Hi all,
Every time I think it would be nice to upgrade my TV, I get quickly overwhelmed by the huge amount of options! I'm hoping somebody can help me narrow the choices down. I currently have a Panasonic TH-42PX70 (42" plasma, 2007) and I'd like to have something bigger which is also full HD.
On the subject of UHD: I don't need it now and can't use it, but when I eventually get Sky Q then I'll want a TV that can support it, and I don't really want to fork out twice. But I don't want something which will make FHD look worse!
On the subject of panels: it sounds like OLED is the best (no compromise between viewing angles and colour/contrast) but I've got little idea just how bad something might look from an extreme angle.
And of course the big problem currently is that I can't audition screens thanks to the current health crisis. (That is, it's a "big problem" in the context of this very first-world TV-buying decision. I don't mean it to sound like an entitled whine!)
Some research has led me to think that suitable TVs might include:
Would love to hear some opinions, especially on the issues of panel type and getting a decent FHD picture. And will they look better than my trusty old Panasonic?!
With much confusion and information-overload,
Cheers,
Steve
Every time I think it would be nice to upgrade my TV, I get quickly overwhelmed by the huge amount of options! I'm hoping somebody can help me narrow the choices down. I currently have a Panasonic TH-42PX70 (42" plasma, 2007) and I'd like to have something bigger which is also full HD.
- We generally sit 8-12 feet away from the screen, sometimes a little further.
- Viewing angles are mostly fairly straight but there are a couple of seating positions which can be up to around 45 degrees off centre. That's not for serious film-watching so it doesn't have to look perfect at those angles -- it's when somebody is sitting at a table instead of on the sofa, and still wants to be able to make things out well enough to enjoy some Saturday night TV.
- I've read that OLED beats IPS which beats VA for viewing angles, but I've not seen pictures or video of just how the panels look at various angles. It might be that even the worst-at-angles panel is good enough for my needs!
- Sources are currently all 720p/1080p: Sky HD, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 3 (for Blu-Ray and occasionally DVDs), and various Chromecast-connected sources (Netflix, Plex, iPlayer etc). All through an amp that has HDMI 1.4.
- Our Internet speed goes no higher than about 20Mbs (long copper lines in a rural area!) so we'd be pushing it to get streaming 4k content for the next few years.
- We might go for Sky Q at some point but we don't have it yet.
- I'm not bothered particularly about "smart" features as the Chromecast does that, and I could upgrade to a Chromecast Ultra if necessary.
- We watch TV and films, and play video games. Very rarely watch sport.
- Mainly I want to make the screen bigger, and as a bonus a lighter screen could be wall-mounted (which would have various happy knock-on effects).
- My current TV has been going for nearly 13 years; it occasionally switches itself off or shows source info in the corner permanently, but nothing really horrendous and the picture is good. I'd like my next TV to last a long time too.
- I really like the idea of Ambilight but have no idea if it will end up feeling like a gimmick I want to switch off. All else being equali(ish) I'd probably go for it; I wouldn't want to make a big sacrifice for it though.
- Budget is around £500-£750, but I could go up to £1000 if there was a really compelling reason to do so (like, something that ticked every box, was future-proof for many years and would still look great in FHD).
On the subject of UHD: I don't need it now and can't use it, but when I eventually get Sky Q then I'll want a TV that can support it, and I don't really want to fork out twice. But I don't want something which will make FHD look worse!
On the subject of panels: it sounds like OLED is the best (no compromise between viewing angles and colour/contrast) but I've got little idea just how bad something might look from an extreme angle.
And of course the big problem currently is that I can't audition screens thanks to the current health crisis. (That is, it's a "big problem" in the context of this very first-world TV-buying decision. I don't mean it to sound like an entitled whine!)
Some research has led me to think that suitable TVs might include:
- HiSense B7500
- Philips "The One" (which I thought was 7304 but possibly also 7394?)
Would love to hear some opinions, especially on the issues of panel type and getting a decent FHD picture. And will they look better than my trusty old Panasonic?!
With much confusion and information-overload,
Cheers,
Steve