The HL46XSL2 stands out from other , but not for the reasons you might expect. Unlike most HDTVs, which have dark, muted bezels and casing, this HDTV is white. Color aside, the case materials felt cheap compared with some of the other TVs we've looked at.

On the other hand, the ports are generally easy to reach; all of them are located along the left side of the unit, and don't require much contorting to access. The set boasts four HDMI ports, two component inputs, a USB port for media playback, and a headphone jack, but it lacks the Internet connectivity and related features that many other TVs offer.

Haier employs an unusual configuration for component video and audio, though; instead of including the separate red/green/blue video connectors and left/right audio connectors, it provides only one of each. You're forced to use the included splitter adapters to use these ports.

Though the menus on the HL46XSL2 are usable, they're sluggish and slightly awkward. For example, pressing the left-arrow key changes the selected setting in the options screens, but I expected it to switch me to a previous menu (as on most other TV menus). The set also lacks on-screen help, so you'll have to go to the manual to learn what terms such as 'SRS TS XT', 'AVL', 'DPMS', and 'DCR' mean. But you won't be left entirely in the dark--the manual provides a good level of information, making up for the lack of on-screen assistance.

The HL46XSL2 lets you play back several photo, video, and audio formats from a USB drive, but I found the process frustrating. The TV supports JPEG photo viewing, MP3 audio playback, and AVI, MPEG-1, and MPEG-2 video. It doesn't handle the common MPEG-4/H.264 or WMA/WMV video formats, though. The playback controls are confusing: You use the Previous/Next buttons on the remote to go from one photo to the next (as expected), but in order to play or pause something, you have to press the up arrow. The Play/Pause button on the remote does nothing.