Baumann Meyer DT2600

Baumann Meyer's DT2600 is an impressive 26" widescreen LCD TV. The Korean-built unit features a clean, elegant appearance to fit into most modern homes. It measures 85 by 46 by 20cm and weighs in at 16 kilograms.

Side speakers border the wide LCD panel, with a stand built into each speaker unit. This means the screen is solidly attached to the table, but there's no swivel or height adjustment on the base. Thankfully, a 100mm VESA wall mount is available.

The widescreen features a metallic border and silver finish. Baumann Meyer has opted for an understated finish with no front buttons. Instead, all the controls are found on the underside of the front face. They are a little hard to reach, but this isn't a massive issue as the remote control is both well laid-out and easy to use. All aspects of the screen functions are driven by the remote control, including the tuning, picture and audio settings.

The Autotune function is extremely quick, and image quality is excellent, with no ghosting or other visual artefacts noticeable during testing. Picture in picture is fully supported, as is Teletext and a range of widescreen modes. The panel runs at a native resolution of 1280 by 768 pixels, and looks great in a range of lighting conditions with a 500:1 contrast ratio and 450cd/m2 brightness rating. A 170° viewing angle also makes it extremely easy to see what's going on from all corners of the lounge room.

The unit includes a stereo analog TV tuner built in, but the device is available in Australia with a Topfield standard definition digital box at no extra cost, and can scale right the way up to handle 1080i content.

The rear panel features a standard array of inputs, including S-Video, component, SCART and composite. A VGA connector is also provided for those who want to attach the display to a computer, and an easy to reach side panel also includes composite and a second S-Video connector alongside a headphone socket.

The TV ships with a remote control, power cable and manual, and a two-year warranty should provide some peace of mind. At a reasonable price, Baumann Meyer is onto a winner with the DT2600.