Question First Ever TV Purchase!

vJordannTx

Novice Member
Joined
May 22, 2020
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
26
Age
24
Location
County Durham
Hello Guys,

You all sound very clued up and I was hoping you guys would be able to assist me with my first ever TV purchase, I've only even been given TVs by family members etc... So I've been saving and wondered if anybody could help with the below?

55 Inch TV - Wall mounting a must

Uses:
Sky Q UHD
Netflix UHD
Amazon Prime UHD
Girlfriend would like it to have the apps so maybe Android TV where we can get ITV Hub, BBC iPlayer, (Netflix & Amazon) Channel 4 Player, YouTube etc... Just your basic everyday apps (maybe even work with Alexa??)
Viewing:
Late evening with no natural light and only lamp shades on
Sat at an angle of about 30° however willing to tilt the TV towards Sofa
Would like it to be nice, bright, crisp and reliable nice viewing experience
Budget:
£500 (Will push for right product but preferably below)

I would like it to have HDMI 2.0 ports (maybe Bluetooth or be able to pair with a sound bar) and be 4K ready for when sky start showing 4K production if anybody could help that would be amazing!

** Edit: Will mainly be used for the UHD Sports and Movies and sound isn't an issue as wish to buy a soundbar!

Thanks,
Jordan
 
Last edited:
If you are using Amazon/Netflix shows in UHD then you'll likely want a TV that won't give you problems with HDR content. The same will be true when Sky introduce HDR.

Therefore you will have to spend more money if you are buying new. First and cheapest TVs are the Sony XF9005 or Samsung Q70R that can display HDR trouble free. If you want Alexa I'd recommend going for the Samsung Q70R. The Sony however is probably the better TV for sports due to better motion processing.

Samsung run their own Tizen OS. Sony run Android TV.

Android TV is a bit flakey, slower and less reliable, but has more app choice. All platforms now have all the basic terrestrial catch up apps, and always have the likes of youtube, netflix and amazon no matter which TV you buy.

All the ports on the Samsung Q70R are HDMI v2 whilst the Sony models have 2x HDMI v2 and 2x HDMI 1.4.

If you can't stretch this far, I'd recommend buying cheap and avoiding using HDR completely, or as a last resort go for a TV like the Panasonic 58GX800 which whilst not a capable HDR TV, does have a mode that lets you compress HDR down rather well to make it less troublesome when there's no good local dimming or high peak brightness.
 
Therefore you will have to spend more money if you are buying new. First and cheapest TVs are the Sony XF9005 or Samsung Q70R that can display HDR trouble free. If you want Alexa I'd recommend going for the Samsung Q70R. The Sony however is probably the better TV for sports due to better motion processing.

Unfortunately the Sony is £799 at the moment, just outside budget, but will check come the end of the month if we can save some more, we were also looking at Hisense H55U7BUK at £479 and the Samsung RU8000 at £599 if you know of any flaws

Edit: I have found the Sony for £677 however the girlfriend doesn't want to pay this much for a TV, would my best route to be suppress the UHD or go for a low level UHD
 
Last edited:
It's an unfortunate situation buying at the moment. The minimum specifications needed in a TV to run HDR has pushed the price up to you have to pay to buy a suitable TV. If you treat the TV as a non-HDR model then spending less is fine, but you may have inconveniences with Netflix in partcular if you plan on using an UHD Premium plan.

You could either look at the Panasonic GX800 I suggested (it also has GX810, GX820 & GX830 model names) or buy cheaper and treat the TV strictly for SDR. If you go cheaper and pay for a Netflix premium plan to get content in 4k this means you'll have to invest in an external smart device to plug in to the TV so you can turn HDR off on the HDMI port since Netflix don't let you disable HDR in app.

If you have a non-premium Netflix plan then this doesn't matter, but you won't receive shows in 4k.
With Amazon it doesn't matter since you can choose between UHD/HDR versions and HD/SDR..although again with Amazon you will not be able to watch in 4k.

The Samsung/Hisense you mention are not capable HDR TVs. The Samsung is at least a mid range model that comes with better motion, but the Hisense is a low end TV with worse motion.

If you currently have a TV its probably worth holding off with what you have for now and saving up a bit more to spend more money on a more capable HDR model. Either that or considering the refurb/ex display route.
 
Hello,

So after a previous thread talking with Dodge I was wondering if anybody could offer some insight on my latest dilemma?

So I would like to spend maximum £450 on a TV, and no more... We do have access to UHD content through Amazon, Netflix and Sky (all included in subscriptions we've had for ages) however I've decided it's not worth getting a proper UHD TV just yet, so I was wondering if there is a FHD TV that does good upscaling for UDH for my budget? Or would just outright perform better watching in FHD opposed to trying to get my TV to upscale UHD programmes.

Preferably Android TV or Samsung's smart TV feature, however I will be viewing from around 3.75 metres away, at about a 35° angle and it will be wall mounted so would like the most suitable panel if that means buying a 58" instead of 55" if anybody could offer any insight that'd be amazing...
 
Not at larger sizes unless you buy a second hand model.

Sorry mate I really am struggling, what would you recommend for my budget based on my angle, budget and needs? Watch a lot of sports, football, F1, Darts and will always have lights on
 
Sorry couldn't delete my old thread, hope this helps, I've narrowed my search to the below:

55PUS7334 | Phillips LED TV | ao.com




I was hoping someone will be able to help me narrow down which one I should go for based on the below information:

3.5m Viewing Distance
40° Viewing Angle
Room Will Always Be Lit

Will be watching
Football, Formula 1, Darts & Movies in UHD with Sky Q
All other programmes in mainly FHD with Sky Q
Have access to Netflix and Amazon UHD but not sure Internet will fully support the use so 50% SD, 30% UHD and 20% FHD

Open to suggestions if you think a FHD TV would be better for the footie👍🏼
 
I've moved your posts into a single thread. You can update from within the same thread if you have extra info to ad, no need to create multiples.

If you haven't done already I'd suggest reading my guide here: My best value TVs, 2019-2020 Edition which has all the best buy models. The Samsung and Philips you mention are not best buys. The Hisense is, as is B7500 if you only need 3x HDMI ports.

You should take the time to understand the differences in panel types which is explained with another link in the opening post.

Open to suggestions if you think a FHD TV would be better for the footie👍🏼
The maximum size you can buy a FHD TV now is 50", so not worth considering if you can fit a 55" model.
 
Hello Guys,

You all sound very clued up and I was hoping you guys would be able to assist me with my first ever TV purchase, I've only even been given TVs by family members etc... So I've been saving and wondered if anybody could help with the below?

55 Inch TV - Wall mounting a must

Uses:
Sky Q UHD
Netflix UHD
Amazon Prime UHD
Girlfriend would like it to have the apps so maybe Android TV where we can get ITV Hub, BBC iPlayer, (Netflix & Amazon) Channel 4 Player, YouTube etc... Just your basic everyday apps (maybe even work with Alexa??)
Viewing:
Late evening with no natural light and only lamp shades on
Sat at an angle of about 30° however willing to tilt the TV towards Sofa
Would like it to be nice, bright, crisp and reliable nice viewing experience
Budget:
£500 (Will push for right product but preferably below)

I would like it to have HDMI 2.0 ports (maybe Bluetooth or be able to pair with a sound bar) and be 4K ready for when sky start showing 4K production if anybody could help that would be amazing!

** Edit: Will mainly be used for the UHD Sports and Movies and sound isn't an issue as wish to buy a soundbar!

Thanks,
Jordan
what size of TV are you having at the moment and note there is no source support for HDMI 2.1 at the moment). Do you do a lot of gaming ?
 
Last edited:
Sorry mate I really am struggling, what would you recommend for my budget based on my angle, budget and needs? Watch a lot of sports, football, F1, Darts and will always have lights on
I recommend either LG 49UM7400PLB (2019) or Samsung UE55TU7000.

LG costs £379 plus £25 (magic remote control) = £404 for 49"
The magic remote control has a pointer and voice control making searching a piece of cake and is recognised as the best remote for voice recognition.
LG has Google Assistant and Alexa built-in.
LG has active HDR, 4K UHD, smart TV, Bluetooth, 3HDMI, 2USB with award winning webOS platform.

Samsung costs £399 for 55", a very good price large screen smart TV.
It works with Google Assistant and Alexa, a disadvantage compared to LG.
Samsung offers better gaming
Samsung has HDR/HDR10+, 4K UHD, Smart TV, Bluetooth, 2HDMI, 1USB and Tizen platform

I personally would prefer LG over Samsung because of magic remote control for ease of use. Although Samsung energy rating is A+ compared to A for LG, somehow LG uses less power than Samsung and a saving of few KWH electricity per year. Both offer similiar nice picture and indistinguishable sound quality. Both support apps including Netflix, Amazon, U-tube, BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, all 4, etc.

Buy it from John Lewis or Richer Sounds for 5-6 years of warranty. Good Luck.
 
I recommend either LG 49UM7400PLB (2019) or Samsung UE55TU7000.

LG costs £379 plus £25 (magic remote control) = £404 for 49"
The magic remote control has a pointer and voice control making searching a piece of cake and is recognised as the best remote for voice recognition.
LG has Google Assistant and Alexa built-in.
LG has active HDR, 4K UHD, smart TV, Bluetooth, 3HDMI, 2USB with award winning webOS platform.

Samsung costs £399 for 55", a very good price large screen smart TV.
It works with Google Assistant and Alexa, a disadvantage compared to LG.
Samsung offers better gaming
Samsung has HDR/HDR10+, 4K UHD, Smart TV, Bluetooth, 2HDMI, 1USB and Tizen platform

I personally would prefer LG over Samsung because of magic remote control for ease of use. Although Samsung energy rating is A+ compared to A for LG, somehow LG uses less power than Samsung and a saving of few KWH electricity per year. Both offer similiar nice picture and indistinguishable sound quality. Both support apps including Netflix, Amazon, U-tube, BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, all 4, etc.

Buy it from John Lewis or Richer Sounds for 5-6 years of warranty. Good Luck.

You should be aware that there are a growing number of complaints regarding the LGWebOS
firmware. Many comments centre on the MHEG channels ( eg those numbered 251 and up, Planet
Knowledge, Racing TV, On Demand 365 etc etc) . LG TV's running WebOS 4.7.1.50214 will NOT
show the MHEG Channels. The message "Invalid Service" is displayed. LG's Customer Services
response to this is that the Freeview channels should upgrade their systems to HbbTV and that
any owner of an LG TV should contact the broadcasters to ask that this is done !!!

There also appears to be a number of complaints coming up that the latest firmware updates
may have disrupted the Amazon registration process. This means you may not be able to
control the TV with an Echo Dot or similar.

Refer here for examples of comments :


Buyer Beware.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom