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[sevenlayermuddle]

Ah yes, of course, I've never had a TV with built in DVD so didn't reallise that.

...But I see that's no excuse for my confusion... 
Looking at my standalone DVD players, which have a sliding drawer mechanism, I see they also don't have the pinhole.  I could've sworn they all did.

Sorry Kitz, I guess you were right all along, you'll have to rely on the supplier to extract the DVD and send it back.  Let's hope that bit goes to plan.

[kitz]

There wasnt a 'paper-clip hole' it is one of the things that I did check, as I have done this a few times in the past on PC CD drawers.

E-buyer had already agreed to do an RMA.. and arranged for it to be picked up today.
But only after much poking and prodding with the aid of tweezers and a tail comb (good tools eh?) I did eventually manage to get the DVD out last night before sending it back.

It seems ok now.. but TBH Ive lost confidence in that model.. and how do I know it wont happen again?

I'd fully decided I wanted the Bush one.. so psyched myself up for a trip to Argos.. only to find there were none left in stock.  I'm seriously kicking myself since when I checked yesterday morning there was 1 and I should have reserved it.  Now they're also out of stock at other local branches and also on home delivery.  I'm now hoping they get some more in and have asked to be advised when they do....but I dont know how long/if/when.

So Im still TV-less. Not having much luck am I.

Still keeping my eyes open for another one.. but its now even harder that a 22" was in my reach.

[oldfogy]

Kitz, there are always other things you can do in your bedroom other than watch TV.
Like go to sleep. 

But seriously, I hope you find what you want soon.

[oldfogy]

They might of heard about your plight.

 Of super-slim proportions and featuring the very latest developments in home entertainment technology, this all-in-one viewing centre allows you to watch your favourite programmes and movies with crystal clarity.

    * HD Ready
    * Freeview included
    * DVB-T EPG (Electronic Programme Guide)
    * MHEG 5-MPEG 2 compliant
    * Aspect Ratio: 16:10
    * Resolution: 1680 (H) × 1060 (V)
    * Brightness: 300cd/m2
    * Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
    * Response time: 5ms
    * Viewing angle: 170 degrees (H) 160 degrees (V)
    * 1000 pages Teletext
    * Nicam Stereo Sound
    * On Screen Display
    * Built-in DVD player
    * Playback: DVD, CD, MP3, JPEG Picture CD
    * SCART and HDMI input
    * CI Slot
    * Headphone socket
    * Audio output: 3W × 2, stereo
    * Accessories: AC/DC Adaptor, Power Cable, Remote Control (with batteries)
    * With stand 46 (W) × 39 (H) × 19.5cm (D)
    * With stand removed (for wall mounting) 46 (W) × 34.5 (H) × 7.5cm (D)

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/2867_9715.htm?WT.mc_id=2009-05-08-14-48

Wall bracket for above:
http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/2867_9716.htm

[kitz]

oooh thanks for that OF. 

That seems a very good price.  Tevion seem ok.

Just one small niggle is the 'Aspect Ratio: 16:10' and whether their firmware will cope ok with 16:9

/goes to have a scout round see if I can find any reviews on it.

[kitz]

blah... just tried phoning the tevion helpline to see if they knew..  but without the model no they couldnt tell me. (She said they hav 17x 19" models).

Seen some comments about the older Tevion 19" having the 16:10 / 16:9 problem, but I dont know about their more up to date ones.

Notice this particular model has both a higher resolution and contrast than the one they were selling last year.

* kitz never thought purchasing a TV would be so complicated. 

In the past Ive just bought and all was ok... it seems like this may be a problem related to 19" or TVs the same size as PC monitors or something. 

[oldfogy]

Too be honest this ratio business is all beyond me.

4:9 = Fullscreen
16:9 = Widescreen

so 16:10 = ?

If anyone want to enlighten me they are welcome to do so "but only if you keep it brief and simple" 

[roseway]

16:10 is slightly squarer than widescreen (16:9) and slightly more rectangular than standard screen (4:3). So it's a compromise between the two main transmission standards. If the TV handles it correctly, whichever format is used in transmission, the resulting display will have the correct shape (circles will be round).

If it's a widescreen transmission then there will either be a small amount of unused screen space top and bottom, or the picture will fill the height and overfill the width (losing a small bit of the picture at each side).

If it's a standard screen transmission then there will either be a small amount of unused screen space left and right, or the picture will fill the width and overfill the height (losing a small bit of the picture top and bottom).

[oldfogy]

Thanks Roseway, I had a inkling it was going to be something like that "a compromise" to try and get the best of both worlds.

[kitz]

Despite me being out on the pop last night I got up early (well for me) today in order to go to Aldi.
I got the very last set in the store and whilst we were going round, I heard at least 2 mentions about other stores phoning up to see if they still had any left in stock.

Anyhow got it home, plugged it in and tried it out.

The picture quality perhaps isnt quite as good as the ebuyer one.. but its still quite good and Ive no complaints.
The Tevion set uses the same firmware co as the ebuyer one.. and as soon as I switched it on and saw the same I started to have doubts...   but its obviously a very different version.
The Aldi one has more on screen options and a 7 day EPG
The Tevion seems to handle the 16:9/16:10 Aspect ratio problem much better. [edit - It isnt able to correct all digital channels - see post below]. There a couple of times where Ive seen it automatically try and adjust.  Im running it in 16:9 mode, and sometimes (particularly when playing DVD's) it puts the black bands at top and bottom.. other times it seems to crop a bit off the side off each side.  Its too early to say for sure, but it may depend on which channel your watching as to how it behaves.  However, I may be being overly critical and a friend says its perfectly fine.
 
Changing digital channels is very responsive and quick with the Tevion.. MUCH quicker than the F&H set... and it had no problem picking up channels and the auto-tuning was very quick and easy.
Sound quality for the Tevion is much better than on the Foehn & Hirsch.  Its not top quality, but it is more than adequate for in the bedroom.
Connectors is on a par with the Foehn & Hirsch.

The only real downside with the Tevion that so far Ive found is that the remote control needs to be pointed directly at the set for it to work..  [edit - this soon became very annoying as you often had to move before you could change the channel]

[roseway]

That sounds pretty good. Hopefully it will stay that way.

[jeffbb]

Hi
Glad to hear you have it sorted   .
There is just one problem when do you get time to watch it 

Regards Jeff

[HPsauce]

when do you get time to watch it 

That's why I've got a Freeview card in my PC; TV in a desktop window. 

[kitz]

The Tevion will be going back tomorrow. 

Further to earlier reports, although it does handle 16:9 in analogue and DVD mode... its still not able to handle it properly in digital.
Its been doing my head in literally.. The more I watched it and when 'familiar faces' came on the TV, then you realise something is wrong.   It does seem to affect some channels more than others.  Car ads look silly, and a black cab once looks more like a squished up mini.    I did have a nagging dread when I first switched it on and saw it was the same firmware as the F&H , but was prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt.   Another time it was obvious something weird is going on is when the news switches to show American footage of say Obama,.  (does american TV have different ratios again or just 4:3 ?)

Also very annoying is the fact is if Im led in bed and try to change the channel, I have to half get out of bed and point the remote direct at the TV.  The range is really poor.

Ive been attempting to do a fair bit of research into the 16:9 / 16:10 thing  and it does seem to depend on the firmware and how thats been programmed.   I'm surprised that so many 19" TVs appear to suffer from this problem.. Ive even seen complaints from purchasers of the so called top notch manufacturers also suffer.

Who ever thought that buying a tele would turn into such a saga.  I didn't think I was that fussy - all I wanted was a TV that worked and had a decent picture.

In all fairness the Tevion 19" DVD combi is a very good buy if you are looking for a set that acts as PC monitor and to play DVDs.  It seems to work OK with analogue.
If you want it purely as a TV then the digital firmware lets it down as does the very limited range of the remote control.
I probably could have got around it by plugging in my old freeview box, which has a 16:9 correction facility in it and it would also partially solve the remote problem.  But this kind of defied the point of buying a new TV with freeview in it and meant putting back some of the clutter on my dressing table.

Any how no doubt I will report more tomorrow, when Ive had time to take the Tevion back (it was too late tonight by the time I got home).

[roseway]

Before you take it back, make absolutely certain that there isn't a configuration setting which makes it work correctly. My 16:9 TV set didn't seem to handle 4:3 transmissions properly when I first got it, but eventually I found a config setting called 'Default zoom' which I had to set to 16:10 to get everything to display correctly. It sounds quite wrong, but it worked. If there is a similar setting in your TV, I suggest that you experiment with different values and see what happens.