Advice on this LG 49" 4K UHD TV...

[Legend]

I have been looking at this model lately, the LG 49UF690V which is available for £450, but I am having trouble finding out much about it. Customer reviews seem OK, but it seems rather cheap and I'm not sure if it's actually a good purchase or not? I've never had an IPS TV before, only PC monitors, and in my experience IPS black levels aren't as good as VA, and I thought most TV's use VA. Is the black issue that affects monitors also true of IPS TV's? Also, I've seen some reviews of a similar (perhaps the same) LG 4K panel not being that great at 60Hz, and the 120Hz variety is said to be preferable... but I didn't think that was even possible, or is it overclocked or something? All the varying (and crazy high in some cases) Hz rates for TV's seem a big marketing gimmick to me. Does it REALLY matter? Usage of this TV will be for Netflix, PS4 gaming, and Virgin Media.

Edit: I think this is a review of a similar TV which might use the same panel, but I can't find any confirmation of this... not sure how many 49" IPS panels there are likely to be in existence though?

 

[MatsyLR]

Since when do TV's use VA panels?
But yes it will have the same issues monitors have with IPS panels.
If you are concerned about black level (one of the most important factors for myself) go plasma or idealy OLED.

 

[Legend]

I thought I read somewhere that TV's mostly used VA, but maybe this is incorrect. I've noticed most TV's don't go out of their way to state the panel tech or model, so it's often hard to determine unless you do some real digging. I've not experienced IPS on a TV before anyway (but have only ever had IPS PC monitors), but looking at the reviews of this and various other IPS TV models, they do not seem to get the kind of negative feedback I'd expect, not based on my experience with IPS PC monitors anyway. I would very much expect people to be complaining about poor blacks and even bleed, glow etc. but this doesn't seem to be the case at all. Given what we see with IPS monitors these days, I would expect any TV that isn't using IPS to be noticeably better in these areas.

 

[rolypolyman]

Since when do TV's use VA panels?
But yes it will have the same issues monitors have with IPS panels.
If you are concerned about black level (one of the most important factors for myself) go plasma or idealy OLED.

Yes tvs do use VA panels and they have excellent deep blacks. Oleds are still very expensive so VA panels like my Panasonic TX-50DX700B are a nice option to have.

 

[FurryLemon]

I have a IPS 55" 4K LG - the blacks are not great, but as long as you're too anal about such things it's easy enough to live with. Biggest issue you'll face will be light bleed. Some sets are not bad, others are downright awful.