Question I just want an enjoyable 4k 120 TV without major issues - any ideas!?

Cloody Blueless

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If you're in the know but understandably can't be arsed to read through my attempt at challenging War & Peace for word count - please skip to the bottom and just answer my Q's - thank you!

So, I am currently in the market for a new television, something that doesn't happen all too often (our 'main' TV is still the same 32" 1080p bought in 2011), but I am giving myself an aneurism in deciding on what to buy; every single time I think I have found the one for me, I come across pages upon pages of nightmarish stories from current owners and YT techie videos saying why to avoid x TV like the plague.

We have been meaning to get a new TV that is larger than the current 32", is smart and 4k HDR - pretty standard for any TV of 2020, but also I recently bought the Xbox Series X and therefore, I want to get the best it can offer and am specifically looking for one that manage 120fps and has VRR.

I don't have an unlimited budget, was ideally looking to spend up to £1000, but can push that up to around £1300 max - I've looked at the various offerings that enable the XSX to be used at its full potential and was instantly put off anything by LG that wasn't OLED as heard nothing but bad things for their cheaper non-OLED range, and I was instantly put off buying an OLED despite them clearly looking beautiful and undoubtedly providing the best image for two reasons, one being the price and the second, more importantly being my massive fear of screen burn. Then I looked at Sony, and was initially veering towards the X90H, but then I read various reports of the 120fps not actually being available for the foreseeable future despite being advertised as having it, as well as a general consensus that the Samsung Q80T was a superior TV anyway. So, for a long time I was set on the Q80T but then I hear so many ongoing issues from really bad dirty screen effect to a local dimming bug which dims the brightness right down every 6minutes!

More recently I began to think I will need to spend a bit more, so started to look at the Q90T - but that also has many of the issues of the Q80T and also has a 'rainbow effect' as a result of the anti glare coating. So, I actually have started to consider getting the LG CX OLED despite my fears of screen burn.

So, my questions are:

1. How much of a threat is screen burn, bare in mind I am someone who likes to game a fair bit, in addition to watching an array of film and TV but that does include sports (mainly live football and cricket) and news channels - I will have the news on a couple of times a day and sometimes it is left rolling when for example I am working from home - from what I have read, this will be an issue.

2. How bad are the issues with the Samsung Q80T and Q90T?

3. Which TV will give me the most enjoyment, with the least amount of headaches and anxiety?
 
Can you simply wait a bit before buying?! Will allow techie issues to get sorted and save a few £££ too.
 
I could have written this post myself - I’m still dancing round trying to decide!
Glad I'm not alone in this. Out of interest, what TV/s are you currently considering the most?

Can you simply wait a bit before buying?! Will allow techie issues to get sorted and save a few £££ too.
Fair point, but now should by rights be an optimal time to buy due to the Black Friday sales, plus I would ideally like to get the best out of the XSX from the outset. However, in saying that due to all these issues I'm also considering maybe just waiting until next year and see what Samsung's rumoured mini-LED's have to offer; if they're closer to OLED than any QLED (without the risk of burn in), have more than one 2.1 hdmi port and do not have any or at least the worst of issues that the 2020 range has then it will be a no brainer for me!
 
I was all set to buy Q90t (bright room, worried about burn in) until I read the threads about judder. Now I think I’ll be getting the Sony X95, I know it doesn’t have HDMI 2.1 but I’ll just live without it.
 
1. Depends on your usage, you can't assume just because you game you will be prone to screen burn. Some games like FIFA are more risky than others: OLED Burn In Risk games like call of duty are low risk, but games like FIFA with lots of static colourful elements are higher risk.

2. Every TV has their set of issues, you can't escape that. If you are reading into specific problems people have with these TVs on the forum the only way you'll know if you have the same issue yourself is by trying the TV. Buy from a good retailer so you can return the TV if you are unhappy.

3. I have a best buy guide here: My best TVs for next gen gaming 2020-21

It's a simple matter of buying the highest tier you can. First determine whether for your usage whether you will be at risk of screen burn. If you aren't at risk, the LG BX or CX OLEDs. If you are at risk, the Samsung Q90T.

The Sony XH9505 is also an option and priced well right now compared to the Samsung models. The Q90T should be the same price as the XH9505.
 
1. Depends on your usage, you can't assume just because you game you will be prone to screen burn. Some games like FIFA are more risky than others: OLED Burn In Risk games like call of duty are low risk, but games like FIFA with lots of static colourful elements are higher risk.

2. Every TV has their set of issues, you can't escape that. If you are reading into specific problems people have with these TVs on the forum the only way you'll know if you have the same issue yourself is by trying the TV. Buy from a good retailer so you can return the TV if you are unhappy.

3. I have a best buy guide here: My best TVs for next gen gaming 2020-21

It's a simple matter of buying the highest tier you can. First determine whether for your usage whether you will be at risk of screen burn. If you aren't at risk, the LG BX or CX OLEDs. If you are at risk, the Samsung Q90T.

The Sony XH9505 is also an option and priced well right now compared to the Samsung models. The Q90T should be the same price as the XH9505.

Thank you for responding to my queries and sharing your expertise.

Having read your guide on the risks, or lack of, of screen burn. Would I be right in saying even if I watched an hour or two of news per day and played the occasional game which has a bright static hud, providing neither were taken to an extreme and providing a mix of other less problematic media was viewed in between then screen burn would not be an issue to worry about?

Also, if I do opt for the CX, I shall definitely buy from John Lewis and get the additional protection which covers screen burn; thanks again for you informative guide. Incidentally, does the risk of screen burn increase the older the set is/greater amount of use or does the risk in fact lessen over time? (as someone who does not buy TVs very often, I may well want this to last me more than the 5 years covered ideally). Thanks
 
I had real problems with Sony after the screen died 3 1/2 years into my ownership. (6 months after the warranty ran out).They don't/won't supply replacement screens. And simply were not interested in assisting with a replacement tv. I should point out it was a 4k led tv with android OS.... However after trying to negotiate with their customer care service and getting absolutely nowhere, I vowed I would never buy another Sony product. And this is from someone who has owned a number of Sony TVs in the past.
 
Do you need 4k@120hz? If yes, then you have a strong case to skip this year. HDR and VRR in televisions are not currently fully compatible. They may not be for a couple of years. Nobody knows right now.

I think you've gone spec blind. Your main TV is a 32" from 2011 so anything remotely midrange is going to be a step up for you. You've named some stellar TVs: LG OLEDs, Sony XH95, Samsung Q90T. I think you will be blown away by all of these if you saw them in person. Fed with proper 4k content they are jawdropping (I've seen two of them in person).

This forum has very very discerning owners who can work out the 0.1% of issues that 'might perhaps one day' in a specific scenario actually matter. Secondly, You only get the complainers online.
 
@Cloody Blueless
Real Life OLED Burn-In Test on 6 TVs This is an OLED screen burn in test over nearly 2 years.

Don’t try to over complicate burn in, its as simple as dodgexander stated

allowing TV a break every 5 hours or less + varying content + no bright static images = lowering risk

TV on for long hours + not varying content + bright static images = increasing risk

If you get the JL warranty with burn in i honestly wouldn’t worry to much about it as they got you covered for 5 years.

At the very worst you develop burn in after 1-2 years. At best you develop burn in before your warranty goes out and JL will repair/replace your TV so it can last even longer.
 
Thank you for responding to my queries and sharing your expertise.

Having read your guide on the risks, or lack of, of screen burn. Would I be right in saying even if I watched an hour or two of news per day and played the occasional game which has a bright static hud, providing neither were taken to an extreme and providing a mix of other less problematic media was viewed in between then screen burn would not be an issue to worry about?

Also, if I do opt for the CX, I shall definitely buy from John Lewis and get the additional protection which covers screen burn; thanks again for you informative guide. Incidentally, does the risk of screen burn increase the older the set is/greater amount of use or does the risk in fact lessen over time? (as someone who does not buy TVs very often, I may well want this to last me more than the 5 years covered ideally). Thanks
Are you talking about the 6 and 10 o clock news or news channels? If news channels they are high risk, and will mean you see burn in faster than regular news programmes. They have more tickers, less reports and more stationary images. If however its just watching the news each day then its not a problem.

You can use the test in my guide and the one mentioned also in the last post to calculate how quickly you'd see burn in based on your worst case scenario.

So if you meant 2h of news channels the rtings.com CNN test found burn in at 3000h.
3000h/2h=1500 days
1500days/365= 4.1 years.

Or if you took FIFA as an example which is a high risk game. Assuming you play around 2h each day.
5000h/2h = 2500 days
2500days/365 = 6.84 years.

If you are on the edge of not knowing whether burn in will be a problem for you, you could either pay for the insurance as you mentioned, or consider an LCD TV instead.
 
If you're in the know but understandably can't be arsed to read through my attempt at challenging War & Peace for word count - please skip to the bottom and just answer my Q's - thank you!

So, I am currently in the market for a new television, something that doesn't happen all too often (our 'main' TV is still the same 32" 1080p bought in 2011), but I am giving myself an aneurism in deciding on what to buy; every single time I think I have found the one for me, I come across pages upon pages of nightmarish stories from current owners and YT techie videos saying why to avoid x TV like the plague.

We have been meaning to get a new TV that is larger than the current 32", is smart and 4k HDR - pretty standard for any TV of 2020, but also I recently bought the Xbox Series X and therefore, I want to get the best it can offer and am specifically looking for one that manage 120fps and has VRR.

I don't have an unlimited budget, was ideally looking to spend up to £1000, but can push that up to around £1300 max - I've looked at the various offerings that enable the XSX to be used at its full potential and was instantly put off anything by LG that wasn't OLED as heard nothing but bad things for their cheaper non-OLED range, and I was instantly put off buying an OLED despite them clearly looking beautiful and undoubtedly providing the best image for two reasons, one being the price and the second, more importantly being my massive fear of screen burn. Then I looked at Sony, and was initially veering towards the X90H, but then I read various reports of the 120fps not actually being available for the foreseeable future despite being advertised as having it, as well as a general consensus that the Samsung Q80T was a superior TV anyway. So, for a long time I was set on the Q80T but then I hear so many ongoing issues from really bad dirty screen effect to a local dimming bug which dims the brightness right down every 6minutes!

More recently I began to think I will need to spend a bit more, so started to look at the Q90T - but that also has many of the issues of the Q80T and also has a 'rainbow effect' as a result of the anti glare coating. So, I actually have started to consider getting the LG CX OLED despite my fears of screen burn.

So, my questions are:

1. How much of a threat is screen burn, bare in mind I am someone who likes to game a fair bit, in addition to watching an array of film and TV but that does include sports (mainly live football and cricket) and news channels - I will have the news on a couple of times a day and sometimes it is left rolling when for example I am working from home - from what I have read, this will be an issue.

2. How bad are the issues with the Samsung Q80T and Q90T?

3. Which TV will give me the most enjoyment, with the least amount of headaches and anxiety?
As silent ninja said, there seems to be issues right now as I have just found out with my QN95 trying to play Series X at 120fps. I’m pretty mad.

 

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