Question 50", PUS7303 vs NU7400

Which to chose for medium demanding user:

  • Philips 50PUS7303 ~570€

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Samsung 49NU8009T at ~650€

    Votes: 1 33.3%
  • Samsung 50NU74002 at ~570€

    Votes: 2 66.7%

  • Total voters
    3

Sheshirdzhija

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Hello all

I've read much. Here, reddit, other places..

I am a bit closer to a decision, but some up to date 1st hand experience would be appreciated.
This forum seems like a good place to ask :)

My situation is such that I have a sloped ceiling. Between the TV cabinet (which for reasons too long to explain I can't exchange) and the ceiling, there is only ~75cm.
This precludes me from getting a 55" TV (was thinking Samsung 55NU8000).
Because with the stand, it does not fit.
With a long (~70cm) horizontal VESA mount on the wall behind the cabinet, it also does not work, because the hooks for VESA on the TV are too high, and the TV would not be over the cabinet, bottom of the TV would be bellow the top of the cabinet.
With a mount on the sloped ceiling, it would fit, if there was a single such mount for a 55" TV. All are up to 43" or so.

So 49-50" it is.

There is no NU8000 to be had in 50" size where I live (Croatia), and I do not want to shop in Germany if I don't have to. I could, possibly, do that, if that was really necessary though.
I could get it for ~640€ (with shipping).
Also, Samsungs currently come with only 2-year warranty. I don't trust modern TV manufacturers in this regard, so I would prefer a 5-year warranty.

So I am thinking Philips 50 PUS7303. Comes out to ~580€.
But, they also throw in a KB of some sort, which I could possiblysell, so it brings it down to ~560€.

Not much of a difference, but, these are my reasons against going with Samsung 49NU8000:
- ~100€ more expensive
- comes only with 2y warranty, compared to 5y for Philips
- does not have Chromecast. Since I already have some google home devices, I would possibly need to get a Chromecast for an additional ~40-50€ more
- 49" Samsung only has a 60Hz screen, same as Philips, which I feel is the biggest draw for NU8000 in larger size. Without it, it does not seem as appealing?

My uses would be:
- some TV program, terrestrial: very few sitcoms, some political shows, some sport, like world cup (in 4 years :) ), champions league. Total maybe only max 1h a day.
- some yt, mostly music videos
- 1-2 movies a week, all genres, mostly romcom and sci-fi. Some I would rent, some I would get by other means in 4K
- 1 or 2 tv shows that I follow, like GoT and Westworld
- no gaming

With all that said, is there any sense in going with Samsung?
Or even possibly going down a step and get Samsung 49NU7400, for about the same price as the Philips? But this one has even worse brightness (350 vs 200 nits).

I never experienced Ambilight, so can't say it's a plus. Maybe I would not like it.

What I am a little worried about is Android TV performance on the Philips. Some collegues have 2016 models (PUS7600) and say that it's really buggy. To the point where they sometimes can't even turn them off, they have to unplug from outlet. Not sure if newer models (2018), with newer software, are any better?

Also, there is panel lottery. I really want VA screen, this Philips comes in either VA or IPS. If I get IPS, I'd have to exchange (I can do it free of charge within a week).

Also, not sure if I would benefit much from 120Hz on the 55NU8000 anyway? If I managed to get a proper VESA mount, that's an option. I can currently get it for ~750€ (+ 20-50€ mount), but also with only 2y warranty. As said, I don't watch much sports, and movies selection is mixed, not exclusively action movies, and no gaming.

Philips 50PUS7303
pros:

- 5y warranty
- direct led
- chromecast built in (we are a google household)
- at least 100€ cheaper
cons:
- worse brightness, so probably not much use for HDR (350 vs 450 nits)
- possibly buggy software?
- panel lottery. Want VA, possibly would have to exchange if I get IPS

Samsung 49NU8000
pros:

- better remote?
- more stable software?
- better brightness (450 vs 350 nits) so maybe passable HDR
cons:
- only 2y warranty
- Chromecast an additional purchase
 
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Are these your only two choices? I would possibly consider the 49" XF85/XF87 series Sony or even the XF90 series (if you need better HDR).

The other options, including the Philips and Samsung you mention are using 60hz panels instead of 120hz and that isn't going to be fantastic if you want to be able to set up the TV for good motion.

The advantage to getting one of the Sony models would be:

XF87/XF85 series - Android TV like the Philips with chromecast built in + superior motion and anti reflection filter, HDR though will still be poor.

XF90 series - Same as above but with decent HDR performance.

Even the NU8000 or Sony XF87/XF85 do not really cut it with HDR performance, if you care about HDR you need to spend more unfortunately. There are things that add to HDR performance and things that really don't and whilst the Samsung NU8000 is a little brighter than other TVs its HDR is still not fantastic because it lacks any form of local dimming. Come the world cup for example, if you are wanting to view it in HDR (it will no doubt be available in HDR) you will either want to buy a better TV then if you buy cheap now, or you will want the Sony XF90. The other TVs aren't going to display HDR well at all.

Regarding android TV in general, the 2015-2016 era was the worst, TVs now with android are a lot better and Philips tend to have faster platforms than Sony. They still aren't as fantastic as other smart platforms though in terms of speed and bugs.

If you do not care for motion so much or you have a more limited budget that can't stretch to my Sony suggestions with 120hz panels I would try to seek out an LG model at 50" as then you'll get good smart TV together with chromecast support. Search for "50UK6xxx" where the X's will be different model numbers in different regions.

EDIT*

Here is the listing for LG TVs in Croatia. You can see there are two 50" models listed. The UK6300 and UK6500, there will be very little to no difference with picture but the UK65 model should be a little better with colour, its also direct lit rather than edge lit so it will be thicker. They are also different colours, so if you prefer the price and colour of the cheaper model, I would get that instead.
UHD 4K TV: Otkrijte LG ULTRA HD 3D Smart TV | LG Hrvatska
 
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Philips 50PUS7303
cons:

- panel lottery. Want VA, possibly would have to exchange if I get IPS
There is no panel lottery at 50" (well at least no VA or IPS lottery). Even the LG 50" model has a VA panel ... The 6300 and 6500 don't come with a Magic Remote though, you need to go to the UK6950 for that (or buy it separately).
 
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There is no panel lottery at 50" (well at least no VA or IPS lottery). Even the LG 50" model has a VA panel ... The 6300 and 6500 don't come with a Magic Remote though, you need to go to the UK6950 for that.
Oh yes, I forgot to mention that. Thanks Des.
 
I was being a bit sloppy in my first post, I have edited it and corrected mistakes so please refresh.

You can buy the magic remote separately if you want it right?
 
Yes I just edited my post to include that after reading you mention they only have the 6500 and 6300 over there :)
 
@Dodgexander:
Thanks!
Yes, wrote that much, but forgot to mention my upper limit budget wise.. Those sony TVs are out of my budget. Those that are not, are all still 60Hz and IPS :/

LG I did not take into consideration at all, since I though all LG TVs (other than OLED) used IPS, which I don't want. Interesting. It's also cheaper than Philips. i guess a plus. But, I see they only have 4GB storage? Not sure how important it that, i don't plan on installing much apps, but still.. Also, RAM is only 1.5GB, compared to 2Gb. I thing LG uses WebOS? If it's a better/lighter OS, might be enough.. I will investigate LG some more, thanks for pointing it out! They are cduriously not on any bestseller lists, but specs seem decent, for the price..

@desinho:
Thanks! You sure? I hope you are right. I've read on multiple places that 50PUS7303 comes with both screen, but that most should be VA. I'll have to check.
 
I think the issue with Android isn't too different from Phones, it requires a lot more system resources than WebOS. I think the LGs mentioned will run WebOS decently, they have improved their processor's to quad cores this year compared to last too.

Ram is more about how many apps that run at the same time and isn't very important with smart TV, its more about pure CPU power.

But really, the reason I recommended those is because those 50" LGs are not using IPS like most of their range. This year there are a few models LG are releasing without their own LG IPS panels and the 50" models are one of those using VA.
 
Thanks again

Any particular reason to go with LG over Philips?

Philips is a favorite now because it comes with 5y warranty. LG is with 2y.
 
LG has the better smart system. Other than that they’ll be eerily similar when it comes to picture quality
 
Yeah, at these prices, that is not surprising.

Thanks for the suggestion, but the warranty will win, I think :)

Wish I could stretch a budget, but next time :)

I will investigate a bit more though.
 
Well, just saw PUS7304. Does not seem like much of an improvement in screen, just slightly wider color gamut, but it has newest android with more RAM. And voice control on the remote.
Metal construction.
Hm..
 
Is it expected that when new series of TVs comes out, that the older one gets discounted?
Not sure if this is true for TVs, have no experience.

Because if the new series is expected in spring, that is not too long to wait.
 
Yes, correct re spring - summer being best time to buy.
 
Asking, because i fofound on multiple plaves saying that jan/feb is equaly good, since sellers are trying to offload old inventory before new series come?
 
Its not as early as that in the UK and never guaranteed, usually around spring-summer time.

Other markets may be different, some countries in Europe don't seem to get clearance discounts and keep hold of stock for longer for some reason.

I would go for the LG 50" models.
 
Not sure exactly why, but I am really leaning to android, despite everything.
We are a google household, everything google.
Though webos has google assistant built in, there is still no chromecast, which would be a major usecase for us.

I will wait spring/summer and see how android TV 9 behaves on the newer models, then get either that or 2018 model expecting the OS upgrade.

Thanks for all the advice!

Probably I will not act on it, but it was good to investigate by myself.
 
I also use the google ecosystem and in the USA have a TCL Roku TV that works with my google home.

It doesn't support advance features like being able to tell the TV to play a specific show or launch a specific app but everything else works such as turning on the TV, fast forward, volume...oddly apart from in Netflix.

If you keep to the ecosystem no doubt everything will work better, but if the LGs are similar to my Roku TV then you still get some functionality.

The problem with the Android TVs is they keep using slow chipsets in the TVs for some reason, philips are better than sony though so you may find its fine.

It is a shame its not like here in the USA where there are other brands that have google chromecast built in like Vizio.
 
You are right.

In any case, I have decided to wait spring/summer, because Pus7304 will come with more RAM and Android TV 9. Unfortunately, seems like the same SOC.
But possibly Android 9 will work better on the same HW.

At that time I will decide if I should go with the older or newer model. Hopefully, there will be some reviews, unlike 2018 model :/

EDIT: actually, flat panels claims it's likely a slightly stronger SOC, 10-15%. So one more reason to wait a bit.
 
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