Looking for a new ~55" TV - ~£1000-1500 - OLED?

silvagti

silvagti

silvagti

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Hi everyone,

As per the title I need a new TV around 55" for my family lounge. Primarily for watching freeview, streaming services and blu-ray movies. I'm assuming for that price/purpose OLED is the best option to go for?

I'd like it to have support for Freeview Play as I think the rest of my family would appreciate the convenience of being able to easily access contect via the programme guide rather than having to resort to dedicated apps for each channel? I've heard Freeview Play is much better than Youview though I haven't tried either?

Any recommendations/suggestions or features I should be looking for?

TIA
 
silvagti said:
Hi everyone,

As per the title I need a new TV around 55" for my family lounge. Primarily for watching freeview, streaming services and blu-ray movies. I'm assuming for that price/purpose OLED is the best option to go for?

I'd like it to have support for Freeview Play as I think the rest of my family would appreciate the convenience of being able to easily access contect via the programme guide rather than having to resort to dedicated apps for each channel? I've heard Freeview Play is much better than Youview though I haven't tried either?

Any recommendations/suggestions or features I should be looking for?

TIA
Click to expand...
I went for a 55" Sony A80J as it was an outgoing model and there were some good prices on it. We're now up to the A80L. Sony are great for TV and films and OLED is if you don't have a very bright room/TV with sun on it. I rarely use the built in TV guide as I run everything through a Fire TV Cube. Freeview is coming to streaming soon with the Freely app, 2024 I think.

You're hard pushed to buy a bad TV these days, just make sure it supports all the features you want like the various HDR standards.

Edit: Wait for the sales if you can
 
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Best thing to do is go to a shop and look at them side by side, because it's your personal perception of the image quality that matters. Also you need to consider usage - if you're gaming on it (burn in risk) or if the room is bright and gets a lot of sunshine (screen reflection), OLED isn't the best idea.

I went to a shop specifically to buy an LG OLED, but changed my mind for a Samsung QLED when I saw them next to each other.

Also Currys usually do great Black Friday deals
 
rumple9 said:
Best thing to do is go to a shop and look at them side by side, because it's your personal perception of the image quality that matters. Also you need to consider usage - if you're gaming on it (burn in risk) or if the room is bright and gets a lot of sunshine (screen reflection), OLED isn't the best idea.

I went to a shop specifically to buy an LG OLED, but changed my mind for a Samsung QLED when I saw them next to each other.

Also Currys usually do great Black Friday deals
Click to expand...
Bear in mind the input to TV's in a shop is either very poor or demos designed to make them look better. Obviously if they are showing the same content it should be a fair comparison. I did similar and thought the A90J wasn't worth the extra over the A80J. As you say your use case is important. I crossed off Samsung as there was no Dolby Vision. Panasonic are very good but also expensive, LG are a good option for gaming and Sony if you're into films but there's not a huge amount in it once you get above £1k (55").
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. Sounds like a visit to my local TV store and maybe waiting until Black Friday is the best option.

I’m aware there can be burn issues on OLED televisions but as I’m mainly using it for Freeview/TV I figured it wouldn’t be a problem?

Is the lack of Freeview Play support (and use of Youview) on most Sony TV’s something I should be concerned about if I primarily use it for watching Freeview?
 
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silvagti said:
Hi everyone,

As per the title I need a new TV around 55" for my family lounge. Primarily for watching freeview, streaming services and blu-ray movies. I'm assuming for that price/purpose OLED is the best option to go for?

I'd like it to have support for Freeview Play as I think the rest of my family would appreciate the convenience of being able to easily access contect via the programme guide rather than having to resort to dedicated apps for each channel? I've heard Freeview Play is much better than Youview though I haven't tried either?

Any recommendations/suggestions or features I should be looking for?

TIA
Click to expand...

Do you already have a sound system? Could look into a Panasonic LZ2000 otherwise, as has much better speakers built into it. If you don't need the sound then could look at a LZ1500. You've also got the LG C3. Any of those would be a fine choice for OLED.

If you want to go down the latest technology route, then QD-OLED you could get the Samsung S95C for your max budget. However, depends if you don't mind it not having Dolby Vision as Samsung doesn't support it.
 
I dont recall which site it was now, but a recent review of long term burn in testing showed LG was best in terms of long term burn in results, the newer sets are very resiliant. I personally bought an LG 55" CS model last year on black Friday (CS is C1 panel with C2 processor / electronics . Trick is to find the best deal out there ( black friday) and get Richer sounds to price beat it. I think it was Compton and Moore had a deal going on it with a youtuber discount code last BF , I got Richer sounds to price beat that deal (they price match and take a tenner off too from memory) ended up getting it for £879 with 6 year warranty.
I think its a great TV, picture is superb, OS snappy, it gets regular updates and all the Apps and services I want are there. People always say with OLEDs, you may want to watch out for is brightness, depending on how much sunlight gets into the space you are going to put the TV, you may want to choose a TV with high brightness specs (LG C2 / C3). Having said that, although my TV is in a north facing room, its hugely bright, I have had to really wind the brightness down, can't believe it wouldnt be veiwable in a brighter room.
 
thebandit said:
I dont recall which site it was now, but a recent review of long term burn in testing showed LG was best in terms of long term burn in results, the newer sets are very resiliant. I personally bought an LG 55" CS model last year on black Friday (CS is C1 panel with C2 processor / electronics . Trick is to find the best deal out there ( black friday) and get Richer sounds to price beat it. I think it was Compton and Moore had a deal going on it with a youtuber discount code last BF , I got Richer sounds to price beat that deal (they price match and take a tenner off too from memory) ended up getting it for £879 with 6 year warranty.
I think its a great TV, picture is superb, OS snappy, it gets regular updates and all the Apps and services I want are there. People always say with OLEDs, you may want to watch out for is brightness, depending on how much sunlight gets into the space you are going to put the TV, you may want to choose a TV with high brightness specs (LG C2 / C3). Having said that, although my TV is in a north facing room, its hugely bright, I have had to really wind the brightness down, can't believe it wouldnt be veiwable in a brighter room.
Click to expand...
Yes I've had no issues with burn in on my Sony after nearly two years. The brightness is fine in the daytime but we watch mostly in the evenings. Hard to go wrong now.
 
Troezar said:
Bear in mind the input to TV's in a shop is either very poor or demos designed to make them look better. Obviously if they are showing the same content it should be a fair comparison. I did similar and thought the A90J wasn't worth the extra over the A80J. As you say your use case is important. I crossed off Samsung as there was no Dolby Vision. Panasonic are very good but also expensive, LG are a good option for gaming and Sony if you're into films but there's not a huge amount in it once you get above £1k (55").
Click to expand...

I agree there's not much in it between brands, but when I saw them in the shop the screen reflection was the deal breaker for me with OLED as my TV is opposite a window and I wouldn't be able to live with that, whereas the Samsung Q95T I ended up buying has anti reflection technology and I couldn't be happier with my choice, although that was 3 years ago and no doubt technologies have changed since then.

As for OLED burn in, it appears to be luck whether this happens or not, and whether you're prepared to take the risk, pay for expensive extended warranties and baby sit the tv with monthly service refreshing. Look at all the people with burn in on their new OLED iPhones. I watch a lot of news channels and You tube which have static logos and game on my tv so OLED probably wouldn't be the best choice for me. That said OLEDS are great tellies, and it depends on how you use it.
 
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silvagti said:
Hi everyone,

As per the title I need a new TV around 55" for my family lounge. Primarily for watching freeview, streaming services and blu-ray movies. I'm assuming for that price/purpose OLED is the best option to go for?

I'd like it to have support for Freeview Play as I think the rest of my family would appreciate the convenience of being able to easily access contect via the programme guide rather than having to resort to dedicated apps for each channel? I've heard Freeview Play is much better than Youview though I haven't tried either?

Any recommendations/suggestions or features I should be looking for?

TIA
Click to expand...
I've been blown away by the LG C3 as mentioned by a few others. And saw the RTings video recently about the burn in and picture optimisers which run - and the LG was the only consistant one vs Samsung and Sony.
 
rumple9 said:
I agree there's not much in it between brands, but when I saw them in the shop the screen reflection was the deal breaker for me with OLED as my TV is opposite a window and I wouldn't be able to live with that, whereas the Samsung Q95T I ended up buying has anti reflection technology and I couldn't be happier with my choice, although that was 3 years ago and no doubt technologies have changed since then
Click to expand...
Yes reflections would do my head in :cry: I like glossy screens but have the TV opposite another wall and away from the windows so no reflections. The good thing is there are lots of affordable choices these days. It feels like it wasn't long ago when my 32" Panasonic CRT TV was cutting edge, and very heavy!
 
The new IPS ADS Pro miniled panels have made OLEDs obsolete imo. Black levels nearly as good as OLEDs, great motion handling and viewing angles of the IPS and the brightness and burn in worry-free experience of an LCD.

Samsung 55QN90C is my recommendation.
 
silvagti said:
Thanks for the replies everyone. Sounds like a visit to my local TV store and maybe waiting until Black Friday is the best option.

I’m aware there can be burn issues on OLED televisions but as I’m mainly using it for Freeview/TV I figured it wouldn’t be a problem?

Is the lack of Freeview Play support (and use of Youview) on most Sony TV’s something I should be concerned about if I primarily use it for watching Freeview?
Click to expand...
Definitely check out Richer Sounds.
 
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