[TV] New Television

[Eeyore]

In the finest BG tradition, although many of us were already competitors for the techy question title, I want to ask about buying a new telly.

You see, I'm not going to the semi-final, but have decided I will get my new television before it rather than after.

My current one is very dull and uninspiring in picture. But for £150 I couldn't moan. Decent back up.

I don't need one that will make me a cup of tea in the morning. I just want one that has a very good quality picture and standard smart features like Amazon Video and that sort of stuff.

I've got Sky and BT Sport through Virgin. So I watch rugby and bat n ball.

Looks like they are not very expensive these days and I don't wish to spend too much. But proper HD (I think most of them are) would be good.

I think 43 inches would be fine (matron !) I have a 32 inch but I'd like something a little bigger. 50 inches would be okay. Any tips ?

 

[Triggaaar]

Do you get any sunlight (inc reflected) on the TV? More expensive ones come with better coatings that can combat that.
You say 43" but 50" would be ok - if that's the case, I'd suggest 50" because bigger is better.
Yes, they are all proper HD.
How about audio - will you use a soundbar, or do you need the inbuilt speakers to be decent?
And do you have a budget?

 

[Bozza]

I think @Triggaaar knows his onions here, but I'll give some brief layman input...

We were in a similar position just over two years ago. I've tried to find my thread when I posed a similar question, but can't find it now unfortunately.

In brief, if you have a £150 32" cheapie, you will be blown away by pretty much any set from any of the big manufacturers. The picture will be a massive improvement and, as you say, you don't have to spend a huge amount.

On size, everyone told me to go bigger than I thought because otherwise, a few weeks later, I'd be regretting not going bigger. We had a 40" set and ended up with 55". A 55" set is actually twice the size of a 40" by area so, when we set it up, it looked absolutely f***ing enormous and felt like it dominated the room.

Now, it looks a decent size. I'm not sure I'd want to go much bigger than 55", but if I was changing again now, I might go up one size, which is 60".

This can help you assess the actual difference in size: https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/by-size/size-to-distance-relationship - you'll notice that a 43" will be nearly twice as big as your 32". Depending on the size of your room, I'd tend towards a 50" though.

We went with a Sony, because for some reason I've always had Sony TVs, and I couldn't be happier with it, but I suspect I'd say the same if I'd gone for Samsung, LG or someone else.

 

[Chicken Run]

One piece of advice is check wether the tv has a Center stand or legs at the corners because a Center stand previously fitted comfortably on my expensive telly unit but the new tv I bought ( Samsung 50”) unlike the previous had corner legs and didn’t fit, I had to buy and retro fit a Center stand!

 

[Since1982]

Audio quality is as important as picture quality in my view. Ideally I'd budget buying a decent soundbar system alongside the TV.

 

[South Oz Seagull]

We went through all of this a few months back and upgraded from a 42 inch plasma television. In the end we decided on a 55 inch TCL C835 Mini-LED. Not a Sony or a Samsung but rated highly at about half the cost. TCL TV's had a reputation for being rubbish a few years back, but they seem to have really got their act together now.

Audio is very important as someone has already said above, and the new TV has a sub-woofer built into it for good solid bass: after a bit of tweaking I'm very happy with the sound. Probably not soundbar quality, but pretty close to it.

The picture detail is clear and it's great for watching sport and in particular the Albion (of course). Sitting not too far from the screen is quite immersive. Generally, TV picture quality is that good now you can in fact buy a bigger television than you might be used to and have a much better viewing experience. My only regret is not upgrading to a 65 inch version of the same TV.

 

[Bold Seagull]

I don’t think I’d buy a TV without OLED or similar technology. The ability for these screens to go completely black sets them apart. Other brands now call theirs QLED or similar but essentially the principle of the tech is the same.

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

Audio quality is as important as picture quality in my view. Ideally I'd budget buying a decent soundbar system alongside the TV.

I would echo this times 1000, a decent sound bar or better yet an amp and two decent book shelf speakers will increase your enjoyment much more than spending another 200-300 on slightly better TV. If the choice was

1. Spend 800 on a TV or.
2. Spend 500 on a TV and 300 on a a sound bar or hi fi equipment

All other things being equal, go with 2 every time. And the sound bar/speakers can be used for listening to music etc etc etc as well.

 

[Is it PotG?]

Sound wise I'm not a fan of ugly soundbars.

A decent looking piece of bluetooth wall art speaker sets the room off nicely, picture wise just try a couple and see which make you like best.

 

[TWOCHOICEStom]

Unless the room is small, you will get used to a 55 inch in a week and it will become normal. I just bought a 42 inch Samsung QLED from Hills, it's fantastic but, compared to LG I find Samsung stuff very difficult to use.

 

[nicko31]

Wouldn't get too hung up on 4k unless you're going for a real big telly.

Quality will actually be better running at native, ie FHD broadcast to FHD telly. Very little 4k broadcast...

 

[PeterOut]

I'm not sure where you are based, but one of the best things that you can do is pop into your local Richer Sounds store. They have very knowledgeable staff, if you go in at a quieter time they will spend a good amount of time explaining the differences between various aspects of the technology and steer you towards the better brands. You will also be able to compare different screens (and sound quality) side by side. Just don't be fooled by the fact the sceens are all set to 'shop display' mode, which is different to how you wil view the screen in your home. Ask them to change the screens to 'home' mode, when making side-by-side comparisons between 2 screens. Also ask to hear the difference between the in-built speakers and an appropriately-priced soundbar - I think that you will be amazed at the difference.

Hills of Hove are also good, if you are near to them. My personal preference is for the LG range of TVs (I have yet to see a poor one) but as others have said, there are plenty of options.

 

[Deleted member 37369]

I'm not sure where you are based, but one of the best things that you can do is pop into your local Richer Sounds store. They have very knowledgeable staff, if you go in at a quieter time they will spend a good amount of time explaining the differences between various aspects of the technology and steer you towards the better brands. You will also be able to compare different screens (and sound quality) side by side. Just don't be fooled by the fact the sceens are all set to 'shop display' mode, which is different to how you wil view the screen in your home. Ask them to change the screens to 'home' mode, when making side-by-side comparisons between 2 screens. Also ask to hear the difference between the in-built speakers and an appropriately-priced soundbar - I think that you will be amazed at the difference.

Hills of Hove are also good, if you are near to them. My personal preference is for the LG range of TVs (I have yet to see a poor one) but as others have said, there are plenty of options.

I was going to make the exact same comment about Richer Sounds

We moved from a 42" Panasonic plasma to a 55" Panasonic OLED a couple of years back. My wife was concerned about making the jump from 42 to 55 - but the actual footprint isn't much bigger as the plasma had a big plastic frame which the OLED doesn't.

Sound is through a Sonos Arc and two Sonos Play 3s (that I already had) as surrounds ... sounds amazing.

 

[Snowflake]

I echo the richer sounds advice. Sevenoaks sound and vision are also good. One on church road Hove. I bought my latest from there just after Christmas. I am a bit of a nerd on this and first new to for 10 years. I went for a large LG G2 . Yes it is expensive, but I won’t be buying another for a while hopefully. Sound is excellent and the picture amazing. They do a C2 which is only slightly behind it and probably the wiser choice cost and value for money wise. The only issue I have is as soon as you buy. The next best thing comes out. So I believe the c3 and G3 are imminet arrivals. I won’t second guess your budget, but I’d thoroughly recommend the LG Oled range.

 

[Triggaaar]

Wouldn't get too hung up on 4k unless you're going for a real big telly.

You'd need to sit quite close to one of the monster size TVs to be able to see the difference. Reading the op, 1080p (Full HD) will be just as good for the size of TVs he's looking at, but most options will just be 4k anyway.

Quality will actually be better running at native, ie FHD broadcast to FHD telly. Very little 4k broadcast...

Yep, but people imagine 4k will be better so that's what the manufacturers market and sell.

 

[nicko31]

You'd need to sit quite close to one of the monster size TVs to be able to see the difference. Reading the op, 1080p (Full HD) will be just as good for the size of TVs he's looking at, but most options will just be 4k anyway.


Yep, but people imagine 4k will be better so that's what the manufacturers market and sell.

Indeed 4K is better with 4K signal, but 4k screen with 1080 signal there were will scaling artifacts. Always think 1:1 is better, though scalers cards are a lot better than they used to be.

I guess in time we will see more and more streamed 4k, can't see it happening on freeview though with the available spectrum

 

[Triggaaar]

Indeed 4K is better with 4K signal

That's not true unless you're close to a massive screen - for example, if you have a 75" TV, you need to sit closer than 10' away to be able to see an improvement in 4k vs 1080p (unless the 4k signal is better than the 1080p in other ways).

I guess in time we will see more and more streamed 4k, can't see it happening on freeview though with the available spectrum

Another problem is that when programmes are streamed, you don't get all of the data, they use algorithms to save space (so when large areas of the screen are of a similar colour, particularly when close to black, you can get a blotchy picture) - that affects all resolutions, but if they're having to save more space for 4k, it would be worse. Obviously it's not an issue when watching bluray content, as you get all of the data.

 

[ozzygull]

We recently replaced our 15 year old Panasonic Plasma TV with a Panasonic 48" OLED TV and a sonos beam sound bar and Sonos Sub mini . Been very please with it so far.

 

[Rogero]

I took about a year deciding and went round in circles . Decided on Samsung at 55” . Go large. ,you will soon get used to it .

 

[Questions]

I’m a LG fan at the moment and you can pick up the 50in 50UN74006LB…. Cheap… It’s a great buy.