Most TV manufacturers have chosen Roku TV or Android TV for their smart TV platforms, but Toshiba continues to stick with Amazon’s Fire TV. We don’t mind; Fire TV is a powerful system with lots of services and the useful presence of Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant. The C350 is Toshiba’s latest, and currently only, line of TVs, and it’s loaded with features for the price. The 50-inch 50C350 we tested has an MSRP of $469.99, and is often available for less. On paper it’s an attractive option for penny-pinchers, and it has surprisingly low input lag for gamers, but a dim panel and low contrast make it hard to wholeheartedly recommend.
Editors’ Note: This review is based on testing performed on the 50C350KU, the 50-inch model in the series. Apart from the screen-size difference, the $519.99 55-inch 55C350KU is identical in features, and we expect similar performance.
An Attractive Design With Confusingly Placed Ports
The C350 looks surprisingly stylish for an inexpensive TV. The top and sides of the screen are bezel-free, framed only by a narrow black plastic band that wraps around the back. A thin, brushed-metal strip runs along the bottom edge of the screen, angled slightly forward. The infrared receiver and indicator LED sit in a small clear enclosure below the center of the band, with a small power/input button just behind it. Everything rests on two V-shaped metal legs, located near the edges of the screen (you can also mount it on the wall).
All ports are located oddly around the center of the back of the TV, quite far from the edges where side-mounted ports would be convenient. Four HDMI ports (one eARC), two USB ports, an optical audio output, an Ethernet port, and an antenna/cable connector face left, but are so far from the sides of the TV that you have to reach very far in to change any connections. A power cable connector faces right, at a similarly awkward location. Finally, a set of RCA composite video inputs and a headphone jack face directly back in the middle of the back of the TV. The headphone jack is most baffling; facing back in the dead-center is just about the least convenient location possible if you want to use wired headphones.
The included remote is very similar to the ones included with Fire TV media streamers. It’s a slim, black rectangular wand with slightly rounded top and bottom edges and a prominent circular navigation pad near the top. Power and microphone buttons, along with a pinhole microphone, sit above the navigation pad. Menu and playback controls; volume and channel rockers; and dedicated service buttons for Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix all sit lower on the remote.
Fire TV Features
The C350 uses Amazon’s Fire TV platform for its interface and smart features, so it acts just like an Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, with input options available as well as apps. This is fine, because like Roku TV and Android/Google TV, Fire TV is a robust system filled with apps and services.
Aside from the standard Amazon services like Prime Video, most big streaming names are here, including Apple TV, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Twitch, and YouTube. There are thousands of other apps available with more specific subject/regional interest as well. You can even stream games straight to the TV with Amazon Luna (we recommend buying the Luna Controller to go with it).
Fire TV lags behind the competition with screen mirroring, sadly. You can stream your Windows PC’s screen straight to the TV with WiDi, or your Android phone’s screen with Miracast (with a third-party app, since Google replaced any Miracast implementation with Google Cast years ago), but that’s it. You don’t get the convenience of Apple AirPlay like you do on Roku, LG, and Samsung TVs, or Google Cast like you on Android/Google TVs (or both, like you get on Vizio TVs).
Of course, Amazon Alexa is available on the C350. Like most other Fire TV devices, you access Amazon’s voice assistant by pressing and holding the microphone button on the remote and speaking into it. You can use Alexa to directly control the TV and compatible smart home devices, search for content, answer general questions like weather forecasts and sports scores, and check your calendar and email. It’s a very useful feature that Roku TVs lack (though Android and Google TVs have the comparable Google Assistant, and LG and Samsung TVs let you use either voice assistant).
Toshiba C350 Picture Quality
The Toshiba 50C350 is a 4K TV with a 60Hz refresh rate. It supports high dynamic range (HDR) content in HDR10 and Dolby Vision.
We test TVs using a Klein K-80 colorimeter, a Murideo SIX-G signal generator, and Portrait Displays’ Calman software using methodology based on Imaging Science Foundation’s calibration techniques. And, from that testing, we’ve determined that the C350 has roundly poor contrast. The panel is very dim, showing a peak brightness of 219.497cd/m^2 with an SDR signal and just 236.079cd/m^2 with an HDR signal (the numbers don’t significantly change between full-screen and 18% fields). This is disappointing but not unheard of; the Vizio M55Q6-J has a peak brightness of 256.623cd/m^2. The TV doesn’t even have dark blacks to make up for it, showing black levels of 0.086cd/m^2 with an SDR signal and 0.091cd/m^2 with an HDR signal. This adds up to an effective contrast ratio of 2,594:1. The Vizio’s black levels are slightly lower, so it shows a higher contrast ratio of 4,218:1. The TCL 6-Series, meanwhile, gets astoundingly brighter (1,114.897cd/m^2) and much darker (0.015cd/m^2), for a contrast ratio about 30 times that of the C350 (74,326:1).
The C350 shows better color than it does contrast, though it still doesn’t impress. The above chart shows color levels measured with an SDR signal compared against Rec.709 broadcast standards, and with an HDR signal compared against DCI-P3 digital cinema standards, both in the Movie picture mode. SDR content looks fairly spot-on, which is nice to see (though increasingly common, even in budget TVs). HDR content is decently balanced, though the C350’s color range falls well short of DCI-P3, and whites and magentas run a bit cool. The Vizio M55Q6 and TCL 6-Series both show far wider reach in color.
See How We Test TVsSee How We Test TVs
BBC’s Planet Earth II looks balanced and natural on the C350. While the greens of plants don’t appear as vibrant as they do on some other TVs, they’re still saturated and life-like, as are the rich blue-greens of water. Fine details like fur can be clearly seen, but shots partly darkened by shade can appear too light or slightly muddy.
In Deadpool, the red of the titular character’s costume is vivid and accurate, even under the cool overcast lighting of the opening scene. The burning lab fight is less impressive due to the TV’s poor contrast. The flames look fairly bright and colorful, but shadows appear washed out.
The problems with contrast become really apparent in the party scenes of The Great Gatsby. Depending on the amount of overall light in the frame, details like the cut and contour of black suits can be completely swallowed by muddiness or appear so light they’re almost gray. Dim peak brightness and bright black levels add up to starkly high-contrast scenes like these not living up to the filmmaker’s intent.
Gaming Performance
Gaming performance is where the C350 surprises us. On paper it seems unimpressive, with a 60Hz refresh rate and no gamer-specific features like variable refresh rate (VRR). However, the TV absolutely blazes when it comes to input lag.
Using an HDFury Diva HDMI matrix to measure it, the C350 showed an input lag of only 3.1 milliseconds in the Game picture mode, well below the 20ms threshold we use to consider a TV to be one of the best for gaming. It isn’t quite as low as the Samsung Q70A’s input lag (2.3ms), but it’s still fantastic. Just make sure you switch to Game mode when you play; in Movie mode, the input lag shoots up to 111.2ms.
Capable, But Unimpressive
The Toshiba C350 benefits from an affordable price and the feature-filled Amazon Fire TV platform, and surprises with its incredibly low input lag. Colors also look quite nice on the TV, though that’s becoming increasingly common even among affordable models. That said, its dim panel and poor contrast hold us back from recommending it above other inexpensive models. The Vizio MQ6 series offers better contrast and color for around the same price, and while it doesn’t have a voice assistant, it does support both Apple AirPlay and Google Cast. Ultimately, the TCL 6-Series remains our top pick for budget-friendly TVs. It’s a bit more expensive than the Toshiba or Vizio models and it doesn’t have a voice assistant, but its color and contrast blow the other two out of the water with a far brighter picture and darker blacks.
