4K TV wanted

[Deleted member 108165]

A question for all you TV guru's.

My brother wants a 4K TV to replace his Panasonic 50" plasma, screen size up to 65" with c£2K to spend. He's not a gamer and mainly watches terrestrial TV stations + Prime. Reading here I've heard good things about OLED vs plasma and also good things about Panasonic.

Apart from going to see TV's in the flesh what would be your recommendations so I can compile a short-list for him?

Any thoughts are warmly welcomed. Thank you all in advance.

 

[Deleted member 196519]

A question for all you TV guru's.

My brother wants a 4K TV to replace his Panasonic 50" plasma, screen size up to 65" with c£2K to spend. He's not a gamer and mainly watches terrestrial TV stations + Prime. Reading here I've heard good things about OLED vs plasma and also good things about Panasonic.

Apart from going to see TV's in the flesh what would be your recommendations so I can compile a short-list for him?

Any thoughts are warmly welcomed. Thank you all in advance.

This would be top of my list having compared Panasonic OLED TVs against LG OLED TVs recently:

Costco

www.costco.co.uk

£1649 is a great price on Costco by adding it to basket. If you were to get screen burn LG would replace the panel for £250. LG are the most up to date TVs I have come across too. Includes Apple TV etc…

 

[Deleted member 108165]

This would be top of my list having compared Panasonic OLED TVs against LG OLED TVs recently:

Costco

www.costco.co.uk

£1649 is a great price on Costco by adding it to basket. If you were to get screen burn LG would replace the panel for £250. LG are the most up to date TVs I have come across too. Includes Apple TV etc…

Knew I could rely on you Gel

 

[doifeellucky]

He should probably also consider the Sony A80J, which from what I’ve seen and read, is regarded as slightly better for films and TV due to superior motion handling. But there is a price premium over the LG, (the equivalent Panasonic is much more expensive) and there’s currently a licensing issue with UK catch up services. I’m looking at the 55” equivalents and currently have a Panasonic plasma.

 

[buzz_lightclick]

A Panasonic OLED will give the most similar image to a Panasonic Plasma. You may find last year’s HZ2000 models for good prices now / this year’s JZ2000 is very expensive.

 

[Deleted member 108165]

He's not completely biased towards OLED, do you think that LED screens are as good or offer more? Just want to get him the best TV for his cash.

 

[doifeellucky]

If he likes plasma OLED is probably the best match of the current technology.

 

[bigboss]

I've had a Kuro (KRP500A and currently have Panasonic 50VT65 plasma. However, for my apartment, I went for Sony 75KD9005H and it's fantastic! Not plasma level of blacks but I'm perfectly happy. Go for the biggest screen you can afford and accommodate. You won't regret.

 

[Deleted member 196519]

The Samsung TVs got very close to OLED black levels a couple of years ago so I would recommend viewing something like this:

Costco

www.costco.co.uk

Or the 90a model.

 

[Deleted member 108165]

Cheers for your input guys, much appreciated. I'll head off to Curry's with him next weekend to see the recommendations in the flesh.

 

[doifeellucky]

If you have one locally I’d recommend John Lewis instead of Curry’s. I went to our local Curry’s yesterday and the TVs are scattered all over the place and they often don’t have the better models on display apart from the LG. The guy I spoke to, and someone previously, had no idea what the A80J was. John Lewis also offer a 5 year guarantee and they tend to have someone who knows at least something about the various models and brands.

 

[Gray]

If you have one locally I’d recommend John Lewis instead of Curry’s. I went to our local Curry’s yesterday and the TVs are scattered all over the place and they often don’t have the better models on display apart from the LG. The guy I spoke to, and someone previously, had no idea what the A80J was. John Lewis also offer a 5 year guarantee and they tend to have someone who knows at least something about the various models and brands.

Legend has it that Currys once advised someone that they'd need 2 aerials for stereo TV

 

[12th Monkey]

A Panasonic OLED will give the most similar image to a Panasonic Plasma. You may find last year’s HZ2000 models for good prices now / this year’s JZ2000 is very expensive.

I had Pioneer and Panasonic plasmas before - the LG OLED is far better in every respect, even black depth.

 

[Deleted member 196519]

I had Pioneer and Panasonic plasmas before - the LG OLED is far better in every respect, even black depth.

So true.

 

[buzz_lightclick]

I had Pioneer and Panasonic plasmas before - the LG OLED is far better in every respect, even black depth.

Really I’m surprised at that?

 

[Gray]

Brother and a mate both had LCD LG that developed lines down the screen, so the brand was a no-go for me.

But now with OLED...... I had (another) good look at my Nephew's (65") LG OLED last week. Not sure what model, but he's had it for ages.
He played the 4k and downscaled 8k demo footage, the ones from the different countries, obviously filmed especially for the excellent detail / colour / contrast.
Sure did look good though. (Just not enough of such content on normal TV).

 

[12th Monkey]

Really I’m surprised at that?

It's unmistakeable. Had the set nearly a year, and keep watching things I've seen before - and noticing how good it is in comparison with anything I've seen before.

 

[Deleted member 196519]

Really I’m surprised at that?

It’s also way better than any other OLED too.

 

[12th Monkey]

Given that LG makes the panels for others, I'm not sure that the differences aren't primarily motion processing etc. But the bar's pretty high across the board, I think.

 

[buzz_lightclick]

It’s also way better than any other OLED too.

Didn’t you prefer the look of the Panasonic HZ2000 that you briefly owned?

 

[Gray]

Given that LG makes the panels for others, I'm not sure that the differences aren't primarily motion processing etc.

That must be the case (assuming they don't, unofficially, keep the best panels for their own sets).
With CRT, there was good reason why Sony Trinitron was the best.
With LCD, I preferred Panasonic displays.
But for OLED, I would imagine* the differences between brands are smaller?...if they all? use LG panels.

*I don't know because I've only seen LG OLED.

 

[Deleted member 196519]

Didn’t you prefer the look of the Panasonic HZ2000 that you briefly owned?

For a while, yes, but then quickly went back to the LG. It was too dull in the end for me just like Panasonic plasmas were.

 

[bigboss]

That must be the case (assuming they don't, unofficially, keep the best panels for their own sets).
With CRT, there was good reason why Sony Trinitron was the best.
With LCD, I preferred Panasonic displays.
But for OLED, I would imagine* the differences between brands are smaller?...if they all? use LG panels.

*I don't know because I've only seen LG OLED.

TV panels aren't like willow where you choose the best clefts for making cricket bats. They're all made to a spec and should perform identically. Having 2 different lines of production (superior quality for own use and slightly inferior quality for others) is a lot more expensive.

Also, the panel alone doesn't determine the quality of the final image. Picture processing also matters, and they vary depending on the manufacturer.

 

[Gray]

TV panels aren't like willow where you choose the best clefts for making cricket bats.

I'm not saying that anything is made deliberately better or worse. But with some products, during the QC process, items make their way into different piles.
The Shure SM58 mic being one example. Yes all the capsules met the high spec required, but the best of the best went into the improved model.
There will always be differences - hence the need to match speaker drivers during manufacture - all panels will (should) meet the spec, but some will inevitably be better than others. (All the burnt- in screens presumably met some spec - now they (apparently) don't suffer so readily, specs change even during the same production run).

 

[buzz_lightclick]

From what I’ve been told all OLED panels are largely the same. The differences between the different brands are hugely overstated in reviews.
The main difference is the software / OS they use.
People tend to buy their favoured brand or the operating system they prefer to use.