Question 55" 4K set for around £1,000

Chappers2000

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Good afternoon.
Long time reader first time poster...

I realise a lot of people are asking roughly the same questions these days, but I figured I'd throw my hat in the ring as I'm about to go insane having possibly over-researched my decision.

I am in the market for a new TV and am intending to purchase tomorrow (Saturday). For the time being it will be tasked with being my primary Lounge TV, but longer-term it will be relegated to the den/snug. It is replacing a stalwart 46" Sony X4500 which I've had since 2009 and was considered one of if not THE best TVs on the market at the time. It is still going strong but that is going in the den for now, and we fancy something a bit bigger with better resolution, HD tuner, and more features for the Lounge.

Having done literally STACKS of research, I am narrowing it down to about 4 sets, but there are pros and cons to each.

Sony 55XD8599
£1,149 plus a free 2.1 Sony Soundbar (worth around £250)
Pro's - good deal, looks nice, good features, wide viewing angle, inbuilt Chromecast.
Con's - IPS panel might not give me the black depth I'd appreciate, no local dimming or strong brightness or 10bit panel, so HDR performance will only be so-so. I hear things about input lag using HDR and slow updates to the Android OS with only radio-silence from Sony regarding a updates and fixes.

Panasonic 58DX750B
£1,049
Pro's - slightly bigger screen size, flexible stand position, VA panel for better blacks, some local dimming capability
Con's - Firefox OS now has limited support since being dropped by Mozilla, limited local dimming and not very bright 8bit panel, so HDR performance will only be so-so, not sure about the shiny metal design.

Samsung 55KH7000
£1,299
Pro's - Seems to get very good right-ups regarding display performance, 10bit panel, reasonable HDR performance
Con's - the stand won't fit on my cabinet, over-budget, not sure how much I trust Samsung.

Sony 55SD8505
£1,199
Pro's - Allegedly has a VA panel, so the black levels should be better, looks nice, good features, inbuilt Chromecast
Con's - see other cons from the other Sony model...

I will be mostly watching in afternoons and evenings and I don't particularly watch fast-moving sports. I do sometimes use my Playstation but I don't need the last word in response rate or anything as I'm no hardcore gamer. Whilst I understand that HDR is 'what makes 4K worth having' I am aware that you need to feed a TV good quality material to benefit from it, so don't want to be sat with a white elephant - especially as I am in a non-fibre broadband area and stuck on c. 15Mbps broadband for the foreseeable which is not fast enough to stream 4K content.

Ultimately in about 5 years we will invest more into a new Lounge TV which will be OLED or whatever is appropriate technology at the time, but I just want to be sure to be getting something decent for the more limited budget I have at the moment.

I would value any thoughts.
 
If you aren't going to buy an UHD Blu-ray player that takes HDR out of the equation.

If so, I would go for the Panasonic.

If you are gonna get a UHD Blu-ray player or even game with HDR the Samsung KS7000 is a better buy.

I only know the xd85 has an IPS panel, no idea about the sd85, can I ask where you've heard It has a VA one?

You may also consider the cheaper XD80 which is along the lines with the Panasonic in terms of value for money. As far as I know it uses a VA but I'm not 100% sure as it hasn't been reviewed much yet.
 
Hi Dodgexander,

re: the SD85 being a VA panel - OK, I'll admit it was from displayspecifications.com which I appreciate may or may not be accurate - but it's so hard to find information and know where to believe what you see. If it turns out that it does indeed have a VA panel then presumably this would be a decent set - especially in a more dimly-lit room?

I hadn't really considered the XD8005 to be honest. I suppose I thought I wanted to ensure I had good upscaling and decent motion control and assumed that the 'X1 processor' was a must-have in the Sony range for that. Perhaps/perhaps not. I'm not wedded to the range.

The Panasonic looks legitimately decent, but I've read a few mixed stories about the patchy local dimming and that it's not really worth bothering with as it can disturb the viewing experience, in which case that puts it back in the same boat as the Sony but with a slightly larger screen and reduced feature set (and no longer supported Firefox OS).

I might just have to wait and see them for myself in person in order to make a decision. At least a TV is not forever, but it does have to be a good choice for a few years.
 
Well for starters Mozilla have ended support of Firefox OS themselves but that's not to say Panasonic won't continue it. Also for just a few years I doubt it will even matter.

I wouldn't worry about the local dimming so much, the Sony TV's don't have viable local dimming until you hit the xd93. The Samsung wins here, although you won't get top local dimming unless you go for a FALD top end LCD.

Upscaling on the Sony without the x1 processor is still good, I haven't heard anyone state It's better than without it apart from Sony themselves.

Yes if the curved SD85 it would be great, we just don't know for sure. Hopefully a review will surface soon.
 
Hmm, so I think I might have mixed up specs on the XD8005, turns out it does have the X1 processor, but curiously Sony's website states it has 400hz Motionflow, whereas John Lewis's website states 800Hz. I'd imagine Sony's own website is more likely to be accurate. The Rtings website doesn't mention anything about a 55" version of what they have as the X800D, so I'm not sure exactly if their review is fair across the full spread of sizes of that range.

I get what you're saying regarding the Firefox OS. Nobody has a crystal ball to tell what exactly is going to happen there. It just doesn't bode well if the creator of the system has decided to drop it already, meaning Panasonic simply backed the wrong horse yet it's the customers who ultimately suffer with reduced long-term support and features.

So it looks like I'm going to be choosing between the Panasonic DX750B and the Sony XD8005. Hopefully all will become clear when I audition them in the shop. If the SD85 happens to be stunning then who knows...

Thanks for the pointers. I will post the results tomorrow evening (hopefully).
 
Don't be fooled by those numbers. They aren't real refresh rates, they are calculated based on Sony's motion flow software.

XD80=50hz
XD83=100hz
XD85=100hz

Times by 8 which is Sony's strongest motion flow setting. All motion flow does is insert frames to make pictures appear smoother, it doesn't actually make the screen refresh better. Effectively it's useless unless you want to introduce soap opera affect. Some people like to use it for sports, I personally prefer it always disabled.

Higher refresh rate doesn't always mean smoother motion either. There are TVs with 50hz panels which are better for motion than 100hz. That's because almost everything watchable is lower than 50hz.

When you view them in the store you should be able to see if the SD85 is VA or not since it's picture will degrade a lot more at angles compared to IPS.

You won't really notice the darker black's unless you can demo in a darker room.
 
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I'd like to just ask where it's been shown that Mozilla have dropped support for Firefox OS on Panasonic TVs?

As far as your situation concerns the DX750 looks like the best bang for buck. Very good fot SDR but of course not there with the elite for HDR. It depends what your viewing will be.

If you plan to watch moderately some HDR the K7000 is where my money would go and looks worth the extra outlay.
 
Hi James,
I've read the Firefox thing in a few places this past week, basically suggesting that Mozilla have given up on it and passed the buck to Panasonic to maintain it. Given that move it would be highly unlikely for Panasonic to put that OS in future TVs so it is questionable how much developer support they would be able to give Firefox OS for existing owners. All of that is moot however if there is no need to call upon support, which hopefully there wouldn't be.

Whilst I like the idea of the Samsung, it is simply £300 over budget and the stupid stand design means I'd have to buy a floor mount or table mount which would cost another c.£150 on top of that. I think that's a no-go.

So I'm going to look at the Panasonic and a couple of the Sony's this afternoon and hope to have a decision later.
 
Hi Chappers,

That's quite an interesting decision if it happens considering that I think Firefox OS has been implemented really well on Panasonic's TVs. Would be a shame.

Moving on... in my opinion the DX750 would be the best option for the price. Especially as it's had a couple of solid reviews compared to the SD85 which I can't see anywhere!

Also as someone who had the Android OS formerly with a X85C, the Firefox OS is just much easier to use and so much more reaponsive. I'm sure they've improved things with the 2016 range but I'd still be a bit hesitant!

Finally curve or no curve really, your preference.

Edit: best of luck choosing!
 
Thanks mate. I know I've properly over-analysed the situation, which I tend to do for most purchases we make. Given the fact that we are all posting in a message board such as this one, I'd wager we were all guilty of the same. I'm sure there is also a self-affirming factor to things as well, because everyone wants to hear that they were right to make the decision they did. Fingers crossed for later...
 
So I ended up ordering an XD8005 with the free HTCT390 2.1 sound bar for £999 which I think is a great deal.

Then last night I had a bit of a wobble as on another thread in this forum I read that only the 43" version of the XD80 has a VA panel, the 49-55" versions both have IPS panels. No way I would have known that as nowhere has the 55" on display. That being said, the person on here who had it said it was fine, and also confirmed it had the better stand (like the XD85) as well as more suggestions that it has a 10bit panel and a slightly faster processor to make the OS more responsive.

Swings and roundabouts it seems. I'm going to double check my decision in person today.
 
I am also in the process of upgrading, I was looking at the xd8599 55" but It has a separate PSU and my TV is wall mounted so it's now out of the question for me. I read this tv has an IPS panel and the older 2015 versions have VA panels, but I want an IPS panel as we view the TV off axis as well as straight on. I'm thinking of going for the LG55UH850v, just been reduced to £999, I have viewed it in Currys and it is a nice looking TV, I know it won't have as good contrast as some of the higher end TV's but I will have to compromise. I can't get the Samsung because they have a separate controller box to connect all the HDMI and coax cables as my cables are buried in the wall.
I would be interested if anyone owns this lg tv and could give me any feedback.
 
So I ended up ordering an XD8005 with the free HTCT390 2.1 sound bar for £999 which I think is a great deal.

Then last night I had a bit of a wobble as on another thread in this forum I read that only the 43" version of the XD80 has a VA panel, the 49-55" versions both have IPS panels. No way I would have known that as nowhere has the 55" on display. That being said, the person on here who had it said it was fine, and also confirmed it had the better stand (like the XD85) as well as more suggestions that it has a 10bit panel and a slightly faster processor to make the OS more responsive.

Swings and roundabouts it seems. I'm going to double check my decision in person today.
Can you link the source that states the bigger size panels have IPS? The only review of the TV is on the north American rtings.com. they reviewed the 43 inch but there's nothing that states the 49 inch which also sells there isn't VA to. There's also nothing I've found that states the 55 is VA.

The easiest way to see for yourself is the difference in viewing angles. Whilst an IPS screen with start to show a difference viewed at approx a 30 degrees angle VA will start to differ much sooner. Around 20 degrees.

If this isn't apparent then the only other way is to take a close up picture of the pixels with a static image. Then you'll see from the pixel arrangement which kind of panel it is.
 
So I ended up ordering an XD8005 with the free HTCT390 2.1 sound bar for £999 which I think is a great deal.

Then last night I had a bit of a wobble as on another thread in this forum I read that only the 43" version of the XD80 has a VA panel, the 49-55" versions both have IPS panels. No way I would have known that as nowhere has the 55" on display. That being said, the person on here who had it said it was fine, and also confirmed it had the better stand (like the XD85) as well as more suggestions that it has a 10bit panel and a slightly faster processor to make the OS more responsive.

Swings and roundabouts it seems. I'm going to double check my decision in person today.
Hi Chappers 2000

I actually purchased the Panasonic you mention but unfortunately am going to be returning it tomorrow due to some issues with motion. What are your thoughts on the Sony as i think this is what i want to replace it with (although i'm stuck between the 8005 and 8599) as they now both come with the free soundbar.

Most importantly does motion look good (I get some weird stuff going on with hand movements etc.)
 
Hi Chappers 2000

I actually purchased the Panasonic you mention but unfortunately am going to be returning it tomorrow due to some issues with motion. What are your thoughts on the Sony as i think this is what i want to replace it with (although i'm stuck between the 8005 and 8599) as they now both come with the free soundbar.

Most importantly does motion look good (I get some weird stuff going on with hand movements etc.)

Apologies for the lateness in my reply.

The 8005 is a decent set. I like the stand design, the build quality, the speed and the overall image quality. The motion handling seems good too, in spite of the panel being 60Hz native.

The only disappointment for me is the black levels, as a) it's an IPS panel, and b) there is no local dimming. But then you get what you pay for.

Turns out only the smallest model in the XD80 range uses a VA panel. I wish manufacturers would stick to one or the other across their entire range!

Ultimately, it will suffice for our lounge set for a few years, then we will rotate it upstairs and get something a bit bigger and more high-end for the lounge that can satisfy my black-level needs.
 
I've got the 58dx750 , to be honest you won't go far wrong with it , if I have one complaint , it hasn't got a swivel stand , but that is being churlish and can be sorted for around £30 ...
 

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