Smooth 9.45TV

January 2009. TreadmillDoctor.com has the best expert analysis we found for the Smooth 9.45TV. Reviews at other treadmill sites -- Treadmill-Ratings-Reviews.com, TreadmillTips.com, TreadmillTalk.com and TreadmillReview.net -- focus more on the treadmill's features, although they do offer some buying advice.

The most credible review we found for the Smooth 9.45TV advises shoppers to save their money: The Smooth's built-in TV adds too much to the cost, and it carries only a one-year warranty. Reviewers actually like the treadmill itself, which is very similar to the highly rated, TV-less Smooth 9.35 HR (*est. $2,000). Both carry a lifetime warranty (on the frame, electronics and wear parts) that impresses critics; the 9.45TV has a longer 60-inch belt. Most of the 9.45's $900 extra cost is due to the TV, which one review says provides a welcome distraction during exercise. Others appreciate that the Smooth's 15-inch TV isn't built into the console, as is the smaller 7-inch TV on the less expensive Epic View 550 (*est. $1,300). The Smooth's separate TV frame keeps the TV from shaking during exercise and allows it to be removed for repair, these reviews say. However, more than one reviewer recommends that shoppers buy a TV-free treadmill -- such as the otherwise identical Smooth 9.45ST (*est. $2,275) -- and use the money they save to buy a regular TV for the wall.