A Good 20” TV With All the Right Features
Pros:
Remote control, stereo audio, headphone jacks, v chip, picture quality.
Cons:
No clock.
The Bottom Line:
The Aiwa TV-S011 has all the right features, providing good value for the money.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
Aiwa is usually a good brand for stereo equipment. They offer quality products that are price competitive with similar items on the market. Their televisions offerings are good, offering full functionality, stylishness, and good picture quality also at a competitive price.
Stylistically, the Aiwa TV-S011 looks good. Corners are rounded, so are the edges. The housing is a dark silvery gray color that is compatible with many decors. There is nothing revolutionary about the design, only that it looks good enough not to be hated. The TV would sit well in a guest room.
This TV has RCA jacks located both in the front and in the back of the TV for auxiliary video and stereo audio in. Located in front of the TV near the button are the TV controls. In addition to channel and volume controls, there is a TV/AV button in case you want to plug in a VCR or a game console, and a menu button in case you lose your remote and need to access the setup functions. There is also a red indicator light, and that is near the power button. The indicator light indicates standby mode when the TV is off, but still plugged in to a wall socket. I think this is pretty much useless "feature".
This TV is stereo capable. The speakers, enclosed behind wire mesh grills, are located at the front of the TV on the corners. Sound quality was not bad, but not spectacular. For a TV of this size, it will be hard to discern stereo unless you are using headphones. Headphones can also be plugged into the TV for private listening. Picture quality is average to good. The TV-S2011 uses a conventional glass picture tube that is not flat in the front. However, the curvature is not noticeable. There is no digital filtering in this unit.
Setting up the TV is not too hard. The TV comes with rabbit ear receivers attached to a 75ohm connector. The rabbit ears were functional, but those with cable will not need them. Actual tuning is automatic depending on whether or not the TV can detect a signal. The TV will display a blank screen if it cannot detect a signal. There are 181 channels available for programming, and one can access setup through the on-screen menus.
The TV-S2011 has V chip to set up your parental/guardian preferences and password in case you don't want your children watching something when you are not looking. There is a sleep timer that, when set, turns off the TV at a set number of minutes. Perfect for the husbands who fall asleep in front of the TV, and the spouses who hate to have to go to turn the TV off. The picture control, accessed through the on-screen menu, allows you to adjust contrast, brightness, tint, sharpness, and color saturation.
This TV also comes with a remote operated on one AA battery. The remote control is a squat looking device with clearly labeled buttons; nothing is overly complicated. There is a button for sleep, one for caption (closed caption), one to mute sound, and other assorted functions in addition to channel and volume control. Among the features the TV is missing is that is does not have a clock, neither does it have digital video in. Despite this, the Aiwa TV-2011 is a good bargain.
Average price: $220+
