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Also don't overlook sound quality... The LGs have seriously impressive built in speakers to the point you don't really *need* additional audio gubbins if it's going to spoil the aesthetic of the room.
That said I use my TV as a center speaker, and have an amp and sub and stereo speakers doing the heavy lifting.
So I clearly don't take my own advice, but the point is, don't overlook the audio when choosing, it makes a huge difference and I'm not talking about total volume, more the general quality, stereo seperation & sound stage etc.
I have a Panasonic OLED and it's a thing of beauty. It was a factory return off ebay so x00 cheaper than new, a minor risk, but the address of the seller on ebay was the same as the Panasonic reseller on ebay. Is probably ~4 years old now and will likely last a good while longer still I'm sure.
Picture quality is ace (all AI and auto creation of picture things switched off), sound, I never use, apps, I never use.
A TV in a shop will look nothing like it will in your front room. They have the settings maxed out to be bright and shiny in a showroom, but for normal TV use these settings are incredibly harsh. Plus the "biggish" screen in a shop will be massive in a front room!
I also do as @mattyfez said - TV speakers are fine for most things, but for films I fire up the A/V receiver, external speakers & sub.
I've already said above, I'd like to spend less than a grand.
Get the Hisense. You won't regret it. If you do I'll buy it off you 😀
We cut a piece of cardboard to size to try and picture the end result
We were decorating, I drew a rectangle on the wall the size of a 55" TV. We both agreed that was the right size, no bigger. I bought a 65" instead, it is long forgotten - you soon get used to the bigger size.
I have a Panasonic OLED and it's a thing of beauty. It was a factory return off ebay so x00 cheaper than new, a minor risk, but the address of the seller on ebay was the same as the Panasonic reseller on ebay. Is probably ~4 years old now and will likely last a good while longer still I'm sure.
Picture quality is ace (all AI and auto creation of picture things switched off), sound, I never use, apps, I never use.
OLED is definitely the biggest upgrade since 1080p resolution (HD).
Everything else is just tinkering around the edges.
Along with HDR can really give you night blindness when exiting a dark cave into the sunshine in a computer game, for example... It's really a game changer...
... More so than going from a lower resolution to 4k.
In fact when I'm gaming I usually force the resolution down to 1440p so my graphics card isn't getting hammered quite so hard.
OLED plus HDR at 120fps is just a joy to behold.
Edit.. That's another thing.. Forcing a 4k oled down to 1440p works flawlessly too, unlike some LCD panels that can't really cope with anything but the default resolution.
My next TV will be a bigger LG OLED. 55---->75.
When we go to relatives houses they sit there with 3 remotes in their hands because one does the telly, one does the box, one does the volume etc. I need to avoid this.
This is one of the reasons I went for the Freely Hisense. No external speaker needed. All apps and Freely just work. Everything in one place on one remote (plus my phone can double as a spare remote when someone walks off with the one we have!).
No adverts. No listening in. Viddaa OS just works.
Also buy from... John Lewis as they provide a 5 year warranty as standard.
My experience with John Lewis was significantly less than optimal - I had issues with ghosting/shadowing around the edge of the screen (Samsung LCD) which was apparently due to faulty backlights. They wouldn't replace, instead I was left with a crappy little TV for about two weeks whilst it was repaired (it was less than a year old IIRC). About four weeks later the fault developed again, I had the same response, being left with a crappy little TV whilst they repaired it again. When it went for the third time, and I was fobbed off with another repair, I want into the shop (Leeds city centre) and kicked up a fuss until they agreed to refund me in full so I could choose another set (an LG, which I got from AO as it was much cheaper than JL, and it has been faultless).
This is one of the reasons I went for the Freely Hisense. No external speaker needed. All apps and Freely just work.
Can you tell more about this – we're trying to find a true 'one remote' solution for my elderly in-laws – something they can just switch on, choose a channel, and watch with minimum fuss (and obviously be able to easily switch channel, pause, alter volume etc).
On the subject of needing to use returns etc., I would avoid ebuyer at any cost. I still regret not taking them to small claims court.
I bought a Samsung TV from them, and less than 2 years later the remote stopped working. They initially said "talk to Samsung not us" so I tried that, but they said "12 month warranty, talk to the retailer". ebuyer then wouldn't accept any evidence that the remote was faulty except for an ethereal professional report (which obviously they wouldn't pay for). Technically the onus was on me to prove that it was faulty, but that was easy to do any number of ways that they wouldn't accept. The remote was in perfect condition except that it stopped working.
Then ultimately they took an even better stance, which I quote directly from their complaints handler: "The remote is a free accessory, therefore this isn’t something we can assist with."
When I offered them a chance to reconsider that insane statement, they stopped talking to me.
A new remote was only about £20, but holy moley!
Anything wrong with Samsung? I'm brand agnostic but I can get 20% off everything on the website with a student card.
Just get a Samsung, there's far less than 20% difference between an LG, Samsung, Panasonic or Sony at a given price point.
As for budget I was thinking absolute maximum of 1k we needed to. Hopefully less. We already have a soundbar and sub.
To be honest I'd get the ~£400 Samsung range, in the last couple of years I've bought two 55" Samsungs, one was ~£350 for the shed, the other ~£850 for the living room. The living room one does do blacks better (it's still LED/LCD but has the fancy dimming), but unless I told you that, you'd probably not notice they were different TV's unless they were side by side.
Please don't be one of those people that puts the telly half way up the wall
I've never had a problem with ours right up above the fireplace.
I really don't understand why you'd want to give over floorspace to a TV since CRT's went extinct.
Hisense
I bought a Hisense when our old Samung was retired, I figured that technology would have trickled down and now cheaper brands would be great.
I took it back to Costco under their no quibble returns after a few days of trying to get a decent colour balance. It was a genuinely awful picture.
I know some people are in different positions on the spectrum of being picky about these things, some would turn their noses up at the difference between the £400 and £800 LED's or the £800 LED's and cheaper OLEDs. But the difference between the <£300 Hisense and £350 Samsung was massive. For TV studios we actually used the equivalent ~£400 LG's TV's simply because they boot up into the last used input rather than a horrible menu.
Before you buy, try out the smart interface and see if you like it or whether it's slow etc.. we have an LG and its hateful on ours , my MiLs Panasonic is much nicer so over time you notice this more than the panel
Spend time browsing AV forums - there are far more knowledgable people (geeks) on there than a biking forum.
There's nothing wrong with a Samsung if it's the right model set up right and Dolby Vision isn't the end of the world - most people in a blind (ironic when discussing a visual product) test probably couldn't tell the difference between a DV and HDR10+ TV.
Our last two TV's have been Samsung - using settings recommended on AVF, they've had stunning PQ for their time and the UI/OS/Apps have been fine. I'm not against an LG OLED for our next TV, but they aren't without flaws.
Samsung has the bonus of phone integration and the best soundbar available too if that's a consideration.
Get a Hisense if you're prioritising cost over quality.
Don't ever buy a Samsung washing machine though
Don't get caught up on brand... its just a never ending bun fight...
1. Decide what size you want
2. Decide if you can afford OLED or not
Read reviews
MOST IMPORTANT! don't be fooled into thinking if you already have a functional TV at the size you want and you're happy with it - you'll just be dissapointed unless it's on old 1080 screen with no HDR, VRR etc.
Don't ever replace a functional TV that you are happy with, they are terrible investments in terms of depreciation.
And then buy an LG OLED 😉
I've never had a problem with ours right up above the fireplace.
I really don't understand why you'd want to give over floorspace to a TV since CRT's went extinct.
What height are your eyes at sat on the sofa? A horizontal line to the middle of the screen is the optimal height/angle for your tv, not a 10-20 degree angle up on the wall somewhere
Just to throw another spanner in the works, have you considered a projector? I hadn't, but am now thinking about it for when the TV gets hoofed from the lounge finally and moves into the kitchen.
Please don't be one of those people that puts the telly half way up the wall
I've never had a problem with ours right up above the fireplace.
You do you, brother. Live, laugh, love etc. ❤️
I took it back to Costco under their no quibble returns after a few days of trying to get a decent colour balance. It was a genuinely awful picture.
Was it a MicroLED in the nnU7 range. Cos if it was there is genuinely something wrong with your eyes! If it wasn't dismissing a whole brand on a crap one you bought is nonsense
Just to throw another spanner in the works, have you considered a projector? I hadn't, but am now thinking about it for when the TV gets hoofed from the lounge finally and moves into the kitchen.
Shite in bright rooms, even the expensive ones...you need a dark room. And a special screen to project onto if you want any kind of decent image quality. And you need space to mount the thing, unless it's ceiling mounted, so thats extra work.
They have thier uses, but theres a reason OLED TV's are becoming the defacto standard unless you want super size.
That distance graph suggests that I should be just under five feet away from our 43” tv. I have just tried that and it’s uncomfortably close. I also find it funny that our tv is now considered a small unit. Oh, and it’s an LG
Perfection 🤣
That distance graph suggests that I should be just under five feet away from our 43” tv. I have just tried that and it’s uncomfortably close. I also find it funny that our tv is now considered a small unit. Oh, and it’s an LG
It's technically good advice for the 'best cinematic experience'.
The thing is most living rooms are multi-purpose rooms, rather than dedicated cinema/listening rooms, so bigger is not always better - it needs to fit in with your lifestyle & asthetics.
Just to throw another spanner in the works, have you considered a projector? I hadn't, but am now thinking about it for when the TV gets hoofed from the lounge finally and moves into the kitchen.
Shite in bright rooms, even the expensive ones...you need a dark room. And a special screen to project onto if you want any kind of decent image quality. And you need space to mount the thing, unless it's ceiling mounted, so thats extra work.
They have thier uses, but theres a reason OLED TV's are becoming the defacto standard unless you want super size.
Yeah, I'll seek professional advice to ensure I understand the compromises. I think I'd prefer to have a small proj and pull down screen than a big wall mounted TV. Plus room is pretty dark. I'll see if I can borrow a decent one before taking the plunge.
Can i just say on remotes and complexity
Previous tv. Knackered Samsung loads of apps not working. Tv connected to sound bar. Everything run from a chromcast. Press power button on chromcast remote and everything turns on. Simple interface to choose what i want. Side buttons for volume
Posh new Samsung has one remote. Press the on button, tv and sound bar turns on. Remote controls everything. Even soundbar settings as that is Samsung too
I have done nothing clever to achieve this
Yeah, I'll seek professional advice to ensure I understand the compromises. I think I'd prefer to have a small proj and pull down screen than a big wall mounted TV. Plus room is pretty dark. I'll see if I can borrow a decent one before taking the plunge.
Fan noise too.. if you enjoy high quality sound, a noisy projector is not gonna be welcome. OK in a cinema, not so much if it's 5 feet away from your head on the ceiling.
Just get one of these:
LG OLED in a size of your choice.
Just be aware that you cannot use the OLED as a monitor. There is a thing called 'burn in' where icons etc, task bar being in the same spot unchanging can leave a ghosting where whatever's on the screen, you will always see the ghosting of those icons etc left on the screen.
Next thing is DSE or Dirty screen effect. This can be lines running top to bottom on the screen and issues with the LED's that go around the edge of the screen that do whatever those leds do that brighten it.
I've just had the entire screen on my Samsung 'the frame' 65". I had this issue and according to the technician, its if these leds are set at high. This can cause them to become damaged and not work properly, leaving streaks of bright white marks along the lower edge.
I went for the QLED because it has lesser problems with burn in than OLED, mainly because i use my TV as a computer monitor too.
The dirty screen effect can affect both OLED and QLED, and its just a case of making sure you have a long guarantee so if the issue presents itself, you can have the screen replaced.
I'm feeling well happy i went with an extended guarantee so the new screen cost me nothing, and the entire operation was carried out in the front room, done and dusted in under an hour.
Google 'dirty screen effect for some examples and FFS make sure you have an extended guarantee even if you pay extra for it.
I bought a Hisense when our old Samung was retired, I figured that technology would have trickled down and now cheaper brands would be great.
I took it back to Costco under their no quibble returns after a few days of trying to get a decent colour balance. It was a genuinely awful picture.
This is my experience of HiSense also.
If as you say you're on a budget, consider TCL. You've never heard of them but they're majority shareholders in Sony's TV division.
Before you buy, try out the smart interface and see if you like it or whether it's slow etc.. we have an LG and its hateful on ours
I hate LG's WebOS, yet when I replaced ours recently I bought another because my partner's used to it and if I ended up with something worse I'd never hear the last of it.
It is possible to root the TV and install an open source version of the firmware, though I'm not quite sure I'm brave enough to do that...
It is possible to root the TV and install an open source version of the firmware, though I'm not quite sure I'm brave enough to do that...
I wouldn't bother doing that.. just plug an android box into the back of it (or a hacked firestick or whatever)and run what you want, or just hook it up to your PC.. job jobbed.
Yeah, but anything 'clever' has to be technophobe-partner-friendly.
If as you say you're on a budget, consider TCL. You've never heard of them but they're majority shareholders in Sony's TV division.
I just looked at AV Forums to see if there was anything about my new TV and tripped over an article for this:
Don’t do what my dad does and go out and buy the cheapest never before heard of brand that he could find. It is something truly truly awful.
I like my dad but he’d buy an old black and white thing if it’d save a few quid!
I watched aghast over Christmas when we’d sit through films etc that to me looked like they’d been filmed by the studio and then forgotten to do any processing or special effects. Truly, truly terrible.
Our LG oled is fantastic - but as others here have said - the interface is hateful.
It's so bad that if I was going to have to use it, I would have picked a different brand. It's not unusable - but it's close.
I use an appleTV box to "drive" everything, even live TV can be handled by the apps now, so you really don't need the TV to be anything more than a display - I've even turned it's Wi-Fi off now to stop it wanting to update itself every 5 minutes, and alleviate any privacy concerns.
Wall mounting it was a royal pain in the arse too - I think I've done a post in a previous thread about that - so I'll spare you another rant.
You do need a soundbar - but a relatively cheap one will be fine - just make sure it does HDMI CEC so it works with the rest of the system.
The other advantage to the apple TV is that the remote is small, and works with everything - so it's all you need.
What’s all the hate for LG software?
Its just 1 click on the remote to open YouTube, prime, Netflix etc or run an app from my phone and it sends straight to the tv .
What am I missing that’s so bad about it?
no idea why people are using external devices.. surely the internal apps are more picture accurate. i dont want an external box doing any unnecessary picture processing, i want netflix calibrated mode etc etc
It's like buying a car, some people want a Caterham so they get the purest experience possible, others just want something comfortable and easy to use that doesn't cost too much so they end up with a Korean crossover. Fidelity and calibration doesn't matter too much if it's mostly being used to watch Peppa Pig or Coronation Street!
On the menus/interface, I like Samsung. I've always found LGs (used in holiday homes/friends houses) to feel laggy and unintuitive.
Needing 3 remotes is only when the user has not bothered setting it up properly, or they’ve tried, it’s been a frustrating process and they’ve given up.
we’ve got a 75” (I think) Samsung OLED - chose Samsung because the staff offers platform at work gave a hefty discount.
size wise, the suggested tv size just suggested the biggest screen they make which felt excessive - I just put masking tape up on the wall and chose based on that. I’ve removed a 120” projector screen and don’t miss it really
my setup is Apple TV into an AV receiver that feeds video to the TV. Apple remote powers everything on, controls the volume of the amp etc. all other remotes are used only for initial setup then packed away.
it does seem a shame that the top end screens come with internal speakers nobody uses, fancy remotes nobody uses (the Samsung came with 2) and an interface nobody uses either - if they offered a “display” with a single HDMI in and no other features I’m sure they’d make a killing and save resources
Wall mounting it was a royal pain in the arse too
How so?
It's a standard VESA mount and the TV side of things is four bolts. The only issue I had in switching between broken and replacement TVs is I needed washers because the bolts are smaller on the new one.
no idea why people are using external devices.. surely the internal apps are more picture accurate. i dont want an external box doing any unnecessary picture processing, i want netflix calibrated mode etc etc
I don't know but I would assume that the amount of processing done by what we used to call a set-top box (back when sets had tops) would be "none whatsoever."
I don't know but I would assume that the amount of processing done by what we used to call a set-top box (back when sets had tops) would be "none whatsoever."
I'm not sure that's correct TBH.
no idea why people are using external devices.. surely the internal apps are more picture accurate.
Not sure about that one either - maybe.
External devices are brilliant in extending the life of a TV once the manufacturers have stopped maintaining the app for that model.
I always use the internal app if possible and use the firestick/chromecast as a fallback.
(External devices can also run apps that the TV can't)
ok, there is that, but im yet to encounter any obsolete apps on my Sony, i maybe its due to it being on Google?
the Panasonic is slightly different story, i think? i maybe had to run Redbull via it's browser instead...
I'm not sure that's correct TBH.
Perhaps.
My thinking is that what comes in should broadly be what goes out. What's a STB doing, it's taking some form of transmission or stream and spitting it out over HDMI, it's a digital signal end-to-end so the box is just a decoder for H.264 or whatever it's arriving as. You don't send someone a zip file and when it's decompressed by the recipient all your Excel workbooks have turned purple. An external box could add effects I guess but there's no reason why it should, it's not like an analogue signal path where every 'hop' means a degraded signal.
Like I say, I don't know. I'm just reasoning through how I believe it works, I could be talking complete bollocks.
What’s all the hate for LG software?
I was about to say similar. I don't fine the LG interface too bad - but I literally never have to interact with it. I use either the Sky remote or Apple TV remote to turn which I want on and it opens to that input.
Other tips on the LG interface;
- You can turn it off opening to the LG Home screen when you turn on the TV (so I never see it)
- Make sure you set up Quick Access, so you can hold down defined number keys on remote to go straight to channel/input/app you want.
- You can turn off adverts on the LG Home screen.
Like I say, I don't know. I'm just reasoning through how I believe it works, I could be talking complete bollocks.
I agree it's how I/we would expect it to work but a quick google seems to show that the firestick, for example, carries out image processing before sending the data stream to the TV.
Why? I have no idea - maybe it alters the data stream to match the TVs capabilities? 🤷♀️