Review: Stylish Loewe Bild 3.55 Oled Tv Is A Class Apart

The Loewe Bild 3.55 OLED TV is a fine looking flatscreen, in every sense.

- Steve May

Loewe was one of the first TV brands to elevate the design of the humble television into something that approached art. Under the guidance of creative director Bodo Sperlein, it brought a sense of minimalist refinement to its flatscreens; it wanted them to look as good off as on.

With the Bild 3.55, it’s clear the German brand hasn’t run out of ideas. Despite the fact that this is ostensibly a Loewe ‘budget’ offering, it has embellishments that will delight those looking for class above cost-savings.

The Loewe Bild 3 line-up actually consists of both LED LCD as well as OLED models. The version we have here is a 55-inch OLED, but there’s also sibling 3.49 and 3.43 LCD screens. Stylistically, they all look exactly the same. Good news if you want to deploy multiple Loewe TVs around your house, and have them match.

The TV sits on a pedestal stand, and features a distinct circular LED status indicator. A forward facing speaker array (we hesitate to call it a soundbar) is finished in an acoustically neutral charcoal fabric. Look top right, and you’ll find the Loewe logo on a tag jutting out from the ultra thin aluminium bezel.

The glass itself is just 4.9mm thin, but fills out to accommodate connectivity. There are four HDMIs, all HDCP 2.2 compliant for use with other 4K UHD gear, plus micro AV, a trio of USBs, Ethernet and a digital audio output.

When you connect an HDR source, it’s important to ensure all the relevant HDMIs are set up correctly. Uncheck the Compatibility mode in the HDMI menu, as this is intended for older devices only. This is the only way your TV will recognise that it’s getting an HDR signal.

The supplied remote control has commensurate heft, and sports a nice hairline finish. There’s nothing plastricky about this pointer. It’s premium all the way.