mrtickleuk
Prominent Member
Preamble: I'm a big HDR fan and have an LG C8 OLED; before than a Samsung KS7000.
Several friends have bought TVs since I discovered the HDR revolution. It was the first "wow" I've had for many, many years - widescreen, HD, are all "meh" in comparison. (Aside: Constantly frustrated by those pushing 4k/8k picture resolution as "the thing", it's a distraction: HDR is the biggest improvement in picture quality since colour was introduced in my opinion. American networks are considering adding HDR to 1080p, before/instead of broadcasting 4k HDR).
Friend 1: "We've bought a new TV". I discover that it's a Samsung LCD, low down in their 2017 range. I told them about HDR after checking their TV could do it. "This'll knock your socks off!" I said as I played a YouTube HDR clip. Huge disappointment, barely no effect at all - as the TV can barely do 300 nits.
Friend 2 asked me for advice before purchasing. Not wanting him to be screwed over, unable to persuade him to spend enough to get 800-1000 nits, the best I could do was ensure he got a TV that does Dolby Vision, in the hope that the customised tone-mapping would help. He settled on a LG 49SK8100PLA. On paper it can do 500nits for a 10% window, but the reality disappointed me. And the milky blacks were horrible to my OLED-accustomed eyes.
So the problem is - what can I recommend in good conscience to friends on a budget? What is the cheapest TV available to buy in the UK - ignoring all other factors - that can do 750 nits HDR?
TIA
edit: I can't change the thread title, whoops. You can see I've upped the number...
Several friends have bought TVs since I discovered the HDR revolution. It was the first "wow" I've had for many, many years - widescreen, HD, are all "meh" in comparison. (Aside: Constantly frustrated by those pushing 4k/8k picture resolution as "the thing", it's a distraction: HDR is the biggest improvement in picture quality since colour was introduced in my opinion. American networks are considering adding HDR to 1080p, before/instead of broadcasting 4k HDR).
Friend 1: "We've bought a new TV". I discover that it's a Samsung LCD, low down in their 2017 range. I told them about HDR after checking their TV could do it. "This'll knock your socks off!" I said as I played a YouTube HDR clip. Huge disappointment, barely no effect at all - as the TV can barely do 300 nits.
Friend 2 asked me for advice before purchasing. Not wanting him to be screwed over, unable to persuade him to spend enough to get 800-1000 nits, the best I could do was ensure he got a TV that does Dolby Vision, in the hope that the customised tone-mapping would help. He settled on a LG 49SK8100PLA. On paper it can do 500nits for a 10% window, but the reality disappointed me. And the milky blacks were horrible to my OLED-accustomed eyes.
So the problem is - what can I recommend in good conscience to friends on a budget? What is the cheapest TV available to buy in the UK - ignoring all other factors - that can do 750 nits HDR?
TIA
edit: I can't change the thread title, whoops. You can see I've upped the number...