So it had to happen - PLASMA now died - Update for AV now.

SPG

SPG

Soldato
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Mainly because I have not kept up with the technology. My plasma is old :) it's a TV I expect it to last 15+ years like my plasma :)
 
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I went from a Panasonic Plasma GT50 that did suffer from image retention, to an LG OLED 55" B8 which I've had for 3-4 years now and shows no signs of image retention.
 
Soldato
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Mainly because I have not kept up with the technology. My plasma is old :) it's a TV I expect it to last 15+ years like my plasma :)

lol :) not sure you will get 15 years out of any TV these days.

Plus, TV tech is advancing very rapidly at the moment. Not sure you would want to keep your TV that long anymore.
 
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LGs don't support DTS audio via Optical or a standard ARC connection.

Puzzled here. Sound seems always to be the poor relation in TVs. I have an up to date AV amp (HDMI, optical etc inputs) - so I don't need to consider the restrictions of any TV as I feed my Virgin box or Freesat box to my AV amp.

What do LGs support soundwise?

Am in the market for a new TV soon. Our 32" Panasonic is showing its age!

Mel
 
Soldato
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Puzzled here. Sound seems always to be the poor relation in TVs. I have an up to date AV amp (HDMI, optical etc inputs) - so I don't need to consider the restrictions of any TV as I feed my Virgin box or Freesat box to my AV amp.

What do LGs support soundwise?

Am in the market for a new TV soon. Our 32" Panasonic is showing its age!

Mel


If you plug your sources into the AVR it doesn't matter what the TV audio support is.

It only matters if you use the TV as the hdmi switch (sources into TV) then route audio from the TV into the avr. Or use the TV's own media player, apps, broadcast receiver etc
 
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Puzzled here. Sound seems always to be the poor relation in TVs. I have an up to date AV amp (HDMI, optical etc inputs) - so I don't need to consider the restrictions of any TV as I feed my Virgin box or Freesat box to my AV amp.

What do LGs support soundwise?

Am in the market for a new TV soon. Our 32" Panasonic is showing its age!

Mel
@hornetstinger is correct. If your sources go to the amp first then what audio formats the TV supports becomes irrelevant. However, it's common to find folk connecting HDMI to the TV first, then feeding audio out to an AV receiver or a soundbar. The audio connection could be optical/HDMI ARC or eARC. The reason for connecting to the TV first could be that the amp doesn't support gaming features such as Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) or 120Hz refresh or Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM).

Standard HDMI ARC (not eARC) and optical both work the same way. You'll always have have support for Stereo PCM. That provides your amp with either simple stereo or stereo with Dolby surround encoded within it. This is decoded as Dolby Pro-Logic II or Dolby Upscaler.

You'll also find it's pretty much universal to have Dolby Digital (DD) in up to 5.1 supported by optical and std ARC. That'll take care of discrete surround sound from the HDTV tuner, and from streaming apps, and from Sky/Virgin.

The next stage up we see optical drop out of the race. This is where we get into Dolby Atmos audio from streaming apps and from things such as Sky UHD downloads. The Atmos signal is carried by Dolby Digital Plus (DD+). Technically, optical is perfectly capable of carrying this signal too, but it is software blocked from doing so by the regulations around HDCP which is HDMI content protection.

Next we come to DTS audio support. Here it's very much about what the TV manufacturer decides to support, and that's determined by the costs of licencing.

In the bulk of the TV market you'll find that manufacturers offer support for DTS in stereo (DTS 2.0) but nothing better. There are some exceptions amongst the TV manufacturers, and even occasions where the premium models support DD 5.1 but the entry and mid-level models only do DTS 2.0. Of course, exceptions work both ways. A case in point is LG. Up to the 2019 model range there was support for DTS in either 2.0 or 5.1 However, after that point LG dropped DTS support totally. Other brands of OLED may well support DTS. This is purely an issue between LG and DTS.

How the TV communicates its abilities is through the HDCP portion of the HDMI handshake when two or more devices are connected together. This sets a lowest common denominator level of signal support between the devices.

eARC was developed to get past the limit of standard only supporting lossy multichannel surround formats (DD and DTS). Where a TV doesn't artificially limit support then an eARC-equipped TV connected to an eARC-equipped amp/receiver will support all that optical and std ARC does but also multichannel HD audio in the forms of bitstream Dolby True HD and bitstream DTS-HD Master Audio.

As an example of a practical application, a PS5 console could be connected to say a Panasonic OLED which has 120Hz and VRR and ALLM, and then the eARC connection for sound could feed through from the TV to an eARC capable amp that doesn't support 120Hz or VRR for pass through.

eARC also allows a multichannel PCM connection. (Remember that std ARC only does stereo PCM.) Using multichannel PCM is a way to sidestep restrictions in DTS audio support within LG TVs.
 
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Yeah I've got a 75" LG LCD in my living room. It was a steel at the time and the picture is superb in 4k BUT BUT BUT the Black levels are lacking... so day light scenes look superb considering the price but the Blacks... yeah... I came from a £5k Panasonis 58" daddy Plasma and the difference is night and day. If you really want your blacks OLED is the way to go... all depends on the conditions of the room and brightness levels... what types of films programs you watch though. For me, I take the hit in the living room as any serious film watching I use my cinema room anway with a PJ. I kinda just want the biggest TV I can get and I will take a slight hit in black levels... so the next TX will be 85 minimum... and it won't be OLED due to costs. My money goes into the cinema room.

It's a tough call, BUT for me and you want a big TV, just get the biggest you can for your budget and accept a lack of blacks... it's not going to end the world is it... at £1500 your limited anyway so, just take the hit like I do is my advice... OR just go smaller!!!
 
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LG OLED77B16LA 77 Inch OLED 4K Ultra HD Smart TV £1799.89 (Members Only) at Costco

Samsung 65" QN95A 4K HDR NEO QLED £1119.30 via student/EPP/BLC discount @ Samsung

Sony BRAVIA XR65A80JU 65" OLED 4K Ultra HD HDR + 6yr Guarantee £1,549 with code @ Richer Sounds

Philips 65" 4K UHD Ambilight OLED Android TV 65OLED706/12 5 year Warranty - £1149 delivered @ Box.co.uk

Panasonic TX-55JZ1500B 55” Ultra HD 4K Pro Master HDR OLED Smart TV Black - £1299 @ Smiths TV

LG OLED65G16LA 2021 65″ G1 OLED 4K Smart TV – SILVER £1,889 with code at Appliance City

Don't know if these are any good. Just some OLED deals that may be of interest.

I think if you want anything decent you're going to have to adjust your budget or go smaller.
 
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Coming from a 50 and a 60" KURO I thought id struggle to find a replacement but I'm really impressed with my LG 65". (C9 i think, Whichever had the big thread on hear)
 

SPG

SPG

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Ok so, I think i am going to rule out LG due to the UI being horrible.

Really liked the Sony sets and the XR 77" was fantastic but its another £900 on the 65" not the best value.
 
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lol :) not sure you will get 15 years out of any TV these days.

Plus, TV tech is advancing very rapidly at the moment. Not sure you would want to keep your TV that long anymore.


On the second part... TVs have the best picture that they ever had. So it makes sense we'd be keeping the newer TVs longer than we had the old ones...


Unless you've got the itch. The level of diminishing returns is only getting greater.
 
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Ok so, I think i am going to rule out LG due to the UI being horrible.

Really liked the Sony sets and the XR 77" was fantastic but its another £900 on the 65" not the best value.

Have you used one? LG's OS is widely regarded as one of the better ones, and it'd take a lot of convincing to get me to ever go back to an Android based TV again.
 
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Ok so, I think i am going to rule out LG due to the UI being horrible.

Really liked the Sony sets and the XR 77" was fantastic but its another £900 on the 65" not the best value.


You sure? I've owned Samsung, tested Sony and owned LG TVs several models over last 6 years and the LG has by far the best UI in my opinion. Samsung makes the best remotes but LG has the best UI and software and Sony is between with very average remotes and software

But in any case as of 2022 at least all three manufacturers UI is now using the same kind of live tile design so if you dislike live tiles then you'll need to find something that's not WebOS, Tizen or Android
 
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I feel for you, my Plasma is still kicking although it only has one working HDMI port now (use a HDMI switcher to have multiple things plugged in still)
OLED is the only path forward after enjoying a Plasma for so long.
 
Soldato
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I wouldn't worry too much about OLED. Though I agree it is the future and next time I buy a TV, it will be an OLED :)

However, I have bought a TV this year. A 4K 43" LED Panasonic. That's my kitchen TV. My living room TV is a Panasonic plasma. One of the last models too. It's a very good TV, but the new LED has a better all round picture. Okay, the blacks aren't quite as black, but it's pin sharp, has decent depth and upscales far better. I'd have no problem using it in the living room.

There were no Android OLEDs at that size when I bought it. But I'm not sure I would have spent 3x+ the money on one if there was.
 
Soldato
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Any ideas you wise folk ?
Take your Panasonic to a local TV repair shop (or even better find one that does call outs) get it fixed for 10% or less of what you're thinking of spending on a new TV.

Seriously, unless you specifically want 4K you're not going to find a plasma beating LCD for under £1k, and given how cheap panny plasmas are to repair (apparently very easy to work on/fix) it just sounds like throwing money away.
 
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On the second part... TVs have the best picture that they ever had. So it makes sense we'd be keeping the newer TVs longer than we had the old ones...


Unless you've got the itch. The level of diminishing returns is only getting greater.
I think he meant tvs wouldn't work for 15 years.
 
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