New OLED Advice

[MagicMartian]

My current TV is a Samsung LE32B450, which is probably well overdue retirement. I'd like to replace it with an OLED. I've checked various reviews (here, HDTV Test, What Hi-Fi etc.) and read quite a few forum posts but I'm struggling to come to a decision so I'm hoping you might be able to offer some advice.

Preferred screen size: 48" or 55"
Viewing distance: around 2.7 m (106")
Viewing angle: mostly straight-on (almost certainly no more than 15–20 degrees)
Viewing time: mostly evenings, usually with lights on but will dim or turn off if needed, very occasional daytime viewing
Mounting: planning to wall mount with a pull-down mount due to space constraints

The TV will be used primarily for watching series and films (lots of sci-fi) via Prime, Netflix and Disney+. There are no terrestrial/satellite/cable inputs so all viewing will be via streaming platforms or streaming over the home network. I don't currently have a Blu-ray player but might add one at some point in the future. The TV is unlikely to be used for gaming any time in the near future. Sound will either be via the TV or my (stereo) hi-fi (no AVR).

The main thing I'm interested in is picture quality. (I don't mind if a bit of tweaking is required to get the best picture.) I can probably live with a bit of motion blur but judder and stutter will probably annoy me.

Given my typical viewing patterns I think burn-in is unlikely to be a problem. As a tight so-and-so, I'm not keen on spending this kind of sum of money regularly so I'm hoping that whatever I buy will stand me in good stead for the next 5–10 years!

The options I'm currently considering are (with what seem to be often listed as some of their cons).

• LG C1 or G1
  • No HDR10+
  • No DTS
• Panasonic JZ1500
  • No DTS
• Philips OLED806
  • No Dolby Vision IQ
  • Lots of bugs?
• Sony A80J
  • No HDR10+

I'm not sure the lack of DTS is really a problem for my use case. If I eventually hook up a Blu-ray player I'm guessing I could make use of an optical out with an AVR for DTS?

Would it be better to go for a set that supports HDR10+ or is it unlikely to matter?

Of the options listed above, I'm probably leaning towards the Panasonic at the moment. However, the review mentions a couple of issues: black gradation flashing and one relating to Dolby Vision IQ but I'm not sure if I should be concerned about either of those. The only other issue is the price, i.e. do I really want to spend £1599? (Due to the different panels I was thinking of the 55" rather than the 48" for the Panasonic.) Would it be worth considering the JZ1000 or is the 1500 probably worth the extra £300-400?

The Philips might have been tempting as well but the number of issues that people seem to be having is slightly off-putting although I don't know if any would be likely to impact me. Other issues/bugs aside, is the missing Dolby Vision IQ support likely to make much difference? (I'm not particularly interested in Ambilight.)

Are there any other models I should consider? (Sony A90J is definitely more than I want to spend. Let's say budget is up to £1600 but I'd definitely be happier spending a bit less, e.g. £1000-£1300.)

Apologies for the long post – was trying to cover most of the things in Dodgexander's recommendation template.

 

[tvdavid]

I would be happy with any of them but prob sony be the best then the LG.

 

[Sloppy Bob]

I'm not sure the lack of DTS is really a problem for my use case. If I eventually hook up a Blu-ray player I'm guessing I could make use of an optical out with an AVR for DTS?

DTS works over optical but DTS-HD MA will not, nor TrueHD.

If your AVR is modern and 4K compatible you'd connect it to your AVR and not your TV. If it's older then if your BD Player has Dual HDMI Outs you can connect one for audio to the AVR and one for video to the TV.
If this isn't an option then you're going to get DD5.1 or DTS (maybe) at best.

Streaming apps are DD+ at best so it's not an issue for them.

The Sony missing out on HDR10+ isn't really an issue as basic HDR10 and Dolby Vision seem to have the market sewn up. Even if there is an HDR10+ stream, you still get basic HDR10 and the same applies to Samsung TVs that don't do Dolby Vision, they still show HDR.

 

[Dodgexander]

Have you seen?

2021-2022 OLED Comparison

A comparison of OLEDs Here's a brief summary of what the small differences are. Don't get so hung up about them though, as each TV is very similar.

www.avforums.com

There are probably more important aspects to consider than HDR/Audio support, for example the TVs smart system, sound, or picture quality.

DTS isn't used at all for streaming, only for physical media so you'll only need the TV to support DTS if you play back a disc that doesn't have anything but a DTS Soundtrack. If you add a soundbar or AVR you won't need DTS at all normally since you plug players directly into those instead.

Only reason DTS support would be required on the TV is if you plan on using a soundbar without any HDMI inputs, or you plan to use the TVs speakers for sound, and intend to play back discs, or ripped discs on the TV.

 

[iwb100]

Who on earth cares about HDR10+? Honestly the standards are established now and that is not one.

 

[MagicMartian]

Thanks for the responses.

Have you seen?

2021-2022 OLED Comparison

A comparison of OLEDs Here's a brief summary of what the small differences are. Don't get so hung up about them though, as each TV is very similar.

www.avforums.com

Yes. It was very helpful thanks and was essentially what I used to form my shortlist above along with various reviews. I think the difficulty is that there doesn't seem to be any obvious stand-out choice as I'm not going to be gaming. They all seem to be highly regarded by the professional reviewers.

Based on my original thoughts and the responses above I'm definitely not going to rule out any options based on missing DTS support.

I've seen a few people saying that they think HDR10+ is either becoming, or already is, irrelevant.

Who on earth cares about HDR10+? Honestly the standards are established now and that is not one.

I suppose I was asking whether I should care. Clearly, your view is no. The main reason I wanted to consider HDR10+ support was due to Prime.

If I want HDR10+ support then I'm clearly limited to the Panasonic or Philips. However, as the consensus seems to be just to ignore HDR10+ then it looks like any of my original list is still an option.

 

[Dodgexander]

The problem comparing OLED to LCD is that most OLEDs, unlike LCD TVs they share the same panels usually, so a comparison between one similar priced OLED and another is very even.
There's not even a huge difference in picture quality between the very cheapest, and most expensive.

HDR10+ support is really more about what you watch. If you are going to use prime video they use it, as do some UHD Blu-Rays. Outside of that there's not really any wide usage yet, although it's said more games will be adopting it in the future.

Some people also care about ethics. Dolby Vision requires royalties, HDR10+ is open source, the only reason the likes of Sony and LG don't include is because they are 'partners' with Dolby.

But LGs are OLEDs are so good, that there's plenty of reasons to forget about HDR10+ and DTS support if there's other things you like the sound of with their TVs.

 

[iwb100]

The problem comparing OLED to LCD is that most OLEDs, unlike LCD TVs they share the same panels usually, so a comparison between one similar priced OLED and another is very even.
There's not even a huge difference in picture quality between the very cheapest, and most expensive.

HDR10+ support is really more about what you watch. If you are going to use prime video they use it, as do some UHD Blu-Rays. Outside of that there's not really any wide usage yet, although it's said more games will be adopting it in the future.

Some people also care about ethics. Dolby Vision requires royalties, HDR10+ is open source, the only reason the likes of Sony and LG don't include is because they are 'partners' with Dolby.

But LGs are OLEDs are so good, that there's plenty of reasons to forget about HDR10+ and DTS support if there's other things you like the sound of with their TVs.

What games are likely to use HDR10+? MS have gone Dolby route, Sony are their partners and can’t see them going HDR10+?

 

[Dodgexander]

I don't think it's even got to the point yet where games have been announced, so sorry if it gave you that impression.
What I am referring too is this news:

What Is HDR10+ Gaming? - United News Post

SamsungHDR10+ Gaming is the latest technology to expand the scope of the HDR10+ standard. It is debuting on Samsung TVs and gaming monitors. But how does

unitednewspost.com

Samsung have started including it on the gaming monitors, Nvidia have backed the format too.

There's not really a 'format war' like there used to be since both formats can exist together, if a TV doesn't support one it will fall back to HDR10.

If you aren't a big prime watcher, I wouldn't worry about it in its present state, but sadly no one has a crystal ball so we don't know what will happen in the future.

 

[iwb100]

I don't think it's even got to the point yet where games have been announced, so sorry if it gave you that impression.
What I am referring too is this news:

What Is HDR10+ Gaming? - United News Post

SamsungHDR10+ Gaming is the latest technology to expand the scope of the HDR10+ standard. It is debuting on Samsung TVs and gaming monitors. But how does

unitednewspost.com

Samsung have started including it on the gaming monitors, Nvidia have backed the format too.

There's not really a 'format war' like there used to be since both formats can exist together, if a TV doesn't support one it will fall back to HDR10.

If you aren't a big prime watcher, I wouldn't worry about it in its present state, but sadly no one has a crystal ball so we don't know what will happen in the future.

Yeah sure, Samsung are pushing it but the makers of games hardware are not really bar nvidia. Dolby Vision in my view has already won the dynamic HDR war. Perhaps I’m calling it too early…

 

[Dodgexander]

Yeah sure, Samsung are pushing it but the makers of games hardware are not really bar nvidia. Dolby Vision in my view has already won the dynamic HDR war. Perhaps I’m calling it too early…

Maybe, the issue is that AMD produce the chips in consoles, and the consoles aren't backing HDR10+.

I do wonder though if Sony will change their mind, the PS5 doesn't have Dolby Vision support.

The fact it's an open standard should help it in the future.

 

[iwb100]

Maybe, the issue is that AMD produce the chips in consoles, and the consoles aren't backing HDR10+.

I do wonder though if Sony will change their mind, the PS5 doesn't have Dolby Vision support.

The fact it's an open standard should help it in the future.

I find it hard to imagine Sony supporting HDR10+ when their own TVs don’t and one of their competitors in Samsung do. But I guess anything is possible as in the console space they obviously don’t want to pay Dolby the royalties.