Mitashi MIE032V02 Review

As high-definition content finally starts entering Indian living rooms through HD DTH services, there’s a steady demand for full HD TVs as well. Of course, that creates a need for affordable HDTVs. Mitashi has quite a few models in the market, some of which are priced to attract such customers. One of the newest models to be launched in the market is the MIE032V02, an LED-backlit 32-inch TV. It’s, of course, priced well under the Rs. 30,000 mark, lower than what most tier-1 TV brands price their TVs at, so there’s likely to be a lot of buzz around this model.

Features

The Mitashi MIE032V02 is an LED-backlit 32-inch LCD TV. There are three HDMI inputs on the rear, all of them facing downwards to allow for wall-mounting the TV without wires getting in the way.

Connectors at the rear, facing sideways

There are two USB ports using which you can connect external storage drives. Apart from that, you can also use the component and standard coaxial connectors for cable TV. There’s also a headphones socket.

Design

In terms of looks, this model is just average and that’s almost entirely due to the shape and feel of the TV. The MIE032V02 has a large bezel, which doesn’t make it look sleek at all, even though it’s an LED-backlit display.

Not the slimmest LED-backlit TVs around

The plastic used is pretty sturdy but there’s some flexing of the bezel when you press on it. The screen also tends to flex when you press on the bezel. The stand that comes with the TV isn’t too sturdy; there’s some sideways movement when you tap on it.

Remote control

The remote control has a very simple design, unlike some of the remotes from the likes of Samsung and LG. It’s got all the controls you need, though. The buttons are large and deep, but they’re wobbly and the remote doesn't feel very well-built. Some buttons have a soft feel while some are much harder.

Remote control lacks a grip and it isn't built very well either

The remote itself is predominantly plastic and there are no fancy textures or grips moulded into it for better handling. There are other minor issues, such as the battery cover that doesn’t fit securely and raises the back of the remote control a little bit.

User interface and media playback

The user interface on the TV is very basic and somewhat poorly designed; it isn’t going to get too many people’s attention. The interface is very dull with poor quality artwork, so it’s lagging behind the rest. Even basic DVD players with USB ports and media playback capability have better user interfaces than this.

The main screen opens up with four poorly-designed icons that denote images, music, video and text. The lower half has the drive listing and the list of all the content on the drive. The interface isn’t very fast nor is the remote control accurate. One needs to point the remote right at a specific region of the TV for it to work. Pressing the Enter button doesn’t play a movie; one needs to press the Play button placed lower down on the remote. Loading and skipping between movies takes a lot of time too. Even the listing of movies shows only the first one or two words of the title, with a preview window obstructing the right.

Performance

We used DisplayMate, the Datacolor Spyder’s internal tests, and a whole bunch of media files to test the TV. We ran DisplayMate to check detail and colour rendition. The performance isn’t very impressive, though viewing angles are decent.

Plain-jane look

The image in general appears oversaturated with very gaudy colours. This isn’t the colour tone that you should expect. You should be able to tweak these settings and we did try calibrating the TV, but it didn’t improve the colours by much. Viewing full HD videos isn’t too shabby though—performance is just about average. The speakers are just as average—sound lacks detail and is very muffled even at maximum volume.

The other issues that were clearly visible were to do with text rendition. Text should be smooth and rounded but instead, appears jagged on screen. There’s also poor rendition of colour gradients and there are bands visible in images.

Verdict and Price in India

An average TV at best; we wish it offered better performance

The Mitashi MIE032V02 doesn’t impress us in any way. The overall performance and experience of HD content just manages to be average, at best. However, it does have an attractive price tag of just Rs. 26,990 in India. Although very reasonable for a full HD TV, we would recommend shelling out a little more for the Samsung LA32D550 or even the LG 32LS4600, for example. Both these TVs have many more features and far better performance to offer. The additional amount that you'd pay is well worth it.