What TV? Help!

PawelK

So difficult to choose a telly! Maybe someone can help me save lots of time? I started reading some tech websites about what to look for when buying one but it's so much and hundreds of TV's that I get put off after a minute.
The main thing I noted is that I should look for a 4k ultra HD TV but then again they range from 300-400 up. My budget is up to 600-700 and I would like one of the main brands with something between 43-50 inches with WiFi.

Thank you in advance for suggestions.

ballyblack

stick with the main makes; Sony, Samsung, LG

avoid the supermarket cheapies Sharp etc as they are renamed Turkish Vestels

John_Gray

Have a look at the Richer Sounds website and be prepared to up your budget for a decent make.

Samsung tend to review best, and of the major manufacturers, people seem to be rude about the lasting qualities of LG.
But your kilometerage may vary...

System

At 43-50" with normal UK viewing distances of 7-8ft from the screen don't bother too much about it being 4K as you'll not notice the difference in resolution over 1080p at those distances due to a thing called the occular arc.

In fact at average UK viewing distances 4K doesn't make sense below 60".

Get a quality 1080p instead of an average 4K.

Gillor

Which? Magazine's Best Buy TVs under £700, in descending order according to performance...

Samsung UE49KU6400 49"
Typical price - £679.00

Samsung UE49K6300 49"
Typical price - £579.00

Samsung UE49KU6500 49"
Typical price - £653.53

RumRat

You'll get just as confused asking for advice on here as reading the tech site. Everyone has their own opinion as to what's good and what's not.
For what it's worth, with no tech to bamboozle you, my opinion as follows.
Go for a 4K from one of the big three, Samsung, Sony, LG.
Don't worry about the really expensive ones (Plenty in your budget range).
Don't worry too much about the 'smart TV' aspect, The TV will last longer than the smart functions.
Buy one you like the look of, remember it's not turned on in a dark room all the time.
Get the biggest you can in the budget range (at least 49"). Believe me it'll only look big for a week, then you'll be wondering about the next size up..;)
Check out the John Lewis site and Richer Sounds, for the extended warranties, if nothing else..
Good luck.

PawelK

Thnak you everyone, especially those suggesting brands and screen size. My friend also mentioned that I should be looking for at least 55' so it seems as you are all right and advice taken onboard. Will definitely look for something aroud that size of4k samsung or lg.Also, thanks for recommending some websites. :j

worried_jim

RumRat wrote: »

You'll get just as confused asking for advice on here as reading the tech site. Everyone has their own opinion as to what's good and what's not.
For what it's worth, with no tech to bamboozle you, my opinion as follows.
Go for a 4K from one of the big three, Samsung, Sony, LG.
Don't worry about the really expensive ones (Plenty in your budget range).
Don't worry too much about the 'smart TV' aspect, The TV will last longer than the smart functions.
Buy one you like the look of, remember it's not turned on in a dark room all the time.
Get the biggest you can in the budget range (at least 49"). Believe me it'll only look big for a week, then you'll be wondering about the next size up..;)
Check out the John Lewis site and Richer Sounds, for the extended warranties, if nothing else..
Good luck.

Richersounds all the way.

I had to take one back after a few days and it was swapped over with zero hassle.

I too would go for the bigggest you can afford. I went 43" 5 years ago and it looked huge when I unpacked it, within a week I was wishing I'd gone bigger.

thescouselander

It's hard to buy a decent TV that's not 4k these days. I don't think it's a good criteria for deciding on a TV anyway. I'd recommend looking for for something with HDR that will provide benefit at any screen size.

Another thing to watch out for is how good the viewing angles are. A lot of TVs washout very quickly when viewed from off centre - if you're not going to be sitting directly in front of the TV test this carefully.

Frozen_up_north

Just bought a Samsung 6400 series 40” UHD 4K TV, £469 from Amazon, slightly more from Richersounds who include a 6 year warranty. The 43” version costs quite a bit more unfortunately.

The Samsung was very easy to set up and use. The picture is great and the menu/apps are easy to use for catch up tv, YouTube, etc. It has Freeview HD and Freesat HD with record.

Beware of Samsung snooping on your viewing choices if you use a Samsung account to use voice control, read the T&Cs to see what they spy on.

A USB 3 memory stick gives basic pause and “single channel” recording, the manual suggests memory sticks aren’t suitable for recording, but one works fine for me.

jshm2

You could get the Hisense M5500 which is pretty cheap for the price and while not a main brand the spec is very good.

The other in your price range is the PHILIPS 43PUS6401/12 which is a pretty tidy set too. The menu's are not too intuitive but you get a good picture and a bit of a premium look about it as well