4K TVs

Magus` · September 2018

I'm in the market for a roughly mid-range TV. I currently have a 60" plasma which is also acting as a space heater. I'd prefer at least 55" with HDR support and trying to keep it under $600.

Any suggestions? I know Black Friday can have deals but I'm not sure if the assumed discount is worth the wait.

Thanks!

twmjr · September 2018

I don't have any recommendations personally but the TV thread in Moe's is pretty great and helpful --

https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/141038/the-tv-thread-more-for-less

DevoutlyApathetic · September 2018

At that price point I think you're looking at the Roku TCL 55R617. You'd need a deal to get that under $600 one but not a huge one, like 10%. I grabbed one off Ebay earlier this ear when they were running one of Ebay wide promos.

I've been pretty happy with it though it drives me nuts there was no single button to swap inputs. I fixed that with a Harmony remote but it is still there by default.

TOGSolid · September 2018

Another option are Vizio screens but much like Devoutly's suggestion, you're gonna need to wait for a small deal to get it into your price range. I have one of their smaller 4k TVs and it works and looks perfectly fine so I feel pretty comfortable recommending them as a solid budget option.

Thundyrkatz · September 2018

Maybe this LG Electronics 55UK6300PUE 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV (2018 Model) for $541

Also at BJ's $479 if you have a BJ's near you.

Siska · September 2018

Stay away from Samsung smart TVs. We had one for about 1 week before we took it back to the store (and got a cheaper Vizio non smart tv). Because annoying ass pop ups every few hours that there was no way to disable. We looked it up. No idea if smart TVs of other brands or newer models have the same problem

DevoutlyApathetic · September 2018

Siska wrote: »

Stay away from Samsung smart TVs. We had one for about 1 week before we took it back to the store (and got a cheaper Vizio non smart tv). Because annoying ass pop ups every few hours that there was no way to disable. We looked it up. No idea if smart TVs of other brands or newer models have the same problem

For TCL I can say that isn't an issue. They basically just have a roku built in to manage inputs and apps and all that and generally just gets out of the way. There are some minor annoyances, like the preset for "Playstation" doesn't have game mode turned on by default which gave me a minor heart attack until I realized it.

Also the HDR brightness setting is per an input and can't be adjusted unless the input is currently displaying in HDR. Stuff came out too dark until I realized that and could correct. That sort of thing, where there are not really fine grained adjustment options could be an issue if you really like to tweak that sort of stuff.

Shadowfire · September 2018

Siska wrote: »

Stay away from Samsung smart TVs. We had one for about 1 week before we took it back to the store (and got a cheaper Vizio non smart tv). Because annoying ass pop ups every few hours that there was no way to disable. We looked it up. No idea if smart TVs of other brands or newer models have the same problem

Popup? Can you fill me in here? Because I've never seen it, but I set them up all the time and I want to be sure I'm not missing something.

Thirith · September 2018

I've not had that problem with my Samsung TV, a KS8000. The main problem I have is that the TV tends to get confused with respect to what device I'm currently using, which may be due to the Sony AV receiver I've got hooked up to the TV on one side and to a PS4, Apple TV and UHD Blu-ray player on the other. Sometimes the TV recognises the individual inputs, often it doesn't, and sometimes it switches to an entirely inappropriate input type such as PC, which limits the video options. I'm still happy with the TV, but there are times when I want to throw the remote at it.

Shadowfire · September 2018

Thirith wrote: »

I've not had that problem with my Samsung TV, a KS8000. The main problem I have is that the TV tends to get confused with respect to what device I'm currently using, which may be due to the Sony AV receiver I've got hooked up to the TV on one side and to a PS4, Apple TV and UHD Blu-ray player on the other. Sometimes the TV recognises the individual inputs, often it doesn't, and sometimes it switches to an entirely inappropriate input type such as PC, which limits the video options. I'm still happy with the TV, but there are times when I want to throw the remote at it.

CEC sucks.

HappylilElf · September 2018

Siska wrote: »

Stay away from Samsung smart TVs. We had one for about 1 week before we took it back to the store (and got a cheaper Vizio non smart tv). Because annoying ass pop ups every few hours that there was no way to disable. We looked it up. No idea if smart TVs of other brands or newer models have the same problem

I can't say I agree. I picked up a 55" Samsung smart TV a couple of months ago and there has't been anything resembling a popup and oddly Netflix works better on it than it does on my PC.

The closest thing would probably be that it wanted me to watch some silly no content Samsung thing before I managed to get my other devices set up on it but that took maybe five minutes? Since then my only complaint is my cable box remote can't access the Source menu but I'm not sure that's the fault of the TV.

Figgy · September 2018

I've owned 3 Samsung smart TVs and have never had those issues.

OnTheLastCastle · October 2018

Also haven't had any popups on a KS8000 or heard of that.

I wonder if your remote had a button stuck?

JoeyJoey · October 2018

I recently bought a new OLED 65 inch from LG. I thought with the OLED 4k TV's the backlighting issues would be gone. Unfortunately, you still get the banding you used to get with LCD. The blacks are awesome as the pixels are turned off, but we had to have the screen replaced because the banding was so bad, and the new one has issues, too.

Shadowfire · October 2018

Banding happens on edge lit TVs. OLED are not edge lit.

So uh... What's going on with your TVs?

OnTheLastCastle · October 2018

I think you must be diagnosing another problem as banding or that is actually a natural part of the image. Like shadowfire said, a full-backlight LED or OLED won't band. https://picturesettings.com/remove-clouding-banding-flashlighting-tv/

I'm thinking of picking up a 65" OLED sometime soon, maybe after the holidays.

Shadowfire · October 2018

Yeah I mean... If you're seeing banding of some kind, you've got a bad part. Horizontal bands could be a bad panel, vertical may be TCON or panel. Either way you need a replacement/repair under warranty.

JoeyJoey · October 2018

LG replaced the screen. There were dark bands down the screen in multiple places - visible on dark and light colours. Looked exactly like the issue we had with our old LED TV.

I specifically bought an OLED because from what I read, these kinds of issues were done with, and that's why I justified spending £3,000. LG weren't even going to replace it to begin with and said grey scaling or something was to be expected! I wasn't having that. Watching TV was impossible.

Screen is replaced, and now there is a whole horizontal band on the left side of the screen which is slightly different colour from the rest. Back in touch with them to replace the screen for a second time.

OnTheLastCastle · October 2018

Can we see pictures? I'm curious.

Shadowfire · October 2018

That vertical band sounds like a TCON that wasn't calibrated to the panel properly. Which is why LG recommends techs replace both the panel and TCON together, because doing one and calibrating it to work with the other is a huge hassle.

Sounds like clown shoes. Sorry you're going through it.

Magus` · October 2018

I got the TCL Series 6, BTW. Trying to find good sources to put it to the test. Having trouble finding any Dolby Vision stuff, or at least stuff the TV says is DV (message in the corner lets you know if a source is HDR(10) or DV. Plenty of the first, not so much the second.

Shadowfire · October 2018

Magus` wrote: »

I got the TCL Series 6, BTW. Trying to find good sources to put it to the test. Having trouble finding any Dolby Vision stuff, or at least stuff the TV says is DV (message in the corner lets you know if a source is HDR(10) or DV. Plenty of the first, not so much the second.

Daredevil S3 on Netflix is Dolby Vision if you want a test run.

Magus` · October 2018

Don't have the UHD capable NF. Perhaps I should.

Shadowfire · October 2018

It looks like a handful of Amazon stuff is DV as well. The Grand Tour probably looks amazing.

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