Tag Archives: Ultra-HD

Revisión del monitor inteligente Samsung Ultra-HD M7 de 32 pulgadas (LS32AM700UW): productividad y entretenimiento combinados

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Los televisores y los monitores a menudo se usan indistintamente debido a su hardware similar, pero no es frecuente que se encuentre con un producto que pueda servir tanto para la productividad como para el entretenimiento con la misma competencia. El diseño y las especificaciones básicas de los monitores a menudo se centran en la productividad, con paneles brillantes, nítidos y de alta resolución, pero de tamaño modesto. Sin embargo, el nuevo monitor ‘inteligente’ de Samsung parece ser igualmente cómodo si desea ver Netflix después de terminar su trabajo del día.

Con un precio oficial de Rs. 33,499 en la India, el Samsung Ultra-HD Smart Monitor M7 de 32 pulgadas es promocionado por la compañía como una pantalla ‘hazlo todo’. Como sugiere el nombre, es un monitor de 32 pulgadas enfocado en la productividad para el trabajo, con un panel LED HDR Ultra-HD (3840×2160 píxeles), además de una funcionalidad inteligente que significa que también puede usarlo como televisor. Esto podría ser adecuado para cualquier persona con un espacio muy limitado, que quiera una sola unidad que pueda funcionar cómodamente como monitor y como televisor inteligente. ¿Es este el monitor de 32 pulgadas más versátil que puedes comprar en este momento? Descúbrelo en esta revisión.

El Samsung Smart Monitor M7 tiene una pantalla Ultra-HD de 32 pulgadas con una relación de aspecto de 16:9

Samsung 32 pulgadas Ultra-HD Smart Monitor M7 (LS32AM700UW) diseño y especificaciones

Aunque hay muchos monitores Ultra-HD con un tamaño de pantalla de 32 pulgadas, los televisores de este tamaño con esta resolución son extremadamente raros. Naturalmente, esto se debe a la necesidad de nitidez y precisión con un monitor al que te sentarías mucho más cerca que un televisor. El monitor Samsung M7 de 32 pulgadas está diseñado para usarse principalmente con una computadora, pero sus características y especificaciones lo hacen ideal para servir también como televisor.

El monitor Samsung M7 de 32 pulgadas tiene una pantalla LCD con retroiluminación LED de alineación vertical (VA) Ultra-HD (3840×2160 píxeles), con la relación 16:9 que se ve en prácticamente todos los televisores modernos. La pantalla tiene un nivel de brillo típico de alrededor de 250 nits, una frecuencia de actualización máxima de 60 Hz, un tiempo de respuesta de 8 ms y soporte para contenido de alto rango dinámico hasta el formato HDR10. Estas especificaciones no suelen ser adecuadas para juegos de nivel entusiasta; el monitor se utiliza mejor para la productividad diaria, como una pantalla grande para reemplazar o complementar la más pequeña de su computadora portátil. Por supuesto, la resolución y la compatibilidad con HDR también lo hacen adecuado para el uso ocasional de la televisión.

Cuando se trata de diseño, el monitor Samsung M7 de 32 pulgadas es simple y discreto, manteniendo el foco en la pantalla. Tiene bordes delgados alrededor, un pequeño logotipo de Samsung en la parte inferior, un perfil delgado y solo algunos puertos y entradas en la parte posterior. Para la conectividad, el monitor Samsung M7 cuenta con Wi-Fi 5 y Bluetooth 4.2. Hay dos entradas HDMI 2.0 (una admite ARC); un concentrador USB 2.0 integrado con dos puertos tipo A (y uno más para funciones de servicio); un puerto USB tipo C; y una entrada de alimentación para el cable de alimentación incluido.

La conectividad USB tipo C es particularmente interesante y versátil aquí, ya que permite una potencia de hasta 65 W, datos y una señal de visualización. Puede usar el monitor para alimentar una computadora portátil o un teléfono inteligente usando el puerto, con el cable adecuado. Los puertos USB tipo A se pueden usar para alimentar dispositivos y también para reproducir contenido en el televisor desde un dispositivo de almacenamiento.

Se incluye un control remoto con el monitor Samsung M7, que es necesario para controlar la interfaz inteligente y otras funciones

El paquete de venta incluye un soporte montado en el centro que eleva la pantalla del monitor Samsung M7 unos 10 cm. Aunque el monitor permanece firmemente en su lugar con el soporte, noté que se balanceaba un poco debido a mi ventilador de techo. Esto no fue molesto para mí, pero los movimientos leves constantes pueden ser un problema para muchos. También puede montar el monitor en la pared, si lo prefiere, pero no se incluye un kit de montaje en la pared en la caja.

El monitor inteligente Samsung M7 pesa 6,5 ​​kg con el soporte adjunto. En la caja se incluyen un cable de alimentación de 1,5 m, un cable HDMI y un control remoto. Dado que esto también está destinado a ser utilizado como un televisor, el monitor Samsung M7 tiene parlantes incorporados, aunque la salida no se menciona y la interfaz de usuario no admite directamente los principales formatos de audio.

Características y software del monitor inteligente Samsung Ultra-HD M7 de 32 pulgadas (LS32AM700UW)

Como sugiere el nombre, el Samsung Ultra-HD Smart Monitor M7 de 32 pulgadas es una pantalla “inteligente”, con su propia interfaz de software y acceso a aplicaciones. El monitor funciona con el sistema operativo Tizen de Samsung, que da acceso a una serie de aplicaciones y juegos, incluidos los principales servicios de transmisión como Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, Apple TV y varios otros enfocados en contenido en idioma indio. Cuando no se usa como pantalla para su computadora, el monitor puede funcionar como un televisor inteligente capaz.

Por supuesto, puede simplemente transmitir medios y contenido desde una computadora conectada, pero la conectividad inteligente agrega versatilidad y facilidad de uso; simplemente relájese al final de la jornada laboral y utilícelo con un control remoto, como lo haría con un televisor.

Otras características clave incluyen opciones de conectividad móvil como Apple AirPlay 2, Wireless DeX de Samsung para usar con sus teléfonos inteligentes y tabletas, y aplicaciones de Office 365 cuando se usan con una suscripción activa. Si solo usa aplicaciones de Office, almacenamiento en la nube y un navegador web, ni siquiera necesita conectar una PC al monitor Samsung M7; esto se puede utilizar como una terminal para su trabajo. Dicho esto, tales casos de uso serían limitados y de nicho, ya que probablemente también tenga su computadora a mano.

Los servicios de transmisión más populares tienen aplicaciones disponibles para el monitor Samsung M7, incluidos Netflix y Amazon Prime Video

El monitor tiene soporte para Bixby y Google Assistant. También hay un cambio de fuente automático, que cambia a un dispositivo recién conectado cuando está enchufado. El Asistente de Google funcionó bien en el monitor, con la misma funcionalidad que he visto en la mayoría de los televisores inteligentes.

AirPlay fue particularmente útil para mí en el monitor Samsung M7, ya que pude usarlo tanto para duplicar de forma inalámbrica la pantalla de mi MacBook Air como para ver rápidamente contenido en el monitor M7 mientras usaba mi iPhone 12 mini (Revisión) como controlador. La función funcionó bien para mí, se activó en segundos y sin caídas ni inestabilidad en la conexión.

De manera útil, el monitor Samsung M7 incluye un control remoto con el que puede controlar todos los aspectos del dispositivo. El control remoto tiene un d-pad para navegación, un botón de micrófono para invocar el asistente de voz, botones de navegación y reproducción, controles de volumen y canal, y teclas de acceso rápido para Netflix, Amazon Prime Video y el navegador web. Todas las aplicaciones admiten de forma nativa hasta contenido Ultra-HD HDR10, y la compatibilidad con AirPlay 2 significa que puede conectarse de forma inalámbrica a dispositivos Apple.

Rendimiento del monitor inteligente Samsung Ultra-HD M7 (LS32AM700UW) de 32 pulgadas

La mayoría de los monitores usan HDMI para la conectividad con los dispositivos de origen, y realmente podría usar cualquier monitor como televisor simplemente conectando un dispositivo de transmisión o un decodificador. Sin embargo, gracias a su sistema operativo incorporado y la capacidad de funcionar como un dispositivo independiente con conectividad a Internet independiente, el Samsung M7 es perfecto para usarlo como un televisor de 32 pulgadas después de las horas de trabajo.

Tenía el Samsung M7 instalado en el escritorio de trabajo de mi casa, principalmente para usarlo como monitor de computadora para esta revisión. Se colocó a aproximadamente 1 m de distancia de mí y directamente detrás de mi MacBook Air. Para la conectividad, usé un cable HDMI a Mini DisplayPort la mayor parte del tiempo, pero ocasionalmente también usé AirPlay.

Tenía la pantalla optimizada para usarla como monitor; Obtuve una señal Full-HD (1920×1080 píxeles) en el monitor en ambos casos, debido a las limitaciones de AirPlay 1 y el cable Mini DisplayPort. Para probar las capacidades Ultra-HD del Samsung M7, confié en el contenido de Netflix, Amazon Prime Video y Apple TV+.

De hecho, el Samsung M7 funciona mejor como monitor para su computadora portátil y, a pesar de que estaba limitado a Full-HD, el monitor mejoró significativamente mi productividad diaria. Encontré que la imagen era nítida y clara desde una distancia de visualización de alrededor de 1-1,25 m, lo que me permitió leer claramente el texto contra fondos de todos los colores y también ver las imágenes con claridad.

El monitor Samsung M7 funciona con el sistema operativo Tizen, que también se ve en los televisores inteligentes Samsung

Pude usar todo el espacio de la pantalla de manera óptima para escribir, editar imágenes, navegar por Internet y mirar videos ocasionalmente. Los colores se representaron con precisión, el movimiento fue limpio y sin artefactos, y el tamaño de la pantalla en sí marcó la diferencia para mejorar mi trabajo y productividad.

Al cambiar a la interfaz de usuario inteligente, fue una experiencia única para mí ver los típicos programas de televisión y películas en streaming en una pantalla de 32 pulgadas con resolución Ultra-HD. Aunque el contenido Ultra-HD se disfruta mejor en pantallas más grandes a las distancias típicas de visualización de TV, vi el contenido de transmisión en el monitor M7 a la misma distancia que lo usaba para trabajar mientras estaba sentado en mi escritorio.

Ver episodios de Somebody Feed Phil en Ultra-HD y Parks and Recreation en Full-HD en el monitor Samsung M7 fue una experiencia interesante; ya que estaba mirando desde mucho más cerca de lo que normalmente hubiera colocado un televisor de 32 pulgadas, la pantalla no parecía demasiado pequeña, y tampoco ejercía demasiada tensión en mis ojos. Los colores con contenido de rango dinámico estándar parecían un poco aburridos, pero el contenido HDR se veía mejor a pesar del bajo brillo máximo, y la nitidez del contenido Ultra-HD era prominente y fácil de distinguir.

La calidad del sonido en el Samsung Smart Monitor M7 no es particularmente especial, o incluso algo más que ordinario. Sin embargo, encontré muy útil tener un sistema de parlantes incorporado en el monitor, y era considerablemente más alto que los parlantes de mi computadora portátil. A volúmenes de moderados a altos, el sonido es más que capaz de manejar las funciones regulares de la computadora, aunque es posible que desee usar buenos auriculares si está escuchando música. Para ver la televisión a una distancia de entre 1 y 1,5 m de la pantalla, el sonido era casi adecuado.

Veredicto

Los televisores y los monitores generalmente se consideran categorías de productos separadas, pero el Samsung Smart Monitor M7 es un gran ejemplo de cómo estos pueden fusionarse en uno solo. Aunque está posicionado y funciona mejor como monitor, el Samsung M7 funciona bien como televisor para verlo ocasionalmente. También es un raro ejemplo de una pantalla Ultra-HD de 32 pulgadas que puede transmitir directa y eficientemente desde fuentes como Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar y Apple TV.

Con un precio de Rs. Con un precio de 33,499 en India, el monitor Samsung M7 es un poco caro para lo que se ofrece, y la calidad del sonido es normal en el mejor de los casos para ver televisión. Sin embargo, estos son pequeños inconvenientes en un dispositivo que, por lo demás, es excelente en lo que hace; Si está buscando un monitor enfocado en la productividad y el entretenimiento, o incluso un televisor Ultra-HD de 32 pulgadas, vale la pena considerar el Samsung M7, y podría ser particularmente útil en espacios pequeños donde desea combinar ambas funciones en una sola. dispositivo.

¿Es el Samsung Galaxy S21+ el buque insignia perfecto para la mayoría de los indios? Hablamos de esto en Orbital, el podcast de Gadgets 360. Orbital está disponible en Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify y dondequiera que obtenga sus podcasts.

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Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55 Review: Improved, And Still Reasonably Priced

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Although Xiaomi and its Redmi sub-brand have much of the budget and mid-range television segments in India covered, its focus will always be on value for money, and that applies to the high end as well. Big screens, plenty of features, thoughtful software, and discrete design have largely defined the Mi TV range. The company’s latest television series, the Mi TV 5X, hopes to carry that forward without compromising on the one thing that has attracted buyers to the brand – competitive and reasonable pricing.

Priced at Rs. 45,999 in India, the Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55-inch Ultra-HD LED Smart TV is very impressive on paper and promises capable performance, without forcing you to spend too much. Some of its key features include support for Dolby Vision, hands-free Google Assistant voice controls, and the combination of Android TV 10 and the company’s popular PatchWall UI. Is this the best 55-inch television you can now buy under Rs. 50,000? Find out in this review.

Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55 design and specifications

Televisions from Xiaomi’s Mi brand have sported the Mi logo thus far, but with the Mi TV 5X, there’s a big change. The company announced that it is switching to ‘Xiaomi’ as its brand name on future products, and the Mi TV 5X shows that, even if it’s still called a ‘Mi TV’.

Displayed prominently right below the screen is the new Xiaomi logo on a silver strip, just above the module that has a few indicator lights and the power button. The rest of the borders around the screen are considerably slimmer and similarly silver in colour, giving the Mi TV 5X a distinct look that stands out among the competition as well as other televisions from Xiaomi such as the Redmi TV X Series and Mi TV 4X range.

The Mi TV 5X isn’t quite as slim as some of the flagship TVs I’ve reviewed recently, but it’s reasonably well built and not too thick even at the bottom, which bulges a bit. It looks good for a TV in its price range, whether placed on a wall or on stand mounts. The lower part of the back of the TV has a carbon-fibre-like texture, with one set of inputs and ports facing downwards, and a second set facing to the left of the screen.

The less frequently used ports, including the Ethernet, optical audio out, composite AV input, and antenna port all face downwards, while the two USB ports, three HDMI 2.1 ports, and 3.5mm audio out socket face to the left. The television can be stand-mounted using the metal stands included in the box, or wall-mounted using any aftermarket VESA-compatible kit. Xiaomi can provide a wall-mount kit at an extra cost at the time of installation.

The Mi TV 5X sports the company’s new ‘Xiaomi’ brand logo, instead of ‘Mi’ 

 

While I’m reviewing the 55-inch model in the Mi TV 5X series which is priced at Rs. 45,999, you could also choose the 50-inch and 43-inch models, priced at Rs. 41,999 and Rs. 31,999 respectively in India. All three are Ultra-HD TVs with support for up to the Dolby Vision format for HDR.

The Mi TV 5X 55 has a 55-inch Ultra-HD (3840×2160-pixel) LED-backlit screen, with support for the Dolby Vision and HDR10+ high dynamic range formats.

This television has a rated sound output of 40W, and support for Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD through its two-speaker system. HDMI ARC is supported on one of the HDMI ports, and there’s also dual-band Wi-Fi ac and Bluetooth 5 for connectivity. The TV has a quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage for apps and app data.

Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55 remote and features

While the general design and branding of Xiaomi’s televisions have changed over the months and years, the company’s approach to the remote has been largely the same. The Mi TV 5X has Xiaomi’s familiar, minimalist remote, and expectedly yet still disappointingly, the needed AAA batteries are not included in the sales package.

The remote itself is one that I’m very used to, and the company’s software tweaks such as Quick Mute and Quick Settings access have long since made up for its physical shortcomings. It’s suitably equipped to get you anywhere within the TV’s software quickly, and you can navigate around both the Stock Android TV UI and Xiaomi’s own PatchWall UI easily enough.

Other key features of the Mi TV 5X include hands-free Google Assistant access, Google Chromecast built-in with support for Ultra-HD and HDR casting from supported apps and services, an auto low-latency mode for use with gaming consoles, and the ability to use Alexa as your default voice assistant if you prefer.

The remote of the Mi TV 5X is a familiar one, with a minimalist, compact design

 

The television has a microphone that can be set to always-on mode to listen for the ‘OK Google’ or ‘Hey Google’ wake words, just as you’d have it on a smart speaker such as the Google Nest Audio. It’s possible to turn off the microphone if you have privacy concerns or just don’t want to use voice commands; there’s a physical sliding switch to control this at the bottom of the TV, just below the Xiaomi logo.

Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55 software and interface

Just like the remote, the software experience on the Xiaomi Mi TV 5X remains familiar for anyone who has used a Xiaomi television before. The television runs on Android TV 10, with both the stock Android TV user interface, as well as Xiaomi’s own PatchWall 4 launcher. All major apps are supported, and users have full access to the Google Play Store for Android TV to download any of over 5,000 apps available.

The stock Android TV UI will be familiar for users of other Android TV devices as well, since it works without any real manufacturer-enforced limitations here. The settings are accessible from anywhere in the interface, including if content is playing, by long-pressing the Mi button on the remote. A short-press of the button will switch to the PatchWall launcher, which shows a wide selection of curated content from various streaming services.

PatchWall 4 is slightly improved over previous versions, with IMDB ratings integrated into most titles, a new look for the information pages for titles with additional details, and more. PatchWall allows for easy access to the TV’s settings and other source inputs, as well as different apps that you might have installed on the TV.

Users who like a lot of recommendations and content curation will enjoy what PatchWall has to offer, thanks to its content-centric approach. Also worth mentioning is that the Mi TV 5X supports the Mi Home app through the PatchWall launcher, allowing you to control IoT devices in your home through your TV or through voice commands, if you have the Mi Home app linked to your Google account. This could be convenient if you own and use devices such as the Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P and Mi LED Wi-Fi Smart Bulb.

Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55 performance

Good looks and features aside, the Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55 is also well equipped to deliver a pleasant viewing experience, driven by its focus on value. Picture and sound performance are very good for a 55-inch television priced under Rs. 50,000, delivering the sheer impact of a big screen TV, while also doing a good job across resolutions and content types. That said, I did face occasional lag and UI performance issues, which I’ll elaborate on in this section.

Ultra-HD Dolby Vision content brings out the best in the Mi TV 5X 55

 

The Mi TV 5X 55 is a high dynamic range (HDR) television with support for the HDR10+ and Dolby Vision formats. Naturally, the 55-inch screen means that this TV is best considered for top-quality content, such as Dolby Vision movies and TV shows on Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar which looked considerably better than anything else I watched.

Watching Korean hit TV show Squid Game in Ultra-HD and Dolby Vision on Netflix, the Mi TV 5X made for an enjoyable experience. The picture had a gentle, easy-going tone to it, with colours that didn’t quite pop as much as on more premium TVs, but were refined and impactful nonetheless. The bright pinks and greens of the uniforms worn by the guards and contestants in the show were subtly, yet strongly brought out by the TV.

The picture is sharp and detailed, without appearing too jarring and edgy. There was a sense of smoothness to Ultra-HD content, with Dolby Vision content looking even better through brightness and contrast. Visually striking shows such as Our Planet looked impressive on the Mi TV 5X, as did gentler and less impactful viewing such as Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon Prime Video.

While there is a definite boost in brightness, and the ability to have varying levels of contrast and impact in the same frame with HDR content, the biggest benefit of Dolby Vision on the Mi TV 5X was in the tone. This television usually captured the feel and essence of TV shows well, providing a sombre, dark feel to shows such as Squid Game and movies such as Greyhound on Apple TV+, while the light-hearted Somebody Feed Phil looked bright and fun as Phil Rosenthal explored cities and their unique eateries.

The television retains the tone of shows and movies with Dolby Vision; Squid Game looked sombre and haunting, even while the colours looked good

 

Many LED-backlit TVs, particularly those priced at under Rs. 50,000, tend to choke a bit when it comes to black levels. The Mi TV 5X, while not quite as impressive as televisions such as the OnePlus TV Q1 Pro (which has local dimming), does a reasonably good job with darker scenes and black tones. Although there was a mild grey wash on the screen, it wasn’t as intense or distracting as on the Redmi TV X55, which costs about Rs. 5,000 less than the Mi TV 5X. Dark scenes looked decent in dully lit rooms as a result, while bright scenes were watchable even with sunlight striking the TV.

Standard dynamic range and standard definition content, while naturally not as attractive to watch as HDR, was decent on the Mi TV 5X 55 nonetheless. The Last Dance on Netflix, as well as assorted full-HD content such as The Good Place, Parks and Recreation, and Schumacher were good to watch, with the TV handling the older, upscaled footage of the Bulls’ historic championship runs and Michael Schumacher’s F1 dominance in the 1990s particularly well. In general, this TV made for a consistently bright, sharp, and clean viewing experience across resolutions and content.

Sound on the Mi TV 5X is comfortable and acceptable in ordinary viewing situations; the TV can get quite loud thanks to its 40W speakers. The sound is well-tuned and uniform, without too many jarring volume spikes. Interestingly, while Dolby Atmos is supported on the TV and was activated with a slider switch in the sound settings menu, the Mi TV 5X doesn’t support Dolby Atmos detection by content platforms – Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar both showed support for 5.1-channel audio at best.

Instead, enabling Dolby Atmos on this TV seems to upscale the sound signal at the hardware stage. This still made a slight difference in sound quality with most content. Some virtualised surround effects could be heard while watching Squid Game, and the sound felt a bit more refined and detailed overall. Even with this switched off, or with content that doesn’t really benefit from the format, sound was decent enough. That said, a good speaker system such as the Sony HT-S40R, which I reviewed alongside this TV, might help improve the listening experience.

PatchWall shows a growing collection of curated content from across various streaming services and content providers

 

Although the picture and sound were generally good, and the software experience was satisfactory for the most part, I did experience some performance glitches with the Mi TV 5X. These included occasional lag and stutter in the picture when streaming Ultra-HD content, delayed responses to button-press commands from the remote, and a few Wi-Fi connection drops.

I also experienced delays in subtitle timing on some occasions, with the words appearing on screen about a second or two late but clearing on time, making it hard to read along when watching foreign-language content. While these issues weren’t very bothersome and were often fixable by turning the TV off and on again, they did come up every once in a while, so they are worth pointing out.

Verdict

Xiaomi’s focus on value for money and competitive pricing continues to pay off for the company, and the Mi TV 5X is a good example of why affordable TVs are worth considering. Priced at Rs. 45,999, this is quite easily my top pick among 55-inch televisions priced at under Rs. 50,000 right now. It delivers a good blend of design, features, and…

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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.

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Revisión del monitor de entretenimiento 4K HDR de ViewSonic de 32 pulgadas (VX3211-4K-Mhd): lo que cuenta es la resolución

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Una marca líder en monitores de PC, los productos de ViewSonic son una vista común en las oficinas corporativas debido a varios factores, como la asequibilidad, la confiabilidad y una red de ventas y servicio bien establecida en la India. Las ofertas de la compañía incluyen monitores básicos para el hogar y la oficina, monitores para juegos, monitores de pantalla táctil y monitores de alta resolución para entretenimiento. El producto de ViewSonic que estoy revisando aquí es una opción centrada en el entretenimiento que afirma ser adecuada tanto para la productividad como para el ocio.

Con un precio de Rs. 28,990 en India, el monitor de entretenimiento 4K de 32 pulgadas de ViewSonic (VX3211-4K-mhd) es una opción simple pero capaz para cualquiera que busque invertir en un monitor grande de alta resolución. Como sugiere el nombre, el monitor tiene una pantalla TFT-LCD Ultra-HD (3840×2160 píxeles) de 32 pulgadas, y también obtiene parlantes incorporados y opciones de conectividad decentes. ¿Es este el monitor más versátil que puede comprar por menos de Rs. 30,000? Descúbrelo en esta revisión.

El monitor de entretenimiento ViewSonic 4K de 32 pulgadas tiene un soporte de una pieza que viene preinstalado

Diseño de monitor de entretenimiento 4K de 32 pulgadas de ViewSonic (VX3211-4K-mhd)

Prácticamente todos los principales televisores de hoy en día tienen una relación de aspecto de 16:9, ya que este es el formato más utilizado para el contenido. Esto asegura que una pantalla pueda adaptarse a diferentes tipos de contenido sin dejar demasiado espacio en blanco o deformar la imagen. Por lo tanto, no sorprende que ViewSonic elija esta relación de aspecto para un monitor centrado en el entretenimiento. Con este tamaño, también permite una resolución Ultra-HD (3840×2160-pixel) adecuada.

El monitor ViewSonic de 32 pulgadas se parece bastante a un televisor de tamaño similar en la mayoría de los aspectos y, de hecho, incluso funciona de manera muy similar, solo que sin la inteligencia que podría esperar. Hay bordes delgados alrededor de la pantalla, y el monitor se asienta sobre un soporte de mesa de una sola pieza montado en el centro que está curiosamente preinstalado en el paquete de ventas. También puede montar el monitor con VESA si lo desea, pero no se incluye un kit de montaje en pared.

Mi unidad de revisión venía con dos cables de alimentación de 1,5 m con enchufes de diferentes estilos y un cable HDMI de 1,5 m en la caja. Curiosamente, uno de los cables de alimentación tenía un enchufe grande de 16 A en lugar de los enchufes de 6 A que se usan más comúnmente y que encajan en la mayoría de los enchufes indios. El segundo cable de alimentación de la caja tenía un enchufe de tres clavijas estilo estadounidense y, afortunadamente, pude usarlo con un adaptador.

El soporte prefijado es bastante ancho (casi todo el ancho del monitor) y, por lo tanto, necesita una mesa lo suficientemente ancha para colocarlo. Sin embargo, es un soporte de metal sólido y bien construido, y esto hace que toda la configuración se sienta muy estable. Hay margen para inclinar la pantalla 13 grados hacia atrás y 5 grados hacia adelante. Por supuesto, puede quitar el soporte con bastante facilidad si desea montar el monitor en la pared o usar un brazo compatible con VESA.

Las entradas de video están en la parte trasera, con los puertos hacia abajo.

En la parte posterior del monitor ViewSonic hay dos altavoces de 2,5 W para sonido estéreo, junto con seis botones para controlar los menús del dispositivo. Las marcas de los botones están en el frente y, aparte del botón de encendido en la parte inferior, el resto son dinámicos y sus funciones cambian de acuerdo con las selecciones en pantalla. Dicho esto, me resultó bastante difícil navegar o controlar cualquier cosa en el monitor usando estos botones, ya que no podía ver lo que estaba presionando y, a menudo, terminé presionando los botones incorrectos.

Los puertos y enchufes del monitor de entretenimiento 4K de 32 pulgadas de ViewSonic están todos en la parte posterior y boca abajo, lo que me pareció un poco inconveniente. Las opciones incluyen dos puertos HDMI 2.0, una entrada DisplayPort 1.4 y un conector de 3,5 mm para redirigir el audio. Por supuesto, puede usar auriculares, incluidos los Bluetooth, directamente con cualquier dispositivo fuente que haya conectado. El USB Type-C con suministro de energía hubiera estado bien, pero no diría que su ausencia es un defecto a este precio.

Especificaciones y características del monitor de entretenimiento 4K de 32 pulgadas de ViewSonic (VX3211-4K-mhd)

El monitor de entretenimiento ViewSonic 4K tiene una pantalla TFT-LCD de alineación vertical (VA) de 32 pulgadas, compatible con contenido de alto rango dinámico hasta el formato HDR10. El monitor tiene un brillo máximo de 300 nits y una frecuencia de actualización estándar de 60 Hz. Viewsonic afirma que la capacidad de reproducción de color de este monitor cubre el 95 por ciento de la gama de colores NTSC. Todas estas especificaciones hacen que sea una buena pantalla de productividad para su computadora o computadora portátil, así como una especie de ‘televisor’, siempre que tenga los dispositivos fuente apropiados para conectarse.

Lamentablemente, el monitor ViewSonic de 32 pulgadas no viene con un control remoto y todas las interacciones con los menús deben realizarse a través de los complicados y difíciles botones de la parte posterior.

Otras características clave incluyen compatibilidad con AMD FreeSync, un filtro de luz azul para el cuidado de los ojos, un modo ‘Eco’ de ahorro de energía para reducir el consumo de energía y diferentes ajustes preestablecidos de imagen que incluyen Juego, Web, Película, Texto, Monocromo y MacOS. HDR se puede configurar en modo automático y se activa cuando el monitor detecta contenido HDR.

Rendimiento del monitor de entretenimiento 4K de 32 pulgadas de ViewSonic (VX3211-4K-mhd)

El monitor de entretenimiento 4K de 32 pulgadas de ViewSonic (VX3211-4K-mhd) es adecuado para el entretenimiento gracias a la relación de aspecto de 16:9, la resolución Ultra-HD, la compatibilidad con HDR10 y los parlantes integrados, al igual que el monitor Samsung M7 que yo revisado recientemente. Aun así, la pantalla y la calidad de la imagen están configuradas para usarse principalmente como monitor.

No hay control remoto para el monitor de entretenimiento 4K de ViewSonic, y los controles se realizan a través de un conjunto de botones complicados e inconvenientes en la parte posterior

Sin embargo, la principal diferencia entre los dos radica en la falta de inteligencia de Viewsonic, lo que explica la considerable diferencia de precio entre ellos. ViewSonic ofrece una pantalla básica sin interfaz de usuario nativa, aplicaciones o conectividad, y depende de sus dispositivos de origen para todo el contenido. Esto se puede superar fácilmente conectando un dispositivo de transmisión decente al monitor ViewSonic, o incluso viendo videos a través de su computadora conectada.

Tuve el monitor de entretenimiento 4K de 32 pulgadas de ViewSonic configurado con el Realme Book Slim durante la mayor parte de esta revisión, usando un cable DisplayPort a USB tipo C. Esto permitió que Windows escalara a la resolución Ultra-HD del monitor, a 60 Hz. También tenía una MacBook Air conectada mediante el puerto HDMI del monitor para probar el modo de imagen en imagen y un Xiaomi Mi Box 4K para transmitir directamente contenido Ultra-HD HDR.

Aunque pueda parecer que la falta de inteligencia es un inconveniente, en realidad no lo es. Siempre que tenga los dispositivos adecuados para manejar la conectividad y trate el monitor como un típico televisor no inteligente, es una solución viable y conveniente, especialmente dada la falta de un control remoto. Dicho esto, hacer cualquier ajuste en la calidad de la imagen o la configuración del monitor, incluido el ajuste del volumen, la activación del modo de imagen en imagen y el cambio del modo de imagen, fue bastante complicado.

El modo de imagen en imagen es útil si tiene dos dispositivos fuente conectados simultáneamente. Funcionó bien para ver videos en una ventana secundaria (y mucho más pequeña), mientras usaba el resto de la pantalla como mi computadora principal. La pantalla de imágenes incrustadas era demasiado pequeña para leer texto o trabajar activamente en una computadora secundaria, ya que no es redimensionable. Preferí cambiar a mi MacBook Air como fuente principal y usarla en pantalla completa cuando fuera necesario.

La relación de aspecto de 16:9 y la resolución Ultra-HD hacen que el monitor de entretenimiento ViewSonic 4K sea adecuado para el entretenimiento posterior al trabajo

El tamaño y la resolución del monitor lo hacen ideal para leer, editar imágenes y colaborar ocasionalmente y realizar tareas grupales, como redactar cartas, crear notas y realizar videollamadas. Sentí que los colores del monitor ViewSonic 4K eran un poco cálidos, pero la pantalla era nítida y se mantuvo firme incluso en ángulos y bajo el resplandor de la luz del día.

El monitor me funcionó bien como pantalla de referencia durante las horas productivas y, en ocasiones, para escribir y editar texto. La alta resolución facilitó la legibilidad del contenido textual, y se esperaba que la experiencia fuera buena al mirar videos y mirar imágenes. Instalé el monitor a unos tres pies de distancia de donde estaba sentado y descubrí que esta era la distancia ideal para uno de este tamaño.

Con Mi Box 4K conectado, pude transmitir películas y programas de TV. La calidad de la imagen era buena cuando se veía desde una distancia corta y el modo HDR se activaba automáticamente cuando el monitor detectaba dicho contenido. Los videos HDR parecían ser un poco más brillantes y tenían colores más impactantes en los programas de Netflix como Somebody Feed Phil, pero las diferencias no eran significativas.

El monitor ViewSonic fue útil como una especie de televisor adicional en mi hogar, pero muchos incluso podrían encontrarlo útil como televisor principal para el entretenimiento después del trabajo. Me resultó un poco problemático controlar el volumen en el monitor debido a la falta de un control remoto, y también encontré que su sistema de altavoces de 5 W era bastante decepcionante. Estos parlantes son lo suficientemente buenos para videos casuales ocasionales en YouTube, pero preferí usar auriculares o parlantes separados para una mejor experiencia de entretenimiento.

Veredicto

No hay nada excepcional en el monitor de entretenimiento 4K de 32 pulgadas de ViewSonic (VX3211-4K-mhd), que creo que está bien para uno que se espera que sea un caballo de batalla diario. Tiene las especificaciones que importan, como un buen tamaño, alta resolución de pantalla y opciones de conectividad decentes. Funciona bien como monitor, dado su precio. Características como la compatibilidad con HDR y el modo de imagen en imagen justifican sus credenciales de entretenimiento.

Dicho esto, existen algunos inconvenientes, incluida la falta de un control remoto, una calidad de sonido decepcionante de los altavoces incorporados y posibles problemas de compatibilidad con el cable de alimentación incluido. Si puede encontrar soluciones para estos, o puede solucionarlos, el monitor de entretenimiento 4K de ViewSonic es una buena opción a considerar, especialmente para los profesionales que trabajan con espacio limitado en el hogar que pueden querer un monitor que pueda funcionar como un televisor.

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Thomson Oath Pro Max 55 pulgadas Ultra-HD LED Android TV (55OPMAX9055) Revisión: ¿Oferta de valor por dinero?

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En los últimos meses se han visto correcciones de precios importantes y muy atrasadas en el segmento de televisores en India, y la mayoría de los modelos ahora cuestan un poco más que en 2020. Podría esperar comprar un televisor Ultra-HD de 55 pulgadas con buenas especificaciones. por debajo de Rs. 40,000 no hace mucho tiempo, pero ya es difícil encontrar tales ofertas ya que muchas marcas populares, incluidas Xiaomi, Hisense y Vu, ahora tienen precios que comienzan en alrededor de Rs. 45.000 marcos para un televisor LED de 55 pulgadas. Naturalmente, este nuevo televisor Ultra-HD de 55 pulgadas de Thomson tiene un precio de menos de Rs. 40.000 me llamó la atención.

Aunque se vende con la marca Thomson, el Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas (55OPMAX9055) es fabricado y comercializado en India por Super Plastronics Private Ltd., con sede en Noida, un fabricante de equipos originales que también vende televisores con las marcas Kodak, Blaupunkt y Westinghouse. . Con un precio de Rs. 36,999 en Flipkart, el Thomson 55OPMAX9055 tiene una pantalla Ultra-HD y soporte HDR, y se ejecuta en el sistema operativo Android TV. ¿Es este el televisor de pantalla grande con la mejor relación calidad-precio que puede comprar en este momento? Descúbrelo en esta revisión.

El televisor Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas cumple todos los requisitos cuando se trata de especificaciones, con una pantalla LED Ultra-HD y compatibilidad con HDR10+

Diseño y especificaciones del televisor LED Ultra HD Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas (55OPMAX9055)

Prácticamente todos los televisores de 55 pulgadas de la actualidad comparten un conjunto básico de especificaciones, que incluyen una pantalla Ultra-HD (3840×2160 píxeles) de 60 Hz, soporte para contenido HDR y conectividad inteligente. El televisor Thomson Oath Pro Max ofrece exactamente esto, con soporte para hasta el formato HDR10+ en su panel IPS. Se pierde el formato Dolby Vision, que es popular en otras opciones asequibles de marcas como Redmi, Xiaomi y Vu.

En muchos sentidos, este televisor Thomson es como cualquier otro televisor de su tamaño en la categoría de bajo costo que puedes comprar ahora mismo. Tiene bordes delgados alrededor de la pantalla, un grosor razonable y la capacidad de montarse en soportes o en una pared. Lo que sí se destaca del diseño es una tira prominente de oro rosa debajo de la pantalla que tiene una textura similar a una rejilla, el logotipo de Thomson, el receptor de infrarrojos y un indicador de estado. Los altavoces son de disparo inferior, con una salida nominal de 40W.

En la caja se incluyen dos soportes para montaje en mesa, así como un kit de montaje en pared, y Flipkart ofrece la entrega e instalación gratuitas de este televisor. Mientras reviso la variante de 55 pulgadas, este televisor está disponible en otros tamaños: las variantes de 43 y 50 pulgadas tienen un precio de Rs. 27.999 y rupias. 34.999, respectivamente.

El enchufe de entrada de energía mira hacia la derecha, mientras que los puertos miran hacia la izquierda del televisor y me resultaron un poco difíciles de alcanzar después de montarlo en la pared. La conectividad en el televisor Thomson incluye tres puertos HDMI (uno es compatible con eARC), dos puertos USB, un puerto Ethernet, una salida de audio óptica, un conector de antena y una entrada AV compuesta que está diseñada para usarse con un conector de tres a tres incluido. un adaptador

El televisor Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas se ejecuta en Android TV 10, con la nueva interfaz de usuario de contenido primero

En particular, no hay un conector de 3,5 mm para la salida de audio con cable (a pesar de que se menciona en las especificaciones), pero puede conectar auriculares o altavoces Bluetooth a este televisor. Extrañamente, el diseño del puerto en mi unidad de revisión era completamente diferente de lo que se mostraba en las imágenes de la lista oficial de este televisor en Flipkart.

La alimentación del televisor es un procesador Mediatek de cuatro núcleos, con 2 GB de RAM y 8 GB de almacenamiento interno para aplicaciones y datos de aplicaciones. Está clasificado para 500 nits de brillo máximo y es compatible con los formatos de audio Dolby Audio y DTS TruSurround. Lamentablemente, solo admite conectividad Wi-Fi de 2,4 GHz.

Thomson Oath Pro Max TV LED Ultra HD de 55 pulgadas (55OPMAX9055) control remoto y funciones

Aunque el diseño del televisor en sí es un poco aventurero, el televisor Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas viene con un excelente control remoto. Está bien equipado en términos de botones y controles, se siente bien al sostenerlo y también se ve bien. Los botones importantes, como el D-pad y la tecla de inicio, son blancos para ayudarlo a detectarlos incluso en una habitación oscura, y hay botones de acceso directo dedicados para Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube y Google Play.

Como suele ser el caso con los televisores con Android TV, Thomson TV es compatible con el Asistente de Google, con un botón para invocarlo y un micrófono para recibir comandos de voz en el control remoto. Esto funcionó como se esperaba, ya que el Asistente de Google pudo obtener contenido en el televisor y responder preguntas generales, entre otras cosas.

El control remoto de este televisor Thomson está bien diseñado y tiene controles útiles para la mayoría de las funciones, incluido un botón ‘i’ que muestra la resolución y la información de conexión.

Se espera que el Thomson Oath Pro Max TV también tenga Chromecast incorporado, así como la funcionalidad Apple AirPlay bastante útil. El primero funciona a través de aplicaciones y puede reflejar la pantalla de su dispositivo directamente a través de su interfaz, mientras que el segundo necesitaba una aplicación para funcionar. Usé AirScreen, que funcionó bien con dispositivos iOS y macOS. AirPlay necesita una conexión a Internet rápida para funcionar bien, pero la falta de Wi-Fi de 5 GHz puede causar problemas de estabilidad para algunos.

Interfaz y software Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas Ultra-HD LED TV (55OPMAX9055)

Como muchos televisores en este segmento de precios, el televisor LED Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas funciona con el sistema operativo Android TV. Android TV 10, la versión de software actual en el televisor, funcionó bien para mí y tuve acceso inmediato a la nueva interfaz de usuario de Android TV gracias a una actualización de firmware que estuvo disponible tan pronto como lo configuré.

Como se describe en mi reseña del televisor Hisense 55U6G, la nueva interfaz se esfuerza más en el descubrimiento de contenido y las recomendaciones, pero aún conserva la sensación central y la familiaridad del sistema operativo y las aplicaciones creadas para él.

Para cualquiera que esté acostumbrado a Android TV, la experiencia le resultará familiar en el televisor Thomson. Todas las principales aplicaciones y servicios de transmisión están disponibles, con algunos como Netflix, Amazon Prime Video y YouTube preinstalados, mientras que otros se pueden descargar desde Google Play Store para Android TV.

Se puede acceder a la configuración básica de imagen y sonido desde cualquier parte de la interfaz de usuario, incluso durante la transmisión de contenido, y también me impresionó la disponibilidad nativa de información en tiempo real sobre la resolución y la conexión de la transmisión al presionar el botón ‘i’ en el control remoto. El software funcionó bien y no tuve problemas notables con la funcionalidad durante mi tiempo con Thomson TV.

Rendimiento del televisor LED Ultra HD Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas (55OPMAX9055)

Cuando se trata de especificaciones y características, el televisor Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas es impresionante por el precio; la mayoría de los televisores con retroiluminación LED con un conjunto de características similares cuestan más cerca de Rs. 50,000, mientras que Thomson ofrece todo esto por menos de Rs. 40.000. Sin embargo, su rendimiento ofrece una explicación de por qué existe esta diferencia de precio.

En mi experiencia, el televisor Thomson se quedó corto en algunas áreas clave. La experiencia principal es sencilla, pero a diferencia de otros televisores similares que he usado, el Thomson TV no parecía hacer mucho con su soporte HDR. El contenido HDR, incluida la primera temporada de The Book of Boba Fett y el último especial de The Grand Tour, se veía aburrido y extrañamente sombrío.

Los colores aparecían atenuados y este televisor no parecía tan brillante como sugeriría el brillo nominal de 500 nits. Curiosamente, el contenido SDR full-HD parecía un poco más brillante y menos aburrido que el contenido HDR. Los niveles de negro en el televisor tampoco eran buenos, y los tonos más oscuros tendían a parecer grises. Las escenas nocturnas a menudo eran difíciles de ver excepto en una habitación completamente oscura.

Aunque la imagen era nítida, el contenido Ultra-HD HDR como The Book of Boba Fett parecía un poco aburrido y sombrío.

Incluso los programas de televisión vibrantes y coloridos como Formula 1: Drive to Survive se sintieron considerablemente más aburridos en este televisor en comparación con el Mi TV 5X de 55 pulgadas. Si bien es posible modificar la imagen para que las cosas sean un poco más brillantes, los niveles de negro nunca mejoraron realmente. La imagen se veía mejor con niveles de brillo más bajos, y apagar las luces o correr las cortinas en la habitación mejoró la experiencia visual.

Aunque el brillo fue un problema, el Thomson Oath Pro Max es un televisor Ultra-HD de pantalla grande, y es difícil discutir con la nitidez y el nivel de detalle que ofrece esta resolución. La imagen fue nítida y detallada en su mayor parte, y el movimiento se manejó de manera adecuada, sin artefactos significativos o fallas visibles incluso en las escenas de acción de ritmo rápido en El libro de Boba Fett.

Curiosamente, la falta o la insuficiencia de la tecnología en el televisor Thomson en realidad resultó en un desenfoque de movimiento mucho más agradable en comparación con algunos de los intentos a medias que he visto en este segmento. Esto incluso parecía aplicarse al contenido SDR, ya que no tener que invocar HDR significaba que el televisor parecía estar más cómodo simplemente brindando una imagen nítida, detallada y fluida.

El contenido Full-HD era aceptable en Thomson TV, con programas como Kim’s Convenience y Schitt’s Creek en Netflix que se veían decentes, a pesar de los colores apagados y los tonos grisáceos. La televisión en vivo, como el contenido deportivo transmitido a través de Disney+ Hotstar, fue decente, pero la calidad de señal más débil de Hotstar en comparación con Netflix y Amazon Prime Video fue mucho más evidente en este televisor, al menos en términos de nitidez.

La calidad del sonido en el televisor LED Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas fue bastante buena para el precio. El sistema de altavoces de 40W es capaz de sonar bastante fuerte. Experimenté algunos aumentos bruscos de volumen con las bandas sonoras y ciertas escenas de acción en las películas, y necesitaba bajar el volumen rápidamente, pero el diálogo era claro y audible incluso a bajo volumen y las partituras de fondo sonaban decentes.

Dado que este televisor está dirigido a compradores que buscan una buena relación calidad-precio, el sonido de los altavoces del televisor es lo suficientemente bueno para un uso básico. Si bien una barra de sonido o un sistema de altavoces obviamente ayudaría, no sentí la necesidad de mirar más allá de las capacidades de audio del televisor para la mayoría de las cosas.

Veredicto

Muchos televisores asequibles de 55 pulgadas de grandes marcas cuestan más de Rs. 40,000 ahora, por lo que el televisor LED Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas parece ser una oferta bastante convincente en Rs. 36,999. Sobre el papel, es una excelente opción gracias a una pantalla Ultra-HD, compatibilidad con HDR, un buen control remoto y funciones útiles como AirPlay y compatibilidad con el Asistente de Google, además de Android TV 10. Sin embargo, en la práctica, la diferencia de precio considerable entre este televisor y la mayor parte de su competencia se muestra en el desempeño.

El video opaco, los colores atenuados, el HDR ineficaz y el brillo y los niveles de negro deficientes frenan a este televisor Thomson, aunque la nitidez de la pantalla y la falta de interferencia del procesamiento del televisor parecen ayudar hasta cierto punto.

Vale la pena considerar este televisor si no desea gastar más de Rs. 40,000 pero todavía quiere un televisor Ultra-HD de 55 pulgadas. Sin embargo, tenga en cuenta que vale la pena considerar opciones como Mi TV 5X si puede aumentar un poco su presupuesto.

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Vea lo último de Consumer Electronics Show en Gadgets 360, en nuestro centro CES 2023.

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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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Samsung 55-inch QN95B Neo QLED Ultra-HD Mini LED TV Review: The Futuristic Flagship TV

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Modern flat-panel televisions typically slot into one of three common categories – LED, quantum-dot LED, and OLED, with standard LED TVs being the most affordable and OLED TVs usually being the most expensive. Recently, a few brands including TCL, LG, and Samsung have introduced a fourth category in India – Mini LED. This panel type is a middle ground between the affordability and brightness of LED models, and the colour and contrast levels that OLED panels offer.

The product I’m reviewing today is the current flagship Ultra-HD television from Samsung, the QN95B Neo QLED TV, which combines Samsung’s expertise in quantum-dot technology with the modernity of Mini LED technology. Priced at Rs. 2,14,990 in India, the 55-inch Samsung QN95B Neo QLED Ultra-HD TV is a modern marvel in many ways, including its use of quantum dot technology, Mini LED backlighting, and its uniquely slim design. There is also support for high dynamic range up to the HDR10+ format, and Dolby Atmos audio with a 70W speaker system. Is this the best flagship 55-inch television you can buy right now? Find out in this review.

The Samsung 55QN95B TV runs on the Tizen operating system for televisions, which has a particular focus on the Samsung TV Plus streaming service

 

Samsung 55-inch QN95B Neo QLED TV design and specifications

The Samsung QN95B Neo QLED is one of the company’s flagship Ultra-HD TV ranges in India, and you can choose between two sizes, 55 inches and 65 inches. Samsung sent me the 55-inch variant for review, which is priced at Rs. 2,14,990 in India. This places it firmly in the premium category, going up against flagship options from brands such as LG and Sony, covering various display technologies including quantum-dot LED and OLED.

What sets the Samsung QN95B series apart from much of the competition is the use of Mini LED backlighting, combined with the company’s highly-rated QLED quantum-dot technology. Mini LED technology uses much smaller LEDs for backlighting, allowing for more, smaller local dimming zones, and a promise of reduced backlight bleeding effects. This precision backlighting comes close to what OLED technology offers. It also has the distinct advantage of much higher peak brightness; the Samsung QN95B has a claimed peak brightness of 2,000 nits.

There’s more to the Samsung QN95B television that aims to justify its premium pricing, particularly how this TV looks. The main body of the TV is completely flat, with a uniform thickness that allows it to maintain a low profile when wall mounted, with barely any gap between the screen and the wall on all sides. The back of the TV has just two ports, for the One Connect cable (more on that in a bit), and one USB Type-C port for a webcam (which is an optional purchase, priced at Rs. 8,900). All eight drivers of the 4.2.2-channel speaker system are also at the back.

You can also table-mount the Samsung QN95B television, using the centre-positioned stand included in the box. The stand is very heavy at around 8kg, and feels solidly built to be able to safely hold up the screen. I had the Samsung QN95B TV wall-mounted for my review, using my own VESA kit. Samsung states that the TV weighs around 16.1kg without its stand, which is quite heavy for a 55-inch television, especially this one given its slim proportions.

The screen unit is, quite literally, just the screen of the Samsung 55-inch QN95B television; the ‘brains’ of the TV is the One Connect box that comes with it. This box connects to the screen, sending both power and audio-visual signals to the screen and its 4.2.2-channel speaker system. The single cable that connects the two is transparent and thin for easy concealment, and is about 1m long. This allows for easy access to the ports and sockets, and is the reason for the screen unit being so slim.

The One Connect box connects to your mains power supply and has four HDMI 2.1 ports (one supports HDMI eARC), three USB Type-A ports, an RF In cable socket, an Ethernet port, and a digital optical audio output (Toslink). The box also handles wireless connectivity over dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.2, and interfaces with the remote. This flat box can be positioned anywhere near the TV, although it is a bit large and will need some space on a flat surface such as a TV furniture unit.

The design of the Samsung QN95B TV is particularly impressive, with a slim form factor that leaves little space between the TV and the wall

 

The Samsung QN95B Neo QLED TV has a native refresh rate of 100Hz, variable refresh rate of 144Hz (under certain conditions when used for gaming), and a resolution of 3840×2160 pixels for its 55-inch screen. The TV uses Samsung’s Neural Quantum Processor 4K, and supports high dynamic range content up to the HDR10+ format and Dolby Atmos audio (but not Dolby Vision). The 4.2.2-channel sound system has two top-firing speakers to simulate overhead channels, and has a rated output of 70W.

Samsung 55-inch QN95B Neo QLED TV remote and features

The Samsung 55-inch QN95B Neo QLED TV is fairly well-equipped when it comes to the remote and features. The remote is unique for its solar charging capability, with a small solar panel on the back to keep the rechargeable internal battery going. Usefully, there is also a USB Type-C port for urgent, quicker charging when needed. That said, The remote was sufficiently charged straight out of the box and didn’t need to be charged over USB at all during my review.

The remote itself is compact and somewhat minimalistic when it comes to buttons; there is no number pad and no dedicated playback controls, but there is a D-pad for navigation, hotkeys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, and Samsung TV Plus, and a few others.

You can use the remote’s microphone to give voice commands to the voice assistant of your choice, and you can also directly access the settings from any screen on the TV. I quite liked the remote and didn’t have any trouble with it during my review, apart from the markings on the buttons being a bit hard to read in the dark and the tactile feel of the buttons not really helping either.

If you have any Samsung smart appliances that are compatible with the company’s SmartThings framework, you can control them directly from the TV. Other features include EyeComfort mode which adjusts brightness and colour levels according to time of day and ambient light, support for multiple voice assistants including Google Assistant, Alexa, and Samsung’s own Bixby, Multi View for mirroring your smartphone screen while simultaneously watching content on the TV (from select apps and services), and more.

There is no Google Chromecast functionality, but you do get Apple AirPlay 2 on the Samsung QN95B Neo QLED TV, which worked well for me. I was able to use AirPlay to mirror my iPhone screen on a part of the TV screen, while using select apps such as Samsung TV Plus or YouTube for the Multi View feature.

The remote of the Samsung 55QN95B has a solar panel for charging, but also can be charged quickly with USB Type-C

 

Gaming-focused features such as a 144Hz variable refresh rate, auto low-latency mode, and support for AMD FreeSync Premium Pro make this TV reasonably well suited for use with modern gaming consoles. There is also Object Tracking Sound which claims to create a realistic soundstage according to what’s on screen, and Q-Symphony, which allows the TV’s speakers to work in conjunction with compatible audio systems.

Samsung 55-inch QN95B Neo QLED TV software and interface

Samsung continues to use its own Tizen software for its televisions, but the QN95B Neo QLED TV sees significant changes in the user interface compared to earlier Samsung TVs. This includes a much more content-focused UI with viewing recommendations from various apps and services. This is similar to Xiaomi’s approach with PatchWall, although Samsung’s curation and layout feel a bit cluttered and awkward in comparison.

A key focus point of the interface is Samsung TV Plus, a free streaming service that comes preinstalled on the television. This service has a linear TV programming format, with over 60 channels including Discovery, TLC, and Boomberg. The content on these channels is scheduled, and is streamed using the TV’s Internet connection.

However, the user interface tends to put this service front and centre, including starting up the most recently viewed channel immediately in a small preview box when this TV is turned on, which can be annoying and disturbing if the volume was left at a high level. There is also a lot of emphasis on free movies and TV shows from various streaming services, but you will need each one’s app to be installed, and in some cases, you’ll need to register and sign in.

All of this aside, the core functionality of the user interface is decent enough, and it’s easy enough to switch between connected source devices. Apps are easy to access as well thanks to a dedicated row on the home screen, and the app marketplace has various options for popular streaming services, games, and other apps. The settings menus are a bit complicated to navigate, but the TV offers plenty of options for customisation and tweaking. The UI isn’t quite the best among the various options available right now, but it’s entirely functional and usable.

The Samsung 55QN95B Neo QLED TV supports HDR up to the HDR10+ format

 

Samsung 55-inch QN95B Neo QLED TV performance

Before I get into the performance section of this review, it’s worth noting that we are aware of reports that Samsung has reportedly been caught cheating on certain TV tests carried out by reviewers; the QN95B TV is itself the subject of allegations brought up by FlatpanelsHD in its review. However, our testing process does not involve the specific tests that the Samsung QN95B TV is alleged to detect and manipulate, and we have no reason to believe that the television sent to us for this review is not a standard retail unit.

The Samsung 55-inch QN95B is a modern flagship that delivers the kind of performance you would expect from a television priced at over Rs. 2,00,000. The quantum-dot Mini LED screen provided a bright, vibrant picture with most of my viewing, and this TV was able to use its careful calibration and technical capabilities to deliver flagship-grade HDR performance even with HDR10+.

I tested the Samsung 55QN95B with a variety of content across resolutions and dynamic ranges, and as is usually the case with high-end models, this TV was optimised for Ultra-HD HDR content. Apart from obvious differences in sharpness, parameters such as motion handling, colour accuracy, and brightness were all visibly better with high-quality content.

Perhaps the best experience I had with the Samsung 55-inch QN95B TV was watching Spider-Man: No Way Home in Ultra-HD HDR with Dolby Atmos through the Apple TV streaming service. Everything including the sharpness, colours, and detail levels were expectedly good, but the brightness of this television with good HDR content was what truly stood out. Even after ensuring that this TV wasn’t artificially boosting brightness levels, its picture was still visibly brighter and more vibrant than most other competing options I’ve had a chance to see or review.

The bright colours of this superhero movie were a treat to watch, and looked on point throughout, thanks to the effective and powerful backlighting provided by the superior micro-dimming ability of the Mini LED tech and the quantum-dot filter. I found black levels to be practically as good for regular viewing as what I’ve seen on high-end OLED TVs. I also found blooming and light bleed issues to be handled well on the Samsung QN95B Neo QLED TV, with very little light spillover visible even in bright scenes.

The brightness was, on occasion, a bit too much, particularly in dark rooms. Changes in brightness were quite visible and sometimes a bit sudden. However, this TV does have a mode that allows it to adapt to light conditions, and this largely worked well for me. This mode can also boost brightness during the daytime, making it possible to quite easily and conveniently watch TV even with bright daylight shining in the room. Although a dark room undoubtedly made for the best viewing experience, this TV didn’t deviate too much in performance even when the room was well lit.

The Samsung One Connect Box powers the TV screen, and also holds all the ports and inputs for the device

 

Although Dolby Vision HDR is said to be technically superior to Samsung’s…

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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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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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