55" tv for bedroom, Sony A8 or XH90?

[kernowsoul]

So I've been looking around for a tv to replace my mid range Samsung that I hate the picture of. I've been back and forth on al sorts of models and I think (lol) I have narrowed it down to two options.

Currently I have a Samsung UE50NU7470 in the bedroom which I think is a horrific tv. It's the one with too little memory to run apps that loads of people got replaced, unfortunately I got mine from Currys so was stuck with it. Even aside form the memory issue the banding is terrible and the backs are terrible.

I also have a 55" LG OLED B7 in the living room which I think is fantastic.

I did wonder about getting a new tv for the living room and demoting the LG in the bedroom, the trouble with this is the new LG's are missing the All 4, ITV and Channel 5 apps that we use a fair bit so they are out of the question, the Sony's have a terrible TV guide so that's out of the question for the living room too. I do have a couple of Apple TVs in the bedrooms but the trouble here is I have an 8 year old son who would watch YouTube and gaming all day if he could so we need to be able to lock down some apps (YouTube and Amazon Prime) while allowing access to Netflix, iPlayer etc. and the Apple TV doesn't have the ability to do this, in the bedroom I have a PIN code on everything but this wouldn't work in the living room.

So, I've then thought I'll put the new TV in the bedroom, I don't use OTA here and have an Apple TV so the LG/Sony issues listed above don't matter.

When looking at the LG CX and the Sony A8 the Sony looks like the better option due to the screen being a speaker and it has fairly decent reviews for sound. The pictures look largely the same on both models.

So it then comes down to a Sony A8, or a Sony XH90 with a sound bar...

It's usually pretty dark when watching the tv in the bedroom so I'm a little concerned the XH90 will have issues with the back light blooming that will bug me, on the other hand getting an A8 for the bedroom, while nice, feels rather overkill. Especially seeing as it will be better than the tv in the living room. If I get the XH90 I will save about £400 which I could spend at a later date on a sound bar if the tv sound isn't up to much.

And this is where I'm stuck, I'd rather spend less money, but I'm concerned I won't be happy with the dark room performance of the XH90 and wish I'd gone with the OLED.

Or are there any other options I have't considered? I'm not interested in any Samsung QLEDs due to the issues detailed above and they are the same price as an OLED so I'd rather have an OLED or the apparently better and cheaper XH90 given the choice.

In an ideal world if the LG CX didn't have the missing apps I'd get that for the living room and move the B7 into the bedroom. We have an xbox series X and the 120Hz would be great. We are used to watching everything on the existing LGs interface which works really well (and has the parental controls we need) so don't really want to complicate things with needing extra boxes to watch the missing catch up services.

What a lot of crap I've written about choosing a new TV!

Thanks

 

[vickster]

55xh9505? £999
From the Best Buy guide

1. Sony 55XH9505 - The best value high end LCD TV. Great motion, upscaling, HDR performance. Wider viewing angles and improved Android TV. Dolby Vision support.

 

[kernowsoul]

55xh9505? £999
From the Best Buy guide

1. Sony 55XH9505 - The best value high end LCD TV. Great motion, upscaling, HDR performance. Wider viewing angles and improved Android TV. Dolby Vision support.

I did look at this one as well, I’m not fussed about viewing angles so the xh90 is a better option I think as it’s almost the same tv but £100 cheaper

 

[Dodgexander]

I did look at this one as well, I’m not fussed about viewing angles so the xh90 is a better option I think as it’s almost the same tv but £100 cheaper

It's in a lower tier section of the guide because it doesn't have good HDR performance. Fine if you don't care too much about HDR, but HDR is kind of what buying a TV is about nowadays.

Regarding LCD vs OLED, I hope this guide is also useful:

LCD versus OLED

Which is better; An OLED or a LCD? Often there are many questions in this section of the forum such as: Which is better, Samsung Q90R or LG C9? Which is better LG B9 or Sony XG9505? Should I buy a larger, lower range LCD TV or a smaller more expensive OLED/LCD? The answer isn't always the same...

www.avforums.com

If you decide OLED is better for you than an LCD TV the best ones are in the high tier section of my guide. For specific differences:

2021-2022 OLED Comparison

A comparison of OLEDs Here's a brief summary of what the small differences are. Don't get so hung up about them though, as each TV is very similar.

www.avforums.com

 

[silent ninja]

I have the Sony A8 and indeed it is brilliant, but why not go for the LG BX? It's been on sale around the £1k mark and has everything you need. It'll perform stellar in the dark room environment. Is it because of sound?

For a bedroom what kind of sound are you after. The sound should be serviceable with the BX - others can comment.
You could also consider a 2.0 or 2.1 system for considerably less than a soundbar.

I do think the A8 sound is really good for a TV. It's got a good soundstage, impressive clear dialogue, and quite good bass if you crank it up (won't rumble though). It won't replace a good quality soundbar (these are expensive anyhow) but I'd be happy with it in a bedroom. We use it for 95% of our viewing in our living room and enjoy it. The other 5% I use my Edifier S350db 2.1 system which rumbles the room (and is high quality for music).