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!

[LordHaveMurci]

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.

[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.

[LordHaveMurci]

Hammy98 said:

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.

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?

[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.

[LordHaveMurci]

Hammy98 said:

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.

No idea really, I worked on sticking to known brands like Panasonic, sony, LG & Samsung but HiSense seem to get great reviews too.

I found it was really hard work, reviews are thin on the ground & viewing sets in store is virtually a waste of time.

[Pravus1]

I found 4k as a resolution a pretty pointless jump but HDR content is the big step up.

I'd look around ebay and see if anyone is selling a c7 or b7 oled and stretch your budget.

[parabolica]

Get yourself a copy of this month’s What HiFi - good review if a new 50” 4K HDR panny that’s just come out - seems to be the one to go for just now.

[tenohfive]

Sorry to say it but you just won't get anything with meaningful HDR capabilities in 55" with that budget. You'll find any number of TVs that support it but it won't actually make any real difference to the image. But HDR isn't everything.

Personally with that budget I'd be trying to pickup a Samsung MU7000. Think I've seen them getting close to that on the odd deal recently.

[Phunk]

All of these 'HDR' sets you are looking at aren't true HDR. You need a HDR10+ set which is a true 10bit panel that can show the full HDR spectrum.

If you get one of these and watch a proper HDR source it WILL blow you away.

[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

[LordHaveMurci]

Hammy98 said:

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

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

[Lazermilk]

You just missed out on the Amazon Prime day sales, apparently there were some good deals on TV's there.

I have an OLED LG and really like it, they are pricey but some of the non OLED ones are supposed to be decent also and use the same web OS interface, I like the remote having the air mouse type ability, works really well when searching on you tube etc.

If you can hold off you would likely get a better deal on black Friday/cyber Monday.

[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?

[Lazermilk]

Hammy98 said:

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?

I bought a 5.1 all in one Pioneer system for reasonably cheap (Around 350 euros from memory) and for the price I was pretty impressed with it, does 4k pass through as well so you can plug everything into the back of the amp and then have one HDMI going to the TV from there, the only thing I don't like is the wires for the rear speakers as in my new place its hard to hide them so i think I will be changing it to either just a soundbar/sub or a wireless speaker setup instead at some point.