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Do you remember the TV you had in the 70s? We’re prepared to bet that if you do, you’ll also remember that it had a sort of plastic wood veneer finish. Well, HANNspree, famous for its adorable fluffy TVs, has decided to throw the LCD kicking and screaming back into the 70s. Perhaps it’s watched a little bit too much Life on Mars.
From the front, you’d possibly never realise there’s anything different about this TV. It has a normal, matte-black finish and sits atop two silver feet that HANNspree describes as “deer-horn style”. It’s only when you take a look at the rear you realise that this isn’t the traditional boring black television. The back is awash with glorious wood-effect plastic.
As far as styling goes, you’ll either love it or hate it. Here at the Crave office we conducted a deeply scientific straw-poll. The results were: those who had anything to do with making video loved it. Everyone else thought it was butt-ugly.
Apart from its wooden cabinet, the HANNspree HANNSlounge has a 720p panel, with all the usual ways to get a picture on the screen. There’s one HDMI input, two Scart sockets and component in. Around the side are composite and S-Video inputs for hooking up a camcorder.
One obvious problem is that with all this retro styling going on, HANNspree seems to have forgotten that we’re well into the 21st century. This TV doesn’t come with a built-in Freeview receiver, which, in this day and age, is truly unforgivable.
HANNspree does deserve one piece of credit. It includes an HDMI cable in the box with the TV. This may seem like a small thing, but HDMI cables aren’t the cheapest accessory you’ll ever buy, so it’s a nice touch.
It’s hard to knock HANNspree for this TV when most LCDs we see look exactly the piano-black same. It certainly won’t appeal to everyone, but if you want something a little different to watch cod-70s sci-fi cop thrillers on, this could very well be the screen for you. Plus you’ll have something to talk about if the conversation dries up at your fondue party. -Ian Morris
