Spec me a new TV for under £700

Vidar · 18 May 2019 at 15:47

So my TV is playing silly beggars again and John Lewis have decided it is beyond economical repair and so are giving me a pretty much full refund.

I've got a budget of £700 and would ideally like to stick with John Lewis as the 5 year warranty provides comfort.

My current set is the Panasonic TX-50DX700B so I'd like to stay around the 50" mark as it's for the living room.

So what would you guys recommend?

pcfarrar · 18 May 2019 at 17:03

Sony 49XF9005 if you can find one at a good price. They are currently £849 at Richersounds (6 Year Warranty) with an additional £20 off from a voucher code. If you can stretch to the extra it's one of the best TV's at that price level.

Poneros · 18 May 2019 at 17:08

If you don't want to go to 55'', then I'd easily recommend the KD49XF7073 for £460.

If you do want 55'', KD55XF8096 fit just into the budget at £699. Slightly better than the XF70 but bigger.

Ideally you would go with what @pcfarrar said for 49'' XF90, or 55'' version if you can stretch to £1k.

lucid · 18 May 2019 at 18:00

I just picked up a Panasonic 50GX800 for £725.

Vidar · 18 May 2019 at 18:30

Sadly £700 is my absolute limit atm I may be able to get john Lewis to price match though, not sure if its cash I've got or a voucher. As Ive had the tv over 2 years.

lucid · 18 May 2019 at 20:51

What, you can't throw in some extra money of your own? Seriously??

Vidar · 18 May 2019 at 21:26

Right now, no I can't.

Sorry missed your previous post, atm I have my daughters christening to pay for so I don't have any disposable cash atm.

Vidar · 19 May 2019 at 12:15

What do you guys think of the Samsung UE65NU7400?

MikeB · 19 May 2019 at 15:12

Massive problem on the Samsung 7 series, they didn't supply enough base memory on the TV's and people are struggling to update them

Vidar · 19 May 2019 at 15:19

That's a no from me then, I've had enough of problematic tv's...

Just wish I wasn't locked in to John Lewis as they don't seem to have as good a deal as some of their competitors.

Randomface74 · 19 May 2019 at 15:23

Samsung UE49NU8000
https://www.johnlewis.com/samsung-u...-360-design-ultra-hd-certified-black/p3495438
https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/samsung/nu8000
/thread

kona786 · 19 May 2019 at 20:21

billysielu said:
Samsung UE49NU8000
https://www.johnlewis.com/samsung-u...-360-design-ultra-hd-certified-black/p3495438
https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/samsung/nu8000
/thread

Oos

Vidar · 19 May 2019 at 20:55

Isn't the Nu8000 let down by the 60hz panel though?

Spoke to John Lewis today again to see what they recommended and they've offered an additional £50 to help me find something, very nice of them but I now find myself looking at the Panasonic TX-50GX800B at £749 but really uneasy about another Panasonic after all the faff I've had. Plus I can't seem to find reviews as I think it's quite new.

Vidar · 19 May 2019 at 21:16

@lucid how do you find the TV any issues?

Psycho Sonny · 20 May 2019 at 13:37

Nothing wrong with panasonic just because you maanged to find a duff one before doesn't mean they are all duff. The same could be said for most premium brands. Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and LG the high end stuff are all very good and reliable.

Vidar · 20 May 2019 at 14:09

@Psycho Sonny Very true, to be fair the one I've got when working as intended is a cracking TV. Excellent picture quality for the money.

I guess I'm just struggling to pick something, usually because when I come to buy something like this usually I've spent quite a bit of time looking at different options and have been mobile enough to actually go look at TV sets in the real world and decide what I like best. Here I'm pretty limited, options wise considering I'm having to replace the unit via John Lewis and it's come at a not so great time for their line up.

Out of curiosity which unit would you pick?

MrRockliffe · 20 May 2019 at 14:14

NU8000 or XF90 for me.

60 Hz panel isn't that much of a problem on an LCD. Sure, motion isn't as good, but then your DX700 wasn't a 120Hz panel IIRC.

I wouldn't touch anything IPS based.

Psycho Sonny · 20 May 2019 at 14:15

Vidar said:
@Psycho Sonny Very true, to be fair the one I've got when working as intended is a cracking TV. Excellent picture quality for the money.

I guess I'm just struggling to pick something, usually because when I come to buy something like this usually I've spent quite a bit of time looking at different options and have been mobile enough to actually go look at TV sets in the real world and decide what I like best. Here I'm pretty limited, options wise considering I'm having to replace the unit via John Lewis and it's come at a not so great time for their line up.

Out of curiosity which unit would you pick?

If you can still find one the XF90. I have one and it's astounding how good the colours, the blacks and HDR is on it. As an all rounder the TV is simply crazy good for the money. It blows away my top end panasonic plasma with the upgrades in tech (4K, HDR, FALD, etc).

Psycho Sonny · 20 May 2019 at 14:17

MrRockliffe said:
NU8000 or XF90 for me.

60 Hz panel isn't that much of a problem on an LCD. Sure, motion isn't as good, but then your DX700 wasn't a 120Hz panel IIRC.

I wouldn't touch anything IPS based.

The NU8000 is good but the jump up to the XF90 is a different level. It's like comparing say a BMW 1 series with a BMW 5 Series. NU8000 is still edge lit it's worth paying the extra to go FALD. If money is tight then yes the NU8000 would be the TV to go for. It's last years model though so stock should have dried up by now.

MrRockliffe · 20 May 2019 at 14:22

Psycho Sonny said:
The NU8000 is good but the jump up to the XF90 is a different level. It's like comparing say a BMW 1 series with a BMW 5 Series. NU8000 is still edge lit it's worth paying the extra to go FALD. If money is tight then yes the NU8000 would be the TV to go for. It's last years model though so stock should have dried up by now.

I've just noticed that JL don't have stock of either TV.

Looks like the GX800 you've spotted @Vidar is your only bet at that price, and to be honest, I'd probably go with a Hisense U7A for a lot less.