2019 LG 65" Nano refurb £540 - is this a good buy?

sylvandale

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I'd appreciate opinions on whether this 2019 LG 65" Nanocell refurb is a reasonable buy, please.

It's a 65SM8200PLA at Laptopsdirect or Appliancesdirect. A1 grade refurb at £540. I realise that LG Nanos are perhaps a bit overpriced generally, and I would certainly rather buy my new tv from Richer for the service and warranty. The problem is that I've pretty much decided I want an IPS panel, with a good UI and all the catchup apps, preferably including Freeview Play. It's a straightforward family tv. Current options with all that seem to be a bit thin on the ground.

Most of the laptopsdirect refurbs don't look to be particularly good value to me, but this 65" one stood out. So I wonder what I'm missing?!

For comparison, the 2020 equivalent 65NANO816NA appears to be a bit scarce but I found one at £697, not that I can buy it anyway because of the current LG catchup apps problem. The lowest 2021 nano model, 65NANO756PA, which should have Freeview Play, will list for £999, although I know that will come down by the autumn.

Even if I'm not too fussed about nano, and could drop down to a 55", another factor nudging me toward the 2019 set is I would like 3 HDMI for equipment, and 4 would be even better if I add a soundbar. In the 2021 LG line up, it appears that you have to go to the 8100 level to get 3 HDMI, anything below that has only two according to the LG website spec listings. The UP8100 is set to list at £749 for a 55" and £999 for a 65".

So, my choice seems to be between this 65SM8200 at £540 or waiting and paying at least several hundred more for a 2021 model, nano or not.

or keep hunting...

Please tell me the flaws in this reasoning.
 
The early Nano models meander somewhere between LGs budget lineup LCD TVs, and their higher end ones that use 120hz panels.

The 2019 SM8500/SM8600 were decent value since you were at least getting something extra in the 120hz panel for your money compared to cheaper options, but the SM8100/SM8200 had specs that barely improved on their own UM7xxx and UM8xxx models.

Having said that, if you already came to the conclusion that a TV that uses an IPS panel is for you, you want 4 HDMI ports and you have a limited budget you won't find a 2020 or 2021 model of similar ilk for the same kind of money.

Speaking of 2021 TVs, expect them to be wildly overpriced at the moment, they have only just been released, and cost as much as 50% more than they are worth. Best to stick looking at 2020 models for now.

A few things that may be worth thinking of. The 2020 models have been promised Freeview play which will add all catchup apps soon. The SM8200 is now 2 years old, so not sure you should expect a bigger discount. Last thing is too not get too wrapped up in marketing like Nanocell. The main drawback to these TVs, and any budget TV for that matter is HDR performance, which is sadly something you'll end up wanting to avoid more often than not. This drawback stays the same if you buy the very cheapest LG LCD the same as you buy the SM8200, the 2020 Nano80 or the 2021 Nano80. So there's definitely an argument to spend as little money as possible, since none of these TVs are going to be really future proof.
 
Thanks for your reply. I certainly agree with not being swayed by the nano marketing. This one just stood out a bit as being priced at or below the level of even the most basic 2020 LG 65" set. So I just wondered if any supposed advantages were worth the trade off of buying a refurb.
 
I can't speak for the value of a refurb. The price is good, but its also shortly 2 years old. To answer your question though, no the SM8200 is not something that's conceivably better than the lower range models, be that 2020 or 2019 ones. You'd need to step up to the SM8500 or SM8600 to get a difference with motion and even those TVs will have similar picture quality otherwise.
 

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