There are times when one really needs a small television set that can be carried around for a special broadcast. Of course, you cannot take your 29-inch screen TV to work with you or to somewhere outside your home. It seems that a portable handheld TV would be the best option at such times.

Handheld portables have been around for thirty years or more and vary in quality and usefulness. Most of them which are cheap enough to use only occasionally have black and white screens of five inches or so. The colored screen varieties are significantly more expensive and hardly worth it unless you plan to use them frequently.

Some of those made by well-known and trusted manufacturers can last many years while some off-brand handheld televisions may not have much useful life at all. Some of the cheapest unknown brand name TVs begin having broken parts such as antennae or knobs quite soon after they are purchased. Thus, it is best to buy brands that you already know and trust.

Some of the portable handheld TV units have built-in speakers while others rely on earphones for the audio. If you will be using your portable TV where the sound would bother others, it would probably be best to use an earphone style. However, it is possible to get the televisions with built-in speakers that also have earphone jacks. That seems to be a winning option when you purchase one.

You may want to consider whether to buy a CRT screen TV or one with an LCD screen. The LCD screen can be harder to see at any angle besides directly in front of the screen. There are also some units with pop-up screens.

A small television which is portable can be a good investment for those once-in-a-blue-moon occasions. Do not expect the quality you get from your home entertainment system. Still, they can enable you to witness an event that you may have missed if you did not have this handheld instrument.