New TV for Nerfherder

[Nerfherder]

So my current TV is a 14 year old Samsung plasma. Its been great and served me well but pretty much anything new will beat it.

looks like the wife will let me get something new she worked hard this Christmas and I ended up spending weeks on end with the kids.
So the budget is not much but we are looking at something under R8k

The current TV is 43 in and I could probably go bigger but the viewing distance is about 3m.
My my guess I can go to 50 in - 55 in at a push.

Its mostly for streaming but we also have a Switch so a bit of gaming, I have a steam link so can also play off that.
As long as it can handle some motion it should be fine.

What are opinions on something like this ?

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or Samsung option ?

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[Pho3nix]

I'd rather go with this assuming your budget really can't be increased Check this out on takealot: Hisense 55" U6K 4K Smart ULED TV with Quantum Dot & HDR

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If it can, Check this out on takealot: Hisense 55" U7K 144Hz 4K Smart Mini-LED ULED TV with Quantum Dot & HDR10+

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Latter would be a little more future proof. Just be aware Disney+ might be an issue with Vidaa software

 

[naughty001]

So my current TV is a 14 year old Samsung plasma. Its been great and served me well but pretty much anything new will beat it.

looks like the wife will let me get something new she worked hard this Christmas and I ended up spending weeks on end with the kids.
So the budget is not much but we are looking at something under R8k

The current TV is 43 in and I could probably go bigger but the viewing distance is about 3m.
My my guess I can go to 50 in - 55 in at a push.

Its mostly for streaming but we also have a Switch so a bit of gaming, I have a steam link so can also play off that.
As long as it can handle some motion it should be fine.

What are opinions on something like this ?

Takealot.com: Online Shopping | SA's leading online store

South Africa's leading online store. Fast, reliable delivery to your door. Many ways to pay. Shop anything you can imagine: TVs, laptops, cellphones, kitchen appliances, toys, books, beauty & more. Shop the mobile app anytime, anywhere.

www.takealot.com

or Samsung option ?

Takealot.com: Online Shopping | SA's leading online store

South Africa's leading online store. Fast, reliable delivery to your door. Many ways to pay. Shop anything you can imagine: TVs, laptops, cellphones, kitchen appliances, toys, books, beauty & more. Shop the mobile app anytime, anywhere.

www.takealot.com

i don't know why you consider that 55" is optimal for 3 metres away - and don't get me wrong - i'm not forcing you to buy something bigger than what you want (or can afford) BUT according to the science of the eye as well as current resolutions there are two organisations ..... SMTPE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) and THX who give you optimal viewing sizes ..... and while you don't have to follow this religiously it should be a more scientefic basis to chose your optimal distances to be away from the TV and sizes you can use for a given distance

And at your distance of 3 metres away THX actually says that 85" is optimal (meaning at current resolutions {4k or in other words 3840 x 2160p} you should suffer no ill effects to your eyes or have no reason to strain or otherwise harm your eyes) SMTPE has a different opinion and they suggest 75" - so IMHO you could safely go even bigger than 55" with no real ill effects and given how cheap comparatively TV's have become nowadays you wont go wrong with a basic 65" TV at maybe around 2 grand more than the price range you are looking at which is laughable given that around 2 years ago most of those bigger TVs were close to twice the price they are nowadays - if i was looking at buying a TV now - and i look at how much i paid for my current set i could get a 65" or a lower brand name 75" pretty easily and i would have better usage for a longer time frame ..... but basically its all left up to you

heres a calculater to help you in terms of sizes and distances :

https://howbigg.com/blog/tv-size-guide

also between the two models you posted if those are still desirable to you - i would suggest that specific Samsung model because it should be considerably better than that specific LG model that you have posted .... not that LG makes bad TV's but design wise and feature wise that Samsung is better than that LG in MOST respects

also if i was in the market for a TV right now (thats just me though) - this model is basically what i would look at due to the fact that i paid around the same price for a comparable 55" model of the same brand around one and a half years back - and this is bigger with more features for the same price (including a very effective 4 year warranty - my backlight went - and they picked it up and fixed it - so you are well covered for 4 years)

https://www.takealot.com/hisense-65-a6g-uhd-smart-tv-with-hdr-bluetooth/PLID72725714

Most people will prefer Samsung but it is fairly more pricey and some of these lower priced alternatives are good enough for people who are not very fussy and should also do a decent job for just as long as the best models and brands your money can buy (for a lot more money though)

good luck with whatever you decide to get

 

[Nerfherder]

i don't know why you consider that 55" is optimal for 3 metres away - and don't get me wrong - i'm not forcing you to buy something bigger than what you want (or can afford) BUT according to the science of the eye as well as current resolutions there are two organisations ..... SMTPE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) and THX who give you optimal viewing sizes ..... and while you don't have to follow this religiously it should be a more scientefic basis to chose your optimal distances to be away from the TV and sizes you can use for a given distance

And at your distance of 3 metres away THX actually says that 85" is optimal (meaning at current resolutions {4k or in other words 3840 x 2160p} you should suffer no ill effects to your eyes or have no reason to strain or otherwise harm your eyes) SMTPE has a different opinion and they suggest 75" - so IMHO you could safely go even bigger than 55" with no real ill effects and given how cheap comparatively TV's have become nowadays you wont go wrong with a basic 65" TV at maybe around 2 grand more than the price range you are looking at which is laughable given that around 2 years ago most of those bigger TVs were close to twice the price they are nowadays - if i was looking at buying a TV now - and i look at how much i paid for my current set i could get a 65" or a lower brand name 75" pretty easily and i would have better usage for a longer time frame ..... but basically its all left up to you

heres a calculater to help you in terms of sizes and distances :

https://howbigg.com/blog/tv-size-guide

also between the two models you posted if those are still desirable to you - i would suggest that specific Samsung model because it should be considerably better than that specific LG model that you have posted .... not that LG makes bad TV's but design wise and feature wise that Samsung is better than that LG in MOST respects

also if i was in the market for a TV right now (thats just me though) - this model is basically what i would look at due to the fact that i paid around the same price for a comparable 55" model of the same brand around one and a half years back - and this is bigger with more features for the same price (including a very effective 4 year warranty - my backlight went - and they picked it up and fixed it - so you are well covered for 4 years)

https://www.takealot.com/hisense-65-a6g-uhd-smart-tv-with-hdr-bluetooth/PLID72725714

Most people will prefer Samsung but it is fairly more pricey and some of these lower priced alternatives are good enough for people who are not very fussy and should also do a decent job for just as long as the best models and brands your money can buy (for a lot more money though)

good luck with whatever you decide to get

Thanks, I want to understand the viewing distance better so will look at that.

Obviously I want as big as I can get but need to make sure its not going to be too big for the room.

 

[Lupus]

i don't know why you consider that 55" is optimal for 3 metres away - and don't get me wrong - i'm not forcing you to buy something bigger than what you want (or can afford) BUT according to the science of the eye as well as current resolutions there are two organisations ..... SMTPE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) and THX who give you optimal viewing sizes ..... and while you don't have to follow this religiously it should be a more scientefic basis to chose your optimal distances to be away from the TV and sizes you can use for a given distance

And at your distance of 3 metres away THX actually says that 85" is optimal (meaning at current resolutions {4k or in other words 3840 x 2160p} you should suffer no ill effects to your eyes or have no reason to strain or otherwise harm your eyes) SMTPE has a different opinion and they suggest 75" - so IMHO you could safely go even bigger than 55" with no real ill effects and given how cheap comparatively TV's have become nowadays you wont go wrong with a basic 65" TV at maybe around 2 grand more than the price range you are looking at which is laughable given that around 2 years ago most of those bigger TVs were close to twice the price they are nowadays - if i was looking at buying a TV now - and i look at how much i paid for my current set i could get a 65" or a lower brand name 75" pretty easily and i would have better usage for a longer time frame ..... but basically its all left up to you

heres a calculater to help you in terms of sizes and distances :

https://howbigg.com/blog/tv-size-guide

also between the two models you posted if those are still desirable to you - i would suggest that specific Samsung model because it should be considerably better than that specific LG model that you have posted .... not that LG makes bad TV's but design wise and feature wise that Samsung is better than that LG in MOST respects

also if i was in the market for a TV right now (thats just me though) - this model is basically what i would look at due to the fact that i paid around the same price for a comparable 55" model of the same brand around one and a half years back - and this is bigger with more features for the same price (including a very effective 4 year warranty - my backlight went - and they picked it up and fixed it - so you are well covered for 4 years)

https://www.takealot.com/hisense-65-a6g-uhd-smart-tv-with-hdr-bluetooth/PLID72725714

Most people will prefer Samsung but it is fairly more pricey and some of these lower priced alternatives are good enough for people who are not very fussy and should also do a decent job for just as long as the best models and brands your money can buy (for a lot more money though)

good luck with whatever you decide to get

A6G would be a model from the end of 2021, so not something I would pay R10k for. But yeah my A8H had an issue with the mobo, they came out and replaced it recently. Iwo Jima had an issue with his 8600 which is over 4 years old and they refunded him the full price he paid back in the day. So there is that reassurance that Hisense does cover you.

 

[Magandroid]

Thanks, I want to understand the viewing distance better so will look at that.

Obviously I want as big as I can get but need to make sure its not going to be too big for the room.

This is just my personal viewpoint but I would say forget the science of viewing distance and get as big as you can afford. For years we had a 50" LG, and when that died just over a year ago, we decided to get a 55" Hisense. No problem with the 55" but now that I am used to it, I feel I should rather have gone with the 65" (or maybe even bigger). We do everything on it, from streaming movies to kids playing games etc.
A friend also recently bought a 65" and his TV room is smaller than mine and it does not look out of place. In actual fact i feel that it fills the room more, almost giving that cinema feel.

 

[Jean Claude Vaaldamme]

I also fell for this MBB Hisense hype and bought one. Now look I don't watch much tv and came from an old LG fhd tv, so the Hisense is an upgrade.
But my friend bought some Orion brand from Hifi corp for cheaper and picture quality is better.
And I don't even know why they not just sell the tv's for cheaper with no smart function, because that Vidaa is useless. If you buy Hisense you need to buy a proper tv box too.

 

[Nerfherder]

This is just my personal viewpoint but I would say forget the science of viewing distance and get as big as you can afford. For years we had a 50" LG, and when that died just over a year ago, we decided to get a 55" Hisense. No problem with the 55" but now that I am used to it, I feel I should rather have gone with the 65" (or maybe even bigger). We do everything on it, from streaming movies to kids playing games etc.
A friend also recently bought a 65" and his TV room is smaller than mine and it does not look out of place. In actual fact i feel that it fills the room more, almost giving that cinema feel.

Sure, I want that. Its just that when my FIL got his 65 in, it was a similar size room and the thing gave us headaches. It was just too big for the room and the experience was just awkward.
The other thing to note was that this was not a UHD TV and he got it at a time when DSTV was not not even true HD and Netflix was not a thing.
So there could have been other issues. i'm just weary.
I'll most likely get this TV online but will definitely have to look in store to see what the RL experience is like.

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

Look at the TCL stuff. You could probably even get 65" at close to your budget. And it will come with Android TV so no need for a TV box...

 

[Lupus]

I also fell for this MBB Hisense hype and bought one. Now look I don't watch much tv and came from an old LG fhd tv, so the Hisense is an upgrade.
But my friend bought some Orion brand from Hifi corp for cheaper and picture quality is better.
And I don't even know why they not just sell the tv's for cheaper with no smart function, because that Vidaa is useless. If you buy Hisense you need to buy a proper tv box too.

It's like buying a Samsung A14 and moaning that Samsung is kak. Hisense has different TVs for different budget segments, if you buy the bottom of the barrel it's not going to look any better than say another cheapie. Also yes Vidaa does suck.

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

Sure, I want that. Its just that when my FIL got his 65 in, it was a similar size room and the thing gave us headaches. It was just too big for the room and the experience was just awkward.
The other thing to note was that this was not a UHD TV and he got it at a time when DSTV was not not even true HD and Netflix was not a thing.
So there could have been other issues. i'm just weary.
I'll most likely get this TV online but will definitely have to look in store to see what the RL experience is like.

Then your viewing distance is not 3m, probably much smaller. At 3m, 65" would be perfect.

A big screen does take a bit of adjustment. But once you do adjust, you can never go smaller again. That seems awkward. Like trying to watch something on a 51cm CRT...

 

[Lupus]

Look at the TCL stuff. You could probably even get 65" at close to your budget. And it will come with Android TV so no need for a TV box...

At that price, it's not going to be a good 65"

 

[Lupus]

Honestly the biggest issue is going from a plasma to LED, yes the tech has gotten a lot better, but at that price point there will be bloom. There will be a bit of motion judder as well, so it would take some getting used to.
Also earlier LCD/LED TVs actually were terrible, not sure how we managed to live with them, and that's probably what gave you a bit of headaches, as it might depend on the brand, the panel used and and.

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

At that price, it's not going to be a good 65"

Sure but he doesn't need the fancy gaming stuff, and anything will be an upgrade over what he has.

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Or if he does want those features, he could add R2k from his side and get it.

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[Nerfherder]

I also fell for this MBB Hisense hype and bought one. Now look I don't watch much tv and came from an old LG fhd tv, so the Hisense is an upgrade.
But my friend bought some Orion brand from Hifi corp for cheaper and picture quality is better.
And I don't even know why they not just sell the tv's for cheaper with no smart function, because that Vidaa is useless. If you buy Hisense you need to buy a proper tv box too

I'll look at Hisense but also just want to stick to the big brands. My Sammy lasted 14 years and I'll still use it as a spare because it does so well with older tech.

At that price, it's not going to be a good 65"

Yup and I want picture quality over size. A 43 in works ok it the room right now

 

[Lupus]

Sure but he doesn't need the fancy gaming stuff, and anything will be an upgrade over what he has.

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Or if he does want those features, he could add R2k from his side and get it.

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He's going from a plasma to an LED, not sure if that is an upgrade in some regards. But he would need to eyeball those TVs to see if the bloom would be acceptable.

 

[Lupus]

I'll look at Hisense but also just want to stick to the big brands. My Sammy lasted 14 years and I'll still use it as a spare because it does so well with older tech.

Yup and I want picture quality over size. A 43 in works ok it the room right now

It is going to be hard at that price point, you will need to go in and see, cause you're going to have to see if you can live with bloom, sometimes blacks not quite being black.

 

[Nerfherder]

Honestly the biggest issue is going from a plasma to LED, yes the tech has gotten a lot better, but at that price point there will be bloom. There will be a bit of motion judder as well, so it would take some getting used to.
Also earlier LCD/LED TVs actually were terrible, not sure how we managed to live with them, and that's probably what gave you a bit of headaches, as it might depend on the brand, the panel used and and.

It actually held me off from upgrading years ago. A friend actually offered me a free TV 6 years ago when he upgraded and I found the motion blur the worst.
I'm probably long overdue though

 

[Lupus]

It actually held me off from upgrading years ago. A friend actually offered me a free TV 6 years ago when he upgraded and I found the motion blur the worst.
I'm probably long overdue though

You are, but you'd need to up your budget to look at OLEDs for the true replacement for a plasma to be honest.

 

[Nerfherder]

Sure but he doesn't need the fancy gaming stuff, and anything will be an upgrade over what he has.

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Or if he does want those features, he could add R2k from his side and get it.

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I'd like to get a PS 5 at some point so its something to consider.