Hands On With The TV Armor TV Screen Protector

headon(2).jpg We've told you about New Jersey-based TV Armor before and this past weekend we finally got to try out TV Amor's like-named TV screen protector this past weekend. At first look we weren't so sure about its design. Basically a 1/4-inch thick sheet of Lucite (a type of acrylic glass), TV Armor is molded at the top end at a 90-degree angle to snuggly fit the top of your TV with two oval cut at either end and at the bottom so two Velcro straps can be wrapped around your TV set to secure the screen protector. Felt spacers are included to stick on the corners of the TV Armor to ensure it never actually touches the TV screen. At first glance before actually placed on the TV set it looks clunky and definitely not something you'd want to ruin the design of your home theater.

Another initial concern we had was that acrylics aren't completely clear. Because of this TV Armor reduces your screen's brightness by about 5% however you can compensate by simply adjusting the TV's brightness level manually. Secondly, there is no antiglare solution on the market for acrylic plastics either simply because the sheet isn't 100% clear, it's actually a matte finish. So if your set is in an area where there is alot of brightness or natural light you'll get a somewhat distorted picture if the TV screen protector is more than 1/16-inch of the surface of the flatscreen.

without(2).jpg Okay, now that we've addressed our initial concerns we can tell you what we found once we actually attached TV Armor to a Toshiba 42-inch LCD HDTV. Once unpacked from the box, all's you have to do is attach the felt spacers to the corners of the TV Armor, feed the Velcro straps through the appropriate hole, place it on your screen and secure it. It takes all of 2 minutes from boxed to completely setup. Once the TV was actually turned on, without adjusting the brightness controls at all, any difference in picture quality was unnoticeable to human eye. However it was tested in an area where both natural and artificial lighting was fairly low. This could be different in a brighter area, but once again that can be fixed by manually adjusting your screen's brightness.

with(2).jpg Now as you may have guessed from the name TV Armor, or if you read the previous article, you can probably figure out the TV screen protector is designed to protect your TV screen. Genius, eh? Protect it from what? Mainly the types of objects your small kids will hurl across the room such as small toys or remote controls. It also works equally well to protect the TV screen from splashes or artistic kids who like to play with felt markers. Anything we happened to toss at the TV once protected within the realm of reason (meaning short of bricks and bullets) was absorbed by the TV Armor, which remained scratch-free, successfully protected the fragile LCD screen. We should also mention that once attached to the TV, TV Armor is virtually unnoticeable. The matte finish of the Lucite panel actually gives the set a nice look.

Overall we definitely give the TV Armor TV screen protector a thumbs up. If you have small kids, or host parties where drinks tend to fly this is the perfect solution. Available for screen sizes between 30 and 52 inches, TV Armor runs between $129 and $169 plus shipping fees. Head over to TV Armor's TV Screen Protector website to purchase yours.

July 22, 2008

Hands On With The TV Armor TV Screen Protector