Which 4k television should I get?

[Charmonium]

Thanks. It looks really nice but I want to see what the reviews are like. Also, I suspect I can probably get a better deal than list price once it's widely available. Anyway, I'm going to wait until this set gets worse before I do anything.

 

[spacejamz]

If you have Fry's nearby, they have a 65" LG 4K set for $1300 ($1000 off if you sign up for their free Promo codes) again until Saturday...

nevermind...they don't have them in Jersey...sorry about that...

 

[Charmonium]

Thanks anyway. I appreciate the thought.

 

[evident]

Why not Sony? We picked up the 55 inch xbrx850c sony for my MIL and wow it's pretty amazing. even the smart TV features are really easy to figure out as it's all google tv based.

Me? i'm still stuck in panasonic plasma 1080P bliss.

 

[Charmonium]

I've had too many problems with Sony products in recent years. I don't care how good they are or what the reviews say, they're just not reliable. Maybe that's changed w/in the past year but there's no way I'm giving them another chance, on anything they sell, until I start hearing that they're making more reliable products.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I picked up a Visio 50inch (albeit not 4k) not too long ago, MUCH better picture quality vs my old westy 42 inch (I had gotten the westy used a number of years ago for cheap from a friend who had upgraded to a panny)

My little bro is a TV salesman, and he mostly says Samsung is overhyped, they are like what Sony used to be, charge extra money for same thing. LG and Visio are good options, Samsung is good, but usually overpriced, Panasonic is good.

 

[cmdrdredd]

It really depends what you're looking for. Samsung right now has the lowest input lag in 4k sets. Vizio has some models with super value, Sony has great picture quality and their smart TV apps are very nice, LG has the magic remote with the point and click interface that I think is pretty neat.

 

[evident]

I picked up a Visio 50inch (albeit not 4k) not too long ago, MUCH better picture quality vs my old westy 42 inch (I had gotten the westy used a number of years ago for cheap from a friend who had upgraded to a panny)

My little bro is a TV salesman, and he mostly says Samsung is overhyped, they are like what Sony used to be, charge extra money for same thing. LG and Visio are good options, Samsung is good, but usually overpriced, Panasonic is good.

Never had much experience with Panasonic LCD's just their plasmas, which i love. The Samsung's that i've had were always good if not mediocre. the picture really never stood out as exceptional to me, like my panny plasma and this sony 4k tv. Had a power supply failure in a 2007 samsung 42 inch that i had replaced under recall about 3 years back. I think failures can be had with all makes and models. my in laws had a power supply failure with their panasonic plasma too but luckily also fixed under some warranty/recall...

For this gen, Sony and Samsung seem to be the best out there nowadays, but overpriced. I'm still not a big fan of Visio for some reason

 

[BurnItDwn]

I will add one thing about Sony...

It seems like at least in the projector/high end world, they pretty much run unopposed. Their 4K projectors are fan-freiking tastic.

I have a ehh 5 or 6 year old mitsu 1080p projector. Its good, great picture, 106 inches with the front row about 8 feet back. It is great for movies and games, but, the sony 4ks are simply better in every measure. Contrast, brightness, color, resolution....

They are still 5K+, but, in 5 or 6 years I might be ready to upgrade if they come down closer to $1500 or so ...

 

[cmdrdredd]

...
For this gen, Sony and Samsung seem to be the best out there nowadays, but overpriced. I'm still not a big fan of Visio for some reason

I think a lot of people overlook and underrate Vizio. They started as something of a bargain brand that sold tvs for less than everyone else. They offered picture quality and features that were good enough and the draw was getting a larger size set than you thought you could afford. When Samsung wanted $1600 Vizio was $1200 for example. Most people would be happier with a larger screen. Today though Vizio is trying to shake that image. They make some really fantastic tvs that measure up very well against LG, Samsung etc. I just think people associate them with the cheaper alternative than the go to brand.

 

[chucky2]

Wait for 4K OLED sets with HDR and HDMI 2.0a, which probably will only be from LG (unless someone buys panels from them), and call it a day.

That will last you until the 8K revolution...

EDIT: Which is possibly later this year or almost assuredly the 2016 models.

Chuck

 

[Railgun]

Wait for 4K OLED sets with HDR and HDMI 2.0a, which probably will only be from LG (unless someone buys panels from them), and call it a day.

That will last you until the 8K revolution...

EDIT: Which is possibly later this year or almost assuredly the 2016 models.

Chuck

Other than HDMI2.0, existing models may get it.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnarc...led-tvs-to-get-high-dynamic-range-hdr-update/

 

[chucky2]

That's the rumor, but until it happens, it's vaporware (especially coming from LG, who is known to say one thing and then have it not happen).

I can't imagine spending multiple thousands of dollars on a TV that feature-wise will last for years until the next set of worthwhile standards come out and not just waiting for a few months or at most a year. If money is no object or the OP just can't wait any longer I guess what is out now isn't bad, but I've got to think the 2016 models with out of the box HDR and HDMI 2.0a (which they all should have) will be better in the longer run than the current or about to be release 2015 models with possible HDR and no HDMI 2.0a. Just a bad time to buy a higher end TV right now until all these next gen standards actually get implemented.

 

[Charmonium]

You can pre-order at Abt apparently.

http://www.abt.com/product/92788/LG-55EF9500.html

Has anyone heard any more about this tv? I did some searching today and it doesn't look like we're any closer to a release date, at least I didn't see anything.

Does this seem weird? I found one article on it that goes back to January. We're 8 months out from when it was announced but nada. There are several sites listing it at $5k but no one seems to be shipping or even have a date when it might ship.

The current set seems to be holding up and not getting any worse so I'm not really in a hurry but would like to have some idea of when this one might be available.

 

[chucky2]

You can start at this post and begin reading down for pricing: AVSForum LG Flat 4KOLED EF9500 Anticipation Thread

 

[Charmonium]

You can start at this post and begin reading down for pricing: AVSForum LG Flat 4KOLED EF9500 Anticipation Thread

Thanks. That was really helpful but I don't see a way to subscribe to the thread without posting - can you help me out there?

Anyway, it looks like the sets will be available in Sept according to one guy who called a vendor.

I also saw one post saying that 30k hours is the estimated life for oled. That could work for me since I tend not to like brilliantly bright sets and generally have to turn it down substantially, so I assume that should increase life span.

 

[s44]

I'm sure the image quality will be great, but I wouldn't spend anywhere near that money on a 55" set unless I was shopping for a small apartment. For $5k you could get an excellent 70+" *and* a new AV rack setup.

 

[Charmonium]

Very true. Plus there are the problems of being on the leading edge. The longevity of OLEDs seems to still be an open question for example.

I'd probably wait until the set is widely available. I don't want to be the asshole that pays top dollar for something that will drop 30-40% in price if I just wait a while

Also, I'd want to see one in person, although honestly, I'm not that picky. However I think that's because I only know what I'm already used to. I rely a lot on reviewers. I'm not a sophisticated enough user to be able to pick out deficiencies.

But the issue for me will be half-life. That 30k hours thing I posted earlier is really just a guess at how long an oled will last at up to half brightness. That's only 3.5 years more or less. And while you'd expect newer versions of the tech to have better longevity, that doesn't by any means seem assured.

 

[chucky2]

Well, considering the curved EG 4K OLED have issues with darkened edges (I guess I'd call it), which LG finally says they have a fix for and is rolling out panels to owners who've reported it, it would be very prudent to wait for credible reviews that the EF 4K OLED doesn't suffer from this issue.

And, Yes, you will pay a heft premium for being on the bleeding edge of technology: This is really the first real year of 4K, plus, OLED (and in this case you'd be paying big for the OLED especially). Obviously the longer you wait, the more the cost drops and the more refined everything gets.

Personally I'm not willing to jump in until I get a 4K 55" OLED for high 1000 range (we're distance limited here), or if I had the distance, a 4K 65" for high 2000 range. HDR needs to be figured out, along with HDMI 2.0a on very ideally more than one input. My hope is the 2017 will be in that range once they lose their intro pricing, and will have the issues ironed out. I've got a fairly good 50" 1080p plasma though, so waiting isn't that burdensome. Others not in same boat...

 

[Charmonium]

Thanks again. I'm guessing you missed my post before about not being able to subscribe to the AVS thread except by posting. If you don't know, that's cool, I'll just try to post something useful.

I agree with you though. I'm not anxious to shell out $5k and won't buy the set at least until the first price drop - assuming I have the option.

Do you agree with the 30k half-life for OLEDs? Do you think the newer panels will have a longer useful life?

 

[chucky2]

You have to be logged into AVSForum to be able to subscribe to a thread. It's in the middle right of the page at the top under Thread Tools. Click the dropdown and you should be able to subscribe.

I haven't paid that much attention honestly, lately at least, to the half-life for the in production LG OLED. They're using color filters, unlike the route Samsung took, so I don't see half-life being that much of an issue. You would have to watch a lot of TV for a long time before you'd hit that mark - think 8 hours per day, each year, for 10 years, to get to 30k hr. Even if you are doing that, in 10 years, if the TV isn't meeting your needs, think what will be available then (well, lets hope LG sticks with OLED at least and doesn't abandon it, and we're all stuck with shit LCD <shudder>).

If you can wait until 2017 models have lost intro pricing, I've got to think those are going to be some really stellar TVs. Heck if the 2016 solve the issues, and don't incorporate new ones of their own, and include HDR (which they should) and HDMI 2.0a (which they should, hopefully), those right there should be pretty awesome TVs.

 

[Charmonium]

I tried the thread tools route but it doesn't give me option to subscribe, only show my existing subscriptions which are threads I've posted to. Oh well, no big deal, I have it bookmarked.

Why are you saying that LG uses filters? I thought that they used RGB + white leds.

 

[chucky2]

I tried the thread tools route but it doesn't give me option to subscribe, only show my existing subscriptions which are threads I've posted to. Oh well, no big deal, I have it bookmarked.

Why are you saying that LG uses filters? I thought that they used RGB + white leds.

I can't remember if I've posted to that thread or not, maybe that's why I get the subscribe option?

I believe LG for their OLED is using white LED plus filters. Samsung was going pure RGB and the blue half life's weren't that stellar.

 

[Charmonium]

I can't remember if I've posted to that thread or not, maybe that's why I get the subscribe option?

I believe LG for their OLED is using white LED plus filters. Samsung was going pure RGB and the blue half life's weren't that stellar.

OK. I guess that makes sense in terms of avoiding different lifespans for different subpixels but according to one review of the current crop, color reproduction is less than perfect. Whites end up with a red tint and grays drop off too quickly to black - http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...isn-t-the-best-tv-we-ve-ever-tested/index.htm

I hope they start shipping soon so I can read some lab reviews.

 

[chucky2]

The OLEDs are not without fault, however they are at minimum within the top 1-3 displays out there, and depending on pricing and tolerances for which specific issue you'd like to put up with (no display has zero issues), are the top display.

Consumer Reports probably not the best place to check for stuff, you can check out this years Value Extreme shootout: AVSForum: 2015 Value Electronics Flat-Panel Shootout Results

That at least has the TVs in a controlled environment, professionally (real professionals) calibrated - so the TVs are the best they're going to get...at least at that point in time.