If you are looking for a TV with a panel on a tight budget to watch linear TV and enjoy the occasional movie, then yes you can consider the Skyworth 40-inch 43M20. It has decent viewing angles and works well for everyday TV viewing. However, the smart TV experience and audio from the TV are lacklustre.
Key specifications at a glance
Panel Size: 43-inch
Panel Type: IPS
Panel Resolution: 1920×1080 – Full HD
Panel Refresh Rate: 60Hz
HDR 10 support: No
Dolby Vision Support: No
Weight: 11.5 kgs
HDMI Ports: 3
USB Ports: 2
Bluetooth: No
Wi-Fi: Yes
Ethernet: Yes
Speakers: 2 x 10W
CPU: ARM Quad core
RAM: 512MB
Built-in storage: 4GB
Build and design
Kicking things off with the build and design, it is what you’d expect from a 20K TV. It is all plastic, isn’t very slim (which is acceptable at the price point) and comes with two silver table top legs. The legs feel sturdy and well-built which is nice to see at this price point. The table top stand holds the TV in place well. There are bezels around the display but for the price, they are relatively thin making it acceptable and they don’t interfere with everyday tv viewing.
Overall, the design of the TV is minimalistic and in line with what we expect at this price. It is nice to see a sturdy stand at this price point especially when we consider the competition.
Ports and connectivity
When it comes to connectivity at the back of the smartphone, the Skyworth 43M20 has S/PDIF out, 3 HDMI ports with no ARC support, PC in, PC audio in, Antenna in, and YPbPr along with a headphones port. On the right the TV has the AV in, 2 USB ports and a LAN port.
Overall, three HDMI ports are a good number, but there should have been at least one port on the side for ease of reach if you decide to wall mount the TV.
Display Panel and Picture Quality
The TV has an IPS panel which means you can get decent viewing angles and considering the price point the panel is the TVs strength. Keeping the picture settings at normal and bumping up the brightness we got a good viewing experience when watching movies and TV shows and playing games. The only problem is that there are times when the content appears a little blurry. This didn’t happen often, but it happened enough times for us to notice. This could for a number of reasons including the internet connectivity at our end, but it is something to keep in mind.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the YouTube app that’s built into the TV doesn’t play content in 1080p. it is limited to 720p which can be a bummer for many. To make the most of the 1080p panel on this TV we recommend investing in a streaming stick like the Chromecast or the Fire TV Stick.
1080p streaming
For 1080p streaming we resorted to Netflix and Prime Videos from our trusted Xbox One X. The console is a good source of content and you will do well to use this TV with a Fire TV stick for such services. We saw some Star Trek Discovery, John Wick, Young Sheldon and even some action sequences from Wonder Woman. Keeping the price point of the TV in mind, the performance of the panel isn’t bad at all. It would be unfair to start talking about black levels, colour reproduction and nit pick on a TV at this price because these aren’t the details that you will look for at about 20K. The thing to consider is that the TV has good viewing angles, the picture quality gets the work done when watching TV. When watching Wonder Woman, the colours won’t give you the vibrant feel you get especially during the early sequences of the film. The colours appear slightly bleaker than they should, but they retain the details you’d expect at 1080p. The only thing to keep in mind is that 720p content or lower from streaming services looks worse than it should. The best way to get a feel of this is watch the same video from the built in YouTube app and from a source like the Chromecast to understand the difference.
Overall, the picture quality is decent for the price of the TV.
Gaming
If you are spending 20 to 25K on a TV for gaming, then I suggest you get a monitor instead. It won’t be as big, yes, but the experience will be a lot better. However, if this is the one TV you have for gaming then know that it can be done. A game like Doom will run in 1080p at 60fps and the experience is smooth. The audio in the game sounded muffled but the picture quality is acceptable. When getting into a close kill in Doom you get a nice depth of field effect and that is a little lost on this TV. But then again, the TV costs 20K and you can play Doom in 1080p at 60fps if you have an Xbox One X.
Moving to a game like Forza Horizon 4, keeping the picture preset at movie and you will enjoy the beautiful countryside in the game. It does shift the colour slightly to the warmer side, however that’s not a bad thing as the colours do look better than the normal preset. Depending on the game that you play, I recommended changing the preset to reach one that suits your viewing experience.
Overall, the performance of the panel is what you’d expect for the price. Now there are other TVs like the Mi TV 4A which has a 43-inch FHD display but since we haven’t reviewed the TV we can’t give you a comparison in picture performance.
Built-in services and UI
By far the weakest aspect of the TV is the built-in smart experience. The TV runs on Android (AOSP) 4.4 out of the box with a custom UI and honestly, you’d be better off investing in a Fire TV stick to enjoy a “smart TV” experience. You can sideload apps like Netflix and Prime Videos but to get the best experience and make the most of the panel at your disposal, you’d do better to invest in the streaming stick.
However, if you do decide to use the built-in UI, know that it is broken up into various screens, each representing functions like – all apps, sports apps, games and music. Navigating the UI is simple enough however, you will notice a slight bit of lag when doing so. You will have to be a little patient when using the UI of this TV.
Overall, the UI is underwhelming. You can enjoy YouTube on it if you want but don’t expect this to give you a good smart TV experience.
Audio quality from the TV
The audio quality from the built-in speakers is a little tinny when listening to music or watching movies. The dialogues get muffled with the background music and keeping to sound setting to the ‘film’ preset was the best for watching movies and playing games. However, there is a ‘news’ preset and this works best for, you guessed it, watching news. It essentially boasts the vocals while reducing the impact of background music. This preset can also work well for those of you that watch shows with more dialogue and less background music.
When gaming everything does get jumbled together. In a game like doom you can’t make out the separation between the background score and the sound of the guns. They get muddled together and to truly enjoy the audio of the game, you would have to invest in a pair of speakers. Considering the price of the TV we can’t expect the world from its audio performance, and if you will use this TV in a small room, then know that the speakers are loud, and can work for everyday viewing. Don’t expect them to bring the house down when watching movies.
Remote control
Speaking of the remote control, the device has a traditional remote control with all the buttons you could want on one. From power, source, zoom, numbers to UI navigation like home, directional buttons, volume and program controls and playback the remote is self-sufficient. It also curves at the back between the battery housing and the centre adding a nice grip. Just one thing to be careful about is that the IR receiver is at the bottom left of the TV so ensure it isn’t blocked by your set-top-box or any other gadget to enjoy seamless functionality.
Overall, the remote of the TV is functional.
Bottom Line
If you are looking for a TV with a panel that works for everyday TV viewing on a tight budget, then yes you can consider the Skyworth 40-inch 43M20. It has decent viewing angles and works well for everyday TV viewing. You can also enjoy the occasional movie and game on it if you change to the Film preset. However, the smart TV experience and audio from the TV are lacklustre. If a smart TV experience is what you are looking for at this price point, then you can consider the Xiaomi Mi TV. PatchWall does work quite smoothly. If you don't mind forgoing the smart capabilities, i suggest you take a look at a few options in offline showrooms before making a purchase decision.
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Sameer Mitha
Sameer Mitha lives for gaming and technology is his muse. When he isn’t busy playing with gadgets or video games he delves into the world of fantasy novels. View Full Profile
