I am being bought a television by a family member for my birthday this year.

 

The budget is £1000 and I would like a 55" (or maybe 50" at a push)

 

Not terribly interested in 4k or curved screens or even 3D - although the latter could be a bonus I suppose. I'd prefer to save the premiums for those to get a better deal.

 

It'd be cool if there was enough left in the pot for a sound bar if too (this is not essential but would be nice)

 

Any suggestions chaps??

LG or Samsung, most of the others no longer make their own panels, but buy them it with varying degrees of reliabilty and quality; Panasonic MAY still make some of their high-end screens, but most of the rest are cheap Turkish made panels.

 

I have a 49" LG 4k and am very happy with it, the upscaling is superb, there is almost no visible difference between SD, HD, and FHD sources; I stumbled onto a 1957 "B" movie this afternoon, on a recently added SD TV channel; if it hadnt been in black and white you would have sworn it was FHD.

When it comes to actually buying it I would recommend getting your best price and then going to buy it from John Lewis as they give a full five year warranty as standard and for free. Then you just price match to the price you had found. They won't price match online only retailers like Amazon but will match online prices for retailers that have physical stores like Curry's or Richer Sounds etc.....

I'm on John Lewis' site now. It's a local store so should be cool..

 

Reading, a lot of folk recommend OLED over 4k (for a sub 60" unit) but that's a £1299 telly and I can't really add anything myself.

 

Think I'd pick LG over Samsung at the mo.

I've always been a Panny man myself. As far as I'm aware they make their own OLED panels. I think their plasma factory was converted to Solar Panel production after they ceased producing plasma screens.

No specifics from me but a 4k TV is liable to be more future proofed than a 3D one.

I've always been a Panny man myself. As far as I'm aware they make their own OLED panels. I think their plasma factory was converted to Solar Panel production after they ceased producing plasma screens.

 

OLED is high end, their cheaper LED panels are bought in - many from the same people who supply the likes of Bush.

 

I should say that I was a Pana fan for years, the screens on their TVs were lush; but the lower to mid range screens they sell these days are badge-jobs and not reliable any longer.

OLED is high end, their cheaper LED panels are bought in - many from the same people who supply the likes of Bush.

 

I should say that I was a Pana fan for years, the screens on their TVs were lush; but the lower to mid range screens they sell these days are badge-jobs and not reliable any longer.

I wouldn't buy a low to mid range TV though for my main set.

Budget for a soundbar if you don't have one. Sound from thin tellys is not good.

 

I got an LG 43" 4k telly for about £400 and I'm very pleased with it. I also added a 300W 2:1 sound bar (also LG) fot £150. 43" was plenty big enough for me and I'm glad I didn't go bigger.

 

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-and-home-entertainment/televisions/televisions/lg-43uf680v-smart-4k-ultra-hd-43-led-tv-10135235-pdt.html

 

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-and-home-entertainment/dvd-blu-ray-and-home-cinema/home-cinema-systems-and-sound-bars/lg-las455h-2-1-wireless-sound-bar-10122456-pdt.html

 

Only issue would be a lack of HDMI ports potentially, I've enough but then I've no games consoles at the moment. I've using HDI to link the TV and soundbar but I could use an optical to free a port.

 

Setup was a bit of a PITA, it's tricky to get the soundbar setup initially, the installation instruction were practically non-existant.

 

I'd say to consider a 4k but not 3D. 3D was a dead end really, it didn't catch on, mainly because it's not really 3D and it makes lots of people (me included) feel a bit sick. 4k content is starting to be available on Netflix and Amazon.

 

LGs have a nice smart setup if that's of interest and if all your bits and pieces are LG of a similar vintage they'll talk together from one remote.

 

Also lots of tellyies seem to have wifi built in which is quite handly. I've got CAT5 to the back of the TV which I prefer and that was there too.

 

They have a 'Magic' remote for voice commands on some of the higher models. Bear in mid that remote sends the voice to LG to be processed it's not done in the telly. So if you don't like the idea of your telly listening to you you might want to avoid that.

 

Don't get conned into buying expensive cables, I'm using poundshop HDMI leads and they work perfectly well.

Check John Lewis as well, they might price match and they do a 5yr warranty.

I figured 3D might be like that tbh.. If I were going 60" or more then I'd be into 4K, too many sources say that under 60" the difference is barely noticeable so I'm not fussed.

 

Would need 3 HDMI really, I tend to buy cables that I like the look of. Found out a long time ago that all the spiel about buying alleged super-cables was just marketing guff.

 

It's probably going on our chimney breast and 55" fits like a glove. I have an alcove for it too if necessary.

We have a 42" Hitachi at the min, a friend gave it to us - she paid a grand for it and it's garbage. Terrible sound and the panel is dire, got a huge (and getting huger) dark splodge on it now.

 

Not had a new telly since the 28" Panasonic I bought in about 1985 - that served me well but gave up the ghost around 2005..

4k is noticeable even from something as small as 40"!

Guess it's a bit of a shame it's rolling out at a snail's pace...

On the 43 the difference between HD and 4k isn't massive but it's hard not to buy a decent telly that's not 4k now.

 

If sound is an issue then you'll definitely need a soundbar.

Pick a few you like - then go to https://www.avforums.com/ to find out if those exact models are any good.  They have all the info because not all brand name TV's are all the same e.g. not all 42 inch LG's are as good as each other.

 

Even big name Jap/Korean brands flog bottom-end TV's sourced from Turkey (Vestel normally) which are not the quality you'd expect from the brand name.

 

For instance - you have a Hitachi - it's not a Jap brand any more - just a label on Turkish trash, along with Bush, Grundig etc - surprisingly Toshiba amongst others flog Turkish telly's as well - with the same hardware as Sainsbury's dire own brand ones.

Edited 18 March, 201610 yr by camelspyyder

Pick a few you like - then go to https://www.avforums.com/ to find out if those exact models are any good.  

I have an ID on there and had a quick browse but didn't want to be the gazillionth user to post What's the best telly for under a grand.

even 3D - although the latter could be a bonus I suppose.

Old hat - a lot of newer TV don't support it -BBC and Sky have dropped support.

Not 3D then..

 

Looks like 4k might be tricky to avoid (not that I'm against it, just thought I might get a scorching deal on a full HD telly)

ebuyer has had some amazing "offer of the week" TVs in the last few weeks - amazing prices I mean.

 

http://www.ebuyer.com/store/Visual/cat/Televisions?a00963=50+to+59

Edited 18 March, 201610 yr by camelspyyder

Not 3D then..

 

Looks like 4k might be tricky to avoid (not that I'm against it, just thought I might get a scorching deal on a full HD telly)

 

 

Would probably be old stock tbh for HD only.

 

4k with good upscaling is what you want

If we were buying today, this might just be the one.

http://www.johnlewis.com/lg-60uf770v-4k-ultra-hd-smart-tv-60-with-freeview-hd-and-built-in-wi-fi/p1993444

If we were buying today, this might just be the one.

http://www.johnlewis.com/lg-60uf770v-4k-ultra-hd-smart-tv-60-with-freeview-hd-and-built-in-wi-fi/p1993444

 

https://www.avforums.com/review/lg-55uf770v-uf770-ultra-hd-4k-tv.11303

I read that review yesterday I think..

Does look like it's a Samsung/LG coin toss. Although one Sony gets a thumbs up but the latest of those is a curved screen and I don't want that.

IMHO curved screens are the 20teens 3D, a marketing idea that sounds great, but never works well.

 

The ONLY people to benefit from a curved screen are sad, single people, as only one person can sit in the "sweet spot".

i replaced my  42 inch Plasma Panasonic tv which was 9 years old still in perfect working and physical condition with a samsung 48 inch UHD 4k curved tv from John Lewis just after xmas.

You do not notice it is curved when you are watching.

 

I spend a week ploughing through reviews on the net to see where common positions & comments came out on TV's and sound bars.

 

i was considering a soundbar given some comments about poor sound quality from Samsung TV's, however the reviews seemed to indicate otherwise, so i bought the TV without a sound bar initially to see what the sound would be like with the tv in its viewing location.  As it is angled in an alcove the sound reflects from the walls and is perfectly fine.

All the adverts show these TV's against a long flat wall, with soundbar and surround sound, which explains why the reviews on sound are poor given they seem to be sacrificing decent speaker for slimness and weight in effect forcing the purchase of sound bar / surround systems.

 

While everyone is in effect being forced into bigger TV's  through lack of serious choice i would offer a a warning.  

Modern houses are smaller than those built 50+years ago, and a 50inch + tv can overwhelm the room and in reality you can end up feeling like you are sitting 6 ft from a giant cinema screen. ( these TVs are  displayed in a very large warehouse sized room and not in a real world dimesioned room)

 

We were hesitant about replacing the 42 with a 48  having to consider ,would it fit the tv stand we had, would it become an overwhelming focal point of the room based on where it was being displayed. I started looking at the TV physically compared to the Panasonc and took actual measurements of both TV's and compared.

 

Physically the samsung was narrower, shorter height and despite the claimed dimensions which measured along the curve being bigger, actual measurement from corner to corner in a straight line it was the same length, the frame around the panasonic screen was thicker than the samsung, so in reality we were getting a tv,  narrower in depth, shorter in height, same width, larger viewing area.

We could definetly not have a screen any bigger otherwise it would take over.

 

My advice, don't just but a 60 inch tv because it is the thing to do, consider where it is going and will your living area just become a cinema room.

Edited 19 March, 201610 yr by lfc958