Toshiba 65L9300U: A 4K HDTV With HDMI 2.0 Support

Results: Viewing Angles And Uniformity

Off-axis image quality is very important in any large-screen HDTV. Since only one person can sit in the center seat, everyone else on the couch is forced to watch at an angle. Most manufacturers like claiming large viewing angles of 170 degrees or more. However, 45 degrees is realistic to us. Given a 65-inch LCD panel viewed at ten feet, getting five people in front of it is probably a practical limit if everyone wants a decent picture.

With that said, the 65L9300U looks good at the edge of our 45-degree cone. There is almost no reduction in brightness, and the color shift is limited to medium brightness levels only. We see a slight green hue in the 30- to 50-percent bars of the side-to-side view. This is a great TV for family viewing. A larger screen would be even better, and Toshiba obliges by offering an 84-inch model in the L9300U line.

Screen Uniformity: Luminance

To measure screen uniformity, zero- and 100-percent full-field patterns are used, and nine points are sampled. In a change from previous reviews, we’re now comparing the results to other monitors we’ve measured. First, we establish a baseline measurement at the center of each screen. Then the surrounding eight points are measured and their values expressed as a percentage of the baseline, either above or below. Those numbers get averaged. Remember that we're only able to test the sample each vendor sends us. Other examples of the same monitor can measure differently.

First up is black field uniformity.

Our eyes tell us that Toshiba's 65L9300U looks good, though our meter clarifies that the bottom edge of the screen is slightly brighter than the rest of the panel. This is typical of large edge-lit LCD/LED displays. Fortunately, there isn’t any visible blotchiness or corner brightness like we’ve seen on a few other HDTVs.

Usually the white field uniformity is better than the black. Here it's almost exactly the same, though. The bottom edge is the culprit again, reading slightly brighter than the rest of the screen area. On the bright side, the error is almost imperceptible.

Screen Uniformity: Color

To measure color uniformity, we display an 80-percent white field and measure the Delta E error of the same nine points on the screen. Then we subtract the lowest value from the highest to arrive at the result. A smaller number means a display is more uniform. Any value below three means a variation that is invisible to the naked eye.

Our test sample suffers from a subtle green tint across the bottom of the screen in an 80-percent white field pattern. It's not something anyone is likely to spot when viewing regular content. And another 65L9300U might very well measure better.

Christian Eberle
Contributing Editor

Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.

  • Someone Somewhere
    Argh. Why do people still make TVs with rear-exit connectors? That was the #1 hardest to find criteria last time we got a new one.
    Reply
  • SteelCity1981
    Toshiba still holding onto the 3D in their TV's. I got caught up in the hype and bought me a 3D TV two years ago and honestly I have only used it maybe 4 or 5 times if that. It's something now that I look back on I could have really done without and saved money on a regular HDTV, but live and learn. a cheaper non 3D version of this would be nice. I, like most people can do without the 3D function on a TV, esp if it will reduce the cost on the TV itself. It is nice to finally see a 4k TV come with HDMI 2.0 support, something that 1080p TV's don't need but 4k do in order to take full advantage of it by allowing 60fps.
    Reply
  • cats_Paw
    Untill we get 4K contenent or GPUs can manage 4K resolutions in AAA titles with highest settings possible, 4K makes as much sense as a fast car in a 50 Km/h town.On the 3D matter, it does look cool on a projector if you get a 120+ inch screen, but in tvs, it looks like a gimick to me.Now... The HDMI improvment is something I want. Ive been wanting Full HD 60Hz 3D for a long time, and it seems 3D has been so unpopular that it didnt even make sense to invest in improving bandwidth.
    Reply
  • Someone Somewhere
    You can do 1080p120 (equivalent to 60Hz 3d 1080p) over HDMI 1.4a easily... same bandwidth as 1440p60.
    Reply
  • alchemy69
    4K TVs are bought by the same people who buy $100 Monster hdmi cables because "they give a better picture".
    Reply
  • Someone Somewhere
    Actually, 4K TVs can bring a better picture. Especially if one has 4K content, or is viewing pictures or text.

    Monster cables are definitely crap though.
    Reply
  • TheDane
    Argh. Why do people still make TVs with rear-exit connectors? That was the #1 hardest to find criteria last time we got a new one.
    Argh. Why don't people use a cheap angled adapter.
    Reply
  • TheDane
    Like this: http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ahdmi%20angle%20adapter
    Reply
  • Immaculate
    Why doesn't anybody add DisplayPort to TVs?
    Reply
  • Someone Somewhere
    Which is extra failure points, and can block other connectors.
    Reply