New TV time! What 50" 4K TV?

[beanbag]

Our TV recently "blew up" thanks to a lightning strike through the aerial. It also took out my amp which is being repaired but the TV is beyond economic repair according to the insurance company and while it still works, HDMI ports 1 and 2 are completely dead so they've offered us a lump sum for it.

So, this means we're after a 50" 4K TV but I've no idea where to start and was hoping for some hints to get me going. Reviews are varied so perhaps I can shortlist a few.

Things I want:

- 4K with good 1080p upscaling
- Thin bezel
- Wifi if it's got internet functions. I know some have Plex built in which would be amazing.
- 3D is not really wanted. I can't see us ever using this.
- I like the idea of Skype with a camera built in but it's a nice to have.

Basically I'd like to focus on picture quality. I'm not that fussed about sound as this comes out of my B&W 683 HT surround system.

Ideas?

[DanoS4]

I'm going for the LG.

[beanbag]

DanoS4 said:

I'm going for the LG.

Any model in particular?

[DanoS4]

Apologies! Can you tell,I wrote that as my brain was shutting down?

Here's what I was looking at - basically all within £100 of each other....

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/s_action/compare/1000...

Hope this helps a bit.

Currently got a "smaller" 42" regaular smart TV by LG. VERY happy with it

Dan

[anonymous-user]

I have the 55inch LG and am very happy with it given the price. Only annoying thing is the crap stand.

[T1berious]

I'd be tempted to hold off until they've released the HDMI 2.0a equipped units if 4K \ future proofing is a priority.

I'm in a similar boat and waiting for reviews on the new Sony 2015 4K units.

Saying that, if 4K isn't that big a deal (budget not with standing) the LG OLED units are jaw droppingly awesome. John Lewis Demo really does make the Sammys and Sonys look old hat (at HD).

[TEKNOPUG]

Is the price of the TV a significant amount of money to you? I only ask as personally, I’d hold off getting a 4k TV until broadcasters start releasing a lot of channels and content. A couple of years at least I’d imagine. The tech and prices will move on a lot in that time.

[mp3manager]

So you want a '4k' Tv?

Does it have a 10 bit panel? Can it display the DCI colourspace?
Buy the best 1080p panel you can afford and don't waste money on something that's already obsolete.

4k sets have been rushed into the stores because 3D flopped and the manufacturers are desperate to shift units to any idiot who wants to impress the neighbours or friends with the latest buzzword.

[anonymous-user]

mp3manager said:

So you want a '4k' Tv?

Does it have a 10 bit panel? Can it display the DCI colourspace?
Buy the best 1080p panel you can afford and don't waste money on something that's already obsolete.

4k sets have been rushed into the stores because 3D flopped and the manufacturers are desperate to shift units to any idiot who wants to impress the neighbours or friends with the latest buzzword.

Yeah, buy a 1080p panel because that's the future isn't it

I'm enjoying watching 4k Netflix content. The LG plays 1080p content just fine too.

[anonymous-user]

mp3manager said:

So you want a '4k' Tv?

Does it have a 10 bit panel? Can it display the DCI colourspace?
Buy the best 1080p panel you can afford and don't waste money on something that's already obsolete.

4k sets have been rushed into the stores because 3D flopped and the manufacturers are desperate to shift units to any idiot who wants to impress the neighbours or friends with the latest buzzword.

Yeah, buy a 1080p panel because that's the future isn't it

I'm enjoying watching 4k Netflix content. The LG plays 1080p content just fine too.

[anonymous-user]

Bandit said:

Yeah, buy a 1080p panel because that's the future isn't it

I'm enjoying watching 4k Netflix content. The LG plays 1080p content just fine too.

The point that was being made was that 4K / UHD, up until 2015 has been merely an increase in resolution. The colour space achieveable was still Rec.709.

2015 displays that feature Dolby Vision / Quantum Dot etc, can achieve circa 92-98% of DCI. Since DCI is the standard to which 4K content will be produced, as this ties in with how it's mastered for commercial cinemas, that's where futureproofing comes in.

It depends on whether the consumer wants part of what 4K can achieve i.e. resolution. Truthfully, having seen native 4K content, to the 4K standard, the greater improvement is the wider colour gamut, afforded by the DCI colour space, which unfortunately, most 4K displays up until this years models were released, simply cannot achieve, and it's not a firmware update, it's a new panel.

You can buy 4K TV's that are specced to achieve the standard, but they aren't as cheap as the 4K resolution displays that can only achieve Rec.709, that's all.

[TEKNOPUG]

Bandit said:

mp3manager said:

So you want a '4k' Tv?

Does it have a 10 bit panel? Can it display the DCI colourspace?
Buy the best 1080p panel you can afford and don't waste money on something that's already obsolete.

4k sets have been rushed into the stores because 3D flopped and the manufacturers are desperate to shift units to any idiot who wants to impress the neighbours or friends with the latest buzzword.

Yeah, buy a 1080p panel because that's the future isn't it

I'm enjoying watching 4k Netflix content. The LG plays 1080p content just fine too.

I was kinda alluding to that point. There isn't a great deal of 4k content currently available and won't be for a couple of years. In that time the tech and prices will move on considerably. So if the price of this TV isn't a major expenditure, then I'd consider getting a TV that can play the current content (1080i/p) at the best possible at this price point, then look again at 4k in a couple of years, when the content comes on stream. I'd wager that a dedicated HD TV will reproduce 1080p better than a dedicated 4k set, at the same price point.

[Digitalize]

Get a fantastic 1080p set, or get LG's 2015 OLED displays (not out yet, 3k+).

You're looking to buy a TV at possibly the worst time. Panasonic have stopped production of their unbeatable Plasma range, LCD no matter what cannot compare for picture quality, and OLED (Which will blow both out of the water) are in their infancy, and thus very expensive, and only being produced by LG.

[T1berious]

LG have supposedly nailed the issues with producing large numbers of OLED units. so with any luck we'll see a bigger range of OLED units over a bigger price range. (he hopes).

[JulianHJ]

If you do decide to go for 1080p rather than 4K for the above reasons, I can highly recommend the Sony W829, currently around £579.