Cheap TV is just cheap I guess

McMike2

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So we bought a 40" N10 Insignia non-smart TV. We knew it would be inexpensive, but it is basically unwatchable.

The colors over-saturate to ridiculous extent, everything is green or red, the darks are basically all undifferentiated black shadows, and in certain scenes large panels of uniform colors start reverting to square blocks of colors. (This is in "movie" picture mode, with other settings made as recommended in the tutorial, and while watching streaming Disney+ or Amazon prime movies, on windows and chrome pc's, via hdmi cable).

So, can we assume this is just a cheap tv, and not a broken unit? If so, our main question is: are there better options in the 32" or 40" range? Or all they all going to be this same poor picture quality performance? Thanks.

(I made a post about this on March 4, and got a couple recommendations, but I am wondering if the suggested TVs would be any better to make it worth the effort. There is alrerady a limit on TV quality in the <40" range, and particularly limited supply at the moment at any price. Definitely ready to spend more money...)
 
A friend has this model Panasonic TX40JX800B I’d say it’s about the best in the 40” range, there is a much more expensive model as well, but I’d doubt it would be worth the extra.
 
So we bought a 40" N10 Insignia non-smart TV. We knew it would be inexpensive, but it is basically unwatchable.

The colors over-saturate to ridiculous extent, everything is green or red, the darks are basically all undifferentiated black shadows, and in certain scenes large panels of uniform colors start reverting to square blocks of colors. (This is in "movie" picture mode, with other settings made as recommended in the tutorial, and while watching streaming Disney+ or Amazon prime movies, on windows and chrome pc's, via hdmi cable).

So, can we assume this is just a cheap tv, and not a broken unit? If so, our main question is: are there better options in the 32" or 40" range? Or all they all going to be this same poor picture quality performance? Thanks.

(I made a post about this on March 4, and got a couple recommendations, but I am wondering if the suggested TVs would be any better to make it worth the effort. There is alrerady a limit on TV quality in the <40" range, and particularly limited supply at the moment at any price. Definitely ready to spend more money...)
This is essentially a UK/European forum and the Insignia brand is not sold here. You might get better results on a US website. Also there are variations between main branded TVs in different countries so model numbers are not always reliable when making comparisons.
 
In the EU, the only "good" TV at around that size is a 42" OLED. Anything that's not OLED under 50" tends to be bargain or basic TVs and none would be considered good. None are capable of proper HDR.

I'm sure though some are better than your current TV.
 
I laugh & laugh when I see people buying up the Insignia TVs on Black Friday.
The only house brand stuff I buy is accessories.

I'm lucky that I'm only 30 minutes from Crutchfield, real after-sales service, unlike Best Buy.
I just looked at their inventory & doubt I'd go smaller than 48" & OLED.

There's a 43" Samsung, but those a QLED.
 
cheap jvc (vestel badged) Currys own special here. Imo straight on viewing (va panel) watching sd/hd the picture is really quite good,.for less than £300 new. Viewing angles not good though so its no oled. Would prefer a plasma in the room but space is limited so asked in wanted classified ads here.
 
There are no good TVs sold at smaller sizes apart from the new OLEDs.
If expectations are low, a small TCL, Hisense or Samsung may be ok for you. Just make sure to view the TV head-on, and not at an angle.

Double check rtings.com reviews to make sure you're buying a TV with a VA panel unless you view at an angle.

HDR in particular will look very bad on cheaper TVs, its normal. For HDR you're looking at an OLED as your only really option.
 
There are no good TVs sold at smaller sizes apart from the new OLEDs.
If expectations are low, a small TCL, Hisense or Samsung may be ok for you. Just make sure to view the TV head-on, and not at an angle.

Double check rtings.com reviews to make sure you're buying a TV with a VA panel unless you view at an angle.

HDR in particular will look very bad on cheaper TVs, its normal. For HDR you're looking at an OLED as your only really option.
True but not everyone needs or uses hdr, so for sd/hd use from my experience this cheap jvc ain't bad as I say viewed straight on. I have had plasma & now have an oled & its not up to that quality but overall it does.have a good picture imo
 
If the OP bought an Insignia brand, they got it from Best Buy, which as far as I know is exclusive to North America.
 
This is essentially a UK/European forum and the Insignia brand is not sold here. You might get better results on a US website. Also there are variations between main branded TVs in different countries so model numbers are not always reliable when making comparisons.

Thanks. To be honest, I had a hard time finding a US site that was similar. Which we assume there must be at least one.....

In any case, I've gotten good advice from you folks across the pond, and found the tutorial very informative.
 
I laugh & laugh when I see people buying up the Insignia TVs on Black Friday.
The only house brand stuff I buy is accessories.

I'm lucky that I'm only 30 minutes from Crutchfield, real after-sales service, unlike Best Buy.
I just looked at their inventory & doubt I'd go smaller than 48" & OLED.

There's a 43" Samsung, but those a QLED.
We have limited space. to work with. I'd gladly pay for a high quality small tv, but there seems to be a black hole in options, now lessened by a black hole in supply chain.
 
We have limited space. to work with. I'd gladly pay for a high quality small tv, but there seems to be a black hole in options, now lessened by a black hole in supply chain.
If your not using the internal tuner and its only for streaming via PC or set top box and money is no barrier there is a 32" OLED monitor from LG. However this monitor is meant for professional usage so carries a high price tag 3-4k.

There is also a high end Asus 32" 4K HDR with miniLED dimming zones, that delivers very strong HDR performance but it costs almost as much as the above OLED.

There are cheaper 32" 4K suggestions for movie monitors over here.
 

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