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Journalism of Courage
For a lot of people walking into a store to buy a new LCD television, the experience can be quite intimidating. There are a lot of models that you absolutely love and would want to own, but very few that actually fit your budget. It is this segment that a brand like VU tries to tap into with its range of high-end but relatively affordable televisions. VU has everything from diamond studded screens to MAC powered televisions, but all at a price point below what it would be for the bigger brands.
VU 55-inch 4K smart television
This 55-inch VU television looks like any top brand, except for a bezel that this thicker than what LG, Samsung and Sony has been pushing for the past couple of years. There is a VU logo that lights up when the TV is switched off. The remote is very functional and easy to understand and operate.
How good is the picture quality?
The picture quality is good with deep blacks and sharp edges. I tried some 4K content from YouTube and the experience was really good.
However, while viewing full HD programmes and video files it is hard to miss an anomaly in the refresh rate. The images seem to be a bit, a millisecond or so, faster than they should be. It is as if you are fast forwarding at a 0.5x. VU claims the TV is the first to have the quad-core graphics engine. But it seems to be working overtime and needs a bit of tweaking.
Thankfully, it is not bad enough to affect lip sync. Thanks to Dolby, the audio quality is very good and loud when you need it to be so.
How smart is the TV?
It is smart, but not very. For instance, it comes with a dozen or so good apps that you will use. But there is no option to add more. Still, connecting to your Wi-FI network is easy. Yes, you will have to struggle a bit with the remote if you have a rather long password. You can also 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. I am lucky to have a 8MBPs connection and the experience was seamless. In fact, while using YouTube there is the option to pair with your phone, making browsing much more easier.
Though not exactly a smart feature these days, the television has a good media player that lets you access most types of media files — though not all.
How good is the 3D?
Though I have seen some splendid 3D capable televisions over the years, I still don’t consider it more than a mere novelty. Even with this VU television 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.
Should you buy it?
The VU TV is a good option if you are desperate to buy a large screen television with smart features. Yes, it is about half the price of what an equivalent TV from a big brand would be. But this is not as smart as a lot of the smart TVs we see in the market these days, but it sure comes close.
