Most TV producers have chosen Roku TV or Android TV for his or her sensible TV platforms, however Toshiba continues to stay with Amazon’s Hearth TV. We don’t thoughts; Hearth TV is a robust system with plenty of companies and the helpful presence of Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant. The C350 is Toshiba’s newest, and at present solely, line of TVs, and it is loaded with options for the value. The 50-inch 50C350 we examined has an MSRP of $469.99, and is commonly accessible for much less. On paper it is a pretty choice for penny-pinchers, and it has surprisingly low enter lag for players, however a dim panel and low distinction make it arduous to wholeheartedly advocate.
An Enticing Design With Confusingly Positioned Ports
The C350 appears to be like surprisingly fashionable for a reasonable TV. The highest and sides of the display screen are bezel-free, framed solely by a slender black plastic band that wraps across the again. A skinny, brushed-metal strip runs alongside the underside fringe of the display screen, angled barely ahead. The infrared receiver and indicator LED sit in a small clear enclosure under the middle of the band, with a small energy/enter button simply behind it. Every little thing rests on two V-shaped steel legs, situated close to the perimeters of the display screen (you may as well mount it on the wall).
All ports are situated oddly across the middle of the again of the TV, fairly removed from the perimeters the place side-mounted ports could be handy. 4 HDMI ports (one eARC), two USB ports, an optical audio output, an Ethernet port, and an antenna/cable connector face left, however are so removed from the perimeters of the TV that it’s a must to attain very far in to alter any connections. An influence cable connector faces proper, at a equally awkward location. Lastly, a set of RCA composite video inputs and a headphone jack face instantly again in the midst of the again of the TV. The headphone jack is most baffling; dealing with again within the dead-center is simply concerning the least handy location potential if you wish to use wired headphones.
The included distant is similar to those included with Hearth TV media streamers. It’s a slim, black rectangular wand with barely rounded prime and backside edges and a outstanding round navigation pad close to the highest. Energy and microphone buttons, together with a pinhole microphone, sit above the navigation pad. Menu and playback controls; quantity and channel rockers; and devoted service buttons for Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix all sit decrease on the distant.
Hearth TV Options
The C350 makes use of Amazon’s Hearth TV platform for its interface and sensible options, so it acts identical to an Amazon Hearth TV Stick 4K, with enter choices accessible in addition to apps. That is fantastic, as a result of like Roku TV and Android/Google TV, Hearth TV is a strong system full of apps and companies.
Except for the usual Amazon companies like Prime Video, most huge streaming names are right here, together with Apple TV, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Twitch, and YouTube. There are literally thousands of different apps accessible with extra particular topic/regional curiosity as effectively. You possibly can even stream video games straight to the TV with Amazon Luna (we advocate shopping for the Luna Controller to go along with it).
Hearth TV lags behind the competitors with display screen mirroring, sadly. You possibly can stream your Home windows PC’s display screen straight to the TV with WiDi, or your Android cellphone’s display screen with Miracast (with a third-party app, since Google changed any Miracast implementation with Google Solid years in the past), however that’s it. You don’t get the comfort of Apple AirPlay such as you do on Roku, LG, and Samsung TVs, or Google Solid such as you on Android/Google TVs (or each, such as you get on Vizio TVs).
After all, Amazon Alexa is out there on the C350. Like most different Hearth TV units, you entry Amazon’s voice assistant by urgent and holding the microphone button on the distant and talking into it. You need to use Alexa to instantly management the TV and suitable sensible residence units, seek for content material, reply basic questions like climate forecasts and sports activities scores, and verify your calendar and e mail. It’s a really helpful function that Roku TVs lack (although Android and Google TVs have the comparable Google Assistant, and LG and Samsung TVs allow you to use both voice assistant).
Toshiba C350 Image High quality
The Toshiba 50C350 is a 4K TV with a 60Hz refresh price. It helps excessive dynamic vary (HDR) content material in HDR10 and Dolby Imaginative and prescient.
We take a look at TVs utilizing a Klein Okay-80 colorimeter, a Murideo SIX-G sign generator, and Portrait Shows’ Calman software program utilizing methodology primarily based on Imaging Science Basis’s calibration methods. And, from that testing, we’ve decided that the C350 has roundly poor distinction. The panel may be very dim, displaying a peak brightness of 219.497cd/m^2 with an SDR sign and simply 236.079cd/m^2 with an HDR sign (the numbers don’t considerably change between full-screen and 18% fields). That is disappointing however not remarkable; the Vizio M55Q6-J has a peak brightness of 256.623cd/m^2. The TV doesn’t even have darkish blacks to make up for it, displaying black ranges of 0.086cd/m^2 with an SDR sign and 0.091cd/m^2 with an HDR sign. This provides as much as an efficient distinction ratio of two,594:1. The Vizio’s black ranges are barely decrease, so it reveals the next distinction ratio of 4,218:1. The TCL 6-Collection, in the meantime, will get astoundingly brighter (1,114.897cd/m^2) and far darker (0.015cd/m^2), for a distinction ratio about 30 occasions that of the C350 (74,326:1).
The C350 reveals higher shade than it does distinction, although it nonetheless doesn’t impress. The above chart reveals shade ranges measured with an SDR sign in contrast in opposition to Rec.709 broadcast requirements, and with an HDR sign in contrast in opposition to DCI-P3 digital cinema requirements, each within the Film image mode. SDR content material appears to be like pretty spot-on, which is good to see (although more and more frequent, even in funds TVs). HDR content material is decently balanced, although the C350’s shade vary falls effectively wanting DCI-P3, and whites and magentas run a bit cool. The Vizio M55Q6 and TCL 6-Collection each present far wider attain in shade.
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BBC’s Planet Earth II appears to be like balanced and pure on the C350. Whereas the greens of vegetation don’t seem as vibrant as they do on another TVs, they’re nonetheless saturated and life-like, as are the wealthy blue-greens of water. Superb particulars like fur could be clearly seen, however pictures partly darkened by shade can seem too mild or barely muddy.
In Deadpool, the crimson of the titular character’s costume is vivid and correct, even beneath the cool overcast lighting of the opening scene. The burning lab combat is much less spectacular as a result of TV’s poor distinction. The flames look pretty brilliant and colourful, however shadows seem washed out.
The issues with distinction turn out to be actually obvious within the occasion scenes of The Nice Gatsby. Relying on the quantity of total mild within the body, particulars just like the minimize and contour of black fits could be fully swallowed by muddiness or seem so mild they’re virtually grey. Dim peak brightness and brilliant black ranges add as much as starkly high-contrast scenes like these not dwelling as much as the filmmaker’s intent.
Gaming Efficiency
Gaming efficiency is the place the C350 surprises us. On paper it appears unimpressive, with a 60Hz refresh price and no gamer-specific options like variable refresh price (VRR). Nonetheless, the TV completely blazes relating to enter lag.
Utilizing an HDFury Diva HDMI matrix to measure it, the C350 confirmed an enter lag of solely 3.1 milliseconds within the Recreation image mode, effectively under the 20ms threshold we use to think about a TV to be probably the greatest for gaming. It isn’t fairly as little as the Samsung Q70A’s enter lag (2.3ms), nevertheless it’s nonetheless unbelievable. Simply ensure you swap to Recreation mode while you play; in Film mode, the enter lag shoots as much as 111.2ms.
Succesful, However Unimpressive
The Toshiba C350 advantages from an reasonably priced worth and the feature-filled Amazon Hearth TV platform, and surprises with its extremely low enter lag. Colours additionally look fairly good on the TV, although that’s changing into more and more frequent even amongst reasonably priced fashions. That stated, its dim panel and poor distinction maintain us again from recommending it above different cheap fashions. The Vizio MQ6 sequence gives higher distinction and shade for across the identical worth, and whereas it doesn’t have a voice assistant, it does assist each Apple AirPlay and Google Solid. In the end, the TCL 6-Collection stays our prime decide for budget-friendly TVs. It’s kind of dearer than the Toshiba or Vizio fashions and it doesn’t have a voice assistant, however its shade and distinction blow the opposite two out of the water with a far brighter image and darker blacks.
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