Looked at so many TVs I've confused myself!

chiefdave

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Moving into a new house and its time for a new TV. It will be 55" as that's the biggest size the space it can go will allow.

Its just me in the house 99.9% of the viewing time and I'll be set directly opposite about 2.5m away.

I will be watching Sky Q (not the UHD box), Apple TV (not the 4K box but I may get one in a few months), Netflix (no 4K subscription), Amazon Prime, NHL TV and occasional iplayer, 4OD etc. Also some DVDs and Blu Rays but that's occasional. Watch a fair amount of sport, probably a third to half of my viewing. 4 - 6 hours total viewing in a day wouldn't be unusual.

Have a Sony CT90 sound bar which to be honest I've hardly used as I'm worried about annoying the neighbours! House I'm moving to is 1930s build with 22cm thick walls so hopefully more scope to make noise.

Its not a money no object situation but at the same time I don't want to spend the best part of a grand and then regret not buying something better.

I started off looking at LG 55SM8600PLA. Seems to have good reviews but then some say its not great and suggest stepping up to LG OLED 55B9PLA. From there you get into a bit of a chasing the dragon situation and before you know it you're looking at the E9. Not wed to LG by the way, have also looked at a Samsung QE55Q80R which seems good.

So I'm now totally confused. With the sources I'll be viewing is the 55SM8600PLA all I really need. How noticeable a difference will there be moving up the range, is going top end with an E9 just burning money for no reason?
 
For sports you won’t get better than the Sony XF9005 - 55” is c£799.
 
Yes I did, loads of great info. Read it and figured I could probably go with the 55SM8600PLA but then I saw your comments on that model on other threads that made me think I should look at something better.

Problem is when I start doing that I'm not sure at what point I should stop. I see the reviews of the 55E9PLA and, even though its a lot more than I was intending to spend, think maybe I should go for that but then I wonder if its over the top for the content I'll be watching.

Don't mind spending the money if its needed but equally don't want to spend money unnecessarily.
 
You mention Apple TV and a ATV 4K box for it - but you could immediately save yourself £180 by getting a TV with the ATV app - e.g some 2018 or later Samsung or later this year some 2018 or later LG
 
The TV you go for really depends on your needs. If you have been looking at the LG SM8600 because you need wide viewing angles? If so then there's definitely more to be gained looking at an OLED instead with picture quality.

The E9 is a premium grade model, the same as the C9 but with better speakers built in for better sound.

If you are contemplating an OLED you could consider going for one of the cheaper models and pairing it with your own sound solution instead.

I'd personally look at either the LG B9 or the Philips OLED754.

If you are looking for better upscaling then the Philips has the edge, but its smart TV is basic.

The next tier; LG C9 and Philips OLED854/834 are rarely worth the extra, but with the right deal and certain circumstances they can be a better option. They have slightly better picture processing and in the case of the Philips, better smart TV than the lower tier Philips model.

I don't think the E9 will rival a designated soundbar for sound quality, so I'd stick with keeping that separate if I were you unless you have a particular need to have the sound built in.

If you don't need wide viewing angles then you can think of the Sony XF9005 LCD TV as mentioned already above, its not as good-all round as the OLEDs, but offers equal value for money and is a very good all-round TV for someone on a tighter budget.

The LG SM8600/SM8500 are mid range models designed for people looking for wider viewing angles who don't use HDR much. If you don't need wide viewing angles and want to spend less again compared to the above options and you don't intend to use HDR I'd recommend the Hisense U8B or Samsung RU8000 instead.

If contemplating an LCD TV, you should first decide what panel type you want as its the type of panel that makes the largest difference in picture quality between one LCD TV and the next.

But I may be at risk of repeating myself here, this is all in the opening post of my best buy guide.
 
When considering viewing angles, what is the point at you consider an IPS panel is better than a VA panel?
I’m currently looking at some LG offerings but can’t work out whether I’d benefit from one over something like a Hisense VA screen.

(sorry to jump in on this thread)
 
You mention Apple TV and a ATV 4K box for it - but you could immediately save yourself £180 by getting a TV with the ATV app - e.g some 2018 or later Samsung or later this year some 2018 or later LG
Would be nice but I use the Apple box for NHL TV who for some odd reason don't seem to make an app for any smart TV. But if the LG / Samsung Apple app streams as well as a dedicated box then it will remove the need to upgrade to a 4K Apple box.
 
When considering viewing angles, what is the point at you consider an IPS panel is better than a VA panel?
I’m currently looking at some LG offerings but can’t work out whether I’d benefit from one over something like a Hisense VA screen.
I linked this in my best buy guide but here it is: Which panel type should I choose for my TV?

Hope it helps explain.
 
I linked this in my best buy guide but here it is: Which panel type should I choose for my TV?

Hope it helps explain.
Thanks Dodgexander, that must be the only bit of your Best Buy guide I’d missed! Thanks for all of the informative articles and posts.

I see when you’re recommending VA panel TVs that have reasonable HDR performance you recommend Sony XF9005 and Samsung Q70R. Is there anything in the same ballpark for IPS panels (I was wondering about the LG SM8xxx)? I assume due to things like the poorer contrast ratio, it’s more difficult to get the HDR performance?
 
Thanks Dodgexander, that must be the only bit of your Best Buy guide I’d missed! Thanks for all of the informative articles and posts.

I see when you’re recommending VA panel TVs that have reasonable HDR performance you recommend Sony XF9005 and Samsung Q70R. Is there anything in the same ballpark for IPS panels (I was wondering about the LG SM8xxx)? I assume due to things like the poorer contrast ratio, it’s more difficult to get the HDR performance?

LG SM9 series is the best ips tv there is, but it’s too close in price to oleds to recommend.
 
Thanks Dodgexander, that must be the only bit of your Best Buy guide I’d missed! Thanks for all of the informative articles and posts.

I see when you’re recommending VA panel TVs that have reasonable HDR performance you recommend Sony XF9005 and Samsung Q70R. Is there anything in the same ballpark for IPS panels (I was wondering about the LG SM8xxx)? I assume due to things like the poorer contrast ratio, it’s more difficult to get the HDR performance?
Nope. IPS tech much the same as in the computer monitor world suffers too much already from poor screen uniformity when it comes to small amounts of brightness so its not possible for TVs using IPS type panels to control the light output quite like TVs using VA type panels can.

The LG SM9000/SM9800 series is about as good as you'll get but their HDR brightness is limited despite having decent local dimming.

For a while now, all the top end LCD TVs have been using VA and for good reason!

The plus now though is Samsung have started to release TVs that have wide viewing angle filters and VA type panels, so you can get the benefits of both in the Q80R and above. I'd recommend the Q85R as it has more dimming zones.
 

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