Bit of OLED TV advice

[zedstar]

Ok I had a look at a few threads and reviews but would appreciate advice for my TV choice, I was very tempted with an LG OLED GX55 - ultra thin and would look fantastic on the wall - but at 2k (!) I started looking for alternatives,

Sony 55 AG9 - approx £1900 everywhere but great reviews
Sony 55 AG8 - approx £1200 everywhere but is it worth spending the extra dough to get the AG9?
I liked the LG E9 - approx £1500

I don't watch football or sports, mainly Netflix/SKY and normal boring TV.

Any pointers or criticisms appreciated!

[miniman]

If the Sonys still have the Android OS, it’s terrible.

The Samsung QLED is fabulous.

[zedstar]

Ok I see - yep I looked at the Samsung Q90R also, seems like a lovely screen but obviously not OLED - I'll take your point though and have a look

[Zirconia]

I understand that all OLED panels are equal leaving the factory to the various makers, it is what the manufacturers bolt on that expenses them up.

But OLED is superb.

[anonymous-user]

I've got an 55" LG E(I think 6) I bought December '17. It's been faultless.

Downside of that TV is that it's not super great with sports/motion. Caveat to that is I'm not disposed to spending 17 million hours playing with settings. Others might.

The 'OLED effect' of blacks is brilliant on films though, and nearly 3 years later the picture can still blow me away.

[Zirconia]

Interesting comment on the motion. We use BT 4k rugby and it is superb. No issues with it.

[danneth]

I've got the Panasonic fz802 and love it, used mainly for sports, Netflix and movies and it doesn't everything so well.

[Mr Pointy]

If you are planning on using the Smart TV features a lot then I would strongly recommend that you have a play with a few different sets to make sure you get on with the software. I find the Android TV on my Sony to be very average & only good enough for occasional use. Try LG & Samsung as well & you may find that informs your choice of set. Of course if your're using an external streamer then the TV software doesn't matter so much.

[DeWar]

Bear in mind that the LG C, E and GX series of OLEDs all use exactly the same panel (as mentioned above, all OLED panels regardless of manufacturer are made by the same company, LG Display) and picture processing, so the picture quality will be identical regardless of the model you choose. So if you go for the GX you’re paying for the fancy design and if that isn’t a priority, you’re better off going with the E9.

Sony is widely considered to be better at motion handling than LG (though I’ve never noticed motion issues on my C8) so it would be a consideration if you watched lots of sports, but since you don’t I suspect you’d be hard pushed to tell the difference between the E9/GX and the AG9 with the type of content you view unless comparing side by side. Even then they’d probably look near enough equal. I’ve not seen an AG8 but it is apparently noticeably inferior to the AG9, particularly in terms of light output.

Based on the information presented I’d lean towards the E9.

[danrc]

I've never had any issues with the sony android interface and the picture is fantastic.

[Mr Pointy]

danrc said:

I've never had any issues with the sony android interface and the picture is fantastic.

It's clunky & slow to respond.

[P700DEE]

I recently bought the AG8 65" Sony for £ 1800 from John Lewis and have been very pleased. The interface is very slow at start up as it has to log into your broadband (mines on a wired connection) but once running I don't have an issue.

[danrc]

Mr Pointy said:

danrc said:

I've never had any issues with the sony android interface and the picture is fantastic.

It's clunky & slow to respond.

I've not had this experience, the tv is faultless, the interface is intuitive and there is no lag or delay with response.

[zedstar]

thanks for the pointers guys - I'll go check some of them out in person and probably lean away from the AG8

[Murph7355]

danrc said:

Mr Pointy said:

danrc said:

I've never had any issues with the sony android interface and the picture is fantastic.

It's clunky & slow to respond.

I've not had this experience, the tv is faultless, the interface is intuitive and there is no lag or delay with response.

Me neither (more or less).

I have an AF9 and it's great. Passes the wife and kid test in terms of usability and the picture quality is immense. The sound from the acoustic panel is also good enough for it to act as a centre channel.

Android TV was actually a plus for me - runs Kodi natively so no need for additional dongles. Also has the usual suspect apps (iPlayer, ITV Hub, Netflix etc etc etc.

I have a minor glitch with surround sound in Kodi since the latest update, but it's all workable.

The biggest gripe I have, such as it is, is that the YouView implementation doesn't allow reminders to be set. It's possible to switch to the standard TV guide interface, but that looks like a bored summer student designed it. And is also lacking functionality you end up missing from the YouView one. Basically 2x half good TV guides don't make a whole one.

Not a deal breaker for us though and still eminently useable.

[Gren]

Mr Pointy said:

danrc said:

I've never had any issues with the sony android interface and the picture is fantastic.

It's clunky & slow to respond.

Not mine. Interface works perfectly and is plenty fast. AG9

[MrOrange]

Murph7355 said:

The sound from the acoustic panel is also good enough for it to act as a centre channel.

That is interesting - and super "wife friendly", too.

How do you set it up to drive the speaker as a centre speaker? And are you using an external AV receiver?

[Murph7355]

MrOrange said:

Murph7355 said:

The sound from the acoustic panel is also good enough for it to act as a centre channel.

That is interesting - and super "wife friendly", too.

How do you set it up to drive the speaker as a centre speaker? And are you using an external AV receiver?

Yup, using an external AV receiver.

There are a couple of binding posts on the rear of the TV (towards the left as you look at the rear) specifically for this purpose

[PHlL]

OP - do you know anyone who qualifies for the LG VIP scheme who you could get them to purchase it for you?

OLED55GX6LA is currently £1,679.99 down from the apparent £2,299.99 RRP.

Have a C8 & C9 myself, love them. Way better than the Samsung QLED IMO (someone who watches TV in the pitch black and gets full use of the individual pixel lights).

Never noticed sport motion blur myself.