Because C.Crane Company does not make Casio SY-30 I would like to thank them for sending me this tv to review. Without their support this review would not be possible. If you like this review and are interested in purchasing this TV then please visit their web site for purchasing options.
Portable TVs have been around for a long time now. They have come down in size and weight and thus become more portable. They have also become more efficient with the use on LCD screens which allows them to run on batteries. But one thing they have all shared until now is that they have been too fragile to take with you camping, hiking or anywhere else where they might get wet or jostled. The Casio SY-30 LCD color television boasts splash proof and shock resistance, which means you can take it with you and you don’t have to worry as much.
Features
- Splash Proof
- Shock Resistance
- 118,800 Pixels
- 2.7″ Passive LCD
Design
When you first open the Casio SY-30 you will notice how small it is. For a portable TV, being small is good. The screen dominates the front of the SY-30 and rightly so. At 2.7″ the screen is the largest single part of the device. In addition to the screen there are two buttons on the front, which are for scanning through the stations. The buttons, along with just about everything else, is made of soft rubber. This certainly adds to the splash proofness, but it also makes it comfortable to hold. Below the buttons is the internal speaker.
The right side of the SY-30 is where you will find the Volume, Brightness and Power dials. They are nicely spaced and just the right size so you don’t have any trouble getting your fingers around them and making adjustments. Unlike the volume and brightness knobs the power has three settings Off, VHF and UHF. This allows you to get a much wider range of channels.
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The left side of the TV has a small door which when opened reveals the external antenna, headphone, DC power and audio/video jacks. To open this door you must turn a small lock to the “free” position. You must also turn the same lock to the “lock” position when you close it to insure that it is protected from water. The external antenna jack is used for attaching a coaxial cable that would come from a cable box or other source of TV signal that requires a TV tuner to display. This will give you superior picture quality since you don’t have to rely on the strength of the signal coming through the air. You do need a special adapter that will convert the coaxial cable to a plug which fits into this jack. The headphone jack is obviously for headphones and is a standard jack so you don’t need an adapter. The DC power jack accepts a standard 6 volt plug and can be used with any adapter, but it is always recommended that you use the one from the manufacturer. The audio/video jack also uses a special adapter, but the source signal would come from a device like a Nintendo or Playstation. Something that does not require a TV tuner to display.
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The back of the SY-30 is largely dominated by the battery compartment. This, like the left side door, has a small lock that holds it in place. You must turn it to the “free” position before you can open it and turn it back to the “lock” position before use. This insures that you will have the best water protection possible. This TV takes 4 AA batteries. To the right of the battery compartment is a small leg. This comes out and provides a way to angle the TV so it points up at about a 45 degree angle. This makes it much easier to see if you are sitting at a desk or you have the TV on something that is not at eye level. Above the battery compartment is the telescoping antenna. Just like a radio you pull on it to extend it and push to retract it. It has a full range of motion so you can put it in just the right place for the best reception.
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Performance
When you think of a small TV you don’t always think quality. Despite its size, I think the Casio SY-30 will impress you with both its sound and picture; granted your picture and sound will only be as good as the signal you get. So the picture and sound from a DVD player will be much clearer than the sound from a poorly tuned station that you get from the antenna. I was very impressed with the quality of the picture. Even when it came from the antenna, a station that came in strong sounded and looked really good. If you are in an especially bright area you can turn up the brightness to help you see it better.
Battery life is also a consideration when you buy a TV like this. With 4 AA batteries you would expect to get a decent amount of TV watching time out of this before the batteries die. In my tests I was able to get about 4 hours and 40 minutes out of the batteries before they completely died. At about 4 hours and 30 minutes you will start to notice that the screen will go darker and the sound will start to give out. If you are watching a TV station with the antenna then you will also notice that the station gets more fuzzy. These are signs that the batteries are dying and you only have minutes before they are gone. So if you are going to be using this for extended amounts of time I highly recommend that you buy the DC adapter so you can plug it in to your car or house; otherwise you will need to carry around a lot of batteries.
Scanning into a new channel is like scanning into a new radio station on you radio. You press the left or right tuning buttons and wait for it to find a TV station that is strong enough to make it stop. You can then try and fine tune it by adjusting the antenna. One feature I would have liked to have seen in this TV is preset channels. It would be very nice not to have to repeatedly press the tuning button until you get to your favorite station. Also When you turn off the device it loses the last station you were on. It would be helpful if it would remember that so again you don’t have to waist a lot of time trying to find the station again.
Conclusion
Having a portable TV that you are not always protecting like an expensive vase is really nice. It is good to know that if you bump it and it falls over that you don’t have to buy a new one. With a generous 2.7″ screen with 118,800 pixels you definitely get a lot of detail. The one year warranty leaves something to be desired. If you are looking for a small portable TV with lots of features and ruggedness then I really think you will be happy with this one.
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