55-inch Spectre U550CV-U TV – $249.99 (roughly £200)
Whether you plan to use it as a large format screen or a CCTV monitor, you’ll find the Spectre U550CV-U hard to beat. Nothing rivals its whopping 55-inch viewable area at this price and, with four external video connectors, it will cater to most mainstream use cases.View Deal
Spectre is a popular US-based company that specializes in display solutions, primarily for the consumer market. Over more than 35 years in the business, it has carved out an enviable niche as a budget player with keen pricing.
The U550CV-U is the most affordable 55-inch TV we’ve seen to date, available for the modest price of $249.99 (roughly £200), but we think it would be best deployed in a business context.
For example, this ginormous set could make an excellent large format display or business monitor, and could also be used as part of digital signage solution.
The device supports 4K resolution, pushing more than eight million pixels, and can also play content via a USB port, which is essential if you want to loop content on a shop floor.
Four HDMI ports are available should you want to connect the display to a media player, laptop or thin client. There’s also a VESA mount, SPDIF audio output, headphone jack, traditional tuner and composite/component video.
As for the caveats, there’s no Wi-Fi (or Ethernet connector), VGA or smart TV capabilities – something you’ll have to add after the fact using Miracast or Chromecast
It also lacks advanced features – such as HDR or fast refresh rate – the color reproduction and image quality are likely to be sub-par, and its sound system is distinctly average.
Bear in mind
- Walmart does not ship outside the US, so international customers will have to use a specialist parcel forwarding service if they want to take advantage of the deal
- If you’ve managed to get hold of a cheaper product with equivalent specifications, in stock and brand new, let us know and we’ll tip our hat to you.