Best TV circa 300

Snookums · 26 Sep 2018 at 18:28

i know another tv thread but I couldn’t find a recent one for my budget.

We don’t use our tv a great deal but the 32” we currently is too small for our new living room. I know next to nothing about TVs as it’s not something I’ve ever really had to look into but now we have a nice front room and sofa we seem to use it a bit more.

Budget is £300 ish and I’m not against going 2nd hand. I’m after something in the 50” range ideal more 47-50” than going up to 55”.

Main query is at this budget is it even worth going 4K as it seems to be very bottom of the budget for them.

lucid · 27 Sep 2018 at 07:39

TBH, at £300 for something bigger than 32" you don't really have a lot of choice either way.

Argos have a couple of Hisense 39" 1080p models at £249 and £299. They have a 39" 4K set on clearance at £299. Then a Bush 1080p at something like 40" for £299. I have to say, it comes to something when Bush is the expensive option.

Snookums · 27 Sep 2018 at 09:32

Yes didn’t quite realise how expensive TVs got. Decided to up our budget to £600 and get something with a 5 year warranty minimum. Most likely a 55u7a

Psycho Sonny · 27 Sep 2018 at 19:19

Snookums said:
i know another tv thread but I couldn’t find a recent one for my budget.

We don’t use our tv a great deal but the 32” we currently is too small for our new living room. I know next to nothing about TVs as it’s not something I’ve ever really had to look into but now we have a nice front room and sofa we seem to use it a bit more.

Budget is £300 ish and I’m not against going 2nd hand. I’m after something in the 50” range ideal more 47-50” than going up to 55”.

Main query is at this budget is it even worth going 4K as it seems to be very bottom of the budget for them.

you won't get anything for £300 new

second hand you could get a really nice 1080p set but with second hand it's all about what is available in your area. so no point in us recommending specific models as it could be any tv from the past 5 years. literally thousands of models.

Snookums said:
Yes didn’t quite realise how expensive TVs got. Decided to up our budget to £600 and get something with a 5 year warranty minimum. Most likely a 55u7a

and boom you have doubled your budget already. didn't realise how expensive tv's have got? if anything they have gotten cheap. i mean i know my dad paid £2K for a 37 inch tv. what you mean is you didn't realise how big they have got? basically every year tv's get bigger but the price remains the same.

what you paid for a X inch 5 years ago will now get you X + 5-10 inches.

my first tv was a 21 inch sony and it was £400. i then got a 32" widescreen samsung for around £800 brand new it was HD but only 720P it was the first ones that launched. i then got a 1080p 42" plasma second hand for around £300. i then got a 50" plasma for £800 brand new. (same price as 32" samsung). i then got a 55" sony for £469 (refurbished from outlet centre) was brand new except not in original box.

i seriously suggest you just buy something second hand off avforums. you will get a really good tv off there. all the stuff on gumtree is cheap crap. low end models.

Snookums · 27 Sep 2018 at 19:55

Psycho Sonny said:
you won't get anything for £300 new

second hand you could get a really nice 1080p set but with second hand it's all about what is available in your area. so no point in us recommending specific models as it could be any tv from the past 5 years. literally thousands of models.

and boom you have doubled your budget already. didn't realise how expensive tv's have got? if anything they have gotten cheap. i mean i know my dad paid £2K for a 37 inch tv. what you mean is you didn't realise how big they have got? basically every year tv's get bigger but the price remains the same.

what you paid for a X inch 5 years ago will now get you X + 5-10 inches.

my first tv was a 21 inch sony and it was £400. i then got a 32" widescreen samsung for around £800 brand new it was HD but only 720P it was the first ones that launched. i then got a 1080p 42" plasma second hand for around £300. i then got a 50" plasma for £800 brand new. (same price as 32" samsung). i then got a 55" sony for £469 (refurbished from outlet centre) was brand new except not in original box.

i seriously suggest you just buy something second hand off avforums. you will get a really good tv off there. all the stuff on gumtree is cheap crap. low end models.

In all honesty the 300 figure was just plucked out the air it’s what I last paid for a 32” 1080p a good few years ago. After looking around the only real contender is the Hisense model so will find somewhere to have a look at it.

As for the buy second hand I contemplated it but with RS and JL both offering very lengthy warranties I think new sounds more appealing.

Psycho Sonny · 27 Sep 2018 at 20:20

Snookums said:
In all honesty the 300 figure was just plucked out the air it’s what I last paid for a 32” 1080p a good few years ago. After looking around the only real contender is the Hisense model so will find somewhere to have a look at it.

As for the buy second hand I contemplated it but with RS and JL both offering very lengthy warranties I think new sounds more appealing.

5 years is standard tbh. majority of tv's will last 10-15 years with no issues. it's good to have but i wouldn't use that as the sole reason to double your budget.

Snookums · 27 Sep 2018 at 20:50

Psycho Sonny said:
5 years is standard tbh. majority of tv's will last 10-15 years with no issues. it's good to have but i wouldn't use that as the sole reason to double your budget.

As said the budget wasn’t really a budget I more have an idea for the kind of tv I want and just wasn’t sure what budget that required. I’m more than happy to spend £600 as it’ll last and will be used.

My main want is size 50+ and 4K with some decent colour as I want to experience 4K at home.

Psycho Sonny · 27 Sep 2018 at 21:22

Snookums said:
As said the budget wasn’t really a budget I more have an idea for the kind of tv I want and just wasn’t sure what budget that required. I’m more than happy to spend £600 as it’ll last and will be used.

My main want is size 50+ and 4K with some decent colour as I want to experience 4K at home.

what are you going to be using as your source for 4K?

£600 will get you a mid range 50" if you get a good deal probably budget end tbh.

£1500 gets you best tv for the money

https://www.johnlewis.com/lg-oled55...l-design-crescent-stand-black-silver/p3661161

just to show you what is the best tv money can buy. it doesn't really get much better than that tbh. as in the tv's which are more expensive are either bigger or like 1-5% better but cost 2-4 times as much.

for your budget if you want wide viewing angles then get this LG

https://www.johnlewis.com/lg-55uk67...play-freesat-hd-crescent-stand-black/p3501328

if you don't need wide viewing angles then probably this sony

https://www.johnlewis.com/sony-brav...reeview-play-cable-management-silver/p3581364

Snookums · 27 Sep 2018 at 22:01

Psycho Sonny said:
what are you going to be using as your source for 4K?

£600 will get you a mid range 50" if you get a good deal probably budget end tbh.

£1500 gets you best tv for the money

https://www.johnlewis.com/lg-oled55...l-design-crescent-stand-black-silver/p3661161

just to show you what is the best tv money can buy. it doesn't really get much better than that tbh. as in the tv's which are more expensive are either bigger or like 1-5% better but cost 2-4 times as much.

for your budget if you want wide viewing angles then get this LG

https://www.johnlewis.com/lg-55uk67...play-freesat-hd-crescent-stand-black/p3501328

if you don't need wide viewing angles then probably this sony

https://www.johnlewis.com/sony-brav...reeview-play-cable-management-silver/p3581364

Will be a mixture of streaming services, physical and digital media.

First time I’ve seen anyone mention the song really, the main contenders I’ve seen from research are the h55u7auk, the LG you linked and the Samsung 55nu7500

Out of the three the Hisense seems to be the clear winner but I want to try and find somewhere to view all three, currently having a little trouble finding a place to see the Hisense as a lot of places are OOS

Out of curiosity how come you havent mentioned the Hisense?

Psycho Sonny · 28 Sep 2018 at 07:46

Snookums said:
Will be a mixture of streaming services, physical and digital media.

First time I’ve seen anyone mention the song really, the main contenders I’ve seen from research are the h55u7auk, the LG you linked and the Samsung 55nu7500

Out of the three the Hisense seems to be the clear winner but I want to try and find somewhere to view all three, currently having a little trouble finding a place to see the Hisense as a lot of places are OOS

Out of curiosity how come you havent mentioned the Hisense?

You mentioned decent colour in a previous post.

Colours on hisense are pretty bad.

I have a hisense away it was that bad. My dad bought one too a 65" every time I saw it, I could see all the flaws. I ended up calibrating it as best I could which improved it night and day. I did this in secret whilst everyone was in the kitchen/games room.

My uncle noticed it straight away that it looked better and asked if I had done anything to the TV. Nobody else noticed.

Basically 99% of people don't actually know what a good panel is. They don't care. He noticed skin tones looked more normal, etc. But one of his dreams was always to be a movie director so he has a fine eye for these things.

Hisense are good of you want a cheap TV. Cheap TVs come with compromises.

4K8KW10 · 28 Sep 2018 at 08:31

Snookums said:
Yes didn’t quite realise how expensive TVs got. Decided to up our budget to £600 and get something with a 5 year warranty minimum. Most likely a 55u7a

Panasonic. 49-inch and 55-inch options:

Panasonic TX-49FX700
Panasonic TX-55FX600
Panasonic TX-49FX600
Panasonic TX-55FX600
Panasonic TX-49EX600

jpaul · 28 Sep 2018 at 08:40

I now bet on ~~black~~panasonic :
their ~£500 2017 50" ex750 with 120hz panel (3d compliant) 10bit mva panel, with panasonic build quality and motion processing
I don't recollect any my panasonics failed threads (dx902 clouding maybe), just samsung/sony issues.

for hdr though, I don't know if dolby vision or dynamic contrast is available at this price point, but unless buying your own discs,
sky does not stream it yet, and netflix hdr box office movies apparently limited (versus their own content) - I don;t know about amazon/apple.

edit : although the 2018 panasonic now have hdr10+, they have been late to market with few reviews and the fx7[58]0 which is the successor to ex750 is ~£1k with some JohnLewis/CPC exclusives (to circumvent price matching)