4K KIVI TV: overview, specifications
4K TVs have been in the budget segment for a long time. But for some reason, buyers are not particularly attracted to cheap solutions. Judging by the reviews, the priority for future owners is Samsung, LG, Sony, Panasonic or Philips brand products. In our review, one of the most popular products is the 4K KIVI TV. Let's try to briefly understand what it is, what are the advantages and disadvantages.
The Technozon channel has already made an entertaining review, which we invite you to familiarize yourself with.
4K KIVI TV: specifications
| Smart TV Support | Yes, based on Android 9.0 |
| Screen resolution | 3840 × 2160 |
| TV diagonals | 40, 43, 50, 55 and 65 inches |
| Digital tuner | DVB-C, DVB-S2, DVB-T2 |
| TV tuner | 1 analog, 1 digital |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10 + |
| 3D support | No |
| Backlight type | Direct LED |
| Display Matrix Type | SVA, 8 bit |
| Reaction time | 8 ms |
| Processor | Cortex-A53, 4 cores |
| RAM | 2 GB |
| Built-in Memory | 8 GB |
| Network interfaces | LAN-RJ-45 up to 100 Mbps, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi |
| Connectors | 2xUSB 2.0, 3xHDMI, SPDIF, Jack3.5, Antenna, SVGA |
| Energy consumption | 60-90 W (depends on model) |
4K KIVI TV: Overview
One could say that the design and ergonomics of the Kivi 4K, like the more expensive models. But this is not so. A very lightweight device (6-10 kg, depending on the diagonal) has a giant stand. The width between the V-shaped legs can squeeze a dozen LCD TVs. That is, for installation you will need a voluminous cabinet or table.
The plastic the TV case is made of looks cheap. But this is a trifle. A huge drawback is the display, the edges of which do not abut the frames. As a result, the viewer will always see 5 mm black bars around the entire screen. The outer plastic frame does not completely adjoin the LCD panel. First, dust accumulates around the perimeter, and then, invisibly to the user, it penetrates the display. The result - the black frame on the screen slightly brightens, and the viewer will see strange camouflage spots on all edges of the screen.
LCD TV 4K Kivi
It’s better to start right away with the matrix, as the quality of video content playback is directly related to display technologies. It is worth noting that the manufacturer proudly indicates the IPS marking on the packaging. And the specification for the TV says SVA c Led backlight. It is impossible to believe, not one of the statements. Literally after the first turn on of the Kivi TV, it becomes clear that even SVA does not smell here. Awful display at different viewing angles. Plus, in the off state, the display is full of blue and white highlights.
As for the claimed video output in 4K @ 60FPS format. For the entire time of testing, and this is content from various sources (TV box, flash drive, Internet), it was not possible to achieve the declared quality. But the surprises did not end there. When displaying a UHD or FullHD picture at 24 Hz, the viewer will see cubes, not a colorful picture of the video.
Electronic Filling - Kivi 4K Performance
It is unclear why the manufacturer is deceiving customers. Instead of the claimed Cortex-A53 processor, a dual-core Realtek with a frequency of up to 1.1 GHz is installed. You can immediately stop at this parameter. Performance, with 100 percent certainty, is not enough for a comfortable stay.
When starting applications, the control panel freezes (even the mouse cursor floats). Plus, the chipset does not pull the launch of large-sized films. That is, files larger than 40 GB do not make sense to download, because they simply will not start.
But with torrents the situation is slightly changing. Kivi 4K TV quickly and easily launches files in UHD format. However, when viewing, for more than 1-2 minutes, the picture starts to twitch and may even freeze. Most likely, the chipset heats up and starts to throttle.
Sound on a Kivi 4K TV
The manufacturer announced the installation of two 12-Watt speakers that are capable of delivering Dolby Digital quality. In fact, the sound design does not even reach the picture tubes of the same Sony or Panasonic. To enjoy watching a movie, active acoustics cannot be dispensed with. The speakers are of very poor quality - they wheeze, distort the frequencies, do not know how to separate music and voice. With this sound, you can only view news on air or cable broadcasting.
But it is too early for music lovers who have available external acoustics to rejoice. Declared by the Chinese manufacturer HDMI ARC does not work. So that you have to output through a jack or optical connector. The second option is preferable, as it demonstrates an acceptable sound quality.
And another interesting point related to voice control. The TV is equipped with a built-in microphone on the front panel. One. But for some reason there are 4 holes on the panel itself. One could say that for greater sensitivity. But the functionality is still not working. Rather, it works, but you need to pronounce the commands loudly and clearly.
Network Features 4K Kivi
There are no complaints about the wired interface - 95 for download and 90 Mbps for upload. But the Wi-Fi wireless connection is terrible - 20 Mbps for downloading and the same for downloading. This is not enough, not only to watch video in 4K quality, but even for the usual YouTube service in FullHD. But you can’t even count on YouTube on the wired interface, since it simply is not on Smart TV. There is KIVI-TV, Megogo and a strange IPTV service that fails to start. Fortunately, there is the possibility of installing Android programs. So, Youtube still managed to find and launch.
And immediately I would like to note the speed of data transfer from external drives via USB 2.0. Sequential read - 20 MB per second.
But what if the movie is recorded randomly on the drive?
Random read speed of only 4-5 MB per second. This is not enough even for a simple movie in FullHD. For example, launching a 4K test video immediately slows down the picture. Such a slide show. And one more thing - when starting any video files in 10 bit, the Kivi 4K TV displays a message: “Not supported file”. But the video in HDR10 is played flawlessly. Plus there are questions about the response time of the matrix. The TV has a 100% Joder effect. That is, the viewer will not enjoy watching dynamic scenes, as they will be soapy.
As a result, it turns out that the device does not meet the declared characteristics. It cannot be used for its intended purpose with built-in Smart-TV, or with a TV box as an LCD panel. Buying a 4K Kivi TV is throwing money into an urn. The author of the Technozon video channel speaks very negatively towards the brand. And the TeraNews team completely agree with him.