Advice required for a 4K TV purchase

[Karim D. Ghantous]

Basically, I'd like to buy a 4K TV this year. Something between 50"-55". As far as cost goes, I think AU$1,500 would be the absolute maximum I would want to spend. I don't have a brand preference, but I certainly will not be buying one from Aldi, as tempting as it is for a mere AU$500.

So I'm looking for a really solid all-round unit. Good warranty, good picture, reliable, and something that will make me happy that I bought it. I'd like a variety of connection options. I don't need fancy-pants features like DVR or '3D'. It can have motion smoothing as an option, although it will be permanently turned off. I will be watching videos and maybe playing games now and then. Sound quality will come second to the main criteria, but good sound doesn't hurt. It would be nice if it had a headphone jack.

I did consider a projector, but a good HD projector (Epson) starts at AU$900 or so. Plus, although a projector is tempting, you can't just plonk it down in front of a wall and start watching.

Our current TV is a Loewe Aventos 32" flat widescreen CRT that has served this household for about 15 years. It has never needed a service, although the interface is a bit aggravating and the picture geometry isn't always 100%. We never bothered getting an HDTV, for a variety of reasons. But now I think it's time for something an order of magnitude more impressive than the Loewe. If Panasonic made 4K plasma TVs, I wouldn't be asking for advice. ;-)

 

[PatrickFaith]

I recently got a 4k samsung 50+", had a old 720p that i had for 15 years too. One thing i hadn't figured on was how easy it integrates to my wireless network and connects at 4k at to netflix, hulu, apple. Also that inscreen speaker sounds great(sound comes out through the screen somehow). It also has active hdr if the room has sun on it, i do like the hdr from a convinience thing if the tv gets some serious reflections ... but i dont like the color space. Tv does has something that simulates p3, but the room has to be fairly dark/flat for that to work (but thats my preferred mode if i am watching sonething with good cinematography). I probably watch 80% of everything on asian tv, so also like how it subtitles and stuff (menus for all the options are easy). Anyway some of this interface and network usability is higher on my priority list now that i am using a modern tv.

 

[Andreas Gotfredsen]

Samsung 2018 8K or 4K QLED or an LG OLED . (LG makes all OLED panels for all brands so if you go OLED different brands only got different processing) if you go QLED look att Samsung 2018 QLED and you likely get a bargin because the 2019 is not much different so you can get the 2018 modell for good price .

Samsung QLED is good if you have a living room with bright sunlight and big windows with much ambient light .... if you have a dedicated dark cinema room then LG OLED is a better option .... OLED has much better blacks but QLED has much much higher Nits (brightness)

if you like Panasonic then the Panasonic OLED might be what you are looking for . Panasonic uses the LG OLED panels but has its of processing and Panasonic OLED TV are really for the people who into Cinema Color ...There campaign is all based on people working in the cinema industry and they done lots of collaboration with grading professionals to get a TV for that kind of target audience ....

but like I wrote OLED of you have a room where you can control the ambient light .... QLED if you got lots of ambient light ...

 

[Dominik Muench]

You'd be surprised about how decent the Aldi displays actually are for the money.

I bought a Hisense from Jb-Hifi the other day: https://www.jbhifi.com.au/hisense/hisense-65r5-series-5-65-4k-uhd-smart-led-tv/383766/

I dont tend to watch a lot of TV so this one suited my needs perfectly, the image is great, the media player works well and it has all the netflix/smartTv stuff built in too.
All the HDMI/USB connections you need and it took less then 10 minutes from out of the box to up and running with a decent tuned image.

 

[Hrvoje Simic]

If Panasonic made 4K plasma TVs, I wouldn't be asking for advice. ;-)

Well...they make OLED ones now.
And still know their stuff.

 

[Karim D. Ghantous]

Some useful advice from all. Thanks!

 

[Michael Lindsay]

Buy from a place there is a no question return policy... it took 3 returned panels before I got a 4K screen without hideous problems. Still have a odd colour shift in the lower 1/4 of the screen but I can live with it.... I was busy at the time and wish I’d have had the energy to return the one I have.

ps It was a top of the range Panasonic from 2/3 years ago can’t remember the code designator name

 

[Eric Santiago]

I finally bought one for home.
Got the LG OLED65C8PUA and oh man I am re-watching all RED related shows done in 4K.
Nice that I can see what was dark in the past.
So far the most vibrant is Dark Crystall.
Got first episode of Stranger Things, oh god that was yummy
I am going to view old RED projects off a REDRAY soon.
I know its dated but heck I kept all the old downloads from RED on that e.g. Loom, promos, etc...

 

[Karim D. Ghantous]

Who needs 4K? It's a gimmick. If it's so useful, why do so many professional cameras top out at 2.5K? And future proofing is pointless. 4K TVs will take years and years to become mainstream. In that time, what are you going to use to play your 4K footage? It's not like you can go down the local Aldi and buy a 65" 4K TV for $599.

 

[Ruff]

I went with a couple of the Panasonic OLED's this year.
A 65" and a 55"

For me, they look great, and they have excellent calibration out of the box. You can easily select different profiles, and then edit them to suit if you want.