best TV for £3k (max!)

[DodgyGeezer]

a couple of years ago, I "...did my own research..." (as the saying goes) and bought a Panasonic LZ2000 and have, in the main, been quite happy with it. That said, I'm not convinced by its sonic performance (built-in soundbar) which, occasionally (and for no reason I can see), seems to dip into surround/wide sound (for want of a better expression) and then back to normal. It's not enough to make me bin the TV but now that I'm at the point of getting a replacement for a different TV (old pioneer plasma) I'm loath to:

- get another LZ (or up-to-date equivalent)
- get an expensive (to me) piece of kit that I'll not be 100% happy with


with the above in mind, there are a few questions for the PH hivemind:

- I'm reasonably impressed with the 65" Sony Bravia 8ii (good picture and, apparently, very good sound), what would you choose instead?
- is the whole 'black friday' thing worth waiting for?
- as an adendum to this if I get the Sony is it worth getting the Sony Theatre U Wireless Neckband a worthwhile addition (meaning Mrs DG can watch something which I'm not bothered about and vice-versa)?
- usage will be mainly film/tv series. Sport will be a tiny proportion (rugby 6 Nations/autumn internationals/summer tours)
- source will be Sky smart TV apps (Netflix/Amazon/Apple/Paramount)
- no gaming usage at all


I've likely got a huge amount of extra questions I've forgotten to ask but that'll come later

[Arrivalist]

I m in a similar boat at the moment being in the market for a new 65inch.

I ve narrowed it down to the LGG5, Sony Bravia 8ii and the Samsung S95F.

I went to see all those in Curry s last week as I was in the vicinity and, acknowledging that that s probably not the best place to view, they all looked superb to me.

Although most of my watching will be evening films and streaming, I do have a bright room and so the anti glare capabilities of the Samsung and LG along with their higher brightness levels may swing it for me.

This may be worth a read: https://www.techradar.com/televisions/i-tested-lg-...

[The Gauge]

DodgyGeezer said:

a couple of years ago, I "...did my own research..." (as the saying goes) and bought a Panasonic LZ2000

Some of the cost of the TV ws obviously the built in Technics speaker, whereas the LZ1500 was the same TV without the speaker. I was tempted my the speaker option but instead bought the 1500 (albeit the JZ series) and a Sonos Beam Soundbar. If your next TV doesn't need such a speaker then you can obviously deduct that cost.

I plan to change mine next year and if I was doing so today I'd buy the LG G5, bt I;ll wait and see what TV's are available when the time comes

avforums is a good forum to seek advice on TV's.

[mikef]

DodgyGeezer said:

- I'm reasonably impressed with the 65" Sony Bravia 8ii (good picture and, apparently, very good sound), what would you choose instead?

I have the 55", replacing a Bravia 8 Mk 1

It is impressive. The sound through the screen isn't as good as our first 4K Sony that had mahoosive speakers on both ends, making that set very wide, but it's amazing that through-the-screen sound works as well as it does

Compared with the Mark 1, it's slightly disappointing that it doesn't come with the dedicated camera port and camera that could optimise the sound for your position in the room (although you can buy a USB camera instead, but the placement isn't as neat). The Mk 2 blacks are certainly deeper. The Mark 2 also comes with a plastic second remote, instead of the aluminium remote of the Mark 1 (which I've kept). Other than that, it's definitely a worthwhile upgrade to a great TV

The reason I buy Sony's is that they have the Google Store built in, not some vendor-modified version, and I can watch my European TV subscriptions using Android apps

[Radec]

Someone already mention AVForums above, they currently have an article for best TVs for 2025 on the front page, have a read of it for some ideas.

[ChocolateFrog]

When I bought for around that price a couple of years ago the LG's were the best but OLED more likely to suffer screen burn and our usage meant that was a possibility.

Went for the an S80 or S85 Samsung can't exactly remember. No complaints though and it's had a hammering.

[DodgyGeezer]

truth be told, I'd forgotten about AV Forums, so appreciate the reminders