I have no experience with built-in Roku but I definitely prefer my external Roku to android TV.
the built-in Roku on my TCL is my favorite smart TV experience, and it's not even close. I would be extremely disappointed for it to go away in favor of anything else.
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ButtersA glass of some milksRegistered Userregular
I have no experience with built-in Roku but I definitely prefer my external Roku to android TV.
Yeah, I'm not sold on Android TV. I hear GoogleTV is a bit better... but yeah. As @MichaelLC (and others) have mentioned, apparently Google doesn't have the greatest of track records for supporting these kinds of pet projects, while for Roku it's literally their entire business.
I will admit that it's funny to hear that one innovative feature from Google TV is that it will display random photos and pictures of famous art on your screen while it's not in use. Or, for those of us who used computers before 2010, it has a bog standard screen saver.
I don't think android TV and Google TV do the same thing. Google TV is a content rental service while android TV is a smart TV operating system like Roku.
I also would be a little less concerned with abandonment since its being distributed by other manufacturers. If you look at the Google graveyard it tends to be redundant apps (inbox, hangouts) or half-assed google branded hardware (glass, slate).
I have no experience with built-in Roku but I definitely prefer my external Roku to android TV.
Yeah, I'm not sold on Android TV. I hear GoogleTV is a bit better... but yeah. As @MichaelLC (and others) have mentioned, apparently Google doesn't have the greatest of track records for supporting these kinds of pet projects, while for Roku it's literally their entire business.
I will admit that it's funny to hear that one innovative feature from Google TV is that it will display random photos and pictures of famous art on your screen while it's not in use. Or, for those of us who used computers before 2010, it has a bog standard screen saver.
I don't think android TV and Google TV do the same thing. Google TV is a content rental service while android TV is a smart TV operating system like Roku.
I also would be a little less concerned with abandonment since its being distributed by other manufacturers. If you look at the Google graveyard it tends to be redundant apps (inbox, hangouts) or half-assed google branded hardware (glass, slate).
Google TV is basically a shell over Android. You can get google TV devices that are basically Roku sticks now. It's kind of a merging of Android TV (like on sony TVs and Nvidia shield devices) with the Chromecast.
Which, funny enough, also doesn't support stadia. :rotate:
I have no experience with built-in Roku but I definitely prefer my external Roku to android TV.
Yeah, I'm not sold on Android TV. I hear GoogleTV is a bit better... but yeah. As MichaelLC (and others) have mentioned, apparently Google doesn't have the greatest of track records for supporting these kinds of pet projects, while for Roku it's literally their entire business.
I will admit that it's funny to hear that one innovative feature from Google TV is that it will display random photos and pictures of famous art on your screen while it's not in use. Or, for those of us who used computers before 2010, it has a bog standard screen saver.
I don't think android TV and Google TV do the same thing. Google TV is a content rental service while android TV is a smart TV operating system like Roku.
I also would be a little less concerned with abandonment since its being distributed by other manufacturers. If you look at the Google graveyard it tends to be redundant apps (inbox, hangouts) or half-assed google branded hardware (glass, slate).
Its only supported as long as Google is paying them to include it, as shown by dropping Roku.
If it was just an offline thing like a regular TV OS, I wouldn't care. But if Google drops it, now the apps don't work.
I personally am just moaning to moan though, unlikely to get a new TV anytime soon.
I have no experience with built-in Roku but I definitely prefer my external Roku to android TV.
Yeah, I'm not sold on Android TV. I hear GoogleTV is a bit better... but yeah. As MichaelLC (and others) have mentioned, apparently Google doesn't have the greatest of track records for supporting these kinds of pet projects, while for Roku it's literally their entire business.
I will admit that it's funny to hear that one innovative feature from Google TV is that it will display random photos and pictures of famous art on your screen while it's not in use. Or, for those of us who used computers before 2010, it has a bog standard screen saver.
I don't think android TV and Google TV do the same thing. Google TV is a content rental service while android TV is a smart TV operating system like Roku.
I also would be a little less concerned with abandonment since its being distributed by other manufacturers. If you look at the Google graveyard it tends to be redundant apps (inbox, hangouts) or half-assed google branded hardware (glass, slate).
Its only supported as long as Google is paying them to include it, as shown by dropping Roku.
If it was just an offline thing like a regular TV OS, I wouldn't care. But if Google drops it, now the apps don't work.
I personally am just moaning to moan though, unlikely to get a new TV anytime soon.
I am assuming that TCL and SONY have contracts with Google to support the smart functions for at least some definitive period of time.
Quick TV question from someone who hasn't bought one in ten years, do most newer TVs have bluetooth? It would be nice to be able to set up bluetooth headphones to the TV
edit: Or is this something you would pair with a soundbar? I'm pretty ignorant here.
Corvus on
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
Quick TV question from someone who hasn't bought one in ten years, do most newer TVs have bluetooth? It would be nice to be able to set up bluetooth headphones to the TV
edit: Or is this something you would pair with a soundbar? I'm pretty ignorant here.
Bluetooth has an annoying delay. It's doable, but it kinda sucks. Your best bet is the made-for-TVs headphones like the Sony WHRF-400 or Sennheiser RS175. Just make sure the TV has the proper output, pretty sure the Sony still only has analog connectors.
Quick TV question from someone who hasn't bought one in ten years, do most newer TVs have bluetooth? It would be nice to be able to set up bluetooth headphones to the TV
edit: Or is this something you would pair with a soundbar? I'm pretty ignorant here.
You can pair a soundbar up with bluetooth, which is convenient if you want an impromptu music system for your phone, but really not good for video games or even videos due to the aforementioned lag. I think any TV with BT would nave an optical out at this point, but maybe I'm wrong and those are on the way out--in any case, all the devices hooked up to my Q70R, which is quite a few, output over my Vizio soundbar via optical out from the TV, rather than the individual devices. Very convenient, and if there is a delay, it's indiscernible.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
Quick TV question from someone who hasn't bought one in ten years, do most newer TVs have bluetooth? It would be nice to be able to set up bluetooth headphones to the TV
edit: Or is this something you would pair with a soundbar? I'm pretty ignorant here.
You can pair a soundbar up with bluetooth, which is convenient if you want an impromptu music system for your phone, but really not good for video games or even videos due to the aforementioned lag. I think any TV with BT would nave an optical out at this point, but maybe I'm wrong and those are on the way out--in any case, all the devices hooked up to my Q70R, which is quite a few, output over my Vizio soundbar via optical out from the TV, rather than the individual devices. Very convenient, and if there is a delay, it's indiscernible.
TOSLINK delay is usually so small you can't perceive it. Sometimes there's a handshake issue and it can be bad, but usually switching the TV to PCM resolves that.
ButtersA glass of some milksRegistered Userregular
The middle and higher end Rokus have a headphone jack in the remote for private listening but I have never used it so I can't comment on how well they work.
Quick TV question from someone who hasn't bought one in ten years, do most newer TVs have bluetooth? It would be nice to be able to set up bluetooth headphones to the TV
edit: Or is this something you would pair with a soundbar? I'm pretty ignorant here.
Bluetooth has an annoying delay. It's doable, but it kinda sucks. Your best bet is the made-for-TVs headphones like the Sony WHRF-400 or Sennheiser RS175. Just make sure the TV has the proper output, pretty sure the Sony still only has analog connectors.
Thanks for all the answers. I have some older wireless headphones that were basically made for TV (base unit plugs into audio jack, transmits to headphones), I could just use those I guess. I was thinking of Bluetooth for my kid, he has his own little bluetooth headphones and sometimes it would be nice to make him watch TV with those on so I don't have to hear Paw Patrol.
The middle and higher end Rokus have a headphone jack in the remote for private listening but I have never used it so I can't comment on how well they work.
My remote doesn't have a headphone jack, but I've used the roku app on my phone for the same thing. There's a noticeable delay with that.
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ButtersA glass of some milksRegistered Userregular
I would definitely expect delay with that as there is no method of synchronizing the Roku processor and your phone's.
Now I am curious and if I remember I am going to try it out when I get home tonight and report back the results.
ButtersA glass of some milksRegistered Userregular
Tested it last night and there was no noticeable delay or any other audio issues to speak of. I am sure it drains the batteries faster but I can confirm that my Roku's remote headphone function works as advertised.
The 2020 TCL 5 is not available locally. (I still haven't made it to Walmart, but I would be surprised if it was. Most stores here are still trying to get rid of 2019 stock.)
My original plan was to pick it up off Amazon, but thanks to tax returns causing a run on the stores, that's not happening for a while. But I could have Bestbuy deliver to store, Bestbuy deliver to me, or Walmart deliver to me.
I was going to go Amazon Prime because I figure if there's any issues like it not working or being smashed up in shipping, Amazon will do me right. Has anyone had experience with Walmart or Bestbuy shipping / returns?
Edit:
And now the scalpers are just plain lying, or the 2021 models hit Amazon without anyone noticing (they didn't):
The bad thing being the TCL 4 one there is being sold by Amazon, not the scalpers.
Based on 2019 and 2020, we won't see the 2021 models in the US until August.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
Best Buy "shipping" depends on where you're located. A good chunk of the time it's a Geek Squad employee doing the delivery, except in major metro areas I think.
Best Buy "shipping" depends on where you're located. A good chunk of the time it's a Geek Squad employee doing the delivery, except in major metro areas I think.
I heard that, actually, yeah. The thing is I can get it shipped to store, and it'll be available a week or two from Friday for pickup, or I can have it shipped to me, and the timeframes are similar to Amazon/Walmart's UPS(?). So I figured that was UPS shipping -- unless they're really making me wait until Friday to pick up a TV I have shipped.
My original plan was to pick it up off Amazon, but thanks to tax returns causing a run on the stores, that's not happening for a while. But I could have Bestbuy deliver to store, Bestbuy deliver to me, or Walmart deliver to me.
I have not had a good time with my Best Buy-purchased TV, as some people in this thread are aware with. However, I'm not one of those people who assumes my experience is a universal one either. I'm just not going to buy another TV from them so long as I have some other option.
That being said, I don't think Geek Squad does deliveries--in my area, Best Buy hires a third-party delivery company. They're...adequate, not particularly timely, but they do try and work around your schedule.
Hm. Reddit thinks the new TCL models ARE coming in, which is why the TCL 2020 models are starting to go out of stock? Very odd. Does anyone know where I can find historical release date info on TVs? I mean, if the 2021 models are landing in the next few months, I can certainly put off buying one for the time being. At the very least, the 2020 models will be cheaper when the 2021 models are out.
Edit: Furthering this theory, the TCL 4s are about 25% off at the local Walmart, and Amazon isn't even trying to get the TCL 5s back in stock.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
Hm. Reddit thinks the new TCL models ARE coming in, which is why the TCL 2020 models are starting to go out of stock? Very odd. Does anyone know where I can find historical release date info on TVs? I mean, if the 2021 models are landing in the next few months, I can certainly put off buying one for the time being. At the very least, the 2020 models will be cheaper when the 2021 models are out.
Edit: Furthering this theory, the TCL 4s are about 25% off at the local Walmart, and Amazon isn't even trying to get the TCL 5s back in stock.
Spring time is about right for new models, so sure. I highly doubt there will be huge discounts on the 2020 models though. The 4 series being on sale at Walmart is one thing, but for the most part retailers have been selling through their stock as they get it, there won't be much left to discount.
Sometime in April, I'm looking to buy a 65" as a gift for someone, and right now I'm looking at the TCL 5 Series 65". Though, I'm a little worried about that choice based on reading the last few pages of this thread...
And of course, looking at TV's has me itching to finally upgrade my 1080p TV. Ones I've been looking at are (65") LG CX, Sony A8H, and Samsung Q80T. I gotta say, the Samsung looks pretty attractive. Even now, I'm still concerned about OLED's longevity and burn in issues.
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ButtersA glass of some milksRegistered Userregular
I was also concerned with burn-in but almost every authoritative source says that's a borderline non-issue anymore. There are other advantages and drawbacks that might help make the decision for you. For example, I stuck with LED over OLED because I generally watch TV in well-lighted conditions and LED is still considerably brighter. I watch a lot of sports and play a lot of games with lights on and my house gets a decent amount of natural light during the day. But if you watch movies in the dark and want the best contrast possible, OLED is the way to go. OLED also has a viewing angle advantage if that matters to you.
ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
I really wouldn't sweat burn in too much. The only panels I've junked out for it are people who watch the news literally all day. Like, turn on CNN and leave it there for twelve hours. Between the LG and the Sony, get whichever one is on sale at a better price. That's almost guaranteed to be the LG, but things might change.
The Q80T is a great TV. I've said before I'm pretty anti-samsung, but the set is still great. Deciding between that and an OLED is dependent on what you are doing. The one thing I'd say for sure it's if the TV is going in a bright room, you should definitely steer more towards the Q80T. Both support Freesync, both do 4k/120, and that last one doesn't matter at all unless you're hooking a powerful PC to the TV. The new consoles support 4k/120 but I highly doubt many games will run at that speed.
Brightness/glare shouldnt be an issue. One reason I’m looking at OLED is for the blacks. My current TV is pretty good at black, but there is still a tiny bit of light bleed through.
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ButtersA glass of some milksRegistered Userregular
edited March 2021
If you for some reason have an opinion on LG hardware, you might want to know that they are currently the sole manufacturer of OLED TV panels. Sony OLEDs have Sony processors but the screen is LG's.
I was also concerned with burn-in but almost every authoritative source says that's a borderline non-issue anymore. There are other advantages and drawbacks that might help make the decision for you. For example, I stuck with LED over OLED because I generally watch TV in well-lighted conditions and LED is still considerably brighter. I watch a lot of sports and play a lot of games with lights on and my house gets a decent amount of natural light during the day. But if you watch movies in the dark and want the best contrast possible, OLED is the way to go. OLED also has a viewing angle advantage if that matters to you.
I think the OLED burn-in concern is a lot more real if you're expecting several years longevity from a TV, which thanks to technology progression--and the fact that so many other things on a TV could break--isn't the norm anymore. There's a reason OLED PC monitors stopped being a thing after about a year more or less, and haven't made a comeback, and only part of that is "No one wants to make an OLED panel smaller than TV and larger than a phone." For a home TV? You're not sitting at the same distances, you're not using the same devices with a UI.
One strike against OLED might be that, at a given price point, you may potentially be passing on actual useful high-end gaming features--high refresh rates, Freesync, low latency most obviously--that LG was slow to catch up on for years after Samsung introduced them. But I think they've closed that gap, but you are expected to pay for them. Or not if you find a good deal. Not something to worry about that much.
And it's not like phones, where you'll pretty much see OLED burn unless you're trading your phone every year. Ironically, I say this as an LG phone user. Gotta' have my Quad DAC. That being said, Samsung, Pioneer, and Sharp all still make OLED panels, but I don't think any of them make them for TVs (and see the aforementioned "we don't make OLED monitors anymore"). Samsung in particular is using them in phones, so it's not all that relevant in retrospect.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
Brightness/glare shouldnt be an issue. One reason I’m looking at OLED is for the blacks. My current TV is pretty good at black, but there is still a tiny bit of light bleed through.
OLED TVs are generally not as bright as QLED, so in a room with lots of sunlight it can be difficult to see the screen sometimes. I know it's gotten somewhat better, but I can have a difficult time with some movies on my TV.
Brightness/glare shouldnt be an issue. One reason I’m looking at OLED is for the blacks. My current TV is pretty good at black, but there is still a tiny bit of light bleed through.
OLED TVs are generally not as bright as QLED, so in a room with lots of sunlight it can be difficult to see the screen sometimes. I know it's gotten somewhat better, but I can have a difficult time with some movies on my TV.
It was more of an issue when the solution to burn-in was "Just set your TV at half-brightness, dumbass. You know how the brightness controls work, right?" So, on top of OLED not being as bright, LG wanted you to dim it for longevity reasons.
I don't think this is a preferred solution now, even if you can find a lot of "scuttle-butt" on Reddit, etc., about how you shouldn't run them at full brightness anyway.
I want the reviews for the new Sony oled (A9J?) to come out, I'm curious what it's heatsink does to screen brightness.
Samsung is supposed to be releasing its oled next year (oled panel with a quantum dot filter, might be brighter than normal oleds cuz it's removing a filter layer), but I'm not totally on board with buying first gen products and I'm not sure I want to wait another two years before buying a TV.
Or maybe I'll go budget/mid range again in the hopes I can make the leap to a micro led TV in another 7 or so years.
Hm. Reddit thinks the new TCL models ARE coming in, which is why the TCL 2020 models are starting to go out of stock? Very odd. Does anyone know where I can find historical release date info on TVs? I mean, if the 2021 models are landing in the next few months, I can certainly put off buying one for the time being. At the very least, the 2020 models will be cheaper when the 2021 models are out.
Edit: Furthering this theory, the TCL 4s are about 25% off at the local Walmart, and Amazon isn't even trying to get the TCL 5s back in stock.
Spring time is about right for new models, so sure. I highly doubt there will be huge discounts on the 2020 models though. The 4 series being on sale at Walmart is one thing, but for the most part retailers have been selling through their stock as they get it, there won't be much left to discount.
See what gets me is all the TCL models I've looked at on Amazon had a "first on Amazon" date of August 10ish in 2019 and 2020. But the pressers I found from last year suggest Mayish. Maybe announced Mayish, and took ~3 months to hit the stores?
Looking at the comparisons the TCL 5 2020 and the TCL-should-be-5-2021 look like they're going to be pretty similar, except the 2021 is losing a HDMI port.
Oh, and the Samsung Q80T is being replaced next week with the Q80A. $1300 for the 55 inch.
TCL however normally releases in September instead.
Samsung typically releases March - April
LG & Sony typically are April to as late as June.
Vizio under normal years would follow the LG & Sony structure but for 2021 it appears they will be carrying over their 2020 model year, the "2021 Collection." (I.e., there won't be a new Vizio this year?)
Samsung, LG, & Sony utilize UMRP (Unilateral Minimum Resale Price) in which the manufacturer sets the price of the TV not the retailer.
Avoid websites that are fare below the UMRP price as they are typically scam websites.
The OLED tv tech is also way ahead of phones and monitors, so the comparison doesn’t really work.
Even for LG phones, they don’t use LG panels. The monitors were also so incredibly expensive - most were $3000 and up - which is why they didn’t get any traction.
We went over this a few pages back, but just check out the Rtings review of burn-in. The tech has vastly improved for TVs since the 7 series for LG.
Having the absolute blacks is a game changer for myself, I don’t think I could back.
You get this almost inky look with images on the screen, it just looks amazing.
The monitors were also so incredibly expensive - most were $3000 and up - which is why they didn’t get any traction.
Yeah, we can pretend that the rampant quality control issues weren't part of that at all, because no one ever sells monitors in that price point.
As I said earlier--maybe don't forecast your experience with an OLED television with the longevity of OLED smart phones and monitors (back when they sold them). A bigger issue might be "Do you like LG's televisions in general," because there's not a lot of getting around that.
I'm still super hesitant about OLED. I'm reading too many complaints about them in general: burn in/image retention, brightness levels over time, and general longevity/lifespan. I'm coming up on 10 years with my current TV and it still looks great. Not sure if the same can be said of OLED? Granted, those complaints could be from early adopters and the tech really has gotten better now...
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
I'm still super hesitant about OLED. I'm reading too many complaints about them in general: burn in/image retention, brightness levels over time, and general longevity/lifespan. I'm coming up on 10 years with my current TV and it still looks great. Not sure if the same can be said of OLED? Granted, those complaints could be from early adopters and the tech really has gotten better now...
Bit of both. Like I said above, I've only ever junked out OLED panels because the person was watching the same news channel for 10+ hours a day. Under normal use you'll likely never see a problem. The brightness levels over time are likely the same thing. I go to an awful lot of homes that have 12+ year old plasma TVs that still look great.
The monitors were also so incredibly expensive - most were $3000 and up - which is why they didn’t get any traction.
Yeah, we can pretend that the rampant quality control issues weren't part of that at all, because no one ever sells monitors in that price point.
As I said earlier--maybe don't forecast your experience with an OLED television with the longevity of OLED smart phones and monitors (back when they sold them). A bigger issue might be "Do you like LG's televisions in general," because there's not a lot of getting around that.
If we are talking gaming monitors then no there aren't any that are around $3000 that sell well, which is the bracket I assume we are talking about
If we're talking professional grade monitors for design then yeah there are lots around that price, but then there are still OLED monitors for that use. The most popular ones are still 55" and up as they use the LG TV panels which like I said above is the much better tech.
Really this conversation just goes in circles. The best resource is to read the RTings actual testing. If your TV habits outpace what their testing does then you know that an OLED tv would not work for you.
The trade off is you get the best picture, but there is always the risk of burn-in, regardless of how minimal it is.
Again if you look at the top rated TV's on Rtings, the top 7 spots are all OLED's. Is there a better place to find reviews then Rtings?
With consumer reports, OLED has the highest reliability, even with burn-in being part of that equation. As many people have mentioned before, I believe from the 7 or 8 series and above, burn-in risk with greatly mitigated.
They are far ahead of the Samsung Q90 in reported reliability, simply because of the OLED tech.
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ButtersA glass of some milksRegistered Userregular
I'm still super hesitant about OLED. I'm reading too many complaints about them in general: burn in/image retention, brightness levels over time, and general longevity/lifespan. I'm coming up on 10 years with my current TV and it still looks great. Not sure if the same can be said of OLED? Granted, those complaints could be from early adopters and the tech really has gotten better now...
You might have to adjust your 10-years expectation. My old Samsung 52" 1080p lasted that long but the 55" inch 4K LED lasted 6 and that is apparently a good run these days.
The monitors were also so incredibly expensive - most were $3000 and up - which is why they didn’t get any traction.
Yeah, we can pretend that the rampant quality control issues weren't part of that at all, because no one ever sells monitors in that price point.
As I said earlier--maybe don't forecast your experience with an OLED television with the longevity of OLED smart phones and monitors (back when they sold them). A bigger issue might be "Do you like LG's televisions in general," because there's not a lot of getting around that.
If we are talking gaming monitors then no there aren't any that are around $3000 that sell well, which is the bracket I assume we are talking about
If we're talking professional grade monitors for design then yeah there are lots around that price, but then there are still OLED monitors for that use. The most popular ones are still 55" and up as they use the LG TV panels which like I said above is the much better tech.
Which is why I literally linked a professional-use monitor that was pulled for reliability issues. Which returns to the original point, "there's a reason why OLED PC monitors aren't prolific, and sometimes aren't getting updated, the way other options are," followed by the original caveat "But they're not the same issues you're likely to see on TV." Though they are a thing even if...people may suggest you just buy a television instead.
It's not some conspiracy to be mean to mom-and-pop OLED manufacturers, and it's not surprising if you're looking for a PC monitor that isn't a literal television (even a great television).
The original point is someone here trying to buy a TV, and as I've pointed out, the LG and Sony OLED's have much higher reliability than even the top range Samsung. It's not even close apparently. I just didn't realize how much of a gap there was.
You are trying to argue a point for a use case that fits no one here.
Again, as you even quoted, professional they do use OLED monitors, it's just a 55" OLED panel wrapped up as a monitor and sold to professional groups. I would think it's pretty obvious a company isn't going to sink as much money into R&D as LG did into their panels to sell to a smaller market segment when that company can just take the tech LG has created and still make it work.
It seems like you are trying to chase these far off points to spread the misinformation that OLED burn-in is a plague of some sort.
Again, the large majority of review sites rate the OLED as #1, consumer reports has OLED as #1 reliability with a good lead over Samsung's top choice. I'm not sure what else you need here.
I can just google 'highest rated TV' and a LG or Sony OLED seems to be #1 for every result returned on the first page of google.
So my soundbar, Yamaha ats-2090, doesn't seem to let me change bluetooth devices. It always connects to the last paired device if available, there's no way to disconnect from it's currently paired device, and it won't accept a new connection if it's already connected. The only workaround I've found is too turn off the Bluetooth on the connected phone and then try to connect to it from the other phone
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the built-in Roku on my TCL is my favorite smart TV experience, and it's not even close. I would be extremely disappointed for it to go away in favor of anything else.
I don't think android TV and Google TV do the same thing. Google TV is a content rental service while android TV is a smart TV operating system like Roku.
I also would be a little less concerned with abandonment since its being distributed by other manufacturers. If you look at the Google graveyard it tends to be redundant apps (inbox, hangouts) or half-assed google branded hardware (glass, slate).
Google TV is basically a shell over Android. You can get google TV devices that are basically Roku sticks now. It's kind of a merging of Android TV (like on sony TVs and Nvidia shield devices) with the Chromecast.
Which, funny enough, also doesn't support stadia. :rotate:
Its only supported as long as Google is paying them to include it, as shown by dropping Roku.
If it was just an offline thing like a regular TV OS, I wouldn't care. But if Google drops it, now the apps don't work.
I personally am just moaning to moan though, unlikely to get a new TV anytime soon.
The Scalpers have entered the chat.
This is for the TCL 5 50" btw. That last one is particularly assholish, as I saw him selling it for retail yesterday.
I am assuming that TCL and SONY have contracts with Google to support the smart functions for at least some definitive period of time.
edit: Or is this something you would pair with a soundbar? I'm pretty ignorant here.
Bluetooth has an annoying delay. It's doable, but it kinda sucks. Your best bet is the made-for-TVs headphones like the Sony WHRF-400 or Sennheiser RS175. Just make sure the TV has the proper output, pretty sure the Sony still only has analog connectors.
You can pair a soundbar up with bluetooth, which is convenient if you want an impromptu music system for your phone, but really not good for video games or even videos due to the aforementioned lag. I think any TV with BT would nave an optical out at this point, but maybe I'm wrong and those are on the way out--in any case, all the devices hooked up to my Q70R, which is quite a few, output over my Vizio soundbar via optical out from the TV, rather than the individual devices. Very convenient, and if there is a delay, it's indiscernible.
TOSLINK delay is usually so small you can't perceive it. Sometimes there's a handshake issue and it can be bad, but usually switching the TV to PCM resolves that.
Thanks for all the answers. I have some older wireless headphones that were basically made for TV (base unit plugs into audio jack, transmits to headphones), I could just use those I guess. I was thinking of Bluetooth for my kid, he has his own little bluetooth headphones and sometimes it would be nice to make him watch TV with those on so I don't have to hear Paw Patrol.
My remote doesn't have a headphone jack, but I've used the roku app on my phone for the same thing. There's a noticeable delay with that.
Now I am curious and if I remember I am going to try it out when I get home tonight and report back the results.
The 2020 TCL 5 is not available locally. (I still haven't made it to Walmart, but I would be surprised if it was. Most stores here are still trying to get rid of 2019 stock.)
My original plan was to pick it up off Amazon, but thanks to tax returns causing a run on the stores, that's not happening for a while. But I could have Bestbuy deliver to store, Bestbuy deliver to me, or Walmart deliver to me.
I was going to go Amazon Prime because I figure if there's any issues like it not working or being smashed up in shipping, Amazon will do me right. Has anyone had experience with Walmart or Bestbuy shipping / returns?
Edit:
And now the scalpers are just plain lying, or the 2021 models hit Amazon without anyone noticing (they didn't):
The bad thing being the TCL 4 one there is being sold by Amazon, not the scalpers.
Based on 2019 and 2020, we won't see the 2021 models in the US until August.
I heard that, actually, yeah. The thing is I can get it shipped to store, and it'll be available a week or two from Friday for pickup, or I can have it shipped to me, and the timeframes are similar to Amazon/Walmart's UPS(?). So I figured that was UPS shipping -- unless they're really making me wait until Friday to pick up a TV I have shipped.
I have not had a good time with my Best Buy-purchased TV, as some people in this thread are aware with. However, I'm not one of those people who assumes my experience is a universal one either. I'm just not going to buy another TV from them so long as I have some other option.
That being said, I don't think Geek Squad does deliveries--in my area, Best Buy hires a third-party delivery company. They're...adequate, not particularly timely, but they do try and work around your schedule.
Edit: Furthering this theory, the TCL 4s are about 25% off at the local Walmart, and Amazon isn't even trying to get the TCL 5s back in stock.
Spring time is about right for new models, so sure. I highly doubt there will be huge discounts on the 2020 models though. The 4 series being on sale at Walmart is one thing, but for the most part retailers have been selling through their stock as they get it, there won't be much left to discount.
And of course, looking at TV's has me itching to finally upgrade my 1080p TV. Ones I've been looking at are (65") LG CX, Sony A8H, and Samsung Q80T. I gotta say, the Samsung looks pretty attractive. Even now, I'm still concerned about OLED's longevity and burn in issues.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/oled-vs-led/
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-xH6yxNsAhQ5/learn/oled-led-tv.html
The Q80T is a great TV. I've said before I'm pretty anti-samsung, but the set is still great. Deciding between that and an OLED is dependent on what you are doing. The one thing I'd say for sure it's if the TV is going in a bright room, you should definitely steer more towards the Q80T. Both support Freesync, both do 4k/120, and that last one doesn't matter at all unless you're hooking a powerful PC to the TV. The new consoles support 4k/120 but I highly doubt many games will run at that speed.
I think the OLED burn-in concern is a lot more real if you're expecting several years longevity from a TV, which thanks to technology progression--and the fact that so many other things on a TV could break--isn't the norm anymore. There's a reason OLED PC monitors stopped being a thing after about a year more or less, and haven't made a comeback, and only part of that is "No one wants to make an OLED panel smaller than TV and larger than a phone." For a home TV? You're not sitting at the same distances, you're not using the same devices with a UI.
One strike against OLED might be that, at a given price point, you may potentially be passing on actual useful high-end gaming features--high refresh rates, Freesync, low latency most obviously--that LG was slow to catch up on for years after Samsung introduced them. But I think they've closed that gap, but you are expected to pay for them. Or not if you find a good deal. Not something to worry about that much.
And it's not like phones, where you'll pretty much see OLED burn unless you're trading your phone every year. Ironically, I say this as an LG phone user. Gotta' have my Quad DAC. That being said, Samsung, Pioneer, and Sharp all still make OLED panels, but I don't think any of them make them for TVs (and see the aforementioned "we don't make OLED monitors anymore"). Samsung in particular is using them in phones, so it's not all that relevant in retrospect.
OLED TVs are generally not as bright as QLED, so in a room with lots of sunlight it can be difficult to see the screen sometimes. I know it's gotten somewhat better, but I can have a difficult time with some movies on my TV.
It was more of an issue when the solution to burn-in was "Just set your TV at half-brightness, dumbass. You know how the brightness controls work, right?" So, on top of OLED not being as bright, LG wanted you to dim it for longevity reasons.
I don't think this is a preferred solution now, even if you can find a lot of "scuttle-butt" on Reddit, etc., about how you shouldn't run them at full brightness anyway.
Samsung is supposed to be releasing its oled next year (oled panel with a quantum dot filter, might be brighter than normal oleds cuz it's removing a filter layer), but I'm not totally on board with buying first gen products and I'm not sure I want to wait another two years before buying a TV.
Or maybe I'll go budget/mid range again in the hopes I can make the leap to a micro led TV in another 7 or so years.
See what gets me is all the TCL models I've looked at on Amazon had a "first on Amazon" date of August 10ish in 2019 and 2020. But the pressers I found from last year suggest Mayish. Maybe announced Mayish, and took ~3 months to hit the stores?
Looking at the comparisons the TCL 5 2020 and the TCL-should-be-5-2021 look like they're going to be pretty similar, except the 2021 is losing a HDMI port.
Oh, and the Samsung Q80T is being replaced next week with the Q80A. $1300 for the 55 inch.
https://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-75-inch-Class-Q80A-Built/dp/B08WFLBLWP/
According to Reddit (from RTings):
TCL however normally releases in September instead.
Samsung typically releases March - April
LG & Sony typically are April to as late as June.
Vizio under normal years would follow the LG & Sony structure but for 2021 it appears they will be carrying over their 2020 model year, the "2021 Collection." (I.e., there won't be a new Vizio this year?)
Samsung, LG, & Sony utilize UMRP (Unilateral Minimum Resale Price) in which the manufacturer sets the price of the TV not the retailer.
Avoid websites that are fare below the UMRP price as they are typically scam websites.
Even for LG phones, they don’t use LG panels. The monitors were also so incredibly expensive - most were $3000 and up - which is why they didn’t get any traction.
We went over this a few pages back, but just check out the Rtings review of burn-in. The tech has vastly improved for TVs since the 7 series for LG.
Having the absolute blacks is a game changer for myself, I don’t think I could back.
You get this almost inky look with images on the screen, it just looks amazing.
Yeah, we can pretend that the rampant quality control issues weren't part of that at all, because no one ever sells monitors in that price point.
As I said earlier--maybe don't forecast your experience with an OLED television with the longevity of OLED smart phones and monitors (back when they sold them). A bigger issue might be "Do you like LG's televisions in general," because there's not a lot of getting around that.
Bit of both. Like I said above, I've only ever junked out OLED panels because the person was watching the same news channel for 10+ hours a day. Under normal use you'll likely never see a problem. The brightness levels over time are likely the same thing. I go to an awful lot of homes that have 12+ year old plasma TVs that still look great.
If we are talking gaming monitors then no there aren't any that are around $3000 that sell well, which is the bracket I assume we are talking about
If we're talking professional grade monitors for design then yeah there are lots around that price, but then there are still OLED monitors for that use. The most popular ones are still 55" and up as they use the LG TV panels which like I said above is the much better tech.
Really this conversation just goes in circles. The best resource is to read the RTings actual testing. If your TV habits outpace what their testing does then you know that an OLED tv would not work for you.
The trade off is you get the best picture, but there is always the risk of burn-in, regardless of how minimal it is.
Again if you look at the top rated TV's on Rtings, the top 7 spots are all OLED's. Is there a better place to find reviews then Rtings?
Take a look at this video and just skip to 4:02
With consumer reports, OLED has the highest reliability, even with burn-in being part of that equation. As many people have mentioned before, I believe from the 7 or 8 series and above, burn-in risk with greatly mitigated.
They are far ahead of the Samsung Q90 in reported reliability, simply because of the OLED tech.
You might have to adjust your 10-years expectation. My old Samsung 52" 1080p lasted that long but the 55" inch 4K LED lasted 6 and that is apparently a good run these days.
Which is why I literally linked a professional-use monitor that was pulled for reliability issues. Which returns to the original point, "there's a reason why OLED PC monitors aren't prolific, and sometimes aren't getting updated, the way other options are," followed by the original caveat "But they're not the same issues you're likely to see on TV." Though they are a thing even if...people may suggest you just buy a television instead.
It's not some conspiracy to be mean to mom-and-pop OLED manufacturers, and it's not surprising if you're looking for a PC monitor that isn't a literal television (even a great television).
You are trying to argue a point for a use case that fits no one here.
Again, as you even quoted, professional they do use OLED monitors, it's just a 55" OLED panel wrapped up as a monitor and sold to professional groups. I would think it's pretty obvious a company isn't going to sink as much money into R&D as LG did into their panels to sell to a smaller market segment when that company can just take the tech LG has created and still make it work.
It seems like you are trying to chase these far off points to spread the misinformation that OLED burn-in is a plague of some sort.
Again, the large majority of review sites rate the OLED as #1, consumer reports has OLED as #1 reliability with a good lead over Samsung's top choice. I'm not sure what else you need here.
I can just google 'highest rated TV' and a LG or Sony OLED seems to be #1 for every result returned on the first page of google.