Kodak 50-inch UHD TV: Picture-perfect smart TV marred by remote controller

The Kodak 50-inch UHD smart LED TV, offering a great picture quality and easy access to content on YouTube, Netflix and Hotstar, is a mixed bag of features

An American technology company with forte in imaging, Kodak has been working to rediscover a new space in today’s digital world. The company first stepped in the smartphone segment with the launch of the Kodak Ektra camera-centric smartphone. However, the phone did not make the green, thanks to its sub-par performance and not-so-great camera utilities.

Now, the second ground that the company aims to break is the smart television space, where Kodak has lately been active. It has rolled out several offerings – from fullHD to ultra-high-definition (UHD) smart LED TVs. In the premium television segment, the Kodak 50-inch 4K UHD Smart LED TV aims to offer top-of-the-line features at an affordable price which makes it a serious contender in the smart TV space.

Business Standard reviewed the Kodak 50-inch 4K UHD LED smart TV to test its overall capabilities. Here are our observations:

The television is not as slim as competitors’ offering, but it does have a strong build which makes it more durable – a very important factor if you keep on shifting your TV from one place to another. While the front is dominated by a huge LED panel with negligible bezels around, most of the ports – audio out, 2 x USB, SD card slot, coaxial TV antenna terminal and a single HDMI port – are kept on the back side, placed at the lower left of the centre. These ports are easy to reach, if the TV is placed on a stand, but not so much if mounted on a wall.

While most smart TVs come with efficient remote controllers designed specifically to ease navigation and access, there are televisions with regular remote controllers hindering the smart TV’s overall capabilities. In Kodak’s case, it is the latter type of remote controller bundled in the box. The remote controller seems to be of the generic breed enhanced with dedicated keys for YouTube, Netflix and Hotstar. However, for any other operations, such as entering the WiFi password, accessing apps, etc, the remote adds up as a liability. The remote also needs to be directed towards the sensor, which is placed on the bottom right side of the TV and, therefore, cannot be used from angles.

Talking about the picture quality, the panel used in the Kodak TV works flawlessly for most of the content – online and offline. The television manages to upscale the content without causing much damage to the quality. The 4K videos look lifelike and the added HDR boosts colours further to make the experience good. However, the muted sound quality ruins the whole experience and necessitates the use supplementary external speakers.

Verdict

Priced at Rs 50,999, the Kodak 50-inch UHD smart LED TV is a mixed bag of features found in budget and premium televisions. The television offers great picture quality and easy access to content available on YouTube, Netflix and Hotstar. However, the true smart TV experience is marred by an inefficient remote controller.