Best Budget TV for the Kids Room
Posted by Kieran Ball on Thursday, 22nd July, 2010.Many families have a separate room set aside as a day room/play area for children these days. Installing a TV in these rooms is a good idea for entertainment, as well as educational purposes. If separate play space is limited, some parents may opt to put a TV in the children’s bedroom. If you’re looking to buy a budget TV for either of these scenarios, here are a few things you should look out for and a few possible options.
Little people don’t need a big TV.
One easy way of cutting costs when it comes to buying a TV for the kids is screen size. A TV for the playroom doesn’t need to be nearly as big as the one for the family viewing room. However, CRTs can be very bulky, so it is worth splashing out on a LCD TV or plasma. In fact, flat screen TVs can actually be a lot safer, if installed correctly. In play areas, all TVs should be wall-mounted or securely anchored to furniture or fittings. You may need to buy a separate fitting for this, so take that into account when budgeting. Vogels make a good range of wall mounts for LCDs.
Child-friendly.
Many manufacturers are now building TVs especially for children such as this range of animal shaped 9.6 inch TVs from Hannspree. These come with a lot of safety features and are designed to be child-friendly. However, younger children will still need help to use the remote control. Alternatively, you could simply pre-program the TV to their favourite children’s channel.
Children love DVDs and will very often watch their favourite ones over and over. So, one option, if you don’t have a separate DVD player, is to go for a TV with a built-in DVD player. This Sanyo CE22LD90DV-B 22 Inch model is a good price and comes with an integrated digital tuner. However, DVD players, whether standalone or integrated, are not advisable for smaller children as they can often try to force objects into the DVD slot.
For an older child’s room, it is worth considering purchasing a laptop or desktop computer with a TV card, as this could save you forking out on a separate device to watch TV/DVDs.
Some parental advice.
Nearly all LCD TVs now come with parental controls. Make sure yours comes with the features you need. Take the time to learn how it works and make sure it is set correctly after installation. Choosing a model with a sleep function that can help you limit viewing time. Another way of limiting access, in a bedroom, for example, is to install the TV inside a cupboard with a lock that only be opened by an adult.
Finally, before making your final choice, make sure you have all the interface connectors you need for peripherals such as satellite, cable, DVD/Video and any game consoles.
Best Budget TV Shops
You can buy budget and cheap TVs from leading electrical retailers and high street shops , including dedicated TV stores. Popular TV shops with a wide variety of budget TV models to choose from include:
Popular brands for TVs include Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, LG and Toshiba.
