Advice needed (55-65'' LCD/OLED ~1584€/1394£)

[Sierra76]

Hi everyone,

I'm in a process of upgrading my old Samsung UE55H6650SL (3D) to something new. I'd probably go straight into LG OLED 55B8/C8, but it has been told to me that I need to be carefull with burning in (afterimage). I'm using the TV for most of day, starting around 9:00 am and turning it off around 1:00am. For the most of day it's tv news running, I don't really watch it directly, it's just running and I look at the tv from time to time while working on PC. It's a habbit, probably bad one, I can probably change it, I don't know, hard to tell really. My budget is at 1584€/1394£ max. I am also tempted to get 65, for better wow effect since my current tv seem to be small at the range which I'm watching it (3-3.5m). By the way I sit in front of it, I don't care for angles so IPS is a no go for me. There is also one important factor, the stand, I'm limited to something like this:
Although I have plans to change it to something bigger, however not at the same time with TV. I can probably put something on it, to extend it temporary if needed.

Durring my research I've found one bargain (well at least when it comes to prices/guarantee perdion) which is Samsung 65NU8042 at 987£ with 5-years guarantee, but then I discovered that this has bad dimming (+low number of zones) and I watch a lot of videos at night with subtitles. People recommend me Sony XF9005 which costs 1350£ - but then I found some reviews about light bleeding it also has android tv.

What I like in my current tv is the lack of dimming problems (it has no HDR), and awesome remote control (like an air mouse) and fast tizen system.

I want to watch netflix/amazon/youtube, and sat tv (FHD mostly), and play videos from my network player. I'm based in Poland so the prices might be different here, but it doesn't matter because it's usually close to yours in the UK or so. I came to a conclusion that there is no tv for me currently, at least not in that price range but maybe I'm wrong, or overreacting to some reviews found on youtube and what not. I'm struggling with that choices for 20 days now, and still cannot decide that's why I decided to write here and ask for an advice from you guys and gals.

 

[Dodgexander]

First of all, your current TV is quite a good one, even by todays standards. This in mind and your description of usage leading to possible screen burn I would not consider going for a smaller higher end TV like an OLED. Especially at your viewing distance which is very far, even for viewing just HD content, let alone UHD.

Secondly, I think that when you search online and read reviews and user feedback for TVs you are always going to read something you don't like to hear. What you have read regarding the Sony XF9005 and NU8000 is very true, but you are very unlikely to notice these problems yourself when you own the TV, most people don't.

You should in my opinion be looking at both the TVs mentioned, they are both by far the best value for money options and they are both TVs for different purposes. The Samsung at that price is very good value and is going to be more than enough for your uses, its lack of dimming isn't as much as an issue as you may believe if you are only using SDR content. Even Samsung models that are more expensive (Q6FN/Q7FN/Q8FN) all lack any form of decent local dimming unlike the Sony XF9005.

Where the Sony becomes a better value option is when you use HDR, it can present HDR to a better standard than the NU8000.

So I would base your decision on that. Probably the NU8000 is going to be more than good enough for you unless you want HDR to look better, if you do, go for the Sony XF9005.

Each TV has its upsides and downsides and not TV is perfect, a little word of advice from me though; do not go buying a new UHD model expecting it to make everything look better than your current TV, it won't.

It will look better with new and high quality sources, but your every day regular TV generally isn't good quality anymore (even the HD channels) so you may be disappointed in their picture quality compared to viewing on your current TV. Where a new TV will shine though is with things like Amazon and Netflix and if you plan on discs, UHD Blu-Rays too.

Edit* I forgot to mention; do not limit your choice based on the TV stand. You can just buy your own stand off eBay or similar to fit the rear of the TV (using wall mount holes). They can be bought for cheap and are easy to assemble, much the same as a wall mount but a stand instead. You can get both table top ones for existing furniture, ones with furniture built on or even floorstanding ones.

 

[Sierra76]

Thank you for insightful reply. My common sense is telling me that Sony XF9005 is probably the way to go. It's marginaly more expensive than the LG OLED 55C8 here, and it's 65 inches. I can live without OLED picture quality for now, what I don't want is to have issues with subtitles (I watch a lot of sci-fi = dark scenes). The biggest problem to me is probably the fact that I cannot check it in my room enviroment at night. Checking it at a store has no use with all that bright lights. Watching these youtube videos is inconclusive because they usually record it with a smartphone and it looks bad (lost focus, heavy blooming). I would like to hear some opinion form a happy users. The other thing that bother is android tv. I really want to see the HDR effect, I'm after it so I guess that Samsung is not for me.

As you noticed my current tv is pretty good, taking it's 5 years old, the picture is very nice, and I can see FullHD from that distance (good eyes hehe). I can definitely tell when it's 720p. It's running 18h per day for all these years and has zero burn in.

 

[Dodgexander]

You can ask/search about subtitles in the Sony KD XF9005 Owners and Discussion Thread

For the record, my TV is similar to the Sony with more dimming zones and I see some blooming with subtitles but there is no way around that with a FALD LCD. In fact whilst local dimming is a great improvement in overall picture quality and a necessity when it comes to HDR looking good, it can also be the cause of blooming around subtitles. That is because the TV has several zones behind the TV it and adjusts their brightness accordingly to the image. With subtitles, it is harder only to light a letter at a time without also lighting an area around it much the same as stars in a dark sky. Because the TV is capable of dimming one zone and not the next it is this that creates the blooming as you see the change from one zone and the next. You can always turn it off though.

Comparing subtitles on an edge lit model like the Samsung NU8000 and they may actually be better. Why? Because there is no dimming at all so therefore all the letters and the black surrounding them will be greyer as a whole, but not concentrated in specific areas.

But anyway, these are specifics and are probably not reading too much into, your current TV is a direct lit model without any form of good local dimming so it too will have some light surrounding subtitles much the same as any LCD, you probably don't notice it much though right?

Its true what you say about stores, you can't judge the TV there. It is good to buy from a reputable place if you can though, because it may be possible then to return the TV if you are unhappy with it.
You also can't judge from photos with differing exposure and not without having a side by side comparison:

Here would be the fairest comparison of dark screen uniformity:
Samsung NU8000 Review (UN49NU8000, UN55NU8000, UN65NU8000, UN75NU8000, UN82NU8000) - RTINGS.com
Sony X900F Review (XBR49X900F, XBR55X900F, XBR65X900F, XBR75X900F, XBR85X900F) - RTINGS.com
Samsung H6400 Review (UN40H6400, UN48H6400, UN50H6400, UN55H6400, UN60H6400, UN65H6400) - RTINGS.com (most similar to your current TV).