Chappers2000
Standard Member
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.
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.