Cello C42T71DVB-3D review

It wasn’t perfect; we spotted some bleed from the TV’s edges in darker scenes, although it was fairly evenly spread across the screen. Contrast was slightly lacking, with the dark opening scenes of Casino Royale suffering from a lack of detail, but tweaking the brightness setting helped even out the image. We also struggled to find an even colour setting; images either appeared too vivid or slightly muted, with very little middle ground.

3D image quality was equally mixed. Because the set uses passive, rather than active shutter 3D glasses, the vertical resolution of a 3D film is effectively halved by the TV’s polarising filter. This was clear to see in the opening scenes of Avatar, where jagged edges were prominent. Sat directly in front of the TV, there was a satisfying lack of crosstalk, but when we moved to the side the picture soon deteriorated. Depth effects were reasonable, but nowhere near as immersive as other sets we’ve seen.

The three sets of passive 3D glasses supplied with the TV aren’t particularly sturdy, but still feel comfortable. Cello has also catered for wearers of prescription glasses with a pair of polarised clip-ons, so no-one has to get left out of the 3D viewing experience.

Sound quality was reasonable, although we had to turn up the volume to its maximum to get an immersive effect from films. Unfortunately, once we had, there was some definite distortion from low-end notes. Mid-range and high-end notes were clear, but there was a definite lack of bass at medium volume. We would definitely recommend using a set of dedicated speakers rather than the ones built into the set.

On paper, it would appear the Cello has it all: an IPS panel, support for 3D video and a very reasonable price. However, it’s not without its faults; standard definition footage looks very poor, and without an integrated HD tuner, you’ll need to buy an extra set-top box for high definition broadcasts. Blu-ray content looks better, but still isn’t perfect, and 3D effects are functional but lacking the detail of an active shutter set. However, if you’re desperate for 3D on the cheap, this is certainly one of the most inexpensive sets around.