 Review of A17W221 AOC LCD TV/Monitor Hybrid (Envision Series) Strengths: The unit is attractive, the picture is clean and sharp, the sound is adequate, and it has plenty of inputs.
Weaknesses: Heat buildup, poor manual, no customer support, poor remote control design, PIP does not mean two tuners but is for TV/Computer video.
Summary: Remote
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Unlike the rest of the "TV remote world", this remote does not use the navigation controls for changing the channel or volume. Instead, these controls take up considerable real estate just to navigate the menu. So unless you're using the menu, these controls just take up space. Channel Up/Down and Volume Up/Down is accomplished by manipulating the small buttons at the top of the remote, near the power button (whoops). One nice aspect of the remote is its additional buttons that allow one to bypass the menu to change close-captioning, change view mode, etc. The solution would be to go out and buy a universal remote that has good design.
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Power Consumption
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The manufacturer states that power consumption is less than 70 Watts. When turned on, during the first half-hour of operation the unit is relatively cool to the touch. But as time passes, the top of the unit becomes very hot. The unit cannot dissipate the heat as quickly as it is produced. This indicates an inadequate thermal design that may affect the lifespan of the unit.
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Picture in a Picture
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This terminolgy, as the manufacturer uses it, is misleading. The unit does not have two tuners, as one would expect. Because this unit is a TV/Monitor hybrid, PIP apparently provides a small window for computer video or TV video.
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Close Captioning
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This feature is on or off independent of whether the volume is on or off. I prefer a TV setup that allows one to choose Close Captioning only when the sound is muted.
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View modes
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The manual declares the unit is HDTV ready (you supply the tuner). There are three viewing modes available: 4:3, Full, and Nonlinear. No mention or explanation in the user's manual as to what the mfr means by Full or Non-linear. Of course, when receiving a 4:3 analog signal, the image is distorted if not in 4:3 mode.
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Setup Menu
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A setup option exists to allow one to choose the view mode. Unfortunately, this selection is not saved. So when you power up the unit, the view mode is Full, regardless of what you chose in the setup.
The audio setup has a quirky feature. The Treble and Bass have separate controls, each ranges from 0-100. Most audio systems have the treble/bass control as a single control that allows one choose a point in the treble/bass spectrum. I don't know what it means to set the treble to 90 and the bass to 75, for example. Is it the same as treble=15, bass=0?
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User's Manual
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Poorly written and incomplete.
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Customer Support
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Nonexistent. Calling or emailing the manufacturer does not produce a response. A machine answers the phone. It requests your name and phone number for them to return your call. They don't.
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Summary
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This is my first LCD TV, so it took some adjustment, on my part.
Even though I can live with the product, I won't buy a TV again "sight unseen". Because of the obvious short cuts taken on this product, I am concerned about its longevity. Will it last much longer than the one-year warranty? If seller would waive its restocking charge, I would return it.
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