the kitchen TV-monitor to see the video from my cable box in living room. On Amazon, I found a neat Prism 7” Portable Digital LCD TV that offered A/V in. Many small units offer A/V out, which would be no good for what I needed. I never heard of the brand, Prism, but the Amazon customer reviews were pretty good. And it turned out lots of people where buying and using them for web cam monitors. When it arrived, I was surprised at all the included accessories. There was a monopole antenna, a remote control, an AC wall adapter, a 12-volt car adapter, and an A/V cable. I didn’t even realize it had a built-in rechargeable battery, but it does. (Prism says it should last about two hours.) The tuner can receive digital broadcasts, but living in a small brownstone apartment surrounded by big towers, I got zero reception. But that’s fine, because I didn’t want the Prism LCD TV as a TV, but as a monitor. I hooked it up to cable and the picture looked good. It’s not HD; resolution is 480 x 234, with a 16:9 aspect ratio. That’s fine for just keeping track of what I was watching on my cable while I got a drink or a snack. And the remote is convenient for turning it on and off since I mounted on the wall. The unit is: 7.5 in L x 1 1/8 in W x 5 5/8 in H (19.05cm x 2.85cm x 14.28cm) Screen Size: 7 in (17.78cm) measured diagonally. If you want to use it as TV, it will probably work best outdoors, or with a better antenna. It takes a standard antenna jack. Even though the battery is good for just about 2 hours, it will work off a 12 volt lighter plug. There’s a fold out leg in the back, and tripod socket on the bottom. The price for the Prism ATSC-710 was just about $54. I have Amazon Prime, so there was no shipping charge and I had it in two days. Overall, for the money, I think this is a good deal. 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001W8WEGC/?tag=twnene-20

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