Help me decide: smaller oled tv or larger led?

[evident]

man, i still haven't felt the itch to upgrade from my 1080P plasma 55 inch.

 

[slackerinabox]

man, i still haven't felt the itch to upgrade from my 1080P plasma 55 inch.

I made the mistake of buying my dad an off brand (tcl) 4k and, after 15 minutes of 4K Netflix, well, the $500 tcl blew my $1,600 at the time samsung away. In other words, 1080p's just fine until you get spoiled by 4k

 

[purbeast0]

man, i still haven't felt the itch to upgrade from my 1080P plasma 55 inch.

I'm keeping my 60" ST50 until that things dies on me. The picture still owns and plasma is no more. But I have my 10 foot projection screen downstairs for movie watching.

 

[SKORPI0]

I'm holding onto my 65VT50 for as long as possible. .
Viper GTS

That's a Panasonic 3D Plasma. Have you watched any 3D Blu-ray movies with it? Still holding on to my 2011 TX-P42ST30.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I'm keeping my 60" ST50 until that things dies on me. The picture still owns and plasma is no more. But I have my 10 foot projection screen downstairs for movie watching.

I'm still using a Panasonic 55 st. I haven't seen an upgrade yet. The 4k stuff I've seen at the stores doesn't look any better to me. In fact the picture looks more fake for whatever reason. They are going to come up with a new tech altogether for me to upgrade.

 

[purbeast0]

I'm still using a Panasonic 55 st. I haven't seen an upgrade yet. The 4k stuff I've seen at the stores doesn't look any better to me. In fact the picture looks more fake for whatever reason. They are going to come up with a new tech altogether for me to upgrade.

The difference from 1080p to 4k is not worth it for the premium to me right now. Not even close to it.

Plus there is the whole "content" thing, and there is barely any 4k content out there, but it's good to see the 4K blurays becoming pretty mainstream. Streaming "4k" is a joke since it's compressed to shit and the sound is laughable. To me personally, sound is much more important than picture, and we're not even close to being able to stream 4k video with "HD" sound. We can't even stream 1080p video with "HD" sound yet.

 

[Viper GTS]

That's a Panasonic 3D Plasma. Have you watched any 3D Blu-ray movies with it? Still holding on to my 2011 TX-P42ST30.

I watched a couple shortly after I got it. It's definitely not something I care much about (and I don't watch a lot of movies in general) but it doesn't hurt anything to have it there.

Viper GTS

 

[BurnItDwn]

8 feet is perfect viewing distance for a 100ish inch screen size.
Therefore I recommend a Sony vpl-hw45es. Sorry it wasnt one of the options.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Thanks all for the very appreciated feedback.

Oled's scaring me now because of the image retention issues I'm hearing. I had plasma's for years without problems, until I had kids who perpetually would leave the tv on after they've left the room. I can almost predict a disney channel logo staring at me.

The reason I wanted a curved screen is because I have a 1/2 wall that juts out 59" (I'm guessing the prior owners were thinking about built ins) - I thought it would be imax's and immersive with basically an all screen/curved monitor. Is curved really just a gimmick? I've read reviews stating the sense of depth and immersion's increased.

These nearly as good lcds - anyone recommend brands? I have a top of the line samsung 1080p set and there's a weird contrast issue no amount of fidgeting with settings seems to fix (whites so bright they wash out detail) - I see the same when I visited best buy on the new 4k sets, any brand have a more balanced/rich picture? I particularly hate 'so bright the grays are muddy'

I left my computer on multiple times for hours on hours and don't have any burning. There's also a setting in the menu to "refresh" the panel and remove any potential burn ins as well.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Buy both and just stack them on top of each other. That way when AT members come over they know you are a true baller.

 

[bruceb]

I have the LG 55EF9500 OLED tv set for about 6 months now. Working great, only thing is LG did not allow for a way to save your WiFi Password, which it will lose if the power goes out. And of course tv with Web OS browser is unable to view Flash videos, like on some news sites. Eventually all the sites will go to HTML5 and this will not be an issue. And on the LG the RF remote can be a bear to get the cursor to go to where you want it to go.

 

[Rifter]

I'm still using a Panasonic 55 st. I haven't seen an upgrade yet. The 4k stuff I've seen at the stores doesn't look any better to me. In fact the picture looks more fake for whatever reason. They are going to come up with a new tech altogether for me to upgrade.

Me to, still got a 55" ST panny and im keeping it till it dies on me.

 

[TallBill]

I have a 42" vizio for like 4 years now.. works great.

 

[Kyle]

I was in the same boat- went w/ an LG 55" OLED and do not regret the decision. I have only noticed the slightest image retention once, and it was gone w/in 10 mins or so - other than that I've never seen it. And the one I did see I happened to be right next to the TV and saw it- from the couch (about 8 feet away) I could not see it at all. I'm sure others have had it worse, just sharing my experience having the tv for 6 months or so.

 

[Kaido]

I narrowed it down to an LG 55" OLED vs a 65" Hitachi 4K Roku TV ($708 at Sam's Club). Went with the larger unit. VERY happy with it. OLED looks great, but even meh brands like Hitachi televisions look awesome in 4K.

If you're not in a rush, the TCL 4K HDR Roku TV's are due out this month. I would wait for one of those so that you get HDR plus 4K at a reasonable price.

 

[slackerinabox]

I narrowed it down to an LG 55" OLED vs a 65" Hitachi 4K Roku TV ($708 at Sam's Club). Went with the larger unit. VERY happy with it. OLED looks great, but even meh brands like Hitachi televisions look awesome in 4K.

If you're not in a rush, the TCL 4K HDR Roku TV's are due out this month. I would wait for one of those so that you get HDR plus 4K at a reasonable price.

After poking around that's what I think I'll do. My concern is that my wife won't appreciate OLED's (or 4ks) benefit so, to the uninformed, I'll be paying a heavy premium to 'downgrade' from a 60 inch tv to 55. Hisense's 65" HDR set's getting oddly good reviews, and my dad's non-hdr roku TCL's just fine save for slow menus. 65" lcd cheapie now and 65" oled in a few years when the prices go down makes sense (and I'll move the lcd to the office/man cave then, not like I'd throw it away).

I am concerned about black levels on cheapie sets, but I'll try preview the set in person before deciding

 

[fleshconsumed]

I am concerned about black levels on cheapie sets, but I'll try preview the set in person before deciding

Problem with previewing TV sets in the stores is that most of the time the ambient light is way higher than what you'd use in a house setting in the evening time so all those TVs are being demoed in "torch" mode playing some nature scene designed to showcase TV colors and maximum brightness. None of them are setup to show black levels. Even "good" stores like Frys or Best Buy Magnolia centers that have dedicated darkened rooms for TV viewing, they still play high contrast demos so your eye naturally focuses on the bright parts of the screen and fools you into thinking that blacks are darker than they really are. What you'd need is a darkened room playing something like x-files or a horror flick where entire screen is showing a dark scene, but no store does that because that's LCD TV Achilles heel.

 

[Kaido]

After poking around that's what I think I'll do. My concern is that my wife won't appreciate OLED's (or 4ks) benefit so, to the uninformed, I'll be paying a heavy premium to 'downgrade' from a 60 inch tv to 55. Hisense's 65" HDR set's getting oddly good reviews, and my dad's non-hdr roku TCL's just fine save for slow menus. 65" lcd cheapie now and 65" oled in a few years when the prices go down makes sense (and I'll move the lcd to the office/man cave then, not like I'd throw it away).

I am concerned about black levels on cheapie sets, but I'll try preview the set in person before deciding

I have mixed feelings on black levels. When the screen is blank (black) on my Hitachi (65" 4K non-HDR LED), you can see the lighter-colored blobs on the black background. When the TV is on, it's totally fine. Even darker stuff like Batman looks fine. So while OLED does have incredible black levels, it wasn't such a big draw that I was willing to downgrade to 55" for the ~$1399 sale price vs. the larger 65" (with built-in Roku, which is huge for non-techie family use) for literally half the price.

As far as HDR sets go, here's a breakdown of TCL's upcoming 4K sets: (due out later this month)

https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/new-roku-gear.2487665/page-2#post-38856830

I had a TCL 65" 4K Roku TV before the Hitachi, but it met an untimely end (got shattered, d'oh!). I was very happy with it, however...I can only imagine that the HDR version will be that much better, especially the P-series, which has full-array local dimming with 72 zones AND supports both Dolby Vision & HDR10. The 55" P-series HDR set is available for pre-order for $650, no word on 65" pricing yet (the 65" 4K non-HDR was $1,000 when it first came out, for reference). But as far as bang-for-your-buck goes, I'd imagine they'll be extremely competitive.

 

[slackerinabox]

update: thanks for the suggestions, I was able to pick up a 65" hdr philips set for $699, which couldn't be beat (with delivery tomorrow). The new TCL hdr set was in my cart for $799 but sold out while I thought it over. If the picture's awful it's going back, but the goal's to upgrade in 2 years or so when oleds come down in price:

http://www.pcrichard.com/Philips/Ph...le-Cast-4K-HDR-Ultra-HD-LED-TV/65PFL6621.pcrp

 

[Viper GTS]

update: thanks for the suggestions, I was able to pick up a 65" hdr philips set for $699, which couldn't be beat (with delivery tomorrow). The new TCL hdr set was in my cart for $799 but sold out while I thought it over. If the picture's awful it's going back, but the goal's to upgrade in 2 years or so when oleds come down in price:

http://www.pcrichard.com/Philips/Ph...le-Cast-4K-HDR-Ultra-HD-LED-TV/65PFL6621.pcrp

Short of doing nothing that's just about the best move you could have made. That will make a great bedroom TV in a couple years when you go OLED. It's kind of amazing to me how quickly 4K has dropped, around 2.5 years ago I picked up a very low end LG 65" 1080P for $799 and thought that was absurdly cheap. It's fine for its bedroom duty but it is not great at all. Now you're getting 4K HDR for less money.

Viper GTS

 

[Kaido]

update: thanks for the suggestions, I was able to pick up a 65" hdr philips set for $699, which couldn't be beat (with delivery tomorrow). The new TCL hdr set was in my cart for $799 but sold out while I thought it over. If the picture's awful it's going back, but the goal's to upgrade in 2 years or so when oleds come down in price:

http://www.pcrichard.com/Philips/Ph...le-Cast-4K-HDR-Ultra-HD-LED-TV/65PFL6621.pcrp

Nice, congrats!

I would say take a picture of it to show it off once you get it installed, but it's really hard to capture the PQ with smartphone cameras. Even my iPhone 7 can't accurately capture the 4K image on my Hitachi...it produces moire & the colors are pretty off.

 

[slackerinabox]

Nice, congrats!

I would say take a picture of it to show it off once you get it installed, but it's really hard to capture the PQ with smartphone cameras. Even my iPhone 7 can't accurately capture the 4K image on my Hitachi...it produces moire & the colors are pretty off.

Your post really helped convince me, and oled pricing didn't help - $1,000 for a 55" refurb oled was the best I could do (all the way up to $3,000 ish for a new 65"), and I've had a refurb tv fail on me in the past and it was hell dealing with the return process. I know it's pretentious and made in the same chinese factory, but the philips name's a bit better than the hisense that was the runner up, and $200 cheaper didn't hurt. New,hdr, 120hz, decent warranty, full array led's vs. edgelit - I'm pleased! The smart features are lacking so I picked up a 4k nvidia shield with the money I saved, which I'm quite excited about too.

 

[Ferzerp]

I'm spoiled by my 65" OLED. I got it for around $2200 last year too. I too was of the opinion that "most TVs are good enough" and had a 70" Vizio. I was wrong. This one is much better.

 

[Kaido]

Your post really helped convince me, and oled pricing didn't help - $1,000 for a 55" refurb oled was the best I could do (all the way up to $3,000 ish for a new 65"), and I've had a refurb tv fail on me in the past and it was hell dealing with the return process. I know it's pretentious and made in the same chinese factory, but the philips name's a bit better than the hisense that was the runner up, and $200 cheaper didn't hurt. New,hdr, 120hz, decent warranty, full array led's vs. edgelit - I'm pleased! The smart features are lacking so I picked up a 4k nvidia shield with the money I saved, which I'm quite excited about too.

You got a huge HDR set for $700, that's a great deal! Enjoy your Shield too!

 

[slackerinabox]

I'm spoiled by my 65" OLED. I got it for around $2200 last year too. I too was of the opinion that "most TVs are good enough" and had a 70" Vizio. I was wrong. This one is much better.

Indeed, it's like the plasma/lcd debate all over again (and the plasma guys were right then too), just the economics don't add up for me yet (if we gave away the kids, maybe...). I read an article that aoc, philips, and a few other Chinese OEMs are getting in on the OLED game - my guess is we're 2 years away from prices I'm more comfortable with. Besides, I have 4 1080p sets and will upgrade them all in time - I kinda like playing tv merry-go-round with the last purchase being a banging oled set for the living room