New budget 4k tv

danlightbulb · 30 Dec 2018 at 11:21

Hi

I have my eyes on a new tv as a treat to myself. I currently have a 32" which is several years old.

55" would be the size Id go for in my normal sized living room. Around 8 feet viewing distance.

I have standard Virgin tv and an xbox 360. I could also connect my pc which is in the other corner of the room, either by wire (8m round the walls) or wirelessly.

Will i get any benefit from 4k in this scenario?

Should I also get a soundbar?

Is a £500 tv going to be rubbish?

CraigMcC11 · 2 Jan 2019 at 22:09

You should be able to notice the difference between 1080p and 4K at 8 feet on a 55 inch screen. However, it depends if you will be viewing any native 4K sources or will be watching upscaled HD or SD content - which seems likely with standard Virgin and Xbox 360.

However, you will struggle to find any new TV that isn’t 4K at 55 inches. If you want HDR, you’re looking at nearly £1k for a 55 inch TV that can do HDR some level of justice. Hisense have a number of TVs around £500 that are good with 4K and SDR content but not very good with HDR.

Most flat screen TVs have poor speakers so a soundbar can be a good addition. However your requirements will again depend on sources. Something that can handle Dolby Digital should probably be enough for most TV, games, streaming and DVDs.

danlightbulb · 5 Jan 2019 at 18:27

Thanks. Ive seen a Hisense U7A model recommended in this price range. It comes in 55" size or for a bit more, 65". All the guidance online seems to suggest going as big as you can these days, but I'm concerned 65" would dominate the room. However 55" might be too small after Ive got used to it. Very difficult. Ive been to a shop to compare sizes and the 65" does look rather large but in the shop its lost in the space really.

And soundbars seem really expensive for what they are.

It seems to make the most of a new tv I'd need a proper 4k source and access to 4k content. I don't really buy DVDs presently. I could potentially ditch the virgin package and go for a streaming subscription service if that would give me 4k content. Can regular broadband stream 4k content from the likes of netflix or now tv?

SAM81 · 5 Jan 2019 at 18:46

See my previous thread - I ws in a similar position. Picked up the Philips 55PUS6703 for £479. Now, keep in mind in coming from a 8 year old Sony Bravia, put with a little tweaking of the settings, the picture is stunning. Remote and interface is a little slow, but I can live with that. Well worth a look.