Soniq QSL262CT LCD television

Soniq's QSL262CT is a 26in TV that's part of the company's QASA range of high-end LCD televisions. It provides decent quality for its price. With a built-in DVD player and 720p playback capability, the QSL262CT LCD TV is suitable for small living rooms or as a secondary television in the bedroom.

The Soniq QSL262CT LCD television offers a native resolution of 1366x768 pixels and is capable of displaying 720p high-definition content. Image quality is quite good, with a vibrant colour gamut and a sharp, clear image provided you alter some of the video settings. There are a host of advanced video settings, though we found only the Digital Noise Reduction (DNR) option had any noticeable effect on image quality.

Unfortunately, there are a few shortfalls. The panel uses CCFL backlighting instead of LEDs and has a contrast ratio of 800:1. Even on a display of this size, the low contrast ratio translates to poor black levels, which can make the television look washed out in a well-lit environment. Some backlight bleeding also occurs at the edges of the display.

Motion isn't quite as smooth as we would like. Soniq claims the QSL262CT LCD TV has a response time of 5 milliseconds which, while good for a 26in display, doesn't prevent clipping during fast action content in both movies and games. More expensive models often compensate for this with faster refresh rates, a feature the QSL262CT lacks.

You'll want to team the Soniq QSL262CT LCD television with a set of dedicated speakers for a better viewing experience. While the integrated soundbar is certainly loud enough, we found the audio muddy despite alterations to the sound profiles and turning off the Maxxbass option.

A DVD player on the back of the QSL262CT makes the TV simple to set up in a bedroom or kitchen. The DVD components look almost tacked onto the back of the television body, with the slot and controls at the very back. DVDs can't be inserted unless the TV is switched to the DVD source and, even then, they must be inserted back-to-front. Basic controls are available directly from TV, but you won't be able to properly navigate DVD menus without the remote control.

The Soniq QSL262CT 26in LCD TV displays DVDs at a 576p resolution so they don't take full advantage of the display's 720p capability. At the same time, however, the use of a native DVD resolution means there are no visual aberrations as a result of poor upscaling. Noise appeared to be a particular issue when watching DVDs, but the television's Digital Noise Reduction feature eradicated most of this.

There are numerous inputs on the Soniq QSL262CT 26in, including three HDMI ports, two component inputs, composite, S-Video and an RGB port with a 3.5mm line-in jack.

Naturally the Soniq QSL262CT LCD television doesn't match the standard of Samsung's Series 8 LED-backlit LCDs or Panasonic's high-end plasmas but, for its size and certainly for its price, the Soniq QSL262CT LCD television provides decent image quality.

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