Blaupunkt Milkyway Series Mini QD 65-inch TV Review: Cinematic performance on a budget

The Indian television market is flooded with options, offering multiple choices for customers looking to buy a TV at a reasonable price. What was once a landscape dominated by a few legacy players offering high-quality devices at premium prices is now turned into a battlefield of aggressive specifications and competitive pricing. Technologies such as Quantum Dot (QLED) and Mini LED are rapidly trickling down into the mid-range and budget segments. Blaupunkt is one such brand that is now offering flagship quality at a much lower price. Blaupunkt’s Milkyway Series’ 65 inch Ultra HD (4K) Mini LED Smart Google TV is one option that delivers higher brightness levels, better contrast management and thundering sound system that do not immediately require the purchase of an external soundbar. Priced at Rs 58,999 on Amazon, this TV attempts to disrupt the segment by offering Mini LED technology, a massive 108W sound output, and gaming-centric features like 120Hz refresh rate on a 65-inch canvas. This review takes a look at the real-world performance offered by the TV.From a design perspective, Blaupunkt is offering a “frameless” design that allows the TV to blend into surroundings. The bezels are minimal, allowing the 65-inch screen to dominate the visual field. The finish adds a touch of premium build.The primary selling point of the Blaupunkt Milkyway Series is its display technology. It moves away from Direct LED or Edge LED panels to Mini LED technology here, which is a significant step up as it not only reduces the ‘grey black’ phenomenon where dark scenes looked washed out due to the inability of the backlight to dim effectively but also offer a much detailed, bright and colourful output.Mini LED technology essentially shrinks the size of the LEDs, which means more LEDs in a smaller section that results into sharper and crispier output. According to the company, the TV features 288 local dimming zones (compared to thousands in high-end flagship TVs), which a respectable number for this price point. This results in a contrast ratio of 100,000:1 which, in layman’s terms, means that when watching content with deep blacks, such as space scenes or night sequences, the greyish tone vanishes offering darker picture.The panel offers a peak brightness of 1500 nits which means it delivers punchy visuals even in a well-lit room (if its kept near a large windows or a place where there is significant ambient light). Despite its high brightness, it sometimes struggles to combat glare. Moreover, the TV supports all major HDR formats, including Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG. It also gets “Smart Eye Shield” to protect eyes from blue light.Under the hood, the Blaupunkt Milkyway is powered by a MediaTek AI-powered processor that is cable of handling smoothness of the UI and upscaling of low-resolution content. The company claims that the inbuilt-AI can optimise frames in real-time, and adjusts sharpness, colour and motion handling. However, we found some issues. For example, wile watching Gemini Man train assasination scene, the upscaled content looked a bit pastely. Also, the default picture settings may look eye catchy but we had to tune the picture as per our liking because it was too bright for us. Having said that, you get multiple picture modes, including HDR, HDR Movie, HDR Sport, and more. For gamers, this TV offers a 120Hz refresh rate, supported by HDMI 2.1 features like Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR). For console gamers (PS5 or Xbox Series X), these features are non-negotiable for a smooth experience. We watched Daredevil, Stranger Things Season 5, and a couple of football matches during our review and found the overall display performance to be satisfactory as per the price point. However, we advise users to find the best picture mode because the screen may be too bright, too colourful for some.The bright, smooth display is complemented by the audio setup. Modern, affordable slim TVs generally suffer from terrible audio physics as there is no room for large drivers. Blaupunkt has managed to fit in a total of 6 speakers setup that produces 108W sound output. The 6 speakers, include 4 dynamic speakers and 2 subwoofers that are placed on the back panel. The inclusion of subwoofers not only adds a low-end thump but the placement on the makes the output fuller as it bounces off the wall on which it’s fitted.Supported by Dolby Atmos and Dolby Digital Plus, the TV attempts to create a 360-degree sound field. While it cannot replace the output of a dedicated sound bar setup, it is significantly better than the stock audio most of the TVs in the premium market. For example, the sonic sound of fighter jets in the movie Top Gun: Maverick and actions sequences in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame had a bit of warmth and depth to the sound – making the overall experience ‘cinematic.On the software front, the TV runs on Google TV and comes with a bunch of preinstalled apps like YouTube. The interface is clean, responsive and easy to navigate. It comes with built-in Chromecast and Google Assistant. The remote is fine with hotkeys for Netflix, YouTube, YouTube Music and Amazon Prime Videos.The Blaupunkt Milkyway Series 65-inch Mini QD TV is designed to offer specifications that are typically reserved for TVs costing significantly more. A 65-inch Mini LED panel with 1500 nits of brightness and a 120Hz refresh rate for under Rs 60,000 is rare and a good deal. The inclusion of the 108W sound system with inbuilt subwoofers is the cherry on top, solving one of the biggest pain points of modern TV ownership. For a consumer who wants a “cinema-in-a-box” solution without the hassle of setting up external speakers and wires, can explore Blaupunkt’s Milkyway series offerings.There are, of course, some caveats like 288 dimming zones, slight crackling audio if watched on higher volumes and the processor's capability to perform on the highest level for years. At Rs 58,999, this TV is a value for money option that offers modern features like Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and next-gen gaming support.