Remote Control:
When unpacking the remote control unit we experienced a déjà-vu - the controller is a spitting image of one in older-generation Panasonic TVs! We'll never know whether Amoi was just inspired by the Japanese giants or whether they managed to buy the tooling to manufacture.

Whatever the decision, Amoi's choice is spot on. The controller is ergonomic, with the individual buttons being well positioned. Some are a little close together, including the most important ones for channel-hopping and the volume.

Screen Menu and Channel Changing:
Less glorious is the LC 42 T 1 E's menu. The individual TV channels are not sorted when automatically scanning for the stations, and station names are not even allocated. However, once you have performed the laborious process of scanning by hand, this otherwise paltry Chinese model will positively surprise the user by changing channels in a record-breaking 0.3s.

The Amoi displays video pictures received from the TV tuner in a positive manner. They are bright and crisp, free of interference, and are presented with authentic color tones. Picture definition and fine details lack the precision of equipment manufactured to a higher specification. Even well illuminated static imagery such as studio presenters come across somewhat coarsely. Racy tickers are rendered perfectly and are easy to read.

However, the LC 42 T 1 E struggles with true motion pictures, and intricacies such as grass in football stadiums tend to smear even if the camera's motion is moderate creating a waxy appearance. In addition, the over-scanning of the Amoi magnifies and crops the pictures to excess which leads to deficits in the final picture - stock exchange tickers, for example, are missing sizeable chunks.

Even the viewing adjustments available on the LC 42 T 1 E provide little relief to the viewer. Pre-configured settings permit fine-tuning of the backlight, but if adjustments are made, then nothing else can be modified. This function is only available in ‘user mode' where here the viewer cannot dim the backlight.

Hence, the impression one gets is that the video output is far too lurid even if the ambient light in the proximity of the Amoi is muted. Dark sequences, such as in the opening of the "Lord of the Rings" in which the magician Gandalf celebrates his birthday, lack color depth, and the hint of the violet glow is particularly bothersome.

If the picture source is from a DVD player or satellite receiver, then the quality of the picture is particularly grainy. The Amoi does not even prove itself with dreary films such as "Panic Room". Now here's a remarkable phenomenon - the Scart inputs are sensitive to some DVDs causing, in some cases, the picture to distort or not appear at all. If this happens, switching the unit off and then on again will generally rectify the problem. A further Amoi peculiarity is well known by experts of simple 50Hz tube TVs - color saturation adjustments are no longer possible once the RGB pictures have interacted.

An acceptable picture can only be elicited on the Amoi if the video source is from a DVD player or HD-capable set-top-box and the signals are processed to deliver progressive-scan, 1920 x 1080 pixel images. Even here, critical scenes such as those found in the primeval forest in the film "Six Days and Seven Nights" have barely-visible streaks marring the picture.

Incredibly enough, the Amoi scores highly when playing back HD material. The 1080p HD format is accepted at both 50Hz and 60Hz, and the HD signals are faithfully reproduced - even though the Amoi lightly overscans and introduces subtle diffusion.

Videos from the Joe Kanes' DVE HD to HD-DVD test disc, particularly restaurant scenes, are for such a discounted Chinese TV well presented with incredibly realistic colors. Landscape scenes from the Discovery HD channel impress with their clear rendering of details and beautiful colors - bar one more fault - fine streaking when the camera pans.

Not so crisp when compared with full HD equipment was the film "Swordfish" played back through a Panasonic BD-10 Blu-ray device. Here the information signs at the rear of an interrogation room were difficult to read. Finally, the 24p format of original cinematic material is just not recognized by the Amoi.

Computer Operation:
The Amoi makes for an excellent 1920 x 1080 pixel flat-screen computer monitor provided that the computer is equipped with a DVI or HDMI interface. Fonts are rendered perfectly and are easy to read, the picture format remains undistorted while the otherwise extreme brightness in TV-Mode makes the Amoi ideal for presentations in bright environments.

Sound Quality:
Surprisingly, the audio quality is superb. Speech is crystal clear without any mid-range hiss, and the bass tones are crisp and responsive without appearing bloated. Altogether, this is one feature where the Amoi scores highly.

Picture Setting: User Mode

Brightness: 49

Contrast: 79

Color: 46

Sharpness: 13

Color Temp.: Warmer (6,500K)

* applied to realistic playback from HD-DVD/Blu-ray material through the HDMI interface in a darkened environment. Manufacturing and HDMI playback device deviations may necessitate slight adjustment. The centimeter (cm) setting refers to the length of the bar that appears in the menu.

Chinese dumping price: The workmanship of the aggressively-priced LCD flat-panel television from Amoi is impressive. The packaging however is somewhat bulky & cumbersome.

Short Changed: Just two Scart and one HDMI interface are simply not enough for today's Multimedia requirements. The digital audio outputs are equally limited in their use.

Blueprint: The ergonomically-designed remote controller is, so it would seem, an exact replica of one from Panasonic.

Spot On: The Amoi LC 42 T 1 E renders colors accurately.