55" TV - Blu-Ray 4K Disks, Netflix, Prime Video, no gaming £1,500-ish Budget

ramer

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I'm looking to upgrade from a 12 year-old 42" Panasonic plasma, to a 55" 4K screen. My main viewing will be Blu-Ray 4K (plus I have several hundred Blu-Ray disks that I don't plan on binning just yet so upscaling is a consideration), Netflix and Prime video (both 4K where available) and Broadcast from the BBC, ITV etc. (I'm not a PS5/Xbox gamer, won't be one in the future, so that aspect is relatively unimportant to me compared to the other uses the TV will be used for).

The screen will be used in a sitting room environment, not a dedicated "home cinema" room. There is both WiFi and ethernet available to the TV. 55" is a physical limit given where the TV will be placed. I do some late-night film-watching with dimmed lights etc.

I'd like to hear what you would recommend as the best 55" for the budget I have (+/- maybe 15%), with the most relevant features/capabilities given my viewing habits/desires above. I do have a TV in mind, but I don't want to colour people's suggestions with my thoughts initially; I really want to hear your own thoughts!

Thanks.
 
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A few questions about usage.... Would it get used a lot for news channels/breakfast TV or get paused for long periods of time ? Does it get watched a lot during the day and if so, does the room get so overly sunny and bright that reflections might be an issue ? Will other members of your family be using it when you're not there ?

If the answers to all or most of those questions is 'no' or 'not that often' then that might tip you in favour of OLED over LCD and, if gaming isn't a priority and you want a great movie experience when watching in a dimly lit room, then the 55" Panasonic JZ1000 OLED would be a great choice and a logical replacement for your plasma. It's currently well within your budget, too.

Pushing the budget to £2k for the JZ1500 would get you the 'Master HDR OLED Professional Edition' panel from the top-of-the-range JZ2000 and better sound than the JZ1000 (50W vs 30W).
 
No, it wouldn't be used for news channels etc (assume you're thinking about screen burn here). Some day use but not a lot, and not much direct light. Wife may play some iplayer content etc when standing ironing.

One thing I'm thinking about is which standards the TV would support, given there'll be a fair bit of blu-ray and netflix/prime video watching. Is it worth trying to get Dolby Vision/IQ from something like the Philips 55oled806? If I get HDR10+ with a TV, would I still benefit with DV/IQ being available on the tv too?
 
Yes - while the risk of uneven pixel wear may have been reduced in recent years, it still makes sense not to ignore it, IMO.

You might as well get a TV that supports both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ if you can. Most higher-end Panasonic TVs support all the HDR formats, as do some Philips models by the looks of it. Of those two dynamic metadata formats, LG only support Dolby Vision and Samsung only HDR10+, though.

As I understand it, Dolby Vision is supposed to be the 'better' of the two and also far more common - it's the favoured HDR format for Netflix, for example.
 
Re the Panasonic JZ1000 - does that have the same "Master HDR OLED Professional Edition' panel that the JZ1500 and JZ2000 have, because (as an ex Dolby film sound engineer!) I'm sorting the sound out totally separately from the on-board TV audio in any event....
 
No, only the JZ2000, the JZ1500 may use the panel but run it a lower brightness due to no cooling heatsink.

Beware of the timing of your purchase, you want to wait really until Black Friday/Christmas sales if don't want to over-pay for a new 2021 model.

Otherwise you could search out 2020 models at a discount, for example; the HZ2000.

Supporting all types of HDR formats is not essential, its important to consider other differences from one TV to the next before you consider that. For example; Panasonic have pretty basic smart TV with a small app selection. From 2021 lines most people would look at the LG C1, G1, Sony A80/A90J instead of Panasonic despite not supporting HDR10+ because it comes second to other priorities.

Remember a TV can still use HDR on HDR10+ titles even if it doesn't support it. This is because every HDR title comes with basic HDR10 data regardless of it being HDR10+ or Dolby Vision.
 

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