Product Review: Winbook 46" LCD HDTV, Model 46D1

Winbook’s latest entry into the LCD TV world is a 46” flat panel, model 46D1. It has a 1000:1 contrast ratio, 8ms response time and one HDMI w/ HDCP input.

The 46D1 is Winbook’s best television to date and the best news is that it won’t cost you a lot of cabbage to own one. It has a built-in digital tuner and comes with a 1-year carry-in limited warranty.

At the time of this review, the 46D1 cost about $1399.

Benchmark Test Results and Bottom Line

All specifications used in this article are courtesy of Winbook and Micro Electronics.

• Integrated ATSC tuner for free-to-air HDTV reception
• Supported ED/HD Input Signals: 480p, 720p, 1080i
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9 aspect ratio
• Panel Resolution: 1366 x 768 panel resolution
• Brightness: 500 cd/m2 image brightness
• Contrast Ratio: 1000:1 contrast ratio
• Color Support: 16.77 million color support
• Tuner: Integrated ATSC/NTSC tuner
• Wall Mount: Optional - VESA 200 mount
• Stand: Includes tabletop stand
• Dimensions (WxDxH ): 46.06" x 5.39" x 32.74" (with stand)
• Weight: 79.39 lbs.
• Power Supply: Integrated power supply
• Voltage Required: AC 100/220V (50/60Hz)
• Power Consumption Operational ( Standby ): <290 Watts power consumption
• Manufacturer Warranty: 1 year carry-in limited warranty

Connections

• Composite A/V inputs: (1)
• S-Video Inputs: (1)
• Component Video Inputs: (2)
• Antenna Inputs: (1)
• HDMI Inputs: (1) v1.0 with HDCP v1.1
• DB15 VGA Inputs: (1)

Audio

• Speakers: Integrated Stereo Speakers
• Audio Amplifier: Integrated 9 Watt per channel audio amplifier
• Sound Output Modes: Mono, Stereo, SAP, SRS/BBE
• Audio Outputs: (1) Left and Right Stereo RCA Jacks; (1) S/PDIF digital

Picture Quality: This was far and away the best Winbook television I have seen. The picture was a bit soft in color, but adjustable. It kind of reminded me of the 42w2 Westinghouse 1080P TV I reviewed last year.

Moving images and text displayed fine. I watched the BCS National Championship Game on the 46D1 and thought the picture quality for HD was excellent. Standard definition satellite looked good at 4:3 and 16:9 resolutions. Video noise was minimal. Blacks were good.

My girlfriend even commented how good high definition looked on it. She is a tough sell for televisions and rarely makes a comment about picture quality in a positive light – meaning she either likes it or doesn’t like it. She liked the 46D1.

Price: The 46D1 is priced to sell at the very competitive price of $1399 at the Winbook store online. This is an excellent price for a television of this caliber. Forty-six inches is big. I watched the 46D1 in my living room for over a month and when I went back to my old TV the 42” DLP looked like a 32”. Okay, I’m exaggerating but 46” is a good size.

Design: The exterior design of the 46D1 was sharp. It looked good when turned off. The panel had a black bezel and front controls directly under the right panel. Video and audio inputs were located on the back panel facing toward sides. This made it easy to connect cables. The speakers were part of the stand, which gave it a streamlined feel from panel to stand.

Panel Stability: The panel feels tipsy when set on a table-top stand. It is front-heavy and I worry that it could be easily knocked over if bumped in to. The panel is heavy. Two people are needed to move the panel because of weight and the lack of a something to grab when picking it up.

• Is this an issue? This wouldn’t stop me from considering this television. When moving the panel I was concerned because the panel felt like it was going to tip forward when connecting cables. If the panel is going to be on a table-top stand near an open area where kids, pets and clumsy adults pass by often, then I would take extra precaution to protect the panel.

Temporary Burn-In: Burn-in occurred when the DVD player was in screen-saver mode. The screen saver image left a fog-like imprint on the screen for several seconds after it was static for several seconds. This was temporary and didn’t affect the overall viewing experience of actual images.

• Is this an issue? I don’t believe this is an issue. The images only stayed on-screen for a couple of seconds and disappeared. It was similar to fog disappearing from a mirror.

Video Inputs: There was only one HDMI input, which is the norm. What wasn’t the norm (to me) was including only one composite video input. There were two component inputs.

• Is this an issue: I understand the push toward HDMI and DVI means composite/S-video inputs will be used less, but a lot of people still have devices that use that type of connection. You’d need to get a switcher in order to connect two or more composite/S-Video devices.