From Blaupunkt to Vu: Best Ultra HD (4K) Smart TVs under Rs 30,000 in India from Non-Chinese brands (Aug-Sept 2020)- Technology News, Firstpost

Ameya DalviAug 27, 2020 09:28:09 IST

Looking to buy a smart TV from a non-Chinese brand? You’re in the right place. Unlike smartphones, there are a lot of TV brands not based in China that sell their devices for a competitive price in India. We have already covered the best 55-inch 4K Smart TVs from non-Chinese manufacturers under Rs 40,000. If you are crunched for cash or space, let’s look at the best 4K TVs you can get under Rs 30,000 in India this month.

Note: The prices mentioned in this article are the online prices of TVs at the time of writing. Some of the models listed below may not be available at certain pincodes from time to time, when trying to buy them online. In that case, you can try checking with your local electronics stores for availability.

Best 50-inch 4K Smart TVs from Non-Chinese brands under Rs 30,000

Vu Cinema TV 50CA (Price: Rs 29,999)

The Vu Cinema TV is arguably the best all-round budget TV we have tested this year, and the design is quite impressive too. It is a certified Android TV that runs Android Pie 9.0 for TV and has Chromecast built-in. You get a bright 50-inch Pixelium glass panel with a rated brightness of 500 nits that supports HDR 10 and Dolby Vision. The picture quality is excellent, with great contrast and vibrant colour reproduction. The TV is powered by a quad-core chip with four A55 cores and Mali-470 MP GPU. It comes bundled with 1.5 GB RAM and 8 GB of internal storage.

The goodness doesn’t end there. The Vu 50CA Cinema TV comes with an integrated 40-watt soundbar that produces arguably the best sound output we have heard on LED TVs in this price range. In the connectivity department, you get three HDMI ports ― one of which supports ARC, two USB 2.0 ports, optical audio, headphone out, a LAN port and AV input. You also have Bluetooth 5.0 and a Bluetooth voice-enabled remote that lets you issue voice commands. Like most Vu TVs, you get an option to adjust picture and sound settings on the fly, irrespective of the input source.

Kodak 50CA7077 (Price: Rs 27,999)

Kodak launched their first certified Android TV series earlier this year, and the 50CA7077 model (Review) is currently one of the most affordable Dolby Vision-compliant smart TVs in India. It is by far the best Kodak TV we have come across to date, with excellent picture quality and much improved sound too. In sync with current design trends, this model is almost bezel-less on three sides and looks a lot more premium than its selling price would suggest.

It has an IPS panel with support for 10-bit colour and a rated brightness of 550 nits. The colour reproduction and contrast are among the best we have seen in this budget range, and 4K content looks really vibrant on this screen. You get support for HDR standards like HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision, but you will have to deal with the occasional stutter till the company releases a software update to fix it. A pair of bottom-firing speakers rated at 30 watts RMS do a good job of delivering Dolby-certified audio.

The hardware specs are modest, with a quad-core processor using ARM Cortex A53 cores clocked at 1 GHz each, and Mali-450 MP GPU. You get 1.75 GB RAM (1.5 GB detectable) and 8 GB internal storage. Connectivity options include three HDMI ports ― one of which supports ARC, two USB ports (one 2.0, one 3.0), optical audio out, A/V input and a LAN port. There is no connector for analog audio out ― no headphone jack or A/V out. The TV does support Bluetooth 5.1 to send the audio output to your wireless speakers, soundbar or headphones.

Philips 50PUT6103S/94 (Price: Rs 29,990)

This 50-inch model from Philips does not run Android OS. It has Philips’ in-house Saphi OS which is easy to use but not as feature-rich as official Android for TV. You also miss out on apps for some popular OTT platforms like Disney+ Hotstar, Sony LIV etc., and you will need to plug in a video streaming device like an Amazon Fire TV stick or Mi Box 4K to access those platforms. Or you can mirror content from your phone, if you’re fine jumping that extra hoop. On the bright side, the UI is smooth and pretty much lag-free, and the TV takes just 5 to 7 seconds to boot. This is way faster than Android TVs that take in excess of half a minute to start.

Connectivity options are good too, with two USB ports, three HDMI ports ― one of which supports ARC, optical audio output, coaxial A/V inputs, a headphone out and a LAN port. The audio output is rated at 20 Watts RMS, but sounds way better than a lot of TVs that flaunt a higher figure. Since this isn’t an official Android TV, it does not have Chromecast built-in, but lets you mirror content from your phone or tablet using Miracast. In terms of picture and sound quality, the Philips 50PUT6103S/94 is noticeably better than most of its competitors in this segment, and provides ample options to tweak the picture and audio further.

(Also Read: Philips 50PUT6103S/94 4K smart TV review: Good audio/video performance, but with very limited app library) 

Best 43-inch 4K Smart TVs from Non-Chinese brands under Rs 30,000

Crunched for space or viewing distance, and looking for a smaller TV but with all the 4K goodness? Worry not, we have you covered. Here are the best 43-inch 4K TVs that won’t burn a hole in your pocket.

Thomson 43 OATHPRO 2000 (Price: Rs 24,999)

The renowned French brand Thomson has a fine offering in this segment, the 43 OATHPRO 2000. This 43-inch certified Android TV has a 500 nits-bright 4K IPS panel that delivers great picture quality for this segment. The near bezel-less design is quite stylish too, with a nice mix of black and gold. It has a wide array of connectivity options that include three HDMI ports ― one of which supports ARC, two USB ports, optical audio out, A/V input, LAN port and Bluetooth 5.0.

This TV too is powered by a quad-core processor with ARM Cortex A53 cores and Mali-450 MP GPU. You get 1.75 GB RAM and 8 GB internal storage. Like all certified Android TVs, you have integrated Chromecast, and thanks to the voice-enabled remote here, you can issue voice commands too. The sound output is rated at 30W RMS and is compliant with DTS TruSurround and Dolby Digital Plus.

Sanyo Kaizen XT-43UHD4S (Price: Rs 25,999)

Sanyo (the renowned Japanese brand now owned by Panasonic) has just launched a couple of new models in their Kaizen series of certified Android TVs. The Kaizen XT-43UHD4S runs Android Pie 9 for TV, and comes with a voice-enabled Bluetooth remote and Chromecast built-in. It has 3x HDMI ports, 2x USB ports and supports all major streaming services. This TV is powered by a quad-core processor and has bumped up the RAM and internal storage to 2 GB and 16 GB respectively, as compared to their previous generation models.

Sound output is rated at 20 Watts RMS with support for the Dolby Digital standard. The 4K IPS panel claims to display over a billion colours and supports micro-dimming with 1296 separate zones for better brightness and contrast. You also get Bluetooth 5.0 and Chromecast built in along with other standard input/output options.

Blaupunkt BLA43AU680 (Price: Rs 22,999)

This TV from the German brand Blaupunkt is not based on a certified Android platform, but has an AOSP-based OS. While it isn’t as optimised for TV as certified Android, it is still much better than other TVs that run AOSP. But the main reasons for selecting this TV are its picture quality, price and most importantly, sound output. The Blaupunkt BLA43AU680 comes with an integrated soundbar that can deliver up to 60W RMS that is punchy and noticeably better than most TVs in this list.

The TV has a 4K panel that delivers a bright picture with vibrant colours. The TV doesn’t lag in connectivity options either, and you get three HDMI ports, 2 USB ports and other popular input and output options. This TV is powered by a quad-core processor and accompanied by 1 GB RAM and 8 GB of internal storage. The TV gets its basics right in terms of picture and sound, and if you don’t like its OS, you can always plug in an Amazon Fire TV Stick or Mi Box 4K to turn this into a Fire OS-based or certified Android TV.