Which TV - Advice?

[corsechris]

10 hours ago, Ian Tolfree (tolf) - WSCC AO Rep said:

LG oled by far the best. With OLED, LG can control every pixel so you get far better contrast and colours. With Samsung QLED this is still LCD and the picture is not as good

 

Dont leave a still image or ticker tape on an oled screen for a long period of time, more than 24 hrs, otherwise you can get burn

 

However, this is unlikely to happen on a consumer tv

That was what I thought too....until I compared them. A few years back I swore I’d never give an LCD a second look, but the tech moves on. I fully expected to be choosing OLED and was genuinely surprised when I didn’t. I find it pretty weird to be arguing in favour of an LCD based TV to be honest.

 

The more in depth technical reviews would suggest there is very little to choose between the two technologies in terms of colour gamut, brightness and contrast. Plasma and OLED can achieve a true black by turning off the pixels so in theory, can achieve infinite contrast ratio, but in practice, I think that’s a bit irrelevant. Early LCD sets had rubbish black level, current ones are pretty impressive, particularly with the local dimming. Q-LED sets are brighter than OLED typically, but again,  although that is true, it isn’t such a big deal.

 

What we really want is mini-LED, best of both worlds and the next big thing.....

 

Best suggestion I can make is go and compare the options, but bear in mind your typical viewing conditions as well as typical material too. The OLED screens are very reflective, which can lead to distracting reflections of lights, windows or bright objects. Had this problem with the Pio plasma. If you do your TV viewing in perfect conditions, great, but most of us don’t.

 

I’d also say though, that an average OLED will be better than an average Q-LED/LCD. You need all the tricks in place to mitigate the inherent shortfalls of LCD, and you only get them all at the top of the range. When looking, I also compared Q70 and Q90 Q-LED and the Q70 was clearly lacking.

 

One of the things said on reviews I saw is worth bearing in mind too, “whichever of these sets you choose, you’ll be delighted”

[Stuart]

Samsung getting a fair bit of flak for this though. 

https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5/TV/Smart-TV-Ads-on-the-Menu-Bar/td-p/935573

 

I'm not a Netflix, Amazon Prime, Rakuten TV etc. user but you can't switch ads for that stuff off either.  Our Sony Android is much more user friendly in terms of getting the user interface how you like it

[Blatman]

OK, I see a LOT of TV's where I work and I see them in use and showing multiple sources and even I'm confused...

 

Can we perhaps start with what Jude actually might NEED...

 

Jude, do you have or are you getting SkyQ in the near future?

If "yes I am getting SkyQ" then a UHD TV is the spec. Then it's a choice between OLED ("normal" LED screens) or QLED (liquid crystal display type screens) that MIGHT suffer with screen burn after extended display of a repeated or fixed image. Unlikely in a domestic environment unless the TV is on Bloomberg all day...

 

If "no I'm not getting SkyQ" then a "normal" HDTV is likely going to fit the bill. 

 

With regards to the latest smart apps, what do you usually use? Are you planning on using more? From my personal experience the apps on the TV (catch-up type things) are replicated on the Sky platform for most of what I watch and to be honest I rarely actually use any them, but then I don't suffer with FOMO...

 

I have a preference for Samsung or LG TV's.

 

[corsechris]

Good point - getting lost in the minutiae of display technology and should be asking some basic questions first.

 

Typical source material. Typical viewing conditions. Preference (or not) for a particular smart OS. Hard to buy a TV that isn't 'smart' these days and as you have to interact with it every time you use it, it needs to suit you.

 

 

(OLED screen burn isn't a big concern - but there are situations where it could potentially be. If the TV gets used for gaming much, that could be an issue depending on a number of factors. I'm not trying to make thing of it - after all I spent £2k5 on a plasma TV when screen burn was a big deal, just want to make th point it is a possibility)

[Blatman]

7 minutes ago, corsechris said:

Preference (or not) for a particular smart OS. Hard to buy a TV that isn't 'smart' these days and as you have to interact with it every time you use it, it needs to suit you.

I'm not so sure on that. I rarely interact with my TV. When I switch on Sky it gets switched on and goes to the correct HDMI input. If I want to watch catch-up that's on Sky. If I want to stream something (Netflix or Amazon) that's on Sky or the Firestick or Apple TV or a PC which can be linked, all of them easier and to me faster to load and use than the apps on the TV. More broadly I'm not sure anyone in my circle of friends actually uses the apps on their TV's either. Most of them have Apple TV's and SkyHD (SkyQ these days) which covers the vast majority of use cases. Yes there will be those who seek to rinse the system for every possible feature available but those are the sorts of people found on AV fora discussing the benefits of stuff that can only bee seen by birds of prey...

 

I understand screen-burn is no longer a big concern, BUT it's still a possibility, albeit a dim one (sorry..). Me, I like to eliminate the issues wherever possible. I'm not sure I personally care too much about the black tones or refresh rate or whatever because TV's these days seem to me at least to me pretty homogeneous. Hell my 10 year old Samsung 37" TV still looks great. Blacks are good, no ghosting/motion pixelation/blocking or whatever (or maybe I'm used to it) so if I were to buy anything it will likely be "better" to my eyes than what I have now. So making a choice, there is a TV with a small risk of screen burn and one with zero risk. It's a no-brainer for me and likely almost anyone except the purists and those who are convinced by the purists that X is better than Y. The minutiae of strict in use comparisons is likely to pass me by once the thing is delivered and I'm watching a Star Wars blu-ray in my dimly lit man-cave.. again...   

[corsechris]

I use the Netflix & Amazon apps on the TV as they work way better than the alternatives via the Fire TV stick. Always found that to be incredibly clunky and prone to lockups. Apple TV hardly ever got used and has been demoted to the spare room, along with the Fire TV stick and Pio plasma.

 

I have used a Harmony remote setup for a lot of years now, so I don't make much use of the Smart stuff myself either - without hijacking this even further than I have already, I have 'activities' set up for Netflix, Prime, Sky, Humax Freesat and PS4 (and even off-air TV). One touch on the remote and the Harmony drives all the kit to the right inputs and modes. I did set up the TV Smart menu for iPlayer, More4 and one or two others I might use...but like yourself, tend to do most 'consumption' via the Sky platform.  That said, the iPlayer App on the TV gives access to UHD that I can't get via Sky.

 

I mentioned the Smart interface as I was guilty of assuming most folk would have to work with it.

 

The low risk of burn with an OLED wouldn't have put me off one, but as it turned out, not an issue with the Q-LED I ended up with. They even give a 10 year warranty, not like they need to as the technology on the Q-LED just isn't prone to it, it basically being an LCD telly.

 

First world problems - too much choice of TVs.

 

 

[Jude - The Mad Widow]

5 hours ago, Blatman said:

5 hours ago, Blatman said:

Can we perhaps start with what Jude actually might NEED...

 

The truth is I don't really know enough to be able to say what I need in the future. Right now  I am limited by my very old tv that just gives me a small amount of choice including catch up and Netflix.   What I don't want is to find out I fancy something in a few months but I have bought a TV that wont facilitate it. I enjoy technology but have been left to my own devices for the last few years and have lost touch with what's available. I will get out this week and see what's on offer complete with explanations and possibilities.  Currently I don't have sky and I don't know what skyQ is... whats Blixby?  Right now I don't play online games, (just Pokémon but that's a secret!) That's not to say I wont want to in the future...  I can say currently I will be watching the TV in a north facing room so no bight light to contend with. Jeeze I am well out of touch but you guys rock! I am so glad I asked. 

[corsechris]

The best way to future proof is to buy the latest range, but sadly it’s never a guarantee. (E.T.A. In theory, the smart TVs can have their OS updated over the air to add new features over time. In practice, I cannot help but suspect the manufacturers would much rather sell us a new telly than keep the 'old' one up to date with free upgrades)
 

SkyQ is the latest Sky offering and combines a sky box and if you pay for the option, access to some UHD content. As always, they bundle things very cleverly to extract as much cash from you as possible. There are two types of SkyQ box, one that can receive UHD and one that can’t, so you have choices. 
 

Bixby is the Samsung brand of voice control. Apparently not very good. I have it on my TV but don’t use it so can't comment either way.
 

Any set you buy at the pricepoint you are considering is very likely to have Freeview and probably Freesat capability, probably with dual tuners and the ability to record to an external USB hard disc too.

[Jude - The Mad Widow]

I just saw this, its a 2018 model but i dont think that matters? Whats the verdict - yes I know its stupidly big!

 

https://www.very.co.uk/samsung-ue65ru7400nbsp2019-65-inch-dynamic-crystal-colour-ultra-hd-4k-certified-hdr-smart-tv/1600355303.prd

 

or this?

https://www.very.co.uk/samsung-qe65q60-65-inch-qled-4k-ultra-hd-certified-hdr-1000-smart-q60-tv/1600352442.prd?crossSellType=item_page.recs_1

[Kit Car Electronics]

Looks like a total steal - I have the 60" version from the previous year and I absolutely love it.

[Rhett Turner - Black Country AO]

I would recommend looking at LG, Samsung, Panasonic and Sony. Early on in the LCD TV days Sony just did not seem to have a good product but they have caught up now.

We've a 55" Sony (with Android) (coming up to 3 years old) in one room and a 49" Panasonic (18 months) in the other, both 4K. We use Tivo with both and the inbuilt apps on the TVs for Netflix, prime, iPlayer, YouTube etc. When we purchased I did not quite get the latest spec but one of two earlier. Been pleased with both.

 

When I was looking at TVs and purchased the Sony, I was originally looking at Samsung but after talking to a couple of different TV chaps in John Lewis,  Richersounds and Currys the general consensus  was that Sony was the manufacturer to beat.

 

Good luck with the hunt. 

[MrPid]

Be careful of Black Friday sales etc.

 

When I looked at the last "Prime Day" event on amazon they were really pushing the TV's. On closer inspection it looks to be old stock being sold of cheap! Some models (whilst new) are already dated technology so be vary careful. The Serial numbers will tell you the manufacture dated et al.

 

I found that a decent deal could be had on a current model for a small increase in price.

 

If you can find a good deal on a current model during the Black Friday/New Year sales then you're on to a winner! :-) 

[Jude - The Mad Widow]

It's done. Black Friday deal. More expensive than I planned and bigger! 

Your advice was invaluable, I know where to come for great advice and I thank you all. 

I will definitely be enjoying watching my photos from our Westfield trip to Switzerland back in June. 

[Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO]

1 hour ago, Jude - The Mad Widow said:

It's done. Black Friday deal. More expensive than I planned and bigger! 

Your advice was invaluable, I know where to come for great advice and I thank you all. 

I will definitely be enjoying watching my photos from our Westfield trip to Switzerland back in June. 

Looks like one of your pics on the box! enjoy!

[corsechris]

I highly recommend getting yourself set up on iPlayer (if you haven't already) and watching Seven Worlds, One Planet in UHD.

 

of course, you realise you now need a 4k BluRay player too of course....and the 9.1 sound system