Question 55” High End vs 65” Mid Range @ 10ft

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Hi guys, I’ve been painstakingly researching a TV to upgrade from my 9 year old 720p Panasonic 42” plasma, which has been fantastic for both SD and HD content. Main sources are Netflix streaming, Freeview SD & HD and iTunes rentals and purchases. Viewing distance is 9 to 10 feet.

With a tight budget of around £1300 I’ve narrowed things down to the Sony 55” 55xe9305, LG 55” b7 or a 65” 65xe9005 I’ve read that the B7 and 9305 are superior sets but the 65” versions are few hundred above my budget. (Orders from above )

So, given my viewing distance and sources would I be better off with the 55” 9305 or B7 or the 65” 9005 for the same money. Id love a 65” set for the wow factor and cinematic experience but worried if I’d be sacrificing a lot in PQ.

Couldn’t find a definitive answer in search so hopefully not treading on any toes.

Much appreciated.

Edit: just to add that I don’t think any of my viewing involves 4K or UHD. Eg mostly upscaled SD/720p and 1080.
 
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9-10 feet is about optimal with FHD content on a 65" so 1080p stuff will look better, 720p stuff probably a little softer and SD stuff will look noticeably poor compared to your current TV.

On a 55" 1080p and 720p stuff will look good, SD won't look as bad on a smaller screen, but still worse than your current TV.

So really its a measure of HD image quality versus SD image quality. Bigger is always better of course and on a larger screen, be it 55 or 65" you will be wanting to avoid poor quality SD stuff as much as possible.

My answer would be to go for the 65 XE9005 LCD but if you really care about how poorer quality sources look still, go for the 55 LG B7 OLED.
 
9-10 feet is about optimal with FHD content on a 65" so 1080p stuff will look better, 720p stuff probably a little softer and SD stuff will look noticeably poor compared to your current TV.

On a 55" 1080p and 720p stuff will look good, SD won't look as bad on a smaller screen, but still worse than your current TV.

So really its a measure of HD image quality versus SD image quality. Bigger is always better of course and on a larger screen, be it 55 or 65" you will be wanting to avoid poor quality SD stuff as much as possible.

My answer would be to go for the 65 XE9005 LCD but if you really care about how poorer quality sources look still, go for the 55 LG B7 OLED.

Thanks so much for the reply mate, I’ve read tons of your informative posts and your input is greatly appreciated.

It sounds like I’d be sacrificing SD somewhat whichever telly I choose. Although I can live with that if I’m going to gain much better image quality overall. This was so much easier in the plasma days, the mind boggles why they dumped it. Seems like we had the best of both worlds for awhile but i guess they have their reasons.

How good are the viewing angles on the Sony 9005, are they still good at around 45 degrees? for the majority we’ll be sitting directly in front but when all the family are viewing some will be at around 45 deg.

Think I was a tad shy with my initial budget as now I can’t find any of the models at £1300 which seemed a bargain. It’s been so long since I first looked at prices and been so preoccupied mulling over things it appears a lot of the better deals have ended. The 65” Sony XE9005 now coming in around £1600 which surely must be close to rrp?...not such a great deal. So now wondering if there are any other sets I should consider up to £1600 or is the 9005 still the best?

Thanks again.
 
How good are the viewing angles on the Sony 9005, are they still good at around 45 degrees? for the majority we’ll be sitting directly in front but when all the family are viewing some will be at around 45 deg.
If that is an arc both sides it's okay, if it's that angle either side the picture will look pretty washed out to the side.

If it's important that these angles look good you will either need an OLED or look at LCDs with IPS panels instead which aren't in same class as VA paneled LCDs like the Sony sadly.

Prices are all over the place right now with new models coming in. There probably will be more bargains. Check pricespy.co.uk
 
If that is an arc both sides it's okay, if it's that angle either side the picture will look pretty washed out to the side.

If it's important that these angles look good you will either need an OLED or look at LCDs with IPS panels instead which aren't in same class as VA paneled LCDs like the Sony sadly.

Prices are all over the place right now with new models coming in. There probably will be more bargains. Check pricespy.co.uk

I’ve just seen the LG C7/B7 both 55” & 65” in the flesh and had demos from various sources by a Curry’s salesman. Just to say he wasn’t a kid, he was in his 40s and seemed quite clued up and talked very enthusiastically about the different techs and wasn’t pushy at all. Seemed a decent bloke. I also had the chance to walk around and play with some of the other sets on display. We then came to the LGs, standing about 6-7 feet away. We flicked back and forth between the 55” and 65” sets. Quite honestly I wasn’t as impressed as I thought I would, especially with 1080p. He had a USB stick with 4K and a few 1080p nature programs on, although he did say the 1080 was recorded using HDMI 1.4 and not 2.0. Not sure what difference that should make? If I’m honest it just looked like SD, no better, visible pixelation and soft. Couldn’t believe it was supposed to be 1080p. Made me feel like I’ve been spoiled with my 10yo plasma.

The 4K content looked obviously better, detailed and crisp but was also cartoon like, over saturated with way to much contrast and to vivid. Like everything wanted to jump off the screen, unnatural. An exercise on how dark the blacks are and how bright whites can be. I tried the different picture settings and preferred the cinema mode which helped a lot.

He didn’t have any SD sources to show me but after seeing 1080p I wasn’t really bothered. I did like the smart tv aspects, having all the apps easily accessible, the OH would definitely be happy with that.

In the end, either this was a very poor demo or this tech just isn’t for me. I came away feeling underwhelmed knowing it was supposed to be one of the best TVs on the market. I understand that it may not have been set up exactly how I prefer, but at no point did I get the wow factor, not even with 4K material. Taking on board all of the other sets I’d seen, i came away feeling like we’re being told this is what we are supposed to like and what we actually do like is somehow wrong.

Should I seek a demo elsewhere or do you think I’ll likely have the same conclusion?
 
When you are looking at 1080p content and up on UHD TVs, be it OLED or LCD really its nothing but source quality.

As an example on my 65" Panasonic DX902 LCD.

1080p broadcast TV looks pants compared to my old Plasma.
2160p amazon (like Grand Tour in UHD and HDR) looks great.
1080p amazon (a better quality 1080p than normal TV channels) stiil looks great and its hard to not notice this isn't UHD at my close viewing distance.

To put it very simply, looking at an UHD TV is like looking through a window. You see the very worse in sources but if your source is good quality, be it FHD or UHD it will look decent.

Its great you had a demo in the store, just beware of the shop picture modes and lighting conditions. They will be very different to at home. They can't put TVs in showrooms in the correct modes with the right calibration because they will look too dim, at home that is a different matter.

But indeed, if its 1080p stuff and some worse quality 1080p you are watching still (such as broadcast TV) don't expect miracles.
 
When you are looking at 1080p content and up on UHD TVs, be it OLED or LCD really its nothing but source quality.

As an example on my 65" Panasonic DX902 LCD.

1080p broadcast TV looks pants compared to my old Plasma.
2160p amazon (like Grand Tour in UHD and HDR) looks great.
1080p amazon (a better quality 1080p than normal TV channels) stiil looks great and its hard to not notice this isn't UHD at my close viewing distance.

Its great you had a demo in the store, just beware of the shop picture modes and lighting conditions. They will be very different to at home. They can't put TVs in showrooms in the correct modes with the right calibration because they will look too dim, at home that is a different matter.

But indeed, if its 1080p stuff and some worse quality 1080p you are watching still (such as broadcast TV) don't expect miracles.

Thanks Dodge, what you say makes good sense and I hadn’t thought of it quite that way. It’s the first time I’ve really looked at UHD with the view to seriously buying, the first time 4K content was extremely limited. Now it seems much more accessible.

On the B7, I’ve read so many positive reviews from all over the net and really struggled to find any negatives worthy of mention, so I’m inclined to think you are right about the store setup and environment. In fact, thinking back to when I first bought my plasma, I recall having similar doubts in the shop and bought purely based on the positive reviews found on these forums. Which turned out to be a very good decision in the end.

I’m going to hang tight and watch the prices for awhile, it’s currently back at £1799 everywhere but the Curry’s guy said the offers will start again soon when the new B8 is out. I was reassured they have a ton of stock, over 1000 55” models allocated to north midlands stores alone. So hopefully the deals will be good. Thanks again for your input Dodge, much appreciated.
 

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