Cakefish
Established Member
Just over a year ago I bought a Philips 50PUS8204 for £399 and I’ve been happy with it for the most part. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very forward-looking and didn’t bother spending more for HDMI 2.1 compatibility at the time, as I only had a Nintendo Switch and I didn’t think that would change anytime soon. So of course, as fate would have it, I recently bought one of the new Xbox Series X consoles! So now I’m hankering for a TV upgrade again to get 120Hz support as well as VRR - also better HDR picture quality would be nice too! I definitely don’t want to make the same mistake twice so I’ve upped my budget this time around and started looking at 55” models, where the better value for money seems to lie. I mostly use my TV for gaming, YouTube, and Plex. Occasionally I’ll use streaming apps like Netflix, Prime Video, iPlayer etc.
I’ve been keeping an eye on the upcoming Philips 55PUS9206, as I am a fan of the Ambilight feature, but it doesn’t seem to have FALD backlighting so that’s making me consider sacrificing Ambilight for better picture quality. Richer Sounds has recently listed the lower end 50PUS8506 for £750 so that also has me thinking that the 55PUS9206 is probably going to end up costing more than the specifications can justify. So I’m started to seriously consider other brands now.
My list currently looks like this:
*Samsung QN94A - £1,800
*LG C1 - £1,700
*Samsung Q95T - £1,200
*LG CX - £1,200
Essentially it boils down to two main choices: OLED vs VA LCD and 2021 vs 2020. I just can’t figure out what’s best for me. I know OLED gets rave reviews but I’m a bit concerned about burn in as I’m not a typical user and can play the same game for multiple hours at a time with lots of static HUD elements. Also, as my TV is by a window I will be tempted to use an OLED at higher brightness levels, which I’ve read increases the risk of burn in too. Samsung doesn’t have any burn in risk and get brighter but lack Dolby Vision support (which I’ve read is superior to HDR10) and both models I’m considering only have a single HDMI 2.1 port vs the LG models complete set of 4 (certainly not a problem for the foreseeable future but if I ever do decide to get a PS5 a few years down the line it might be a bit awkward).
Sony X90J looks good in theory but is a bit of a non-starter as it doesn’t yet support VRR nor ALLM - and I definitely want those features! Not sure if I can trust Sony to stick to their marketing promises of an update by the end of the year considering X90H owners have been waiting for a very long time!
I’d much appreciate any advice or suggestions that you can give to me!
I’ve been keeping an eye on the upcoming Philips 55PUS9206, as I am a fan of the Ambilight feature, but it doesn’t seem to have FALD backlighting so that’s making me consider sacrificing Ambilight for better picture quality. Richer Sounds has recently listed the lower end 50PUS8506 for £750 so that also has me thinking that the 55PUS9206 is probably going to end up costing more than the specifications can justify. So I’m started to seriously consider other brands now.
My list currently looks like this:
*Samsung QN94A - £1,800
*LG C1 - £1,700
*Samsung Q95T - £1,200
*LG CX - £1,200
Essentially it boils down to two main choices: OLED vs VA LCD and 2021 vs 2020. I just can’t figure out what’s best for me. I know OLED gets rave reviews but I’m a bit concerned about burn in as I’m not a typical user and can play the same game for multiple hours at a time with lots of static HUD elements. Also, as my TV is by a window I will be tempted to use an OLED at higher brightness levels, which I’ve read increases the risk of burn in too. Samsung doesn’t have any burn in risk and get brighter but lack Dolby Vision support (which I’ve read is superior to HDR10) and both models I’m considering only have a single HDMI 2.1 port vs the LG models complete set of 4 (certainly not a problem for the foreseeable future but if I ever do decide to get a PS5 a few years down the line it might be a bit awkward).
Sony X90J looks good in theory but is a bit of a non-starter as it doesn’t yet support VRR nor ALLM - and I definitely want those features! Not sure if I can trust Sony to stick to their marketing promises of an update by the end of the year considering X90H owners have been waiting for a very long time!
I’d much appreciate any advice or suggestions that you can give to me!