Did I make a mistake?

melvin1313

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The answer to that question is almost always a resounding yes, especially if you ask my better half, but in this instance I need advice from people more knowledgeable than myself. Late Sunday I found myself in need of a new TV set ASAP. I don't have the budget that a lot of people who frequent an audio/video forum might have, TVs in my house have a very short lifespan. My wife has medical issues that leave her in pain pretty much all the time so she is forced to watch more TV than probably the average American and her frustration with her condition leaves her quick tempered, so remotes have a tendency to turn into screen smashing projectiles. So between the fact that I replace TVs every year or two and her medical bills are pretty crippling on their own I cannot justify spending a ton on a TV.

Sunday turned out to be the demise of my latest set, it was a 58" Samsung that was a Walmart special and dirt cheap, around $400. My wife was not going to wait for a TV to be delivered and I had about an hour before Best Buy closed so I had to come up with something quick. I really liked the fit of the 58" in our family room, but with it being the tail end of Black Friday weekend, pretty much everything cheap was sold out and there wasn't another 58" in stock anywhere nearby. I didn't want to go down to 55" so I decided to up the budget and go with a 65". With limited time to do research I narrowed it down to a Vizio M series (7) Quantum and a TCL 5 series as they both seemed to be the most highly recommended for my price range. I headed to Best Buy, both looked fantastic on display, but the Vizio was on sale for about 50 dollars less so I went with that (m65q7-h1).

Now to my problem, I know I bought a low end TV and can't expect cinema quality but compared to the even lower end TV I replaced, the picture seems considerably worse. I know on a larger screen any imperfections will be magnified but I don't feel like 58" to 65" is such a huge jump to make such a big difference, but maybe I am wrong. The biggest issue I see in in the darks and shadows. If someone in a scene is wearing a dark shirt it is grainy an blocky (technical term) to the point that it is distracting from the rest of the picture. If the scene is outdoors or brightly lit the picture is crystal clear, at least to a prole like myself. Last night we were watching Breaking Bad on Netflix and my wife and I both had a hard time watching due to the picture quality. I know a standard Netflix account is not going to be the best source but we never noticed anything watching the same show from the same source on the Samsung. I have looked up recommendations on the settings and played with all kinds of combinations and nothing seems to help, whereas with the Samsung, once I figured out what soap opera mode was and turned it off I never had to adjust anything.

I know Samsung's reputation for TVs isn't what it used to be, but I am wondering if I made a mistake going to 65" or if I should have bought a different brand or model or I am just missing something I need to do to fix it. I know I was ready to return the Samsung until I figured out the motion enhancement soap opera thing and turned that off, I thought it was awful until that, so I am hoping there is something similar in this scenario.

Any and all help or advice is appreciated! Thanks!
 
Thank you Gallo. Yes, I used those settings and I have to say they did improve things as they were out of the box. However the issue with the shadows and dark clothing still remain. The only thing I did not try from that link are the White Balance Values as the boss was getting impatient with my mucking about. I can try those tonight to see if they help
 
Reading additional info on the product on rtings.com I saw this:
"It also has a full-array local dimming feature; however, its performance is mediocre and can be distracting in some scenes."
Not knowing the jargon, is this what I was describing in my first post about the shadows and darks?

And thanks again Gallo, I saw that one as well.

I am starting to think I may be better off trading this guy in on another option while the sales are still going on. The question at this point is what would be my best bet. I see the TU8000 for only slightly more and then the RU9000 is the next jump up but pushing the boundaries of my comfort level. Correction the RU9000 does not seem to be available after all.

Thanks again!
 
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May be the narrow viewing angle that is causing the problem. What is your viewing angle? I bought a Samsung 7100 series TV a few years back that had a narrow viewing angle. When I viewed the TV at a greater than 15 degrees the picture was all washed out. I returned the TV.
 
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Because I hate forum threads with no conclusion...

Thank you to everyone who replied with advice. I tried all of the settings linked above and still no improvement.

In response to Unopinionated, I am sure my viewing angle had a lot to do with it, my designated seat in the family room is off to the side, however with the very low end Samsung that the Vizio replaced I sat in the same spot without the issues.

So what was my final solution? I ordered the Samsung 8000 I mentioned above. Same size, same placement and the issue with the blocking/graininess in the darks and shadows is 100% gone. What is odd is that the issue wasn't that noticeable unless I was watching Netflix. Normal HD programming through my cable provided looked good on the Vizio and I was thinking maybe I needed to go with the premium Netflix service as it looked like I was watching a non-HD channel on the Vizio. I am glad I did not. With the Samsung Netflix looks fantastic, just as good as any other HD programming and regular HD is better on the Samsung as well. Not as good as HDR but I don't have the budget to be that picky. I remember the quality of tube TVs in the early 80s, I am happy with what I have now.

The Vizio is all boxed up and ready to go back to the store.

Thanks again!
 
Because I hate forum threads with no conclusion...

Thank you to everyone who replied with advice. I tried all of the settings linked above and still no improvement.

In response to Unopinionated, I am sure my viewing angle had a lot to do with it, my designated seat in the family room is off to the side, however with the very low end Samsung that the Vizio replaced I sat in the same spot without the issues.

So what was my final solution? I ordered the Samsung 8000 I mentioned above. Same size, same placement and the issue with the blocking/graininess in the darks and shadows is 100% gone. What is odd is that the issue wasn't that noticeable unless I was watching Netflix. Normal HD programming through my cable provided looked good on the Vizio and I was thinking maybe I needed to go with the premium Netflix service as it looked like I was watching a non-HD channel on the Vizio. I am glad I did not. With the Samsung Netflix looks fantastic, just as good as any other HD programming and regular HD is better on the Samsung as well. Not as good as HDR but I don't have the budget to be that picky. I remember the quality of tube TVs in the early 80s, I am happy with what I have now.

The Vizio is all boxed up and ready to go back to the store.

Thanks again!
Hi Melvin, Just saw your post.... we were over-come with the size of the LG55UN7300 TOO BTIGHT and OVERLY BIG ..we had a VIZIO E43-F1 was good straight on viewing, until it's display fizzled... Am leaning towards Either the Samsung43TU7000 (Cheaper than the 43TU8000) do not like the TU8000 remote ..... Wonder if the TU7000 is same as TU8000 series? Just thought you seemed pretty knowledgable? Thank You ... Sorry your wife is sick....Roger Hope you do not mind me asking for your advice ...... Here is a comment a Best Buy Live Chat guy told me ......
Is Best Buy an alright place to shop?

Chat reply to my question are they different is here>>>>Santos Perez (02:17:26 GMT) : I did check and found that TU8000 is best TV and it designed with the latest technology and the advanced integrated chips in the circuit board and comes with the advanced LEDs on the display that produces the pleasingly gorgeous and immersive picture quality compared to TU7000.

He seemed to be posting a canned reply from their site????
 

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