The WinBook 46D1 has a native resolution of 1366x768 pixels (768p), which is standard for most non-1080p LCD displays. The brightness is 500 cd/m2, and contrast is rated at 1000:1. Other features include an integrated tuner, 8 ms response time, and internal 9 watt speakers.

The WinBook 46D1 includes HDMI, component video, S-Video, composite video and VGA inputs. The viewing angle is rated at 178 degrees horizontal and vertical. The WinBook 46D1 has independent input memory settings for each source.

The remote is nicely sized, with easy-to-read buttons and a logical layout. However, even with new batteries I had a hard time getting the television to pick up the signal from the remote - I found myself deliberately "aiming" the remote to get it to work. The system menus were very easy to navigate, especially since there were not that many menus to access. If you are a "tweaker", you may take issue with the lack of independent colour controls; you have only tint and colour temperature at your disposal.

Test Drive

I connected the WinBook 46D1 to several HD sources using the HDMI input, and sampled several types of high definition content, including movies, sports, and regular television programming. With the display turned on and no signal being sent from the cable box, the 46D1 displayed a pronounced "cloudy" backlight pattern. This did not affect the image quality once a signal was sent to the display, but it was interesting to see as normally, LCD displays generally show a just a bit of backlighting. The factory default settings produced an overly-bright, washed out image for my taste, so I reduced the backlight and brightness and increased the contrast. Here are the settings I used.

Once calibrated, the 46D1 performed like many other LCDs we've tested, which is to say quite well. Colours were well saturated, and as mentioned, the display featured plenty of brightness in all lighting conditions. Colour accuracy was good, but there was some variability depending on source material; for example, some sources would have excellent flesh tone and overall colour reproduction, while others would have slightly more reddish flesh tones. However, this was a very minor issue and you had to look pretty closely to notice it.

As with most LCDs, contrast was good with video and sports, but just OK with film-based material. Dark scenes exhibit the usual "pasty dark grey" effect, which prompted me to decrease brightness and sacrifice some shadow detail. Video noise was moderate, with a bit more than other LCDs I've tested, but still not as much as your average plasma. As with most LCDs, there was only a slight hint of false contouring (aliasing).