Finlux 55F9076-T: 3D Picture Quality

The 55F9076-T is arguably at its best in the third dimension. Its brightness and sharpness both serve it well in portraying a well-defined and large-scale sense of 3D space, and surprisingly it manages to deliver motion in the 3D frame with practically no sign of the flickering or judder problems seen still common with 3D TVs.

Details levels are decently high considering this is a passive 3D picture too. Some resolution has to be sacrificed by the passive system to deliver its flicker-free filtered experience, but you don’t feel the loss greatly on the 55F9076-T.

It’s also great to see the 55F9076-T’s 3D pictures delivering very nicely on the other key passive 3D benefits of minimal crosstalk ghosting noise and zero flicker.

Nor is there any sign of the lip-synch errors we’ve seen on a number of passive 3D TVs this year.

The only 3D flaws, really, are a) some jaggedness and visible horizontal line structure over curved edges and small, very bright objects, and b) black levels that still look weak during dark scenes.

Finlux 55F9076-T: Sound Quality

We’d hoped the 55F9076-T’s startling build quality might have helped it deliver some strong sonics. But sadly there’s nothing special to report.

On the upside, dialogue is rendered with decent clarity and believability, and there’s a reasonable amount of treble detail in the mix. It’s also a relief to find the speakers able to operate at volume without rattling or distorting.

However, the treble end of the audio spectrum can sound brittle and sharp when put under duress, and bass is in very short supply. Two factors which can leave the mid-range sounding pretty short of breathing and expansion room during action scenes.

Other things to consider

The 55F9076-T ships with an unusually large remote control with a distinctive concave front. This curve works quite well in making buttons fall to hand more easily. However, while the buttons are large and well spaced out, the positioning of some doesn’t feel very logical, and the handset feels rather lightweight and plasticky.

Anyone thinking of gaming on the 55F9076-T will be pleased to hear that we measured its input lag at a very respectable 33ms using its Game preset. This shouldn’t prove seriously detrimental to your gaming skills – though there’s no getting round the way you may struggle to see enemies in dark areas thanks to the contrast problems.

Should I buy a Finlux 55F9076-T?

The only really compelling reason we can think of to buy the 55F9076-T is if you fancy getting a 7-inch tablet for free with your next TV. To be fair, its 3D is good, it’s pretty, and its pictures with bright content are the best we’ve seen from Finlux to date. But the wheels come off badly during dark scenes, and it’s overall no match in performance or feature terms for similarly priced models like the Sony 50W705 and Samsung 55H6400.

Verdict

While we stumbled across one or two pleasant surprises while testing the 55F9076-T, it’s ultimately hamstrung by both its problems handling dark scenes and the impressive quality of some of its direct competition. Basically, if Finlux is serious about breaking out of its ‘budget brand’ box it’s going to have to work quite a bit harder in the picture quality department.

Next, read more 50-inch TV reviews

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