Devant is now getting to be a popular brand of choice for price-conscious TV-hunters. They manage to keep up with the latest TV technology while achieving good design and keeping the cost reasonably lower than competitors.
The Devant WIZ8 is similar to the iTV6 Smart TV we reviewed a few months ago but is clearly a step up in terms of looks. It is a Full HD TV capable of 3D viewing, has basic internet apps such as a browser, Facebook and Youtube, and can accept flash drives and external storage for content via USB. It also has a built-in ISDB-T receiver, a feature that’s rarely available in other brands.
What we have is the 55″ version but it’s also available in 46″ and 42″ if you don’t need your TV to be too big. It has an elegant look with its polished silver and crystal design. The thin bezel looks really nice on a screen this big as it lets you appreciate the content more with less distraction.
It also uses a sturdy polished X-stand for its base that spans more than half the length of the TV. The base will actually remind of you previous high-end Samsung LED TVs and looks good compared to traditional black slabs.
At the back you will be presented with a lot of terminal options. You have the basic component and composite inputs, a VGA for connecting your old laptop, 3 HDMI inputs, a LAN port for a wired network connection, and 3 USB ports which you can also use to connect the included WiFi dongle to enable wireless internet on the TV.
The remote control is easy to operate for normal TV/Media usage but is not that friendly for Smart TV functions.
Viewing experience
So how’s the viewing experience? My dad who enjoys watching films visited us for a week and he was astounded the first time I played a 1080p video on it via USB. Although it was an animated flick, the colors were vibrant and crisp and viewing it on the 55-inch TV was just a breathtaking experience.
He then proceeded to watch an action flick, Skyfall, only in standard definition. I thought it won’t look that good on the big screen considering it couldn’t make use of the full HD resolution but I was wrong. At a comfortable viewing angle, you wouldn’t notice the pixelation (you will when you get close) and the 120MHz Vivid Motion made it look like you’re watching the flick straight from the set as actions become smoother and livelier, like the actors are popping out of the screen. Mom was just amazed with this feature.
Next up was a 3D Full HD version of The Avengers via a media player connected to the TV using HDMI. The included 3D glasses are the same as that of the iTV6 so it’s not as good-looking and streamlined as current 3D glasses of known brands. It is charged via microUSB though so you don’t have to deal with replacing batteries. Both my parents enjoyed it even if they’re seated at and angle but I doubt you will be using it that much. 2D to 3D conversion still remains to be a gimmick however as it’s not as good as watching real 3D content.
Internet
Connecting the WIZ8 to your wireless network is easy to do via the network settings. What I don’t like is having to set this up each time you turn on the TV (a pain if you have long passwords), something that’s prevalent from their old Smart TV. Best solution would to go with a wired connection unless you’re comfortable leaving your wireless network open without a password.
Devant still has a long way to go with their Smart TV apps. There’s only the web browser, DLNA, YouTube, Facebook, Picasa and Twitter. The browser is a bit slow and a pain to navigate to despite connecting a wireless keyboard/mouse. Perhaps the only useful app is YouTube so you could surf for videos straight on your big screen. I personally used YouTube here to get my recap of American Idol.
Verdict
The biggest draw of the Devant WIZ8 Smart 3D Internet TV obviously is the design, picture quality, and price. The Smart TV feature can still use some improvements though that it’s better to treat it as an added bonus say for example you want to show the family a funny YouTube video you discovered. You won’t however, be disappointed in watching your favorite flicks on this TV whether they’re standard def, HD or Full HD.
The 55″ 55WIZ830 retails for Php109,950 and comes with your choice of mix of freebies from BluRay players, speakers, to a 42″ iTV6 Smart 3D Internet TV which costs almost Php30,000 already. The 46″ version (46WIZ830) retails for Php69,950 while the 42″ (42WIZ830) goes for Php46,950.
14 comments
can you download files straight to a Flash drive that’s plugged into one of it’s USB port????
I dont think the browser is capable of downloading files but i havent checked yet
meron bang ganito na hindi internet and 3D ready?
Sir Calvin, I believe that the ISDB-T tuner that is included is not compliant with the Philippine ISDB-T Standards. It cannot detect the Emergency Warning Broadcast System (EWBS) and BML datacasting. Those features are very essential to the standard and it gives a full ISDB-T experience.
If an ISDB-T device cannot detect such features, it is not compliant with PHILIPPINE ISDB-T STANDARDS.
Sir ano ibig sabihin nyan?
Useless din ba yung ISDB-T tuner ng devant?
Bibili na po kasi kami ng wife ko ng Led Tv para makatipid ng consumption sa kuryente. Old tv namin kasi ay yung 29″ crt type.
Sa ISDB-T tuner ng Devant ako na aattract kaya paki info lang po kung wala din yung ISDB-T tuner sa Devant.
Thanks in Advance.
Sa ibang brand ano mairerefer nyo na model na may SDB-T tuner or capale na sa digital broadcast kasi bibili na po kmi bukas.
DeVant is poor quality TV. It breaksdown in a year. Mine took only 8 months. You end up throwing your money if you buy this brand. Research and you will find many bad experiences of people who bought DeVant
Agree, mine naman nasira hdmi port after two year, the cost to repair is 16000,e almost same lang for a brand new 32 lcd
Been using my 42wiz830 for 3 yrs now..
and okay pa naman sha.. wala pang sira..
and at least naka open ung tv for 8 hours a day every day…
baka naka chamba lang ako ng maganda
Please don’t buy Devant 42wiz830. The features was amazing but poor on tv. Sa amin ganyan.. hndi p nga 1 month sira agad, my guhit n sa gitna. then the abenson replace the unit of same brand and model. after a month sira ulit. parang ganito na ang itsura ng screen (http://www.chickensmoothie.com/oekaki/image/image.php?id=213187&size=large&format=auto&rev=1287354621) (REMOVE THE PARENTHESES TO SEE THE LINK) parang agua bendita n. my sound pero walang tao n lumalabas.. and now i diceded to replace a SONY brand..that’s all
Is it possible to just replace the unit with another brand from Abenson? Altho papalitan ng Devant ung unit namin bukas, nakaka-discourage pa din seeing a lot of negative reviews about their products. Excited pa man din ang mga bata to watch 3D movies pero nadisappoint lang with the defective unit.
We bought the 42WIZ830 sa Abenson Rob Manila. Sa testing it was ok, pagdating sa bahay we found the ff.:
1. 3d glasses not charging. Nagrered ung light (meaning its charging) pero after a few seconds namamatay na. Sabi sa customer svc ng Devant dapat daw dire diretso ang charging.
2. When we do 2d-3d converson, black screen lang then ayaw na, even the menu disappears. Kelangan pa patayin at i-on ulit ung tv para magamit.
3. Nagla-lag ang mga movies (playing through the included bluray player).
4. Nagfiflicker ang screen when watching cable tv and some movies. Kahit properly plugged naman lahat.
Called techpoint, ung kanilang svc center and said they will replace the unit.
Update ko kayo pag dumating na sila bukas.. 🙁
Its just sad na you paid almost 50k for this tapos panget ang performance.
we recently bought a 55″wiz831 and the TV is okay except that there considerable amount of light leaks from the LEDs behind the LCD. They are annoying when watching at night and even if it’s relatively bright in the room the light leak is still noticeable. Last year we bought an iTV600, this also had light leaks but not as much as the 55″. Is there any remedy for this? Is this a consistent problem with LEDs or only those from DeVant, also I hope this is not a foretelling of short TV life span, both TVs are okay except for those light leaks.
i bought a Devant 42" Smart 3D TV last August 2014. I connected it to wifi via my celfone in hotspot once and it was ok. but then when i was trying to use the wi-fi after that we already encounter an error. Please set WLAN device! I thought it was just a simple problem. I called thru their hotline and I was advice that the mainboard need to be replaced.
What??? I'm quite disappointed. I just hope that it will not have any problems after that specially the function of the TV. 🙁