Think it might be time to upgrade the TV,

So what now do I have to lookout for? 4K HD and that's about as far as I have got, not too worried about Screen size.

Just a few guidelines please.

pretty much bugger all broadcast in 4K I thought?

To be honest I don't know, just a lot of TV are 4K so thought it must be the thing to have now, hence asking for advice

I think a recent What HiFi had a Samsung at about £800 as their best buy 40inch 4k TV. Not sure about larger but you could check.

I wasn't interested in 4k so went for thier best buy Panasonic Viera tx40cs520b...

Edited 6 January, 201610 yr by skomaz

4K BluRays are coming out this year, with Mad Max coming out anytime around now. They should also have Dolby Atmos and some improved colour stuff. Warner Brothers aim to have around 35 (I think) by the end of the year. Also BT does 4K TV. I'm doing a football in 4K next month. 4K is coming although I don't think it is the big step that 1080 was compared to Standard def.

Some of the Sony upscale 1080 to 4k

Also unless going over 70" curved is pointless

I really dont see point of 4k unless having a really big screen.

Anything under 55" Id say its a waste of money.

Been through all the reviews, makes, models, what they do and ended up more or less deciding on this one below in my budget and size I wanted. Anything larger will be toooo much for my room size. Currenty have a 32"

 

http://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-viera-40cs520b-led-hd-1080p-smart-tv-40-with-freeview-hd-and-built-in-wi-fi/p1929511?sku=234328305&kpid=234328305&s_kenid=0fa92b4c-e246-da49-529c-000018f795b4&s_kwcid=402x386923&tmad=c&tmcampid=73

 

Decided curved screens are just the latest gimmick and will most likely settle as said for the flat screen, although I was drawn to a Samsung 40" curved @£419, but that's out of stock.

 

I think the only other consideration is how many HDMI sockets does it have, the one above has 2 which will suffice, a common number to look for is 3/4 give you more connection options.

 

And to add the retailer in that link gives a 5 year warranty plus a damage warranty for £20

It would be useful to know your current TV model, type, size.

 

I would say there's no point in skimping on size. Forget 32" TVs, so noughties, so last decade. . Start at 37" or 40" and up. ££500 can net you a very nice 46" LED LCD TV and it'll be thin enough to hang neatly on the wall.

 

AVFORUMS has masses of info on popular TV models.

Currently have a 7 year old 46" LG so was possibly thinking of going up to 60" as has been mentioned I need a minimum of 3 HDMI inputs.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cant see a budget so thought I'd mention a panel being demonstrated at Costco last week.

 

Picture was stunning although they were playing it in superficial 'demo' mode most of the time.

 

When it reverted back to terrestrial programme the picture quality did diminish a little but have to say OLED impressed me!

 

Just have to wait until the technology drops in price...

 

 

Got hold of a LG 40" 4K TV last week - really impressed with the picture quality.

 

Got it from Richer Sounds who give a 6 year warranty on TVs.

 

They do a 65" version of the model I got - http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/lg/65uf770v/lg-65uf770v

Edited 6 January, 201610 yr by Chester

It all comes down to your budget really!

 

Our budget was fairly modest (didn't want to spend more than £500 really on a TV!... buying a convertible is more important to us at the moment!).

 

We didn't need a smart TV as we have Tivo with all the catchup services and a dongle to watch youtube etc on.

 

So in the end we went for a 55" Philips Ultra HD TV. Was £499 from Argos and I have to say I am impressed with the picture quality. Most of my sources are 1080p (PS4, Tivo box and Fire TV stick running Kodi) and the quality is very good.

 

I've also tried a couple of 4K sample videos loaded on a USB drive and they look stunning.

 

I have a new TV box on the way to me as we speak (an Android based one) that supports 4K output and the new H265 codec being used for 4K content.

 

Phil

Edited 6 January, 201610 yr by Phil-E

Make sure the decoding chip is at least 10bit; my early LG is only 8bit, so wont work with Netflicks 4K channels.

 

Look for decent upscaling as well, try out a few SD channels to see how they look; the BEST thing about my LG is that the upscaling is superb, you really cannot tell the difference between BBC1 and BBC1 HD, and even old, fuzzy US TV shows recorded in 525(?) line format look like HD (MASH, Hill Street Blues etc).

 

There is still almost no 4K content out there (except home produced off of mobile phones), and with the TV makers now showing off 8K, it may be that the main content providers will ignore 4K anyway. There is certainly no chance of BBC1 4K or ITV 4K, as our ancient channel set up and encoding can barely cope with a few HD channels, ditto internet streams; what percentage of the UK can get above 40Mb?? Netflicks may claim a lower figure, but I suspect the compression used will render it little better than HD unless you have an uncontested 40Mb connection.

 

Somewhere out there is an app that tells you what size screen is suitable for your intended viewing distance; it said I should have a minimum 55" screen, however the 49" I bought looks huge enough hung on the chimney breast.

I think only Netflix is doing 4k content in the UK and you'd probably need fiber broadband before it'd work.

 

My mate was asking about 4k tellys, I did a quick lookup for him and apparently you need to get one with HDR (High Dynamic Resolution).

 

You might even be better picking up a really good HD set rather than getting a cheap 4k. It'll be a long time before there is a lot of 4k content around and stuff doesn't look that great upscaled.

Another vote for Richard Sounds, they have the same Panasonic for the same price with the extra year of warranty.

Additionally your home contents insurance may well cover accidental damage to your tv (even if you don't have accidental cover on the rest of your contents) so you may be able to save the £20.

I read that the optimal viewing distance for a TV is 3 times it's diagonal width so for a 55" TV you need to be 165" away. We are just a bit short of that but it's no problem. Like your own personal cinema!

 

Our old TV was a 42" LG 1080p and the scalling of non-HD content was good on that.

 

The new TV also manages this very well and non-HD channels and videos look very good if not better than the LG.

 

The important things to look for when buying a new TV are the brightness levels, contrast ratios and refresh rate.

 

And we have virgin media cable so no problem with streaming any 4K content!

 

4K youtube videos load instantly for me.

Personally I decided to go for HD as opposed to 4K when we bought ours last year.

 

Reasoning:

1) Very little content in native 4K so everything else is reliant on upscaling (which can be hit or miss depending on the content and the upscaling software/hardware). Add to this that there are only a handful of sources even looking at 4k

2) Price difference - was a fairly decent step up between HD and 4K

3) The difference between 4k and HD was (to my poor eyes) fairly minimal esp when compared to the step between SD and HD.

4) I am always wary of viewing TV's under shop conditions as they are set up to provide maximum brightness/contrast (normally on a "Dynamic" set up or similar). I have found that as soon as I set the TV up properly at home I want to set the picture up to a difference set of parameters (I don't want blinding whites, I want decent colour depth)

I got a Sony 55X8509 at Xmas; 4k set with Android based smart features. Great TV, maybe lacks some features of the big 4K screens but the image quality is excellent! Not tried any 4k sources yet, but HD footage, especially the Pixar and 3D animated stuff, is amazing. Even decent SD stuff looks great – but it does show up the bad SD programmes on the Virgin box, I must admit.

 

I believe HDR standards haven't been finalised yet, so unless your set can get Firmware updates it's still hit and miss if your brand's HDR will match the final standard or if the TV can be updated to meet it. Worth thinking about if you're after a 4K set for the new UHDBlu-rays.

 

(I'm not too bothered with 4k BR as I still just buy DVDs, but the Sony HDR feature was included in the last Firmware update for my TV, so I'm hoping when the standard is finalised that Sony can add that via Firmware too).

I'd be holding off for HDR enabled sets as HDR is going to make much more of a difference than 4k.

Been through all the reviews, makes, models, what they do and ended up more or less deciding on this one below in my budget and size I wanted. Anything larger will be toooo much for my room size. Currenty have a 32"

 

http://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-viera-40cs520b-led-hd-1080p-smart-tv-40-with-freeview-hd-and-built-in-wi-fi/p1929511?sku=234328305&kpid=234328305&s_kenid=0fa92b4c-e246-da49-529c-000018f795b4&s_kwcid=402x386923&tmad=c&tmcampid=73

 

Decided curved screens are just the latest gimmick and will most likely settle as said for the flat screen, although I was drawn to a Samsung 40" curved @£419, but that's out of stock.

 

I think the only other consideration is how many HDMI sockets does it have, the one above has 2 which will suffice, a common number to look for is 3/4 give you more connection options.

 

And to add the retailer in that link gives a 5 year warranty plus a damage warranty for £20

 

That's the one I have (going up from a 26") and, whilst it's only been a week or so, I'm happy.  The thin bezel makes the overall TV size smaller so it doesn't dominate the room, the picture quality is excellent and it's pretty snappy with the online stuff via a powerline adapter (it also has built-in wifi).  It has iPlayer etc. as standard but we also have a Roku that the kids are used to using.  Sound is reasonable as well, although I have the option of listening via my hi-fi.

 

The only downside is the TV guide is a bit slow to respond, but I knew that from the reviews before buying it.  Richer Sounds had it in for a tenner cheaper with a 6 year warranty but didn't have it in stock in the shop so I'd have had to wait for a week to get it from the warehouse.

What HiFi TV Best Buys:

 

http://www.whathifi.com/best-buys/best-tvs

 

and their 5STar 4k TV's page:

 

http://www.whathifi.com/products/tvs/4k-tvs?f[2]=WHF.is_field_rating_l%3A5

 

Your looking at some big money for them at the sizes the OP is talking...       ...not something I'd personally consider a worthwhile investment!

If going 4K make sure it has HDMI 2.0 instead of HDMI 1.4 as UHD bluray will likely require HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2

I think only Netflix is doing 4k content in the UK and you'd probably need fiber broadband before it'd work.

 

My mate was asking about 4k tellys, I did a quick lookup for him and apparently you need to get one with HDR (High Dynamic Resolution).

 

You might even be better picking up a really good HD set rather than getting a cheap 4k. It'll be a long time before there is a lot of 4k content around and stuff doesn't look that great upscaled.

 

I beleive Netflicks suggest 18Mb minimum is needed for a 4k connection; as someone else mentions YouTube have a (very small) 4K selection.

 

 

Another vote for Richard Sounds, they have the same Panasonic for the same price with the extra year of warranty.

Additionally your home contents insurance may well cover accidental damage to your tv (even if you don't have accidental cover on the rest of your contents) so you may be able to save the £20.

 

As much as I like Richer Sounds (was in there boxing day buying speakers in the sale), you have to know what you want, and be careful of what the staff tell you/try to sell you. I had sales staff at the Birmingham branch talking ballcocks* when I was shopping for a 4K TV, I suspect because they didnt have the model I wanted, but they knew SuperFi (across the road) did.

 

*Its only a full 4K on a static scene, for moving pictures it drops to 2,000 something.

https://www.avforums.com/

 

UK website - reviews of all the TV brands - it'll stop you getting caught out by Turkish Tat masquerading as quality Jap brands for start.

 

It should also let you find out about exact model's - for instance LG probably make 10 different 42 inch TVs, some are great and some pretty poor.

 

And they supply home setup data for TVs that have default settings that only look good in the shops.

Edited 6 January, 201610 yr by camelspyyder