Automotive Styling IC-706T 7 inch LCD Monitor

Unbranded but very good looking seven inch diagonal TV screen with pulse touch controls and a small Infra Red remote control. The screen arrives with an extra plastic housing for use headrest-embedded and also a stand that can either screw into the base of the screen using a standard tripod-thread mount or else connect to the screen’s rear mounted steel channel. This stand has two adjusters on it and a large splodgy-X shaped base with a sticky pad under it for use adhering to surfaces. The power wire has  a small filter box with a tiny transformer inside as well as a capacitor and a resistor and tiny glass fuse. This is integral with the extension wire to the one coming from the screen. It terminates in two clusters of Red/White/Yellow audio and composite video RCAs for the two AV inputs. The finish is deeply shiny black and there is a nine inch model available as well. The five ‘Pulse Touch’ buttons control mode/AV1 or AV2 and as well as the power switch there are up, down and menu buttons. On the remote there is a separate button for the ‘Video Select’ and ‘Mode Select’. The system has a two channel infra red transmitter so you could use two sources, two screens and two passengers with Infra Red headphones simultaneously.
– Seven inch TFT LCD
– Resolution: 480w x RGB x 234H = 336,960 pixels
– PAL/NTSC formats supported
– Power Consumption: 6W max
– Aspect Ratio: 16:9 widescreen
– Dual Channel Infra Red Transmitter
– Six button remote control
– Pulse Touch buttons
– Super Slim design
– Dual Infra Red Transmitter
– Dimensions: 172 x 114 x 20 (mm)
– Complete with stand, loom and mounting case for headrest use.
Review by Adam Rayner
What a cute screen! There are many standard facts about screens in cars, the most geeky one of which I stored away in my head on purpose, which is Pixel-count. The number and size of the dots makes up the clarity or resolution of the screen and in pretty much all the sizes, from ten inch down to much smaller, is 336,960. One third of the number in each of red, blue and green makes your image.
The screen for putting in a car headrest is these days something of a commodity product. For while headunits sales are becoming a bit like gramophones in some ways, largely for the more old fashioned cars without awesomely integrated OEM systems and the hardcore enthusiast, the TV Audio Visual set up is so useful to shut up kids that the ‘are we nearly there yet’ system sales continue well for many dealers. The only bit you really interface with as a user is the odd button on the front and any remote and the IC-706T is a peach. It uses what are called Pulse Touch buttons that you simply tickle as there is nothing that goes in or out. There’s no feely-feedback to let you know that you have operated the button but a loud beep is emitted. This is a very good looking unit and with a simple remote control, you can use two different sources in the two seats if you have a pair, as each can take two inputs and has two choices of Infra Red sound transmission to headphones.
Two clusters of red/white/yellow RCAs are the signal inputs, so no S-Video, which is rare but does get found in-car sometimes and is when chrominance and luminance are separated to make a better image. However, it was an analogue system invented for use with VHS and indeed still gets called S-VHS by some and is now replaced indoors with HDMI.
Four Infra Red LEDS glow dully behind the fascia and these are what are using the audio side of the signals sent to them, for all C-KO screens are dual-channel. The rear shows two speaker grilles in the shape of the plastic but there are no on board speakers as despite the product arriving with a perfectly serviceable mount for putting the thing on your dash, most will be headrest mounted within the well made plastic housing that also arrives with the screen. There are also dedicated reversing monitor speakers in the C-KO range that have a speaker function and both these products share a back plate injection moulding to save a few costs, I was told.
The surround part that you actually look at is a shiny black which may show icky finger prints but there are no places that jam can get in the buttons with those cute touchy controls and they look great too. I tested the screen first with Faster Louder Harder by Bass Mekanik and then as per the RULES for mobile DVD use, something I got in Las Vegas at the AVN convention with lots of trailers rich in skin tones, filmed close-up. This showed that the screen has a narrow viewing angle. If off to one side or too far up or down, you lose image quality. This is not relevant though as the whole product is designed for individual passenger use rather than a room full.
The picture has all the usual LED controls, including Tint and a mode button to go from square TV shape to 16:9 widescreen. This last a feature I didn’t get as nearly all TV and DVD material is widescreen these days.
The colours were rich and vibrant, the crispness of the picture good enough to beat a Virgin Atlantic seat-back special six ways from zero and motion didn’t blur. It looks great, in a shrunken crisp-packet sort of way.
It’s a handsome product that wouldn’t be out of place in a high end car, let alone a school run people carrier. I particularly like the wee stand it comes with. You get a mega sticky pad on the bottom of a four-flanged mild steel plate which bends easily. The idea is to flex it to fit your dash before adhering it in place. What’s really exciting is that I hear there is a genuinely higher resolution, more-pixel-count screen on the way in this range, so if this one looks so sweet, I can’t wait to have a go on the next one.
Easily scores enough to be a TA Recommended item for being so easy to afford and use and working so well.