which 55" tv please

[dba7108]

havent looked at TV's for years as our trust 10 year old Sony was ok but looked a bit dated and small now at 32". Re -doing the lounge and thought 55" would be best size. Is 4k worth it? I dont watch that many films and Full HD seems fine to me.

The 2 tv's i had it narrowed down to are:

LG 55UB850V
Panasonic TX66AS740B

The LG is 4k the Panasonic isnt. Both are around £1000. I dont play any games nor watch stuff on 3d. The tv will be mainly used for freewatching and the odd bit of film watching with the wife off netflix.

Suggestions please. P.s. Did look at the Sonys's in John Lewis but they are quite deep especially with their built in bracket so wife ruled them out!
Sound will be via my seperate hifi so internal sound not that important.

Ta

[anonymous-user]

I recently purchased the LG 55UB850V and have to say I'm pretty happy with it overall.
Good clear picture. Nice colours, easy to use etc. Black levels aren't quite as good as my old faithful Pioneer Kuro plasma but given the price of the LG and the fact it supports 4k i really cant complain.

Oh - and the TV stand it comes with is a pain in the arse as the legs are so far apart.

[anonymous-user]

Just checked - it was the LG - 55UB820V Smart 4k Ultra HD 55" LED TV I purchased, not the LG - 55UB850V

[RobM77]

There's not a huge amount of 4K content out there yet; look at how long it took HD to take a hold (and we still don't have BBC3 and BBC4 in HD), but with the prevalence of streaming services such as Netflix, content is starting to build:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/can-get-...

However, I'd encourage you to research whether or not you'll tell the difference on a 55" TV. For example, most people reckoned that 32" was about the threshold for SD vs HD, and if you search there are a few sites that try and draw a similar line for HD vs 4K. I did the research myself and decided not to opt for 4K at our chosen size of 50", particularly given the extra cost (our brand new non-3D HD 50" Sony, a new model out in 2014, was only £600).

I'm really surprised at the Sony TVs you looked at being deep; our new Sony 50" arrived yesterday and we're both stunned at the thin bezels and how thin the actual TV is - it really is a beautful bit of tech - it's actually lighter and similar in overall size to my 7 year old 37" LCD Sony.

I can't reccommend any particular TVs at your chosen size as I did the research for 50s. For the 50" size, most reviews seemed to be pointing towards Sony and Samsung as the best, although reports of a sound and picture sync issue on the Samsungs put me off, as did the extra expense for Smart features that we won't use, and finally the fact we're been very happy with our Sony for years and own a Sony Blu-Ray player already so can enjoy remote control sharing.

Edited by RobM77 on Tuesday 20th January 14:04

[pete]

I bought a Sony 55W829b before Christmas. Despite being "only" Full HD resolution it's a huge improvement over our 7 year old 40" Sony LCD, in terms of colour, contrast, black levels, viewing angles, motion handling, you name it. Mine is wall mounted using a conventional VESA mount (only the 50" and below use the funny built in wall mount) and it's very close to the wall. The limiting factor is the thickness of the bottom third of the TV, which sits about 5mm from the wall, but that does mean there's a bigger gap of maybe 30mm or so at the top.

Pete

[dba7108]

I agree with most of the above - after seeing the two sets in the flesh they were both about the same. I remember buying a 3d tv when they first came out with my ex wife and it was overpriced cack to be honest that I never used. I like the look of the panasonic and it also uses quite a lot less electricity, something I hadnt really thought of but as the kids tend to switch it on and then walk off for hours then I guess it is a bonus!

Regarding the Sony I thought the bottom sticked out? I have a new 32" model that i use as a pc monitor and from what id seen the other sizes bulge out at the bottom but maybe not the 55" as someone said above.

[RobM77]

The bottom of our 50" is thicker than the top, yes.

Off topic, but for those people who wall mount, where do devices such as your Blu-Ray player, Sky box, consoles etc go?

[T1berious]

Nearby but tucked out of site or in a stand.



Looking at 50 W8 myself

As much as I like the OLED I can't warrant the expense and the lack of 4K content screams hold off. A 60" 4K OLED for 2k would be pretty sweet once 4K Blu Ray takes off

[RobM77]

T1berious said:

Nearby but tucked out of site or in a stand.



Looking at 50 W8 myself

As much as I like the OLED I can't warrant the expense and the lack of 4K content screams hold off. A 60" 4K OLED for 2k would be pretty sweet once 4K Blu Ray takes off

We don't need 3D either, so I paid £609 for a KDL50W705B. That way, if we suddenly decide we need 4K in a few years when the content's readily available, it's ok. I suspect I'll be more than happy with HD on the 50" though - so far I'm over the moon with it! Movies are just amazing compared to the 37" we had before.

[T1berious]

Yup, I think the W8 has some beefier motion processor action going on as well.

We do have a few 3D movies but to be honest, just like everyone else, 3D is something that comes with the TV but we don't use it.

Gravity was pretty impressive though but so many movies have a few 3D sections that are "Look! this bits 3D!" and then promptly switches to 2D for the rest.

However I think once 4K takes off and the OLED units start to drop in price and some media based content I might dip a toe in.

Then again I dipped a toe into laserdisc.....

[DudleySquires]

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-dvd-blu-ray/televi...

Got this before Christmas. 55", HD, 3D (never used), smart (used quite a lot). I'd recommend it.

[RobM77]

T1berious said:

Yup, I think the W8 has some beefier motion processor action going on as well.

We do have a few 3D movies but to be honest, just like everyone else, 3D is something that comes with the TV but we don't use it.

Gravity was pretty impressive though but so many movies have a few 3D sections that are "Look! this bits 3D!" and then promptly switches to 2D for the rest.

However I think once 4K takes off and the OLED units start to drop in price and some media based content I might dip a toe in.

Then again I dipped a toe into laserdisc.....

I forgot to say that - we had motionflow on my prevous 37" TV and never really used it.

The market has a fair bit of inertia in it (DVDs are still standard and Blu-Rays, although common, are not), so I'll bide my time with 4K - it may be a marginal difference at 50" anyway actually and primarily for the cinema. Have you (or anyone else) seen it yet? I'm not much of a fan of the cinema (thus the big TV - we barely watch TV - just lots of films at home) and never visit the shops, so I've not seen 4K up and running yet

[hotchy]

My advice, go bigger. Iv got used to my 55" and want 70 now... dont tell her though..

[cindychops]

T1berious said:

Nearby but tucked out of site or in a stand.



Looking at 50 W8 myself

As much as I like the OLED I can't warrant the expense and the lack of 4K content screams hold off. A 60" 4K OLED for 2k would be pretty sweet once 4K Blu Ray takes off

Can't helping noticing the lovely KEF speakers,Have you not thought of using spikes on them as they do sound tighter with them?or if you did'nt want to damage the floor you could use 2p pieces under the spikes as well.

[gazm]

[quote=RobM77]There's not a huge amount of 4K content out there yet; look at how long it took HD to take a hold (and we still don't have BBC3 and BBC4 in HD), but with the prevalence of streaming services such as Netflix, content is starting to build:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/can-get-...

However, I'd encourage you to research whether or not you'll tell the difference on a 55" TV.

for someone advising you to do your research, i'm amazed they are not aware you can get BBC3 or 4 in HD!

I would recommend getting a 4K TV. the content is coming - unlike 3D, 4K is going to be more widely available

[RobM77]

gazm said:

RobM77 said:

There's not a huge amount of 4K content out there yet; look at how long it took HD to take a hold (and we still don't have BBC3 and BBC4 in HD), but with the prevalence of streaming services such as Netflix, content is starting to build:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/can-get-...

However, I'd encourage you to research whether or not you'll tell the difference on a 55" TV.

for someone advising you to do your research, i'm amazed they are not aware you can get BBC3 or 4 in HD!

I would recommend getting a 4K TV. the content is coming - unlike 3D, 4K is going to be more widely available

I did and it said on the web you couldn't, but now I have my new TV I can see you can, so sorry, I was mis-informed. My point's still valid about 4K though - does anyone know what sort of size TV you need to discern the difference? I could of course just do the maths when I'm more awake ETA: We watched a bit of 4K on a 55" in a department store yesterday and to be quite honest I couldn't tell the difference from 1080p.

Edited by RobM77 on Monday 26th January 21:09

[T1berious]

cindychops said:

T1berious said:

Nearby but tucked out of site or in a stand.



Looking at 50 W8 myself

As much as I like the OLED I can't warrant the expense and the lack of 4K content screams hold off. A 60" 4K OLED for 2k would be pretty sweet once 4K Blu Ray takes off

Can't helping noticing the lovely KEF speakers,Have you not thought of using spikes on them as they do sound tighter with them?or if you did'nt want to damage the floor you could use 2p pieces under the spikes as well.

I'm old school and use blu tac! However, I have thought about the "rubber spikes" that I've seen about but that would raise them a little bit and they look smart growing from the floor

[cindychops]

T1berious said:

cindychops said:

T1berious said:

Nearby but tucked out of site or in a stand.



Looking at 50 W8 myself

As much as I like the OLED I can't warrant the expense and the lack of 4K content screams hold off. A 60" 4K OLED for 2k would be pretty sweet once 4K Blu Ray takes off

Can't helping noticing the lovely KEF speakers,Have you not thought of using spikes on them as they do sound tighter with them?or if you did'nt want to damage the floor you could use 2p pieces under the spikes as well.

I'm old school and use blu tac! However, I have thought about the "rubber spikes" that I've seen about but that would raise them a little bit and they look smart growing from the floor

omg they now have smart tv's that grow from the fllor

[nickfrog]

Does 4k inherently improve the picture quality ? And if so, how ?

Surely the added details is not visible to the human eye so resolution per se can't add anything.

Most people can't see the added 1080p details compared to 1080i/720p because their TV is too small, or too far, or both.

[Magic919]

4k looks much better, as long as viewing distances are not excessive.