Spec 1080p TV. PQ above all else

Badger_grr

Badger_grr

Badger_grr

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270
Hey guys.

I will be looking to get a TV in the new year so I'm hoping to find some bargains after Christmas.

My budget is around 500 but may stretch this.

What are people's opinions on the best image quality 1080p screens at this price point

I'm not interested in smart features (I have a fire stick which works nicely for me.)

I'm just looking for good blacks and blacklighting.

Thanks in advance.
 
Badger_grr said:
Hey guys.

I will be looking to get a TV in the new year so I'm hoping to find some bargains after Christmas.

My budget is around 500 but may stretch this.

What are people's opinions on the best image quality 1080p screens at this price point

I'm not interested in smart features (I have a fire stick which works nicely for me.)

I'm just looking for good blacks and blacklighting.

Thanks in advance.
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Is second hand an option? Sony 55" W905 are going for around £500 on the bay. HDTVTEST still rate it as the best 1080p LED there has been and it's a utter bargain for that money. I've seen them go at £400!

I am biased btw as I have one :) Still, it's best LED I've seen pq wise and, imho, better than current flagship 4K models with 1080p content, better than the Panasonic ST50 plasma it replaced, and it has 20ms input lag!

//edited for typo
 
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Warbie said:
Is second hand an option? Sony 55" W905 are going for around £500 on the bay. HDTVTEST still rate it as the best 1080p LED there has been and it's a utter bargain for that money. I've seen them go at £400!

I am biased btw as I have one :) Still, it's best LED I've seen pq wise and, imho, better than current flagship 4K models with 1080p content, better than the Panasonic VT50 plasma it replaced, and it has 20ms input lag!
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what a load of horlicks

better than a VT50 plasma, current flagship 4k models?

it's not even the best lcd ever made never mind better than top of the range plasmas, oled's and HDR sets
 
Psycho Sonny said:
what a load of horlicks

better than a VT50 plasma, current flagship 4k models?

it's not even the best lcd ever made never mind better than top of the range plasmas, oled's and HDR sets
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Cool your boots man - it was a honest mistake. I had an ST50, not a VT. And I do rate this LED higher. Obviously, otherwise I wouldn't have sold the former to make way (I had both at the same time as was outputting to both for direct comparisons, btw).

I never said it was better than oled/hdr sets either, just that it's the best LED i've seen with 1080p content. I'm not alone in this either:

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/kd65zd9-201610164372.htm

That was from October this year. If you scroll down 'the W905 (probably the best 1080p LED TV ever made)'.


//edit and regardless - for the prices they've been going for they are ridiculous bargains. I've been tempted to get a few more just for the hell of it as spares for other rooms or in case mine breaks.
 
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the newer version

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/kdl50w829b-201403023650.htm

"This year’s Sony W8 is a different beast to last year’s Bravia W8, owing to a change in underlying LCD panel from IPS to VA which delivers much deeper blacks, resulting in a punchier and more alluring picture. "

then last years models

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/kdl55w805c-201508034145.htm

The Sony KDL-55W805C is largely a sideways move from last year’s W829 Bravia, but that’s no criticism of the former, because the latter has set quite a high bar as far as large-screen HDTVs go. Images on the W805C looked positively absorbing owing to deep blacks and wonderfully realistic colour palette (that’s able to saturate reds fully, unlike its predecessor)

Going by reviews off the same site, the newer models are just as good if not better. VA is better for head on viewing which is what most gamers tend to do when gaming. IPS is better for living room environments.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
the newer version

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/kdl50w829b-201403023650.htm

"This year’s Sony W8 is a different beast to last year’s Bravia W8, owing to a change in underlying LCD panel from IPS to VA which delivers much deeper blacks, resulting in a punchier and more alluring picture. "

then last years models

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/kdl55w805c-201508034145.htm

The Sony KDL-55W805C is largely a sideways move from last year’s W829 Bravia, but that’s no criticism of the former, because the latter has set quite a high bar as far as large-screen HDTVs go. Images on the W805C looked positively absorbing owing to deep blacks and wonderfully realistic colour palette (that’s able to saturate reds fully, unlike its predecessor)

Going by reviews off the same site, the newer models are just as good if not better. VA is better for head on viewing which is what most gamers tend to do when gaming. IPS is better for living room environments.
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Not sure where you going with this, other than off topic. Nevertheless, Sony completely messed up when they moved to IPS after the W905's VA panel. They made up for it with later panels when they moved back to VA and the 805s were decent tvs no doubt. Generally not considered on par with the W905, though - hence the more recent hdtvtest link in my previous post. And now I've spent 10 minutes debating 3 year old tvs - the internet sucks sometimes!

No doubt the OP doesn't care about any of this - but there are some real 1080p bargains to be had second hand given everyone is going 4k/hdr nuts and if 1080p is what you want, second hand is not a bad option.
 
It's not a good tv for a living room, however it's a brilliant gaming tv.

I wouldn't be spending £400 on a second hand 3-4 year old one. I got a 55" 2015 panel for < £450 iirc direct from the sony centre. The W809C which was their flagship 1080p lcd last year.


http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/sony-kdl55w905a-201305172987.htm?page=Performance

All this picture quality goodness comes with a major caveat though: you really need to sit directly in front of the television to enjoy the full benefit. Even for a VA-type LCD panel, the KDL55W905A’s viewing angles seemed particularly narrow, both horizontally and vertically. In fact, go beyond 20° off-axis, and you’ll be greeted with contrast and colour desaturation – we could hardly believe we were watching the same picture whenever we stood up or shuffled to one side.

Perhaps the biggest flaw on the Sony KDL55W905A we tested was its restricted viewing angle which we’d be the first to admit may be an issue specific to our review sample. If you’re thinking about buying the W905, we recommend that you audition the TV first at your local Sony Centre, paying particular attention to the viewing angles in both the vertical and horizontal axis. Perhaps retail sets aren’t affected as much, or you may not be as sensitive as we are to changes in colour and contrast – we certainly wouldn’t want you to miss out on the wonderful picture quality that the W905A is capable of providing when viewed straight on.
 
Why do you care so much man? You haven't proved a single thing I said wrong - quite the opposite (everything you posted was irrelevant) and i'm not sure why you're trying? I never said it's perfect - just that there's some bargains to be had and this is one. The site you're using to make your points is the same site that two months ago said the w905 is 'probably the best 1080p LED TV ever made'.

Not wanting to spend that kind of money on a 2nd hand tv is a fair point, though. There's always risks second hand, but I suspect the W905 has a better picture at 1080p than the current Samsung edge-lit options, for example, and they're considerably more expensive.
 
OP never mentioned gaming anywhere. Likely in a living room people will be sitting more than 20 degrees off axis therefore it would be a very poor choice to make. He would be better off with a second hand plasma over that particular tv.

It's nowhere near the best 1080p tv ever made.

You seem to be very biased towards this tv. If he was asking for a gaming tv then yeah it would be a spot on recommendation, however it's a terrible tv for a living room.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
You seem to be very biased towards this tv.
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That might be irony there? Not sure. Although bonus points for reading comprehension as I said i'm biased in the first post!

All aside - and sorry OP for going so far off topic - but your points have mostly been irrelevance punctuated with putting words into my mouth (I never said it was the best 1080p tv ever made, for example). If I sift through everything you wrote, the second hand concern and viewing angles are valid issues. Every panel has downsides. The OP never said anything re. requirements, lounge layout, gaming etc though. I honestly think me posting 'HDTVTEST still rate it as the best 1080p LED there has been' (which they do ;)) triggered you in some strange way. Everything in my first post still stands.
 
Yes the TV is for the living room and it is quite wide so viewing angles are important. Thanks for mentioning the website hdtvtest. I had not come across it.
 
Badger_grr said:
This is what I'm noticing.i feel uneasy spending 5/600 pounds on a 4k TV. I'd think it would be pants!

I should have said I'm looking size wide around 42.46
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This looks good if you can find it in stock.
https://www.avforums.com/review/panasonic-cx680-tx-50cx680b-4k-ultra-hd-tv-review.11857

Anything relatively new and decent will be 4K these days.


Playing devil's advocate - stretch the budget and go big :)
https://www.avforums.com/review/hisense-he65k5510-k5510-uhd-4k-hdr-tv-review.13152
 
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FurryLemon said:
IPS panel if you need really wide viewing angles. Problem there is blacks tend not to be great, but then all depends on what you're use to.
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Just because black levels aren't the best doesn't mean they aren't "great".

Full-screen black on the Panasonic TX-P50GT50 measured at 0.010 cd/m2, which is visibly the same as the 0.009 cd/m2 we measured from the ST50 and VT50. This means that the Viera GT50 plasma TV produces one of the deepest black levels on the market.

I own the above tv so I know how good it's blacks are and they are on paper a lot better than pretty much every LCD.

LG Flagship OLED - Calibrated black level (4×4 ANSI) 0 cd/m2

Flagship samsung VA - Calibrated black level (4×4 ANSI) 0.039 cd/m2

Flagship sony VA - Calibrated black level (4×4 ANSI) 0.029 cd/m2 with optimised [Auto Local Dimming]

Flagship LG IPS - Black : 0.084 cd/m2

I have a flagship LG IPS too now and tbh 99% of people would struggle to tell which has the better picture quality unless they had a trained eye.

1080p lcd panels have even better blacks than 4k panels my sony from last year is Calibrated black level (4×4 ANSI) 0.025 cd/m2, I think my LG is the better tv overall even though the Sony has the better blacks.
 
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