Toshiba U79 and U80 Owners Discussion And Review !!

[fragpic]

I get it, but that has a fundamental downside of you never able to get firmware update. Say for example tomorrow Toshiba does offer a firmware update for fixing Dolby Vision (or it might already be available), you won't be able to get it because you won't connect the TV to the internet.

A better way would be to create a burner account and inputting that data. A TV doesn't have a lot of sensors so it won't be able to send much data anyway. And if that data has a burner account, then it's as good as worthless even if it does send it. You should be safe with Netflix and prime video apps as well since they are built by Netflix and Amazon. So you can input your stuff there.

You shouldn't use the in-built browser and Toshiba apps for sure, as that data is definitely getting sent to mainland China.

You can update via usb.

There is an Option to update the firmware using the Thumb drive. Can you please comment on the viewing angle as well.

Surprisingly decent for a VA panel. I'd say 120degrees without any noticeable color shift.
These are excellent panels but with only average video processing unlike the H8F.


Another update:
@lightgamer I caved in and logged in to the Netflix app
The OS is so crappily designed that even though you get Dolby Vision now, there is no support for Dolby Atmos.
It's the exact opposite of what happens on my Xbox.

Another update:
I spent some time comparing DV on the internal Netflix app and HDR10 on the Xbox app.
As far as I can tell, there is absolutely no discernable difference between the two. They both look the same and they both look pretty good.

Also for other new buyers, do make sure to set Color Gamut in the Expert settings to Native when you are connected to an external player(Xbox in my case).
For some reason, Auto doesn't use the full color gamut and changing that setting makes a huge difference.

 

[saran]

Hope the upcoming updates resolves these issues, its Vidaa for the entire hisense range in UK, they are based on VIDAA U4 but Toshiba uses VIDAA U3.

 

[saran]

I'm yet to receive my Tv, its a 55inch version of U79, If its so crappy, I will go ahead and cancel it and buy MI 65 inch IPS for cable tv and prime video.

 

[fragpic]

I'm yet to receive my Tv, its a 55inch version of U79, If its so crappy, I will go ahead and cancel it and buy MI 65 inch IPS for cable tv and prime video.

Its not crappy as a whole package. I was just critiquing the OS specifically.
For the price, it would be impossible for you to find a TV with a better picture and feature set.
Mi TVs are bottom tier compared to this in terms of picture quality. IPS displays suck when it comes to black levels.
When there is a complete dark picture, the TV almost turns itself off exactly like my OLED which costs 1.4lac.

 

[lightgamer]

The TVs might be the same but I think Hisense is changing the hardware processing system.
They are missing a lot of features like BFI, Film mode, Dolby Vision from external devices etc.



I have an old fire stick which I don't believe supports dolby vision.
AFAIK, the older version of Dolby Vision is missing the most important feature of DV i.e the dynamic metadata(per scene HDR data)
That means that its pretty much HDR10

Dolby Vision has always supported dynamic metadata. The old version is actually the one in which the TV parses the metadata, while in the new one it's done by the source. Xbox only supports the latter, in which Xbox has to do the tone-mapping and pass on that version, while the TV in this case expects the metadata. It's a huge clusterfuck and Microsoft is to be blamed too.

In short:

Old HDR (HDR10) : Supports upto 10-bits, 1000 nits, supported by everything
New HDR (HDR10+) : Adds support for dynamic metadata, over 1000 nits of brightness to HDR10.
Old Dolby Vision: TV decodes the data and displays it. It expects metadata from the source. 12-bits, 10000 nits, dynamic metadata
New Dolby Vision (also known as low latency version): Source decodes the data.
Dolby Vision IQ: Supports ambient light support and adjustments too (LG and Panasonic OLEDs).

Your TV does support proper DV. You will just need to play through the in-built apps unfortunately.

 

[fragpic]

Dolby Vision has always supported dynamic metadata. The old version is actually the one in which the TV parses the metadata, while in the new one it's done by the source. Xbox only supports the latter, in which Xbox has to do the tone-mapping and pass on that version, while the TV in this case expects the metadata. It's a huge clusterfuck and Microsoft is to be blamed too.

In short:

Old HDR (HDR10) : Supports upto 10-bits, 1000 nits, supported by everything
New HDR (HDR10+) : Adds support for 10-bits, over 1000 nits of brightness to HDR10.
Old Dolby Vision: TV decodes the data and displays it. It expects metadata from the source. 12-bits, 10000 nits, dynamic metadata
New Dolby Vision (also known as low latency version): Source decodes the data.
Dolby Vision IQ: Supports ambient light support and adjustments too (LG and Panasonic OLEDs).

Your TV does support proper DV. You will just need to play through the in-built apps unfortunately.

Thanks, this seems to be accurate. Hopefully there's an update in the pipeline to fix this issue.

 

[lightgamer]

Also, I am seeing some motion stuttering on 24p content on Netflix and I don't see an option to set Film mode. I had to resort to enabling motion reduction by setting blur and judder 2 which helps a bit. I'm really disappointed in the tweakability of the settings. Like the android version has so much more flexibility.

That's an inherent issue with 60 Hz panels. 120 Hz panels don't have that issue because 120 is a direct multiple of 24 while 60 isn't. Also, the H8F has poor motion since the panel itself is slow, so this was expected.

It got a 3.4/10 on rtings motion test, and this is what they said about it:

Unfortunately, motion doesn't look as great, as it has a very slow response time, and although it has an optional motion interpolation feature, it isn't very good and constantly cuts out.

 

[lightgamer]

Thanks, this seems to be accurate. Hopefully there's an update in the pipeline to fix this issue.

I believe Sony TVs also have the same issue. I don't think even Hisense TVs with android support this as the processing of content should be the exact same across the variants (the OS and settings might vary, but the processing has to be same across variants of the same panel else it adds extra cost).

Fortunately, if you get a different android box to play content on this (say the new Google chromecast or Nvidia Shield) they will support proper Dolby Vision on this TV with Atmos as Xbox is the only player with this issue (you got really unlucky).

Another update:
I spent some time comparing DV on the internal Netflix app and HDR10 on the Xbox app.
As far as I can tell, there is absolutely no discernable difference between the two. They both look the same and they both look pretty good.

There's not supposed to be. For a <1000 nit panel, DV shouldn't make much difference, if at all. Truth is, panel quality is 99% of how content looks right and HDR10 is more than enough for what this TV can display anyway.

 

[iambatman28]

From what I understand, this TV is pretty solid for the price? I think no point of going for Big 3 mid rangers now when the PQ is pretty solid for 45k for 55 inch.

 

[HE-MAN]

So is it H8F or did they downgrade it hardware wise?

 

[bipin1143]

So is it H8F or did they downgrade it hardware wise?

there is no downgrade hardware wise only the vidaa os is a bit let down

 

[fragpic]

I believe Sony TVs also have the same issue. I don't think even Hisense TVs with android support this as the processing of content should be the exact same across the variants (the OS and settings might vary, but the processing has to be same across variants of the same panel else it adds extra cost).

Fortunately, if you get a different android box to play content on this (say the new Google chromecast or Nvidia Shield) they will support proper Dolby Vision on this TV with Atmos as Xbox is the only player with this issue (you got really unlucky).

There's not supposed to be. For a <1000 nit panel, DV shouldn't make much difference, if at all. Truth is, panel quality is 99% of how content looks right and HDR10 is more than enough for what this TV can display anyway.

The reason I have to stick with Xbox is because of Atmos for Headphones. It is the only device that supports this feature and it works incredibly well when paired with a nice pair of headphones. I thought the Android version doesnt have this issue because I havent found anyone complaining online about the H8F. It's comforting to know that there isn't much difference between HDR10 and DV at <1000nits. Even 700nits is too much for me. I had to turn down backlight to 75 in HDR mode.

From what I understand, this TV is pretty solid for the price? I think no point of going for Big 3 mid rangers now when the PQ is pretty solid for 45k for 55 inch.

I think so. Great panel with gimped OS. If you can pair it with an external box, you should be good.

So is it H8F or did they downgrade it hardware wise?

As another member said, no downgrade in terms of hardware. Only a downgrade in terms of software.

 

[lightgamer]

I thought the Android version doesnt have this issue because I havent found anyone complaining online about the H8F

That's because almost no one with H8F is using the Xbox to play DV videos. They either do it through the app itself or use an android box, both of which will work fine. I just Googled your issue and it seems like a lot of folks with Xbox have this issue with a lot of TVs.

Even 700nits is too much for me. I had to turn down backlight to 75 in HDR mode.

I wouldn't recommend doing that as it would reduce the pop in scenes where a small section of the screen is bright. There must be another way to strengthen the ABL so that it doesn't sear your eyes unless very small part of the screen is white.

What you ideally want is the screen to go to 700 nits when only a small fraction of it goes bright. Else the brightness stays low when all the screen is supposed to be bright. Maybe play around the settings a bit, but it's nice to hear that the panel is enough bright.

Only a downgrade in terms of software.

I wouldn't strictly call it a downgrade. The H8F and H8G have severe issues with android running on them with constant freezes and glitches. VIDAA on the other hand is fast and lightweight but features are lacking and you don't know what it's tracking.

An external box would be required with either one of them. If only Nvidia sold their Shield in India! I'll get a couple when my friends visit from US.

 

[shield99]

@fragpic
How is the SD upscaling on the device?
If you have a DTH connected to the TV, can you play some SD channel (a few) and check how the upscaling is?
I am thinking of buying this for my parents and most of the content that they watch is from SD channels and few HD ones.

 

[fragpic]

That's because almost no one with H8F is using the Xbox to play DV videos. They either do it through the app itself or use an android box, both of which will work fine. I just Googled your issue and it seems like a lot of folks with Xbox have this issue with a lot of TVs.

I wouldn't recommend doing that as it would reduce the pop in scenes where a small section of the screen is bright. There must be another way to strengthen the ABL so that it doesn't sear your eyes unless very small part of the screen is white.

What you ideally want is the screen to go to 700 nits when only a small fraction of it goes bright. Else the brightness stays low when all the screen is supposed to be bright. Maybe play around the settings a bit, but it's nice to hear that the panel is enough bright.

I wouldn't strictly call it a downgrade. The H8F and H8G have severe issues with android running on them with constant freezes and glitches. VIDAA on the other hand is fast and lightweight but features are lacking and you don't know what it's tracking.

An external box would be required with either one of them. If only Nvidia sold their Shield in India! I'll get a couple when my friends visit from US.

I noticed that the ABL feature seems to work better in DV mode. It actually disables the Backlight adjustment in DV mode.
Regular HDR doesnt seem to be working as well with that and I dont see any option to reduce only the normal backlight while still keeping the HDR highlights.
When I was talking about downgraded software, I meant in terms of the video processing and adjustment settings. It seems to missing a bunch of important adjustments that are present in the android version.
I'm really hoping that Google releases their Sabrina dongle in India. It would be a proper cheaper alternative to the shield in terms of software support unlike TV OSes that get neglected.

@fragpic
How is the SD upscaling on the device?
If you have a DTH connected to the TV, can you play some SD channel (a few) and check how the upscaling is?
I am thinking of buying this for my parents and most of the content that they watch is from SD channels and few HD ones.

Sorry, the TV is in my bedroom and there is no DTH connection in there.

 

[lightgamer]

When I was talking about downgraded software, I meant in terms of the video processing and adjustment settings. It seems to missing a bunch of important adjustments that are present in the android version.

I can understand the difference in adjustment settings as this is running an old version of VIDAA as well, but is the processing different too. I don't think it should be any different than the regular version as that is simply not needed.

 

[iambatman28]

I noticed that the ABL feature seems to work better in DV mode. It actually disables the Backlight adjustment in DV mode.
Regular HDR doesnt seem to be working as well with that and I dont see any option to reduce only the normal backlight while still keeping the HDR highlights.
When I was talking about downgraded software, I meant in terms of the video processing and adjustment settings. It seems to missing a bunch of important adjustments that are present in the android version.
I'm really hoping that Google releases their Sabrina dongle in India. It would be a proper cheaper alternative to the shield in terms of software support unlike TV OSes that get neglected.


Sorry, the TV is in my bedroom and there is no DTH connection in there.

And android box won't solve the problem of missing settings, however.

 

[fragpic]

I can understand the difference in adjustment settings as this is running an old version of VIDAA as well, but is the processing different too. I don't think it should be any different than the regular version as that is simply not needed.

Things like BFI, 24p Mode are missing, so I'm assuming that the processing engine is different.

And android box won't solve the problem of missing settings, however.

Yes, but the settings are not that big of a deal. Like you can make do some of the motion processing issues.
Main advantage for this TV is the price. Most of the missing settings are actually for higher end TVs. We are only talking about it since the H8F has them.

 

[HE-MAN]

H8F achieves close to 700nits in Vivid picture settings only.
Did you try playing some HDR content from USB?

 

[sunnysinghb]

Its pretty much the h8f and I dont think I can do a better job than rtings.
I can answer any specific questions though.



I don't think its a licensing issue but rather with Hisense not updating their Dolby Vision package on the VIDAA platform
The Android version doesn't seem to have the same issue. I do have the 4K plan but I dont want to use the TV's internal apps(privacy concern with chinese mfgs).Netflix on my Xbox falls back to HDR10 and the experience has been pretty good so far.

Also, I am seeing some motion stuttering on 24p content on Netflix and I don't see an option to set Film mode. I had to resort to enabling motion reduction by setting blur and judder 2 which helps a bit. I'm really disappointed in the tweakability of the settings. Like the android version has so much more flexibility.

If this is H8F or close to H9F, acc to Rtings, its pretty average at response times i.e. watching sports. Could you let us know your experience watching sports? If there is any blur or dirty screen effect?