TV for SD viewing?

I was putting off buying a new tv to replace my old plasma due to everything looking crap but my new LG 48 inch OLED copes fine with everything and looks no worse than the old tv on SD even with a bigger screen.
 
I care about this too and historically I've found Sony's higher-end processors and the Panasonics did a better job with the sub-DVD resolutions of some of the Freeview channels. They did need a fair bit of tweaking of options to turn a lot of the cleverer stuff off though.

Another option is to get a Freeview box that does the upscaling. For example it looks like the Panasonic DMR-PWT550EB (and presumably others in the range) can upscale everything to 1080p if you ask it to (see page 67 of the manual).
 
many of the channels that broadcast older SD programmes, do not show them in the correct 4:3 aspect ratio
Not to mention there are often very bad remasters of shows where the image is zoomed in when it was originally 4:3. You even find this on old shows via streaming services. This makes the picture even worse.
 
My old Panasonic GT60 plasma was excellent at scaling SD. I’d be looking for something similar if I were you. The older studio displays were excellent too - the PH 9 (I think thats the right model) had an amazing image quality on SD and HD material was good too, even though it wasn’t a true HD panel. You just have to have something that will feed it a signal as they’re purely a monitor.
 
My old Panasonic GT60 plasma was excellent at scaling SD. I’d be looking for something similar if I were you. The older studio displays were excellent too - the PH 9 (I think thats the right model) had an amazing image quality on SD and HD material was good too, even though it wasn’t a true HD panel. You just have to have something that will feed it a signal as they’re purely a monitor.
Yep I had a PW7 plasma, low res but boy was SD a quality image, really miss that monitor 😢
 
What is this thing with upscaling? I have several devices which claim to do this but I've not seen the slightest bit of evidence to suggest that they do.
With regard to SD broadcasts, they seem to be very much a mixed bag. On my 65" Samsung Q90T I've seen a few old episodes of Escape To The Country on HGTV which look terrible, yet others which look infinitely better. I find it difficult to understand how any particular TVs can make old SD look better, although the obvious way round it to me is to use the 'Zoom-out' facility to make the screen size smaller. That will improve it in the same way as which awful photos can often look acceptable when viewed on a phone screen.
 
What is this thing with upscaling? I have several devices which claim to do this but I've not seen the slightest bit of evidence to suggest that they do.
With regard to SD broadcasts, they seem to be very much a mixed bag. On my 65" Samsung Q90T I've seen a few old episodes of Escape To The Country on HGTV which look terrible, yet others which look infinitely better. I find it difficult to understand how any particular TVs can make old SD look better, although the obvious way round it to me is to use the 'Zoom-out' facility to make the screen size smaller. That will improve it in the same way as which awful photos can often look acceptable when viewed on a phone screen.
The reason will be down to the source material, and or the chosen master displayed by the TV channel. Some episodes will be better than others because they are more modern, or the mastering of the episode was better when it was created.

TV channels tend not to care a lot about picture quality, especially some of the lesser viewed ones, even some streaming services include terrible masters of older content because they know 99% people won't care.

It has nothing to do with the upscaling of the TV, which btw in the case of the Q90T is very good.

The main drawback is the quality of the source material coupled with the fact that so many pixels need to be created extra to begin with, this image should give you an idea:
1*XMnSq2Peo__4rVhLo73cqg.png


Imagine taking a printed image in SD and stretching it to 4k.
 
Hi, is this set still good for watching SD content?

Is it very old? I'm coming from an ancient Pioneer Kuro PDP-LX508D plasma TV (after 15 years of service now is dead, unfortunately). Naturally, I'm going to watch HD (720 and 1080) content too (TV channels and movies). I can buy that set in my country for €470.

Thanks for any advice
 
Hi, is this set still good for watching SD content?

Is it very old? I'm coming from an ancient Pioneer Kuro PDP-LX508D plasma TV (after 15 years of service now is dead, unfortunately). Naturally, I'm going to watch HD (720 and 1080) content too (TV channels and movies). I can buy that set in my country for €470.

Thanks for any advice
I'm not sure they are correct when they mention that TV comes with a VA type panel.
But going from a high end Plasma to a low end LCD today is going to be a very big downgrade I think.

The LG A2 OLED would be a better fit.
 
I have a LG just like this its all right due to the smaller 43-inch size.
may have to play with a few settings.



My friend wants to buy this tv from me.

Another used Plasma will still be better if you can find one.
 
Won't be as sharp but OLED makes for a much better overall picture so it should make up for it a bit.

If you're looking for something cheap that doesn't have to upscale as much, then a cheap LCD like that LG is the way forward. Just don't expect it to be on the same level as high end TVs of the past.
 
Won't be as sharp but OLED makes for a much better overall picture so it should make up for it a bit.

If you're looking for something cheap that doesn't have to upscale as much, then a cheap LCD like that LG is the way forward. Just don't expect it to be on the same level as high end TVs of the past.
Well, this is my short list:

1. LG 43LM6300PLA (8-bit IPS panel, Direct LED backlight)
2. LG 43LM6370PLA (10-bit IPS panel, Direct LED backlight)
3. PANASONIC TX-43LSW504 (8-bit VA panel, Edge LED backlight)
4. PHILIPS 43PFS6808/12 (unknown panel tech)
5. HISENSE 40AE5500F (unknown panel tech)

Smart features are NOT important, but picture quality IS. In fact, I'm looking for the set in that list with the best PQ. Which is better: an IPS panel with Direct LED backlight or a VA panel with Edge LED backlight?

Thank you very much for your advices.
 
There's no benefit to direct LED backlighting on cheaper TVs since they do not impose a FALD system.
Edge/Direct will have no winner, edge LED lit TVs tend to suffer from brighter edges, whilst direct tend to suffer with darker edges.

Biggest deciding factor will be panel type, do you want IPS or VA? A TV using a VA panel is going to harness light behind it a lot better than IPS.

I also don't think the specs are accurate in your list. I highly doubt the LG 43LM6370PLA is using an 10bit panel. Not that it matters though, as 10bit does not mean it will have a better picture anyway.

My concern with Panasonic at this size and price is that they are not making their own TVs. The 43PFS6808/12 is going to be a Vestel TV with a Panasonic badge on the front, so expect bottom barrel build quality and processing here.

The Hisense using a 40", or in fact any 40" TV should be using a VA panel.

Most 43" TVs use IPS, and I would guess no different with the Philips.
 
There's no benefit to direct LED backlighting on cheaper TVs since they do not impose a FALD system.
Got it.
Edge/Direct will have no winner, edge LED lit TVs tend to suffer from brighter edges, whilst direct tend to suffer with darker edges.
I prefer darker edges if I have to choose.
Biggest deciding factor will be panel type, do you want IPS or VA? A TV using a VA panel is going to harness light behind it a lot better than IPS.
VA maybe, but since the Panasonic is an unknown, I would prefer the LG. I don't have much confidence in Hisense... Do you?
I also don't think the specs are accurate in your list. I highly doubt the LG 43LM6370PLA is using an 10bit panel.
According to THIS review, yes it is (please read the user comments below). But if you think there is no benefit with a 10-bit panel (instead of a 8+2 FRC panel), my guess is the LM6300 will be fine (right?). Are you sure about this? Wouldn't a 10-bit panel have better colour? Keep in mind that this TV supports HDR (both LM6300 and LM6370 models).
Most 43" TVs use IPS, and I would guess no different with the Philips.
What about the Philips?
And finally, if you had to choose one, which one would you choose?

Thanks a lot, indeed.
 
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According to THIS review, yes it is (please read the user comments below). But if you think there is no benefit with a 10-bit panel (instead of a 8+2 FRC panel), my guess is the LM6300 will be fine (right?). Are you sure about this? Wouldn't a 10-bit panel have better colour? Keep in mind that this TV supports HDR (both LM6300 and LM6370 models).
There is no benefit to a 10 bit panel for you at all. More bits equates to more steps in colour, not more colours and it only comes into play with HDR. Anything pre HDR uses 8bit colour in the source.
Nonetheless, the LG definitely will not be using a 10bit panel and the source is wrong. I suspect they have pulled the specs from displayspecifications.com or similar, which is often incorrect.

Even with high end TVs, there's also often no benefit to a 10bit panel.

In general, although it is hard to believe from the outside there is very little, to no difference between TVs in the same range. In the case of LG; LMxxxx models.

If a TV has only a small difference in model number xx70 instead of xx00 for example, it will not be a difference in picture quality at all.
VA maybe, but since the Panasonic is an unknown, I would prefer the LG. I don't have much confidence in Hisense... Do yo
If you prefer VA stay clear of LG which are using IPS. The brand of a television is not an important factor at all. All make good and bad.
What about the Philips?
And finally, if you had to choose one, which one would you choose?
Probably I'd go with a cheap TCL or Hisense. The cheaper the better provided they are made by their own company and not outsourced like Panasonic. TCL and Hisense still make their own TVs.

To use an analogy to choose between each of these TVs is like going to a bar and choosing between cheap beer. Neither one is going to stand out from the next, they are both going to be cheap beers.
 
Hi, is this set still good for watching SD content?

Is it very old? I'm coming from an ancient Pioneer Kuro PDP-LX508D plasma TV (after 15 years of service now is dead, unfortunately). Naturally, I'm going to watch HD (720 and 1080) content too (TV channels and movies). I can buy that set in my country for €470.

Thanks for any advice
The low-end Panasonic TX-40MS490B I looked at this week (for someone else) did not scale at all well, even after moving away from the shop settings, and didn't have the options to turn many things off (that I could see). Very disappointing. I did also see a LG OLED-42C24LA that claims a very whizzy scaling engine (tho £999) and I think it might be worth a look, but perhaps not in JL in Oxford Street as they don't have an aerial connected to theirs. (Possibly put some content on a USB stick??? Channel 4-7 on Freeview seems a decent choice for comparisons, as it's crap even by Freeview standards, at least when I was in JL.)

The other option is to get a cheap TV and have a Freeview PVR box, or similar, and let that do the scaling, but even then I'd want to be able to turn off a lot of stuff on a modern TV. Football and Tennis are good for seeing how well the ball is handled BTW.
 
OK I've compared SD channels between Freeview and Freesat on my LG and Freesat SD is noticeably a better resolution than Freesat.
Could this be down to the TV processor or is Satellite a better carrier of the broadcast signal ?
Freeview has limited bandwith and most commercial channels are 544x576 resolution.

Dave is 720x576 on Freesat, but only 544x576 on Freeview.
 
Watch TV channels from UKTV Play. You get better then SD. I don't know if the LG TV has live channels, but the website does. Other apps/sites have live TV better then SD. The thing is, we need to get away from SD any way we can.
 
The low-end Panasonic TX-40MS490B I looked at this week (for someone else) did not scale at all well, even after moving away from the shop settings, and didn't have the options to turn many things off (that I could see).
It's a vestel rebadge. Not Panasonic at all.
 
Very interesting - many thanks.
Where does this info come from please?
(I am aware of How to Tell If Your TV's a VESTEL but does that guarantee all models before some point will be Vestel?)
This will tell you about Panasonic.

 
Panny have outsourced their lower end TVs to Vestel for a long time, since 2013-14 I think.
They have now turned to outsourcing their higher end TV production too.

Last I checked anything lower than their 700 range was Vestel produced, but not sure now which are Vestel and which are TCL.

I do not think their higher end TV production will be affected quite the same though as TCL already have a good track record of producing TV's. Vestel, who make their cheaper TVs do not. I also don't know if TCL are only doing their OLEDs, or also some of their LCD TVs.
 
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Update on this:

I contacted LG Spain and they told me that the 43LM6370PLA comes with a true 10-bit panel (without FRC) with VA technology (there is no panel lottery with this model, other models may have either an IPS or VA panel, but not in this case). Isn't a VA panel better than an IPS panel? (save for viewing angles).

Is it still worth it?

I think it's a quite decent model (mid level perhaps), but I would like to know the experts' thoughts. Thanks
 
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