With the need for a new television for their kitchen, Paul and Natasha Godbold decided to put the JB-24SM1811A 24″ Android-powered LED television from Mitchell & Brown to the test. Aside from its good looks and fantastic technology, they discovered something that separates this and other models from the brand from all the usual suspects.
Television technology is advancing at an astonishing pace, and as with mobile phones and automobiles, people crave the latest and greatest. I have never subscribed to the disposable consumerism notion, and it was only in the past year that I embraced the world of 4K televisions, gifting my previous TV to a friend. Although our primary television supposedly has incredible picture detail thanks to the 4K, with my ageing eyesight, I can barely tell the difference between it and standard definition!
Televisions were a luxury in my youth, and many people didn’t even own one. Instead, they would rent one from a high street shop such as Rediffusion/Granada, and peace of mind was provided by local TV repair shops usually hidden away in a side street. Nowadays, there’s a TV in almost every room, and purchasing one seems to be no more difficult than buying a new pair of good-quality shoes.
When I head to our recycling centre, I, almost without fail, see discarded TVs in the large metal bins or placed outside the centre’s office cabin. Some companies can recycle certain TV components, but the majority are just put into landfills. Instead of addressing the problem, we’d rather bury it; surely there must be a better way?
There are some obvious ways to address this; make televisions that are built to last, or make them repairable by consumers, or how about offering an exceptionally long warranty with a TV that’s not centred around hassle and specific conditions? Yes, I know, that doesn’t seem to make business sense; after all, if a television breaks down after a year or so, given the times we live in, it will undoubtedly be replaced by a shiny new one.
For the past three years, my wife and I have relied on a somewhat archaic Samsung television for kitchen viewing, and it’s a model without any of the ‘bells and whistles’. Over the years, it has begun to resemble Spaghetti Junction with wires coming from an Amazon stick, a NowTV box and a receiver for some Bluetooth headphones, among other things.
Another drawback with our existing Samsung television was it constantly has problems wirelessly connecting to the internet, which did cause no end of frustration with catch-up television and our streaming services. After chatting to a few friends, they assured us that more modern television was far more capable in this department. Armed with this knowledge, we agreed an upgrade was necessary and decided to look at what was available.
The same brands popped up wherever we looked, and none seemed to offer everything on our list of wants. For us, peace of mind is essential, and one of the first things we look for is warranty length. We browsed a well-known electronic retailer’s website for smaller-sized TVs and found Sharp, Samsung, Toshiba, LG and Panasonic TVs, each with a 1-year warranty; hardly confidence boosting! Of course, the retailer offered the option to purchase an extended warranty, but I think consumer rights TV shows have made their positions clear about whether you should consider them.
Whenever possible, my wife and I prefer to buy British. Like many, I am becoming more concerned with the power and influence wielded by the largest global corporations, most of which hail from other countries and operate in the technology sector. My preference, which some might think is outdated, is to go with a smaller company that isn’t disconnected from their customers and views them as more than just a number. Regarding televisions, I thought that meeting this particular scenario was pretty much impossible until I came across Mitchell & Brown, and incredibly, they are a British company.
It’s quite surprising to be writing about a state-of-the-art TV company that can call itself British, and at the time of writing, another one doesn’t spring to my mind. Perhaps Mitchell & Brown stand alone in this respect?
Our living room television is Android-powered, and I’ll admit that before we used it, I was concerned. However, I have started to appreciate it more over time and particularly enjoy the voice control function for YouTube. Watching lectures and scientific documentaries and trying to type some of the necessary keywords to find them can often be a recipe for disaster!
Like our living room TV, the Mitchell & Brown’s JB-24SM1811A 24″ is also powered by Android. It’s a 24″ TV and, as with most televisions of this size, is HD ready. In addition to this, the TV also boasts HDR. If you’re unsure what this is, HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, a TV standard offering more accurate colours, improved contrast and a more vivid image. Essentially, this upgrade allows viewers to watch things happening on screen in a true-to-life way.
In addition, the Mitchell & Brown 24″ tv also comes with a built-in Chromecast. This function allows you to share content on the screen from a mobile phone, tablet or notebook computer and given it’s Android-powered, you also get the added benefits of the Google Play Store and its vast library of apps.
Setting up and using the Mitchell & Brown JB-24SM1811A 24″ LED TV
It’s obvious that much thought has gone into the Mitchell & Brown JB-24SM1811A TV. Before I go into detail about its capabilities, I want to make a quick mention about how it looks; the 24″ model has a small bezel and at the base of the screen is an aluminium strip that does give it more of a premium look and reminded me of B&O tv’s, which are hugely more expensive.
Putting the stand onto the TV was very straightforward and just involved putting the parts in place and screwing them together. The remote control came with batteries and surprisingly had a screw to keep the contents of the battery compartment sealed safely from young children and pets. It’s something I don’t recall coming across with other TVs we’ve owned.
With the stand in place, we took the television to the kitchen and powered it up. After a short while, the TV asked if we had a Google account and if we would like to sync this to the TV. We followed the on-screen instructions, and everything went smoothly. With the Android system set up and happy, we started the channel search, and within a couple of minutes, the screen was showing a film in glorious HDR quality.
I will admit that the picture quality was leaps and bounds ahead of what we had previously, and the sound quality was considerably better too. The HDR adds a lot to the viewing experience, and even without having the new-fangled 4 or 8K resolutions, the picture quality far exceeded our expectations.
Regarding the internet problems we had with our previous television, the Mitchell & Brown TV connects to our wireless internet without any problems whatsoever. The difference is amazing; we can stream movies and TV shows in all their glory, and not once has there been any lag or glitches; it appears my friends were right!
Another major plus point with the Mitchell & Brown JB-24SM1811A 24″ LED TV is its built-in Bluetooth, allowing us to pair our mobile headphones and enjoy the excellent Dolby-quality sound without disturbing others.
Until now, everything was perfect. At this stage, most people writing on a global news platform will pick something minor or even invent something to add a full-blown negative. Unfortunately for those expecting this, we don’t believe there is one. The Mitchell & Brown JB-24SM1811A 24″ LED TV did everything we wanted it to do and ‘bloomin’ well at that.
As the title states, this TV packs an awful lot inside its small stylish frame. As we alluded to at the beginning of this feature, Mitchell & Brown televisions come with something that clearly separates them from other brands: the warranty.
Unlike the standard, hassle-filled one-year warranties most brands offer, Mitchell & Brown TVs come with an astonishing seven-year part and labour warranty. You probably think that there must be a catch, but there isn’t. In the unlikely event that the TV develops a fault within the first twelve months, Mitchell & Brown offers a swap-out service; after this, they will collect and repair the TV.
My wife and I will generally run products until they are on their last legs, and the incredible warranty offered by Mitchell & Brown gives us peace of mind that we’ll be able to do exactly that. With all its features (see below) and excellent picture quality, we couldn’t be happier, and we’re quite sure that if you’re after a TV of the same size and decide to get a Mitchell & Brown JB-24SM1811A 24″ LED TV, you will be too.
About Mitchell & Brown
Mitchell & Brown comes under the umbrella of the British audio-visual solutions provider, the TVD Group. The group is a family-owned company and is the brainchild of Jim Brown, his wife, and their sons, Daniel and Matthew (above). The company officially started life in 1996, although the family was involved in the industry as far back as 1984 from a shop in Leigh, Lancashire. Sadly, Jim Brown passed away in 2013, and his sons decided they wanted their own TV brand, calling it Mitchell & Brown, using their father’s surname and their grandmother’s maiden name.
The brother’s dedication to quality stems from their father, who lived by three words, quality, value, and dependability. This has been ingrained into every Mitchell & Brown TV as they all carry his initials and his date of birth.
Today, the Mitchell & Brown range runs from the 24″ model we tested up to 65″ TVs. To see the full range of products, visit the company website www.mitchellandbrown.co.uk.
General
Model Number: JB-24SM1811A
EAN: 5055862337417
Energy Rating: F
Display
Screen Size: 24″
Resolution: 1366 x 768
Viewing Angle: 178/178
Video
Dynamic Contrast: Yes
Progressive Scan: Yes
Digital Noise Reduction: Yes
Audio
Dolby Audio Processing: Yes
Sound Output (RMS): 2x5W
Tuner/Broadcasting
Digital Broadcasting: DVB-T2
Tuner: VHF/UHF/Cable
Smart Features
Wireless Display: Yes
Bluetooth: Yes
WiFi: Yes
Google Assistant Built-in: Yes
Android TV: Yes
Freeview Play: Yes
Netflix: Yes
Amazon Prime Video: Yes
Disney+: Yes
Youtube: Yes
Spotify: Yes
Google Play Store: Yes
Connectivity
HDMI: 2
USB: 1
RF In (Coaxial): Yes
Composite In (AV): Yes
VGA (PC Input): Yes
Digital Audio Out (Optical): Yes
Audio Out (Headphone): Yes
Dimensions
Set Size without Stand (WxHxD): 553 x 334 x 63
Set Size with Stand (WxHxD): 535 x 478 x 185
Package Size (WxHxD): 625 x 460 x 110
VESA Size: 75 x 75
Weight
Set Weight: 3.68 KG
Package Weight: 4.43 KG
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