Question 55 inch recommendation for around £500 with Roku/Android or some form of casting

alebleicker

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Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a 55 inch TV for playing Netflix, Youtube and Plex. I've already a good Sony 1080p projector for films going strong for years so the idea for the telly is more for casual watching series and youtube videos or some stuff from my personal Plex library.

I use a Roku express player with my projector and it works really well for 1080p content, does casting as well from my phone (works perfectly) and plays 1080p from my plex library at full bitrate, very happy with that. Also Roku mobile app on my phone can play the audio to bluetooth headphones while watching stuff, very handy. I was looking at TVs with Roku builtin, but it seems the TCL TVs with this are only available in the US and not in the UK, shame. Next I was thinking perhaps on an Android TV, so I can install netflix and other apps from google store, but I'm not sure how powerful the CPU is on those to play full bitrate 1080p films. I have one LG tv with WebOS from 2015, and it is horribly slow! Roku player for £29 on it transformed the telly into something useful.

It seems 1080p panels are not even in production anymore so I need to get a 4k telly, how do they handle 1080p content? Will it look bad compared to a native 1080p panel? Should I be looking at a 1080p screen? Not sure 4k adds any value to me as I don't find it appealing to the content I consume.

Ideally I would like a model with Roku or Android (casting is very important to me), bluetooth audio output or then 3.5 jack so I can plug a bluetooth transmitter (maybe builtin bluetooth from TVs also has noticeable lag, I use apt-x low latency kit here connected to 3.5 jack).

My research is leading me to a few models:
  1. Hisense H55U7AUK £519 not sure if the OS supports casting from android devices, maybe I'll need to add a roku 4k player here? I like its very slim profile, no 3.5 jack audio output
  2. Philips 55PUS6753 £500 has 3.5 jack output, profile of the TV seems a bit thick
  3. Samsung NU7400 £469 has bluetooth but what about the delay?
  4. Samsung NU7100 £454 doesn't have bluetooth, also no 3.5 jack
Do you guys have any advice for me here? Should I forget about any smart features of these TVs and buy it as a monitor and just get a Roku device to do the job? It seems Android TVs carry a price premium that may not be good value as simply adding a roku player.
 
Any TV comes with a basic client that can play files over a network via a media server like plex but if you want to use plex direct on the TV you are limited only to models that come with the plex apps.

Casting is mixed depending on the devices you cast from and the content you want to cast. TVs with Android built in or WebOS (LG) have chromecast built in which works well from an Android based phone, but not well if you intend on using an iPhone or Windows computer. Generally Youtube casting works with any TV as that is processed over the internet. Netflix casting will only work if you match manufacturers (Samsung Phone, Samsung TV etc).

Actually you already have a good idea with your Roku what you can and cant cast. The Roku should only support casting from certain apps, with my Roku TV (I'm in USA) I can only cast Youtube, from my windows computer or android phone to cast anything else I have to use miracast to share my screen which is slow and poor quality. This is just a miracast limitation.

If you are happy with your roku setup I would buy the Hisense U7A and pair it with another Roku, the streaming stick + supports UHD and is only £60.

Out of all the TVs, the Hisense is the highest spec anyway, due to its 120hz panel it has better overall motion than the other TVs.

Bluetooth on a TV will have similar delay to your Roku express as you still use bluetooth between your phone and headset. That is unless your headset and phone has aptx Low Latency support.

How content upscales depends a lot on the source quality, if you view at an average distance from the TV I think you'll find good quality 1080p rips will look fine, but if you have highly compressed ones they may not look as good as they would on a native panel.
 
It is a shame UK market doesn't have any TV with Roku builtin. I was checking TCL models and they have builtin Roku in US.

I'm leaning towards Hisense U7A indeed, thanks for confirming that would be a viable option.

Bluetooth enabled TVs seems to be a niche and a gamble with latency, so I've given up on that. Better to use a bluetooth adapter with low latency protocol plugged into a 3.5 jack.

I was checking TCL as well just as an alternative as I may add a telly in the kitchen for watching cooking programs as the tablet can be inconvenient at times, £299 for a 50 inches seems good for what it is supposed to deliver. Do you guys know if it is any good? Review on amazon seem favourable, but you never know if they are legit. https://www.amazon.co.uk/TCL-50DP62...words=50DP628&qid=1554849185&s=gateway&sr=8-1
 
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User feedback for them seems to be good in the low range, can't see them being any better or worse than the competition just because at smaller sizes and cheaper prices the options aren't fantastic anyway.

They seem to use VA panels which if you do not need wide viewing angles already puts their picture quality in terms of blacks and contrast ahead of most other TVs at 49".

But there are many TVs at 50" using VA type panels, many of them are probably using the same exact panel. Samsung, LG, Hisense and Philips all have 50" models that tick boxes for those that prefer a VA type panel and are looking for good value at that size.
 

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