Question Been out the game too long... please help!

Agent_Trig

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Hi there,

It's been a long time since my last TV and amp purchase and since then a lot has changed with the introduction of SMART TVs, 4K etc.

I'm now in the market to buy a new TV and amp and need a little help in knowing what to look for based on my needs.

So here goes...
  • Pass 5.1 audio (dolby & DTS) from the TV to the amp (such as the 5.1 audio from a smart tv app like netflix or amazon). I understand that not all TVs can do this - what is it I'm looking for?
  • Also what am I looking for in amps to support this feature? Is it all handled with the one HDMI cable that sends and receives audio and video?
  • Smart TV OS - what's considered good?
  • Back when I got my last TV, it was all about Samsung TVs for the quality to price ratio. Is this still the case or are there other brands I should be paying attention to?
  • HDR - with a budget of around £1k, is this something I should ignore for now, or can I get a decent HDR set with this budget?
For what it's worth I'm looking to buy a 50"+ 4K TV to hang on the wall. I use both Amazon and Netflix so need these both to work flawlessly. I will also be buying a new amp and 5.1 speakers (Q Acoustics 7000i), however not decided on the amp yet.

Any help and advice on any of the above would be much appreciated, also any recommendations on a TV that fits my needs would be great too.

Thanks,
Dan
 
For the audio you need to look at a TV and an amp supporting audio return channel (ARC) most if not all TVs and amps have this now. Maybe not the really cheap models.

For apps like Netflix and Amazon this should work fine but whether it works with the Freeview HD 5.1 aac I'm not sure.

Every smart TV platform is good now. Last year's Sony's had some problems that have been ironed out and Samsung have yet to add all the apps to this year's TVs but that should be soon.

You can get TVs for that price that show HDR, but not very well compared to high end models.

I would look at the Panasonic DX-700 and the Samsung KS7000 but you can also just forget about HDR and get a much better non HDR picture by going for an older OLED TV like the 950v or 910v. You can find refurbished or heavily discounted offers on these and they will beat any LCD for quality of picture.
 
For the audio you need to look at a TV and an amp supporting audio return channel (ARC) most if not all TVs and amps have this now. Maybe not the really cheap models.

For apps like Netflix and Amazon this should work fine but whether it works with the Freeview HD 5.1 aac I'm not sure.

Every smart TV platform is good now. Last year's Sony's had some problems that have been ironed out and Samsung have yet to add all the apps to this year's TVs but that should be soon.

You can get TVs for that price that show HDR, but not very well compared to high end models.

I would look at the Panasonic DX-700 and the Samsung KS7000 but you can also just forget about HDR and get a much better non HDR picture by going for an older OLED TV like the 950v or 910v. You can find refurbished or heavily discounted offers on these and they will beat any LCD for quality of picture.

Thanks for the reply - it's been helpful.

I currently own an old Sony STR amp (which does not have ARC) and was wondering if I can get away with using that in the meantime while saving up for a new amp.

Do these new TVs have a standard optical out which will output the audio from the streaming services and connected devices to my existing amp?
 
They have optical sockets and will output audio but I'm not sure what kind. Most of the content if it has surround will be in Dolby digital plus format and that can't be sent via optical, only via HDMI. Whether the TVs send it as normal Dolby digital or mix it down to stereo I'm not sure but i wouldn't be surprised if they do the latter.
 
They have optical sockets and will output audio but I'm not sure what kind. Most of the content if it has surround will be in Dolby digital plus format and that can't be sent via optical, only via HDMI. Whether the TVs send it as normal Dolby digital or mix it down to stereo I'm not sure but i wouldn't be surprised if they do the latter.

Ok so that's something to bare in mind then, for the the time being anyway.

Thanks for your help.
 
Things like this are a pita, you just don't know until you try it. From experience I would just assume they don't pass normal Dolby digital.

You can always find a model you're interested in and ask in the owners thread if someone would mind testing for you.

If not be sure to buy from a good retailer you can return the TV to.
 

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