If the cost of living crisis is causing your purse strings to tighten, Toshiba’s new Quantum Dot TV might be a savvy upgrade for your living room or bedroom.
Ok, splashing out on a new telly might not be the most sensible thing to do financially right now ahead of what will be a tough winter in the UK. But hear me out, as we’ve all got to stay sane and going out to the cinema to watch the latest releases will quickly rack up a hefty bill.
Once you include travel, a large popcorn and a drink – let alone the pricey entry ticket – you could easily spend in excess of £50 for two people on a trip to the big screen. So maybe a smaller one at home is the best answer.
Of course, the rise of streaming – Disney+ etc – over the last few years due to the pandemic and other factors is no secret, but you really want to make the most of those monthly subscriptions with a decent TV.
The QA5D is Toshiba’s first ever Quantum Dot model and having seen it in the flesh at this year’s IFA show in Berlin, I have to say I’m very impressed. Showing some quintessential nature demo reels, the image quality was instantly clear to see – vibrant, captivating and crisp.
If you’re new to Quantum Dot technology, aka QLED, it adds an extra layer to the LCD panel. In a nutshell, it reacts to the light going through it to produce colour and as the quantum dots react very precisely, they can be finely tuned to produce the colour you want.
Very quick science lesson over, the result is clear to see. A significantly more colourful image than a regular LCD TV. I should also mention the telly offers a 4K Ultra HD resolution, too, so if you’re upgrading from an old Full HD set with a basic LCD panel, the difference will be huge.
That’s not all though, the design of the QA5D is eye-catching also and largely because of what’s not there. Cheap TVs have, for some time now, come with chunky bezels and cheap plastic everywhere. But as you can see, the ‘frameless’ design here looks like that of a much more expensive set.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Of course, the panel doesn’t go right to the edge of the chassis, but it looks much nicer than a lot of budget-friendly TVs. I also like the stylish strip under the display and those thin feet.
I haven’t had a proper play with the TV in terms of the interface but there are a lot of good features on paper including Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support – though testing speakers is never an option at a busy trade show.
There’s also Android TV built-in meaning easy access to those popular streaming services I mentioned earlier as well as things like Chromecast and Google Assistant – the latter via a microphone on the Bluetooth remote.
“But how much?” I hear you cry. Well, you might be shocked to learn that the QA5D starts at just £399 for the 43in model.
That’s cheaper than a lot of mid-range phones and importantly undercuts Samsung which if you were to buy the 2022 Q60B with matching QLED technology in the same 43in size, will set you back £649 going by the RRP.
That doesn’t mean Toshiba doesn’t have any competition, indeed Hisense is a reliable brand that has been making affordable QLED sets for a while now. But more competition in the budget TV market can only be a good thing for consumers, pushing technology onward and prices down.
Even if the QA5D doesn’t quite fit the bill, Toshiba also announced a range of even cheaper models at IFA 2022, including a set running Amazon Fire TV.
