4K TV recommendations, advice?

[divedivedive]

Hey folks, I figured there had to be an existing 4K tv thread but I couldn’t turn one up, so beg your pardon if I’ve created a duplicate thread.

I’ve decided I’m ready to take the plunge and get a 4K TV but I’m not terribly knowledgeable about the details. I figure I’ll probably wait until the holidays when Costco does their sale, but I’m wondering if one brand stands out as superior, or if it’s not as much differentiation between brands anymore? Also, I know OLED as kind of a big deal, is this a dealbreaker if a TV doesn’t have it? Any tips would be helpful, I’m just starting to look around.

[Navaronegun]

Tracking. Thanks for this thread. I too am very curious, but but I am ignorant, largely and require educating.

[stusser]

No OLED here yet, waiting on adaptive sync and HDR first.

I still have a 60" 1080p TV in my living room, but I recently got a 50" 4k TV (for $280!) for my bedroom when the 12 year old 1080p 42" TV I paid ~$1500 for finally kicked the bucket.

I can’t tell any frickin’ difference. Lying on my bed I’m maybe 11 feet from the TV. 4k YouTube and Netflix looks identical to 1080p.

HDR matters a lot. Resolution matters for computer monitors, because you sit close to them and read text.

But at the distances you’re likely to sit from a TV, 4k? I had to stand 2 feet in front of the TV before it was even discernible. The difference between 720p and 1080p isn’t huge, but it is noticeable. 4k, no.

[divedivedive]

Good info, thanks. I should add that I also play a lot of Xbox One X on my TV, so that’s as much a driver of the decision to upgrade as anything else.

[peterb]

I have an LG C7 based on the wirecutter’s pick, which is the model before the current LG C8. It was super-expensive and worth it.

[Enidigm]

rtings.com, basically.

I got the X900E last year from Sony and i really like it (it was the only 49" TV that seemed worth buying at that size), at least for gaming, and i got it for a good price. If cinema is your thing you might be happier with OLED. But i’ve been pretty suprised and pleased at HDR gaming now. And the new Sonys have Dolby Vision as wells as HDR10 support.

Using your Xbox One X you’ll want to look into HDR, since (imo) that’s the feature that separates gaming on TV/Console from PC gaming (at any price). You also get 4K Blu ray, so that’s cool if that’s your thing.

[LockerK]

As always The Wirecutter’s guides are top notch.

TV Buying Guide

Your budget and required TV size will be the biggest drivers of what features you end up with. HDR (HDR10 is what the Xbone uses, but try and get a set with both that and Dolby Vision, which Netflix uses) should be non-negotiable on any set you buy.

I can vouch for the TCL Roku TVs. Yes, I could’ve spent more and got a little better picture but for the price I’m very happy with it. Plus, Roku is the best Smart TV UI I’ve used.

[Ginger_Yellow]

Also, I know OLED as kind of a big deal, is this a dealbreaker if a TV doesn’t have it?

Not a dealbreaker, especially if you’re not planning on spending more than say $500. If you’re spending more, I’d seriously consider restricting your choices to OLEDs, especially if you do a lot of movie watching. For gaming, LCDs are fine, arguably better, as they have higher peak brightness. But for movies, nothing beats those perfect blacks.

[Menzo]

Not a dealbreaker, especially if you’re not planning on spending more than say $500

I think good OLEDs are still several thousands of dollars at any decent size. So I’d say that up to $2k you shouldn’t worry about it.

[divedivedive]

Doing a little googling I turned up this article about possible concerns that HDR may affect the TV’s longevity? No idea if that’s a serious concern or not, just throwing it out for discussion.

Will HDR kill your OLED TV?

[Ginger_Yellow]

I think good OLEDs are still several thousands of dollars at any decent size.

Define decent size. I got my 55" for about £1.5k over a year ago. On a very good deal at the time, admittedly, but it’s probably generally for sale at or below that price now. You could certainly find it for sale for £1k or less if you were patient. I think if you’re willing to spend over $500 at all, you have to think about an OLED unless you really don’t watch movies. And if you watch movies a lot, then you’re probably better off deciding which OLED.

Edit: Just checked. It’s widely available for £1.3k.

[divedivedive]

This is the one that’s jumping out at me right now. My current TV is a Vizio as well, and I’ve been really happy with it.

Costco Wholesale

[Navaronegun]

My current TV is a Vizio as well

I may try them. I have been very happy with Toshiba in the past.

[Ginger_Yellow]

Bear in mind the conclusion of the article is this:

That said, my best guess with the information available to me is that OLED lifespan, even taking into account the higher demands of HDR, should remain a non-issue for TV minimalists who only watch a movie once in a while.

Even its absolute worst case scenario suggests a lifetime of 9 years at 8 hours a day for 50% dimming. And this is its “realistic” scenario:

Fortunately, during normal viewing, the peak brightness areas of HDR occur relatively infrequently, and they hardly ever cover the entire screen. For the sake of argument, let’s say peak brightness (700 nits on the Sony) is displayed five percent of the time, and more or less evenly across the entire display. That’s three minutes per hour of four-fold accelerated decay across the entire panel, or the equivalent of 12 extra minutes subtracted from the panel’s lifespan.

But that’s really not very realistic at all. Peak brightness is only going to be specular highlights, the sun and that sort of thing. There’s a thread on ResetERA which uses brightness maps to analyse HDR implementation in games. Very, very little of the screen is anywhere close to peak brightness at any given time.

I just don’t see it as being a realistic concern (I also see myself upgrading my TV after six or seven years, so I’m not bothered if it is). Burn in could be a real problem, so I’d worry more about that, and definitely avoid watching 24hr news (seriously, who are these people who watch news non-stop on a thousand dollar TV?).

[lordkosc]

Use this to research TV info, I spent a lot of time on there back when I got my Sony 4k , two years ago. Been very happy with it so far.

https://www.rtings.com/tv

Just noticed @Enidigm mentioned it up thread also! :D

[divedivedive]

Yeah I checked it out. They rated the one I posted above, the Vizio Quantum P, highly for a gaming TV. Good sign, even if it’s not OLED.

[Navaronegun]

Is the OLED advantage response time? How noticable is it? I can’t see, in my research, many obvious advantages to OLED other than that, and a lot of disadvantages.

[divedivedive]

I feel like at this point I just need to go look at a bunch of TVs in action, see for myself what OLED adds. It’s not totally clear from reading about it.

[Ginger_Yellow]

The OLED advantage is mainly perfect blacks, which also brings excellent contrast. Black pixels are actually off. For movies, that’s amazing, and also for a fair few games. Response time is also very good for TVs, though that can in some contexts bring its problems, because motion can appear stuttery on low FPS content. I understand that’s less of an issue with current gen sets though.

[lordkosc]

With tech still changing so much, I’d go with this if I was buying today, price/performance wise. It was mentioned up thread in the wirecutter post.

The Best 4K TV on a Budget for 2018

Amazon.com: TCL 55R617 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD Roku Smart LED TV (2018 Model): Electronics