New TV Advice

DiseasedBunny

We reached our maximum size when we got a 70" philips...main thing to look at is what viewing angle you watch from.  If directly ahead, then a VA panel would be better as you get deeper blacks, but a narrow field of view, if you watch at an angle then a IPS panel is better as it maintains the colours of the image at wider angles

Petriix

getmore4less said:

Once you drop OLED quality HDR you start to get problems with the brighter LCD panels that try to do HDR, might as well drop it completely .

That's my philosophy with going for the Phillips: there's not much point going for something intermediate when the panels themselves are all pretty similar in quality; just turn off all the processing and use it as a monitor. I watch most things through a Chromecast Ultra plugged in to an AV receiver so I don't want the TV to get too involved in anything. Occasionally I'll use the native Netflix or Youtube apps in the TV to watch something in HDR but the Netflix HDR content is usually far too dark so I prefer to force it to use the standard 4k stream via the Chromecast/AV receiver. I guess you get better operating systems and more refined features on a £600 55 inch TV, but that's not worth an extra 50% in cost to me.

RumRat

troubleonline said:

RumRat said:

If you buy the 49" TV you will always wish you'd bought the 55"...
What is your top budget? 

I am inclined to disagree - I think some people myself included have limits to how big a telly they want.  We have a pretty large lounge (6mx5m) and our current telly is 46".  Unfortunately it developed a fault this week and keeps switching off and as 9 years old is pretty much irreparable as parts will not be available.  Annoying as was a really nice telly and stands up well to a relatively new UHD tv (picture wise - not the on screen navigation!)  Am now looking for new model 50" which is the dimensions of the current 46" plus bezel.  I think any bigger would look overwhelming. 

See the wink smilie?...There was a reason for it. However you won't know the answer really until you have your 50" model in situ....   (See, I did it again..).
Seriously though, you get whatever you want or are told to get by the boss, for your lounge. You are the only ones that have to live with it.
I don't have a TV in the lounge because it would be too small for me and too big for my Wife. Dedicated room for all the home entertainment stuff solved that problem..

getmore4less

RumRat said:

getmore4less said:

Richer sounds 6 years warranty say £2pppw(the price of a pt in spoons) gives £1,248 
That's cheap entertainment
Your budget is the same a a 1/2pt a week each for 2 people is that all your TV viewing is worth?

Once you drop OLED quality HDR you start to get problems with the brighter LCD panels that try to do HDR, might as well drop it completely .

You are right, it is best to spend more, but, not all can afford to.
It's easy to advise on the top end TV's, any idiot can do that. However, when someone has a limited budget and little knowledge, as in this case,  it's best for them to go see.
Nothing worse than getting a cheap set someone has recommended because they thought it was a great picture, only to find it wasn't that good really.

It not about paying more it is about value,
 if a couple can't afford 1pt a week each in a cheap pub I would be surprised.

If they don't have it this time, save up for next time. 

That sort of budget gives you a lot of choices, you don't have to spend it all but can work out which features you really want. 

As an ex plasma user they may not be happy with the LCD limitations. But then again may not care. 

Once you start dropping some high end features and just want a TV, you can spend very little.
The cost reward for some features can be poor value. 
Especially going to very bright screens, handy for supper sunny positions but better dark performance is often what people need as many do most of their quality viewing at night. 

RumRat

getmore4less said:

RumRat said:

getmore4less said:

Richer sounds 6 years warranty say £2pppw(the price of a pt in spoons) gives £1,248 
That's cheap entertainment
Your budget is the same a a 1/2pt a week each for 2 people is that all your TV viewing is worth?

Once you drop OLED quality HDR you start to get problems with the brighter LCD panels that try to do HDR, might as well drop it completely .

You are right, it is best to spend more, but, not all can afford to.
It's easy to advise on the top end TV's, any idiot can do that. However, when someone has a limited budget and little knowledge, as in this case,  it's best for them to go see.
Nothing worse than getting a cheap set someone has recommended because they thought it was a great picture, only to find it wasn't that good really.

It not about paying more it is about value,
 if a couple can't afford 1pt a week each in a cheap pub I would be surprised.

If they don't have it this time, save up for next time. 

That sort of budget gives you a lot of choices, you don't have to spend it all but can work out which features you really want. 

As an ex plasma user they may not be happy with the LCD limitations. But then again may not care. 

Once you start dropping some high end features and just want a TV, you can spend very little.
The cost reward for some features can be poor value. 
Especially going to very bright screens, handy for supper sunny positions but better dark performance is often what people need as many do most of their quality viewing at night. 

The advice given to the OP was to go to Richer Sounds and chat with the people in there to see what they would want.
They will not know what features they need/want or indeed which to drop coming from a decade old TV.
I agree, that if you don't have it now, wait until you do. Buying a cheap TV wouldn't be an enjoyable experience for me, so, it is about spending more.

codo

Thanks again to all, lots of interesting reading. Our budget can be increased it was set at what I was hoping to spend rather than a limit. Had a chat with Richer Sounds again this afternoon and will be popping in to view what they have in store and decide on a suitable tv.

MinuteNoodles

codo said:

Hi

I am replacing my 37” plasma Panasonic TV.  
Any advice greatly appreciated.

Coming from a plasma TV and especially one from Panasonic anything other than OLED will be a disappointment so be prepared to put up with the shortcomings of LED TVs.
If you've ever seen the movie Gravity with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in it on your plasma don't watch it on a LED with local dimming because you'll be wondering where all the stars in the background have gone...

getmore4less

RumRat said:

getmore4less said:

RumRat said:

getmore4less said:

Richer sounds 6 years warranty say £2pppw(the price of a pt in spoons) gives £1,248 
That's cheap entertainment
Your budget is the same a a 1/2pt a week each for 2 people is that all your TV viewing is worth?

Once you drop OLED quality HDR you start to get problems with the brighter LCD panels that try to do HDR, might as well drop it completely .

You are right, it is best to spend more, but, not all can afford to.
It's easy to advise on the top end TV's, any idiot can do that. However, when someone has a limited budget and little knowledge, as in this case,  it's best for them to go see.
Nothing worse than getting a cheap set someone has recommended because they thought it was a great picture, only to find it wasn't that good really.

It not about paying more it is about value,
 if a couple can't afford 1pt a week each in a cheap pub I would be surprised.

If they don't have it this time, save up for next time. 

That sort of budget gives you a lot of choices, you don't have to spend it all but can work out which features you really want. 

As an ex plasma user they may not be happy with the LCD limitations. But then again may not care. 

Once you start dropping some high end features and just want a TV, you can spend very little.
The cost reward for some features can be poor value. 
Especially going to very bright screens, handy for supper sunny positions but better dark performance is often what people need as many do most of their quality viewing at night. 

The advice given to the OP was to go to Richer Sounds and chat with the people in there to see what they would want.
They will not know what features they need/want or indeed which to drop coming from a decade old TV.
I agree, that if you don't have it now, wait until you do. Buying a cheap TV wouldn't be an enjoyable experience for me, so, it is about spending more.

It is not that big a learning curve with a bit of reading on AVF to get on top of some of the basics.


The only think on their use cases that may need some thought is the sport, depending on how critical they are that will be motion handling and potentially HDR as that transforms when available on a set that can display it.
I would add wide colour gamut as a nice to have.

One thing everyone has to watch out for if it has been a while since changing especially from a oldish plasma is the TV are a lot brighter than they used to be and that give the impression its a better picture.

plenty of good links to follow from the previous AVF link.
Also read the last view pages of comments as  that is where uptodate info is.
this link gives a comparison to the new models and wort ha read before all last years models sell out.


as well as HUKD for bargain watch  pricespy can be a good source for general pricing profiles to get a feel for how the price of TV changes over the year.

if staying away from OLED then use something like the Hisense H55B7500(<£400)  as a benchmark for the branded sets to assess features and value.

Also worth looking out for bundle deals with soundbars if not sorted for sound.

mobileron

I never understand peoples thinking,ie i had a sony tv with problems ill never buy another one,they make millions a year got to be some with a problem. My Ford Cortina broke down many years ago,had many fords since.
If you had got the 6 year warranty it would have been fixed or changed.

oh_really

Op, for what its worth I've got a retired Panasonic 42PV500 in storage. Its picture quality exceeds all of the sets we have at the minute and although I cant do a side by side comparison, I'd say the image is of similar quality to my sons Philips OLED.
Think long and hard before replacing it with an LCD.