Upgrading from Panasonic Plasma to 77" OLED – My Decision Process

[bigboss]

I've been thinking about upgrading my 10-year-old home cinema setup, which currently includes a Sony VPL-HW40ES 1080p projector and a Panasonic 50VT65 1080p plasma TV. While I recently upgraded my AV receiver to a Denon X6400H—which supports 4K—I’d been holding off on other changes.

A couple of months ago, I replaced my subwoofer with the SVS PB2000 Pro from Richer Sounds. When I asked them about trade-in options, they offered a modest £30 discount instead. That conversation led to a discussion about upgrading to a 4K projector, and I ended up arranging a demo of Optoma and Sony models (there's a separate thread on that).

Our Panasonic plasma has been solid over the years, though it's definitely lost some brightness. At one point, I considered ditching the projector altogether and going for a 98-inch TV. But in the end, we decided to stick with a dual TV/projector setup. That led us to the decision to add a 77-inch OLED to the mix.

Here were my main contenders:

1. Philips 909 – Loved the 4-sided Ambilight and MLA panel, but it doesn't support BBC iPlayer and was pricey (Richer Sounds exclusive, so no chance of a price match).

2. LG G4 – Flagship OLED with MLA. Not a huge fan of WebOS or the pointy remote, but those are minor gripes.

3. LG C4 – Probably the best value/performance combo of the bunch.

4. Samsung S95D – The standout feature is the matte screen, which is crucial since the TV will sit opposite a bay window. My father-in-law already struggles with glare on the current Panasonic, often having to close the curtains.

5. Samsung S90D – Considered this as an outside option if the price was right. Glossy screen like the LG and Philips models.

6. Philips 809 – Three-sided Ambilight doesn’t make much sense for a wall-mounted setup; might work better on a stand.

Initially, I was happy to go with a mid-range OLED like the LG C4, especially since I already have a projector for movie nights. My plan was to get RS to price match the LG website’s £1759 offer. But once I started digging into discounts, I found good deals on most models—except the Philips 909.

I visited the Richer Sounds store yesterday for a casual in-store demo of all the shortlisted models (except the S90D and Philips 909). What really impressed me was the S95D’s anti-glare coating—it was incredibly effective without sacrificing picture quality. I also had access to a great NHS discount via Samsung’s website, bringing the price down to £2309, plus they were throwing in a free portable projector. Richer Sounds agreed to beat that by £20.

So in the end, I ordered both the Sony VPL-XW5000ES projector (ex-demo, with a 6-year RS warranty) and the Samsung 77-inch S95D OLED. Very excited to see how it all comes together!

 

[abacus]

Like all OLEDs make sure you leave it connected to the mains, so it can refresh the screen overnight the reduce the chance of any burn in.
Apart from the above, enjoy.

Bill

 

[R2D2]

Like all OLEDs make sure you leave it connected to the mains, so it can refresh the screen overnight the reduce the chance of any burn in.
Apart from the above, enjoy.

Bill

And with buying from Richer Sounds any issues you have with screen burn, if you get any the Richer Sounds guy on the forums will help you out.

 

[busb]

I went from a Panasonic plasma to an LG OLED55G1 - the PQ alone was a huge upgrade from 42" to 55" OLED. when you factor in the streaming - it was a complete no-brainer for me at least. The guy who collected the plasma insisted on giving me £10.
The only thing I dislike about the LG OLEDs is you can't turn off auto brightness that's only noticeable when connected to a computer that gives uneven backgrounds behind text. If you go with that 77", it probably won't be much heavier.

 

[R2D2]

I went from a Panasonic plasma to an LG OLED55G1 - the PQ alone was a huge upgrade from 42" to 55" OLED. when you factor in the streaming - it was a complete no-brainer for me at least. The guy who collected the plasma insisted on giving me £10.
The only thing I dislike about the LG OLEDs is you can't turn off auto brightness that's only noticeable when connected to a computer that gives uneven backgrounds behind text. If you go with that 77", it probably won't be much heavier.

Plasmas were well overrated in my honest opinion, I have had the entire 9th gen Pioneer plasma range including the Pioneer 500a and 600m and the Panasonic plasmas and the longest I have ever kept one was 6 months because I didn’t like them. Hopeless during daylight with windows, only good with dark room and curtains shut. I wish I never ever bought a plasma.

 

[bigboss]

Plasmas were well overrated in my honest opinion, I have had the entire 9th gen Pioneer plasma range including the Pioneer 500a and 600m and the Panasonic plasmas and the longest I have ever kept one was 6 months because I didn’t like them. Hopeless during daylight with windows, only good with dark room and curtains shut. I wish I never ever bought a plasma.

I do think the Pioneer KRP 500A (9th generation Kuro) I owned until 2014 is still the best TV I've ever had.

The Samsung OLED is brilliant and comes very close, but the rendition of colours isn't completely natural. Needed a few tweaks to tone down.

 

[davidf]

I do think the Pioneer KRP 500A (9th generation Kuro) I owned until 2014 is still the best TV I've ever had.

The Samsung OLED is brilliant and comes very close, but the rendition of colours isn't completely natural. Needed a few tweaks to tone down.

I've always said plasmas look more natural, same as Sony TVs, in my opinion. Can't beat a Pioneer or Fujitsu plasma. It'd be interesting to see what that tech would look like now had it been refined over the last 15-20 years.

 

[R2D2]

I do think the Pioneer KRP 500A (9th generation Kuro) I owned until 2014 is still the best TV I've ever had.

The Samsung OLED is brilliant and comes very close, but the rendition of colours isn't completely natural. Needed a few tweaks to tone down.

I preferred even LCDs to plasmas but my favourite is QD-OLED. I like bright colours and good blacks. I even went off normal OLED TVs and now only like the new range that are a lot brighter, and are non reflective.

 

[Jasonovich]

I've always said plasmas look more natural, same as Sony TVs, in my opinion. Can't beat a Pioneer or Fujitsu plasma. It'd be interesting to see what that tech would look like now had it been refined over the last 15-20 years.

The colour saturation on plasma TVs are arguably better than Oleds, certainly superior to LCD's.

Yes totally agree, it's a real shame, had the major manufacturers kept with the technology, who knows how much better it might have become?

 

[busb]

Plasmas were well overrated in my honest opinion, I have had the entire 9th gen Pioneer plasma range including the Pioneer 500a and 600m and the Panasonic plasmas and the longest I have ever kept one was 6 months because I didn’t like them. Hopeless during daylight with windows, only good with dark room and curtains shut. I wish I never ever bought a plasma.

The Pana plasma was very much better than any LCDs of that era - by a long way. Mine did need quite a bit of adjustment after about 5yrs, mainly contrast.
Let's be clear, even OLEDs are flawed regarding crushed blacks (where near blacks just look completely black - no quite so bad with 4k material). The other issue is slightly worse with OLEDs & that's juddering motion where I keep hearing that Sony do the best motion management. The 4k demo material in showrooms is always so languid - not fast action!