You've heard this one before gaming

Spatt

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I've looked through the threads and some seam to be out of date or not quite to my requirements so i'll cut to the chase;

I'm looking to replace my main living room TV. I have restricted TV size to a max 49inch due to the surround the TV will "live" (this should makes things easy right??)

TV to be used for gaming (PS4 / PC stream) and watching movies. I'd also like to link my android phone for youtube as i watch a fair bit on that. My friends Panasonic allows him to lock his phone while watching something i guess its an app or something (i don't have a tv with that feature so i dont know)

Brands ive looked at are Sony (though some research tells me this can be a minefield as the screens are all different specs)

or Panasonic

Thanks,

Matt
 
Max budget? What are you currently using? How far away will you be viewing? How much importance do you place on HDR performance, eg will you be using PS4 pro with HDR games?

Optimal distance from a 49" UHD TV is around 1m.
 
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All brands made a wide range of different TV qualities so don't let you put that off Sony. You really have to be looking at model rather than brand whatever you buy.

The best 49/50" TVs on the market as the Sony XE90 and the Samsung Q7, followed by the Panasonic EX750 if HDR isn't a big priority.
 
Hey guys, thanks for the replies, i guess it makes sense they do a range..

I've been looking on Richer Sounds website at a couple of tvs and i dont understand for the life of me why they are priced the way they are?

for example;

Sony KDL49WE663 is £579
Sony KDL49WE753 is £599

is there much between these two?

Panasonic TX49ES500B is £599

these are the three ive looked at ive been told they are the best for my buget (which is 600 - 700 max)

I'm thinking if i dont get 4k i'll get a good LED tv or is that rubbish? I dont want 4K as i wont use it, personally i think its a bit of a gimick, however, if the 4K screens are better would i be safer buying a 4k screen and will it have the "smart" features... so many options haha!
 
The letters before the size are manufacturer specific codes that can vary by region, they don't contain any important information.

The characters immediately after the size are the model of the TV. How long this is varies by manufacturer but typically 4-5 characters. The Sony models you've listed are the WE66 and WE75 while the Panasonic is the ES500.

Finally, there are often extra characters on the end denoting minor changes. The last number on the Sony model is the colour of the stand/frame while the B on the end of the Panasonic signifies a British TV (e.g. UK plug).

You can't tell the difference between models from their model numbers and manufacturers often aren't very helpful so you generally have to use a combination of looking at them and reviews. TVs ranges tend to get sent out for review from top to bottom so at this time of year there aren't many reviews of lower end models.

I'm thinking if i dont get 4k i'll get a good LED tv or is that rubbish? I dont want 4K as i wont use it, personally i think its a bit of a gimick, however, if the 4K screens are better would i be safer buying a 4k screen and will it have the "smart" features... so many options haha!

All TVs except OLEDs are LED backlit, CCFL is long dead (and there was never any difference to picture quality anyway). 4K has exactly the same backlights, smart TV systems and so on. Nothing except the resolution has changed.

Full HD does have a couple of technical advantages but unfortunately TV manufacturers are only producing low end sets with that resolution these days. You will likely find that mid-range 4K sets offer picture quality advantages in some areas because of that

these are the three ive looked at ive been told they are the best for my buget (which is 600 - 700 max)

Are you in any hurry to buy? If not then you can expect prices to drop by about £150 over the next four months which will bring some better TV sets into budget.

I'd probably go for a Panasonic EX700 or Sony XE80, but they're currently sitting at about £750, although I'd expect both to hit £650. Last years models, the DX700 and XD80 are very similar but are largely out of stock now.
 
Thanks buddy! that actually really helps with the codes (it make more sense now) haha its more obvious now what i'm looking at it,

thanks for recommending the later models, i'll keep an eye on their prices as i'm not in a rush to buy.

I have an old plasma 42inch that serves its purpose just fine, but its not smart so i can't easily hook my phone up or use certain apps (though i can use the PS4) and its kind of dated...

thanks again for the helpful information

Also,

regarding the XE80 you mention above.... Sony do the XE70 (presumably this is slightly older and will have less features)
 
regarding the XE80 you mention above.... Sony do the XE70 (presumably this is slightly older and will have less features)

No, the second letter signifies the year for Sony models so it's a 2017 model like the XE80. The XD70 and XD80 would be last year's models. The year before that has a slightly different model name format so it was the X80C.

All of the manufacturers do include the year in the model names. For Sony & LG it's the second character. For Panasonic, Samsung and Hisense it's the first and for Philips it's the last digit (e.g. PUS6501). They're not consistent between manufacturers though. So Sony and Panasonic have E for 2017, LG has J, Samsung has M, Hisense has N and Philips (will) have the number 2.

The XE70 is further down the range, so it drops various things. Again, I haven't seen any tests on it yet so I only know the published differences like the removal of Android TV in favour of a more basic smart platform.

Last year's XD70 compared to the XD80 was dimmer, dropped the wide colour gamut that can be used by HDR content and has inferior speakers. It also dropped some small features like voice control.

Expect similar changes this year, possibly larger ones as the XE70 is likely to be more of a budget TV than the XD70 was as 4K continues to move down the range.

I've found FlatpanelHD's overview articles to be useful:
Overview articles - FlatpanelsHD - Guide to TVs, media streamers & monitors
 
Why are you looking to upgrade? What model plasma do you own?

Looking to upgrade within your budget will be a downgrade for most Plasma TVs. The only difference will be the bigger screen size.

If you want a comparable and worthwhile upgrade I would look to spend at least enough money on a TV like the Sony XE90xx. But as already said, don't buy now, wait for prices to drop in the future.

If you want smart tv, just buy a smart tv box like a fire tv or chromecast or similar. There still isn't fantastic smart tv now. Its still better to use a separate platform even when you buy a smart tv today.
 
Reason for upgrade, i guess i just think my tv is dated. I cant tell you the model though unfortunately.

I really wish i could get my head around all this, you would think that buying a TV in 2017 would get you a better TV than 2015 or 2016.... but i guess if manufacturers remove features its going to be a minefield. I'm pretty sure if i got a 4K tv regardless of how high in the range it was that i would be happy.

I'm going to wait until nearer to Christmas until i buy. If i can afford to buy the XE90 at that point i'll go for that. The TV is 1249 on Richer Sounds right now and theres no way i can afford it. For someone like me the "quality" may not be noticeable anyway. I just want to play my PS4 version of last of us and say "hey them blacks look pretty good" haha! (sorry)
 
If you have not read through other threads; you can get a better deal on 2016 spec TV's are the ones that are still with retailers are being fazed out for the 2017 models

you could try looking for the 50DX750b on their eBay store panasonic_outlet | eBay

If you look in the completed section, you will find that they have been selling at £530, which isn't too bad, as their launch price was around £1200

Also if you are sporting a plasma TV, you should already be experiencing good black levels :)

A 4K TV will not make PS4 games "look better" on a 4K TV unless you get one with HDR. As the PS4 is only 1080p max resolution. Unless you have a PS4 Pro that is

If you plumped for the DX750, then you could subscribe to Amazon and Netflix and experience both in 4K and HDR. You can also watch YouTube in 4K; but not with HDR, as none of the 2016 4K Panasonic TV has the hardware to decode this
 
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woah you've thrown a big spanner in my works now haha ! I didn't realise you could buy a panasonic tv from ebay direct from panasonic!

theres a TX-50EX750B on the ebay page for 899... I have no idea if the "EX" is better than the "DX"? Man i'm so crap at this, i dont know how people choose haha!

Yeh i'll post up what the model of my plasma is, i thought originally it was an LCD but ive been told its a plasma, also, if i pause for a time it leaves a "ghost" on the screen (only very small then it goes away)

Also, i just want to add that personally i'm not sold on 4K and its right at the bottom of my list. I just presume i may as well get a 4K tv considering i'm buying at this time. That being said, if someone told me i could save hundreds of pounds and still get a really really good HDTV then i'd go for that.
 
I cant tell you the model though unfortunately.

It's usually printed on the back panel.

I'm pretty sure if i got a 4K tv regardless of how high in the range it was that i would be happy.

Only in the sense that it hasn't made it's way into budget TVs yet, the technology itself isn't very interesting at this size.
 
No no no please :eek:

Buying a new tv now is not necessarily going to be an upgrade.

UHD has downsides and can only be benefited from if you view twice as close to the tv optimally vs FHD.

For example, you need to view within 1m close to optimally view UHD on a 50"UHD tv.

A few other reasons why UHD isn't an upgrade:

  • UHD tv's do a worse job upscaling standard definition material. DVDs not so bad but standard tv channels and streams will look awful compared to your old tv.
  • LCDs can't deliver the same motion performance a plasma TV can. High end models have to darken the image and introduce some flicker to match plasma levels of motion. Something that often can't be done in game mode.
  • LCDs also have more motion blur than plasma, they also suffer often from LCD only traits such as dirty screen effect caused by worse screen uniformity.
  • The PS4 pro doesn't render games at UHD at full frame rate or full quality anyway. First console to do this is the new xbox, but only in certain games.
  • Black levels are still going to better in real world tests on old plasma tv's as the at similar to OLEDs in having self emitting tech.
 
Hi again, haha sorry,

found out mine is the following;



Panasonic 42PFL5522D / 0 from what i can read from the sticker on the back


a quick google and its an LCD not a plasma (not sure why i thought it was a plasma) so am i due an upgrade ?? hehe
 
Thats a Philips LCD model as far as I can tell!

If your budget is £600 the best you can probably find is the Hisense 50N6800.
 
Thats a Philips LCD model as far as I can tell!

If your budget is £600 the best you can probably find is the Hisense 50N6800.


Would stretch to 800 mark for that Sony I think.. I'm just thinking I'm best off waiting now. Probably will wait for the XE90 Sony to come down a litter and grab that.

It's all a bit over my head if I'm honest. I think it's a shame they make it so difficult to get into the tech. I'll do myself a favour and start looking into the tech a bit more between now and "blackfriday" time.... that was in should be able to make a slightly more educated decision on my new tv
 
If you can save some money and wait for the XE90 you will at least be getting a good HDR TV.

Only other option would be to look at TVs from 2016 which are decent with HDR. You can find Samsung KS series tv's in places, usually not new and the curved KS9000 and KS7500 are more common now. They are about on par with the Sony XE90 performance wise.
 
The PS4 pro doesn't render games at UHD at full frame rate or full quality anyway. First console to do this is the new xbox, but only in certain games.


A minor error here in this, the PS4 Pro can render some games at full UHD; Fifa, PES, The Last of Us, NBA 2K 17, WipeOut Omega Collection to name a few.

I know that the new Xbox is going to be more powerful
 

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