Verdict
Another gorgeously designed OLED TV from Loewe that call down up an impressive audio and picture performance , though the deficiency of some advanced gaming features , higher peak brightness and expensive toll means this is a idiot box for specific hearing . A year work even so .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
After what Gwyneth Paltrow might politely call a ‘ conscious uncoupling ’ from the UK market back in 2019 , a restructured , reinvigorate Loewe brand is now well and truly back on the UK AV scene .
And right on the front line of Loewe ’s renewed UK charge is its Bild i range of TVs : modeling that seek to combine all of the traditional Loewe attraction of outstanding , tailored design with a newly - found nimbleness when it comes to fork up the sort of performance measure and features that today ’s fast - impress television market demand .
The Loewe Bild i.55 is available now in the UK and EU , as well as Australia . In the UK it cost £ 2,999 , in the EU it costs € 2,999.00 , and in Australia it costs AU$4,999 . If you require something bigger , the 65 - inch Bild i.65 costs £ 3,899 / € 3,899 / AU$6,499 . Loewe does not currently allot its TVs in North America .
It should be stressed that these are starting price as one of the Bild i chain ’s superstar attractor is its ability to be fit to dissimilar stand / mount choice and be partnered with more powerful mix phone option .
The climb choice let in a background stand , a story - standing perch - vogue base , bulwark hanging bracket , and even an radical fashionable pole that runs the full height of your room , from trading floor to roof .
The most elegant speaker upgrade is the marvellously named Klang Bar i , which costs £ 299 extra and has been peculiarly plan to seize seamlessly to the Bild i TVs ’ bottom edge as it goes about adding more power , more speakers and a more direct feel to the TV ’s built - in audio system .
you’re able to also attach Loewe ’s much bigger , standalone Klang Bar 5mr soundbar if you wish well , though this sits on a shelf attachment for one of the pole saddle horse rather than being a fully integrated , medical specialist solution like the Bar i. I ’ll actually be look at the Bar i as part of this review .
Design
The first thing die - hard fans of Loewe TVs of previous will be well-chosen to hear is the novel 55 - in Bild i.55 retains two classical Loewe design traits : the decorator clothing - like Loewe sword tag on its correct hand side , and Loewe ’s distinctive large chrome - edged circular IR receptor and light-emitting diode exhibit hanging off its bottom sharpness .
It ’s also majuscule to see that Loewe has misplace none of its appetence for truly premium body-build quality . Every model is still progress in Loewe ’s mill in Kronach , Germany , and combines an ultra - thin bezel with all-inclusive use of metallic element and an unusual but very welcome dab of gamey quality textile cover the goggle box ’s relatively chunky central section ( which houses connections , processing and build - in speakers ) .
As well as looking lovely in its own right field , it also utterly match the material finish of the optional Klang Bar i , meaning the soundbar blends in utterly when you seize its wrap - around form to the TV ’s bottom edge .
The heavy duty basic screen background plate stand is as imperiously build as the TV , while the pole - trend floorstand and full elbow room height pole mount options impart serious drama to the Bild i.55 ’s otherwise impeccably minimalistic front .
As you would bear with a telecasting that trades on its appearance as much as the Bild i.55 , all of its various rise options go to corking lengths to provide channelling for all your overseas telegram .
Features
The first matter to instal about the Loewe Bild i.55 is that it does n’t utilize one of the fresh Micro Lens Array OLED panels notice in LG ’s new flagshipG3 OLED video , or theQuantum Dot OLEDtechnology in Samsung’sS95Cand S90C OLED tv . It ’s a straight WRGB panel of the sort that ’s had relative diminished year - on - class improvements for age before the new brightness boosting engineering saunter into town .
It might have been dainty if Loewe had gone for an OLED dialog box with a construct - in heat sink to help it handle a bit more brightness than the 736 nits I evaluate using a white HDR trial window that covered 10 % of the TV ’s screen . That ’s 100 to 150 nit or so below what I ’ve seen from the current WRGB organic light-emitting diode from the likes of Sony and LG , and only around half the luminance achieved by the G3 and S95C.
I ’ve been reviewing tv set for long enough to lie with that there ’s much more to good picture quality than simple-minded brightness .
The most unusual feature of the Bild i.55 beyond the standstill / mount and audio upgrade options I ’ve cite has to be its DR+ build up - in video recording organization . This lets you record losslessly up to 1 TB of TV from the built - in radio set . This feature is less likely to have wide collection in cyclosis - obsessed meter , but it works well enough and I ’m sure there are some who will take advantage of it .
Intriguingly , Loewe has moved aside from its own proprietary smart TV engine on the Bild i.55 , turn to Hisense ’s VIDAA chopine instead . This form sense given the difficulty a relatively small-scale brand like Loewe is restrain to look with secure native app support from all the streaming services – especially as VIDAA has now progressed from its second - grade status into a fresh political platform that run glibly and stably , and covers most of the key apps today ’s TV buyers involve .
At the time of brush up the only major exception I spotted wasApple TV+ – but Loewe has since added the app and exploiter can now access it .
The Bild i.55 confirm three nip of high dynamic ambit through its HDMI ports : Dolby Vision , HDR10 and HLG . There ’s noHDR10+support , which is a slight ignominy given Panasonic and Philips cater for all four HDR formats . Many other marque also only sustain Dolby Vision at the expense of HDR10 + too , though – and HDR10 + cognitive content currently remain much rarer than Dolby Vision message .
The Bild i.55 ’s Dolby connexion extends to Dolby Atmos playback , which it can also pass on losslessly viaHDMI eARCto compatible soundbars and AV receivers .
Not everything about the Bild i.55 ’s four HDMI ports is quite up to the stipulation I ’d trust for on a premium TV , as they ’re only capable of handling 18Gbps of information . This means no support for the 4K/120Hz signals gamers can output from thePS5,Xbox Series Xand high - end PC graphics cards .
That ’s not to say the Bild i.55 is a total fizzle for gaming ; it does still corroborate variable refresh rates in a limited 48 – 60Hz range of a function , auto low latent period mode(ALLM ) switching as your console or PC switch between video and game sources ; and Dolby Vision bet on up to 60Hz .
There is one further bite of forged intelligence for gamers in the shape of a 43.5ms meanwhile in rendering prototype information when using the TV ’s Game mode . That ’s more than four times longer than the latest tv set from some rivals take , and will be enough to be you a few deaths in Call Of Duty or make secret plan worlds feel a spot unresponsive .
Delving into the the Bild i.55 ’s pictorial matter features reveals a reasonable amount of the common set up defendant , including various movement processing options , noise reducing and so on . One striking thing about the path the circle up card are organise is how similar they appear to those used on Hisense ’s most late gamey - terminal TVs , suggesting a deeper collaboration than just the use of Hisense ’s VIDAA smart platform .
Picture Quality
The luminance measurements I report earlier did n’t lie : it ’s clear to the naked eye the Loewe Bild i.55 is not as brilliant as the latest advancedOLED TVsI’ve seen from Samsung and LG – not even airless . But this is reliable also of any raw mid - chain of mountains OLED TV from LG , Samsung , Sony , Hisense , Philips et al that does n’t use either MLA technology or Samsung ’s 2nd - gen QD - OLED technology .
It ’s absolutely not the case that the Bild i.55 is some sort of previous school outlier . And in the context of all those other traditional WRGB OLED goggle box still around this yr , the Bild i.55 is a very gratifying sentinel .
For starters , its black levels are as impeccably cryptical , full-bodied and natural in tone as any you ’ll find anywhere in the OLED world . What ’s more , with most of its presets this smutty level prowess is married to first-class finesse and nuance when it comes to procreate subtle colour and greyscale item in even the darkest picture recession .
The only exception to this tincture detail prowess occur when you ’re watching Dolby Vision sources ( especially using the most accurate ‘ Dark ’ Dolby Vision preset ) , with which you become mindful of quite obtrusive break down out of elusive contingent in dark area . The Bild i.55 is not the only tv set I ’ve seen in recent times that ’s digest with this Dolby Vision result , so it ’s perhaps more something Dolby ought to be investigating rather than a demerit specific to Loewe ’s television receiver .
Subtle particular are surrender in dark-skinned scenes without being accompany by sparkle or blocking artefacts , too , suggesting good processing competence / instrument panel dominance when it make out to wield near black image content . The set ’s rich , black shade allow the perfect counterpoint , too , for the Bild i.55 ’s beautifully rich , sheer colour replica .
There ’s more than enough tonal subtlety and equaliser in this color performance to check that pictures never look constrained , cartoonish or otherwise affected in any preset , and I did n’t detect any major exit with banding in areas of o.k. HDR blending .
semblance do n’t undergo a major shift or any brightness reduction if you find out the Bild i.55 from a stern angle , either , while the image processing ’s precision at break up the right tone for the right pel contributes to a picture that feels pleasingly thick , three - dimensional and elaborate .
It ’s not quite as thinker - bogglingly discriminating with either native 4 K source or upscaled HD as one or two rival organic light-emitting diode delineation , most notably those accomplish by Philips and Samsung , but its marginally diffused pictures arguably really look more rude . Especially as they do n’t remotely feel poor of texture or 4 kelvin quality .
While the richness and balance of the Bild i.55 ’s pictures guarantees a gorgeous consider experience with really any TV source drop at it , it does need to be said that as well as being substantially less bright than 2023 ’s unexampled OLED ‘ hero ’ TVs , its pictures are in reality a little less bright and punchy than even those of most of today ’s traditional WRGB OLED goggle box . A restriction that inevitably restricts the colour volumes the screenland can hit , and the loudness of the HDR experience you get with both small brilliant highlighting and full screen bright HDR images .
The circle ’s nicety and counterbalance really does provide good compensation for its slightly limited light , but it ’s an proceeds that may be particularly worth bearing in mind if you ’re looking for a television receiver for a very bright elbow room .
One other picture calibre niggle concerns the bild i.55 ’s apparent motion handling with 24p origin . Judder and a step-down in settlement when showing camera pans and moving objective are more noticeable than I ’d wish with no motion processing in play , but most of the Bild i.55 ’s motion processing options cause so many unwanted side effect that they end up being more distracting to watch than the aboriginal judder and blurring .
Fortunately , just one of the move selection available , fitly call off Film , leaven sensitive enough to save the day , otherwise we ’d have had to knock a full fool off the TV ’s overall mark .
Sound Quality
Loewe has a tenacious history of compound its uncompromising approach to design and build quality with superior audio performance , so it ’s great to bump that if the Bild i.55 is anything to go by , Loewe has lost none of its audio touch during its abbreviated sentence away from the UK video business .
pop out with the set ’s nonremittal 2 x 20W carrying out , the Speaker can go loud enough to sound cinematic without succumb to harshness , cliff out or other distortions . On the opposite , the louder you drive them , the richer and more elaborated they start to go , and the more you bulge to appreciate how open and expansive their mid - range is .
Voices always fathom ultra clear without becoming disconnected from their wide moving picture mix circumstance , and the sound task well enough out from the TV ’s bodywork to create an at least respectable sense of extra infinite and location detailing when play Dolby Atmos admixture .
Good though the Bild i.55 sounds out of the box seat , though , I ’d say the Klang Bar i is well deserving adding if you could afford the £ 299 extra . This not only add a thumping 80W of power to proceedings , but give birth that power through an array of onward facing drivers that pay heed behind a overbold felt cover under the TV ’s bottom bound .
The effect is an immediately much more room - occupy , direct audio that puddle the existence of the film or TV show you ’re watching seem far more active and immersive . The forward - confront verbalizer of the Bar i also create a much great soundstage that does n’t find immobilise inside the soundbar ’s stocky grade . It even manage to make a mild sense of height when listen to Dolby Atmos soundtracks .
Bass reaches deeper with the Klang Bar i than it does in the canonic two - epithelial duct build in speaker configuration . Voices can occasionally sound lock inside the Bar i , so that they do n’t seem to be total from the pictures on the screen , and surprisingly the Bar i ’s ordinarily resolute amount of money of power and impact can fall aside a second during really loud , dim profound course moments . Overall , though , the Bild i.55 is a seriously good audio performer in both its monetary standard and Klang Bar i shape .
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Should you buy it?
If you need a attractively built TV that lets you upgrade its sound quality as and when you wish and lets you take from a diversity of stylish mounting options , the Loewe Bild i.55 is unambiguously certified for its money .
The Bild i.55 does n’t sustain 4K/120Hz gaming and its input meantime in Game mode is a small too high for really responsive , competitive play .
Final Thoughts
The Loewe Bild i.55 is a profoundly lovely TV . From its pristine , beautifully constructed bodywork and unequalled design and sound upgrade options through to its often beautiful ( if not spectacularly so ) pictures and uncontaminating , strong sound calibre it proves that Loewe has lost none of its singularity and find exchange premium feel during its brief fourth dimension off from the TV plot .
The fact that even the chinchy translation of the Bild i.55 costs hundreds of lb more than the 55 - inch rendering of this year ’s radical - brilliant new Samsung S95C and LG G3 OLED television does mean that you need to be invested in the whole premium Bild i.55 parcel rather than just being a uncoiled - up picture quality freak .
That ’s always been the case with Loewe , though , and when the software package is as class an deed as the Bild i.55 it ’s impossible not to hug the return of a firebrand that ’s gay enough to wreak something a spot dissimilar to the video worldly concern .
Trusted Score
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FAQs
VIDAA is a smart TV organization and interface designed by Hisense , but licensed to other brands .
Every pixel in an OLED screen produces its own light , resulting in black horizontal surface consistency and local direct contrast control you ca n’t get with LCD TVs . Though OLED typically ca n’t get as shining as LCD TVs .
you’re able to mount it on a floorstanding pole , a floor to roof rod , and a wall mount as well as its screen background solution . And you’re able to add a screw - on Klang Bar i soundbar , or attach the much larger 5mr soundbar to a livelihood ledge that can be attached to the boob tube ’s pole standpoint .
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As part of this mission , whenever we review a product we transmit the troupe a series of questions to serve us gauge and make transparent the impact the equipment has on the environment .
We presently have n’t pick up answers to the questions on this product , but will update this page the moment we do . you may see a detailed dislocation of the dubiousness we ask and why in oursustainability information page .
