Hisense 32M2600
FOR Balanced colour palette; solid sound; motion handling AGAINST Lacks insight in dark scenes; needs punchier picture
It’s unlikely that William Shakespeare had the Hisense 32M2600 in mind when he penned “Though she be but little, she is fierce” in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but it’s a good description of this budget telly.
The M2600 comes with an array of smart functions for its HD ready display. And regarding its ferocity, this TV comes with a pretty satisfying roar – all for the very reasonable price of just £200.
With its 32in screen, the M2600 is stuck between a rock and a hard place – the 1366 x 768 resolution means it’s always upscaling SD video or downscaling Full HD content. Round the back, you’ll find three HDMI inputs, a USB port and an aerial socket for broadcast television. There’s also an ethernet port for a more stable connection.
Since this is a Smart TV, there are a number of streaming services available, found under the ‘Premium’ section of the inputs menu. These include Netflix, BBC iplayer, Wuaki and Youtube, as well as Deezer music streaming. However, Amazon Prime is notably absent, as are catch-up services from ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.
In theory, you could bypass this issue by using the Anyview Cast function, which uses your wi-fi connection to mirror content from your mobile device to your Hisense TV. Unfortunately, it’s compatible only with Android devices, and even then only a select few – it wouldn’t allow us to stream content from our Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 to the television, for example.
If you're an iphone user looking to get content from your phone to the screen, we’d recommend investing in a Chromecast or Amazon Fire stick instead. But those happy with the standard streaming apps should appreciate the dedicated buttons on the remote – as well as the general feel and design of the remote as a whole. The buttons are sturdy, and navigation keys have a comfortable click when pressed.
Ant heroes
We set up the Hisense using a trusty THX Optimizer disc. It’s also worth putting the Adaptive Contrast mode on ‘low’, as this helps balance out the darker areas for a more detailed image.
We pop a Blu-ray of Ant-man into our Panasonic DMP UB900, and the picture quality is pretty satisfying. Skin tones on Hank and Hope van Pym are balanced and natural-looking. There’s also a decent depth to the image, as Hope’s black hair and outfit stand out against the dark control room.
When our hero attempts to infiltrate an Avengers warehouse, only to be stopped by Falcon, the pale blue skies and surrounding greenery is captured well – the M2600 shows the pastel colours without feeling the need to make them artificially pop.
It has a good handle on motion as well. When the two heroes inevitably fight, this television can keep track of Ant-man’s changes in size or the agile manoeuvres of Falcon’s flight – for the most part. There’s a slight blur when Falcon lands, the trees behind him become a little less crisp as the TV tries to keep up with the action, but on the whole it manages well.
At wit's end
The M2600 also keeps those qualities throughout the range of resolutions available. It has a good grasp of both SD and HD television, managing to look pretty sharp even on the lowest resolution images and without emphasising noise. Reruns of Frasier or sport on the BBC are nicely presented for a television at this price.
There is room for improvement though: it’s not particularly punchy, which means that the excitement of watching Ant-man enter the psychedelic, kaleidoscopic Quantum Realm at the end of the film is muted, as the bright colours don’t come HD Ready across as boldly as they should. We’d like a bit more insight in shadowy scenes, as the M2600 loses a bit of detail in the darkness.
It’s pleasantly surprising to discover that the set’s sound is dynamically strong. It’s well balanced, too, the low hums and high strings kept in check without it ever feeling as if one is about to overpower the other. The midrange is pretty solid too, giving a competent performance. You’ll probably prefer having a soundbar or a couple of powered speakers connected to this TV, but it’s not absolutely necessary.
According to the Bard, brevity is the source of wit. So, in short, the M2600 is a television that presents itself without pomp and circumstance. With a decent picture and solid sound quality, this HD Ready set will be a good addition to any room of the house.