Recommendations - 4k HDR TV & Sound Setup

[Hammy98]

Hi all,

Moving into my first flat at the end of next month and I'm looking to get a decent setup for the living room. I've been looking at moving to 4k for a while but poor internet connection at my parents has been putting me off as most content would be through streaming services.

I've just upgraded to an Xbox One X in anticipation of this so I'm looking for a TV to go along with it - probably sub £600 if possible. I'm definitely looking to get 4k however HDR would be more of a nicety, is it worth stretching for an HDR set? The living room is quite large for a flat (15ft by 15ft with high ceilings) so I'm thinking 55" minimum but the bigger the better.

I'd like to get a decent enough audio setup to go along with it but I'm not sure if a 5.1 system would be wasted in the room especially as I ~may~ be limited by noise depending on how thin the walls are. I've currently got a cheapo LG 5.1 system which I feed from the Xbox via an optical but the speakers themselves are quite small and it sounds as if they are being heavily assisted by the sub. I was thinking of a used amp from AVforums and either some new speakers from elsewhere or some used ones from AVforums as well. I'd probably budget £400 or so for the audio equipment.

Problem is, my knowledge of this stuff isn't great so I don't know what is likely to perform well or what is overkill for the room etc. When looking at TVs most in this price range seem to have the same tech that has been around for the last few years so I'm not too sure what to go for.

Just looking for recommendations of any equipment and whether 5.1 is likely overboard. Cheers!

[Hammy98]

LordHaveMurci said:

We bought a 4K HDR Panny back in November for about £600, the HDR is useless & I turned it off almost immediately, it also struggles with blacks, other than that it's a cracking TV, wish I'd gone bigger than 50" though.

From what I've read, HDR only works well on higher end units so I wouldn't bother at this price.

That's useful, thanks. HDR had been limiting my choice a bit as there was limited availability at my budget.

[Hammy98]

LordHaveMurci said:

Just took a quick peak on Amazon & of course, the 2018 sets are out now so our 2017 set is currently £450.00, guessing you may get a half decent HDR set for £600ish after all?

I'll have a dig through Amazon tonight. Any brands to avoid? I'd heard something in work about certain brands using pixel replication to 'appear' 4K - may well have been rubbish though.

[Hammy98]

I hear the comments on HDR at this price range. I'm concerned about screen size due to the size of the room so I'm trying to avoid going smaller - even though I could get a better model.

I should really stretch myself a bit more and get an HDR 10+ set but I'm already at the top end of my budget unfortunately.

I spotted this Panasonic on AO.com, 4K, HDR, LED 58 inch. £649 down from £899. Look a safe bet to you guys?

https://ao.com/product/tx58ex700b-panasonic-ex700-...


Will grab a copy of What Hifi also.

Edited by Hammy98 on Thursday 19th July 13:32

[Hammy98]

LordHaveMurci said:

We have the 50'', a good all rounder but HDR turned OFF & struggles with blacks / dark scenes even after calibrating it.

I may have jumped the gun a bit...

A.O must have noticed I've been spending a fair amount of time on there as I was sent a 20% off voucher last night which had to be used before midnight.

Went for the 58" Panasonic at £520 with the discount. I'll probably be happy enough with it to be honest, I've made do with a £250 LG 40" the last couple of years so the Panasonic should be a good step up.

Just need to get the audio sorted now. I'd like 5.1, are complete setups from the likes of Panasonic and Samsung anywhere near the quality of a proper amp and speakers or am I wasting my time with those?