What TV Brand/Technology/Pricepoint should I purchase today?
December 31, 2019 5:40 AM Subscribe
We're finally able to upgrade from our ~8 year old, 40 inch LED LCD to something bigger and better? What make/model/retailer would you go with if you were in our shoes? Bonus points if I don't have to step foot in a store. I know that sounds crazy/bold but I tend to get flooded with options and would rather have delivery than dealing with hauling a huge TV home.
Details in case folks want them:
Setting:
Inside in a family room that has the option for blackout curtains but, otherwise has some sun coming in from two normal sized windows. Likely wall mounting it.
Viewing distance/angle:
Mostly head on, perhaps a max 30 degree offset if we pack in more folks than is going to usually be the case. I measured ~70 to 80 inches from where folks eyeballs are going to be from the TV position we have in mind.
Use Case:
Currently we have a MediaCenter PC running most of our tasks that aren't video game console related, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and whatnot. I also have a Switch and PS4 that rarely get utilized these days but hopefully will do more in the future.
Sound:
We have a decent soundbar that may or may not move over to the new TV setup but we don't mind getting another one so basically ignore sound as a criteria since we can solve that ourselves via ARC HDMI.
Questions:
1) OLED vs QLED. I think I understand the differences, namely that OLED has better blacks/less brightness but higher cost and QLED has better brightness/worse blacks but less precision and lower cost but, for a non afficionado type, is the difference really huge or is one currently beating the snot out of the other one. Longevity is a big concern so we want to avoid burn-in or fading type technology but I feel like both are pretty mature at this point...
2) Size. Given that viewing distance, and if our wallet can stomach it since our budget is likely <$2,000 USD, I think we could go up to 75 inches with a 4k display right? That seems insane to me but, well, buy once, cry once. Opinions?
3) Retailer. I am leaning towards Costco or Amazon. Costco is likely better ethically and for warranty reasons (they add years) is a decent choice I think but, well, Amazon does do some heavy lifting for us sometimes so I'm not against being evil just now and shopping with them for this bit ticket purchase.
3) Models. Specific experiences welcome, review sites are mostly just confusing me at this point and/or point to flagship models that are beyond our price point (and use case really) for sizes that we'd need.
Details in case folks want them:
Setting:
Inside in a family room that has the option for blackout curtains but, otherwise has some sun coming in from two normal sized windows. Likely wall mounting it.
Viewing distance/angle:
Mostly head on, perhaps a max 30 degree offset if we pack in more folks than is going to usually be the case. I measured ~70 to 80 inches from where folks eyeballs are going to be from the TV position we have in mind.
Use Case:
Currently we have a MediaCenter PC running most of our tasks that aren't video game console related, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and whatnot. I also have a Switch and PS4 that rarely get utilized these days but hopefully will do more in the future.
Sound:
We have a decent soundbar that may or may not move over to the new TV setup but we don't mind getting another one so basically ignore sound as a criteria since we can solve that ourselves via ARC HDMI.
Questions:
1) OLED vs QLED. I think I understand the differences, namely that OLED has better blacks/less brightness but higher cost and QLED has better brightness/worse blacks but less precision and lower cost but, for a non afficionado type, is the difference really huge or is one currently beating the snot out of the other one. Longevity is a big concern so we want to avoid burn-in or fading type technology but I feel like both are pretty mature at this point...
2) Size. Given that viewing distance, and if our wallet can stomach it since our budget is likely <$2,000 USD, I think we could go up to 75 inches with a 4k display right? That seems insane to me but, well, buy once, cry once. Opinions?
3) Retailer. I am leaning towards Costco or Amazon. Costco is likely better ethically and for warranty reasons (they add years) is a decent choice I think but, well, Amazon does do some heavy lifting for us sometimes so I'm not against being evil just now and shopping with them for this bit ticket purchase.
3) Models. Specific experiences welcome, review sites are mostly just confusing me at this point and/or point to flagship models that are beyond our price point (and use case really) for sizes that we'd need.
I know you said that review websites are confusing, but I suggest checking out rtings.com They purchase all their own tvs so they arent influenced by companies in making their reviews. They helped me min/max my most recent purchase in terms of price/performance. I went with a 65 inch Samsung that we got from amazon.
That being said I often times recommend the TCL 6 series unless you are super duper into getting the absolute best picture in the absolute best setting. Its a good quality TV, built in Roku, very user friendly and a great picture for the price.
posted by GreatValhalla at 6:42 AM on December 31, 2019 [2 favorites]
That being said I often times recommend the TCL 6 series unless you are super duper into getting the absolute best picture in the absolute best setting. Its a good quality TV, built in Roku, very user friendly and a great picture for the price.
posted by GreatValhalla at 6:42 AM on December 31, 2019 [2 favorites]
FWIW I just got a 55" LG C9 for under your budget (was ~$1400), and we sit probably closer to the 70" distance from our TV. Coming from a 42"... it is almost too big. I think if we were to watch tennis on TV we'd be moving our heads back and forth to follow the game. YMMV.
I do love the TV tho... it's wirecutter's upgrade pick, and it's beautiful. Definitely go for the blackout curtains though if you go OLED.
posted by Grither at 6:42 AM on December 31, 2019
I do love the TV tho... it's wirecutter's upgrade pick, and it's beautiful. Definitely go for the blackout curtains though if you go OLED.
posted by Grither at 6:42 AM on December 31, 2019
Response by poster: Amazing answer, lots to digest.
Notes:
Holding off until 2020 isn't an option since we've already acquired loft bed, moved daughter 1 into room with daughter 2, established no murders will occur in the dark hours of the clock in said room, moved daughter 1's old bed out of her old room and will be disposing of it shortly since it's probably 10 years+ old from when wife went off to undergrad, and have moved sectional into daughter 2's old room which is going to be the game/TV room.
My media PC option may not hold up to 4k stress test. TBD. I'm fine with using built in apps barring any huge deal breakers within said TV's ecosystem. Or I can buy a roku or whatever. I don't care.
HDMI 2.1 would be nice but see "can't wait" facts above. I honestly doubt I'll miss it on the gaming side of things. I am not a picky gamer when it comes to this sort of thing and, like you say, any upgrade from a 40 inch LED LCD from nearly a decade ago is going to be earth shattering.
posted by RolandOfEld at 6:45 AM on December 31, 2019
Notes:
Holding off until 2020 isn't an option since we've already acquired loft bed, moved daughter 1 into room with daughter 2, established no murders will occur in the dark hours of the clock in said room, moved daughter 1's old bed out of her old room and will be disposing of it shortly since it's probably 10 years+ old from when wife went off to undergrad, and have moved sectional into daughter 2's old room which is going to be the game/TV room.
My media PC option may not hold up to 4k stress test. TBD. I'm fine with using built in apps barring any huge deal breakers within said TV's ecosystem. Or I can buy a roku or whatever. I don't care.
HDMI 2.1 would be nice but see "can't wait" facts above. I honestly doubt I'll miss it on the gaming side of things. I am not a picky gamer when it comes to this sort of thing and, like you say, any upgrade from a 40 inch LED LCD from nearly a decade ago is going to be earth shattering.
posted by RolandOfEld at 6:45 AM on December 31, 2019
Response by poster: I went with a 65 inch Samsung that we got from amazon.
Leaning this way as well but two recommendations for TCL may save me some dollars since I'm less picky than many. Though future-proofing said purchase via a big brand (Samsung) Costco (killer warranty) investment is still tempting....
posted by RolandOfEld at 6:47 AM on December 31, 2019
Leaning this way as well but two recommendations for TCL may save me some dollars since I'm less picky than many. Though future-proofing said purchase via a big brand (Samsung) Costco (killer warranty) investment is still tempting....
posted by RolandOfEld at 6:47 AM on December 31, 2019
I suggest you look at a Vizio P Series Quantum, which is a really, really nice TV that you can get for in a 75" size for around 1500 bucks. It's a much nicer TV than the TCL 6 series. I have 2018 TCL 6 55" 4K TV and a 2018 Vizio P 65" and the Vizio blows the TCL out of the water for maybe 10-15% more cost. The TCL is an OK TV and 4K looks great, but 1080p and any other non-4k content looks muddy. I'll disagree with nobeagle and say I really dislike the FALD on the TCL (I don't love it on the Vizio either, but its better), it blooms like anything especially in dark scenes - and if you watch any TV channel that puts it's logo in the corner, you essentially get a permanent bloom.
If you want to splurge and hit right at the edge of your budget, take a look at the Vizio Quantum PX, gets great reviews on RTings.
posted by Fidel Cashflow at 6:58 AM on December 31, 2019
If you want to splurge and hit right at the edge of your budget, take a look at the Vizio Quantum PX, gets great reviews on RTings.
posted by Fidel Cashflow at 6:58 AM on December 31, 2019
Just a note the TCL's with Roku are great, but the way a lot of these TVs are subsidizing their costs are by sending boatloads of viewing data back to their ad tracking services (Vizio in particular). If you get the TCL and use the embedded Roku you don't have an option to disable the internet on it which prevents this tracking as with other TVs. They might have a separate option for disabling the tracking it but I'm not sure.
Just a point of interest If this kind of tracking doesn't bother you then it's not a big deal.
posted by bitdamaged at 7:16 AM on December 31, 2019
Just a point of interest If this kind of tracking doesn't bother you then it's not a big deal.
posted by bitdamaged at 7:16 AM on December 31, 2019
If you get the TCL and use the embedded Roku you don't have an option to disable the internet on it which prevents this tracking as with other TVs. They might have a separate option for disabling the tracking it but I'm not sure.
You can absolutely disable ACR (Automatic Content Recognition, the 'tracking' tech) on any smart TV, it's just typically buried in a menu somewhere. Both Vizio and Roku-based TVs are trivial to disable ACR on.
posted by Fidel Cashflow at 7:37 AM on December 31, 2019
You can absolutely disable ACR (Automatic Content Recognition, the 'tracking' tech) on any smart TV, it's just typically buried in a menu somewhere. Both Vizio and Roku-based TVs are trivial to disable ACR on.
posted by Fidel Cashflow at 7:37 AM on December 31, 2019
We have a Sony Bravia 65" X750 that we picked up from Costco a month ago or so, but it looks like this model may already be discontinued. It was ~$750, but given the image quality from other TVs, I thought this was worth it. We watch it in an open living room, and don't have trouble seeing it even when the blinds are open.
The one benefit of going in-person was being able to compare the visuals in-store, to see what you got for each price. Also, I find Costco less overwhelming than other stores for TV shopping, because 1) the selection is right up front, so you don't have to wander through the store to find the TVs, and 2) we could stare at TVs for a few minutes and see what you'd get for the quality of each.
Netflix, Hulu and Disney+ work well from within the TV, but Amazon Prime is glitchy at the moment, so we routed through a PC for that. Just be sure to set up HDR with the PC, or the visuals may look a bit washed out compared to everything else on your TV.
Built-in sound is pretty good, and we have external speakers. Sometimes we have to re-direct the sound feed when changing inputs, but it's just a small thing.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:13 AM on December 31, 2019
The one benefit of going in-person was being able to compare the visuals in-store, to see what you got for each price. Also, I find Costco less overwhelming than other stores for TV shopping, because 1) the selection is right up front, so you don't have to wander through the store to find the TVs, and 2) we could stare at TVs for a few minutes and see what you'd get for the quality of each.
Netflix, Hulu and Disney+ work well from within the TV, but Amazon Prime is glitchy at the moment, so we routed through a PC for that. Just be sure to set up HDR with the PC, or the visuals may look a bit washed out compared to everything else on your TV.
Built-in sound is pretty good, and we have external speakers. Sometimes we have to re-direct the sound feed when changing inputs, but it's just a small thing.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:13 AM on December 31, 2019
We just bought the OLED from costco and I think the price premium is worth it. The blacks aren't black they're just off. So letterboxes for movies just become part of the bezel of the TV instead of bezel -> letterbox -> image. That sounds like nothing but it feels so much cleaner and more immersive. If you watch movies a lot I think it's totally worth it. I havent been mad at the on tv apps yet either.
posted by Uncle at 10:31 AM on December 31, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Uncle at 10:31 AM on December 31, 2019 [2 favorites]
We just bought the LG 55" 4k C9 OLED from Costco for about &1500. The picture is amazing! It's got a huge viewing angle, and the screen is plenty bright enough with incredible details in the dark parts of the image. According to the review sites burn-in isn't a problem unless you leave it on the same news channel for days.
We had it on during a party, and all of our guests were drooling over the picture quality. Highly recommended!
posted by monotreme at 11:57 AM on December 31, 2019
We had it on during a party, and all of our guests were drooling over the picture quality. Highly recommended!
posted by monotreme at 11:57 AM on December 31, 2019
I would get the biggest LG OLED set you can afford. The C9 mentioned twice above is probably a good choice. It is gorgeous, and doubly so in a dark room. The LG screens are so good that Hollywood post-production houses routinely use them as client displays for editorial and color grading sessions. I have a B6 from a few years ago and I still marvel at the fact that I have a picture this good in my living room. Just make sure you turn off the vast majority of image processing options.
I do play a lot of video games — just completed DEATH STRANDING, for instance — and have seen no evidence whatsoever of burn-in, and the TV has an automatic dimmer and screen saver that kick in if you leave a freeze frame up for more than a few minutes anyway.
posted by Mothlight at 6:03 PM on December 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
I do play a lot of video games — just completed DEATH STRANDING, for instance — and have seen no evidence whatsoever of burn-in, and the TV has an automatic dimmer and screen saver that kick in if you leave a freeze frame up for more than a few minutes anyway.
posted by Mothlight at 6:03 PM on December 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
Unlike lots here, I would skip the LG brand. Mine only lasted 4 years, it's number of ports was way more limited and crappy (like the only audio output was via that stupid useless optical standard, which failed in less than 2 years) and it burned in like a mother when we were out of town and the cat sitter left it on for 2 days. It also suffered horrible motion blur (look up Austin City Limits --> St Vincent episode to see if your tv can handle it - I've never seen anything better to really test for it).
Sony also drives me crazy with their 'smoothing' or whatever you call it that makes cheap shows look they were shot on cardboard soundstages even though the picture is great on most things.
I have a Vizio now and a couple of TCLs that were cheapo black friday deals and they are fine for backup tvs, but they aren't in the $2000 range, but everything else about them is great- number of ports, ease of configuration, etc. My Vizio does fail at motion blur pretty regularly, but it was only like $800 and I like the picture and 'smart options' way better than LG. Maybe LGs are better now, but the times I've considered them they had the same drawbacks.
You really do have to go in person and see the tv and make sure it will fit your needs.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:44 PM on December 31, 2019
Sony also drives me crazy with their 'smoothing' or whatever you call it that makes cheap shows look they were shot on cardboard soundstages even though the picture is great on most things.
I have a Vizio now and a couple of TCLs that were cheapo black friday deals and they are fine for backup tvs, but they aren't in the $2000 range, but everything else about them is great- number of ports, ease of configuration, etc. My Vizio does fail at motion blur pretty regularly, but it was only like $800 and I like the picture and 'smart options' way better than LG. Maybe LGs are better now, but the times I've considered them they had the same drawbacks.
You really do have to go in person and see the tv and make sure it will fit your needs.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:44 PM on December 31, 2019
In 2015 we bought an 85" JVC from Costco, sight unseen. At the time, it wasn't much more expensive than the 75" screens we looked at in stores. We had no idea how much larger 85" is than 75". Our living room is quite wide, and we sit about 12' away from the screen. Not a day goes by that we don't look at this thing and say, "Wow, what a great television." I don't have the model number handy, and it would be five years old anyway, but our TV has no smart functions. It came with a Hulu stick, but we use it with a TiVo box to access Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, etc.
Costco concierge service was a lifesaver for us. The concierge connected us with Comcast and Tivo in a four-way call to resolve all our set-up issues.
posted by Joleta at 8:13 PM on December 31, 2019
Costco concierge service was a lifesaver for us. The concierge connected us with Comcast and Tivo in a four-way call to resolve all our set-up issues.
posted by Joleta at 8:13 PM on December 31, 2019
Just wanted to pop back in to clarify my LG OLED recommendation above. If I were getting a TV today, I would order the 55-inch LG C9 from Amazon.com without hesitation. That will set you back $1,600. If you really want a bigger TV, I guess that’s a deal-breaker because the 65-inch version will run more than $2,000.
The reason for my recommendation is purely picture quality. These are the sets that the Wachowskis used to color-grade and QC their show Sense 8 for Netflix. Post-production facilities use them to show clients how the colorist is manipulating the look of their films or TV commercials because they’re the next best thing to true reference monitors that run $35,000. When everyone was moaning about how dark that one episode of Game of Thrones was last year, I just had to shrug since our group thought the broadcast looked pretty good — and when I called up the stream on HBO Go to double-check, it was even better. I’ll bet the Blu-ray is gorgeous since it hasn’t been compressed to death, but the LG set did a really good job with a notoriously difficult picture.
But if you don’t care so much about picture quality, you can ignore this. There is a lot to be said for a 75-inch screen, after all! I do not think going to see a screen in person is particularly helpful unless you’re confident that the lighting in the showroom is similar to the lighting in your house, and that the vendor has disabled (or will allow you to disable) the various image-killing “features” that are turned on when the TV comes out of the box. (That image-smoothing algorithm that The_Vegetables complains about above, for example, is just an image-processing option that should be turned off as soon as the TV is set up.) Most TV screens look unspeakably garish on the wall at Best Buy because every manufacturer is trying to tweak the picture to fool you into thinking it looks better than the one next to it with too-bright picture settings, overly saturated colors, etc.
As far as the LG-specific complaints above, the C9 definitely outputs audio over HDMI if you need that feature. My older B6 has plenty of ports for my needs, though I do run most components through an AV receiver on the way to the TV so make sure you count. If you’re concerned about burn-in, I’d make sure you use the auto-power-off settings so that it’s impossible for the babysitter to leave the TV turned on for days. I have had no trouble.
posted by Mothlight at 8:20 AM on January 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
The reason for my recommendation is purely picture quality. These are the sets that the Wachowskis used to color-grade and QC their show Sense 8 for Netflix. Post-production facilities use them to show clients how the colorist is manipulating the look of their films or TV commercials because they’re the next best thing to true reference monitors that run $35,000. When everyone was moaning about how dark that one episode of Game of Thrones was last year, I just had to shrug since our group thought the broadcast looked pretty good — and when I called up the stream on HBO Go to double-check, it was even better. I’ll bet the Blu-ray is gorgeous since it hasn’t been compressed to death, but the LG set did a really good job with a notoriously difficult picture.
But if you don’t care so much about picture quality, you can ignore this. There is a lot to be said for a 75-inch screen, after all! I do not think going to see a screen in person is particularly helpful unless you’re confident that the lighting in the showroom is similar to the lighting in your house, and that the vendor has disabled (or will allow you to disable) the various image-killing “features” that are turned on when the TV comes out of the box. (That image-smoothing algorithm that The_Vegetables complains about above, for example, is just an image-processing option that should be turned off as soon as the TV is set up.) Most TV screens look unspeakably garish on the wall at Best Buy because every manufacturer is trying to tweak the picture to fool you into thinking it looks better than the one next to it with too-bright picture settings, overly saturated colors, etc.
As far as the LG-specific complaints above, the C9 definitely outputs audio over HDMI if you need that feature. My older B6 has plenty of ports for my needs, though I do run most components through an AV receiver on the way to the TV so make sure you count. If you’re concerned about burn-in, I’d make sure you use the auto-power-off settings so that it’s impossible for the babysitter to leave the TV turned on for days. I have had no trouble.
posted by Mothlight at 8:20 AM on January 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Our LG C8 is fantastic most of the time but suffers in bright light more than I thought it would. I knew this would be an issue from the reviews, but I underestimated how strong the effect would be. Other than that, though... man, I love this TV. The picture is perfect. The HDMI stuff (CEC/control and audio sending to receiver for OTA TV content) just works right, which is always pleasing. The UI is fine when we need to use it, but ours isn't networked and we use a NVidia Shield 99% of the time. I'm told the speakers are weak but we have a separate speaker system, so I don't know how bad it really is. It would have been nice to have the newer C9 with HDMI 2.1, but nothing else in our system has that so it wouldn't actually have mattered.
I probably should have looked harder at higher-end LCD options given how bothersome the glare and reflections can be... but I'd probably still make the same choice again. The picture is just that good. The LCD options are much, much cheaper, but we are size limited to 55-60", so splurging on a 55" OLED was possible for us. At 75" or 85"... no way could we have afforded OLED.
Oh, and the next few weeks are the time to buy: the best TV deals are always around Black Friday and before the Super Bowl. So if you don't buy soon, be prepared to pay up or wait a while.
posted by GSV The Structure of Our Preferred Counterfactuals at 12:36 AM on January 2, 2020
I probably should have looked harder at higher-end LCD options given how bothersome the glare and reflections can be... but I'd probably still make the same choice again. The picture is just that good. The LCD options are much, much cheaper, but we are size limited to 55-60", so splurging on a 55" OLED was possible for us. At 75" or 85"... no way could we have afforded OLED.
Oh, and the next few weeks are the time to buy: the best TV deals are always around Black Friday and before the Super Bowl. So if you don't buy soon, be prepared to pay up or wait a while.
posted by GSV The Structure of Our Preferred Counterfactuals at 12:36 AM on January 2, 2020
2nding RTings to help you pick, they are rigorous and even though I didn't necessarily use the settings they tested with or prioritize the same things, they put everything on an even playing field for comparison and have a lot of good data.
I bought my Sony 48" W600B which was one of their secondary recommendations in 2015 and have been very happy with it.
OLED looks great but I'm still not convinced the lifespan is where typical IPS/VA panels are yet. Depending on how long you plan on having this TV I would consider sticking with the tried and true, although the upsides to OLED in terms of deep blacks and viewing angles are unmatchable outside of the old power-hungry plasmas.
I also had a poor experience with my previous LG TV (developed a stripe down the middle about 18 months in) although it was a lower-end model than most being discussed here. In general those types of "right around warranty-end" problems have plagued many of my LG purchases over the years.
In my professional life I've tested a lot of professional signage displays so I have some thoughts there in regard to features, documentation, and support across brands that only applies partially to consumer-side stuff.
There are concerns besides just the image quality and reliability. Are the menus good? Do they have in-menu ads? Personally not a fan of LG's newer "ribbon" menu style that hides all the useful picture settings and has ad content in menus.
Based on my good experiences with Sony and the non-picture related downsides of LG if I was dealing with your price range and size preference I'd go with the Sony XBR75X900F: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078H2DWZS
If you do go the LG route I highly suggest you purchase at Costco or on a credit card that offers generous warranty extension. Keep in mind no matter the brand, they are frequently sold under slightly different model #s to avoid price matching at other retailers. My Sony 48W600B was also sold as the 48W580B and 48W590B, for example.
posted by JauntyFedora at 1:50 AM on January 2, 2020
I bought my Sony 48" W600B which was one of their secondary recommendations in 2015 and have been very happy with it.
OLED looks great but I'm still not convinced the lifespan is where typical IPS/VA panels are yet. Depending on how long you plan on having this TV I would consider sticking with the tried and true, although the upsides to OLED in terms of deep blacks and viewing angles are unmatchable outside of the old power-hungry plasmas.
I also had a poor experience with my previous LG TV (developed a stripe down the middle about 18 months in) although it was a lower-end model than most being discussed here. In general those types of "right around warranty-end" problems have plagued many of my LG purchases over the years.
In my professional life I've tested a lot of professional signage displays so I have some thoughts there in regard to features, documentation, and support across brands that only applies partially to consumer-side stuff.
There are concerns besides just the image quality and reliability. Are the menus good? Do they have in-menu ads? Personally not a fan of LG's newer "ribbon" menu style that hides all the useful picture settings and has ad content in menus.
Based on my good experiences with Sony and the non-picture related downsides of LG if I was dealing with your price range and size preference I'd go with the Sony XBR75X900F: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078H2DWZS
If you do go the LG route I highly suggest you purchase at Costco or on a credit card that offers generous warranty extension. Keep in mind no matter the brand, they are frequently sold under slightly different model #s to avoid price matching at other retailers. My Sony 48W600B was also sold as the 48W580B and 48W590B, for example.
posted by JauntyFedora at 1:50 AM on January 2, 2020
A few small contributions:
I bought the 65" TCL 6 series last year and have been happy with it. But that maxed out my budget, so I didn't even consider OLED.
I have a slight bias to wanting to buy a TV from an in-town shop like Costco, Best Buy, Walmart, etc since returning/exchanging it is so much more straight-forward. But depending on the screen size and the car you have, that might not be true. All of these screens can potentially have first hour/first day issues that lead to changing your mind or needing a swap. There are lots of places online to find pixel test procedures to make sure everything is good.
And you probably know this, but Super Bowl week usually has some of the best TV deals of the year, and it is just a few weeks away.
posted by Tallguy at 3:59 PM on January 2, 2020
I bought the 65" TCL 6 series last year and have been happy with it. But that maxed out my budget, so I didn't even consider OLED.
I have a slight bias to wanting to buy a TV from an in-town shop like Costco, Best Buy, Walmart, etc since returning/exchanging it is so much more straight-forward. But depending on the screen size and the car you have, that might not be true. All of these screens can potentially have first hour/first day issues that lead to changing your mind or needing a swap. There are lots of places online to find pixel test procedures to make sure everything is good.
And you probably know this, but Super Bowl week usually has some of the best TV deals of the year, and it is just a few weeks away.
posted by Tallguy at 3:59 PM on January 2, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
Going from 75" to 85" the price of TV's almost doubles. 65-75 seems to be the sweet spot for display size to price ratio. If you look at http://tvsizecalculator.com/ you can a bit of a feel for how different some sizes might look. At the store's displays, 75" is really big, but 85" made my wife start laughing just looking at it. There's 28% more screen area in an 85 versus 75. And a 75" has 33% more area than a 65".
QLED is a Samsung branded term. NanoCell is LG's equivalent and Sony has Triluminos. These are VA LED panels and not suceptible to burn in. OLED to my understanding is still susceptible to burn in, and also a lot more expensive, especially for the larger panels. There are also IPS LED panels in addition to VA panels, but just as OLED can do better contrast/blacks than a VA LED panel, VA will be better than IPS. The main standout feature of IPS is viewing angle. Given your budget, you probably want a VA LED screen (pretty much and LED screen that isn't mentioned as IPS is VA).
If you don't like the smart tv guts of the TV you get, you could stick a chromecast ultra/roku/apple tv/nvidia shield on an HDMI port - depending on your existing app ecosystem/library. Yes, it sucks to add an extra $100-300 to the cost, but it allows one to not get too concerned about the smart guts, when the main feature of a TV is the screen.
You say that you have a media center computer running things, but will it support 4k? My (old) desktop is the same guts as my co-workers media center computer, and when previewing 4k media on my desktop, I get about 12 fps.
If you might be doing lots of gaming with the next gen consoles to be released in later 2020, I'd recommend holding out a year. Currently most of the mid top end TV's in the $2k budget area are still doing HDMI 2.0 , but the 2020 models are expected to do HDMI 2.1 . 2.0 is 18Gbps, while 2.1 is 48 Gbps. This should allow full 4k, 120 FPS gaming.
Lighting. If you might be putting in black out curtains, or will be watching often at night, the supposed killer feature is full array local dimming (FALD). Essentially instead of one giant back light, or edge lighting, there's an array of 32-500 (depending upon manufacturer/brand/model, many of which don't publish this number) LED's that are individually controllable. So a dark picture with a small bright object can have even better contrast. For my budget, I was content to go with a direct led lit screen - it's like the FALD in that there's an array of lights on the back of the screen, but they're not indivually controllable - the whole picture goes light/dark. The problem with FALD can be blooming. I.E. seeing the dark area around a light part of the picture get a halo because of the increased light. The more zones a FALD has, the less noticeable this will be. As FALD is really only something you'll notice in a dark room, it's not something you can see in the display areas (but, you're not looking to set foot in a store). Edge lighting lets a TV be thinner than direct / FALD lighting, but an have light bleed.
Prices, now is the time to jump - the black friday/holiday sales are still on locally.
A few weeks ago we got a Sony 85x850G model (triluminos screen). But note that 75" and below 850g models are IPS, only the 85" is VA for this model. There's no FALD, but considering the model step up, the 85x900F is a holdover from 2018 (and the SoC powering the android TV is from 2015/2016) and there seem to be big complaints about the blooming I was happy to not spend the $alot extra to step up there. We're an android household that uses plex/netflix primarily, so being able to use the android guts of the sony was a minor plus. We've had it 3 weeks now, and needed to reboot it once when plex stopped playing with sound #androidproblems. The TV is in standby mode when off, so we can cast to it and it will turn itself on. Additionally, it's less than 2 seconds from pushing the power button, until one can start interacting with the TV when it doesn't need a full boot. I'd have been more happy looking at some of the 75" models, but part of the goal of this remodel was "giant tv", so we went giant. It's a bit above your budget, and I would not get this model in the 75" or lower size. We're not allowing any gaming on this screen, so waiting for hdmi 2.1 wasn't a concern. I'm quite happy with the screen.
Before we decided on 85" size, I was most likely going to get the TCL 75" 6 series. It's not available at Costco, but I'm sure you can buy it online, and it would leave you a lot of room in your budget. It's a roku TV for it's smart guts. I seem to recall the 75" model has 160 zones, and doesn't generate a lot of complaints re: blooming.
Beware of a problem of buying a big TV - all your smaller TV's seem *really* small. Like our 55" tv that previously was our primary display and felt large, just seems small. And the 39" tv's we have elsewhere in the house feel like monitors.
posted by nobeagle at 6:32 AM on December 31, 2019 [2 favorites]