If viewing angles are a priority, OLED is the obvious choice. There's very little to choose between the 2019 models from LG or Sony, besides design, and price of course. Sony has traditionally had better image processing, but it's very, very close now at this point.
Samsung's high-end LCDs, the Q80R and Q90R, have a wide-angle filter on them that by all accounts is quite effective, but they don't do the impressive black levels of OLED and are in the same price range. They do get much brighter than OLED if you're watching in a sun-washed environment, which is about the only place they'll look better than an OLED.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
At this point between LG and Sony OLED you're basically dealing with the interface differences. Do you want the simple LG webOS interface or Android.
Does anyone have experience with the TCL 65R617? I know that rtings and cnet had it as the good budget gaming TV, but I guess the 65" is going for $500 on Amazon, which is kind of tempting (especially considering my current TV is still 720p). Trying to figure out if it's worth an upgrade to a cheap TV I can afford at least for the next few years or save up for like a year and then get a more mid-high end TV in the $1500 range.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
The TCL sets are very nice. They're budget, but go in with the right expectations and you'll be very happy. And they're still better than the other budget brands like Hisense and Toshiba.
Alright, I think you guys sold me on it. Now I gotta figure out about a TV stand. My current one has like, a small center platform which worked fine for a TV with a center base, but this (and it seems all new tvs) have feet on the sides, so I'll need to find one that is small enough to fit in my apartment and wide enough to support the TV, and has enough open shelves for a ps3, ps4, and wii. Time to browse Amazon.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
If you want a new stand that's fine. But if you like the one you have, maybe look into a swivel stand. They make center stands that attach to the mounting holes on the back of the TV. Sanus makes a really nice one, but I'm sure there are others that are cheaper.
If you want a new stand that's fine. But if you like the one you have, maybe look into a swivel stand. They make center stands that attach to the mounting holes on the back of the TV. Sanus makes a really nice one, but I'm sure there are others that are cheaper.
That might work. I'll have to check if the top of my current thing can hold even that. I have a feeling it might be a bit too small even for that. But that still opens up a lot of possibilities for cheaper/smaller stands that could support a bigger TV.
It's basically something like:
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
I'm in an apartment and there's a window right behind where the TV's gonna be, so it's unfortunately not an option. And I can't really move the TV anywhere else either.
I'm in an apartment and there's a window right behind where the TV's gonna be, so it's unfortunately not an option. And I can't really move the TV anywhere else either.
Set up a Camelx3 I guess and watch for a price drop.
Looking at it, the prices have definitely been going down and it was definitely a 3rd party doing it. Also a record low for it. But I think without that price I'll probably end up saving for like an X900F or a PQ65-F1 instead or something.
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DemonStaceyTTODewback's DaughterIn love with the TaySwayRegistered Userregular
The TCL sets are very nice. They're budget, but go in with the right expectations and you'll be very happy. And they're still better than the other budget brands like Hisense and Toshiba.
Fuck, Toshiba used to be a premium brand. We used to have a Toshiba microwave that had survived being dropped during a move twice and was older than me until my sister misread some tortilla instructions and put them in on high for 15 minutes instead of 1.5...
We also had a Toshiba top-loading VTR (no, NOT a VCR, a VTR) that had a cast aluminium alloy chassis. Bloody thing worked from the early 80s until the early 2000s when my parents replaced it with a new tv with inbuilt tuner and an LG DVD player. Like, if you hit it with your car, it would fuck up your car.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
The TCL sets are very nice. They're budget, but go in with the right expectations and you'll be very happy. And they're still better than the other budget brands like Hisense and Toshiba.
Fuck, Toshiba used to be a premium brand. We used to have a Toshiba microwave that had survived being dropped during a move twice and was older than me until my sister misread some tortilla instructions and put them in on high for 15 minutes instead of 1.5...
We also had a Toshiba top-loading VTR (no, NOT a VCR, a VTR) that had a cast aluminium alloy chassis. Bloody thing worked from the early 80s until the early 2000s when my parents replaced it with a new tv with inbuilt tuner and an LG DVD player. Like, if you hit it with your car, it would fuck up your car.
I had to reread this three times before I saw the word "microwave" in there. In the TV thread this was very confusing!
Those are the 5 series, not the 6. The difference in the contrast zones is pretty huge. I would hold out.
Would it be something that would standout to some using a 6+ year old LCD would notice?
I don't have any problems with my current picture quality I just want something bigger and figure it might as well be 4k for whatever that adds.
I figured if I'm not comparing side by side with the one that does have the contrast zones it wouldn't be something I would ever really know existed.
Is that not the case? What exactly does it mean that would be immediately noticeable?
Thanks!
It won't look much better than your current TV. I mean, it will, but not great. Put simply, the 5 series is edge lit. All of the lighting comes from the top and bottom of the screen. The 6 series has a whole bunch of LEDs all over the screen to light it (hence "full array lighting"). The difference is night and day.
DemonStaceyTTODewback's DaughterIn love with the TaySwayRegistered Userregular
Hmmm Thanks.
We will see what sort of deals are around next month I guess.
But yea, I've never once though "I wish the picture was was better" with my current TV" I don't even know what that would entail so I feel like most of that would be lost on me anyway.
However $100 isn't a big ask so maybe I would just spring for it anyway? More than that I'll probably pass. I appreciate the info.
Ok, give me a sanity check on this. We noticed some recent sales, and so I'm trying to decide between a LG 65UM7300PUA; and a TCL 65R517. The TCL is $50 US more and for the most part, the sets appear to be identical. The main difference is that the LG is IPS and the TCL is VA.
I'm hovering over the "Buy Now" button on Best Buy's website, for the LG.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
The LG is a decent TV. Handles games fine and has ok viewing angles. If I remember right it'll look a bit washed out in a dark room, so nighttime movie watching might not be amazing. It also doesn't have support for some of the better HDR formats like Dolby vision.
@Stabbity Style just want to warn you about the TCLs if you have an external audio setup that you want to plug directly into the TV. I have the 4 series, which is a great TV, especially over the crappy refurb Vizio I had been using before that, but I still cannot get my surround sound to sync with the video signal at all. If i run stereo using an optical cable, I can get sound and video to match, but if I try to use HDMI ARC or attempt to bump the audio up to 5.1 surround my audio can be a half second or more behind the video feed. TCL says it's a Roku issue, Roku says it's a soundbar issue, and the soundbar manufacturer says it's a TV issue. I'm about 90% sure it's the TV, or at least mine, that doesn't have the processing capability to get the audio signal out fast enough. Maybe the more expensive panels have better internals and it's not an issue on the 6 series though.
@Stabbity Style just want to warn you about the TCLs if you have an external audio setup that you want to plug directly into the TV. I have the 4 series, which is a great TV, especially over the crappy refurb Vizio I had been using before that, but I still cannot get my surround sound to sync with the video signal at all. If i run stereo using an optical cable, I can get sound and video to match, but if I try to use HDMI ARC or attempt to bump the audio up to 5.1 surround my audio can be a half second or more behind the video feed. TCL says it's a Roku issue, Roku says it's a soundbar issue, and the soundbar manufacturer says it's a TV issue. I'm about 90% sure it's the TV, or at least mine, that doesn't have the processing capability to get the audio signal out fast enough. Maybe the more expensive panels have better internals and it's not an issue on the 6 series though.
I had a similar issue with HDMI ARC, but it works fine via optical. I'm using a Vizio soundbar and eventually I just gave up on ARC.
@Stabbity Style just want to warn you about the TCLs if you have an external audio setup that you want to plug directly into the TV. I have the 4 series, which is a great TV, especially over the crappy refurb Vizio I had been using before that, but I still cannot get my surround sound to sync with the video signal at all. If i run stereo using an optical cable, I can get sound and video to match, but if I try to use HDMI ARC or attempt to bump the audio up to 5.1 surround my audio can be a half second or more behind the video feed. TCL says it's a Roku issue, Roku says it's a soundbar issue, and the soundbar manufacturer says it's a TV issue. I'm about 90% sure it's the TV, or at least mine, that doesn't have the processing capability to get the audio signal out fast enough. Maybe the more expensive panels have better internals and it's not an issue on the 6 series though.
Thanks! I don't have any audio solution at the moment, but I imagine I'll probably look into a soundbar or some speakers in a couple years depending on how things shake out, so it's probably a good thing to keep in mind.
In my Samsung QLED, after Geek Squad replaced the power board...the power cycling issues surprisingly got worse, gradually, and two weeks later I had my first day where the power cycled twice, only two hours apart.
Their next plan, apparently, is to replace the main board again. Which was Samsung's original solution (and I suspect where Geek Squad is now getting their ideas), so I guess they deserve more credit than i gave them. I suspect this will end with me patiently waiting for Best Buy to concede to returning the set for a replacement. Unless they want to replace the power board again after this, there's no much else they can do.
Well, bad luck is bad luck. And I've generally had bad luck with televisions across manufacturers.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
In my Samsung QLED, after Geek Squad replaced the power board...the power cycling issues surprisingly got worse, gradually, and two weeks later I had my first day where the power cycled twice, only two hours apart.
Their next plan, apparently, is to replace the main board again. Which was Samsung's original solution (and I suspect where Geek Squad is now getting their ideas), so I guess they deserve more credit than i gave them. I suspect this will end with me patiently waiting for Best Buy to concede to returning the set for a replacement. Unless they want to replace the power board again after this, there's no much else they can do.
Well, bad luck is bad luck. And I've generally had bad luck with televisions across manufacturers.
Mind if I ask which model? I can look up bulletins later.
In my Samsung QLED, after Geek Squad replaced the power board...the power cycling issues surprisingly got worse, gradually, and two weeks later I had my first day where the power cycled twice, only two hours apart.
Their next plan, apparently, is to replace the main board again. Which was Samsung's original solution (and I suspect where Geek Squad is now getting their ideas), so I guess they deserve more credit than i gave them. I suspect this will end with me patiently waiting for Best Buy to concede to returning the set for a replacement. Unless they want to replace the power board again after this, there's no much else they can do.
Well, bad luck is bad luck. And I've generally had bad luck with televisions across manufacturers.
Mind if I ask which model? I can look up bulletins later.
Sure, I don't mind in the least. QN65Q6FNA, or just 65" Q6N QLED I guess.
It's basically the lower end of what are literally the best consumer televisions for gaming bar none, if you have an Xbox One X or a Freesync-capable PC. The gaming mode response times combined with Freesync support put it over any other LED/OLED, even if it's not the best picture by any means. I just have bad luck (though not that bad--you can find plenty of stories about power cycling problems).
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
edited July 2019
So there aren't any bulletins on the model. They've already replaced the main and the power, and you're not wrong that Samsung is leading them by the nose because you're under manufacturer warranty still.
I've seen this power cycling behavior on other Samsung TVs and it's almost always a short in the panel. That's why I wanted to check bulletins for that model, but even though I didn't see a bulletin I'm still leaning that direction. And since it's Samsung, they won't let us replace the panel until we've tried literally everything else.
I've been here before--it took either three or four visits to replace the defective remote sensor on a 37" LG LCD.
I did get a spare remote out of it though.
... That's absurd.
Like, how does it take that long to diagnose an IR sensor? Ugh...
They had to keep checking the remotes. Presumably that's what LG told them to do.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
That's frustrating.
Fun fact: your phone's camera doesn't have an IR filter. Point a remote at your phone and press a button. Do you see the light? Your remote is working, move on to the next point of failure.
Also IR boards for most TVs cost like $4 or something tiny like that. It's way cheaper than the remote.
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Samsung's high-end LCDs, the Q80R and Q90R, have a wide-angle filter on them that by all accounts is quite effective, but they don't do the impressive black levels of OLED and are in the same price range. They do get much brighter than OLED if you're watching in a sun-washed environment, which is about the only place they'll look better than an OLED.
The built-in OS being Roku instead of some bespoke garbage no one supports is extremely nice, as well.
That might work. I'll have to check if the top of my current thing can hold even that. I have a feeling it might be a bit too small even for that. But that still opens up a lot of possibilities for cheaper/smaller stands that could support a bigger TV.
It's basically something like:
Mount it.
I'm in an apartment and there's a window right behind where the TV's gonna be, so it's unfortunately not an option. And I can't really move the TV anywhere else either.
Booo.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Nope, just checked. I think it was being fulfilled by a 3rd party who had it really low for some reason. Now it's just being fulfilled by Amazon.
Set up a Camelx3 I guess and watch for a price drop.
Looking at it, the prices have definitely been going down and it was definitely a 3rd party doing it. Also a record low for it. But I think without that price I'll probably end up saving for like an X900F or a PQ65-F1 instead or something.
Ah shit. After reading this convo I was going to grab one for my B-Day in a month.
Now I'm sad. $500 was too low to pass up.
Hopefully it drops again at some point or something.
edit note: There is another model the S model with the same size that is $100 less. The exact same tv but without the "Contrast Control Zones".
Considering I'm sure my current TV doesn't have whatever that is I'm sure I'd be fine not having that so I may keep an eye on that model too.
Would it be something that would standout to some using a 6+ year old LCD would notice?
I don't have any problems with my current picture quality I just want something bigger and figure it might as well be 4k for whatever that adds.
I figured if I'm not comparing side by side with the one that does have the contrast zones it wouldn't be something I would ever really know existed.
Is that not the case? What exactly does it mean that would be immediately noticeable?
Thanks!
Fuck, Toshiba used to be a premium brand. We used to have a Toshiba microwave that had survived being dropped during a move twice and was older than me until my sister misread some tortilla instructions and put them in on high for 15 minutes instead of 1.5...
We also had a Toshiba top-loading VTR (no, NOT a VCR, a VTR) that had a cast aluminium alloy chassis. Bloody thing worked from the early 80s until the early 2000s when my parents replaced it with a new tv with inbuilt tuner and an LG DVD player. Like, if you hit it with your car, it would fuck up your car.
I had to reread this three times before I saw the word "microwave" in there. In the TV thread this was very confusing!
It won't look much better than your current TV. I mean, it will, but not great. Put simply, the 5 series is edge lit. All of the lighting comes from the top and bottom of the screen. The 6 series has a whole bunch of LEDs all over the screen to light it (hence "full array lighting"). The difference is night and day.
We will see what sort of deals are around next month I guess.
But yea, I've never once though "I wish the picture was was better" with my current TV" I don't even know what that would entail so I feel like most of that would be lost on me anyway.
However $100 isn't a big ask so maybe I would just spring for it anyway? More than that I'll probably pass. I appreciate the info.
I'm hovering over the "Buy Now" button on Best Buy's website, for the LG.
I had a similar issue with HDMI ARC, but it works fine via optical. I'm using a Vizio soundbar and eventually I just gave up on ARC.
Thanks! I don't have any audio solution at the moment, but I imagine I'll probably look into a soundbar or some speakers in a couple years depending on how things shake out, so it's probably a good thing to keep in mind.
Their next plan, apparently, is to replace the main board again. Which was Samsung's original solution (and I suspect where Geek Squad is now getting their ideas), so I guess they deserve more credit than i gave them. I suspect this will end with me patiently waiting for Best Buy to concede to returning the set for a replacement. Unless they want to replace the power board again after this, there's no much else they can do.
Well, bad luck is bad luck. And I've generally had bad luck with televisions across manufacturers.
Mind if I ask which model? I can look up bulletins later.
Sure, I don't mind in the least. QN65Q6FNA, or just 65" Q6N QLED I guess.
It's basically the lower end of what are literally the best consumer televisions for gaming bar none, if you have an Xbox One X or a Freesync-capable PC. The gaming mode response times combined with Freesync support put it over any other LED/OLED, even if it's not the best picture by any means. I just have bad luck (though not that bad--you can find plenty of stories about power cycling problems).
I've seen this power cycling behavior on other Samsung TVs and it's almost always a short in the panel. That's why I wanted to check bulletins for that model, but even though I didn't see a bulletin I'm still leaning that direction. And since it's Samsung, they won't let us replace the panel until we've tried literally everything else.
Yay Samsung.
I did get a spare remote out of it though.
... That's absurd.
Like, how does it take that long to diagnose an IR sensor? Ugh...
They had to keep checking the remotes. Presumably that's what LG told them to do.
Fun fact: your phone's camera doesn't have an IR filter. Point a remote at your phone and press a button. Do you see the light? Your remote is working, move on to the next point of failure.
Also IR boards for most TVs cost like $4 or something tiny like that. It's way cheaper than the remote.