What should I buy in a 65" for viewing SD & HD TV

[HullGuy2022]

Hi guys, my first thread so please go easy.

I am looking for a 65" TV to replace my 55" Sony 9005F from circa 2019. I was extremely happy with the Sony and any replacement needs to be as good or better. The image quality was superb and was fine with standard settings out of the box.

I have recently purchased a Samsung QN94A which was received damaged and agreed a return with the retailer. It is nice and I can't really fault the picture quality but I don't think it upscales / processes the image as well as my Sony. In comparison with my Sony I can't say it's an improvement over the image on screen in HD but is better on SD. The QN94 is a flagship TV but possibly aimed for you guys who are into gaming and watching 4k content but I do very little of those. I can't fault the 4k content on the QN94.

The QN94 is to be returned and I have an option of exchange if they have one or refund. The retailer I purchased from has flash deals on some Samsung models which is how I bought mine and not too sure if some of these TV's are cheap for a reason and there's a little reluctantance to do an exchange. It appears strange that the retailer reduces the price and it goes out of stock and then next day it's back at full price and they have stock.

So what should I buy. I did think about the Sony XJ90 but one review I read said it was a downgrade from my previous Sony and it only scores 59% on Which magazine. They basically said it's not a good TV which I find surprising. Viewing that TV in Currys I actually thought the XJ89 had a nicer picture. My other option is an LG NANO916PA which scores extremely high on Which and better than my QN94. My neighbour has the 816 and image is very good on both SD and HD channels. For a little more I could push to the OLED A1 or B1 when the B1 prices start to fall. I did like the Samsung Q80A but I actually bought my 94A for less than most outlets are asking for the Q80A.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[mitch]

I’m very happy with my X90J and it reviews pretty well including Rtings

Sony X90J Review (XR50X90J, XR55X90J, XR65X90J, XR75X90J)

The Sony X90J is an upper mid-range 4k LED TV. It's part of Sony's 2021 BRAVIA lineup, sitting below the Sony X95J, and it has many of the same features as the h...

www.rtings.com

 

[HullGuy2022]

I’m very happy with my X90J and it reviews pretty well including Rtings

Sony X90J Review (XR50X90J, XR55X90J, XR65X90J, XR75X90J)

The Sony X90J is an upper mid-range 4k LED TV. It's part of Sony's 2021 BRAVIA lineup, sitting below the Sony X95J, and it has many of the same features as the h...

www.rtings.com

Yes I read that review. Strange how the Which review slated it. I will see if my local Richer Sounds has it as you can view their TV's with standard and HD broadcasts and they don't mind you taking in some recorded material of your own.

 

[HullGuy2022]

I’m very happy with my X90J and it reviews pretty well including Rtings

Sony X90J Review (XR50X90J, XR55X90J, XR65X90J, XR75X90J)

The Sony X90J is an upper mid-range 4k LED TV. It's part of Sony's 2021 BRAVIA lineup, sitting below the Sony X95J, and it has many of the same features as the h...

www.rtings.com

8.2 is a pretty good rating to be fair. My 9005 was 7.9.

I called Richer Sounds today and spoke to one of their tech guys. He told me for the best viewing in SD and HD I need to buy a Sony or Panasonic. He said Sony are the best for watching SD and HD content in my budget. I have removed the QN94A, boxed it back up and put my 55" Sony back in and am looking at the TV thinking wow, that's a nice image. Maybe I got a bad TV with the Samsung but with a £1,899 retail price none of them should be bad. I am going to record some SD and HD footage and see if Currys will let me play it back on the X90J they have in store.

 

[Dodgexander]

Samsung and Sony both have best in class upscaling with dedicated picture processors in their high end TVs. Likely what you notice is the imperfections in poorer quality material due to an increase in size rather than the upscaling itself.

There are small differences in how each manufacturer upscales, Samsung tend to give a sharper end product, Sony a bit more natural.

The reason I mention this really is because you just aren't going to beat the QN94A/QN95A for a good all-round TV. Sony's X95J is an alternative, but its not quite in the same class. The X90J even worse again.

But if you're not interested so much in 4k HDR content then you don't need more than the X90J, and it may be an option to save some money and keep a good picture processor.

 

[HullGuy2022]

Your comments are very much appreciated @Dodgexander . The QN94 has gone back now and the retailer did call me and ask if I wanted another one but I decided not to. I note what you said about imperfections seen due to the larger screen but i sit about 4m from the TV so I would have thought any imperfections due to the larger screen would disappear at that distance.

I tried a lot of different settings on this TV both from rtings.com, here, Hotdeals etc. I couldn't seem to find any setting which I was happy with and when changing channels, what seemed ok on one channel wasn't on another. Reading some purchaser reviews it would seem I am not the only one to see this. I know the bit rate of whatever the programme has been recorded in can affect this but the last thing I wanted to do was send this TV back and was trying for about a week to really enjoy the TV and testing it in different programmes and different channels. Judder was a bit of an issue too, something I haven't seen on a TV in a lot of years, apart from when I had a faulty sky Q box before reverting back to HD. Exactly the same fault tbh on slow panning where it seems to skip a frame.

A chat with the retailer on Wednesday concluded that there was perhaps something wrong with the tv. Certainly the lip sync issue was a problem on a TV that didn't like my sky box audio set to Dolby D which my Sony is fine with. The QN94 was a lot better when this was set to normal.

I don't doubt the TVs abilities but the set I had seemed to fall a little short and do wonder if it was £300 cheaper for a reason. Such a shame as I had set my heart on this TV after reading all the reviews.

 

[Dodgexander]

If you are watching TV through a Sky Q box then in all likelihood you won't be using any of the TVs picture processing for upscaling, instead using Sky's.

Sky Q UHD capable boxes will normally be set to output 4k, so all the TV sees is a 4k signal. You need the TV to receive the input signal of the channel to upscale itself. Even the boxes not capable of UHD will upscale and deinterlace up to 1080p.

You can control the output in the settings, but you'd have to switch it depending on what you watch. It would also change the graphics of the OSD...and I don't think Sky lets you output an SD signal, so you can never match SD TV channels signal to the TV.

4m is certainly a fair way to view from a 65" but you are still going to notice a worse picture on a 65" compared to a 55". Especially with SD or HD TV channels compared to UHD.

Motion, again differences between manufacturers. People do tend to prefer Sony but already deinterlacing at the source with the Sky box probably isn't helping the TV process the signal any better.

In an ideal world what the Sky box sends to the TV should match the input, rather than having it always output a set signal.

 

[naz1911]

I have the Samsung QE65QN94A. When I got the TV, it was OK but had a few very annoying quirks (1 of them was the built in Netflix would have to be reinstalled to play Atmos related films each time I switched my TV on).
Software updates have now resolved the Netflix issue and others as well making it a lot more stable and improved HDMI related compatibility with my Yamaha RX-V6A AV Receiver.

After a few months of owning the TV, it developed a darker area vertically on the screen. It took about 3 months to get Samsung to replace the panel (Not a replacement TV, but a repair). Now that its repaired, it looks awesome again. The quirks have mostly now been ironed out by updates.

Apart from the screen issue, i cant be happier. I haven't had issues with screen judder etc, but i cant say that I have gone to look for it.

The colour , accuracy etc. has been good for me.

If I watch Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Disney+, its usually 4K so upscaling isn't an issue for me.
All my Blu Rays are 4K as well.

On the off chance I watch something 1080p on iPlayer, that has has been good for me. Upscaling hasn't caused any real issues for me

To summarise, early days when the TV was launched, I would have said look for something else. Now, with all its software updates and at £1500 (With Samsung rebate) for a 65" I would whole heartedly recommend it.

PS, just in case if you are wondering, OLED for me is a no no. 1 word, Gaming. Screen retention / burn would really irk me if I did that to a £2k+ TV so that limited me to what I bought last year.

 

[HullGuy2022]

I am wondering if I should try another QN94. How I view TV may change at the end of the year as I am thinking of kicking sky in to touch for good. I couldn't fault the QN94 for downloadable content, just watching terrestrial TV. It was damaged anyway so it had to go back. Maybe I will feel happier with another one.

Altering the video output of the sky HD box didn't seem to make any difference to the issues I was having or viewing TV channels via aerial apart from lip sync which was ok on aerial. Perhaps with more time I could have made it work for me.

The only thing that concerns me about accepting another QN94 is the retailer has flash sales on some Samsung TV's which may last anything from a few hours until until his stock runs out and then it appears the next day back at full price again and showing stock. Now whilst I understand sellers can advertise TVs at any price they want to, what I can't understand is why there appears to be a sale which runs for a short period, then no stock and then back in stock at full price a short time later. Are Samsung grading their TV's so a perfect one sells at full price whilst ones which are not perfect are sold to smaller retailers who sell them at a discount hoping people won't know there is something wrong, or happy to have paid £390 less than they would have done in Currys or John Lewis.

This is perhaps a conspiracy theory but then why would the seller want to collect a damaged TV and then not be able to offer a replacement for 7 to 10 days when they offer next day delivery on new TV's. I guess they would need time to check the faults but surely they would just send it back to Samsung. If I bought one from Currys and it was faulty they would just swap it over, I am sure. I just can't get my head around it. It was discussed on this forum about some Samsung TVs sold through outlets where further discounts are applied, having a yellow sticker on the screen protector. This may just be hype but mine had the yellow sticker, about 50mm long and i do wonder if it was cheaper for a reason.

 

[hdbox]

I don't know if it's a conspiracy, but I'm convinced that returned TVs with small defects, such as a dead pixel, do not reach the service, but are repackaged and offered again as new. How many people would know a dead pixel at 65“ or a larger panel? Only like us, who are persistently looking for defects. Ordinary people who want to put the TV on the line and start watching TV shows will never know about this problem.

 

[HullGuy2022]

It does make me wonder. I have been checking prices since Christmas. Saw a deal on a LG B1 which I nearly went for but apart from that all the deals I have seen since then have been Samsung and only with a handful of small retailers, about 3 or 4. I am only looking at 65" so can't comment on any of the other sizes.

It started with the Q80A at £999. It's £1,299 in Currys and no cashback offer. Then I saw the QN95 which was £1,580 less £300 cashback, then the QN90 at £1,499 less £300 cashback and then the QN94 which I bought at £1,509 less £300 cashback so I will pay or would have paid £1,209. There were 2 other retailers advertising the QN94 for the same price as I paid, actually was a little less but they were awaiting stock.

My TV came in a sealed box but bezel was damaged and it had scratches on the rear of the panel. Not what you would expect with a new TV and wondering what that yellow sticker is. I will take a picture of it and perhaps Dodgexander may know. If it drops a little in price with Currys I will buy from there just to be certain I am not buying a second.

 

[hdbox]

I say why I think what I mentioned in my comment above.
About 10 days ago, I bought a QN95 from the largest dealer in Eastern Europe. When I placed the order, the last 3 pieces were available on the page, and the price was unrivaled. After I placed the order, almost immediately on the site they changed the status to - out of stock. The TV arrived, everything looked like new except for the box that connects to the TV, it was not wrapped in foil, as it is in the standard, and there were fingerprints. The panel itself had a dead pixel. So I put the TV back in the box and put it back. A few days later, I saw that the merchant had approved the return and transferred the money back to my account, but at the same time, availability appeared on the store's page again, the last piece (interesting coincidence) just as they approved my return, reappeared availability of one piece...

 

[HullGuy2022]

Against my better judgement I have requested a replacement QN94. The retailer tells me their TV's come direct from Samsung and I still have this thought in the back of my head that the retailer can offer the discounts they do at certain times as Samsung have TVs designated to go a cheaper outlet route, for whatever the reason.

The TV arrives tomorrow and will run the TV side by side my 3 year old Sony and see how it compares to a TV that was half the cost and 3 years old. My only concern is a couple of people have already told me the QN94 doesn't have good motion handling. We shall see.

 

[hdbox]

If you choose the right mode and make the settings relatively well, you will not find another LED TV with a better picture than Samsung.

 

[HullGuy2022]

Ако изберете правилния режим и направите настройките относително добре, няма да намерите друг LED телевизор с по-добра картина от Samsung. Translates as: If you choose the right mode and make the settings relatively well, you will not find another LED TV with a better picture than Samsung

That is very supportive, thank you.