HDTV Lounge

We believe the Acer AT4220 to be the cheapest 42-inch LCD currently available. Acer, who are probably better know for their laptops and LCD computer monitors have released the AT4220 at a very low price of just £775 ($1500). A LCD HDTV at this price might get you wondering about the quality. Well, TrustedReviews have taken a look at the AT4220 and say, we spot among the AT4220’s connections not one but two HDMI inputs – a forward-thinking touch of flexibility that a few rival TVs costing twice as much are still failing to provide. Even better, during our tests these HDMIs actually managed to show 1080p.

Kicking off the good stuff is some really very impressive sharpness during high definition viewing. The set delivers a great sense of the extra clarity and definition inherent to the HD format, helping HD pictures look more believable and solid in the process and making the HD efforts of many large-screen LCD TVs costing twice as much look soft and fluffy by comparison.

The AT4220’s troubles with standard definition are definitely a problem on a TV likely to appeal most to a fairly unambitious (in AV terms) audience. But we suspect there will still be people out there seriously interested in being able to get a perfectly adequate HD display of a size they probably never dreamt their limited budget would stretch to.