From humongous flat screen displays to wall-spanning projectors, it’s fair to say that the quest to achieve a cinema experience at home has seen many of us overwhelm our living rooms. A KickStarter campaign is taking a decidedly different tact however, as it looks to crowdfund a new OLED TV which measures less than an inch in size.
Created by electronics company TinyCircuits, the TinyTV Mini is a diminutive retro TV that can be snapped up for an equally miniature asking price of $50 if you’re willing to back the project. (via FlatpanelsHD)
Essentially a portable media player with 8GB of onboard storage, the 0.64-inch TV is about the size of an SD card, making it just marginally smaller than our usual picks of the best OLED TVs.
Sporting a 64×64 pixel panel, the TinyTV Mini is somehow an even smaller version of the company’s TinyTV 2 which features a comparatively mammoth 1-inch LCD IPS display, which boasts a positively sharp 216×135 pixel resolution.
Both tiny TVs feature a front-facing mono speaker, but with no audio out or HDMI output, you sadly won’t be able to pair either up to one of the models on our best soundbar list…
That also means playback is restricted to video files on the built-in storage, with TinyCircuits including software for PC and Mac that can be used to compress clips so they can be viewed on the TV, as well as add effects like static and video looping.
The Mini is powered by a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller and features a USB Type-C port for data transfer and charging. There’s also a built-in IR receiver for use with an optional remote controller – although those ridiculously small “channel” (for switching video files), power and volume buttons on the top aren’t just for show, as they don’t actually work.
Somewhat understandably, its tiny size meanwhile means there’s only room for a weedy 50 mAh (3.7 V) battery which only allows for about an hour’s worth of watching before it runs out of juice.
Both the TinyTV 2 and TinyTV Mini are available to back now on KickStarter for $49, with TinyCircuits targeting a March 2023 shipping date for backers.
Opinion: Tiny TV is too cute not to back
Considering that movie directors such as Christopher Nolan and David Lynch already have strong feelings against people watching films on their phones, you have to assume that they won’t love the idea of people watching on this TV. (Actually, Lynch there’s a chance Lynch would wrap all the way around and love it…)
Keeping the inhabitants of my daughter’s dolls house entertained is about the extent of my justification for buying the TinyTV Mini, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting one.
With $227,780 pledged – well over the $15,000 goal TinyCircuits had set – and almost 2,500 backers, I’m clearly not the only one that’s been charmed by a TV that’s sure to cause me eyestrain.
If you’re not prepared to work within the limitations of a 0.64-inch screen, then you’re maybe better off checking out our best Black Friday OLED TV deals, but that’s probably because you have a heart of stone.