GMX 6 LCD TV Monitor

Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Julie

November 07, 2002

If you've been looking for a very small monitor or TV for a room or vehicle, you'll want to learn more about the GMX 6" TFT / LCD Monitor with TV Tuner from Merconnet.

The items included in the package are: the 6" LCD, small IR remote control, AC adapter, 12V car adapter, plastic stand with adjustable bracket, ear buds, and manual.

I've always wanted an itty bitty TV, but have never purchased one. So I was excited to put the GMX to work as soon as I received it. The first thing I did was to remove the plastic cling screen protector. The next step was to assemble the stand. To do this required a small Philips screw driver to attach the adjustable metal bracket to the plastic stand. The stand has a neck that you had to drop the screws into. To make this task go quicker, a magnetic screwdriver or a pair of needle nose pliers really helped. Once you assemble the stand, you can attach the monitor to it. But before we do that, let's take a closer look at the LCD itself.

Hardware Specifications:

Type: TFT LCD color TV
Reception Frequencies: VHF-1 48.25-93.25 MHZ, UHF 471.25-863.25 MHZ
System: PAL or NTSC (secam selectable)
Display Element: Color TFT-LCD
Screen size: 6 Inches, Pixels: 960 (H) x 234 (V)
Audio Output: 150mW (Max), Speaker: 3.2cm round type.
Back Light: High luminance Fluorescent light tut.
Connection terminals:
Antenna (coaxial cable)
Earphone Jack
External power jack
Audio/Video RCA
Power supply: AC-DC adapter, Car battery-car adapter
Power Consumption: Approx 6W.
Dimension: 15.5 x 13.5 x 4.8cm
Weight: Approx. 650g.

The GMX is mostly square except for the curve along the bottom edge where the speakers are located. Made of silver plastic, it is a light weight unit that is easy to handle. At only about 6.25 x 6.50 x 2in, it won't take up much room at all where ever you intend to locate it. Although this monitor says it is 6", as with most monitors, the diagonal is smaller. This one is 5.6 inches measured diagonally.

Above the display is an IR port for the remote. Below the screen are several buttons. Channel up/down, Volume up/down, Menu, TV/AV and Power. Two speakers are also located on the front of the unit.

On the back is the telescoping antenna, stand attachment slot, RCA A/V connectors, AC power connector, external antenna connector, and the earphone jack.

To attach the monitor to the stand, you slide the metal bracket into the slot on the back of the monitor and snug the thumb screw tight. The bracket allows you to adjust the viewing angle easily. The plastic stand allows you to sit the monitor on a table top, or using the mounting holes in the base, you can attach it to a convenient surface in a vehicle.

The RCA audio and video connectors on the back of the unit make it easy to hook it up to a VCR, DVD player, camcorder, etc. I performed my review using the NextBase DVD player. Actually, you don't have to connect the GMX to anything if all you want to do is watch TV as it has a tuner built in. Extending the antenna might be all you need to pull in your local stations. If not, you can connect to an external antenna. I wanted to test the GMX with my external connector, but the end on my cable was the screw on kind which did not fit into the connector on the back of the GMX. I'm sure they make adapters that would allow me to connect the two though.

Once I had the DVD player connected to the GMX, I pressed the Power button. The first thing you're greeted with is a blue screen with the letters GMX in the middle. Unfortunately, I was also greeted with a dead pixel in the middle left side of the screen. :o(  I also noticed a high pitch noise emanating from the unit that was very annoying.

Using the small remote control, I quickly checked out the different settings available to me.

Speaking of the remote, It is a small membrane type of remote. It works fine, but for some reason I kept finding myself trying to use it upside down... Also, it does not have a Power button on it which I found very strange.

My first test was to see if I could pick up a local station using the built in antenna. Using the channel auto search feature, I was surprised that it picked up several stations with ease. The station receptions weren't spectacular, but they were adequate.

Next I pressed the Video button on the remote, popped a DVD (Lord of the Rings) into the DVD player and turned it on. I was very happy with what I saw. The picture quality on this little monitor is great. Very crisp and bright with vivid colors. You actually have 4 color settings: Standard, Soft, Vivid and Personal (user customized). I liked Standard the best.

The box that the GMX comes in touts it as having a wide viewing angle. I didn't really find this to be true. The best picture was found by viewing the screen straight on and not from the side.

Below are some pictures I took of the screen while in pause mode. It's really hard to take a picture of a monitor without getting lines, so don't judges these images very closely. They really don't do the monitor justice.

When the music began to play, I was even happier. The GMX has really good sound for such a small unit. Even better, the sound from the movie drowned out the high pitch noise mentioned above. I don't foresee any sound problems when using this monitor in a vehicle. The volume level should easily overpower road noise while driving.

Speaking of using this monitor in a car, you might find that you need to mount it upside down... Luckily the GMX has a very unique feature. If you turn the screen upside down, it will automatically flip the picture on the screen to reflect the new orientation. It's a nice little GEE WHIZ touch.

If you're cramped for space, or have a need for a TV monitor in your vehicle, the GMX is a nice little unit. Even with the dead pixel and the high pitched whine, the great picture and sound really won me over. It's going to work out great on the corner of my desk for watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer when I should be writing reviews!

Price: $145.00

Pros:
Sharp picture
Good color
Good sound

Cons:
Emits a constant high pitched noise
Dead pixel
Remote does not have a Power button