Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat Need a new TV - Feedback Appreciated

I need a new TV so Im looking at the Samsung UHD models (not the curved ones).

Any feedback appreciated.

Thanks
Greg

Make sure to take a look at the LG OLED Panel as well... and preferably NOT in an environment like Currys et al.

If possible, go and see it at a specialist AV Retailer that can demo the various Panels in lighting conditions that mimic a "living room"... rather than the bright florescent lighting in most of the Curry type showrooms.

OLED is the natural successor and evolution of Plasma IMHO and it has a number of advantages over LCD etc.

Samsung also have OLED panels, but I'm not sure if they're at the market stage in the UK yet.

I still start by admitting that I have never been a fan of Samsung. I don't like how their panels looks. They might be better today, but they all seemed to have that soap opera look to them.

I have recently gone through the exercise and have found the Sony LCD's to be consistently the best from a personal test perspective and from a rating perspective. They seem to require a more thorough calibration then some, so not great out of the box. But once setup, are really impressive.

May I ask what size are you looking for? I assume the TV will be tied into an audio system, so TV audio isn't a real big issue. Also, light or dark room (tolerance for a matte vs shiny front surface)

Ronnie,
Thanks for that. I have had a look at the LG website and a general 'google'. They look very promising, although it also appears that new models are imminent. OLED seems a bit pricier but at least affordable these days. I will investigate further. Looks like LG are keen on the curved displays as well though, sadly.

Yetis,
I will be looking for something like 55" max. To be honest for standard TV viewing, I generally use the standard speakers, but then route my Bluray player through HD621 onto my M setup for movie playback. I would prefer a matte screen but quality is the main factor.

Im currently using 7/8 year 720p Panasonic plasma, which I have calibrated myself so I suspect there is a tv out there that would be a step up from what I have!

Im reconsidering the whole Samsung idea, though.

Regards
Greg

I also had (have still) a 720p Panasonic plasma. I upgraded to a Pioneer 5090. At my viewing distance (3.5m), I cannot tell any difference in resolution, but the blacks.. just incredible on the Pioneer.

Will your viewing distance mean you get any benefit from 4K at 55"?

If possible for you then I would wait untill the end of the year as many brands will release new TV's and technologies. I have not seen OLED yet but agree with Yetis that the Sony TV's are really good compared to Samsung and the likes, but funny enough there are not many screen manufacturers, Samsung, LG, Sharp are popular main ones providing their screens in different qualities to the variety of TV brands. The differences are in the other hard and software of the TV.

It can also play a role how Smart you want your TV to be.

Maybe worthwile to recalibrate your plasma first, unless it suffers from burn in or dead pixels.

Cheers!

Those are the old masters of the Plasma. Used 4-5 year old Pioneer Kuro's still sell for a couple grand! As do some of the top of line Pany's. Unfortunately, those days have passed and across the board quality like that is akin to finding a unicorn. I think only really high quality projectors with absolute darkness come close today.

I swapped my Kuros for a Sony W905, none of the Panny or Samsungs were any good imho.
And I am a huge Panasonic display fan, still think some of the commercial plasmas looked better than the Pioneers in many ways.

The Sony is pretty damed good, but not as good as the Kuro, I just wanted a smaller, neater looking screen with features built in.
I am pleased with it, but am the first to admit they are not as good as a decent plasma.


OLED will be my next display, but still a few issues with them at the moment.

It may not be an issue for you, but Sony have recently indicated their intention to exit the television market.

I am not particularly keen on Sony in general.

It looks like LG have some new models coming out very shortly, so I will hang fire and see what they are like. Certainly, the OLED panels are something Id like to investigate further.

Regards
Greg

Don't write off Sony, their panels are the best out there at the moment, the Samsungs seem to suffer from uneven backlights, the LGs just tend to suffer from poorer black levels, so the Sony is the best in LCD tech.

They also have a decent ambient light sensor that really works well, which is something I just couldn't get my head round with the Panasonic LCD based displays, theirs was either too bright or too dark so you had to adjust settings depending on the time of day, I just couldn't hack that.

I wouldn't look at anything but Sony or B&O at currently, unless going OLED.

Hi Greg
Re Samsung... and OLED technology in general.

Samsung entered the Smartphone business back in 2010 with their Galaxy range of Android phones... and these phones have always had AmOLED screens.

They have sold Millions of phones with this screen technology and continued its development to the point where DisplayMate declared the Galaxy Note 4 to have the best screen available amongst all the various screen technologies out there... with similar results being achieved with their Tab S tablets.

Point is, that Samsung have FAR greater experience of making OLED screens than anyone... and supply many other companies as well... so it would be worth keeping them in mind for their OLED launch plans... I know they've demo'd OLED screens at several CES and other shows... I just don't know what their UK launch plans are yet.

The capability of powering each pixel On/Off, with no backlight being required, results in what was always the holy grail for even the Kuro [Black] range of Pioneer Plasmas... i.e. Black is truly Black... and as a result, other important aspects of screen performance are easier to "dial in", as allowances don't need to be made for backlight variances etc.

Good luck in your search