Toshiba markets the Z870 series to provide consumers with a high-quality cinematic and gaming experience. These TVs are equipped with Mini LED panels with quantum dots and a built-in REGZA Engine ZRi chip, allowing you to reproduce first-class images with resolutions up to 4K with support for Dolby Vision and HDR 10+.
For gaming enthusiasts, the TV offers adaptive Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) up to 144Hz, as well as features such as AMD FreeSync Premium, Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), and IMAX Enhanced capabilities. In our Toshiba 55Z870 4K HDR Mini LED review, we’ll talk about the main features of the TV that make it an attractive purchase.
Toshiba Z870 review
Design
The Toshiba 55Z870 TV model on the market occupies a unique position, targeting an audience looking for devices that are slightly above the average level, but still not reaching the very top. This device has an elegant appearance with premium notes that will look appropriate in any living space interior. The screen’s boundaries are defined by a sleek metal frame, giving it a sophisticated look. The bottom panel hides the two front-facing speakers, making it significantly wider.
Despite the modern design, the dimensions of the TV are represented by a relatively wide profile, reaching approximately 8 cm at the widest part. This is worth considering if you want to integrate the TV into the interior using wall mounting. It will require a special VESA 400 x 400 bracket, which is a standard requirement for devices with a screen diagonal of 55 inches.
Some of the TV’s connectors are directed perpendicular to the back panel, so it may not be possible to move the case close to the wall. The design rests on a pair of flat metal legs that fit vertically into the bottom of the TV. The distance between these Two Way Stand supports can be changed when you need to use narrow TV furniture. For discreet routing of cables, appropriate clips are provided on the legs.
The Toshiba Z870 TV remote control is similar to the one that comes with the Toshiba Z670M . This classic black box has 12 buttons dedicated to video services, a four-way joystick for menu navigation, and a block of number buttons. The case is ordinary, plastic, with a slight thickening near the battery compartment. What’s nice is that there is a physical button for switching signal sources.
Image quality
The Mini LED backlight of the Toshiba Z870 series is accompanied by Quantum Dot technology, which uses specialized local dimming algorithms. Hundreds, if not thousands of tiny, high-density mini-LEDs are controlled much more precisely than any previous FALD system.
But keep in mind that while mini-LED technology is vastly superior to any other LCD backlight system, it does not completely solve the problem of backlight bleed. And this still largely depends on the number of zones a particular panel has, as well as how effective the dimming algorithms are. Toshiba has not yet disclosed the parameters, but the similar TCL C755 TV has 384 of them, and the Hisense U8K has 672.
Peak brightness in SDR mode in the 10% window shows a value of 1630 nits, which is a fantastic parameter. With such high brightness, this TV has no problem handling glare even in the brightest rooms. In the HDR brightness test in a 10% window, we measure almost 1800 nits in peaks. This is a TV that will make any HDR content look as good as it should.
Like many Hisense and TCL options, the Toshiba 55 Z870 TV supports all HDR formats. That is, it works not only with basic HDR10, but also with HLG, which we mostly see in streaming content, as well as HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, which use dynamic metadata to produce much better image quality.
The use of a VA panel means the Z870 doesn’t have very good viewing angles. VA matrices usually have problems with this, so it’s not a problem with this TV in particular. Some manufacturers tend to use extra layers to solve this problem, but the Toshiba Z870 TV doesn’t seem to use any such technology.
The TV pleases with deep blacks and bright highlights. The native contrast is very high compared to even other VA panels. And thanks to the local dimming feature, the TV’s contrast increases exponentially. The result is very deep blacks, as any top-tier TV should have.
Color processing
By using Quantum Dot technology, the TV supports a wide color gamut and thus displays more accurate and realistic colors. In tests, it achieves approximately 98% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space. In the wider REC.2020 color space, 79% coverage can be achieved. These are big numbers.
Before calibration, the TV shows exceptional color accuracy. Most colors manage to stay below the DeltaE 3.0 limit, with only blue colors exceeding it. Everything can be solved with a small adjustment of the white balance, although on the other hand, the color temperature is almost ideal. In principle, even the settings “out of the box” of the TV are excellent.
Color gradients are good too. Sometimes only minor streaking is noticeable in most darker shades, but it’s really minor. There is also a digital noise reduction feature (smooth gradation) in case you find the banding annoying. But if you turn it on, some details will be lost, and in general it’s best not to use this feature too often.
Motion processing and gaming features
The 55Z870 TV supports not only 120Hz, but also 144Hz, which is gradually becoming the standard for many high-end TVs. In terms of motion, the TV behaves very well, with very little blur in fast-moving scenes. Obviously, this is the result of the fast response of the matrix.
But this also has a negative effect, as low frame rate content sometimes introduces stuttering, which can only be reduced by enabling motion interpolation. The TV can also de-judder 24p or 60p video, which is great for any type of content. Obviously, using very aggressive interpolation settings will result in a soap opera effect, so don’t get carried away.
The TV officially supports a frequency of 144 Hz, and in 1080p and 4K resolutions the input lag is 5 ms and 5.5 ms, respectively. Note that both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X support frequencies up to 120 Hz. Therefore, to enjoy higher frame rates, you will need a high-end gaming PC.
The Z870 series features Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM). There is a Game Deck to help gamers. This is a special menu where you can find valuable information during the game. Information such as FPS, HDR, VRR and other settings are available at the touch of a button. By the way, all VRR technologies are supported.
Smart TV
The Toshiba Z870 model operates on the VIDAA U7 intelligent platform. Of course, this is not as widespread a system as Android TV, but it also has a sufficient number of applications in its arsenal, and the user interface is just as fast and responsive. This is one of the smart options for smart TV manufacturers as it prioritizes performance, usability and cost.
VIDAA OS has a customizable navigation bar at the top of the screen. It can be called up without first exiting your current settings, and it seamlessly switches between apps that remain active in the background. The panel houses Smart TV applications and functions. You can add and rearrange apps and features as you see fit.
Voice control of the TV is carried out both through the remote control microphone and hands-free through the microphone built into the TV body. There is an option to broadcast the screen of a mobile device to a TV screen. The built-in media player plays almost any format of audio, video and photo content.
Sound
A distinctive feature of the Toshiba Z870M TV is its 5-channel 2.1.2 audio system. The unique Tru Bass Booster and REGZA Bass Woofer Pro technologies are responsible for adequate bass sound. This series also includes upward-firing speakers, which make Doby Atmos support a real feature. IMAX Enhanced also supports DTS, giving audio a unique sense of spatial presence. The total acoustic power of the TV is 60 W.
Connections
In the list of TV ports, we first list the HDMI ports. There are four of them: 2 versions 2.1 (up to 144 Hz, one with eARC ) and 2 versions 2.0 (up to 60 Hz). Next are the USB ports: version 3.0 on the side and version 2.0 on the back. There is a LAN port and a digital optical audio output, there is an analog AV input via an adapter and two antenna jacks. Wireless communication is implemented via dual-band WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0.
Conclusion
Toshiba Z870M has very few competitors in this price range. Its brightness, contrast, color rendition and image clarity are beyond doubt. Add to this all the gaming and smart features and an attractive price. This is definitely a recipe for success.
There are also several weak points. The bloom is not completely absent and can be seen in some scenes. Viewing angles are not very good. The Toshiba Z870M still only offers 2 HDMI 2.1 ports. But if you’re looking for great performance at a very affordable price, then this option should definitely be at the top of your consideration list.
