TOSHIBA 139 cm (55 inches) M550NP Series 4K Ultra HD Smart QLED Google TV 55M550NP

Background : I was in search for a good but not pricey TV because of the following

1. My Samsung 49″ K6300 Curved TV had gone kaput in 4-5 years (DOP – Somewhere in 2017 – early 2018)
2. I was dragging my old TV with ever growing shadows accompanied with visibility issues.
3. K6300 was an eye pleasure when in good condition with amazing blacks and motion smoothness – beautiful out of the box colors.

Since a Tier 1 brand like Samsung had betrayed the trust after paying a premium , I was in the lookout of a mid range TV with up-to-date features – my check list included the following

1. Solid warranty clause with no Money extorsion policies like LG OLED post 1 year end.
2. Good sound system – Preferably with a sub-woofer.
3. Full content support for Netflix & Prime Videos – Dolby Vision/Atmos/HDR10+
4. Solid Blacks – K6300 got me a taste of it
5. IPS panel – if available
6. 10 bit panel preferably with wide color gamut of 1 billion + colors
7. HDMI 2.1, eARC
8. Solid color optimization chip/engine
9. Intended for Casual Gaming.

Source (for Recommendation) – VMONE.in ( Vineet Malhotra -Can’t thank him enough with words)

Purchase History
Order Placed – 14.7.23
Inv. Dt 15.7.23
Delivered – 17.7.23 by 11 AM
Supplier – Dawntech ( Kolkata warehouse I suppose)
Installation Dt – 17.7.23 by 4:30 PM ( After 1-2 hours of delivery , had to place a call log in Toshiba CC no mentioned on Box)

Product Experience :

Vida OS – Is seemingly lighter than Taizen (ref. Samsung K6300)
Using TV with Airtel Xstream – 200 Mbps Unltd. connection
4K HDMI Cable – Not Supplied

Pic Quality – Colors out of the box need calibration/setting as per your own taste. HDMI 1 port will support Dolby Atmos & HDR , while switching to HDMI 1 from other ports – 10 bit display msg shows which is a good sign ( Review tell it otherwise – 8 bit FRC )
DTH Performance – Full HD channels work like a charm with upscaling , SD channel are OK as expected. Really liked DTH HD channels like Set max, Times Now News Star Sports etc.

Content Performance – Youtube- Properly coded 4k videos work flawlessly with great sound and clarity and zero lag.
Netflix & Prime Vid – After personal color setting these look amazing , with magnificent blacks. Watched Indian and Hollywood series and movies. There is some amount of glare as well – used warm yellow lamp shade light for viewing in moderately lit room.

Sound : Played classic 90s melodies and found the base (from Sub woofer) quite pleasing and not over powering ( Boost Effect @ 2)

Over all satisfied with Panel and sound . Will further do tweaks with picture settings.
Please consider this as my initial impressions.
Will update as my usage will increase over weeks.

Update 9.8.2023

I had to finally re-calibrate the pic setting manually.
Out of the box – backlight was set to max, increased sharpness etc.
Just Googled the common pic setting for major brands – including Toshiba and got it corrected.

Watched Netflix Doc Veerappan (Tested in White/Yellow light and dark conditions) and found the visual quite appealing- after pic settings my mode resembles Cinema mode. The TV does not have Pic/Color presets rather has HDR presets as Day Std Night Sports.

Sound – I keep my windows – just behind my sofa open so amidst vehicle sound also the dialogues were clear. Thanks to surround sound and in-built woofer.

Fire Stick – Happy to see email from Toshiba in my inbox for free coupon. Sad that I had purchased it along with the TV at a special price. Planning to sell it on OLX and get the free one from the Company.

DTH – HD Channels Very clear with Dolby Digital Logo enabled.
DD National (Classic SD)- Close up scenes also very fine, distant scenes also not bad
Gaming – Yet to connect PS4.
Sports- Watched badminton videos in 4K 50 hz – smashes @ 420 Kmph never left a trail on screen. Wimbledon 2023 Finals on 1080 – Good as the recordings were subdued fearing piracy by Disney Hotstar

Have run all sample 4K Dolby Vision & HDR content that youtubers swear by- got solid performance from TV

Slow Vidaa OS rant from everyone is a sham. Experience it to believe it . It is faster than my Airtel Xtreme Android Box – the one that receives regular updates!

Rest you can easily check display running hours from diving deep into settings.

I think I am tending to increase ratings from 4 to 5 stars. Just for the REGZA Pic & Sound from Toshiba.

Good and durable Japanese brands Like Sanyo, Toshiba, Panasonic ( that bring in proprietary tech) should be endorsed (even thought they may be manufactured locally under strategic partnerships) by the Indians else everything is gonna be PRC/Korea Inspired.