It is safe to say, at this point, that 4K TVs are more commonplace than they were, more than half a decade ago. Because of its market saturation and wider availability to the masses, it also means that folks who want to own a TV with said resolution aren’t forced to sell their kidney or lop off body parts to do so. Take PRISM+ as an example, and its Q55 Ultra TV that we have in our lab.
What Am I Looking At?
The Q55 Ultra is one of a trio of Google TVs that PRISM+ has been pushing, and the model in this review is the smallest at 55-inches. The other two 4K Google TVs on the market are the Q65 Ultra and Q75 Ultra, and they measure 65-inches and 75-inches from corner-to-corner, respectively.
As with all PRISM+ products, and at the risk of repeating myself, the Q55 Ultra is aimed at consumers who are looking to furnish their homes, be it in the living room or bedroom, with a 4K Google TV, without putting a severe dent into their wallet.
What’s Good About It?
Despite measuring 55-inches from corner to corner, the Q55 Ultra barely takes up more than the width of desk space. That, by the way, is also thanks in part to the TV’s really thin bezels and sides that has allowed the monitor maker to provide more display-per-square inch. Adding on to that, it’s also relatively light; rather than employ the help of two people, I can easily pick up and reposition the TV by myself, especially since all the weight of the TV is located at the base.
Seeing how it is also an Android TV, there’s no shortage of Android-related features and functions in which you can access on the Q55 Ultra. On that note, the UI for Google TV is pretty vanilla and self-explanatory, so much so that I can navigate through the functions with relative ease.
Fun fact, if you connect a PC or laptop to the Q55 Ultra and drop the TV’s resolution down to Full HD instead of leaving at 4K, the TV then gives you the option to bump up the panel’s refresh rate to 100Hz, which is all-round fun but again, it’s at a reduced resolution, so the image quality will obviously be less than ideal.
What’s The Catch?
If there ever was a face of the adage “You get what you pay for”, PRISM+ and the Q55 Ultra would be one such example. While the 4K TV retails at a really enticing RM2,299, it also means that this TV isn’t necessarily loaded with premium features or tweaks.
One drawback that you’ll find with the Q55 Ultra, provided you’re picky and you pay close attention, is that the colour accuracy of the TV finds itself in colour purgatory. It’s not as vivid as the displays of other more prominent, high-end TV brands, such as Samsung and LG. For that matter, the whites on the TV have a tendency to look very blown out, to the point that scenes with bright spots tend to encroach into the following sections, or details within the affected are effectively “erased” by said white.
The sound staging of the Q55 Ultra isn’t anything to shout about either. It lacks any form of low pitches, and with the default Movie sound mode, everything played through it sounds so hollow, it feels like I’m sitting all the way at the back of a stadium, even when I’m sitting right in front of it. Turn that sound mode off, and the whole sound profile just falls flat.
Should I Buy It?
Honestly, it is actually more difficult for me not to recommend that you get PRISM+’s Q55 Ultra, primarily because it’s a 4K TV at RM2,299. That’s a steal, especially when you look into the sea of premium 4K TVs that are on tap. But again, at that price, this isn’t the best TV in its segment on the market and if you’re a real home entertainment nut, you’ll know that you’re giving up some of the creature comforts that we’ve listed in the section prior.
That being said, if you’re not fussed about it and just want a 4K Google TV that is current, then all I can say is – go right ahead.
Photography by John Law.
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