Tag Archives: Smart TV

Blaupunkt 43-inch Ultra-HD LED CyberSound Android TV (43CSA7070) Review: 4K Smart TV with Good Sound

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Most new budget televisions boast of popular features and specifications related to visuals, such as Ultra-HD resolution, support for HDR formats, and also smart connectivity to enable easy streaming of content from numerous online sources. However, few tout their sound capabilities; affordable options often have only basic speaker systems, and as a result, fairly basic sound quality. The latest range of TVs from Blaupunkt hopes to change that. In India, the Blaupunkt brand has been licensed by local manufacturer Super Plastronics for televisions, and it has recently launched the CyberSound range of affordable smart TVs.

The TV I’m reviewing here is the 43-inch model in this range, the Blaupunkt 43CSA7070 Ultra-HD LED Android TV, and it’s priced at Rs. 30,999. It checks all the boxes when it comes to basic specifications, with a 43-inch Ultra-HD LED-backlit screen, support for HDR content, and Android TV 10 powering the smart connectivity.

However, there’s also a key additional specification that gives the TV its name: the 43CSA7070 TV has a rated sound output of 50W through its built-in speaker system. Is this the loudest and best-sounding budget 4K TV you can buy right now, and can it also match up to the competition in terms of video quality? Find out in this review.

The Blaupunkt CyberSound 4K TV range is available in sizes of 43 inches, 50 inches, and 55 inches

 

Blaupunkt 43-inch Ultra-HD LED CyberSound Android TV design and specifications

Most affordable and reasonably priced televisions in India right now look fairly plain, with simple plastic frames and slim borders that allow for viewers’ focus to remain on the screen. The Blaupunkt CyberSound TV largely adheres to this formula, but has a thin silver-coloured strip at the bottom that helps it stand out a bit. The company logo is on this strip, with a module for the status light and IR receiver right below it.

The television isn’t very thick, and can be wall or table-mounted, with the former compatible with standard VESA mounting hooks, and the latter using the stands included in the box. A wall-mount kit is included in the box, and Blaupunkt provides free installation for this TV with your purchase. The stands, if used, need to be placed near the outer edges of the TV, so you’ll need a wide enough table to place it on.

The power socket for the cable faces to the right of the screen, while all ports face to the left. If you have the TV wall-mounted, these ports might be a bit difficult to access since they are near the centre of the TV at the back. The television isn’t very heavy, weighing about 6.5kg, which makes it easy to lift and even install yourself if you choose. I do, however, recommend that you opt for professional installation if you aren’t familiar with the process.

While I’m reviewing the 43-inch model, there are also 50-inch and 55-inch options in the same product range, priced at Rs. 36,999 and Rs. 40,999 respectively. The 43-inch, 50-inch, and 55-inch models are all Ultra-HD televisions with support for high dynamic range content up to the HDR10+ format, and are almost identical in terms of the rest of their specifications. Naturally, the size you pick would depend on the viewing distance and space in your home.

The TV has a 43-inch Ultra-HD (3840×2160-pixel) LED-backlit IPS LCD screen, with a standard refresh rate of 60Hz and a rated peak brightness of 450 nits. High dynamic range content up to the HDR10+ format is supported on the TV; the lack of support for Dolby Vision content is notable here, especially since competing products such as the Realme Smart TV 4K 43 and the upcoming Mi TV 5X do have this.

This is an Ultra-HD television with support for HDR10+ format content, but no Dolby Vision

 

Connectivity options include three HDMI ports, two USB ports, Ethernet, Optical (Toslink) audio out, an antenna connector, and a single composite AV input socket to be used with a three-way RCA adapter. Oddly, while the specifications do state the presence of a headphone jack for external audio connectivity, this wasn’t present on my review unit. As mentioned, the 43-inch Blaupunkt CyberSound TV has a rated sound output of 50W through a box speaker system with four speaker units.

HDMI ARC, Dolby Digital and Dolby MS12 processing, Bluetooth 5, and dual-band Wi-Fi are also supported. The TV is powered by a quad-core processor, and has 2GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage for the Android TV 10 software and apps.

Blaupunkt 43-inch Ultra-HD LED CyberSound Android TV remote and features

Small remotes with few buttons might be in fashion for affordable televisions, but the Blaupunkt CyberSound doesn’t have one of those. The remote of this TV is big and has lots of buttons including a number pad; D-pad for navigation; hotkeys for Netflix, YouTube, and Google Play; a Google Assistant button; and playback controls. This isn’t a bad thing at all, since it means that you can do just about everything you need with just a couple of button presses.

The remote runs on two AAA batteries (included in the box), and has dedicated buttons for all key functions such as changing the source, and accessing the picture and sound settings from any screen. An info button shows basic technical details in supported apps. Although it’s bulky and looks rather ordinary, it’s extremely functional and useful; I’d much rather have function over form when it comes to TV remotes.

It’s possible to change key picture and sound attributes plus some miscellaneous hardware settings using the remote, even from within content being played. Usefully, there is also Google Chromecast functionality built in, as well as support for Apple AirPlay. Getting AirPlay to work was a bit tricky, and needed a third-party app (AirScreen) from the Google Play Store, as the TV wasn’t able to connect with a source device from the Android TV home screen.

I was able to get it to work eventually, and it functioned normally with both a MacBook Air and iPhone once properly set up. Google casting worked pretty much as expected with both screen mirroring and direct content. There is also Google Assistant on the TV, which can be invoked using the button on the remote, and this works as expected too.

Blaupunkt 43-inch Ultra-HD LED CyberSound Android TV software and interface

The Blaupunkt CyberSound TV range runs Android TV 10, with only the stock Android TV launcher. If you’ve used Android TV devices before, this is the same familiar smart TV experience you’ll already be used to. Even if this is your first smart TV, the Android TV experience is among the easiest and best of the various available smart TV platforms.

Apps and games can be downloaded through the Google Play Store for Android TV, and certain apps are needed for you to fully use all the features of the TV, such as the AirScreen app mentioned in the previous section. Some apps come preinstalled on the Blaupunkt CyberSound TV, including Netflix, YouTube, and Google Play Movies.

The Cybersound TV runs Android TV 10, with the stock Android TV user interface

 

Most popular apps and streaming services are available to download, and the remote is fully optimised to control them. Usefully, the television boots up from standby in only around five seconds, and it takes around 45 seconds if you’re doing a full reboot, or turning it back on after the main power was turned off.

While the entire list of settings can be accessed through the Android TV home screen and settings menu, certain core settings for picture and sound can also be pulled up by pressing the ‘Menu’ button on the remote from anywhere within the interface, including when content is playing. This lets you tweak things on the go, and also immediately see how any changes affect the performance of the TV. There are specific picture modes for HDR, with the TV automatically detecting HDR content and choosing an appropriate one.

Blaupunkt 43-inch Ultra-HD LED CyberSound Android TV performance

As the name suggests, the Blaupunkt 43-inch Ultra-HD LED CyberSound Android TV is focused on sound performance, but this television does also match up to the competition when it comes to picture capabilities. It has an Ultra-HD screen with HDR support up to the HDR10+ format, with a standard refresh rate of 60Hz and support for Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby MS12 processing, and DTS TruSurround.

That said, the superior Dolby Vision HDR format and Dolby Atmos sound format are not supported. This is a bit disappointing given that options such as the Realme Smart TV 4K 43 offer support for these formats at around the same price.

Despite its size, the Blaupunkt 43-inch CyberSound TV delivers a reasonably detailed picture when playing high-quality content, and differences between full-HD and Ultra-HD content were visible easily enough. High dynamic range content didn’t look significantly different from standard dynamic range content. This partly has to do with the lack of support for Dolby Vision, and partly because of the somewhat low peak brightness of the TV.

While colour accuracy was decent enough and the picture remained sharp and clean with Ultra-HD HDR content, the Blaupunkt CyberSound TV fell a bit short when it came to brightness and punch. Watching various episodes of Street Food: Asia on Netflix, the vibrant colours and activity of various food markets around Asia weren’t suitably reproduced by this TV.

The remote of the Blaupunkt CyberSound TV is big and bulky, but has buttons for practically everything you need

 

The picture was often difficult to discern clearly if bright daylight was hitting the screen, and turning up the brightness and backlighting only worsened things by creating a grey haze. Although darkening the room a bit by drawing the curtains did help improve the picture, night scenes were still often unwatchable in regular conditions; many scenes in the Cebu episode of Street Food: Asia appeared completely grey to me, with no reasonable level of detail visible at all.

This brings me to the black levels of the Blaupunkt CyberSound TV. The odd brightness management and the effect the backlighting has on the picture together made for blacks that didn’t look black at all. Instead, most nighttime and dark scenes appeared to have a grey wash over them that made viewing them quite difficult. I also found that HDR performance was a bit inconsistent, while standard dynamic range content tended to look a bit more visually exciting and harmonious.

I did notice that these flaws seemed to show more prominently in content with low production value, with the TV doing virtually nothing to enhance fast-moving video or anything shot in settings that weren’t necessarily photogenic. On the other hand, watching TV shows and movies shot on carefully constructed sets, such as Comedy Premium League on Netflix and some episodes of Loki on Disney+ Hotstar, was considerably better. Despite these issues with colour and brightness, the Blaupunkt TV did enough to ensure a sharp picture with clean motion, and I had no serious complaints with that.

I found that full-HD content on the Blaupunkt 43-inch CyberSound TV was nearly as good as Ultra-HD content; the TV did a good job of upscaling, particularly episodes of The Good Place and Parks and Recreation, as well as Fast and Furious: Hobbs and Shaw. Interestingly enough, sharp, in-studio shooting techniques and bright sets and colours seemed to bring out the best in this TV. Lower-resolution content, particularly kids’ videos on YouTube, looked decent enough, with reasonably good upscaling. The issues with brightness and colours did persist, but content that is colourful and bright enough on its own didn’t hassle the TV too much.

Sound quality is pitched as a key feature of the Blaupunkt CyberSound TV series, with the 43-inch model having a rated output of 50W through a quad box speaker system. The speakers fire downwards, and are indeed as loud as the number suggests. Even at low to medium volume levels, the Blaupunkt CyberSound TV was very loud. Reasonably good tuning for voices made it easy to listen to the dialogue in movies and TV shows.

Turning the volume all the way up made for very loud sound, but did lead to some quirks in the sound quality which you wouldn’t typically face from a good soundbar with front-firing speakers. Volume levels were consistent, and there weren’t too many spikes in loud scenes or with music. Keeping the volume at medium to slightly high levels made for a pleasant and enjoyable sound. This Blaupunkt TV is quite easily the loudest…

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Samsung 55-inch Neo QLED Ultra-HD Smart TV (55QN90A) Review: The Flagship 4K Experience

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While there are a lot of new launches in the budget and mid-range television segments all the time, the premium space tends to see a handful of big launches every year from major brands such as Samsung, Sony, and LG, to name a few. Specifications and types of screens might be different across the major brands, and I’ve typically found that OLED and quantum dot televisions offer the most impressive performance, with each excelling in its own specific ways. Samsung, in particular, has placed its focus on its top-of-the-line Neo QLED TVs in India.

The Samsung QN90A series of Neo QLED TVs is the current flagship Ultra-HD television line from the company, and I’m reviewing the 55-inch QN90A television here. Priced at 1,75,990 in India, the Samsung 55QN90A offers a combination of sleek design, premium specifications and features, and a promise of flagship-level performance. Is this the best 55-inch Ultra-HD television you can buy right now? Find out in this review.

The Samsung Neo QLED TV 55QN90A runs on the company’s Tizen software for televisions

 

Samsung 55-inch Neo QLED Ultra-HD Smart TV (55QN90A) design and specifications

Most large-screen televisions might be slim at the edges, but have a significant bulge at the middle of the back where the majority of the components are housed. The Samsung 55QN90A is considerably different in this regard, with the entire back of the TV just marginally thicker than the edges, which makes for a simple, clean look. You won’t often be looking at the back of the TV in ordinary use, but this profile will make all the difference when it comes to positioning, be it on a wall or even when using its table mount.

The TV has a 55-inch Ultra-HD (3840×2160-pixel) quantum-dot LED-backlit screen, with slim borders all around. The Samsung logo and on-device control panel are near the right corner, rather than at the centre, as is usually the case. This TV weighs nearly 22kg with the stand attached; it’s a heavy unit despite the slim body.

It is possible to have the Samsung Neo QLED Ultra-HD Smart TV wall-mounted, thanks to its standard 200x200mm VESA compatibility. A wall-mount kit isn’t included in the box, and I was unable to install my own wall-mount hooks onto the TV due to a mismatch with bolts; I had to stand-mount this TV for my review instead. You can, of course, have the TV officially installed by Samsung, which will provide the correct wall-mount kit and equipment.

The included stand mount attaches to the centre of the bottom of the TV, with a single curved slab of metal holding the TV in place on the table. This is particularly useful if you don’t have a large table to place the Samsung Neo QLED TV on, and I found the stand to be very secure and stable. The slim profile of the TV means that accessing the ports might be a bit difficult if it’s wall-mounted, but I was able to quickly and easily reach all ports and inputs with the TV on its stand.

The Ultra-HD 55QN90A TV supports HDR10+ high dynamic range content

 

The Samsung Neo QLED TV 55QN90A has plenty of connectivity options, covering most useful requirements. There are four HDMI ports (one supports eARC); two USB ports; a single digital optical audio output; an Ethernet port for wired Internet connectivity; a single composite AV input to be used with a three-to-one adapter; and an antenna socket. There is no headphone jack, but the TV does support Bluetooth 5.2 for audio and Wi-Fi for wireless Internet connectivity.

Other specifications include high dynamic range support up to the HDR10+ format, micro-dimming, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby 5.1 audio, and a 60W 4.2.2-channel speaker setup. There is also auto low-latency mode for gaming, support for AMD Freesync Premium Pro, and a peak refresh rate of 120Hz at 4K. The TV is powered by Samsung’s Neo Quantum Processor 4K, and boasts of what the company calls QuantumHDR 32X / 24X encoding which is said to enhance the quality of HDR10+ content.

Samsung 55-inch Neo QLED Ultra-HD Smart TV (55QN90A) remote and features

TV remotes may have gone from large, button-filled blocks to sleek, minimalist slabs, but the basic idea has been generally simple. With the Samsung 55-inch Neo QLED TV 55QN90A, the remote sees a bit of a reimagining. Although the basic functionality is still in place, what makes this remote interesting is the fact that it’s solar powered, with a small solar panel at the back to top up the in-built battery. There is also a USB Type-C port for charging, in case you run out of power on a cloudy day.

The remote was ready to go and powered up as soon as I unpacked it, and I didn’t have to charge it at all during my time with the Samsung 55QN90A TV; there is no way to check the battery level, though. Otherwise, it’s a sleek remote with just a handful of buttons including a d-pad for navigation and playback controls, a volume rocker, a programme rocker, home and back buttons, and hotkeys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Samsung’s TV Plus streaming service, among others. Pressing down on the rocker mutes the volume, but there is no quick way to access the TV settings. This needs to be done by pressing the home button and navigating to the settings through the interface.

The remote of the 55QN90A TV is solar powered, with a solar panel to charge the built-in battery

 

Other key features include support for Apple AirPlay and casting, Tap View for screen mirroring from supported Samsung smartphones, and support for voice assistants including Google Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, and Samsung’s own Bixby. There are also some software-based features such as Multi-View and Ambient Mode, which I’ll explain in a bit more detail in the next section.

Samsung 55-inch Neo QLED Ultra-HD Smart TV (55QN90A) software and interface

Samsung uses its Tizen operating system extensively across product categories, and the 55QN90A TV runs the latest version of this software for televisions. It has what can be termed a ‘floating’ software interface. Unlike Android TV which takes over the screen entirely, the interface is a floating bar of sorts, which works as an overlay above whatever source, app, or content is active.

Pressing the home button on the remote is the key to navigating anywhere within the Tizen interface; it pulls up the app drawer and core feature list to start with, and then lets you navigate to important points such as the settings menu, source selection menu, app store, and content rows with curated lists of movies and TV shows.

It’s simple enough to get around, and supports most major apps including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Disney+ Hotstar, and Apple TV. Many popular Indian streaming services also have apps available, such as Zee5, Sony Liv, and Voot.

All apps that I used were able to play Ultra-HD and HDR content natively, and they were well optimised for use with a remote. Also worth mentioning is Samsung TV Plus, a channel-based streaming service made for the company’s TVs, which plays programmed content in ‘channel’ form, including some Indian music, news, and general entertainment channels.

Adjusting settings is a slightly more complicated process than on many TVs, since the Samsung 55QN90A doesn’t give you quick access. You have to navigate through the interface to reach the settings, but once there, there are quick toggles for basic picture, sound and general settings, as well as a more extensive full list that lets you set up the TV to your liking. On the whole, Samsung’s Tizen interface isn’t quite as extensively stocked with apps as Android TV, but offers plenty of variety and ease of use.

Samsung 55-inch Neo QLED Ultra-HD Smart TV (55QN90A) performance

The television segment in India has options across price categories, and if you’re looking purely from a specifications point of view, it’s possible to get a good 55-inch Ultra-HD HDR smart TV for under Rs. 40,000. That said, premium televisions such as the Samsung 55-inch Neo QLED Ultra-HD Smart TV (55QN90A) do have takers, even despite their high prices. Although undeniably expensive for a 55-inch television at Rs. 1,75,990, the Samsung 55QN90A is among the best high-end televisions you can buy right now, when it comes to performance and the viewing experience.

Although OLED TVs are considered to be the best among the popular screen technologies right now, Samsung has managed to do a lot with its QLED TVs to the point that they’re as good, if not better in some situations, than a good OLED TV from a brand such as LG or Sony. The Samsung 55QN90A offers up a bright and vibrant picture, punchy yet accurate colours, good sharpness, and black levels that are about as good as you can expect from a non-OLED TV.

Black levels on the 55QN90A, while not quite as deep as you’d see on an OLED TV, are excellent nonetheless

 

Although Samsung televisions in India don’t support Dolby Vision yet, Samsung’s hardware and approach to HDR make even HDR10+ content look practically as good as Dolby Vision content on a premium television such as the LG 48CX. I watched varied content across resolutions and formats, including Clarkson’s Farm and The Grand Tour: Lochdown on Amazon Prime Video, Schumacher, The Last Dance, and Our Planet on Netflix, and various video clips on YouTube.

Starting with an episode of Our Planet, the high-quality HDR footage looked absolutely stunning on the Samsung Neo QLED Ultra-HD Smart TV, reproducing all the various colours of nature with a capable level of accuracy and sharpness. The picture was bright, detailed, and entirely unfazed by sunlight from a nearby window; whether in a bright or dark room, the Samsung 55QN90A provided a consistently good picture.

At times, I found the picture too bright and had to change the picture mode to tone things down. However, even at its brightest setting, the Samsung 55QN90A didn’t appear washed-out or flawed. It was simply a matter of my eyes not being comfortable with that level of bright white light, and this TV is easily among the brightest and most capable premium Ultra-HD televisions you can buy right now.

Flowing water and the quick movements of birds and animals in Our Planet were capably handled by the Samsung TV, with barely any hints of artefacts or any other flaws in the picture. Indeed, the lack of Dolby Vision support on this TV didn’t seem to matter at all – the Samsung 55QN90A, with its carefully tuned HDR10+ optimisation, produced as good a picture with high-quality HDR content as I’ve seen on competing options in the premium segment.

Amazon Prime Video has a large collection of HDR10+ content, and I watched an episode of Jack Ryan, various episodes of Clarkson’s Farm, and The Grand Tour: Lochdown to compare performance with content on Netflix. Although not quite as impressive-looking as Our Planet when it came to brightness, these shows captured the essence of HDR, offering a reasonably bright, detailed, and colour-accurate picture. Clarkson’s Farm, in particular, looked attractive and vibrant, despite the otherwise plain looks of this show and its simple, rural English setting.

Even with non-HDR Ultra-HD content, the Samsung TV still performed well

 

Black levels on the Samsung Neo QLED TV 55QN90A are excellent for a QLED TV, thanks to effective micro-dimming and excellent contrast. While it wasn’t quite as impressive as the pixel-specific dimming that an OLED TV can offer, the Samsung Neo QLED TV made for good interplay between bright and dark scenes in the same frame, particularly when watching HDR content.

Standard dynamic range Ultra-HD content looked decent on the Samsung Neo QLED TV 55QN90A, with only the brightness and contrast levels feeling a bit toned down; the picture remained sharp and enjoyable to watch, with good motion handling and reasonably decent colours.

The Last Dance, which is available in Ultra-HD but regularly transitions between low-res footage from the 90s and sharper current footage, was handled well. Motion and detail during the fast-paced basketball game scenes looked good, on the whole. This was the case even with Schumacher, although the interview scenes were in full-HD and thus looked a bit less sharp, but still suitably detailed thanks to good upscaling.

Natively low-resolution content, including various children’s videos on YouTube, looked considerably less impressive, but this has more to do with the TV’s excellent performance with high-resolution viewing. This is often the case with premium big-screen TVs, and definitely applies to the Samsung 55QN90A; this is a TV meant for high-quality Ultra-HD…

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Hisense 55U6G 55-inch QLED Ultra-HD Smart Android TV Review: Mid-Range Winner?

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Hisense announced its entry in India in mid-2020, and has slowly but steadily expanded its product range here to include options in multiple price categories. Interestingly, the company is also an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for other brands, but has turned its focus to products marketed under its own brand name in India. Its latest range of mid-range large-screen full-array QLED TVs includes the Hisense 55U6G 55-inch QLED Ultra-HD Smart Android TV, which I’m reviewing here.

Priced at Rs. 59,990 in India, the 55U6G is part of a new range from Hisense. The company has also launched 65-inch and 75-inch full-array QLED TVs, priced at Rs. 84,990 and 3,99,990 respectively. With Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support, full-array local dimming, and the full-fledged Android TV experience for smart connectivity, the Hisense 55U6G promises a lot in the mid-range segment, for users looking at slightly better performance than what you would get from budget LED TVs. Is this the best television under Rs. 60,000 that you can buy right now? Find out in this review.

The Hisense 55U6G QLED TV runs on Android TV 9, with the new stock Google TV-like user interface on top

 

Hisense 55U6G QLED TV design and specifications

Quantum-Dot LED (QLED) TVs are typically positioned higher than LED TVs because of the superior technology in the display, and this also tends to show in their more premium design. Although slightly better looking than the Hisense A71F series from 2020, the 55U6G TV doesn’t look quite as impressive as some other premium QLED televisions such as the Mi QLED TV 4K or OnePlus TV Q1.

That said, the television’s design is discreet and inoffensive, with the screen dominating the front and the Hisense logo small enough to not really stand out significantly. There are thin borders, making for a high screen-to-body ratio, and this naturally keeps your attention on video content, as it’s supposed to be. The back of the TV is reasonably slim near the top, with the bottom expectedly a bit thicker. There is also a texture at the back, but this is unlikely to be seen in day-to-day use, especially if the TV has been wall-mounted.

Connectivity on the Hisense 55U6G QLED TV is decent, with three HDMI 2.0 ports; two USB Type-A ports; one Digital Optical Audio output (Toslink); and one antenna socket, all facing to the left of the TV. There are also some ports facing the back; these are AV In (RCA), 3.5mm audio out, and Ethernet. If you have the TV wall-mounted as I did, access to these ports will be difficult because of their positioning, and cables will likely bend and twist significantly even once connected. HDMI ARC is supported on the HDMI 1 port.

It’s possible to either wall-mount or stand-mount the Hisense 55U6G television, with both sets of hardware included in the sales package. The table stands are simple to install, but the size of this television and the wide footprint of the stands mean you’ll need a large table to place it on. Hisense offers free installation with every purchase.

The Hisense 55U6G QLED TV supports HDR up to the Dolby Vision format plus Dolby Atmos audio, and full-array local dimming with 72 dimming zones. The television has a peak brightness of 700nits, a screen resolution of 3840×2160 pixels, and a refresh rate of up to 60Hz across resolutions. Sound output is rated at 24W through a standard box speaker system. There’s 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and a quad-core processor to run the Android TV software.

Hisense 55U6G QLED TV remote and features

While we do tend to see better features and fancy remotes on premium televisions, the Hisense 55U6G offers only the typical basic features and specifications seen on most televisions. These include dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity, built-in Chromecast functionality, HDMI CEC, and Google Assistant support, to name a few. This TV doesn’t have any specific features for gaming, such as HDMI 2.1 support or low-latency modes.

The remote of the Hisense 55U6G QLED TV is very similar to the one I saw on the 50A71F series, and is powered by two AAA batteries which are included in the box. There are hotkeys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, and Disney+ Hotstar, as well as a button to invoke Google Assistant, and a D-pad to navigate the interface and control playback. Other useful buttons include the Home and Back keys, volume controls, settings, and a button to quickly select the input source.

The Bluetooth-enabled remote can be used to invoke Google Assistant on the Hisense 55U6G QLED TV

 

For connectivity, the remote uses both an infrared emitter and Bluetooth; the latter allows the remote to be used for voice commands to Google Assistant, and also means that you don’t have to point it directly at the TV. Turning the TV on from standby requires the IR emitter, but all other functions once the TV is on, including volume adjustment and turning it off again, worked with Bluetooth. Commands go through as long as the remote is within about 3m of the TV.

Hisense 55U6G QLED TV software and interface

Many manufacturers, including Hisense, rely on Android TV to power their smart televisions, and the quality of the platform adds great value to the overall experience a TV offers. The Hisense 55U6G runs on Android TV 9, which is a bit dated. Many devices now come with Android TV 11. However, this doesn’t have too big an impact on the user experience, since the stock Android TV user interface is largely the same across versions.

Although I started out my review with the old stock Android TV interface, I received an update to the new Google TV-like Android TV UI a few days after setting the TV up. This isn’t the Google TV user interface that’s seen on the new Google Chromecast and Realme 4K Smart Google TV Stick; it’s Android TV, but with a revamped user interface.

Key changes include redesigned settings and preferences menus, large banners on the home screen with viewing suggestions and recommendations from various apps, and a content-centric approach to what’s on the home screen. There are various lists from across apps and services such as Netflix, Hotstar, and Apple TV; it’s very similar to the old Android TV UI, but there is not as much curation as on Google TV. You can also access quick settings largely focused on picture and sound parameters from within content, as well as the full settings menu from the home screen.

Apps and services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, Apple TV, and YouTube all offer familiar experiences. There is also access to the Google Play Store for more apps and games, and a number of key apps come preinstalled on the TV. The experience is therefore quite familiar at the app level, and the new user interface was also quite easy to learn and get used to. I didn’t face any issues with the software or UI during my time with the TV.

Hisense 55U6G performance

The Hisense 55U6G QLED TV has a fairly standard design and feature set, as you might expect from a 55-inch LED television priced below Rs. 50,000. However, Hisense does offer a couple of key features that help set this TV apart from more affordable options; it has a QLED screen which promises better picture quality, as well as 72 local dimming zones that will help improve contrast and black levels.

As with any large-screen Ultra-HD television with HDR support, the Hisense 55U6G QLED TV is best used with high-resolution HDR content. Dolby Vision content expectedly looked considerably better than everything else on this television, with the bright QLED screen bringing out the colours and impact of the format. I watched varied content across OTT services and resolutions, including the third season of Narcos: Mexico, Kim’s Convenience, Schitt’s Creek, Clarkson’s Farm, and a live stream of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, among other things.

Although Ultra-HD HDR content looks best on the Hisense 55U6G QLED TV, live-streamed F1 was good to watch as well

 

Narcos: Mexico brought out the absolute best in the Hisense 55U6G, with a bright and vibrant picture that was considerably better than what I’d only recently seen on the more affordable Mi TV 5X. Colours were reasonably accurate, and the TV even managed to capture the essence of the cliched sepia wash for scenes in Mexico, particularly those involving the character of Amado and the city of Juarez.

That said, high-resolution content did reveal some motion issues, with fast-paced scenes showing a few artefacts. This wasn’t as serious an issue with slow scenes or even faster scenes with low-resolution content. When they did happen though, artefacts and mild stutter in the picture tended to distract from the otherwise decent picture quality.

Although Dolby Vision content looked the best, HDR10+ content from Amazon Prime Video wasn’t too far behind. Clarkson’s Farm and The Grand Tour: Lochdown were sharp and detailed, with the dramatic videography of the latter showcased well. The high peak brightness of this television made for good viewing experiences both in daylight and at night. Even Ultra-HD standard dynamic range content appeared similarly sharp and detailed, with the obvious differences in brightness and colour quality being the only real points of note.

Black levels and contrast were good on the Hisense 55U6G television, largely thanks to its full-array local dimming. Although the effect wasn’t as impressive and intuitive as on some high-end televisions, or even what I’ve seen on the OnePlus TV Q1 Pro, it does make a noticeable difference to the overall viewing experience. Blacks didn’t quite feel as ‘black’ as they should have, but they were far from the more grey-looking dark zones seen on affordable LED televisions.

Although not specified by Hisense, the 55U6G appears to use a VA-type LED panel based on the quality of viewing from wider angles. Colours started to appear washed-out from even just 30-40 degrees off the centre, and it’s best to place yourself within this somewhat narrow range. The black uniformity and contrast do make up for this, though.

Android TV lets you access the Google Play Store to download various apps, including the NDTV app which can be used to live-stream content

 

Performance with full-HD content was decent on the Hisense 55U6G; shows such as Schitt’s Creek and Kim’s Convenience as well as live-streamed Formula 1 looked about as sharp and colour-accurate as can be expected, thanks to the quality of the quantum-dot LED display. Standard definition content was upscaled well and the TV is decent for occasional SD viewing, but like most 55-inch TVs, such content doesn’t look anywhere near as good as on a smaller full-HD or HD TV.

Sound on the Hisense 55U6G QLED TV is tuned to suit voice-based content. Voices sounded clean and detailed even at low volumes, and there were no significant volume spikes or harsh notes at any point during my review. That said, this television isn’t very loud and isn’t very capable with energetic or action-packed soundtracks either. The sound is quite ordinary compared to what you’d get with a proper soundbar or speaker system such as the Sony HT-S40R.

There is support for Dolby Atmos, and this can be activated or deactivated through the audio settings. Unlike on most televisions, this is not detected by apps, and works through the television’s own operating system. Turning it on did have a small effect on the openness and width of the soundstage, but it didn’t sound quite as good as on the OnePlus TV Q1 Pro which detects Atmos content at the app or file level.

Verdict

Quantum-dot is more than just a fancy keyword, and many manufacturers are putting this technology to good use. The last couple of years have seen brands such as Xiaomi and OnePlus get into the business of QLED TVs, and Hisense entering the space has resulted in even more choice for the buyer. The Hisense 55U6G is a good follow-up to the A71F series, thanks to the benefits of QLED technology including a bright, sharp, and vibrant picture. The reliable and familiar software, good remote, and generally hassle-free usage experience add to the overall quality of this television.

If you’re looking for a mid-range television and have a budget of around Rs. 60,000, this is among the better 55-inch options you can buy right now. Slight issues with artefacts and stutter in some kinds of content aside, there isn’t much to complain about with the Hisense 55U6G TV. It’s a safe, capable option for the price.

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OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro 55-inch Ultra-HD LED TV Review: Sensibly Priced, Good Software

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OnePlus entered the television segment with the Q1 series of quantum-dot LED TVs in 2019, but has since turned its attention towards making TVs with varied screen sizes and budgets for a price-conscious India. This includes the Y1S Pro series of televisions, which offer bigger Ultra-HD screens at reasonable prices, familiar software experiences, and some integrations and ecosystem benefits if you have other OnePlus hardware. While the 43-inch and 50-inch variants in the Y1S Pro range were launched earlier in 2022, the company only recently put the largest 55-inch variant on sale.

Priced at Rs. 39,999, the OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro Ultra-HD LED TV has been developed with value in mind, and goes up against the competition from brands such as Xiaomi and Redmi, TCL, and Hisense, among others in the deeply competitive, affordable big-screen TV segment. The OnePlus television offers support for HDR10+ high dynamic range content, and promises a software experience that works well with your OnePlus smartphones and accessories. Is this the best television you can buy for under Rs. 40,000 right now? Find out in this review.

The OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro is considerably different from the company’s more expensive options when it comes to design

 

OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro design and specifications

OnePlus’ television range in India fits roughly into three categories, of which the Y-series range is the most affordable. That said, the Y series in itself has standard and ‘Pro’ models. The Y1S Pro range features three size options — 43 inches, 50 inches, and 55 inches — with all featuring Ultra-HD (3840×2160-pixel) LED screens. The largest of the three sizes, the one on review here, is priced at Rs. 39,999 in India.

This isn’t a particularly fancy television when it comes to design, but it does check the boxes for a competitively-priced television of this size. The OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro is available in a single black colour, and has slim borders surrounding the screen on all sides and a good screen-to-body ratio. There is a small OnePlus logo on the bottom strip and a fairly conspicuous module, but the TV has a design that is largely distraction-free and keeps the focus on what’s on the screen.

The OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro weighs around 10.9kg without the included table stands attached, and can be wall-mounted using standard VESA-compatible wall mounts (not included in the box, but can be arranged for at the time of installation). It isn’t particularly slim, and there is a reasonably wide gap behind the TV even when wall-mounted, but the TV doesn’t come across as too thick either. However, the ports on the left side of the TV are far inwards from the outer edge and can be a bit difficult to reach if you have the OnePlus TV Y1S Pro on a standard low-profile wall mount.

Connectivity options on the OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro include three HDMI 2.1 ports (one supports ARC/eARC), two USB ports, a digital Optical (Toslink) port, an Ethernet port, and a single socket for AV input (to be used with a 3-in-1 adapter). There is also Bluetooth 5 and dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity on the television.

As mentioned, the OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro has a 55-inch Ultra-HD (3840×2160-pixel) LED screen, with support for high dynamic range content in the HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG formats. The speaker system has two drivers, with a total rated output of 24W and support for Dolby Audio. There is 2GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage for apps and app data on the OnePlus TV Y1S Pro.

OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro remote and features

Minimalist remotes are now the norm, and the OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro has a fairly standard remote which keeps the focus on the basics of the smart TV user experience. Interestingly, there is no dedicated power button; the button with the OnePlus logo controls the power and standby modes, in addition to quickly switching to the Oxygen Play interface.

The OnePlus Connect app lets you use a smartphone as a remote for the OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro

 

Apart from this, there is a standard D-pad and selection button for navigation, home and back buttons, volume and Google Assistant controls, and hotkeys for Disney+ Hotstar, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video. The remote uses both IR and Bluetooth for connectivity, and is powered by two AAA batteries.

It’s a good looking and conveniently-shaped remote, and the learning curve (particularly related to the power controls) wasn’t too much to handle. I would recommend keeping the TV on standby much of the time rather than powering it down completely, since this ensures a quick boot-up when you turn it on again. However, you might need to do a full shut-down every few days to keep the system running smoothly.

In terms of features, the OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro is like any other budget Android TV device, with Ultra-HD Chromecast built-in, and support for Miracast and HDMI CEC. As mentioned, there is voice assistant support through Google Assistant, with the invoking button and microphone on the remote.

OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro software and interface

Similar to Xiaomi’s dual-UI approach, the OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro runs on Android TV 10 with the refreshed stock Android TV user interface as the primary UI, but with the addition of the company’s Oxygen Play launcher. Oxygen Play has no content of its own, instead focusing on curation of content from various OTT platforms and services. This includes movies, shows, sports, kids content, and news telecasts, from services such as Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5 and Sony Liv, among others.

As with other curation-focused launchers, you’ll need paid subscriptions for most of the services, and you might also need to install the apps if they aren’t already installed. Apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, Sony Liv, and Voot are preinstalled on the TV, but some can be uninstalled to make things a bit lighter if you prefer. On the whole, Oxygen Play is great for those looking for recommendations — particularly popular Indian content, but there are also curated lists for globally relevant movies and TV shows.

If you know what you want to watch, or prefer browsing through content within specific apps, the stock Android TV launcher might be better suited to you. I do, however, recommend lightening the installation load by removing any apps you don’t intend to use and leaving only the ones important to you.

You can also install the OnePlus Connect app (available on Android and iOS), which lets you use the smartphone or tablet as a remote for the TV when connected to the same Wi-Fi network. The app also provides access to other interconnectivity features such as screen casting, local video casting, and file transfers to the OnePlus TV Y1S Pro. If you have other OnePlus devices such as earphones or smartwatches, these can be connected to or used with the TV quickly and fairly seamlessly.

Oxygen Play provides curation of content, but you’ll still need the apps and subscriptions to be able to watch most of what’s on offer

 

The television has only 8GB of internal storage, and on one occasion I was asked to clear some space to be able to install a 1.2GB firmware update, considering the size of existing loads such as Oxygen Play and apps such as Netflix and YouTube which can’t be uninstalled. Although 8GB of storage is adequate on most Android TV devices, OnePlus’ software package makes it fall short, and there should ideally have been 16GB of space on the Y1S Pro television.

Performance and navigation on the user interface was a bit slow at times but content, once streaming, worked well with not much lag. I did receive a firmware update during my time with the OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro, and most popular apps for Android TV are supported through the Google Play Store. Apps tend to display content in the maximum possible resolution (based on availability and your own subscription plan), with Ultra-HD HDR content available on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar.

OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro performance

The affordable big-screen television segment typically focuses on specifications and format support, but OnePlus’ approach to the space is a bit different. This is an Ultra-HD TV with high dynamic range support, but OnePlus has skipped the more expensive Dolby Vision format support in favour of better overall performance with picture quality and sound quality for the price.

While the company’s more expensive Q1 Pro is better equipped including a front-firing soundbar speaker system and support for Dolby Vision and Atmos, the Y1S Pro is expectedly simpler given the price difference. On paper, it might even seem a bit under-equipped as compared to competing options from brands such as Xiaomi, Vu, Hisense, and TCL, but the overall experience was largely on par with what I’ve experienced with other 55-inch televisions priced at around Rs. 40,000.

Ultra-HD HDR10+ content expectedly looked best on the OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro

 

While Dolby Vision support might have been a good addition given the variety of content for the format available through platforms such as Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, and Apple TV+, the OnePlus TV Y1S Pro manages to make do reasonably well even with the step down to HDR10. Some content from services such as Amazon Prime Video is available in HDR10+, but the differences between the two formats weren’t significant, and seemed more to do with the quality of the content itself.

I watched a number of TV shows and movies across various services and formats, including the first season of Andor and Rogue One on Disney+ Hotstar, season three of Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime Video, and Kaleidoscope on Netflix, to test performance with high-quality Ultra-HD HDR content. I also watched various other HD and full-HD shows and content including the Football World Cup final, assorted episodes of Modern Family, and videos on YouTube.

Among the various Ultra-HD HDR shows I watched on the OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro, picture performance was best with Jack Ryan, particularly during well-lit, daytime scenes. Europe’s scenic cities, as well as the Greek coastline on display in the third season looked great, with decent levels of brightness, reasonably accurate colours, and plenty of visible detail.

While the typical punch and vibrancy visible on more expensive TVs with better displays was expectedly missing, it still made for a good viewing experience — if you can cut out enough ambient light in the room. There was also a noticeable difference in the way bright and dark scenes were handled by the TV, which also tended to affect certain types of content such as action shows and thrillers, making for a less consistent viewing experience.

The OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro is unique in that it offers LED backlight dimming. However, it’s what can be termed as ‘global’ dimming where there is a single backlight zone that automatically adjusts the entire backlight for the LED display according to the scenes and detected colour levels. The settings menu allows for adjustment in the intensity of this, and it did seem to make a bit of difference with dark scenes, although not by much.

This being an affordable LED TV, the OnePlus TV Y1S Pro doesn’t benefit too much from this, and black levels weren’t particularly good in dark scenes across the shows that I watched. Some of the darker scenes in Kaleidoscope and Rogue One appeared to be ‘grey washed’, with significant noise visible even with the most gentle of movements. Content remained watchable, but I did need to darken the room as much as possible, and tended to watch mostly at night in order to cover for the TV’s shortcomings in this regard.

Lower resolution content performed similarly to Ultra-HD content in terms of brightness, black levels, and the general adaptability of the OnePlus TV Y1S Pro to changing scenes and varying picture conditions. There was, of course, a visible difference in the sharpness that was made more obvious by the 55-inch screen size, but this is to be expected from any television of this size and didn’t heavily impact the viewing experience.

Sound quality on the OnePlus TV 55 Y1S Pro is very good for a television in this price segment

 

The Football World Cup final with its bright lights and colours looked fine, as did episodes of sitcoms such as Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory. Conversely, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 didn’t look as good because of its generally dark tone and the TV’s weakness with dark scenes, which also tended to bring out the shortcomings in the upscaling.

Gaming…

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Xiaomi OLED Vision (55-inch) Ultra-HD Android TV Review: The ‘Affordable’ OLED Television

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LED-LCD technology in TVs is still the most common and affordable type, and Xiaomi smartly chose to focus its products around it during its early years of selling televisions in India. The company still pushes large volumes of its affordable LED televisions, but has also experimented with premium TVs such as the Mi QLED TV 4K range which is available in a massive 75-inch screen size, priced at Rs. 1,39,999. This adventurous approach to the premium price segments has now led to the launch of Xiaomi’s first OLED TV in India.

Priced at Rs. 89,999, the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV is available in a single 55-inch size and is the company’s most expensive TV of its size in India. Even so, this television strongly undercuts the competition, and will be a tempting proposition for buyers who want the benefits of OLED screen technology, but without having to pay the exorbitant premium. Xiaomi’s OLED TV has launched at a price where you typically find high-end quantum-dot LED TV from brands such as Sony, Samsung, and OnePlus.

With key specifications such as support for Dolby Vision IQ and Dolby Atmos, 30W of sound output, and the Ultra-HD OLED screen that gives this TV its name, is the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV the best television you can buy under Rs. 1,00,000? Find out in this review.

The Xiaomi OLED Vision TV has far-field microphones, which can be set to always-listen for the Google Assistant wake commands

 

Xiaomi OLED Vision (55-inch) Ultra-HD Android TV design and specifications

Most 55-inch OLED televisions are priced well over Rs. 1,00,000, so the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV’s price gives it a significant leg-up over the competition. At Rs. 89,999, this is by far the most affordable 55-inch OLED TV you can buy in India (that I am aware of) right now. The benefits of the OLED display at this price makes this an enticing proposition, particularly since the much higher pricing of competing OLED TVs has been a barrier for buyers thus far.

Despite the price, Xiaomi hasn’t really held back with this TV when it comes to design and specifications. At just 4.6mm thick, the OLED Vision TV is very slim at the edges, although the centre portion of the back of the TV gets a fair bit thicker where the electrical components and ports are. The bezel around the screen is similarly slim on all sides, and a module at the bottom has the Xiaomi logo, indicator light, power switch, and a switch for the far-field microphones.

The television can be wall-mounted or stand-mounted, and standard VESA-compatible wall mounts work with the TV. Professional installation is provided for free by Xiaomi and the stands are included in the sales package, but the wall-mount kit isn’t. You can, however, request Xiaomi for wall-mounting the TV at the time of installation, and the technician will provide a wall-mount kit if you don’t have one of your own.

The ports and sockets on the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV are quite conveniently positioned for a large television and are easily accessible even when the TV is wall mounted. The RJ45 Ethernet port, Optical Audio-out (Toslink) port, RCA sockets, and Antenna socket face downwards, while the three HDMI 2.1 ports, two USB Type-A ports, and 3.5mm audio jack face the left of the screen. HDMI ARC is supported on one of the ports. The power cord is permanently attached to the TV to the right of the screen, and was disappointingly short for my liking.

The Xiaomi OLED Vision TV is only available in a single 55-inch size, for now

 

The Xiaomi OLED Vision TV has a 55-inch Ultra-HD (3840×2160-pixel) OLED display, with each individual pixel capable of self-illumination without the need for backlighting. There is also support for high dynamic range content up to the Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ formats, a standard refresh rate of 60Hz, and a DCI-P3 colour gamut of 98.5 percent. The contrast ratio is expectedly high at 15,00,000:1, and there is also the Reality Flow MEMC engine for motion interpolation.

For sound, the television has a 30W speaker system with eight drivers, and support for the Dolby Atmos and DTS:X formats. Connectivity is handled via Wi-Fi 6 with dual-band support, Ethernet, and Bluetooth 5 for wireless audio and for connecting to the TV remote. The TV has 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage for apps and app data, and is powered by a quad-core ARM Cortex-A73 processor.

Xiaomi OLED Vision (55-inch) Ultra-HD Android TV remote and features

Some things barely change, and Xiaomi’s TV remote is one of them. The company’s basic, minimalistic plastic Bluetooth remote is bundled in the box with the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV, albeit with some small changes. Disappointingly, despite the price of the TV, batteries for the remote aren’t included in the box, which is a complaint I’ve had for a while.

The remote itself functions well enough and some relatively recent feature additions such as quick mute (press volume-down button twice quickly), quick wake (turns the TV on in 3-4 seconds from standby), and quick settings (long-press the PatchWall button) cover for the obvious lack of dedicated buttons for those functions. Usefully, you can quickly switch between Xiaomi’s PatchWall user interface and the stock Android TV UI by pressing the dedicated buttons.

There are hotkeys for quick access to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, and the complete list of apps installed on the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV. A microphone for voice commands and a button to invoke Google Assistant are also present on the remote, although the TV also has far-field microphones that can be set to always listen for the wake command, to serve the same function.

This worked well, with a simple ‘OK Google’ or ‘Hey Google’ command to invoke Google Assistant even from across the room, followed by proper understanding of even complex voice commands. The microphones are naturally always listening when this mode is on, so if this feels like a privacy issue to you, the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV does let you flip a switch (just under the logo, at the bottom of the TV) to turn this off.

The remote of the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV is a familiar one, but there are small changes in the button layout

 

The Xiaomi OLED Vision TV also has built-in Chromecast for casting from supported devices and services, and Auto Low-Latency Mode (ALLM) which is said to optimise the TV’s settings for improved latency and performance when gaming with a connected gaming console. There are no other specific features for gaming, and the peak refresh rate of 60Hz means that this TV isn’t ideally meant for use with current-generation gaming consoles.

Xiaomi OLED Vision (55-inch) Ultra-HD Android TV software and interface

The Xiaomi OLED Vision TV runs on Android TV 11, with the PatchWall 4 and stock Android TV user interfaces on top, similar to how it is on much of the company’s other television range. Apps and games can be installed through the Google Play store for Android TV, which has a catalogue of over 5,000 apps right now, including popular content streaming apps, social media apps, and other services.

PatchWall hasn’t received any major additions since the Mi TV 5X, but it remains a content-focused UI with excellent content curation, lists, and a pleasant appearance. IMDb integration, the availability of the Mi Home app for easy access to IoT devices in your home, and plenty of supported apps and services for the curation make PatchWall a good interface to use.

The stock Android TV UI has gotten some new additions from the last Xiaomi TV I reviewed. The interface is now the Google TV-like UI that rolled out in late 2021, with a bit more focus on content recommendations and curation, although the lack of support for Netflix in the recommendation engine is still disappointing. You can still use Google Assistant or regular search to find content on Netflix and many other sources, or access the specific apps directly.

The overall software experience with the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV was as good as I expected it to be, and I experienced no serious issues or bugs during my time with the television. While I personally preferred the app-focused approach of the stock Android TV interface, PatchWall’s content-friendly interface should also appeal to many users.

Xiaomi OLED Vision (55-inch) Ultra-HD Android TV performance

Customers looking for a 55-inch TV with a budget of around Rs. 1,00,000 would typically consider a good quantum-dot LED television, such as Sony’s Triluminos range, Samsung’s QLED range, and the OnePlus TV Q1 Pro. However, the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV offers buyers the option to get something with arguably better screen technology at the same price, given that OLED TVs are typically priced well over Rs. 1,00,000.

That’s not to say that the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV is necessarily on par with premium OLED TVs such as the LG CX range, but the benefits of OLED technology itself – particularly the black levels – are clear and present on this television. I watched a variety of content on the TV across resolutions and dynamic ranges, going from Ultra-HD Dolby Vision to simple standard definition, and the TV undeniably delivered the kind of performance that can be expected at this price.

The Xiaomi OLED Vision TV has the new Google TV-like user interface, as well as PatchWall UI

 

Watching Love, Death & Robots Season 3 on Netflix in Ultra-HD with Dolby Vision, the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV performed at its absolute best. The black levels were expectedly excellent, offering true pitch blacks that also helped in getting the contrast levels right. While this naturally made an impact across scenes, night-time scenes across content looked particularly good on the TV.

This also helped to make the colours feel much more impactful and punchy, particularly with the beautiful, bright animation of the ‘Three Robots: Exit Strategies’ episode of Love, Death & Robots. The effect of Dolby Vision was also noticeable, not only due to the visible bump in brightness but also in the colours, as they felt a hint more vibrant. This was the case even with The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals, where the scenic landscapes and beautiful holiday homes looked impressive on the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV.

Taking high dynamic range content out of the equation did considerably change the way the TV performed, but the differences didn’t take too much away from the overall viewing experience. Better Call Saul in Ultra-HD resolution (but with standard dynamic range) looked sharp and detailed on the big screen, and the excellent black levels of the TV suited the gloomy, sombre scenes of the show very well.

The brightness levels, even in daylight scenes, didn’t feel as strong as with Dolby Vision content, but the sharpness and reasonable colour accuracy made up for this to a large extent. However, I did notice some motion interpolation issues and stutter during scenes with quick movements while watching Better Call Saul, particularly in dimly-lit night time scenes. This got particularly distracting at times, and is a fairly large drawback of this TV.

Black levels and contrast are excellent on the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV

 

Full-HD and lower-resolution content looked decent enough, with a natural sense of softness in the picture that seemed to suitably cover for the lack of sharpness that comes with lower resolutions. Movies such as The Matrix Resurrections and sitcoms such as Kim’s Convenience, as well as live-streamed Formula 1 races, all looked decent, with good colours and black levels. Issues with motion were still present and seemed to crop up more often in the Formula 1 races, but seemed less obvious in lower resolution content.

Sound on the Xiaomi OLED Vision TV is acceptable for most purposes, with the tuning focused on making voices sound clear. This worked across all types of content, but helped particularly when it came to sitcoms and sports content where dialogue and commentary needed to be heard clearly. There isn’t quite as much grunt in the sound, but the speakers get reasonably loud and does deliver clean, uniform sound, without any significant volume spikes.

Dolby Atmos support on the TV did seem to help with giving the sound a bit more spaciousness and a better soundstage with supported content, including Our Great National Parks. Although the sound was decent, it might be worth stepping up to a proper soundbar such as the Sony HT-A7000 or an equivalent speaker system to match up to the considerably better visual experience the TV has to offer.

Verdict

The expense involved in buying an OLED TV has…

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Sony KD-43X75K Ultra-HD Android TV Review: High Performer

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Although good large-screen televisions are considerably more affordable now than they were a few years ago, many might still want a more compact size such as a 43-inch television for a smaller room in their home. There are plenty of options available in this screen size ranging from full-HD to Ultra-HD resolution, but a lot of these are from smaller television brands such as Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Realme. The performance of such TVs are also usually in line with the budget pricing, so those with a higher budget might be inclined to look at more established brands, such as Sony.

Among the company’s first major releases in 2022 in the TV segment is the Sony X75K series, with sizes ranging from 43 inches to 65 inches. Today, I’m reviewing the 43-inch variant in this series, the Sony KD-43X75K Ultra-HD LED Smart TV, which is priced at Rs. 53,190 on Sony’s own online store. This puts it at a considerably higher cost compared to most other 43-inch 4K TVs from brands such as Xiaomi and Realme that are usually priced under Rs. 30,000.

However, Sony’s new TV comes with the promise of better performance to match its price, and is positioned as a premium option for buyers who want to look beyond the budget variety. Is the Sony KD-43X75K worth the premium? Find out in this review.

The Google TV UI on the Sony KD-43X75K adopts a more content and recommendation-focused approach

 

Sony KD-43X75K Ultra-HD Android TV design and specifications

The Sony X75K series is the most affordable in the company’s range of Ultra-HD TVs, and is also one of the handful of series that has a 43-inch screen size available. That said, the 43X75K isn’t really ‘affordable’, so to speak. At Rs. 53,190, it’s considerably more expensive than options from many competing brands, and prices go up steeply to over Rs. 1,00,000 for the 65-inch option. All televisions in the X75K range, including the 43-inch one on review here, have an Ultra-HD (3840×2160 pixel) LED-LCD display with high dynamic range support of up to HLG and HDR10 formats.

When it comes to design, the Sony KD-43X75K television is just a hint nicer to look at than the typical 43-inch television. This is mainly thanks to a pleasing finish around the fairly narrow borders of the screen, and the simple and discreet Sony logo on the front. The TV is about as thick as you would expect from an LED TV of this size. The bottom of the TV is interestingly slanted a bit, giving the bottom-firing speaker system a bit of visibility and directionality.

It’s possible to table mount or wall mount the television, although the sales package includes only the stands for table mounting. You can use any VESA-compatible wall-mount of your own, and Sony also offers free professional installation where the technician will provide a suitable wall-mounting kit, if you choose to have it put on a wall.

One set of ports and sockets on the Sony KD-43X75K television faces the back of the TV, while the second faces the left of the screen. The back-facing ports include one HDMI-in port (with ARC), Video-in sockets, Ethernet port for wired Internet connectivity, Digital Audio-out (Toslink) port, and the power socket.

All of these are quite hard to access if you have the TV wall-mounted with a low-profile bracket, and this might even cause some of the cables and plugs to bend and twist dangerously to the point of getting damaged. You’ll also want to ensure all of these connections are in place before you hook the TV onto the wall bracket.

There is high dynamic range support for the HLG and HDR10 formats on the Sony KD-43X75K TV

 

The side-facing connectivity options include two HDMI ports (version unspecified), two USB Type-A ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and an antenna socket. These are considerably easier to access, but I was disappointed that neither of the side-facing HDMI ports support Audio Return Channel (ARC). However, all the HDMI ports do support the latest HDCP 2.3 standard.

Other key specifications of the Sony KD-43X75K TV include a native refresh rate of 50Hz, Sony’s Motionflow XR 200 interpolation algorithm, and 16GB of in-built storage for apps and app data. The television has a 20W bottom-firing, open baffle speaker system with support for Dolby Audio. Wireless connectivity includes Bluetooth 5 and dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity, apart from wired Ethernet connectivity.

Sony KD-43X75K Ultra-HD Android TV remote and features

Sony still ships a big, full-function remote with the KD-43X75K TV. The remote has an infrared emitter and Bluetooth connectivity, and once paired with the TV using Bluetooth, the infrared emitter is only used to turn the TV on or off. The rest of the functionality, including issuing voice commands via the microphone on the remote, uses Bluetooth connectivity, and therefore doesn’t need you to point the remote at the TV in order to work.

The remote has a number pad, direction pad, back, and home buttons for navigation, playback controls, and hotkeys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and YouTube Music. There is also a dedicated button to invoke Google Assistant, buttons to change the source or pull up the TV settings from anywhere within the interface, and a useful information button which displays the resolution of streaming content, connection speed, and more. It looks good, works well, and gets the job done properly.

The Sony KD-43X75K TV has a large, fully-equipped remote with buttons to control practically every function on the TV

 

The Sony KD-43X75K also has Google Chromecast built in, the Sony X1 4K processor, support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, AirPlay 2, and HDMI CEC for controlling connected devices using a single remote. You can also use the TV’s Bluetooth connectivity with wireless headphones and speakers.

All of these features worked as expected, but it’s important to note that you’ll need a separate app to mirror your Apple devices wirelessly onto the TV; I used AirScreen ,which is available on the Google Play store for Android TV and it did the job well.

Sony KD-43X75K Ultra-HD Android TV software and interface

The Google TV user interface launched with the Chromecast with Google TV in 2020, but uptake for the platform has been slow with many TV manufacturers choosing to stick with the tried-and-tested stock Android TV interface. Sony is an early adopter of the new user interface, and the KD-43X75K runs Android TV 11 with the Google TV UI on top.

Google TV is, of course, just a different interface or skin on top of Android TV, which still runs the core operation of the smart functionality on the Sony KD-43X75K TV. This includes the Google Play store for Android TV with its 5,000+ apps designed and optimised for use on televisions, easy access to Google Assistant and Chromecast, and more.

However, the Google TV UI is considerably nicer to look at than stock Android TV, and has some useful features as well. For one, Google Play Movies is no longer an app, but is integrated into the user interface. This means that you can search for movies and TV shows to rent or buy, and perform purchases directly from the UI itself. Usefully, the search tab provides you with various ways to watch the title you searched for, prioritising any streaming services which you’re already subscribed and signed-in to for ease of access.

The Google Play store for Android TV provides access to over 5,000 apps that are optimised for use on TVs

 

The search and recommendations tabs also have Rotten Tomatoes approval ratings baked in for many titles, and the system is able to recommend movies and TV shows from various streaming services, including Disney+ Hotstar, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, and Voot, among others. While the search tab can scan through all apps on the TV, including Netflix, the recommendations engine oddly does not support Netflix yet.

On the whole, the Google TV UI is a refreshing and much needed change to Android TV, and Sony’s quick adoption of it gives the TV a decent advantage over the competition, particularly if you’re heavily invested in the content streaming ecosystem. Everything worked well for me, and I had no software issues during my time with the Sony KD-43X75K TV.

Sony KD-43X75K Ultra-HD Android TV performance

Given that there are plenty of 43-inch Ultra-HD TVs from reputed brands available for less than Rs. 30,000 in India, the Sony KD-43X75K needs to offer a lot more than just the basics to justify its price of Rs. 53,190. A lot of that comes by way of good design, useful and premium features, and an excellent software experience that is a step above what most brands are currently offering. However, the most important parameter is always performance, and the Sony does deliver a better experience than every other 43-inch 4K TV I’ve reviewed thus far.

Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support on affordable televisions isn’t uncommon, so the Sony KD-43X75K’s support for just HLG and HDR10 formats does seem a bit disappointing. However, this Sony television does a great job even with the limited HDR format support compared to what many affordable televisions do even with the superior Dolby Vision format. This is largely thanks to better picture calibration and superior HDR implementation by Sony.

The brightness bump with HDR content on the Sony KD-43X75K TV is subtle, but the format benefits colours considerably more, making for stronger, more vibrant colours across content. Shows such as Our Great National Parks and Bullsh*t The Game Show on Netflix looked great in a dark or dimly lit room, and even bright ambient lighting didn’t take too much away from the TV’s ability to perform well.

The colours of nature, as well as the bright lights of the game show set, all looked good on the TV. Skin tones in particular looked very good, as did the varying shades of green and blue visible in forests and water bodies on the nature documentary that came through with a strong sense of accuracy.

Even full-HD content such as Formula 1 races, looked good because of the smaller size of the TV

 

The Sony KD-43X75K also delivered a sharp picture, aided by good colours and clean motion. Although the extra detail in Ultra-HD picture was arguably less visible on the smaller 43-inch size, the Sony KD-43X75K did seem to produce a picture that was visibly sharper and more detailed than similarly-specced, lower-priced options of this size.

This was particularly visible during the dark and busy scenes of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, but also showed in the facial expressions and details of the contestants in Bullsh*t The Game Show. Motion was also excellent thanks to very good motion interpolation on the TV. Action scenes in the Venom sequel played through smoothly, with intuitive motion blur where needed and very few visible artefacts.

Bright daylight didn’t really cause any significant issues with glare on the screen, but the Sony KD-43X75K simply isn’t bright enough on its own to counter the effects of direct sunlight in a room. Black levels were decent for an LED television, and this also led to decent contrast levels that properly set apart bright and dark scenes and allowed good colours and detail to come through, as it should for a TV of this size.

The 43-inch size of the TV is best suited for short viewing distances, but the smaller size also has a unique advantage of making lower-resolution content appear nearly as sharp and detailed as 4K content. The Sony KD-43X75K’s unique combination of sharpness, clean motion, and good colour levels translated well for full-HD content, with Kim’s Convenience and scenes from Pacific Rim looking impressive despite the obviously lower resolution.

Sound quality on the Sony KD-43X75K TV is acceptable in terms of quality, but it doesn’t get very loud

 

Sound quality on the Sony KD-43X75K television was ordinary, but entirely usable even if you don’t intend to add a soundbar or speaker system into the mix. Sound was decent at high volumes, with clear dialogue and reasonable performance with background scores, but even at high volume levels, it didn’t get very loud. That said, volume variation and spikes weren’t really an issue for me, and the sound levels were appropriate for late-night, bedroom TV watching.

I did experience some inadequacies with 5GHz Wi-Fi connectivity on the Sony KD-43X75K television during my review. On a couple of occasions, the TV was unable to connect to the 5GHz band of my home router, despite it being just a few metres away. This made stable streaming of high-resolution content a problem on those…

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Sony Bravia XR-55X90K Ultra-HD Android LED TV Review: Focused on Performance

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With OLED and Mini LED display technologies gaining prominence in the premium segment, quantum-dot LED tech has largely settled into a comfortable mid-range position. Buyers looking to spend a bit more for a promise of better performance often look to options from brands such as Sony and Samsung, both of which are well established when it comes to LED and quantum-dot LED TVs. Among the more popular options in the upper mid-range segment is the X90 series from Sony, which has now been updated for 2022 with the X90K range.

Priced at Rs. 1,23,490 for the 55-inch (XR-55X90K) variant on review here, the Sony Bravia X90K series is the company’s most expensive and advanced LED television range in India right now. With this, Sony hopes to strike a balance between performance and price, with Triluminos quantum-dot technology, full-array local dimming, and support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. There’s a lot of promise here, but is the Sony 55X90K the best big-screen television you can buy under Rs. 1,50,000? Find out in this review.

The Sony 55X90K TV runs on Android TV 10 software, with the Google TV user interface on top

 

Sony Bravia XR-55X90K Ultra-HD LED Android TV design and specifications

The X90 series sits at the top of the pecking order for Sony’s LED TVs, and is available in three sizes: 55 inches priced at Rs. 1,23,490, 65 inches priced at Rs. 1,70,990, and a 75-inch variant which will be launched in the coming weeks from the time of publishing this review. Apart from the size, there are no differences in any of the models, with all having Ultra-HD (3840×2160-pixel) Triluminos (quantum-dot) LED screens, and a refresh rate of 120Hz at up to 4K resolution.

Coming to the design of the TV, the Sony Bravia 55X90K is pretty much what you’d expect from a high-end Sony television. It’s entirely black, with slim bezels around the screen, a discreet Sony logo in the bottom left corner, and little else to take any attention away from the screen itself, which is how televisions should be. The power button and a slider switch for the always-on microphones are at the bottom of the TV, alongside the main speakers.

Unlike many modern high-end televisions, the Sony 55X90K isn’t very slim at any point. However, it isn’t too bulky or thick either as it doesn’t sit too far from the wall even when wall-mounted, and has a similar width as most TVs of its kind. The television weighs about 17.4kg without the stands attached, and supports VESA wall mounting.

The table mount stands are included in the sales package, and are easy to install. The stands attach to the bottom corners of the TV, so a wide table or television unit will be needed if you choose to stand-mount the Sony Bravia 55X90K TV. Interestingly, you can attach the stands to keep the TV at a lower position where the frame is almost resting on the stands. The higher position leaves some space between the bottom of the TV and the table, which should come in handy if you want to place a soundbar there.

Wall mounting can be availed through the free installation which comes with the TV. The installation technician will bring along the wall-mount kit and install it, if you choose. I used a third-party wall-mount kit, which attached easily onto the back of the TV thanks to the VESA standard.

The Sony 55X90K television has support for the Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG high dynamic range formats

 

All of the ports and sockets on the Sony XR-55X90K television face outwards to the left of the screen, while the power socket for the detachable power cable is on the right. Usefully, access to the ports and sockets is quite easy even when the TV is wall mounted. There are four HDMI ports (two are HDMI 2.1 with 4K 120Hz and Variable Refresh Rate support, one of which additionally has eARC support), two USB Type-A ports, one Optical Audio-out (Toslink) port, an Ethernet port, an antenna socket, and sockets for 3.5mm audio-out and Video In.

The Sony Bravia 55X90K television has support for the Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG formats for high dynamic range content, and Dolby Atmos and DTS Digital Surround audio formats. There is dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity, along with 16GB of internal storage for apps and app data. The TV is powered by Sony’s Cognitive Processor XR, and has a four-speaker system with 30W of total rated output. As with many of Sony’s high-end televisions, there is full-array local dimming on the 55X90K TV.

Sony Bravia XR-55X90K Ultra-HD LED Android TV remote and features

Sony has typically included large, full-function remotes with its televisions, including the recently launched X75K series. However, the 55X90K television marks a notable departure from this trend. It has a smaller, more minimalistic remote with fewer buttons. This kind of remote is admittedly much easier to handle and store safely and has buttons for most important functions, so I wasn’t too bothered by the change.

There is no number pad, but a ‘123′ button brings up a virtual number pad in case you need it. The remote has hotkeys for YouTube, YouTube Music, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video, along with a Google Assistant button and a microphone on the remote to listen to voice commands. Other buttons include volume and playback controls, a D-pad for navigation, home and back buttons, and buttons for settings and source selection. The remote is powered by two AAA batteries, which are included in the sales package.

Key features of the Sony Bravia 55X90K TV include auto low-latency mode and variable refresh rate (VRR) for gaming, hands-free Google Assistant support thanks to the always-listening microphones on the TV, Alexa support, and a light sensor to automatically adjust the brightness of the screen according to lighting conditions in the room. Other useful connectivity options include built-in Google Chromecast and Apple AirPlay with HomeKit support.

Sony has gone with a smaller and more minimalistic remote with the X90K series

 

All of this worked as expected, including being able to use AirPlay without the need for a separate app; I could just select AirPlay from the source selection menu and the TV would appear in a list of available displays on my iPhone or MacBook.

Sony Bravia XR-55X90K Ultra-HD LED Android TV software and interface

The Sony Bravia XR-55X90K television runs on Android TV, similar to others in Sony’s smart TV range over the past few years. However, recent models, including the Sony X75K series have had the newer Google TV user interface on top of the Android TV, unlike the older stock Android TV UI that many manufacturers still work with. That said, the X90K TV runs Android TV 10 with the Google TV UI, unlike the more affordable X75K series which has Android TV 11.

Although a bit old and naturally a bit short on updates and security patches, Android TV 10 delivers largely the same experience as Android TV 11, at least at the UI and feature level. Plus, the hardware in the TV ensures good performance for the user interface. The Google TV user interface on the X90K is the same as on the X75K series with key features including Google Play Movies embedded into the UI rather than as a separate app, and a content-centric approach that highlights and recommends movies and TV shows from various apps.

Interestingly, this TV also gets a ‘Netflix Calibrated Mode’, which is said to optimise picture settings for specific content on Netflix. Other key UI functions, including accessing the settings, can be done from any screen on the interface by pressing the settings button on the remote.

Google Assistant can be used to search and access specific content, or even general information, and the Google Play store for Android TV provides access to over 5,000 apps and games built for use on televisions. It’s a largely familiar experience for anyone used to Android TV, and remains my pick as the best television operating system right now.

Sony Bravia XR-55X90K Ultra-HD LED Android TV performance

The Sony Bravia XR-55X90K Ultra-HD LED TV uses its resolution, calibration, and Triluminos quantum-dot technology to deliver the kind of performance you would expect for the price. While not quite on par with good OLED TVs in this price range when it comes to black levels, the Sony 55X90K uses its full-array local dimming to good effect, to ensure decent blacks and rich contrast, while delivering impressive brightness and a level of colour accuracy that not too many televisions offer in this segment. Furthermore, I found performance to be consistently good across various types of content and resolutions.

Expectedly, the best experience was with high dynamic range Ultra-HD content, and the Sony 55X90K TV’s support for the Dolby Vision format helped it deliver quality picture performance.

The Sony XR-55X90K television provided a bright, sharp, and clean picture, especially with Ultra-HD HDR content

 

Umbrella Academy Season 3 showed that the Sony 55X90K TV was not only very bright with Dolby Vision content, but also had colours that felt very accurate and on point. The TV also captured the slightly vintage aesthetic very well, while properly portraying the vibrant colours of the lavish sets of the show. There was a sense of warmth and comfort in the colours that made it possible to comfortably binge-watch the show on the Sony TV.

While the Sony Bravia television was quite bright, it didn’t quite get as bright as the Mini LED-powered Samsung QN95B TV. However, it more than made up for this with its warm, soft tones, and its ability to handle motion well. That said, its brightness capabilities didn’t falter even under bright daylight or when switching on all the lights in the room. Usefully, the Sony 55X90K is able to use a sensor to adjust its display brightness based on the light in the room; this worked well, ensuring brightness levels were always gentle on the eyes.

Black levels and contrast quality wasn’t exceptional on the Sony X90K TV out of the box, but I was able to set it up to my liking quite easily. Once calibrated, the blacks were decent thanks to good local dimming, which also delivered excellent zone-based brightness as bright parts of the screen shone through, while darker zones maintained the quality of the black levels. There was some visible blooming from bright zones, but this wasn’t distracting or bothersome in any way.

High dynamic range content did show a visible difference in brightness levels and colour accuracy when compared to standard dynamic range content, but it wasn’t too far behind in quality. Watching select scenes of Spider-Man: No Way Home on Netflix in Ultra-HD resolution (but with standard dynamic range) was good, thanks to the TV’s capable native brightness levels, sharpness, and clean overall approach to picture quality.

Upscaling of lower-resolution content was decent on the Sony XR-55X90K TV

 

Full-HD and standard definition content is usually iffy on high-end TVs, which are usually optimised for high-resolution content. However, the Sony Bravia XR-55X90K TV offered a clean picture, with good upscaling that made most low-resolution content look decent despite the large screen size.

There was occasional judder visible with the motion processing disabled, but turning on some of the motion interpolation and processing features made a visible difference in reducing the judder while keeping artefacts to a minimum even with low-resolution content. The Sony Bravia 55X90K also seemed to be able to adapt well to different types of content, prioritising sharpness or smooth, clean motion as needed.

Sound quality on the Sony Bravia 55X90K television was acceptable across formats and content types, although Dolby Atmos did make a noticeable difference in improving the spaciousness and detail in the sound. While the TV did sound alright even at soft and moderate volumes, it didn’t get too loud, and was audibly held back a bit by its 30W speaker system which didn’t deliver a very impressive performance as I’d have expected from a TV at this price.

Verdict

Changes in technology and pricing in the premium television space means that it’s now possible to buy an OLED or Mini LED television for less than Rs. 1,50,000, which makes the older quantum-dot LED technology feel a bit dated in comparison. However, it also makes it possible to buy a well-equipped, well-calibrated, and feature-rich quantum-dot LED TV such as the Sony Bravia XR-55X90K at a price which, while definitely on the premium side of things, isn’t quite as high as other flagship options.

This…

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LG C2 55-Inch Ultra-HD Smart OLED evo TV (OLED55C2PSC) Review: The OLED Champ

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If you’re spending big money on a television, you’ll naturally want to do your research and make sure you’re getting the best. However, that choice is a lot more complicated now than it was a few years ago, particularly with the introduction of new screen technologies such as Mini-LED changing the classic dynamics of the premium TV space. That said, OLED televisions still command a premium, both in terms of capabilities as compared to the competition, as well as price.

The television I’m reviewing here is part of a series that has long been among the most popular options among OLED televisions in India. The LG C2 range is the successor to the popular C1 and CX ranges, and promises improved performance and capabilities, along with the benefits that OLED screen technology typically brings to televisions. Is this the best premium (around Rs. 2,00,000) 55-inch television you can buy in India right now? Find out in this review.

The LG C2 OLED TV is available in various sizes, including a 55-inch variant on review here

 

LG C2 55-inch OLED TV (OLED55C2PSC) design and specifications

The LG C2 series is available is various sizes, ranging from 42 inches (priced at Rs. 1,39,990) to 83 inches (priced at Rs. 11,74,990). The variant sent to me for review is the 55-inch option, which is officially priced at Rs. 2,19,990. All televisions in the range, regardless of size, are Ultra-HD (3840×2160 pixels) OLED TVs with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz, and have largely similar specifications and features. Dolby Vision IQ and Dolby Atmos are supported on the TV.

LG’s C-series of televisions aren’t typically known for flourishing, premium design, and the 55-inch C2 TV is nowhere as impressive to look at as the similarly-priced Samsung 55QN95B. However, it’s still a well put together television with a slim profile at the edges, easy-to-reach ports and sockets, and narrow borders around the display that allow you to focus your attention on what’s playing on the screen.

There are no markings at the front of the TV, not even an LG logo. At the bottom, there is just the power button, located on a module that also has the status light and IR receiver. All of the ports and sockets are to the left of the screen and are easily accessible even with the TV wall-mounted. The speakers are bottom firing, and on the whole, the design is as straightforward as it gets.

The LG C2 55-inch television weighs 12.7kg without the stand, and 14.4kg with the centre stand which is included in the box. This stand design ensures that the TV can be placed on even a relatively small table and doesn’t have a large footprint. I had the television wall mounted for my review, using a VESA-standard low-profile wall-mount kit of my own; the wall-mount kit for the TV isn’t included in the box, but can be availed of during the free installation by the brand.

The ports and sockets on the LG C2 55-inch TV include four HDMI ports (all supporting 4K at 120Hz resolution, one of which support eARC), three USB Type-A ports, LAN, Optical Digital Audio-out, a single-socket AV-in to be used with an adapter, antenna and cable sockets, and an analogue socket for an IR blaster. Notably, there is no wired headphone connectivity on the TV.

In addition, there is NVIDIA G-sync, variable refresh rate (VRR), and AMD FreeSync support for gaming. The LG C2 supports dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 for connectivity, and has a rated sound output of 40W for its 2.2-channel speaker system. The television is powered by LG’s a9 Gen 5 AI processor 4K, which enables various AI-based features that’s claimed to optimise the viewing experience.

LG C2 55-inch OLED TV (OLED55C2PSC) remote and features

LG’s magic remote concept has been a popular one, and the C2 55-inch TV has this unique remote included. It’s a full-sized unit, and is designed to be bottom-heavy for better grip and manoeuvrability, which is needed for its wand-like functions. The remote creates a floating cursor on the screen of the TV, and you can wave the remote around to point and click. You can also stick to the traditional d-pad, scroll wheel, and button controls, if you prefer; either way, the remote is easy to use and gets you around the interface quickly.

LG’s magic remote uses ‘wand-like’ gestures to let you quickly navigate the interface, but you can choose to stick to the D-pad and scroll wheel if you prefer

 

The remote has hotkeys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar, along with separate buttons to invoke Google Assistant and Alexa. Usefully, it’s possible to use both voice assistants simultaneously on the TV, which isn’t something I’ve seen too often. The rest of the remote is fairly standard, with buttons to control power, volume, source selection, and open the settings menu from anywhere within the UI, or even when content is playing.

Other features on the LG C2 television include support for Apple AirPlay and HomeKit, hands-free voice control, and LG’s AI ThinQ suite, which is able to sense the surroundings including daylight and other conditions, to set up the picture and sound for the conditions. It’s also possible to link the TV to the LG ThinQ app on your smartphone, which lets you use the phone as a remote for the TV and adjust certain settings, among other things.

LG C2 55-inch OLED TV (OLED55C2PSC) software and interface

LG’s webOS platform has come a long way over the years, from originally being built for Palm smartphones to being the default operating system for its TVs. It’s even changed a fair bit in the past year or so, with a growing focus on content curation and recommendations. Some elements of the interface continue to appear as overlays, such as the Settings and Source selection menus, but much of the interface covers the entire screen.

This includes the Home Dashboard, which shows a tile display of connected devices, and allows for quick access to AirPlay and any IoT devices you have connected through the LG ThinQ app. The main smart TV interface is now a full-screen affair, with tiles for weather, content recommendations, apps, and the web browser, so pressing the home button will pause what’s playing, unlike before.

Dolby Vision IQ and Dolby Atmos are supported on the LG C2 evo OLED TV

 

Many of the popular apps that you’d usually want on a smart TV are already installed, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar. Others can be installed through the app library, which have been optimised for the big screen. There are also various games, social media apps, and tools to choose from. Although not as well put together and extensive as the Google Play store for Android TV, the app library on webOS is decent enough, and apps work just as well on the platform as on other popular TV platforms.

I found the overall software experience a bit cluttered and unpredictable on the whole, and things sometimes took a bit too long to load. That said, there were no significant issues, and webOS is entirely usable as it is.

LG C2 55-inch OLED TV (OLED55C2PSC) performance

At over Rs. 2,00,000, the LG C2 55-inch television is firmly a premium option and would naturally be expected to perform at a level that justifies the price. LG’s OLED televisions have typically delivered on this and the C2 is no different; this is among the best televisions in its segment right now when it comes to picture quality and overall performance.

In terms of specifications, the LG C2 55-inch TV is well equipped for all kinds of content with support for various HDR formats up to Dolby Vision IQ, Dolby Atmos audio, and the pixel-level dimming feature that comes with an OLED display. What truly stood out about the C2’s picture performance was its ability to almost intuitively adapt to the content and lighting conditions in the room, making practically everything I watched look as good as it could be.

Ultra-HD Dolby Vision content was first on my list, and I watched various shows and movies on the TV, including Obi Wan Kenobi, The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals, Uncharted, and Man Vs Bee, to name a few. Across content and genres, the LG television delivered excellent performance, particularly when it came to contrast levels.

The true pixel-level blacks of an OLED television mean that contrast is virtually infinite, but getting it right is often a challenge. The LG C2 aces this aspect, delivering a picture that never looked like it was trying too hard and didn’t seem to need to highlight the deep blacks, as is usually the case with more affordable OLED televisions.

The LG 55C2 OLED TV gets the colours and black levels right, and never feels like its trying too hard

 

The colours felt understated, going more for accuracy and realism than the kind of bright, sometimes excessively vibrant picture, that many mid-premium and high-end televisions usually offer. Dolby Vision’s excellent handling of colours was made significantly better by the LG C2 55-inch TV, particularly with the visually stunning locations in The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals.

The brightness was usually on point for the lighting conditions in the room, with LG’s AI ThinQ functionality doing a surprisingly good job at reading the content and lighting to set up the picture properly, getting the picture calibration right with the dark, detailed scenes of Obi Wan Kenobi. That said, the television did sometimes take a couple of minutes to react to changes in lighting conditions (such as turning a light on), but when it did, picture quality was impressive.

OLED televisions aren’t known for very high brightness levels and although LG claims to have enhancements in place to make the C2 brighter than previous models in the series, it doesn’t quite get there. This wasn’t often a problem for me as I usually watched television at night with the room dimly lit, but on the occasions that I tried to watch something during the day, it proved to be a bit of a challenge.

Unlike the very bright Samsung QN95B Mini LED TV, the LG struggled to adjust to even overcast conditions during the day, and I needed to draw the curtains for a watchable experience. This can be a challenge even in brightly lit rooms, so it’s something you should consider if ambient lighting can’t be quickly and easily adjusted.

While Dolby Vision and HDR10 content was viewable in a brightly-lit room thanks to the brightness of the TV being bumped up automatically, non-HDR content was a bit difficult to watch in anything but a dimly lit room. Episodes of Better Call Saul were detailed thanks to the Ultra-HD resolution, but the dull nighttime scenes of this iconic show were occasionally challenging to watch. The black levels were handled well, but skin tones and the nondescript suburban setting of the show seemed to lack character and feel at times.

Although I did face some issues with brightness levels, sharpness and motion handling were rarely ever an issue with the LG C2 55-inch OLED TV. The television’s seemingly intuitive ability to tweak the picture for the content was on full display here. During the slow scenes of Man Vs Bee, the LG C2 kept the focus on Rowan Atkinson’s priceless range of facial expressions, while the fast, exciting action sequences of Uncharted saw clean, flowing motion, with the right amount of blur and barely any noticeable artefacts.

As you’d expect from an OLED TV, black levels on the LG 55C2 are excellent

 

With lower-resolution content, the LG C2 did reasonably well with bright, colourful content. However, the brightness issues meant that generally dark content tended to affect the picture quality a fair amount. The Batman on Amazon Prime Video was occasionally disappointing to watch, with the TV unable to do much with the low resolution and generally bad quality of the stream. However, it was considerably better than on the (much more affordable) Philips Ambilight 7900 series TV on test, suggesting that the LG C2 is trying a lot harder to upscale and process lower quality content.

Sound quality on the LG C2 55-inch TV was decent in certain situations; Dolby Atmos made for a good soundstage, and even standard audio encoding was clear enough provided the volume was turned up. However, this itself was an issue for me; I often had to have the TV at the 90 percent volume level to hear anything properly in an otherwise quiet room, so I couldn’t quite get the loud and impactful sound that movies such as Uncharted and The Batman deserved. You will likely want to get a soundbar or speaker system to go with this television.

Verdict

Premium…

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Philips Ambilight 7900 Series 55-inch Ultra-HD LED Android TV (55PUT7906/94) Review: Quite the Show

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Televisions tend to be more about the core functionality and less about the design and other aesthetics but every once in a while, we’ll see something flashy and pleasantly over-the-top. One such concept is Philips’ Ambilight technology, which interestingly and rather astoundingly, adds to the viewing experience particularly in dark rooms where the LED lights at the back of the TV can really shine. Philips’ latest television in India brings back the concept in a big way, and at a much more accessible price than before.

Priced at Rs. 99,990 for the 55-inch 55PUT7906/94 variant, the Philips Ambilight 7900 series is a fairly standard Ultra-HD LED TV, but with the added feature of a three-sided Ambilight LED lighting at the back. There is also support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, and Android TV OS for smart functionality, among other useful features. Is this the most unique and interesting 55-inch TV you can buy for around Rs. 1,00,000 in India? Find out in this review.

The Philips Ambilight 7900 series TV runs on Android TV 10, with the improved stock Android TV user interface

 

Philips Ambilight 7900 Series 55-inch Ultra-HD LED Android TV (55PUT7906/94) design and specifications

The Philips Ambilight 7900 Series is available in three sizes — 55 inches, 65 inches, and 75 inches — with prices ranging from Rs. 99,990 to Rs. 1,89,990. All three sizes have similar specifications and features including the three-sided Ambilight LED lighting at the back of the televisions.

At the front and back (for the most part), the Philips Ambilight 7900 Series 55-inch television looks like just about any modern budget or mid-range television. There are slim borders around the screen, a small Philips logo at the bottom, a module for the IR receiver, indicator light, and a multi-function physical button to control the power and volume without the remote.

The TV is moderately thick but slightly slimmer at the edges, which leaves enough space to access the left-side ports when the television is wall-mounted. The 55-inch variant weighs around 14.2kg without the stands, and is compatible with VESA wall mounts (not included in the box). The table stands are included in the box and fix onto the TV near the corners, so you’ll need a large table or TV unit to place the Philips Ambilight 7900 series TV on.

While the television seems rather ordinary-looking at first glance, the key feature shows itself only when you turn the Philips Ambilight 7900 series TV on. There are LED lights built into the frame of the TV all along the left, top, and right edges, projecting multi-coloured light onto the wall behind the TV. The lights can get quite bright, and are effective regardless of whether you have the TV wall-mounted or on the table stands slightly away from the wall.

The Philips Ambilight 7900 Series 55-inch television has most of its ports in the square cavity at the back and facing downwards, so you’ll have to ensure that you’ve attached most of these connections before wall-mounting the television (if that’s the case for you). The ports at the back include Digital Audio-out (Toslink), one USB Type-A port, RJ45 Ethernet port, antenna socket, and three HDMI ports.

The LED lights at the back project colour onto the wall behind, depending on the colours on the screen

 

The ports on the left side are much easier to access even with the TV wall-mounted. These include one HDMI port (with ARC support), 3.5mm headphone jack, and one USB Type-A port. I’d have ideally liked at least one more HDMI port on the side, as well as the Toslink port. That said, having the ARC-enabled port on the side is a sensible decision by Philips.

The Philips Ambilight 55PUT7906/94 LED TV has an Ultra-HD (3840×2160 pixel) screen, with support for the HLG, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision high dynamic range formats. There are two full-range bottom-firing speakers with a total sound output of 20W, and support for various audio formats up to Dolby Atmos. Bluetooth 5 and dual-band Wi-Fi are supported on the TV, and there is 8GB of internal storage for apps and app data, along with an unspecified quad-core processor to power the software and interface.

Philips Ambilight 7900 Series 55-inch Ultra-HD LED Android TV (55PUT7906/94) remote and features

Philips has typically included a full-size remote with its televisions, and it’s no different with the Ambilight 7900 series LED TV. The remote is arguably a fair bit larger than it needs to be, and has buttons to control navigation on the Android TV UI, playback controls, input selection, and a classic number pad, among others. There are hotkeys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, and YouTube, as well as a Google Assistant button and microphone to listen to voice commands.

A couple of useful additions include an ‘info’ button which shows resolution and Internet speed, and the Ambilight button. The latter provides quick access to the Ambilight menu, which can be used to turn on or off the Ambilight effects, or modify the settings including the modes and lounge lighting presets. It’s useful to quickly adjust this, particularly if you’re finding the glare too much or the lights a bit distracting.

The remote initially worked fine, but after a few weeks I found that I had to point it directly at the IR receiver for it to work; this seemed to happen overnight with it working fine the previous day. Changing the batteries and resetting the TV made no difference, and Bluetooth connectivity only worked for Google Assistant and not the rest of the remote’s functions, which continued to rely on IR. Strangely, the remote began working normally a couple of days later, so it’s hard to pinpoint the issue here.

Apart from Ambilight, the Philips 55PUT7906/94 TV is pretty ordinary when it comes to features. There is built-in Chromecast for content casting, and Google Assistant for voice commands, both of which are standard to all televisions running Android TV software.

Philips Ambilight 7900 Series 55-inch Ultra-HD LED Android TV (55PUT7906/94) software and interface

The Philips Ambilight 7900 series 55-inch LED TV runs on the Android TV 10 operating system, with the updated user interface with the refreshed, Google TV-like appearance. Of course, this isn’t the same as the Google TV user interface, but the core experience is the same as what you get on most Android TV-powered televisions. This includes access to the Google Play store, which now claims to have over 7,000 apps and games specifically designed for use on a TV screen.

The remote of the Philips Ambilight TV is a full-sized one and has hotkeys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and Google Play

 

Some key apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Youtube are preinstalled on the Philips Ambilight 7900 series television, and the new user interface is able to curate and push certain content recommendations using these and other major streaming services. While it is a step below the much more polished and capable Google TV UI, the stock Android TV user interface is still a pretty good option given that the app experience is the same reliable one that the platform has worked hard to get right.

My issues with the remote aside, I found the UI performance on the Philips 7900 series TV to be a bit sluggish at times. There was often a noticeable delay in the reaction time when navigating the UI, along with visible lag in the picture. Fortunately, this didn’t extend to when actual content was playing, but I did find it a lot easier to switch to the Chromecast with Google TV which was a lot less frustrating to use.

Philips Ambilight 7900 Series 55-inch Ultra-HD LED Android TV (55PUT7906/94) performance

It’s now possible to get a good quantum-dot or OLED television for less than Rs. 1,00,000, so spending that much on an LED television such as the Philips Ambilight 7900 Series 55-inch TV might seem a bit silly. However, the Philips television’s key feature — and indeed its most impressive party trick — is the Ambilight effect which enhances the viewing experience in its own unique way.

Now, it’s possible to set up aftermarket LED lighting for just about any television, with brands such as Govee and Philips offering such solutions. However the undeniable convenience and ease of use of the Philips Ambilight television, as well as the fact that you can switch it off easily with the television remote, makes it a superior option for anyone looking at rear adaptive LED lighting. That said, I’m left wondering whether that alone justifies the considerable premium of the Philips 7900 series TV.

The Philips 55PUT7906/94 television has an Ultra-HD resolution LED screen with support for HDR up to the Dolby Vision format. Performance was decent with high-quality content, and the picture was definitely as sharp as it could be, but there were a few drawbacks that I wouldn’t typically expect to see on a 55-inch television priced at Rs. 1,00,000.

Colourful content such as Into The Spiderverse looked beautiful on the Philips TV, particularly with the Ambilight effect on

 

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse seemed like the best movie to start with given the bright colours and trippy comic-book style visuals that I expected to play well with the Ambilight functionality on the Philips TV, and I wasn’t disappointed.

The truly impressive bit here was how the Ambilight worked with with the film, with the bright lights reacting intuitively to the continuously changing colours on screen, giving me the feeling of the television and picture being a bit bigger and more vibrant that it actually was. The Ambilight effect was quick to read colours on the edges of the screen and flowed well, making for a particularly good effect with fast-moving, colourful content.

With gentle motion and muted colours, such as the many monochrome scenes in the final season of Better Call Saul, the Ambilight effect on the Philips 7900 series LED TV often had very little to do or add, and was best switched off. I also found that the effect worked best when the lights projected onto a white wall, since this allowed them and the colours to be seen clearly. Against a textured blue wall for instance, the effects were largely lost, save for blue light itself.

Fortunately, controlling the Ambilight settings on the Philips 7900 series TV is an easy process, thanks to a dedicated Ambilight button on the remote which opens the quick access menu on the Android TV user interface. You can control the intensity through Ambilight presets, or set it to lounge lighting which sets a single colour for the rear lighting.

Although the picture was sharp on the Philips Ambilight 7900 series TV, the black levels weren’t very good

 

The picture was sharp and detailed with the animation of Into The Spider-Verse and even bright, colourful shows such as Masaba Masaba. The colours looked good too, although not anywhere near as punchy and defined as on the more affordable Xiaomi OLED Vision TV. With the dark scenes in shows such as Better Call Saul and Obi Wan Kenobi, the poor black levels of the Philips 7900 series LED TV were quite the setback.

The backlighting of the LED display tended to create a ‘whitewash’ effect during dark scenes, making blacks appear dark grey. This was visible even with bright and colourful content, but the whitewash effect looked particularly prominent and distracting with dark visuals. This is typically something I expect to see on a much more affordable LED TVs, so I was disappointed with this on the Philips 7900 series TV.

The Philips Ambilight 7900 series television is fairly bright thanks to its LED display panel, and as a result is easy to watch even in a relatively bright room. That said, making even a small effort to darken the room, such as drawing the curtains, goes a long way in making the picture look better. Quantum-dot LED TVs such as the Hisense 55U6G are considerably brighter and are priced lower.

Although HDR up to the Dolby Vision format is supported, the Philips Ambilight 7900 series television didn’t benefit significantly from this. While there was a slight bump in brightness and somewhat improved colours with HDR content as compared to SDR content, it wasn’t quite as effective as I’ve seen on a lot of televisions, such as the Sony X75K which did a better job despite being only HDR10-capable.

Where the Philips Ambilight 7900 series TV does perform reasonably well is with upscaling lower-resolution content. HD and full-HD movies and TV shows looked decent on the Philips TV…

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Sony Bravia XR-55A80K Ultra-HD OLED Android TV Review: Effortlessly Good

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Only a handful of brands sell OLED televisions in India, with Xiaomi, LG, and Sony being notable names in the segment. Widely considered among the best TV display technologies for mainstream televisions, OLED is usually seen on premium, big-screen televisions, often priced at over Rs. 2,00,000 for the popular 55-inch size. The latest television I’m reviewing is not quite from Sony’s flagship lineup for OLED TVs, but is firmly positioned as a premium option as part of the Japanese company’s XR series.

Priced at Rs. 2,49,900 officially (but can be bought from official retailers for around Rs. 1,85,000), the Sony Bravia XR-55A80K is the smallest and least expensive in the company’s 2022 OLED lineup in India. With an Ultra-HD HDR display with support for Dolby Vision HDR, Google TV UI on top of Android TV, and Sony’s Cognitive Processor XR powering it, is this the best TV under Rs. 2,00,000 you can buy right now? Find out in this review.

The Sony XR-A80K television series is available in three sizes, starting at 55 inches

 

Sony Bravia XR-55A80K Ultra-HD OLED Android TV design and specifications

The Sony XR-A80K series is available in three sizes in India — 55 inches (on review here) priced at Rs. 2,49,900, 65 inches priced at Rs. 3,49,900, and 77 inches priced at 6,99,900. The 77-inch variant has a rated sound output of 60W as compared to 50W on the 55-inch and 65-inch options, which is the only difference in the variants apart from the screen size.

The Sony Bravia XR-55A80K looks a lot like the Sony XR-55X90K quantum-dot LED TV which I recently reviewed, with thin black borders along the edges of the screen, resulting in an impressive screen-to-body ratio. It’s a straightforward, distraction-free look that ensures your attention is on what’s playing on the screen.

There is a small Sony logo in the bottom-left corner, and a switch on the underside that controls the always-on microphone for voice controls. The microphones themselves are just below the screen facing forward, with a dull indicator light just between them. The television is reasonably slim, but there is a fair bit of space between the edges of the TV and the wall behind, with the middle of the TV being a bit thicker.

The 55-inch A80K TV weighs about 18kg, and comes with the table stands in the box. The stands can be fitted at the corners of the TV, so you’ll need a large table or entertainment unit to place it on. Wall mounting is an option as well, although the kit for this is not included in the box. Sony does provide free installation with the TV, so you can have the technician install a suitable wall mount for this at the time of installation.

There is hands-free voice assistant support on the 55A80K, and you can even turn off the microphone for more privacy

 

All of the ports and sockets on the Sony XR-55A80K TV face to the left of the screen, with only the power socket for the detachable cable near the right side of the screen, at the back. The ports aren’t too difficult to reach even with the TV wall mounted on a low-profile mount kit. Connectivity options include two USB Type-A ports, Digital Audio-Out (Optical Toslink), a 3.5mm headphone jack, a single Video-In socket, an Ethernet port, an antenna socket, and four HDMI ports. Among the HDMI ports, two support 4K at 120Hz, while one supports HDMI ARC and eARC.

As mentioned, the Sony XR-55A80K is a 55-inch Ultra-HD (3840×2160-pixel) OLED television, with support for the Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG high dynamic range formats. For sound, the television has a five-driver setup with a total output of 50W, and uses Sony’s Acoustic Surface Audio+ technology which gives the impression of sound coming from the screen itself. Dolby Atmos and DTS Digital Surround are also supported on the TV.

Like the Sony Bravia X90K series, the A80K is powered by Sony’s Cognitive Processor XR, and comes with dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2. The TV has 16GB of storage for apps and app data.

Sony Bravia XR-55A80K Ultra-HD OLED Android TV remote and features

The Sony Bravia XR-55A80K, like the X90K, has Sony’s newer and somewhat minimalistic remote. This isn’t to say that it’s barebones; there are plenty of buttons and controls on it, including a D-pad and Android TV navigation keys, source and settings buttons, playback controls, a Google Assistant button, and volume controls. There are also hotkeys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and YouTube Music.

This kind of remote is a lot easier to handle as it does away with many of the buttons that modern streaming-focused users don’t often need, such as the full number pad. The remote has a microphone for voice commands, and has Bluetooth connectivity for ease of use. It’s powered by two AAA batteries (included in the box), and covers practically everything you’ll need to control on the TV.

Other features on the Sony Bravia XR-55A80K include support for Apple AirPlay and HomeKit, built-in Google Chromecast, and hands-free Google Assistant, apart from remote-based voice commands. When the slider switch below the TV is set to ‘On’ and the TV itself is on, you can invoke the voice assistant with the ‘OK Google’ or ‘Hey Google’ voice command and speak directly to the TV.

The remote of the Sony XR-55A80K TV has hotkeys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and YouTube Music

 

You can also set up Amazon Alexa on the TV, if you prefer. For gaming, the Sony Bravia XR-55A80K supports 4K at 120Hz through two HDMI ports, auto low-latency mode, and variable refresh rate (VRR).

Sony Bravia XR-55A80K Ultra-HD OLED Android TV software and interface

Sony is among the few brands that has adopted the Google TV user interface across its product range, and the XR-55A80K is no different. At its base, the television runs Android TV 10, with the Google TV UI on top. This is practically the same user experience as on the Chromecast with Google TV, and is one that I consider to be among the best software and user interface packages for televisions right now.

Some of its key features include the much improved content curation and recommendation system, banner view showing major new releases, multi-app ‘Continue Watching’ row, and the rather quirky themes for the kind of movies and TV shows you can watch.

Google’s own purchases and rentals are integrated into the UI, and a search for any content will show you the best and most affordable available method to watch it, prioritising any streaming services you’re already subscribed to. Netflix is integrated into the search for titles, but unfortunately not into the recommendation engine, unlike on the Chromecast with Google TV. Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+ Hotstar, Voot, and Zee5 are among the services that work with the recommendation system.

Also worth mentioning is Sony’s Bravia Core streaming service, which is available on XR series TVs like the 55A80K. Sony states that Bravia Core can stream at up to 80Mbps (considerably higher than other services) to provide better picture quality for Ultra-HD HDR content, tagged as ‘Pure Stream’. The content library isn’t as vast as on other services, but it’s worth exploring for the technically better stream and picture quality on offer.

Sony bundles a one-year complimentary subscription of Bravia Core with the 55A80K, with many titles available to stream for free and without any need to redeem a credit. Apart from those, I had five credits to redeem on ‘premium’ titles, which included much of the ‘Pure Stream’ and IMAX Enhanced catalogues.

As of now, it isn’t clear how much the service will cost after the free trial, but users should be able to continue viewing titles redeemed with credits for some time beyond the subscription period. Picture quality on titles on Bravia Core was indeed better than even Netflix and Apple TV for Ultra-HD content.

Sony Bravia XR-55A80K Ultra-HD OLED Android TV performance

The premium segment for televisions isn’t quite as diverse and populous as the more affordable price points, and Sony’s reputation does give it a bit of an edge here. However, there is strong competition to the XR-55A80K even at this price, particularly from the excellent LG 55C2 OLED TV and Samsung 55QN95B. While the LG television delivered slightly better contrast and blending, and the Samsung TV was undeniably brighter and more vibrant, the Sony XR-55A80K tended to offer better realism and picture accuracy on the whole.

High-quality Ultra-HD HDR content is sharp, detailed, and great to watch on the Sony XR-55A80K TV

 

The HDR format support for Dolby Vision on the Sony TV tended to favour content on Netflix, Apple TV+, and Disney+ Hotstar a bit more than Amazon Prime Video, although the objective quality of content on the Bravia Core streaming service seemed to outperform just about everything else. What stood out about the Sony XR-55A80K though, was its ability to adapt to the quality of content, fluidly and effortlessly; while good content looked the part, even lower-resolution content was suitably upscaled to look decent on the 55-inch screen.

Additionally, the Sony XR-55A80K was able to use its light sensor very well, to adapt the brightness and impact levels for the content and ambient light settings in the room. As a result, the picture always felt natural and easy on the eyes. It was never too bright, and I also didn’t find myself needing to adjust the brightness to make up for daylight or bright room lights. The Sony TV seemed to do all of this on its own, making for an easy viewing experience that let me focus on what was playing.

Watching Thor: Love and Thunder on Disney+ Hotstar in Ultra-HD Dolby Vision was a treat on the Sony XR-55A80K, with the television adapting well to the numerous bright, colourful scenes of New Asgard, as well as the dark, creepy scenes in the Shadow Realm. The ability to capture detail and add a sense of realism was noteworthy, with the glistening of Thor’s gold chest plate looking absolutely on point, even while Gorr’s lurking in the shadows retained all of the detail and watchability that you’d expect from a high-end OLED TV.

As expected for an OLED television, the Sony XR-55A80K wasn’t exceptionally bright. Unlike the Samsung QN95B which delivers a consistently watchable picture regardless of lighting conditions, the Sony benefited from at least some darkening of the viewing room, even in the form of simply drawing the curtains closed. There was also a fair amount of glare on the screen from slivers of light from the windows or ceiling lights, so you’ll definitely need to set the room up for the TV when watching.

The Sony XR-55A80K is among the best of the premium OLED TVs available in India right now

 

Colourful animation such as Pacific Rim: The Black in Ultra-HD looked sharp and detailed on the Sony XR-55A80K, as did football documentary Welcome To Wrexham in full-HD resolution. The Sony television delivered impressive consistency in the picture, often making it hard to distinguish between Ultra-HD and ftull-HD content.

The black levels were similarly impressive across resolutions and dynamic range, particularly during the dark scenes of Thor: Love and Thunder where faint details were visible clearly and beautifully even during the dark Shadow Realm scenes. Watching dark content at night was a surprisingly good experience, thanks to the sheer detail and naturalness in the picture that the Sony XR-55A80K is capable of.

However, there was a notable difference between good Dolby Vision HDR content and SDR content, with the TV providing impressive colours, a visible bump in brightness, and impressive contrast between bright and dark zones. Dolby Vision content such as Home on Apple TV+ was an impressive showcase of what the TV is capable of, getting the bright cityscapes of Hong Kong, as well as the grey interiors of Gary Chang’s converted home on point quite capably.

Standard definition content naturally looked a bit awkward on the 55-inch screen of the Sony A80K TV, but it didn’t look quite as awkward as I’ve seen on many televisions of this size and resolution. Ideally, you’ll want to stick to full-HD resolution and above to put the TV to good use.

Sound quality was impressive on the TV as well, particularly with Dolby Atmos content. The TV was loud, detailed, and had a rather impressive soundstage thanks to the company’s interesting speaker layout and positioning. With standard audio content, I found the sound entirely acceptable for most purposes, but you might want to consider a good soundbar for a more…

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