Time for a new display

[jamhead]

So our tree in the front yard got hit with lightning the other night. Going through our house to find all the damage (there is quite a bit, from the garage door, to landscape lights I installed myself over a 2 month period - actually, I'm most pissed about this....front and back yard, low voltage LED's)., anyway, I find my beloved RPTV, 12 years old, now has horrific convergence issues. The blue and red are far off each other in opposite directions and I'm upset...as I really liked the picture on it.

So, Time for a new display. This will be for my family room, where I have a 2.1 system and it is used for non-critical movies (when I want movie-feel I use the dedicated room with the Epson 5020 projector), as well as every day viewing. So, I don't want or need top of the line, but I haven't researched displays in 12 years.

I have a receiver that can pass 4K signals, but only a blu-ray player and a Roku 3. I'm thinking I'll probably go 4K if the price isn't too bad (the new Roku or new 4K player won't be too expensive), but, it all remains to be seen. 1080p is quite cheap now.

I sit about 11 feet from the display and currently have a 57". I would like a comparable size.

What brands are good? Reliable? 4K or 1080p? HDR?

Budget will depend on what insurance deems comparable replacement. I will also need to by a nice stand that matches my entertainment center...so, cost will be directly related to quality here.

Thanks for any feedback from those in the know.

 

[Flint]

I have two priorities for TVs: 1) Perfection at any cost I can remotely afford - typically only for my HT, and 2) As cheap as possible and still able to do the job.

If this isn't your primary TV, I would get the cheapest TV you think will last and can handle the connectivity needs. This could be a entry level Samsung for under $400.

I am about to need a new TV in my family room, and I currently debating getting an entry level LCD like I just mentioned or getting a new top of the line Sony OLED for my HT and moving the 7 year old Pioneer Elite Plasma into my family room.

What's the plan?

 

[Randy]

Flint, rotating them out like that makes sense. If you are going to upgrade your primary display the the best available, if not just get what works, your plan definitely makes sense.

 

[Haywood]

Vizio had some great affordable 4K HDR sets. I would start there.

 

[Deacon]

Vizio had some great affordable 4K HDR sets. I would start there.

Beat me to it! Vizio has been very competitive in the 4k market with some offerings that are great quality and performance coming in much lower prices than the big boys (Samsung, Sony).

 

[Towen7]

Vizio had some great affordable 4K HDR sets. I would start there.

+1

 

[Haywood]

Vizio is the bang-for-the-buck king. They still cannot tough the best sets from Sony, Samsung and LG, but their sets are shockingly good for what they cost.

 

[Akula]

Our 4K Vizio is still performing well... my only complaint is Vizio likes to put the ****ing remote sensor in the bottom left of the frame with not much field of vision. It's not always the easiest thing for my Logitech Harmony to hit if we're not being careful to keep it in the right spot as it powers things up. Why on earth they couldn't be bothered to put that sensor at the top center is beyond me. It would be a far better spot.

 

[Haywood]

Our 4K Vizio is still performing well... my only complaint is Vizio likes to put the ****ing remote sensor in the bottom left of the frame with not much field of vision. It's not always the easiest thing for my Logitech Harmony to hit if we're not being careful to keep it in the right spot as it powers things up. Why on earth they couldn't be bothered to put that sensor at the top center is beyond me. It would be a far better spot.

Is your remote compatible with the Logitech Hub? If so, a strategically placed IR blaster could solve that problem.

 

[jamhead]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'm in the Flint category so I'll take a look at Vizio. Last time I was looking at sets Vizio was considered crap, picture and QC wise.

I'm going to miss my tv. I bought it right after finding out my wife was pregnant 12 years ago. Replaced a 32" tube.

 

[Batman]

I concur that Vizios provide incredible value in regards to PQ .... just be on top of current models being more reliable than the last couple generations. Of the two Vizios I own, both have had issues after firmware updates and one has a remote that hardly ever works. And after calling the tech support, they recommended I keep the smart features off and keep the TVs off the network unless absolutely necessary. There were no consistently specific issues, they were just "quirky" doing all sorts of odd things.

 

[MatthewB]

I own a 65" Samsung KS8500 (curved screen) and it has a phenomenal built in scaler that up converts all HD to 4K quality and also has a feature called HDR+ that adds billions of color shades to any signal you feed it. I have hard drive that specifically has ten 4K encoded movies and the difference between unconverted 1080p and 4K content is very hard to distinguish sitting back ten feet (the upscaler is just that good) now I bought the TV this past October for 1,600 but you can still buy last years KS series for 1,100 for a 65" and it is worth it.

Oh and if needed I can give you the link to the portable hard drive that has the ten 4K movies and forty 4K documentaries that only works with Samsung 4K TV's for 38.00 on Amazon. You don't need it mind you but it's good to own to show friends what true 4K looks like.

I've seen the Vizio as I comparison shopped before buying the Samsung and it boiled down to the Panasonic M series and the Samsung and Samsung won once HDR+ was engaged as most of what I watch is streamed 1080p content.

Unlike Chris my Samsung is connected to the Internet via Ethernet and has had about four firmware updates and I've had no issues. It is a smartTv but I just use my Roku 3 as it has more channels than the tv has. You can also find the ks8000 (flat version) for about 900.00 on Amazon but I like the curved screen.

 

[jamhead]

Thank you gentlemen.
Chris- is there a model you're fond of?

 

[Batman]

I like the lower priced Samsungs available at Costco. You can also find 4k models with HDR at places like Target or Wal-mart. I've always been a fan of Panasonic's flagship sets but they're not available in the U.S. anymore and they're expensive. Maybe @JeffMackwood could cross the border with one

 

[jamhead]

Time for a quick rant.

What the fuck happened to displays over the past couple years?
Now, unless I want to shell out big bucks, there's one technology. LED/LCD.
Although, 2 types of panels. ISP and VA.
Manufacturers use both, and don't always specify which.
ISP - OK for off angle viewing, blacks suck. 1000:1 contrast.
VA - OK blacks (not great); 5000:1 contrast, but being off 20 degrees from center, then the blacks are halved, colors wash out.

So, two panels, one OK only if dead center. If sitting on one side of the couch, forget it.
The other sucks unless your off center, then its the same poor quality as the VA.

Basically, 2 panels, both suck.

I truly miss the days of RPTV and Plasma. All this talk of 4K and HDR, what happened to black levels? Why are they being ignored?

And I'm not dropping multiple K's on OLED....

Just a pity. End of rant.

 

[Akula]

RPTV died because people wanted thin displays that could be hung over fireplaces. As good a picture as they had, the fact is, the wifal units did not want rooms dominated by large displays- if they accepted a large screen, they sure weren't going to accept thick ones.

Plasma, well, they are electrically noisy, generate heat, use a lot of electricity, and were much heavier.

Bad black levels are just the nature of LCD. Anything that needs backlighting will suffer. Some sets are better than others at this, but there's only so much that can be done.

OLED looks great, but yeah- still pretty expensive. I'm hoping prices come down fast.

 

[yromj]

We bought a Samsung last black Friday because we wanted a bigger display for the living room. It is 4k HDR and overall the PQ is fine. It has one major flaw though that our other Samsung has and will keep me from buying another. It is edge lit and this causes bright spots in certain areas around the edges. I've tried many things to correct this and so far have not been able to do so.

John

 

[Towen7]

And my Vizo E series isn't edge lit but it's "local diming" is too aggressive. When screen has extreme contrast, like white text on a black screen ... Instead of making blacks appear darker, the net effect is that the whites appear dim and grey.

 

[Botch]

And my Vizo E series isn't edge lit but it's "local diming" is too aggressive. When screen has extreme contrast, like white text on a black screen ... Instead of making blacks appear darker, the net effect is that the whites appear dim and grey.

Interesting. My "local dimming" LG (which is now 6 or 7 years old) shows a "halo" around white text (the text is fine) on a black screen (the Oppo logo that bounces around the screen after a disk stops playing shows this perfectly). Obviously a lot changes in tech over that time frame.
Was toying with the idea of a new OLED to replace my LG, but it's still working fine, I've decided to keep using it until it burns up, or I change my mind.

 

[Haywood]

I have a Sony LCD set with Full Array Local Dimming and HDR. The black levels, contrast and color rendition are all superb and the off-axis viewing is the best I've seen. I can stand 8 feet back and 12 feet to the side and it still looks good. It is all in the implementation. My set has 128 zones of local dimming and it is not edge lit. It was also a $6000 flagship, so it had better look good.