My best value TVs, 2017 Edition

Thanks for your reply mate I'm looking into this model perhaps Sony Bravia KD43XE7073SU as a possibility. I want a high refresh rate purely because I'm a gamer and play lots of games on my Xbox One X and want to get the best possible output as I can. As I've read on here most budget tv's are the standard 60hz so that's good to know.

You need a 120hz panel for VRR & Freesync on One X, and Samsung are the only ones supporting this with the NU and Q series for 2018, as they have a partnership with Microsoft. You can use 1440P as well at 120hz if the tv in question supports it, 4K is limited to 60hz at present, but there is a new xbox planned for 2020 which will offer they hope 120hz @ 4K using HDMI 2.1 with Freesync.

A gaming monitor is always best for competitive gaming for a number of reasons such as high refresh rate, Freesync, and low input lag. If you sit close enough a 27" or 32" 4K 144hz monitor is a better option, you just have to find the right one for the right price, some come in pretty reasonable if you look, Asus seem to be the best for panel type mainly using Samsung VA.
 
1000 zones. Crikey - guess there’d be less required for a VA panel setup. Or are they proxy zones?

Interesting few years ahead.

At least it's out already that MicroLED tech, so they just need to scale the production plants to make larger sizes, can't wait to see what's offered in 5 years time for the larger screen sizes, price depending, hope it's not stupid as if Samsung want an uptake rate then it needs to be on par with OLED, which is coming down to a good level now, just seen the B7 at 1249€, lowest it's been over here so far to date, so this is the best time to buy 2017 stock and I will remember this for the future, the 55" XE90 is also now 899€, was over 1000€ 1 year ago, and I remember OLED being over 2000€ just a few years ago.
 
@gbcasual Really hard to know, generally all the TVs at lower price levels/sizes are so so but its a case of getting the panel on the TV you will benefit from the most. In the case of the LGs that will definitely be an IPS panel.

I certainly wouldn't pay that price and would just get the 2017 LG model with the freesat tuner instead as it should be at a discount now compared.

If you really wanted the very best picture quality and didn't need wide viewing angles or the freesat tuner you are probably better off looking at the Samsung suggested as it probably uses a VA panel.

Or if you want to stick with IPS for wider viewing angles and want a TV marginally better Picture quality without a freesat tuner look at the Sony models instead.

But its swings and roundabouts, manufacturers really don't care about lower sizes anymore but probably for a bedroom TV it won't matter so much anyway.

Found the Samsung ue32m5520 on display in John Lewis on Saturday, Mrs liked it. They had none in stock so ordered online at 18:15 when we got home. It was delivered to my local Waitrose and ready for collection on opening at 10am on Sunday.

All setup and it looks great!

P.S. Saw the LG on display also and did not like it at all!
 
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Found the Samsung ue32m5520 on display in John Lewis on Saturday, Mrs liked it. They had none in stock so ordered online at 18:15 when we got home. It was delivered to my local Waitrose and ready for collection on opening at 10am on Sunday.

All setup and it looks great!

P.S. Saw the LG on display also and did not like it at all!
Great! Glad you like the TV!
 
Hello. Would you put the new Hisense 55U7A in your list of recommendations? I believe it replaces the 55N8700 and hope it improves it. It is around £599. Thanks
 
Hello. Would you put the new Hisense 55U7A in your list of recommendations? I believe it replaces the 55N8700 and hope it improves it. It is around £599. Thanks
It's a 2018 model but will likely make the recommendations next year. It is very much like the NU8700 but perhaps between that model and the N6800.

Hisense don't charge anywhere near as much for their new models compared to others which is why it stands out now as decent value compared to other new models.

But if you can still find the MU7000 it may be a better option.
 
Hi Dodgexander, I've been looking for the right 75" tv, reading reviews and recommendations and after seeing your best value tv's I think I'm going to go with the Samsung mu7000 if I can still find one but my viewing distance is going to be 19ft/5.80m is this going to be a problem regarding picture quality or do I need to look for something else . My budget is about £2000. Mainly watch HD channels and will up grade blu-ray player.
 
Hi Dodgexander, I've been looking for the right 75" tv, reading reviews and recommendations and after seeing your best value tv's I think I'm going to go with the Samsung mu7000 if I can still find one but my viewing distance is going to be 19ft/5.80m is this going to be a problem regarding picture quality or do I need to look for something else . My budget is about £2000. Mainly watch HD channels and will up grade blu-ray player.
It won't be a problem at all but it's pretty far viewing distance to notice a difference between FHD and UHD of equal quality. Nothing can be done about that though and it's still very great value at £1750.
 
It won't be a problem at all but it's pretty far viewing distance to notice a difference between FHD and UHD of equal quality. Nothing can be done about that though and it's still very great value at £1750.
Thank's for the replay, just another question for you is there much difference between mu7000 & mu8000 because I've seen the 7000 for £1729 & the 8000 for £1999
 
Thank's for the replay, just another question for you is there much difference between mu7000 & mu8000 because I've seen the 7000 for £1729 & the 8000 for £1999
The MU8000 has a better anti reflection filter so it deals with lamp/window reflections better.
 
Hi Dodgexander
Great articles throughout the forum but my head is buzzing. I'm after a new 55" TV to replace my old but reliable Sony KDL-37W5500 mainly as I'm after a bigger screen and the kids want the old TV for their play room.
Answers to your questions:
  1. What are your sources going to be? BluRay, WD TV box (for accessing NAS), HD channels via BT TV, iPlayer and will use Netflix on new smart tv
  2. SD-30% vs HD - 70% vs UHD use percentage? Cant use UHD currently
  3. Movies 40%, sport 10%, console games 10%, PC 0%, TV Programs 40% use (in percentage)?
  4. How close can you view the TV? - 3m
  5. Do you need to view the TV from the side or only straight on? Straight on for us but have another sofa viewing from the side, used by guests ;-)
  6. What conditions do you like to view in? During the day? At night with lights on? In the dark? Generally view at night but lounge window gets setting sun.
  7. What are you currently using and what do you expect by upgrading to a new TV? Sony KDL-37W5500, am after better and bigger picture and some of the smart features such as built in apps and DLNA playing from a NAS.
  8. Are you interested in being able to use motion enhancements on your TV to reduce judder and/or reduce motion blur? If needs must
After reading a few articles on here I've narrowed my choices down to:
Sony KD55XE7002
Samsung UE55MU7000
Hisense 55N6800
Hisense 55U7A

Having viewed them only quickly the Hisense seem to impress fo rthe price but would appreciate any other advice or experience.

thanks
 
The Hisense U7A and Samsung MU7000 are about even there, you may consider also the electriQ OLED at £850 or the LG A7 OLED or even a cheaper FHD Samsung model if you want standard definition channels to look better and don't mind losing HDR/UHD.

At 3m on a 55" having UHD isn't really useful but HDR is...albeit HDR is so-so on TVs like the U7A and MU7000.
 
Hi Dodgexander... I’m looking for some advice (isn’t everyone)!

I’m looking for a 55” TV to replace my plasma Panny which has an issue (see point 7 below) - and I’d like a bigger screen and be able to take advantage of 4k when available having watched some 4k films on Netflix and also the World Cup on BBC iPlayer on our Samsung 40MU6400 in our ‘spare’ room - which has been fantastic.

Answers to your questions:

  1. What are your sources going to be? Mainly Virgin Media V6 plus some BluRay DVDs, iPlayer and Netflix
  2. SD-10% vs HD - 80% vs UHD - 10%
  3. Movies 20%, sport 30%, console games 0%, 0%, TV Programs 50% use (in percentage)?
  4. How close can you view the TV? - Maximum 3M plus one chair at an angle is a little closer
  5. Do you need to view the TV from the side or only straight on? Sofa and one armchair is virtually straight on - but one armchair (mainly used by my lovely wife) is at an angle of appx 45/50 degrees
  6. What conditions do you like to view in? During the day? At night with lights on? In the dark? Day and night. Only use low lights at night so shouldn’t be an issue. Lounge window is south facing and light can cause an issue for anyone sitting in the armchair that is at an angle.
  7. What are you currently using and what do you expect by upgrading to a new TV? Looking to replace a 9 year old Panasonic 42PZ81B which has developed a dark pink tinge along the bottom section of the screen when against a white background e.g. watching Sky News, sport when players have white shirts. Watching films/soaps etc don’t usually have a problem - but when it’s there I just find it really annoying!!
  8. Are you interested in being able to use motion enhancements on your TV to reduce judder and/or reduce motion blur? If needed - but not sure how necessary it really is.


I have been looking at Samsung mainly having been impressed with our new MU6400 - but appreciate that this is a budget TV/panel and wouldn’t work well in our lounge compared to our Panny. So I’ve had a brief look at:

UE55NU7400 - £839 - assume this is the new version of the 6400, so I guess viewing angle be an issue - also light from window?

UE55NU8000 - £1,279 - assume a step up from the 7400 - so how would this perform taking account of angle/light issues?

QE55Q7FN - £1,899 - the natural Samsung TV to replace a plasma??? But do I need to go this far i.e will one of the above do the job and keep my happy :)

Anything else I should be considering? Many thanks...
 
Agreed, get the LG B7 and failing that a refurb/new Panasonic EZ952 or even the electriQ oled. You need oled to have good viewing angles and retain good image quality.

If you want LCD it would be a choice between poorer image quality and wide viewing angles really.
 
Hi Dodgexander
Great articles throughout the forum but my head is buzzing. I'm after a new 55" TV to replace my old but reliable Sony KDL-37W5500 mainly as I'm after a bigger screen and the kids want the old TV for their play room.
Answers to your questions:
  1. What are your sources going to be? BluRay, WD TV box (for accessing NAS), HD channels via BT TV, iPlayer and will use Netflix on new smart tv
  2. SD-30% vs HD - 70% vs UHD use percentage? Cant use UHD currently
  3. Movies 40%, sport 10%, console games 10%, PC 0%, TV Programs 40% use (in percentage)?
  4. How close can you view the TV? - 3m
  5. Do you need to view the TV from the side or only straight on? Straight on for us but have another sofa viewing from the side, used by guests ;-)
  6. What conditions do you like to view in? During the day? At night with lights on? In the dark? Generally view at night but lounge window gets setting sun.
  7. What are you currently using and what do you expect by upgrading to a new TV? Sony KDL-37W5500, am after better and bigger picture and some of the smart features such as built in apps and DLNA playing from a NAS.
  8. Are you interested in being able to use motion enhancements on your TV to reduce judder and/or reduce motion blur? If needs must
After reading a few articles on here I've narrowed my choices down to:
Sony KD55XE7002
Samsung UE55MU7000
Hisense 55N6800
Hisense 55U7A

Having viewed them only quickly the Hisense seem to impress fo rthe price but would appreciate any other advice or experience.

thanks
Update :-(. After a chat with the decision maker I may now be limited to 50", any ideas?
 
Update :-(. After a chat with the decision maker I may now be limited to 50", any ideas?

49” Q7F or possibly Sony XE9005 or XF9005 - latter is 2018 model so is overpriced relative to Q7. XE is almost impossible to source new, so may have to be a refurb model.

Other than those you’re going down through ranges and will be poor with HDR content.
 
49” Q7F or possibly Sony XE9005 or XF9005 - latter is 2018 model so is overpriced relative to Q7. XE is almost impossible to source new, so may have to be a refurb model.

Other than those you’re going down through ranges and will be poor with HDR content.

Thanks, they look great but may be pushing my budget, any opinions on the smaller screen versions from my original:
Sony BRAVIA KD49XE7002
Samsung UE49MU7000
Hisense 50N6800

All opinions and advice appreciated...
Thanks
 
Hisense or Samsung - whichever is cheapest. Both are closely matched spec for spec.

Panasonic EX700 or 750 worth a look too.
 
Very limited choice at 50". If a TV isn't in the OP its for a reason. In this instance;

Samsung 49MU7000 - Overpriced for what it is at this size because Samsung opted for only a 60hz panel instead of 120hz compared to 55"+
Sony 49XE70xx - Another bad choice since at 49" and 43" these don't use the same Samsung VA panels as 55"+

This is why I categorized the OP by screen size. Different panels on the same TV at different sizes.

As Zep has said, go for a 50" model from Panasonic or Hisense like the Hisense 50N6800 you suggested or the Panasonic 50EX&00.

The Panasonic 50EX750 is even better if you can still get one at a good price and the Samsung 50MU61xx or any Philips 50" models are decent value too from their 2017 ranges.
 

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