Another "What TV" question for 400ixl (or anyone)

[Loftus]

I currently have a 37 inch HD Panasonic Viera TV that's about 12 years old. I'm perfectly happy with the picture but am thinking about changing it for a newer set. Budget is around £500, give or take.

Because things like bezel have all but disappeared from more modern sets I can now probably fit a 40 inch - 43 inch set where the current one sits.

I'd probably go for a 4k set, although how much I'll notice it in a screen that size I'm not sure. I'm not worried about the sets smart features as I use a 4k Firestick and that has all the apps I'll ever need. I need at least 3 HDMI inputs.

So any recommendations for what I should be looking for? The newer Panasonic sets look okay but I only know how to turn TV's on and off and change channels. I'm not amazingly nerdy about the blackest blacks of the most leap out colours, but I'd like things to look as good as they can within the limitations of set size and budget.

Many thanks in advance.

[400ixl]

At that price range my main consideration would be the 4k HDR formats a TV supports.

You have the basic HLG and HDR9 which pretty much all will support. You then have the two newer formats in HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.

HDR10+ is a format which Samsung got behind and are pushing. Amazon Prime Video does most of their new content in this format.

Dolby Vision is the other format that the likes of Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV have got behind for their content, and most of the bug studios appear to be going this way.

Samsung are chopping off their nose to spite their face and refusing to support Dolby Vision. So personally I count those out as it's unlikely they will back support this even if they adopt it in the future.

Many others like Panasonic, LG, Philips, Sony, Hisense, TCL, Roku are all starting to do both, so there is choice out there.

Next would be where are you buying from. Most go to one of John Lewis, Richer Sounds or Curry's for the 5-6 year warranties. Many slate Curry's for their customer service, with Richer Sounds being the best of the 3 over the last couple of years.

Haven't been and looked at them all but Black Friday is at the end of the month and prices will drop over the month up til then.

I would see what drops into you price range which supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision during the black Friday sales.

To answer your question on Panasonic, yes they are still good, lack a little on smart apps but that isn't an issue for you. It was one of the best picks on John Lewis the.other week.

[Loftus]

Great. Many thanks for taking the time to answer.

[YorkshireT]

I didn’t realise Samsung didn’t support Dolby Vision- that would potentially put me off as well.
I’ve got an LG OLED which is v good (save for a bit of a yellow stain on the bottom on bright whites which is endemic in these panels and most people would not notice) and that supports all formats and the thing I really like about it is it’s OS- very fast and the controller with a pointer on screen is brilliant.
I also have 2 Sony large screen TVs which are LED. They are extremely good TVs but the OS is abysmal on them albeit they are now about 5 years old. I suspect the newer ones are a lot better in that regard.
I think LG quality control is not the best. Everything I’ve bought LG- phones, TV, American fridge freezer has slight niggles.
For that reason I think I’d buy Panasonic or Sony who always seem to make pretty flawless products quality control wise.

[400ixl]

OLED is still out of OP's budget unless they really drop in price or choose a 2 year old model.

LED is most likely. Either way LG make most of the panels so that will be one of the consistencies across the different models.

Didn't really go into the OS too much as the OP will be using a fire stick for smart features. LG have come on well since the bought WebOS and use that. Panasonic is.OK but behind with apps. Sony and Philips use their own OS on some but us AndroidTV on more of the higher range.

Will be interesting to see prices for black Friday this year.

[Loftus]

Yeah I'm not even looking at OLED, way out of my budget.

[tspill]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

I didn’t realise Samsung didn’t support Dolby Vision- that would potentially put me off as well.
I’ve got an LG OLED which is v good (save for a bit of a yellow stain on the bottom on bright whites which is endemic in these panels and most people would not notice) and that supports all formats and the thing I really like about it is it’s OS- very fast and the controller with a pointer on screen is brilliant.
I also have 2 Sony large screen TVs which are LED. They are extremely good TVs but the OS is abysmal on them albeit they are now about 5 years old. I suspect the newer ones are a lot better in that regard.
I think LG quality control is not the best. Everything I’ve bought LG- phones, TV, American fridge freezer has slight niggles.
For that reason I think I’d buy Panasonic or Sony who always seem to make pretty flawless products quality control wise.

See more...

I went through the TV quagmire recently. To me, DV was very little difference from HDR10 - even when viewing I near perfect conditions side by side. I went for Samsung for other reasons. For me and I suspect most, it wont be anywhere neat the top of the priority list when making a decision.

My experience is here https://DIBB.in/14691487

[jdouds]

With the new TVs having no frame can you go to a bigger size

[400ixl]

Originally Posted by tspill

I went through the TV quagmire recently. To me, DV was very little difference from HDR10 - even when viewing I near perfect conditions side by side. I went for Samsung for other reasons. For me and I suspect most, it wont be anywhere neat the top of the priority list when making a decision.

My experience is here https://DIBB.in/14691487

See more...

I'm not sure you get what the HDR standards actually mean from your comment. DV and HDR10+ are not that different side by side (both very good), but if the content is encoded in DV and your TV doesn't support it then you only get it in a lower quality. Content isn't encoded in both of those formats with these providers.

There is a huge difference in quality back to standard HDR like ULG and by not supporting DV you only get to watch an ever increasing amount of content is lower quality. Same if your TV does not support HDR10+ but there is less content in that format to miss out on.

These standards should be at the top of the list for any TV is 2020, it about future proofing your purchase, especially when it comes.to viewing quality.

[Loftus]

Originally Posted by jdouds

With the new TVs having no frame can you go to a bigger size

See more...

That is going to a bigger size for me as I currently have a 37 inch model. I can't really go beyond 90cm - 100cm wide unfortunately.

I'm going to wait to see what Black Friday brings as advised.

Thanks everyone.