CHiQ F8TG Series

The Chiq TV has a pleasant screen and the image is rewarding to watch. Transition from home screen to TV using the TV button takes at least 6 seconds. Changing channels in TV mode takes an average of a couple of seconds up to a full 5 seconds. Settings menu is not straightforward to navigate. Sound is thin and disappointing. To make matters worse, when an external sound bar or Dolby system is used to get decent sound, the lip sync is all wrong. Although there is an option to delay the audio, the problem is the audio is already behind the movement so attempting to resolve the problem using the spdif delay only makes it worse. I've spent many frustrating hours trying to correct this problem with absolutely zero success. Unfortunately, once you become aware of this flaw, the unit is difficult to enjoy and it's impossible to ignore this shortcoming. It may not be as noticeable on a smaller unit but on the 75 inch screen, it is a deal breaker.

The other really annoying thing is that once you connect it to a soundbar and set up volume control through the TV remote and turn off the speakers, there is a message that comes on screen every single time you adjust the volume asking if you want to turn the internal speakers on. It doesn't just time out and go away, you have to click OK each and every time. I have spent hours trying to rectify this problem too.

The next frustration I'll mention may well be the Google OS rather than the TV but each app seems to function differently and there is no continuity. For example in one app whilst using the keyboard you can navigate to the results with the remote by clicking past the keyboard and straight to the results but in other apps you have to click the tick to move out of the text entry box. As I said, lack of continuity. Whilst you might think it isn't important, it limits how effectively you can use the apps and you constantly get the feeling you've made a mistake when you haven't. Response time using the apps is also very slow, when combined with the continuity issues makes for a rather unpleasant experience.

Please just give me a device that works correctly right out of the box without spending hours trying to correct issues that there is no fix for.

I'd love to get rid of this TV because of the audio sync issue, sadly I'm stuck with it for quite a while as I can't afford to just junk it. It is such a shame because the picture is actually very nice, which is why I rated it two stars. If the picture wasn't impressive, there's no doubt this would be a one star TV.