Introduction
As low as £2,800 online, this was until very recently the UK’s most affordable Ultra HD telly.
It’s been somewhat caught-out by aggressive price-cutting on Samsung’s 55-inch UE55F9000 in the days prior to our review, but, inch-for-inch, it’s Toshiba’s larger 58-inch 58L9363DB that just about retains its crown.
Welcome to the wonderful world of 8 million pixels, somewhat confusingly called both 4K and Ultra HD.
Ultra HD and 4K TV: Everything you need to know
With a LED-backlit LCD panel containing 3840×2160 pixels (you do the maths), the 58L9363DB has roughly four times the maximum detail that current Full HD 1080p tellies (which sport 1920×1080 pixels) can muster.
It’s not alone in achieving this, but it is one of only a handful of fifty-something-inch Ultra HDTVs that bring the new format just about within reach of anyone who really (really) wants one.
Creeping under the £3k price, the 58L9363DB is in pole position for AV enthusiasts, but it will have to impress to persuade anyone to swerve the highly-rated attempts by Samsung (mentioned above) and Sony, whose KD-55X900A introduces a new standard of built-in speakers, too.
Toshiba’s more budget-conscious 58L9363DB, however, is revolutionary in strictly one sphere – its panel.
As well as being the only 58-inch Ultra HD TV on sale, it’s one of relatively few to opt for the Active Shutter 3D system; most other brands (Samsung being the other exception) have plumped for Passive 3D panels, which dodge the need for pricey, battery-operated 3D specs.
Yes, we know most of you have lost interest in 3DTVs, but bear in mind that the many extra pixels on Ultra HD TVs do give a new lease of life to 3D. Or, at least, that’s the theory.
Oddly, other screens in the L9 Series use the Passive 3D system. Weird, huh? The difference is down to panel availability, Toshiba tells us, but it gives us a welcome chance to grasp the lay of the land when it comes to 3D.
Perhaps a more telling difference between the 58L9363DB and other Ultra HDTVs on the market is this Edge LED TV’s lack of local dimming.
As well as onscreen antics, the 58L9363DB is good-looking on the exterior, too; at just 13mm on the sides and top and a mere 19mm on the bottom, its metallic-look bezel is much slimmer than on Sony’s KD-55X900A. However, it doesn’t look nearly as classy.
Still, it does sport a swivelling desktop stand, sleek metal foot tower and extreme slimness; its black lacquered frame is just 69mm deep at the bottom of the screen, and 55mm at the top.
Also available
Also in Toshiba’s range-topping L9 Series of 4K TVs are the 65-inch 65L9363DB (£5,499) – which is also cheaper than same-size Ultra HDTVs from rival brands – and the monster-sized 84-inch Toshiba 84L9300 (£10,799.95), neither of which are a match for the super-low price of the 58L9363DB.
Features
The edge-lit LED panel’s 3840×2160 pixels might be the killer feature, but there’s more to the 58L9363DB. It is, at a canter, Toshiba’s finest TV of 2013, and includes all of the brand’s latest features.
However, this smart TV’s app-laden goodies – available in a separate user interface called Cloud TV- isn’t the finest around.
A three-sided user interface includes Premium Apps like BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport, Netflix, YouTube, Blinkbox, Deexer, Facebook and BBC News, with plenty more second-rung attempts – such as eBay, euronews, funspot, LiveSport.tv and iConcerts – included on an ‘Other’ categories page. Skype and Intel’s WiDi laptop mirror tech also integrate into Cloud TV. A web browser and Miracast also feature.
Physical ins and outs are well-judged, and utterly comprehensive.
A rear-facing panel on the back contains a wired LAN slot (though Wi-Fi is also included), a USB slot, HDMI, a full Scart (the old connector appears to be making a comeback – though it has bog-all of a role to play in the Ultra HD era), component video and associated phono inputs, a PC audio input and a RGB D-sub 15-pin analogue connector for a laptop.
A side panel, on the TV’s left-hand side as you view, completes the picture with a further three HDMI inputs (one of them ARC-compatible, another MHL-ready for wiring-up a smartphone), an optical digital audio input, headphones slot, a second USB slot, a Common Interface slot (for adding TV subscription channels… in 4K? Here’s hoping), and an SDXC Card slot.
That last provision, particularly, is something of a surprise; until now only Panasonic TVs staged a SDXC Card slot, and its presence here is a big clue as to the progress of the Ultra HD revolution – thus far, it’s primarily for photographers.
Proof of that comes from Toshiba itself. With no native 4K sources yet available, for the review Toshiba loaned us one of its high-end laptops sprinkled with native 4K videos in the MP4 format, which we connected via HDMI.
Digital TV comes in either Freeview HD or Freesat HD flavours, with an excellent MediaGuide (created by Rovi) extending schedule-checking to tablets.
Perhaps the most important feature of all is Toshiba’s CEVO ENGINE 4K, whose Resolution+ circuitry has the onerous task of upscaling both standard definition and Full HD fare to fit the huge panel. For now, how to cope with olde worlde SD and HD – both of which are very, very much alive – is surely the acid test for any Ultra HDTV.
Picture
It’s the latest and greatest in terms of detail, for sure, but the first batch of Ultra HDTVs certainly won’t be the best. For kick off, they’re all based around 100Hz-capable LED-backlit LCD panels, while most don’t have HDMI 2.0 – or any native sources of 4K – to show us.
For the 58L9363DB, that’s not strictly true; we tested it not only with a small selection of 3840×2160 pixel MP4 files from a Toshiba laptop, but also played some 4K clips from YouTube (4K isn’t listed as a clickable quality on the platform yet, but opting for ‘maximum resolution’ and going full-screen does the job for a handful of clips).
However, without HDMI 2.0 the 58L9363DB was only able to show us 4K clips running at 29 frames per second, which for now is the maximum possible for Ultra HD. It’s also worth remembering that the 58L9363DB isn’t possessed of LED local dimming technology, which could mean less detail in areas of black.
Despite these slight limitations, note that this isn’t Toshiba’s first stab at an Ultra HD TV; the 58L9363DB comes on the back of 2011′s 55-inch 55ZL2, which was better known as the only glasses-free 3DTV, but it also sported a 4K resolution (and sold for a whopping £6,999).
The detail on offer is mind-blowingly good. Still images of the world’s tallest building, Dubai’s Burj Kalifa, during the day – and again during a fireworks display – are very crisp and impactful, while another clip of paragliders squeezing between skyscrapers reveals immense depth below, and superb detail in the surrounding whisps of cloud.
Colours, too, are luscious, with searing hues from those fireworks and all exterior shots underlining just how important extra resolution is in upping believability. Crucially, in terms of colour and detail it’s at least the equal of the Sony KD-55X9000A we tested recently, though toggling the ColourMaster option on and off didn’t appear to make any difference.
Incidentally, though the 58L9363DB offers a few picture pre-sets including Autoview, Hollywood Day and Hollywood Night, we settled on the brighter Hollywood Day, but switched its colour temperature to natural to remove a rosiness to skin tones.
The contrast is good, too, with bright whites and blues displayed alongside deep blacks to frequently produce dazzling images, though there’s not an awful lot of shadow detail visible in the latter.
There are a few issues; during a trailer for 4K native production Tears of Steel, we noticed that as the camera panned up a mosque minaret (being pounced upon by robots, no less) there was a visible judder.
Even another sumptuous shot of a skydiver landing on water in Dubai’s famous Palm Jumeirah islands lacked a little fluidity as the camera tracked from right to left. Ditto a ground-shot of racehorses bolting from the blocks, where a dose of motion blur made the shot lose enough resolution to appear pretty much identical to a Full HD image.
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However, the 58L9363DB sports a nice trick in the shape of ClearScan, a frame interpolation tech that’s designed to increase motion resolution. Unlike many similar incarnations of this circuitry that tend to produce rips and tears around moving objects, here it introduces just a touch of fluidity without the usual compromises – and even on its most powerful setting. It’s a decent start for the 4K CEVO picture engine.
Upscaling
Until native 4K sources materialise, an Ultra HD TV is only as good as its upscaling. And on the 58L9363DB, it’s good – but not great. A Blu-ray disc of Hugo looks awesome, with plenty of detail and that eye-catching colour continuing, though move down the food-chain and things get decidedly more difficult for the 58L9363DB.
There’s a lot of picture noise and motion blur within images from Match of the Day on BBC One HD, but it remains thoroughly watchable.
However, top-notch HD fare like this is about the 58L9363DB limit; its Resolution+ is doing its best, but even most HD channels look like a standard-definition channel does on a Full HD TV. Close-ups lack detail, edges are jagged, though a blast of Top Gear on Dave doesn’t look all bad. It’s soft, of course, and graphics are surrounded by mosquito noise, but it doesn’t look as completely exposed as we had expected.
Active shutter 3D
Unlike its big sister the 65L9363DB, the 58L9363DB uses not Passive but Active Shutter 3D technology.
The Full HD 3D Blu-ray images from Hugo displayed by the 58L9363DB are initially spectacular, but we did notice regular doses of crosstalk that made the image uncomfortable to watch.
Without ClearScan on hand (it’s not available when watching 3D), there is some noticeable judder, too, but a rather basic but effective 3D Judder Cancellation feature saves the day. Still, such a patchy 3D performance wasn’t what we’d hoped for.
Ease of use
This really is where the 58L9363DB lets itself down.
A far, far more accomplished TV than the somewhat disappointing Full HD LED TVs delivered in 2013 by Toshiba, the 58L9363DB is nevertheless slightly hamstrung by the same issues that bug the cheaper sets – usability.
For while it’s simple to navigate, it’s way too slow, which banishes to the sidelines Toshiba’s entire Cloud TV platform and its thoroughly decent ideas and choice of apps. A 4K TV without a dual-core processor? Really? It’s a mark off the 58L9363DB’s final score.
Cloud TV itself is acceptable, though we were put off initially by the need to agree to myriad terms and conditions, and – worse – the need to laboriously manually enter email addresses and passwords to create an account.
It’s all a bit ‘why would you?’ because there are seemingly no benefits to signing-up; a second failed attempt at remembering our password was enough for us to decide not to spend another 15 minutes trying to accomplish such a simple task. The constant, very loud adverts on a loop for Netflix, Deezer and iConcerts were also annoying.
However, it’s the multiple button presses to operate very simple functions that really grated; even turning-off the 58L9363DB took three attempts.
Sound
Hardly the 58L9363DB’s highlight, the sound quality is on the quiet side. Its two 10W speakers deliver audio that’s fine for speech-based broadcasts, but really isn’t suited to those sparkling 4K pictures.
Do yourself a favour and get the 58L9363DB chummed-up with a serious sound system as quickly as possible.
Value
Already one of the most affordable ways of getting Ultra HD into your life, we’d wager that the 58L9363DB is destined for more price-cuts; how else will the TV industry persuade us to upgrade?
Despite doubtless more discounting on the way, we’d judge the 58L9363DB decent value for now, though the faster-working and far-better-sounding Sony KD-559000A is only £300-or-so more. The crosstalk-stained 3D is also a slight worry, though whether that comes into most people’s buying decision is doubtful.
Verdict
Is 4K worth having at this small (ish) size? The answer is a definite yes, though whether any so-called next-gen telly should be sold without either LED local dimming or a dual-core processor are more important questions for Toshiba.
The omission of both explains the price-cut when compared to slightly smaller sets from Samsung, Sony and LG, though the 58-inch 58L9363DB does have a three-inch advantage over its rivals.
We liked
Detail – and bags of it – is just awesome.
We were also impressed by the set’s dazzling colours and thoroughly decent (though ultimately less than top-notch) contrast.
The 58L9363DB’s super-slim design also puts it a mite ahead of Sony’s super-wide KD-559000A, for one. Upscaling of Blu-ray discs is pleasingly pin-sharp, too.
We disliked
Weak sound, crosstalk in 3D and a wholly average contrast performance are the lowlights, though it’s the 58L9363DB’s lack of processing power that puts it a notch behind its rivals.
The lack of LED local dimming means little shadow detail within blocks of black, while Cloud TV is a second-rung smart TV platform. Its upscaling of SD isn’t as clean as on rival sets.
Final Verdict
Excellent 4K detail, luscious colour, a very slim design and an impressive HD upscaling performance from its 4K CEVO engine are the highlights from Toshiba’s smallest foray into Ultra HD, but shouldn’t all 4K TVs have a dual-core processor?
A blemished reputation for usability follows, though a ponderous navigating Cloud TV only finds a small selection of must-have apps. Though it uses the Active Shutter 3D system, the 58L9363′s interpretation is stained with crosstalk, while the clean upscaling of SD to fit the enormous resolution panel is beyond its 4K CEVO engine.
4K will catch on when it becomes affordable, and that era starts now with the release of the Toshiba 58L9363. One of the most affordable Ultra HD TVs around, it’s nevertheless a notch behind similarly sized screens from Sony and Samsung.
Not nearly quick enough to act as a heavily used living room TV, the 58L9363 is best stuck in a home cinema room for watching movies.
Also consider
When it comes to Ultra HD TVs, we’re still in the early phase where most brands are offering a first-gen set – especially at this relatively small size.
The 58-inch size is actually unique to Toshiba – as is the relatively low price – though the 55-inch sets available elsewhere will offer much the same screen real estate; search out LG’s 55LA9700 (£3,299), Sony’s 55X9005A (£3,299) and Samsung’s UE55F9000 (£3,299) if you want the complete picture.
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All three of those brands also offer 65-inch versions of those sets, while other 65-inchers include the Philips 65PFL9708 (£4,500) and Panasonic TX-L65WT600 (£5,499).
There are a handful of 84/85-inch Ultra HDTVs, too, though since we’re into footballer territory when it comes to prices, the likes of the Sony KD-84X9005 (£24,999), LG 84LM960V (£14,999), Samsung UE85S9 (£35,000), Philips 84PFL9708 (the 65-inch version reviewed here) (£1,299) and Toshiba 84L9300 (£10,799.95) aren’t really in competition with the relatively bargain-priced Toshiba 58L9363DB on test here.
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