My head is about to explode..... Too much choice!

markeddy

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I thought picking a TV was hard enough. I am now trying to throw a soundbar into the mix......

Lets keep it quite simple:

43" TV for lounge for SD/Netflix/Xbox/Films
Soundbar with Bluetooth with good bit of punch for the blockbusters (Woofer optional)
IPS or VA as seat arrangement somewhere between the two.
Both wall mounted.
£800 budget.

GO!
 
Very best option is the Sony XF85 or XF87 series if you want a TV that has decent motion and good viewing angles. Its downside is poor performance in a dark room and poor smart TV.

Otherwise the best value option is the Hisense A series, its plus is good dark room performance and value for money. The downside is motion and having no decent anti reflection filter.

No TV is perfect and at smaller sizes there is poor choice compared to larger TVs.

Last option would be to go for a HD only model which would be better for your SD viewing, the Sony and LG HD TVs are good value for money.

Question for you: if you are going to buy such a small model, why ugrade at all? In the UHD era even 55" is small for a TV, let alone 43"! Although I can understand sometimes its not possible to go larger..

Before you decide which to go for you should work out whether viewing angles are important to you or not as that is the most integral thing to picture quality with TVs.

No idea regarding a soundbar, you can search reviews and prior threads in the soundbar section:
Soundbars, Soundplates & Soundbases
Soundbar Reviews | AVForums
 
Thanks for your reply Dodge, although I feel as though I have already picked your brains enough already. And I swear you must work for Hisense ;)
My current TV is a 6-year old 32" Panny which has served me well but time to go bigger and better.
Will be viewing some kit in RS & JL at the weekend.
Going to rule out the Sonys as the room is dark most of time and it is the slowness of the OS on my Panny that drives me mad.
I guess I am going Samsung or LG. Jut so many different models and don't know what i will gain by going for the new Samsung models over last years.......

And really need some help with a soundbar, although I figure most will recommend the YAS-207.
I figured if I spent slightly less on TV by going LG/Samsung, I could push the boat out on a soundbar!
 
Definitely want a sub if punch is important.

Is 43” the absolute max?
 
I guess I am going Samsung or LG. Jut so many different models and don't know what i will gain by going for the new Samsung models over last years.......
Samsung @ 43" - They use a mix of panel types, recent buyers of their 43" TVs have found they come with IPS type which, like the Sony will perform badly in a dark room. Minus the better motion of the Sony.

LG @ 43" - They exclusively use IPS panels and will perform awful in a dark room.

Hisense at 43" - They exclusively use VA type panels which means its the only option at this size to get a good panel.

Philips at 43" - An outside option, not a sure bet at VA like Hisense, but a better chance at getting a VA panel than Samsung and LG.

Maybe now you can see why I recommend Hisense! ;)

At 50" it would be different, since there are also some models from the others that match Hisense's performance.

I already took these things into consideration writing this guide here: My best value TVs, 2018-2019 Edition which warns you regarding the Samsung/Philips.

One of the reasons I wrote the guide is because of the differences between models at different sizes. It takes away the stress of having to compare models pointlessly when we know that they will come with bad panels, or we know there is a chance they will.

There is also an argument to be made at smaller sizes just to buy the cheapest TV you can, just because none of the TVs at smaller sizes are really fantastic anymore. Manufacturers stopped making even mid-range models at this size some years ago.
 
Take a chance on the Samsung NU7400. It can be either va or ips. LG is ips.
 
It makes me laugh these days that a 43" TV is classed as small and not worthy of all the bells a whistles.
Judging by the amount of tiny new-build houses flying up, I'm surprised the average Joe has room for more than a 43"..........
 
It makes me laugh these days that a 43" TV is classed as small and not worthy of all the bells a whistles.
Judging by the amount of tiny new-build houses flying up, I'm surprised the average Joe has room for more than a 43"..........
Direct your complaints to the manufacturers. They do not care. Probably because those of us with little space are in the minority.

The answer to making smaller OLEDs has been that they are going to introduce 48" ones instead of 55". That gives you an idea of what they consider small now.

In fairness, to get any kind of benefit from a high quality source you need a much larger TV. Small TVs are still good for displaying content that isn't in HD yet.

Best TVs you can get at this size are the last few gen Plasma models. My Panasonic 42ST60 plasma from 2013 knocks all the TVs mentioned here for six by comparison. Its a FHD TV. Some LCDs from 2013-14 were decent at this size.

I even bought my dad a £50 plasma from 2008 from a chap in the classifieds here and it looks remarkable with normal TV compared to smaller UHD models.
 
It makes me laugh these days that a 43" TV is classed as small and not worthy of all the bells a whistles.
Judging by the amount of tiny new-build houses flying up, I'm surprised the average Joe has room for more than a 43"..........

I live in a terraced new build. Living room is 4 x 3m. Sit just over 1m from a 49” - we got used to the size within a day or so. We went up from a 43”, after the 43” replaced a 40” at the wife’s request.
 
I live in a terraced new build. Living room is 4 x 3m. Sit just over 1m from a 49” - we got used to the size within a day or so. We went up from a 43”, after the 43” replaced a 40” at the wife’s request.

My lounge is split into 2 areas, each probably about same size as yours but it is 150 years old and has all manner of beams in the walls and 2 very small windows at the TV end, which are obstructed by the neighbours 50' conifers. Hence only room for 43" by the time I have found a gap big enough to hang it and an area of wall that can be channelled out for cables!
 
If it helps we’ve had an LG UF770V (49” 4K) tv for the last few years and it’s been brilliant all round. Yes the blacks aren’t “black” in total darkness but we never watch in complete darkness so it’s not too bad. HD and 4K content look amazing on it. The tv is fast and responsive too, Turns on in a few seconds and all menus are fast. Some brands of tv are slow and laggy, nothing worse than an unresponsive tv! And depending what model of LG tv, you might get a magic remote, which works like a Nintendo wii controller(move the remote to control a cursor on screen) so much easier and faster especially if your on YouTube and typing something into the search bar etc.

I would buy another LG tv if anything happened to this one(or if my 6 year warranty ended)

I also bought an LG soundbar with wireless sub about a month after buying the tv too, I wanted something that would pair/work well with the tv, so I thought the best thing to do would be to get an LG soundbar to match, I haven’t regretted it! I connected it and had it working within 2minutes, it took me longer to unbox it than to set it up, and I’ve never had any lip sync issues or problems where the sub isn’t connecting, and because there the same brand I can use the one tv remote still, as when the tv turns on it automatically turns on the soundbar/sub and I can control the volume via the tv remote, you only need the soundbar remote for changing other settings or Bluetooth etc. Sounds great, big improvement over the tv speakers. I paid around your budget for both, so you can definitely get both for around that.
 
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