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Toshiba's L9450 is a 4K TV that runs Android 4.4

By Ng Chong Seng - on 15 Oct 2014, 2:58pm

Toshiba's Android-running L9450 series 4K TVs to arrive in stores later this month

The Toshiba L9450 4K TV comes in three sizes: 50, 65, and 84 inches.

Toshiba has just announced that its Android-running Pro Theater L9450 series 4K TVs will be selling in Singapore starting later this month.

Available in 50, 65, and 84-inch screen sizes, the L9450 is Toshiba’s third-generation 4K TV, and is decked with the most advanced of technologies that the Japanese company has to offer. For example, the L9450 uses Toshiba’s third-gen Cevo 4K video processing engine for natural color reproduction and full HD to 4K upscaling. While all three sizes support Active Motion & Resolution Plus (AMR+) 3100 to reduce motion blur for fast-moving sequences, we found a couple of differences in the panels used.

For one, the 50 and 65-inch L9450 has a wide gamut panel, which Toshiba says sports 14% wider gamut than its 2013 lineup. Also, these two smaller models’ panels go up to 75% brighter than last year’s model, thanks to bigger pixel area and the use of direct LED backlighting with local dimming areas. For the ginormous 84-inch model, to maintain a slim profile and also because it’s already pretty bright, Toshiba has opted to use an LED edge-lit backlight unit instead.

Beyond these panel differences, the three models in the L9450 series are pretty much identical otherwise. They all support DVB-T2 for digital TV broadcasting, web browsing, screen mirroring, and come with three USB inputs, three HDMI inputs, and a Football mode (which attempts to render smooth footage, with better details, and natural-looking grass), among others. Knowing that most people don’t tweak or calibrate their TVs, Toshiba has developed two features - Intelligent Scene Optimizer and Intelligent Auto View - to ensure that the user always gets the best possible image quality. The former basically detects the content and input source to intelligently adjust picture and sound settings, while the latter analyzes signal and ambient lighting conditions to fine-tune the color management system (e.g., the backlight, color temperature, gamma, saturation, sharpness) automatically.

In addition, Toshiba has continued to work with Google, and has now brought Android 4.4 to its 4K TVs. Of course, the biggest benefit to that is you get to enjoy the vast number of apps (including those graphical-intensive games) on the Google Play store. That said, you can only download free apps; you can’t buy paid apps on the TVs.

You can customize the UI by rearranging your homescreen icons, or download interactive 'live' wallpapers.

The unmistakable Android lockscreen. Note that you can also set up to eight user accounts, with each profile having its own set of apps and app organization.

Google Play store on a 4K TV - that's a first.

On a related know, we’re also glad to see that Toshiba didn’t neglect the audio department for these 4K TVs. To deliver more impactful sound, the 50 and 65-inch L9450 sport a ‘Labyrinth’ speaker system, which the company claims to offer twice the maximum sound intensity and better bass of its previous model. As its name suggests, this is achieved by structuring a labyrinth path to increase the pressure in the compact sound chamber. As a result, both TVs’ speakers are capable of 30W of audio output. Again, Toshiba thinks that the 84-inch model doesn’t require this since it already has a 40W speaker system that goes mighty loud.

To recap, the Toshiba L9450 4K TVs will hit stores later this month. The 50-inch model goes for S$2,299, the 65-inch model S$4,999, and the 84-inch model S$17,999.

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