Konka’s 50-inch U5-series sensible TV is an efficient entry-level set. It’s not a nice entry-level set, and there are much better TVs at its $450 urged retail value. However this TV delivers an honest image more often than not, and we’re already seeing vital reductions that render it an honest purchase as a secondary TV for a kitchen or different room the place it received’t be the first supply of leisure.
Design and options
The Konka mannequin 55U55A reviewed here’s a 50-inch-class 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) TV with a 60Hz refresh fee. It has a really slim bezel and regarded good sitting on our check bench. You’ll additionally encounter 43-, 55-, 65- and 75-inch iterations at retail. Our check unit was skinny and comparatively mild, so utilizing its 200mm x 200 mm VESA mount level to hold it on the wall shouldn’t require sturdy {hardware}. The legs are commonplace V-shaped items that connect by way of two bolts, a superior various to the screws you’ll encounter on many TVs on this value vary.
The port choice consists of 4 HDMI 2.0b ports (one supporting ARC—the audio return channel—however not eARC). There are three USB ports, coax for cable and antenna connections, ethernet, and a headphone jack. Wi-fi residence community connectivity is supplied by an 802.11ac Wi-Fi adapter, and Bluetooth 5.0 is onboard for wi-fi audio streaming. The latter options is a nice perquisite at this value level.
This review is part of TechHive’s coverage of the best smart TVs, where you’ll find reviews of the competition’s offerings, plus a buyer’s guide to the features you should consider when shopping for this type of product.
KonkaKonka’s U5-series smart TV uses the Android TV operating system and supports Chromecast and, of course, thousands of apps.
My one minor issue with the ports is the way they’re inset: This made it a bit difficult to plug in the oversized USB memory stick that stores some of our test images and videos. It’s doable, just not as easy as it could be.
User interface and remote control
The Konka U5 series uses the Android TV operating system with all the general goodness that entails: Support for Google Assistant, Chromecast, tons of apps, and more. Konka doesn’t add a lot of stuff to the default homepage, but it did provide a DLNA-aware media player, which is something I use quite a bit.
The remote rests comfortably in your hand, offers voice control via the aforementioned Google Assistant, and is generally well laid out. If I had a complaint, it’s that that you can’t stray very far off axis of the TV’s infrared receiver or it won’t work.
That’s a common complaint with less-expensive TVs. You could say the onboard mic obviates the need for pointing the remote at all, but old habits die hard and you don’t want to talk to your technology all the time.
KonkaKonka’s remote for the U5 is nicely laid out, and generally as good as it gets at this price point.
Performance
I wasn’t expecting image miracles, given the U5-series’ street prices, and I didn’t get any. This TV does however, deliver an overall picture that’s relatively close to the 43-inch TCL 5-series Roku TV I keep in the bedroom, which was selling on Amazon for $230 at press time).
The U5’s color is reasonably accurate, although it’s obvious that quantum dots are not in play here. That didn’t bother me, but I did find myself ruing the lack of overall color saturation at times. Tweaking, and there are a number of tweaks available (hue, white balance, etc.), didn’t improve things much. It’s basically in the type of backlighting involved, which Konka says is full array.
The other thing I missed was any sort of motion compensation. Fast pans juddered and even slow pans stuttered quite a bit. Those types of scenes are relatively rare in real-world content, but you’ll notice when they happen. It’s one of my pet peeves, regardless of what Hollywood thinks.
Screen uniformity, on the other hand, is good; contrast is decent; and there was just a bit more pop to HDR content than the same content viewed as SDR. Blacks are so-so, as they are with most lower-end LED-backlit LCD TVs. Viewing angles are rather narrow, but the sound was surprisingly adequate—not overly tinny and with a hint of bass. I was expecting much worse.
Note: On 12/23/2020 Konka finally sent a second unit that did not suffer the HDMI/HDR hand-shaking issues originally discussed here that caused a pinkish cast to white and gray tones. Still, check to make sure HDR is handled properly with external devices before ditching your reciept.
KonkaThe Konka U5 delivers a decent picture for general viewing, but the lack of motion compensation and color saturation relegate it to merely average for an entry-level TV.
Long story short: With most material, watching the 50-inch U5 was a pleasant if not scintillating experience. Here’s hoping we get one of Konka’s higher-end Q7 Pro quantum dot TVs in the near future, so we can see what the company is capable of.
Conclusion
Considering it’s an Android TV, has a more than decent remote and a good if not stellar picture, I’d consider the 50-inch Konka U5 if you find it on sale. It’s dirt cheap at discount and Bluetooth at this price is a nice find. As a general rule, however, we advise that greater happiness ensues if you prioritize picture quality. And there’s a lot of competition in the entry-level smart TV market right now.
Updated December 24, 2020 to report that Konka sent a replacement evaluation unit that resolved our complaint about an HDMI handshake issue that caused problems when displaying HDR content.
