What do I get for £500 more for me 49/50" Samsung QLED

Boostrail

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OK having read the informative thread on the Sony and LG OLED 48" TV's I have decided that I will go for a Samsung QLED.
However I find that there are essentially 2 different models with a price differential of £500.

QE49Q80T £1199 and QE50Q65T £699

Firstly are these both Samsung VA panels or is the 50" outsourced and then treated to the QLED super layers by Samsung or even vice versa?

My viewing sources are Virgin Media V6 with max subscription (500mbps BB), Amazon Firestick with Prime. Very occasional DVD/Blu ray player We do not view in a darkened room and TV faces south west facing window. Thus my concern is good brightness/Contrast in high ambient lighting.

Also sound quality. Firstly existng TV has a remarkable built in mini sound bar - this is OK. Unfortunately my dear wife is totally deaf in one ear. A couple of yeas ago I bought a Panasonic 5.1 1000W home cinema system but whilst this is great for me my wife found it confused her sense of hearing, This system will shortly be on Ebay!

Whilst I would be very happy for an on board sound system to be OK the £500 differential would allow me to add a very good soundbar.

The question is what benefits i would see in my circumstance for spending £500 more?

THX

H
 
Proper HDR and FALD (Full Array Local Dimming) are the main ones. Whether you need or want these things is down to your viewing habits and whether you think they'll change and you'll start watching 4K content.

All 4K TV's have HDR but only upper mid-range and higher models are actually capable of displaying it properly.

However, you're paying over the odds for both of those TV's as they're just out. If you can find the 2019 equivalent of them then they'll be massively cheaper, but you've left it a bit late and most places are sold out. You'll also find, on the main, last year's models are better specced.
TV's start getting properly discounted around Black Friday and by April(ish) very heavily.


Neither of them or any other TV without a soundbar are good for audio.
 
This doesn't seem to quite cut the mustard against the QE49Q80T in reviews I have seen admittedly for 55" equivalents. I am always dubious with Sony products as have always found they over rate their product expectations based on an image created some 40 years ago.

Lets face it their top range panels are I believe almost certainly VA panels produced for the "Sony" assembly plants (Foxconn et al) by Samsung.
 
There's a £400 price difference in favour of the Sony.

The Sony is a 2019 model. The Samsung 2020.

Sony has Dolby Vision. Samsung doesn't.
 
Lets face it their top range panels are I believe almost certainly VA panels produced for the "Sony" assembly plants (Foxconn et al) by Samsung.
Yet Samsung insist on gracing their smaller models still with only 60hz panels whilst Sony at least equip TVs like the XG9005 with a 120hz panel at 49".

The new Q80T is the replacement for the 2019 Q70R and at other sizes is about on par with the XG9005 but any reviews you read about the Q70R or Q80T are faux if they are for larger sizes since motion will be a lot poorer on smaller Samsung sizes.

Whats more, because Samsung are putting only 60hz panels on their smaller TVs they miss out on HDMI 2.1 VRR. So in effect these TVs should be sold under different model numbers compared to larger sizes. Samsung 60hz models also can't display films at 24fps, which is another downside if you notice 3:2 pulldown judder.
 
Thanks Dodgexander and Sloppy Bob for pointing out the shortcomings of the Samsung 49"/50" models.
So back to the drawing board . Unfortunately cannot contemplate 55" models as 123 cm wide would not fit properly in furniture in viewing area (118cm would be OK!).
At 55" the comparative reviews I have seen rate the Samsung as the best.
 
You can go with the Samsung models if you want, just mentioning the caveats involved with a 60hz panel.

49" is small by today's standards, manufacturers care less as a whole about releasing higher tier TVs at smaller sizes.

In 2019 the Sony 49XG9005 was the standout. In 2020 that will be the 49XH9505 and LG CX OLED, but only when prices become more reasonable on those TVs as they have just been released.

If I were you I'd jump to get a Sony 49XG9005 before they sell out, and if that isn't possible, wait for 2020 stock to come down in price. Settle for less and you make too many compromises.
 
The Sony is a 49"
But not as good as the Samsung 55" AFAICS . Also as said it would take me a lot to buy a Sony branded product due to over play on historic reputation and a couple of family / friend bad experiences with this brand (also with LG). Samsung and Panasonic no problems.
 
But you don't want a 55" :facepalm:

We've given the advice you asked for. Now it's up to you to do as you wish with the information.

A Samsung at the same price as that Sony will be nowhere near as good.
 
In 2019 the Sony 49XG9005 was the standout. In 2020 that will be the 49XH9505 and LG CX OLED, but only when prices become more reasonable on those TVs as they have just been released.

If I were you I'd jump to get a Sony 49XG9005 before they sell out, and if that isn't possible, wait for 2020 stock to come down in price. Settle for less and you make too many compromises.

Thanks as said I have ruled out OLED on reading a thread on here they seem to be lacking in performance areas important to me and there seem to be some reliability problems. Also reviews say 2020 model Sony is better anyway notwithstanding my reservations regarding Sony Brand.

The furniture problem is a bespoke solid oak corner unit made by a local company. It was designed 8 years ago to accommodate a TV sitting equally across the corner between two vertical bookshelves. I am going to approach the original suppliers to see if the bookshelves can be narrowed by about 5 cm or perhaps more either side without compromising appearance to give space for a 55" TV - hopefully at reasonable cost. However SWMBO still has reservations about this size TV so have made cardboard cut out of screen and placed in position as best as possible. Must agree with her it looks massive even in our 6.5m lounge

I cannot believe that 49/50" is now considered a small size. With one exception I don't know anyone with a TV above this size. 4 sons, loads of friends etc. all ages. The exception is the local Pilates instructor who on lockdown immediately bought a 65" LG in order that she could see clients at a reasonable size in Gallery view in Zoom sessions.
 
I don't agree with it either, but its become the case that smaller sizes are neglected in the market. Its actually been a revelation this year that LG have started producing 48" OLEDs, because its the first time in a few years there's been a high end TV available at sub 55".

Sony do generally tend to overprice their TVs but things can differ at different sizes, and also the time of year you buy a TV. There's not really such thing as bad TV, only a bad price. The XG9005 is very good value for money right now when you consider the current price of the new XH9505 that replaces it. Sony TVs are poorer value in the low end of the market, and in the highest end, but not so bad inbetween.

Panasonic TVs are the new overpriced kings, but again only certain models. The GX800 could have been a great TV in 2019 if it wasn't priced ridiculously.
 
It is normal, that smaller sizes are neglected. Making bigger and bigger TV's are getting cheaper so in the end, 55 inch panel doesn't cost much more than 43. Now even 65 inch ones are getting realy cheap.
 
Hello again. So pending visit from furniture maker I start looking at 55" TV's. Am I right that to get the non reflective screen on Samsung QLED I have to go to the Q90? If so this is now pushing my budget - aargh!. So do any other make of TV have this feature? If so what specific models do at 55. Or better still is there a 49/50" model with this feature?
TIA
H
 
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The Samsung Q85T and up come with the better anti reflective coating. That TV starts at 55" and over.

So again, something they neglect on smaller TVs.

It would be unwise to buy a 2020 model right now due to heightened prices. Since the 2019 models from Samsung with better anti glare have all sold out bar maybe the Q90R, it would be wise to either purchase the Q90R now, or wait for the new 'T' model suffix Samsung's to come down in price.

Samsung' models that come with their moth-eye filter tech are the very best at fighting glare, but if you are limited to 49" the Sony anti reflective coating on the 49XG9005 isn't bad and certainly more than good enough for most people.

QLED is just Samsung's naming for their higher end LCD TVs btw, its not a new display technology like OLED.
 
Thanks again Dodge

Very aware of difference between OLED and QLED and have eliminated OLED. However thought that QLED screens incorporated enhancing layering unique to Samsung. . The three parameters that are important to me are non reflective layer, improved viewing angles with a VA panel., and brightness/contrast in high ambient lighting environment. Since these parameters do not appear to be available in 49/50 and only on top of range 55" models , where do I go from here? What other make supplies these capabilities preferably at 49/50?

Please advise

H
 
QLED is just their name for how the TVs display colours. Its not exclusive to Samsung and is now used by TCL and Hisense too. Other LCD TV manufacturers have their own technology to achieve the same thing..LG Nanocell..Sony Triluminous etc

So yeah, its a new tech, but all QLED stands for is Quantum Dot (the tech to display colours high end Samsung's use)
L light
E emitting
D diode

Its not a new display tech, and something Samsung have used even on their KS range of TVs back in 2016 (before they decided to market them 'QLED').

Anyway, I'm not saying this because I'm particularly anti Samsung. I'm just saying it because people believe that QLED is a true alternative to OLED..and that its a rival tech. Its not. They are still just LCD TVs and suffer from the same pros and cons always associated with LCD TVs. That is why they are dropping out of LCD TV production this year and developing instead their own OLEDs using their Quantum tech.

But that doesn't help you really, its just another rant of mine. The truth is you can't really find everything you want on a TV that is sub 55" because all the features you want together are only available on larger sizes.

Even the new Sony 49XH9505 which comes with their wide viewing angle filter at larger sizes does not include it on the 49" size.

In my opinion the best compromise you can make is with the Sony 49XG9005 mentioned already. I'd buy this if you need to buy right now. The new 49XH9505 will be a slight improvement if you are willing to buy at a later time when prices come down.

On the Samsung front because their 2019 models have already sold out your choice is to wait for the price for the Q80T to come down and opt for that model. Its a 60hz panel vs 120hz on the Sony and doesn't come with an anti glare coating as good as the Sony's either (despite the Sony's missing the superior wide viewing angle filter).

Those options are the best you'll find, but don't have wide viewing angles at 49". If viewing angles are more important than HDR picture quality, you should look at LGs LCD TVs instead.

If performance in the brightest conditions is the least important priority compared to viewing angles and HDR then you should consider going for one of the new 48" OLEDs when their prices come down.
 

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