As TVs are getting bigger and bigger, pushing 130 inches or larger, it seems that no one has really asked the opposite question. How minuscule can they get? At least, that was the case before Tiny Circuits’ TinyTV series, which is hailed as the world’s smallest working TV. The TinyTV Mini, for example, is about the size of a grape and even comes with a fully working mini remote. The TVs come assembled and usable, complete with preloaded videos and content to watch.
What’s probably more interesting is the sheer amount of hardware tucked into its miniature frame. Inside the TinyTV is a rechargeable battery, a 15.2 mm display with a 64 x 64 resolution, and a Raspberry Pi RP2040 processor. It also has working physical buttons on the top, including a channel change button, volume control, and on/off switch. It even comes in two colors, classic brown and a clear plastic. You charge it via USB-C, and you can connect it to a computer to watch videos via the wired link, as well.
What it doesn’t have is a wireless card, which means it cannot receive media wirelessly or stream it. Presumably you would use the wired USB-C connection or upload content to the TV — it has 8 GB of built-in storage, enough to hold about 40 hours of video content. $60 nets you the TinyTV Mini with its remote, and it’s the same price for the upgraded TinyTV 2, which has a slightly larger screen and battery. Of course, as novel as these miniature TVs are, there are smart TVs under $100 that Amazon users swear by, and those are all quite a bit larger than 64 x 64 pixels.
What the heck would you do with the world’s smallest miniature TV?
Again, these are novel devices we’re talking about. You wouldn’t exactly bring these mini TVs with you to a friend’s place to catch a football game or watch some live sports. It’s really just for fun and some bragging rights. The mere fact that these tiny TVs are usable, letting you load your own video content to watch, is a testament to modern technology. You can use a free tool called the TinyTV Converter to make MP4 files viewable on the miniature sets. Imagine watching your favorite movies and shows on a tiny, glorious display. The most common mistake people make when buying a new TV is getting the wrong size, and these mini TVs completely confound that issue. The viewing distance on these things must be ridiculous. Honestly, now we’re curious how subtitles would work on something this little.
Additionally, you can order a TinyTV DIY kit that comes with everything you need to assemble the miniature working TV set yourself. It’s really meant to be a hobbyist project for tinkerers who want to earn a little experience working with miniature circuits, particularly the Tiny Duino platform, an open-source hardware platform based on Arduino chips. Tiny Circuits also sells miniature retro and handheld consoles such as Thumby, a Game Boy-esque tiny player. Talk about cheap handheld gaming consoles – they have nothing on Thumby, which is described as a “tiny totem of nostalgic gaming.” You could also describe the TinyTV in the same way — tiny totems of nostalgic media viewing. Go tiny or go home.
