HKC 32C9A: what is a 32 inch HD Ready TV worth 129 €?

Presentation

The HKC 32C9A is a very basic television which embeds a 32 inch LCD panel in HD definition of only 1366 x 768 px, far from the 3 840 x 2 160 px of Ultra HD televisions. It still has a few arguments like its three HDMI inputs and its TNT, cable and satellite tuner. It is a model that can do the trick in a bedroom, a studio or as an extra TV ... at least on paper.

This television sells for around € 129, which is actually its main selling point.

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Image quality

Good surprise, the HKC TV has a VA panel which improves the native contrast compared to an IPS panel. The downside is that you have to deal with very small viewing angles. If we measured a loss of brightness of 70% at 45 ° on the sides, the blacks are completely washed out and the colorimetric drift is largely perceptible as soon as we leave the axis of the television.

This TV offers four picture modes (Dynamic, Standard, Soft and Custom). Soft mode offers the most faithful image ... or rather the least unfaithful. In this mode, we measured a delta E of 7.2. The colors are therefore far from perfect since the eye perceives the difference between the ideal colors and the colors displayed above a delta E of 3.

The default gamma is simply bad and there is no way to fix it. In the image, this results in grays systematically overexposed.

The temperature curve lacks stability, with light gray with a much too cold rendering. The average measured at 8,155 K is too far from the 6,500 K reference and the image therefore turns blue.

Despite the use of a VA panel, the native contrast is ultimately rather disappointing since it is limited to 1,640: 1 while VA televisions usually exceed 3,000: 1.

No motion compensation system is present to improve fluidity and eliminate jerks.

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Video games

The remanence time measured at 20 ms is very far from that of the best LCDs on the market, like the Samsung QE65Q85R and Sony KD-75XG9505 which go down to 11 ms. It is even higher than that of entry-level televisions like the Samsung UE55RU7405 or the ChiQ U40E6000. In fact, a trail appears behind the moving objects (ghosting).

This TV does not offer a game mode and therefore it is impossible to reduce the delay in display. Whichever mode you choose, the display delay is approximately 29 ms. At 60 Hz, this represents two images of delay from the source. There is a very little lag between an action on the joystick and its repercussion on the screen.

As the television does not offer a game mode, the colorimetry is identical to that observed in Soft mode.

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Clouding

The use of a Direct Led backlight system limits the risks of clouding, but this defect can still appear if the light distribution filter is damaged during transport. We also noticed this clouding problem on the model we bought, as well as light leaks in the corners.

The average difference in white homogeneity over the entire slab is measured at 11% - the human eye does not detect anything below 20%; that's a good number for a 32 inch LCD TV.

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Ergonomics

The design of the TV is completely black. HKC has clearly chosen sobriety for this model which should appeal to the greatest number.

For an entry-level TV, this model does surprisingly well for filtering out reflections since it does better than televisions sold at a much higher price, such as the Samsung Q60R and Q70R.

The dimensions on the TV stand are linked to that of the legs, which are 18 cm deep. The distance between the two feet is 69 cm. Unsurprisingly, this TV is comfortable on our benchmark TV stand (160 x 40 cm).

The frame around the screen is quite thick, especially for a screen of only 32 inches, especially since the pixels of the panel do not really touch the edges. We can thus observe an additional contour inside the frame.

If the front is rather satisfactory, the rear reflects that of an entry-level TV, with a clumsy side not always well finished. We find the connection and the power supply. There is no cable routing on the feet or on the back of the TV.

The connectivity is rather exhaustive. It consists of three HDMI inputs, a USB port to power an HDMI key, for example, a coaxial digital audio output, a headphone output, a SCART socket (!), A VGA input, a PCMCIA port (Common Interface CI +), a component input (via adapter supplied), a composite input (also via an adapter) and the TNT / cable and satellite antenna sockets of the DVB-T / T2 / C / S / S2 tuner. The HKC 32C9A ignores network connectivity; there is therefore no Wi-Fi or Ethernet and even less Bluetooth.

The operating system is fairly basic and only provides access to a few settings. There are no apps, no Internet access, or even media players.

It takes about 12 seconds to turn on the TV and less than a second to switch it to standby. There is no quick resume mode, so it always takes 12 seconds to wake up.

The remote control is basic, but it gives access to all the functions. Light, it fits well in the hand and all the buttons are easily accessible. The rubber keys are pleasant and silent. Obviously, they are not backlit.

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Audio

The two 6 W speakers deliver a rather mediocre sound which lacks bass and which puts more emphasis on the high-mid and treble. This combination can quickly be tiring, even when watching a TV program. It is better to connect a small speaker to the headphone output to enjoy better sound.

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Consumption

We measured the consumption at 32 W on our target with a white set at 150 cd / m². This translates into a relative consumption which reaches 120 W / m². This television therefore consumes more than a conventional LCD television (the average is around 100 W / m²). In comparison, a television like the Sony KD-65XG8505 consumes only 65 W for a diagonal of 65 inches, that is a relative consumption of 56 W / m². The Samsung QE55Q6F 2018 (61 W / m²) is in the same vein. Standby consumption is less than 1 W,

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Conclusion

It is difficult to recommend the HKC 32C9A TV. It has no arguments to assert except for its complete connectivity and its delay in displaying content. No Full HD or UHD, disappointing image quality, no Internet connection ... a model from another age!

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