Teco TAL2226 LCD television

Name: Teco TAL2226 LCD television
Item: Teco TAL2226 LCD television
Rating: 2.75
Author: Campbell Simpson

This 22in LCD television would make a good television for a bedroom or study

Campbell Simpson

Good Gear Guide

03/09/09

Expert Rating

2.75 / 5

Pros

PC-friendly 16:10 resolution

Cons

Low contrast and brightness, widescreen content requires scaling because of 16:10 aspect ratio

Bottom Line

The Teco TAL2226 is a reasonable choice for a user looking to get an all-purpose screen for a study or bedroom. It is hamstrung by low contrast and brightness levels.

Would you buy this?

Yes 0
No 10

Price
$ 549.00 (AUD)

The Teco TAL2226 is a 22in LCD television that is well suited as a backup screen in a study or bedroom; it is sufficient for casual television watching.

We tested the white version of the TAL2226. With a thick bezel, low-slung speakers and central power LED it evoked memories of the Kogan 1080P-47 and the [[artnid:254629|LG Scarlet|Review: LG Scarlet] — albeit an ultra-budget version. The Teco’s build quality isn’t abysmal, but it feels like a budget TV.

Like most 22in all-in-one displays, the Teco TAL2226 has a resolution of 1680x1050. While this is not far from 1080p (Full HD), it has a 16:10 ratio, so regular widescreen content will need to be cropped or stretched to fit. The screen’s contrast ratio is 1000:1, which is acceptable for broadcast television and low-resolution video content. Brightness levels also aren’t fantastic. At 300cd/m2 it’s lower than the 500cd/m2 usually seen in LCD televisions.

The Teco TAL2226 has single HDMI, VGA, composite, component and S-Video ports. This is enough for connecting a computer and DVD player simultaneously, for example, but multiple digital video devices will require a splitter. We tested the Teco TAL2226 as a PC monitor using the VGA input; at its native resolution of 1680x1050 it looked crisp and sharp with reasonable colour reproduction. Widescreen 16:9 Blu-ray content was scaled reasonably well, with a variety of zoom options available. We would have preferred the screen to be a standard 16:9 resolution, though.

Picture quality is acceptable if you’re not an avid movie watcher, but the screen’s flaws quickly surface when presented with high quality content such as our 1080p Dark Knight test video. A large amount of black crush robs dark scenes of detail, while the relatively limited colour gamut means images aren’t as vibrant as other small screens we’ve seen, such as the Sony Bravia KDL22S5700.

If you’re not too fussed with image quality and want a screen that can serve as a computer monitor as well as a television and video player, the Teco TAL2226 is a viable option. For videophiles, though, there are better options available.