I Love the Adorably Teeny TinyTV 2

The remote control is also tiny, but not in proportion (or it would be unusable). It has four buttons for volume up and down and channel up and down. One slight disappointment is that videos always play from the start when you change channels; they don’t remember your place.

Mini Machines

Tiny Circuits started these projects on Kickstarter a few years ago, and it offers an even smaller TV, the TinyTV Mini ($60), with an even tinier 0.6-inch OLED screen with a 64 x 64-pixel resolution, but I think it’s too small. The TinyTV 2 has a far nicer design and is as small as anyone needs to go.

I also tried Thumby ($28), a kind of keychain-sized GameBoy look-alike with five playable retro games like Pong and Snake. It is impressive that something this small works at all, but it is very tough to actually game on. However, I love that Tiny Circuits offers an in-browser code editor (it runs Python), so you can create your own games for it.

No one needs a 1-inch TV, but they are ridiculously perfect for crafters, diorama makers, and even doll houses. The TinyTV 2 may be gimmicky, but the combination of wonder at how tiny it is and the lovely nostalgic glow it provides makes this my favorite desk ornament. And now I can watch TV under the covers at night without bothering my wife.