Choosing a TV today can be a real challenge. There are many manufacturers in the market with outstanding capabilities and technologies. The cost of 4K TVs often seems high for many buyers.
And so, Yandex recently released its new TV – TV Station BASIC. This is the junior model in the line, positioned as “top for your money” (read right in the name). So what is good in this “base” of Good?
I have already managed to get my hands on the new product. And today I will talk about the pros and cons of the device. If you are already thinking about buying, then you should find out about everything in advance.
Brief description
It’s not just a TV, it’s a whole smart complex
Set. Nothing extra
Design. Minimalism in everything
Display. 4K on site
Sound. Worthy
Easy to connect and configure
Looking for a good and inexpensive TV? Yandex for you
It’s not just a TV, it’s a whole smart complex
Alice can do everything
With the help of Yandex TV Station, you simultaneously introduce two gadgets at once: a smart speaker and a TV. This device remains active even when the screen is turned off. TVcia Stan is always ready to accept voice commands and respond to them.
Voice control of Yandex TVs has already improved significantly. However, not everyone could afford models of other TV stations that were more visible. This version of BASIC easily solves the problem. Now similar software with Alice is available in inexpensive models.
Responsible for the operation of the system Alice based on YandexGPT. She is your personal assistant on this TV, so he doesn’t even really need a remote control. She can select different channels, movies and music, open applications, suggest questions of interest and much more.
Like other Yandex devices, there is a physical switch to mute the microphone, which allows you to control your privacy.
Alice supports all available functions and smart home control, although working with Zegbee will require a separate hub. It’s also a full-fledged TV with access to a variety of apps, streaming services, TV channels and switchable external devices such as game consoles.
While watching, you can call Alice and she will appear in a low cabinet on the screen with answers and graphics based on your request, while the video continues to play.
The LED strip is succinctly contained in the overall minimalistic design.
The interaction indicator is located at the bottom of the screen, right under the Yandex logo, as I already wrote about above. It flashes and glows in signature purple when a command is processed, so you can always tell if your assistant has heard your voice.
The built-in microphones work effectively even in noisy environments and can pick up whispers. Alice will also whisper if necessary. If necessary, you can completely disable the TV Station by holding down the power button on the remote control and selecting the item. Turn off.
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Set. Nothing extra
There wasn’t much in the observation box.
Together with the device you continue:
► legs with screws for mounting the TV on a horizontal surface
► documentation
► remote control
► two AA batteries for the remote control
► power cable
There’s nothing else here. And it’s not necessary, as a matter of fact. I wish there was also a wall mounting bracket like the earlier version, but oh well. It’s good that at least there is a mount for it.
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Design. Minimalism in everything
This thin TV
In my case, we encounter a large 65-inch panel with the thinnest frames. It uses a black plastic case with a discreet logo on the bottom, there is also an LED strip to display Alice’s work, and there are also 4 Farfield microphones.
It looks modern and can be hung on the wall or placed on a cabinet in any interior. Inscribed with a bang. True, you can’t buy a branded bracket yet.
There are several ports attached to the back of the panel:
📺 HDMI 2.1: 3 pieces
📺 USB 2.0: 2 pieces
📺 Ethernet
📺 Optical output
📺 AUXILIARY
All ports are conveniently located, they can be easily reached in any situation, there is enough space.
Be prepared for the fact that this is a hefty TV and will need a lot of space. Dimensions are 1446x844x83 mm. At the same time he weighs 14.3 kgwhich is not that much. However, you still won’t be able to hang the TV in “one”, and putting it on the cabinet will be problematic.
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Display. 4K on site
quite complex frame
I’ll start with the most emotional thing – with protective films. It’s a credit to unstick them. They are all numbered, it is important to follow the order, and they may not always come off well.
This is where the disadvantages (if this can be attributed to them at all) end. Among the advantages are decent color rendition, excellent brightness and contrast, and also work without displaying burnt-out pixels.
Here it is used KSF LED Matrixwhich displays colors better than other LED counterparts. The contrast is 4000:1, there is support for HDR10. The brightness in the 65-inch model reaches 400 nits, and in the version with a smaller diagonal it is lower – 320 nits. Overall, listen with such comfort at any time of the day.
Maximum resolution – 4K. But the update was disappointing with the contrast; it’s only 60 Hz. For gamers, this factor may be fundamental. For example, you cannot enable VRR on PlayStation 5 to change the frame rate of games.
The color rendition of stars from the sky is not enough. It’s just good for its price, especially for working with Shadows. No more, no less. The device screen is calibrated perfectly.
From personal impression, the image quality of this model is very good. The black color is very close to black (taking into account the presence of an LED display), I did not notice any highlights.
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Sound. Worthy
Very high quality TV speakers
For sound, there are two wideband speakers, which are manually calibrated by Yandex engineers.
Of course, this is not the level of individual stationary speakers. However, with such dynamics there is no special need for them. The bass is deep, the highs are sonorous, the mids are readable, and have a fairly wide range. In general, you will be comfortable both watching movies and playing games. But no frills.
For better understanding: The sound of the built-in speakers in Basic Stations turned out to be better than in Mini Stations, and the maximum volume is higher than in Midi Stations.
The speaker power in the 65-inch version is 30 W. In the 43-inch device it is lower, 20 W.
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Easy to connect and configure
To set up Yandex TV Stations BASIC you only need to download the application Home with Alice.
Then you just need to become a winner. Quickly log into your Yandex account, connect the remote control to one machine and connect to Wi-Fi. After updating the software, the TV will be ready for use. Everything is simple and concise, it turns out clear, like Apple.
In terms of content, everything is standard for smart TV:
• films and TV series
• TV channels
• support for various streaming services (for example, if you don’t need a movie in Kinopoisk, Alice herself will offer to go where it is)
• sports broadcasts
• online games
• support for APK applications (you can install any program for Android TV)
• neurobrowser with simultaneous video translation into 8 languages
There are a number of other features with other Yandex TVs, all of which work on YaOS. For example, you can share images from your smartphone on the TV screen, calls, etc.
There is another cool feature – search by video on all platforms at once. Just tell Alice “Find “Oppenheimer” (or any other film) on the Internet,” the assistant will find it in the best quality, and all you have to do is turn it on. Even RubTube needs to find movies for you in maximum quality.
The remote control for the BASIC Station has not changed; it completely copies the previous version. So I won’t get pregnant on it.
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Looking for a good and inexpensive TV? Yandex for you
No exaggeration. Yandex TV Station Basic is a good TV that offers the functions of both speakers and a smart TV. It can also be used as a hub to control the entire smart home.
Here are the prices for all diagonals:
• 43“: 34,990 rubles
• 50“: 39,990 rubles
• 55“: 49,990 rubles
• 65“: 64,990 rubles
You can buy the new product now on Yandex Market. The company gives all customers a 60-day “Plus” subscription so that they can safely test all services for 2 months.
Source: Iphones RU
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
