Vu 55" UHD 4K Iconium TV - Detailed Review

[johnysamajhdar]

VU 55" 4K Iconium TV Review
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So, Now it's been more than a month and I was contemplating to pen down my reviews for the new 4K Television that I have purchased. It's VU 55" (140cms) 4K Iconium Series, Model No. (LTDN55XT780XWAU3D). I've been messing around with the new gadget and it's features for quite a long time now and I thought why not write something that will benefit others and informative as well...!

Preamble:
I was in search for a new TV for a long time. Have auditioned many brands but at last focused and decided that I should stick to 4K television as it is the future and also for the next 5 years I don't want to buy another one. So the hunt for the best model started again. Mostly among popular brands I personally liked the Sony best but the issue was pricing. Same is with the other brands LG and Samsung.

Fast Forward:
To keep the pace fast and interesting and to cut the long story short I waited for sometime, did some research and came across this brand VU. I read the reviews and found that the company is reliable and the product is really good. I did some more research, contacted the customer sales deptt. The VU sales manager visited my place and gave me the pricing for the commercial panel which I've asked for. But when I compared the commercial and residential panel details I did not found any difference except the power details. So zeroed on Iconium 55" model. I visited the dealers house for the demo and finalized the deal.

Delivery:
I ordered my TV on 12th April, 2016 and it was delivered to me on 14th April, 2016. It was Ashtami. Navratras were going on and it was a very auspicious day when my TV arrived at around 4:30 p.m. I took a few pictures of the packed TV and did not wait for the guys to come and install it. I took Matarani's name and opened up the packaging and table mount it myself. Attached the PC and Set Top box with the TV and started enjoying it.

Packaging of the TV:
It was packed really good. On the packing it is mentioned that it is 4K Smart TV with A+ Grade Panel, DBX Sound by Harman Kardon, Quad Core Graphics and Anyview Cast. It supports H.264/H.265 codec i.e HEVC and USB Movies. Some images of the box and labels are below here:

Unboxing:
It didn't take much time in opening up the box. The packing was pretty good and sturdy. Packed with styrofoam and the TV was inside air bubble polythene bag. It was safely placed between the dyecut foam pieces with all other material. With TV there was a remote, adapter, power cable, 2AAA batteries, wall mount bracket manufactured by LG and mannual with the warranty card. No HDMI cable or RCA was provided with the packaging.

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Back of the TV:
Overall back is made of plastic material. There are 10Wx2 speakers at the backside. It has a power port, Antena IN, 2xUSB 2.0 ports, 1xUSB 3.0 port, 2xHDMI 1.4 ports, 2xHDMI 2.0 ports, 1xAV input, 1xComponent input, 1xSPDIF digital audio out, 1xEarphone Jack, 1xEthernet RJ45 port and WI-FI inbuilt at back. Controls buttons are made of plastic like a joystick kind of a thing. But who is gonna use them anyhow. Some ventilation is also provided at the back so that the heat may flush out while running and keep the TV cool.

Front of the TV:
It is really beautiful nice TV has a classy, stylish, thin silver bezel. The panel is neither glossy nor matt finish completely and the screen is anti reflective. For the first time when you start the TV you need to run the setup and select your language, location, timezone, mode, EULA, network, input and complete. Once its all done we are good to go. There is a VU logo that lights up at the welcome screen when the TV is switched ON. Then shows the word SMART. The remote is handy, functional and easy to understand and operate. It has NETFLIX and YouTube shortcut buttons on it. This is a budget luxury TV which is affordable by the middle class. Overall it gives a premium feel.

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Picture Quality:
The picture quality is remarkable with deep blacks and sharp edges. Upscales everything to UHD i.e. 4K and brings out the breathtaking true to life colors, sharp and crystal-clear images. The very first thing that I played on it was the 4K video of Sun by Nasa that I have downloaded and the UHD demo videos from various companies. The TV is connected to my Gaming PC and is running at 3840x2160 resolution with 60Hz refresh rate. Though sometimes while opening it gives a glitch, freezes and then I have to change the refresh rate to 30Hz which I feel is best recommended. Watching 4K wallpapers and movies are just amazing and out of this world. The picture resolution is deep, detailed, perfect and pure. I feel the color optimizer automatically analyzes brightness, contrast, color, clarity and color temperature.

http://varijadezinestudio.com/vu/pc_resolution_refreshrate.jpg

Secondly, I copied the 4K content on my 8GB 2.0 HP pendrive. Plugged it in the USB 3.0 port and boom. The movies and video songs were on the TV. The resolution was bang on. Cool, great and stunning. Same it did with my 16GB 3.0 pendrive. The output was best. The screen looked so fresh and bright. Colors were amazing.

Thirdly, I took all the content on my portable 500GB HDD running in a casing. I attached it to 2.0 USB port but it didn't read my drive then I tried it on 3.0 port and it was detected. I ran the 4K content and as usual it was marvellout. I ran full HD 1920x1080 content and the TV upscaled it to 4K. The result was good. Graphics were really likable.

I didn't find anything unusual in the output like vignetting or clouding issues at the edges. I tried all the modes and tweaked the display according to my likings. The panel produced amazing and uniform out from center till corners. Ultra-smooth motion can be selected to view the enhanced levels of motion through settings. No complaints of any sort.

Supported Formats - It supports .jpeg, .mkv, .mp4, .hevc, .wmv, .mp3

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Sound:
First of all I tried with the normal sound of the Tv without any effects. The normal sound was as good as compared to other tv's sound quality. It is at par with top quality brands available in the market.

Then I switched on the DBX Surround Sound Effects from TV settings and boom. The TV has converted into a DJ box. The TV gives a surround sound experience. The sound quality is pretty loud for a LED TV. But sometimes it sounds very harsh and over the edge so have to tweak the setting in order to bring them out correctly. Over all the performance of DBX is quite satisfactory as you won't need external speakers for this unit. But to be frank I personally don't enjoyed it much at it reduces the vocals a lot and increases the other sounds.

Third, I connected my 2 Channel zebronics floor standers with the TV. The sound output really amazed me. I've really started liking this TV even more and more after playing around with it.

Anyways what all I will say is not enough you need to trust your ears to feel the quality of sound. It genuinely delivers deep, rich, enthralling audio that is pleasand to your ears. So either you visit my place for demo or purchase it to feel the vibrations of the quality of sound it produces.

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Software and Widgets:
It has an inbuilt Opera Store with 18 widgets and Wi-Fi 802.11n which is best. You can run all the apps without any trouble over the internet. TV apps range from Video, Music, Social Networking, Games and News Information. Addition widgets are available from the widgets store. Most of the widgets are good but some are just for fun. A few are entertaining which offers online movies like NETFLIX, YOUTUBE and couple more. Social media apps like Facebook and Twitter are really handy. Firmware is already updated but I think the company should release the latest updates frequently. It has a bit slow starting and takes sometime to start but as compared to other brand android versions its much better. No lagging or picture freezing is noted while running the internet videos or any other content. You can browse the net using the in-TV browser, but if you are going to stretch yourself it is better to invest in a wireless keyboard. Also, it is better to upgrade to a network that gives you at least 4 MBPs download speeds if you want to watch video directly from YouTube. Or what more you can do is pair and mirror your mobile youtube videos after tweaking the settings. MHL and DLNA both are available. You can do screen mirroring between mobile and TV through Anyview Cast app.

You get inbuilt apps like YouTube, Opera TV Store, Plex, YuppTV, ViaWay, Media, Dailymotion, AccuWeather, Picasa, TVBrowser, Game Center, Anywiew Cast, TED, Facebook, Twitter, Toon Goggles, AOL On, and Kidoz.

Inbuilt Ditital Media player is cool. Can play and pause the video. You can change the setting and select audio, subtitles(if available), quality of the videos. But needs an interface tweaking. Not very user friendly.

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3D Capabilities:
I really still dont consider it more than a mere novelty. Even with this TV it is good for a bit of content snacking once in a while, not more. The TV offers you decent 2D to 3D conversion and adapts to most types of stereoscopic content. However, the images have limited throw but good depth.

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Cons:
- Only one USB 3.0 port.
- Takes long time to switch on.
- Not able to change or select the audio track while running via usb. TV will run the default track which it detects. Audio track selection option should be there.
- Play, Pause, Forward, Backward controls of TV player are really old school type. Need upgradation.
- Have to struggle a bit with the remote for typing if you have a rather long password.

Pros:
- Premium build for a budget TV.
- Ultra HD 4K TV.
- Quad-core processor.
- Beautiful display.
- Attractive design.
- Great viewing angles. Absolutely no shift in colors at all from side to side, up and down i.e horzontally and vertically. Crystal clear color gamut.
- Very good motion & refresh rates.
- Awesome brightness.
- Handles all types of video signals and formats brilliantly except bluray 2tf
- Excellent and affordable pricing.
- Exceptional sound quality.
- Brilliant anti reflective coating on panel.
- Blacks and Whites are amazing. Gives a feel of Amoled display.
- Power consumption of the TV is 156Watts to be precise measured by power meter.

Final Verdict:
I love this TV and would recommend to others who want to utilize their money and enjoy 4K within the budget. This TV is one of the best value-for-money propositions around. If you're a real movie and music buff and enjoy watching ultra-clear cinema then this is a very good option to consider. At Rs. 70,000 it falls in the budget range of most of the people.

:yahoo: :clapping: hyeah: :beer: :cheers: :signthankspin: :thumbsup: :yahoo:

 

[dinjo]

Have you played FIFA on PC connected to TV ? Input Lag ?

 

[HE-MAN]

How can you write about the 3d capabilities when the TV itself is non 3d. Lol, you copied this from indian express review of this tv.
also you will be even more happy in regards of PQ when you calibrate it properly. Try the settings I have posted in Vu owner thread.

 

[skdas]

Congratulation!
Nice new set up .saw your attached picture also.Do you ever feel of color saturation in the picture or lack of natural color?

Recently had viewed one VU 50 " FHD Tv ,and felt like color saturation effect . Your views please.

 

[johnysamajhdar]

How can you write about the 3d capabilities when the TV itself is non 3d. Lol, you copied this from indian express review of this tv.
also you will be even more happy in regards of PQ when you calibrate it properly. Try the settings I have posted in Vu owner thread.

Thanks for reminding me that bro. Though i have not tested 3D capabilities so far on this TV but i think it has 3D capabilities. Yes you are right that I have read the review for 3D on some website but I was thinking that it's a 3D TV. They have it in their model name. If not then its my mistake. I'll remove it.

Will also try calibrating it according to the settings posted by you.

 

[johnysamajhdar]

Have you played FIFA on PC connected to TV ? Input Lag ?

Haven't played fifa so far. Will play and post the feedback.

 

[johnysamajhdar]

Congratulation!
Nice new set up .saw your attached picture also.Do you ever feel of color saturation in the picture or lack of natural color?

Recently had viewed one VU 50 " FHD Tv ,and felt like color saturation effect . Your views please.

Thanks bro. Well I haven't done any calibration so far on the TV. But will soon do it and post the pics after calibration and settings too.

 

[johnysamajhdar]

Problem detected with the TV its not working properly @60Hz refresh rate when connected with pc. TV giving problems @ 60Hz now converted to 30Hz. Please check out the image attached.

http://varijadezinestudio.com/vu/DSC_0069.JPG

 

[hridyesh10]

johnysamajhdar!

Could you tell me if 4K support on VU Iconium has made any difference to your Full HD viewing?

 

[revolty]

johnysamajhdar!

Can you please tell me whether it plays 1080p @ 60Hz or not?

 

[agarwaltanuj7k]

Hi,

Thanks for the review. Can I get your contact information to get in touch with you for more details.

 

[prankey]

Thanks for reminding me that bro. Though i have not tested 3D capabilities so far on this TV but i think it has 3D capabilities. Yes you are right that I have read the review for 3D on some website but I was thinking that it's a 3D TV. They have it in their model name. If not then its my mistake. I'll remove it.

Will also try calibrating it according to the settings posted by you.

Are you sure you are not one of the VU's marketing guy? Your review certainly look copy and paste far from a personal experience. How did you post about 3D experience on a 2D TV and conveniently tell you didn't test?

Mods - Please take a note.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

 

[prateekatasniya]

I have heard good reviews about Vu.
But this review clearly seems like a marketing strategy.

 

[johnysamajhdar]

It's been more than a year now that I'm using this TV. But, In future I'll stay away from VU as they don't give any periodic firmware updates. Their customer support is pathetic. Literally sucks. The OS totally sucks. I have figured out that my model LTDN55XT780XWAU3D 55" 4K Iconium TV is the clone model of HISENSE company model USA which they have stopped supporting there. Or I would say it's the outdated USA model dumped via VU in India. I asked HISENSE for firmware updates for this model but they simply denied and flashed the message model not supported in USA. Actually the OS sucks big time. No typing support, no new updates for apps etc etc. Full of sh** OS. See how VU is fooling people in India. I hope to get a firmware update soon from somewhere so that I can flash my TV myself and update it or change the OS. But in future will never buy VU.

@prankey @prateekatasniya - No mates i'm no VU marketing guy. I'm an generic user like you only. I have heard good reviews of VU at that time and purchased the tv and wrote this review after using it for a month or so. But now I've changed my opinion about this brand. So nothing personal or marketing gimmik to promote this brand.

 

[johnysamajhdar]

@hridyesh10 - It's now more than a year that i've been using this tv and yes colors are really bright and blacks are sharp. I mostly use it for my gaming and watching movies. I can say no problems with colors and appearance of the screen but the most annoying thing is that you don't get any firmware updates from the company.

 

[johnysamajhdar]

@agarwaltanuj7k - you can pm me mate.

 

[johnysamajhdar]

@revolty - it does work with 60hertz. I'm using HDMI cable to connect it with my Yundoo y8 TV box and PC with refresh rate of 60.

 

[johnysamajhdar]

One more flaw that I forgot to mention is that when i connect my 10TB USB 3.0 HDD with this TV it just don't play movies on it and blacks out or freezes. I have to restart the TV again in and disconnect the HDD from the TV USB 3.0 port and have to plug it in my Yundoo Y8 TV box in order to watch the movies. HEVC 265 10 bit movies don't run on this model directly. Give it a try and let me know about your opinions who have purchased this model from VU.

 

[sam9s]

whats the status of your TV now?

 

[johnysamajhdar]

whats the status of your TV now?

Its been 3 years now. No updates from the company guys. Pathetic customer care service. Most of them are a**h**** and morons. Inspite of 100s of emails that I've sent them regarding periodical updates of firmware there's no response from their side. No use at all buying this tv. Youtube app can't run more than 720p content. Only way to watch 4K content is usb or external tv box. I'm really upset over this firmware issue.