New TV question

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I've been out of the TV technology loop for a few years and I was wondering if now was a good time to buy a new high end LED TV? Specifically the Samsung F8000 46" inch model.

How close are 40 inch+ OLED screens away from being launched for around £2k?

I know 4k screens are on the horizon but I'm not really interested in those.
 
Thanks for that - I read through your posts and checked out the relevant Plasma screens you referenced.
The problem I have with Plasma sets is that they all have no style and the screen sizes are too big.

Interesting that OLED is still so far way.
 
no style? they are the exact same as their LED counterparts, albeit the bezels are bigger.

anyway if you want to spend twice as much money on an inferior panel, go ahead.

i take it you spend a lot of time looking at the style of the tv whilst your watching it rather than the actual screen?
 
The bezels are significantly larger on Plasma screens which makes them look dated.

TV's are pieces are furniture now; so it has to look good and fit in with the rest of the decor.
 
The bezels are significantly larger on Plasma screens which makes them look dated.

TV's are pieces are furniture now; so it has to look good and fit in with the rest of the decor.

Just buy a nice metal frame and put a plain black photo inside it then ;)
 
The bezels are significantly larger on Plasma screens which makes them look dated.

TV's are pieces are furniture now; so it has to look good and fit in with the rest of the decor.

i don't understand how a larger bezel is going to make a tv look unstylish. they don't look dated at all, they use the same stands and styling as their LED versions do. you obviously have not seen older plasmas with the HUGE bezels?

this is panasonics new flagship panel



if you can show me a better looking tv, then please do.

samsung plasma's also have more style and smaller bezels but worse PQ if that is what your looking for because yes panasonics styling is different from samsungs.

imo i would choose a tv based on these criteria in the following order:

PQ
Price
Features

style doesnt even come into it, because lets be honest none of the top of the range panels are going to come with a crappy stand now are they or styling for that matter.

if someone came round to my house and said, oh your tv looks dated, i would say something like "i take it your an expert then?" then enquire as to what tv they have then bet them £100 that I can prove my TV is better than theirs.

also tv's are not furniture

"Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping. Furniture is also used to hold objects at a convenient height for work (as horizontal surfaces above the ground), or to store things.
Furniture can be a product of design and is considered a form of decorative art. In addition to furniture's functional role, it can serve a symbolic or religious purpose. It can be made from many materials, including metal, plastic, and wood. Furniture can be made using a variety of woodworking joints which often reflect the local culture."

tv's are electronics and as such their functional use should be considered above styling imo.

i take it you are the type of person who would buy beats by dre over sennheisers? if you are then please do buy LED.
 
I was taken aback by the "too big" comment as well, tbh I thought saving over £1000, getting a bigger tv and with better PQ he would have said GT50 on route.

I don't think I could even tell the difference between a 46" and 50" from 10-15 feet away, it's hardly a big difference. Had he originally wanted a 42" tv i could see his point but a 50" too big from a 46"?

Also the only people that say too big are usually the ones with space restrictions, but again i doubt 4" would make much difference here again.

My 42" was tight in the bedroom, but i managed to force a 50" in anyway, there is literally less than 1 cm of breathing space on either side, so if I had gone 51" i would have had to move the wardrobes lol.
 
My 50GT50 is about 5-6 feet away from the seating areas and even at that distance I think it's just perfect, no issues whatsoever.

I think it's just a matter of the eyes adjusting to the screen size, which doesn't take too long.

The GT50 is such a steal at this price though, bargain of the year so far!
 
i'm being completely honest when i say, i never even noticed the difference in screen size between the 42" and 50" until i lay down flat on the bed and the tv was higher than me so i was looking up at it rather than straight onto it.

that is when i noticed it was a lot bigger. until then i was thinking i should have just kept my PZ85B, i only got £135 for the poor thing lol.

my next tv will most likely be 60"+, no point in upgrading to a 55" in 5-10 years time, it has to be 10" of a difference minimum imo.

i have went from a 21" CRT to a 32" widescreen HD ready LCD to the 42" and then to a 50" so far over the past 16 years in the bedroom. the 50" is here to stay for 5-10 years though.

if i do buy anything else it will be a projector, but tbh it wont fit in the bedroom, will need to go downstairs.
 
I agree, I think the next upgrade will be atleast a 60". Having said that though, I bought the GT50 last year knowing it will be perfect for many years to come, long enough to tide me over until the next gen of televisions (OLED) becomes mainstream and affordable, something that wont happen anytime soon.
 
One other question regarding plasma TV's - am I going to have to sit in darkness every time I want to watch TV? The TV position is facing a window.
 
you will need to close the curtain or have lights positioned behind the screen, depends on how strong the light is, this is why plasma's have filters in order to reduce reflectiveness but it doesn't always work.

i have my plasma next to a window, and i usually shut one curtain and leave the other open.
 
A plasma screen is a no go for me then. I can't be closing curtains and turning off lights during normal viewing.

Thanks for your help
 
With regards to OLED's there are some significant manufacturing issues that are still causing delays on them. I know some of the researchers who were working on the initial design and unfortunately the yield on the panels are very low hence why they are so expensive.
 
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