How to choose a TV?

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daniemare

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I am in the market for a new TV. My current TV is a 55” Samsung plasma, so naturally I want bigger and similar or better performance.

The money no opbject choice will be a 65/75” OLED, but my budget is R20k and that is why I am here.

I would normally use US sites for reviews, but many models are either differently numbered or not available here, so less than usefull.

I tried going to shops, but wow, what an awefull experience. No disrespect, but the sales staff and brand representatives can not answer what I thought was basic questions, and almost no shop could play normal DStV satellite sport content (my most important source). Some even say that Samsung/LG do not allow them to play anything else than the demo content.

So I have narrowed it to
Skyworth SUC9300 75” (limited internet info)
Samsung TU8000 75”
LG 75UN7180PVC
Hisense 75A7500F

The shop staff struggle to help me with Pros and Cons of each so maybe some can help here (or even suggest something else)
Which has 8 bit vs 10 bit panels
Which has VA vs IPS panels
Which has FALD va Backlight vs Edge Light
Which has HDMI ARc/eARC (because why will all these TVs have Netflix etc baked in but the sound can’t be sent to proper speakers effortlessly)

Thanks in advance
 
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I'd rather go with a 65" that has HDMI 2.1 instead of the bigger size. It will be future proof and will make the most of the new consoles and any other new tech coming down the line.

For that budget you can get a 65" LG NANO86 or Samsung Q70T.

If it comes down to these 2, just keep in mind that the Samsung only has one HDMI 2.1 port whereas the LG has two...
 
Thanks Mike. Will have a look. I do not play Games so refresh rate is cool for sport, but I despise it for movies, so not that important now, but I hear you on future proofing.

So if this is not an 8k panel, and I will never own a PS5 / X Box Pro, why is HDMI 2.1 important?

So if you know anything about the TVs I have listed, which support eARC, which are 10Bit which are FALD if any?
 
daniemare said:
Thanks Mike. Will have a look. I do not play Games so refresh rate is cool for sport, but I despise it for movies, so not that important now, but I hear you on future proofing.

So if this is not an 8k panel, and I will never own a PS5 / X Box Pro, why is HDMI 2.1 important?

So if you know anything about the TVs I have listed, which support eARC, which are 10Bit which are FALD if any?
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Well you want the bandwidth more than anything. Right now it's the consoles making most use of it, but we don't know what tech will be available in 5 years time to take advantage of the added bandwidth, and you'd hate to be stuck with no option but to upgrade your TV.

From the list you posted, it seems like the Samsung and LG are both 10 bit panels, but only the LG supports eARC. Detailed specs seem to be harder to find for the other 2.

I'd still go with one of the 65" models. It's plenty big enough. The "soap opera" effect you mentioned will be present in all of them anyway. You just have to disable trumotion or motion smoothing or whatever each brand calls it...
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
Well you want the bandwidth more than anything. Right now it's the consoles making most use of it, but we don't know what tech will be available in 5 years time to take advantage of the added bandwidth, and you'd hate to be stuck with no option but to upgrade your TV.

From the list you posted, it seems like the Samsung and LG are both 10 bit panels, but only the LG supports eARC. Detailed specs seem to be harder to find for the other 2.

I'd still go with one of the 65" models. It's plenty big enough. The "soap opera" effect you mentioned will be present in all of them anyway. You just have to disable trumotion or motion smoothing or whatever each brand calls it...
Click to expand...
Ah yes. This future proof rabbit hole. My nice R10,000 Denon AVR was future proof when I got it. But it can’t handle 4K or ARC. So I have learnt a couple of expensive lessons trying to future proof. The TV will be 4k. Other than gaming I cannot see what HDMI 2.1 will help me as the ultimate hardware limit will be 4K
 
daniemare said:
I am in the market for a new TV. My current TV is a 55” Samsung plasma, so naturally I want bigger and similar or better performance.

The money no opbject choice will be a 65/75” OLED, but my budget is R20k and that is why I am here.
Click to expand...
I'm in a similar boat, but am coming from a 51" Samsung Plasma and am willing to throw 25K at the problem. My dilemma atm is size/brightness vs. quality ...

Contender #1 : HiSense 75U8QF [Q]LED

Attributes:

- Big - can appreciate 4K/UHD better at 75"
- Bright - can pump out > 1000 NITs [best bright room & HDR performance, supports HDR10+ & Dolby Vision]
- Colourful - For an LED, due to its Quantum dot filter
- Upscaling and motion processing could be suspect

Comes in at ~R25K

Contender #2 : LG CX55 OLED

Attributes:

- Great 4K upscaling, however will that be appreciable at 55"
- Being an OLED, generally regarded as providing the best non-HDR picture quality on the market [specifically in dark room environments, it supports HDR but not bright enough to show it off properly]
- Being self a emissive technology, no risk of blooming, but could be be prone to image retention

Comes in at ~R22K

I just need a display, I wont be using the TV's OS, speakers or remote, as I have a have a Chromecast with Google TV which includes its own remote, and a Samsung 5.1.2 Atmos Soundbar. I'm currently leaning toward #1, but have also seen the opinion that OLED picture quality will always trump BBC attributes [Big, Bright & Colourful]. Anyone with either of the models have an opinion?
 
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I sit 1 meter away from Sony TV I chose on base of refresh rate(One aspect) and no eyestrain ever, it cost 3 times a similar size TV from friends, and 10 min eyestrain.
 
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