This Haier LET46 Z18HF model displays a large diagonal of 117 cm for a price below 600 euros. But there is no miracle in terms of display quality.
The promise
On the TV market of entry-level, the Chinese manufacturer Haier practice very aggressive prices to try to grab the lead. Its model Haier LET46 Z18HF illustrates this commitment. It is a TV of 46 inch (117 cm), sold at less than 600 euros. It is therefore one of the cheapest in the market in this category.
Reality
Except the use of glossy black plastic, a typical entry level screen, the Haier LET46 Z18HF TV features a design generally very correct, thanks to its edges rather thin. Good point, the screen can easily rotate from left to right. Its base, rather basic, is covered with the same glossy black plastic.
An image to adjust itself
Let’s face it, the presets are not developed. The standard mode image is too “blue”: the balance between red, green and blue is not good, as is the case with many TVs. Cinema mode, which can usually get a more natural, higher quality does not improve things in this case. Due to the TV’s settings, it is possible to correct these deficiencies. It must first be slightly increased brightness of the image, so very dark gray are visible, then set of the color temperature is “hot” for a blank relatively acceptable. It is also preferable to decrease the sharpness of the image to soften the contours of objects displayed. The maximum brightness of the backlight of the screen is a bit small (252 cd / m²), TV is not suitable for very bright rooms.
Fortunately coating of the display is dull in Haier LET46 Z18HF, and therefore insensitive to reflections! Another important regarding quality, this panel LCD (PVA technology) displays a high contrast ratio (1000:1 around 7 in probe). This translates into very deep blacks, good quality. Once these settings are obtained then an image with more natural colors with objects contours are less pronounced. If the display quality remains very, final average is acceptable, considering the price of the TV.
200 Hz mode cannot be disabled!
The big problem with this TV is its mode 200 Hz (called F2R). If this option is used in the theory of thin movements on the screen, its quality is perplexing. Image is very fluid times, began to jerk regularly in some scenes. On the other hand, the artificial flow sometimes causes small glitches visible on the edges of moving objects. Worse, it is impossible to deactivate this mode, many users do not appreciate at all. This is surprising, because televisions can usually do it. But in this case, the setup menu is minimalist. Is accessed using the remote control, which is like the rest: very basic, but relatively easy to use because Haier functions are not legion.
A good TV for multimedia
The good news is that this Haier LET46 Z18HF TV offers a good compatibility with media files (photos, music and videos). It handles subtitles in SRT format, H.264 or XviD videos in high definition (1080p), as well as the types of files in high definition, such as MKV. However, it cannot play videos encoded in DivX or WMV. Note that you can record a TV show on an external hard drive or a USB stick (FAT32 formatted). No question, however, record one channel while watching another, as the Haier LET46 Z18HF TV only has an HD tuner.
The verdict
The Haier LET46 Z18HF TV is very cheap; its image quality reflects its entry-level positioning. It is especially a shame not to be able to deactivate the 200 Hz, which many do not like in the movies. Other 46 inch models sold around 600 euros (including Samsung and Philips) offer more options and a more careful.
This was all regarding the 46inches cheap TV i.e. Haier LET46 Z18HF.
