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Don’t you just hate those people who reckon there’s no point having hundreds of TV channels when they’re all ‘filled with nothing but rubbish’? Anyone who’s actually spent quality time with hundreds of TV channels knows the real point is that even though 95 per cent of the channels might be showing rubbish at any particular time, there will always be something on somewhere you’ll be interested in. In other words, having hundreds of channels puts your viewing schedule in your hands, rather than at the (often bizarre) whim of a handful of broadcasters.

Our clearly strong feelings on this subject (!) inevitably predispose us to feel very favourable towards TechniSat’s HD-Vision 32. For this rather remarkable 32in LCD TV, hailing from Germany, offers you the opportunity to watch potentially hundreds of TV channels without any need for even a single external receiver box. How? By building in tuners for analogue terrestrial and satellite broadcasts, digital terrestrial and satellite broadcasts, and even analogue and digital cable broadcasts.

On paper this sounds like a dream come true for people who want channel choice without the clutter and complication of extra boxes and remote controls. But does the reality live up to the hype?

First impressions bode ill. The HD-Vision 32 just isn’t a particularly attractive TV, thanks to its rather chunky demeanour, plain lines and flimsy build quality. It can at least be bought in a series of different finishes: high gloss black, high gloss white, standard black, platinum and silver. Plus you can choose whether you have speakers that run down each side of the TV or speakers that run under the screen. But the fact is that none of these design selections exactly set our pulses racing.

At least things look up with the TV’s connectivity. Twin HDMIs show an appreciation of HD fare, and these are inevitably backed up by component jacks for analogue HD sources like the Xbox 360. Other sockets include two Scarts, a USB port for attaching USB storage devices, a D-Sub PC input, a subwoofer line out, and a digital audio output for delivering any Dolby Digital 5.1 audio broadcasts one of your countless channels might deliver to a suitable AV receiver.

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