Toshiba was sadly pressured to withdraw from the UK TV market a few years in the past, unable to make ends meet in what had turn out to be a notoriously aggressive shopper house. Now, although, the model is again. Type of.
The Toshiba identify is now owned by Turkish large Vestel, and the most recent UK Toshiba TVs come off Vestel’s manufacturing strains. However Toshiba engineers are nonetheless, we’re informed, concerned in overseeing the merchandise popping out below its personal identify. So hopefully the 49U6763DB will grow to be simply the type of triumphant return the more and more embattled entry-level sector of the 4K TV market wants.
Design
Toshiba 49U6763DB Specs
Display screen sizes obtainable: 43, 49, 55, 65 inches
Tuner: Freeview HD
4K: Sure
HDR: No
Panel know-how: LCD
Good TV: Sure, Proprietary system
Curved: No
Dimensions: 1099(w) x 650(h) x 100(d) mm
3D: No
Inputs: 4 HDMIs, three USBs, 21-pin Scart, Ethernet port, built-in Wi-Fi
From the entrance, the 49U6763DB seems prefer it must be price greater than £399. The body across the display in all fairness trim for a price range set, and appears decently effectively constructed. There’s a cute metallic field hooked up to the underside edge that provides a splash of futuristic model, too.
The design crew seems to have clocked out earlier than excited about the set’s rear, thoughts you. It’s the chunkiest, most plasticky wanting again finish we’ve seen on a TV in 2017. Personally, although, we couldn’t actually care much less about this on condition that we spend our time wanting on the entrance of our TVs slightly than their rears.
Connections are unexpectedly quite a few. Highlights embrace 4 HDMIs, three USBs, wi-fi and exhausting wired community connections, plus – drum roll please – a Scart socket. Wowza. We will’t truly keep in mind the final time we noticed a TV sporting a type of. Hopefully this isn’t symptomatic of basic datedness within the 49U6763DB’s options and efficiency.
Design TL;DR: Fairly cute if seen from the entrance, a chunky plasticky mess if seen from the again. So simply watch the entrance, yeah?
It is a chunky TV when seen from the aspect
Good TV
Whereas the 49U6763DB doesn’t boast a very intuitive sensible interface or as many helpful apps as most sensible TVs, the truth that it affords any sensible TV options in any respect for £399 must be thought-about a bonus.
Highlights embrace Netflix and Youtube, plus entry to the catch-up TV companies for the UK’s principal terrestrial broadcasters courtesy of a built-in Freeview Play app. This app even enables you to discover exhibits you might have missed by way of an digital programme information that scrolls again by time in addition to forwards.
It’s pleasing to seek out, too, that the Netflix and Youtube apps each help 4K streaming.
On the draw back, there’s no Amazon Video app, 4K or in any other case. Additionally, lots of the 50 or so apps you do get are area of interest to say the least, and the menus are typically sluggish to load.
Good TV TL;DR: Though the 49U6763DB solely carries a reasonably restricted assortment of apps, discovering any in any respect is stunning on such a price range TV.
HD/SDR efficiency
Sadly the 49U6763DB’s image high quality makes it neither a lot of a price range hero, nor a good way to re-establish the Toshiba identify.
Watch something remotely darkish on it, as an illustration, and it struggles badly to ship the type of black stage depths we’re now used to seeing from LCD TVs. Even different fairly low cost ones.
Components of the image that ought to look black as an alternative look gray and flat. This leaves you squinting by low distinction ‘mist’ to attempt to see what’s occurring, and likewise leaves colors throughout darkish scenes wanting bleached and drab.
Darkish scenes are additionally impacted by backlight clouds creeping in from all 4 of the display’s edges. In addition to being distracting, this clouding is definitely fairly bizarre on condition that the 49U6763DB seems to be utilizing a direct lighting system (the place the LEDs sit proper behind the display) slightly than the extra frequent edge-based answer.
Colors with HD/SDR content material are likely to look slightly tough and prepared, missing the mix and tonal subtlety that helps good TVs stand out. Typically colors even seem as stripes or blocks slightly than clean blends.
The 49U6763DB seems extra energetic and involving with uniformly shiny photos. And truly, when you use the dynamic distinction choice on its medium or excessive setting its brightness will be aggressive sufficient to cover the failings with darker elements of the picture throughout blended brightness photographs. It’s only an optical phantasm, although; extra uniformly darkish scenes can by no means be made to look actually satisfying.
A quest for constructive issues to say turns up a few issues. First, whereas colors typically fail to impress, flesh tones truly look surprisingly pure by price range TV requirements. Second, when you’re considering of utilizing the 49U6763DB as a cheap-but-large gaming display, it retains its enter lag – the time it takes to render its photos – to a passably low 41ms. It’s price making an allowance for that some units this yr get beneath 20ms, although.
Lastly, the set upscales HD sources to 4K fairly tidily, and largely avoids the extreme judder, blurring and smearing when reproducing movement typically seen on very reasonably priced LCD TVs.
HD/SDR Efficiency TL;DR: Though it does OK with sharpness and movement, the 49U6763DB feels off in the present day’s tempo the place distinction and color are involved.
4K/HDR Efficiency
The very first thing to say right here is that the 49U6763DB doesn’t help excessive dynamic vary playback. That is uncommon for a 2017 4K TV, however we wouldn’t essentially say it’s disastrous. In spite of everything, most of the time very reasonably priced TVs are likely to do HDR so badly that you find yourself wishing they hadn’t bothered attempting!
Extra unlucky is the best way it fails to capitalise on the 4K decision it DOES have. A scarcity of crispness and color definition makes it fairly exhausting to differentiate between native 4K photos and upscaled HD ones.
The display’s distinction shortcomings additionally have a tendency to cover particulars in darkish areas, once more impacting the image’s sense of ‘4kness’. And at last the display’s uninspiring mild controls imply there isn’t actually any scope for reinforcing the depth of shiny edges or native shiny particulars – two little methods that may play a major position in making photos look sharper and extra detailed.
4K/HDR TL;DR: There’s no help for HDR, and or more often than not the 49U6763DB looks like a 4K TV in identify solely.
Sound high quality
Whereas the 49U6763DB underwhelms with its photos, it exceeds expectations with its sound. Maybe due to its chunky type it’s in a position to push out an honest quantity of quantity with out the sound beginning to distort, sound excessively compressed, or turn out to be harsh.
Voices sound clear but in addition effectively rounded and properly built-in into the remainder of the soundstage, whereas there’s sufficient respiration room within the mid-range to permit it to shift by not less than a few gears when dealing with motion sequences.
It doesn’t hit any notably deep bass ranges or fill your front room with all of the tiny treble detailing the very best sound mixes comprise. Nevertheless it does ship sufficient bass and element to not less than sound pure and balanced, which is preferable to units that over-reach themselves and find yourself with flabby, phutty, dominant bass and/or sibilant, grating trebles.
Sound high quality TL;DR: The 49U6763DB sounds higher than some TVs costing twice as a lot.
The set’s skinny bezels make for a lovely front-on look
Different panels to ponder
We haven’t seen some other TVs this yr providing such giant 4K photos for therefore little cash. The 49-inch Sony 49XE70 delivers superior 4K sharpness and color for £539, in addition to supporting HDR. That Sony set additionally struggles with black ranges, however its points in that division solely have a tendency to look with HDR; it’s truly fairly good with customary dynamic vary sources.
Hisense’s 50-inch H50N6800 (we reviewed the 55-inch model) additionally provides HDR help to its native 4K pixel depend for round £549, in addition to delivering sharper 4K photos and, with customary dynamic vary photos not less than, a significantly better black stage efficiency. It actually isn’t shiny sufficient to do HDR correctly, although.
Verdict
If £400 actually is so far as your price range can stretch, the 49U6763DB isn’t an outright catastrophe. It does OK with movement, pores and skin tones and brightness, and produces photos shortly sufficient to move muster as a video games monitor.
The set’s options and efficiency each really feel dated by in the present day’s requirements, although, with its lack of distinction and soft-looking 4K photos specifically making me assume you could be higher with a great high quality full HD TV as an alternative.
- Our information to the best 4K TVs has all our prime suggestions