CRUA 32 Inch Smart TV HD VIDAA Review: The Budget-Friendly Smart TV We Put to the Test

I remember the search well. My goal was simple: find a compact, reliable smart TV for our bedroom. It didn’t need to be a 4K cinematic behemoth; it just needed to handle Netflix after a long day, catch the morning news, and not require a PhD in electronics to set up. Yet, the market is a minefield of confusing model numbers, dubious claims, and brands that seem to appear overnight. You’re either looking at a ridiculously expensive model with features you’ll never use for a secondary space, or a dirt-cheap option that feels like a gamble. The fear is ending up with a glorified paperweight—a screen with a sluggish interface, poor picture quality, and an app store that’s a ghost town. This frustrating search for a competent, affordable, and truly “smart” TV for smaller spaces is what led us directly to the doorstep of the **CRUA 32 Inch Smart TV HD VIDAA**. We wanted to see if it could finally be the answer to this common dilemma.

What to Consider Before Buying a Compact Smart TV

A TV is more than just an item; it’s a key solution for entertainment, information, and even connection in a secondary space like a bedroom, kitchen, or guest room. It transforms a quiet corner into a personal cinema, a breakfast nook into a news hub, or a child’s room into a gateway for cartoons and educational content. The main benefit of a compact smart TV lies in its ability to deliver modern streaming convenience without dominating the room’s aesthetic or budget. It neatly solves the problem of needing access to services like Netflix, YouTube, and Prime Video in places where a large, primary television is impractical.

The ideal customer for this type of product is someone facing the challenge of limited space but who refuses to compromise on smart functionality. This includes students in dorms, apartment dwellers, parents looking for a screen for a playroom, or anyone wanting to add a TV to a kitchen or home office. It’s a pragmatic choice for those who value connectivity and ease of use over cutting-edge specifications like 4K resolution or high refresh rates, which offer diminishing returns on a smaller screen. Conversely, it might not be suitable for those who are dedicated cinephiles or next-gen gamers looking for the absolute best picture fidelity and performance for a main living room setup. For them, a larger, higher-spec model from a more established brand would be a more appropriate investment.

Before investing, consider these crucial points in detail:

• Dimensions & Space: A 32-inch screen is the sweet spot for many secondary rooms. It’s large enough for comfortable viewing from a bed or across a small room, but not so large that it overwhelms the space. Always measure your intended location, including depth, especially if placing it on a narrow shelf or stand. Remember to account for ventilation space around the unit to prevent overheating.
• Performance & Operating System: This is arguably the most important factor in a budget smart TV. The operating system (OS) dictates your entire experience. A slow, clunky OS makes finding content a chore. The VIDAA OS on this CRUA model promises simplicity and speed, with essential apps pre-loaded, which is a major advantage over non-brand systems that can be sluggish and poorly supported.
• Resolution & Picture Quality: At 32 inches, an HD (High Definition, typically 1366×768 pixels) resolution is perfectly adequate for a clear, sharp picture. Pushing for Full HD or 4K on a screen this size yields minimal visible improvement and unnecessarily drives up the cost. More important are factors like brightness, contrast, and colour accuracy, which determine the vibrancy of the image.
• Connectivity & Future-Proofing: Look for a generous number of ports. Multiple HDMI inputs are essential for connecting devices like a games console, a Blu-ray player, or a soundbar. USB ports are crucial for playing media from external drives. The inclusion of HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) is a huge bonus, allowing you to control a connected soundbar with the TV remote, simplifying your setup.

Keeping these factors in mind, the **CRUA 32 Inch Smart TV HD VIDAA** stands out in several areas, particularly its OS and connectivity. You can explore its detailed specifications here.

While the **CRUA 32 Inch Smart TV HD VIDAA** is an excellent choice for its category, it’s always wise to see how it stacks up against the competition. For a broader look at what the market offers, especially if you’re considering a larger screen for your main living area, we highly recommend checking out our complete, in-depth guide:

First Impressions: Lightweight Design, Surprisingly Premium Smarts

Unboxing the **CRUA 32 Inch Smart TV HD VIDAA**, the first thing we noticed was its incredibly light weight. At just 3kg, it’s a one-person job to lift and position, making it ideal for wall-mounting or placing on less substantial furniture. The build is, as expected for this price point, entirely plastic. While it doesn’t scream premium, the bezels are reasonably slim for a budget set, giving it a clean, modern look that blends in well. Some users have noted the glossy plastic frame can be a magnet for fine scratches, so we’d advise care during setup.

Assembly was a breeze. The two V-shaped feet attach with a few included screws, and the entire process took less than five minutes. Powering it on for the first time, we were greeted by the VIDAA OS setup screen. This is where the CRUA immediately began to punch above its weight. The setup process was slick, intuitive, and quick, guiding us through Wi-Fi connection and account logins for the major streaming apps. It felt responsive and polished, a far cry from the generic, laggy Android forks we’ve seen on other budget TVs. The included remote is straightforward, featuring handy shortcut buttons for Netflix, YouTube, and Prime Video, getting you to your content faster.

A Deep Dive into the CRUA 32 Inch Smart TV HD VIDAA’s Performance

After spending considerable time with this TV, running it through a gauntlet of streaming series, broadcast television, and connected devices, we have a clear picture of where it excels and where it makes necessary compromises. This isn’t just a screen; it’s a complete entertainment package tailored for a specific user, and its performance should be judged within that context.

Picture and Sound: The Core Viewing Experience

Let’s address the elephant in the room first: this is an HD-ready television, not a 4K powerhouse. For a 32-inch screen viewed from a typical bedroom distance of 6-8 feet, this is entirely sufficient. Pumping 4K resolution into a panel this size offers negligible benefits to the human eye. What matters more is the quality of the panel itself, and here, we were pleasantly surprised. The display on the **CRUA 32 Inch Smart TV HD VIDAA** delivers a bright, vibrant picture. We found the backlighting to be impressively uniform across the entire screen, a finding confirmed by users who noted the image was “cleanly illuminated, evenly to the corners” with no distracting bright spots or edge bleeding. This is a common pitfall for budget TVs, and CRUA has cleared that hurdle admirably.

Colours are punchy without being oversaturated, and the black levels are respectable for an LED panel in this price bracket. Watching darker scenes in series like The Witcher on Netflix, we didn’t experience the washed-out, greyish blacks that plague many entry-level sets. While it won’t compete with an OLED, the contrast is strong enough to provide a sense of depth and immersion. We did, however, come across an isolated user report of the screen becoming “very dark” after a couple of months, which suggests potential for quality control inconsistencies. This appears to be an anomaly rather than a widespread issue, but it’s worth noting. For the vast majority, the picture quality is, as one user put it, “absolutely in order” and provides a fantastic viewing experience for the price.

On the audio front, the built-in speakers are functional. They get reasonably loud without significant distortion and are perfectly clear for dialogue in news broadcasts, sitcoms, and dramas. One user aptly described the sound as “good.” However, like virtually all TVs in this class, they lack low-end punch for cinematic explosions or deep musical scores. For casual viewing in a bedroom, they are more than adequate. For those wanting a more immersive audio experience, the inclusion of an HDMI ARC port is the real hero here, making it incredibly simple to hook up a soundbar for a significant audio upgrade.

The VIDAA OS: A Smart, Streamlined Interface

The operating system is the heart of any smart TV, and VIDAA is the standout feature of the **CRUA 32 Inch Smart TV HD VIDAA**. Developed by Hisense, VIDAA is a lightweight, clean, and focused OS that prioritizes speed and ease of use over a cluttered, app-heavy interface. From a cold boot, the TV is up and running in seconds. The main home screen is logically laid out, presenting your most-used apps and inputs in a clear, customizable ribbon. Navigation is fluid and responsive for the most part.

All the essential streaming giants are here right out of the box: Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, Twitch, and DAZN. Accessing them is quick, both from the home screen and the dedicated remote buttons. While the app store isn’t as vast as Google TV’s or Roku’s, it covers the vast majority of popular UK services, and the product description claims access to over 5000 apps. During our testing, we found that while navigating menus is fast, there can be a slight delay when first launching a heavy app or connecting to the internet. One user perfectly described this as a “milliseconds” lag when changing channels or connecting online, noting they were still “happy with the purchase.” This minor sluggishness is a common trade-off in budget-friendly hardware but never became frustrating in our experience. It’s a small price to pay for an otherwise polished and stable smart platform that elevates this TV above its competition.

Connectivity: The Unexpected Champion

In the budget TV space, connectivity is often the first area where corners are cut. We’ve seen models with a paltry single HDMI port, forcing you to constantly swap cables. This is where the **CRUA 32 Inch Smart TV HD VIDAA** completely shatters expectations. We were genuinely impressed to find a full suite of three HDMI ports, which is generous even on some mid-range models. This allows you to permanently connect a games console, a Sky/Virgin box, and a soundbar without ever needing an HDMI switcher. The fact that one of these ports supports ARC (Audio Return Channel) and CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) is a game-changer, enabling seamless integration with a soundbar using just one remote.

The generosity doesn’t stop there. It also includes two USB ports for playing media from thumb drives, an Ethernet port for a stable wired internet connection (in addition to built-in Wi-Fi), a headphone jack for private listening, and even legacy composite inputs for older devices like a classic Nintendo console. Furthermore, the integrated triple tuner (DVB-T2/C/S2) means you can receive digital TV via aerial, cable, or satellite without needing an external receiver box. This comprehensive array of ports makes the **CRUA 32 Inch Smart TV HD VIDAA** an incredibly versatile hub for a bedroom or dorm room, accommodating a wide range of devices both old and new. This level of connectivity is its secret weapon and a massive selling point that many will overlook until they desperately need it. If you value flexibility, the unmatched connectivity of this TV is a major reason to consider it.

What Other Users Are Saying

Our positive experience is largely mirrored by feedback from other buyers, who consistently praise the TV for its exceptional value. One user from Spain summed it up perfectly: “It looks great… has internet and good sound.” They did note the slight slowness we also experienced, calling it a delay of “milliseconds” but concluding they were “happy with the purchase.” Another German user, reviewing a similar 24-inch model, praised the picture quality, noting it was “cleanly illuminated” with “very good” black levels for the price, reinforcing our own findings on the panel quality.

The most common point of praise, echoed in multiple reviews, is the surprisingly robust feature set for the cost. One buyer stated, “The workmanship is very good for the small price and the connection options also surprised me positively.” They were impressed by the 3 HDMI ports with ARC and 2 USB ports, calling it a great value.

However, the feedback isn’t universally perfect, highlighting some potential risks with a budget brand. We saw a troubling report from a user whose screen went inexplicably dark after two months, pointing to a possible hardware fault. Another user received a unit that would only boot into “Factory Mode,” a serious software glitch that prevented them from completing the initial setup. These reviews, while in the minority, serve as a reminder that quality control can be less consistent at this end of the market compared to premium brands.

How Does the CRUA 32 Inch Smart TV HD VIDAA Compare to Alternatives?

While the CRUA offers a compelling package, it exists in a competitive market. Depending on your specific needs for size, picture quality, or budget, one of these alternatives might be a better fit.

1. CHiQ U43QM9K 43 inch 4K QLED Roku TV

If your budget can stretch a bit further and you have the space, the CHiQ U43QM9K is a significant step up. Moving to a 43-inch screen with a full 4K resolution and QLED panel technology delivers a noticeably sharper, more vibrant, and colour-accurate picture. It’s better suited for a smaller living room or for those who prioritize image fidelity. It runs on the excellent Roku TV platform, known for its massive app selection and simple interface. This is the choice for someone who was tempted by the CRUA’s value but ultimately wants a more premium viewing experience without breaking the bank.

2. TCL 75P7K-UK 75″ QLED 4K Google TV HDR 120Hz

The TCL 75P7K-UK exists in a completely different universe. This is not a secondary TV; it’s a home cinema centrepiece. At a massive 75 inches with a premium QLED panel, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and a 120Hz refresh rate for gaming, it’s designed for the enthusiast. It runs Google TV, offering deep integration with the Google ecosystem and voice commands via Google Assistant. You would choose this over the CRUA if you’re building a dedicated entertainment space and your primary concerns are immersive cinematic experiences and high-performance gaming. It represents the pinnacle of what a much larger budget can buy.

3. Cello C1925SH 19″ Full HD LED Frameless TV

On the other end of the spectrum is the Cello C1925SH. This is an ultra-compact, non-smart TV ideal for the tightest of spaces, like a caravan, boat, or small kitchen countertop. Its main selling points are its tiny footprint and simplicity. While it has Freeview HD and a built-in satellite receiver, it lacks the integrated streaming apps of the CRUA. You would need to add an external device like a Fire TV Stick to get smart functionality. This is the perfect choice if your absolute priority is minimal size and you only need basic broadcast TV or plan to use your own streaming stick.

Our Final Verdict: A Budget Smart TV That Gets It Right

After extensive testing, we can confidently say that the **CRUA 32 Inch Smart TV HD VIDAA** is a standout product in the budget television category. It successfully avoids the critical flaws that plague many of its competitors, namely a sluggish and unusable operating system. The VIDAA OS is a genuine highlight, providing a smooth, responsive, and intuitive gateway to all your essential streaming services. When you combine that with a surprisingly capable HD picture and a suite of connectivity options that would be impressive on a TV costing twice as much, the value proposition becomes undeniable.

It’s not without its compromises. The all-plastic construction is basic, the built-in sound is merely adequate, and there are isolated reports of quality control issues that are a common risk with ultra-budget electronics. However, for its intended purpose—as a smart TV for a bedroom, kitchen, dorm, or guest room—it delivers an experience far better than its price tag suggests. We recommend it for anyone seeking maximum smart functionality and versatility on a minimal budget.

If you’ve decided the **CRUA 32 Inch Smart TV HD VIDAA** is the right fit, you can check its current price and purchase it here.