New flat panel options

[taoggniklat]

Hi,

The last time I purchased a flat panel was my 46" Samsung in 2008. Now that we are moving to a new house I want to upgrade this for the great room to something in the 60-65" range. The Samsung will get re-purposed to the kids use.

Here is what I would like:

• 60"+
• Smart TV (netflix, hulu, etc)
• 4k/UHD
• Under $1k if possible

What options do I have that offer good picture quality and reliability? Does anything exist in this price range with all of those features? What do I need to stay away from?

A local big box bulk store has an LG 60UH7650 on sale this weeke for under $800. Is that a good deal? I have heard good things about LG/Vizio/Sony.

Educate me on flat panel options!

Thanks
Jared

 

[Todd Anderson]

Hi Jared!

When talking about a $1K to sub-$1K television with a 60" screen, you're treading into waters where you're essentially paying for size stripped of many of the technologies that help to make outstanding overall images. I don't mean that to say that you can't get a television that won't make you happy...but you need to keep expectations in check. Any TV in that range claiming HDR performance, for example, probably isn't going to give you HDR performance that extends much beyond standard performance.

If I were you, I might be inclined to sacrifice a tiny bit of screen size to keep the cost under control...and go find last year's Vizio P-Series 55". It's on sale, right now, through Vizio for $999 (their 2016 65" is on sale for $1500). This is going to give you access to an affordable LCD TV that has a ton of active dimming zones, which will equate to better black levels (which will make the PQ better to your eyes).

 

[Sonnie]

I think Todd is all over it there... I am looking at the Vizio myself for 4K in our great room... probably will do something next month if all goes well.

 

[mechman]

I don't think I would consider a display without HDR right now. And Vizio is the best bang for the buck!

 

[Todd Anderson]

One thing you need to be careful about is separating a television that can play nicely with an HDR laced feed... and one that actually has the brightness capabilities to display HDR content. As you move closer to budget TVs, the chance of actual HDR performance goes down.

 

[Sonnie]

I know I would not have a 4K without HDR. However, there are some shows/programs/movies that do not look good with HDR, so I am glad my projector has a button for HDR so that I can easily switch it on and off. I believe the source material needs to be encoded with HDR. I watched a show on Amazon last night and it looked good in HDR, but then another show looked better without it... the colors were too saturated with it. Same for our cable TV... much better without HDR.

 

[JBrax]

Yes, whatever you're watching needs to be encoded with HDR for it to look good. If you force HDR on regular programs it will not look good.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I had a good chat with industry vet Joe Kane a few years ago... he predicted it would take quite a while for Hollywood to figure out how to effectively use HDR. Going back and adding HDR to old material might not work out that well. More than likely, the best stuff is going to be what's shot with Director's intent.

I believe it's true.

It's a technique/technology that isn't that old...

 

[Robert Zohn]

Check out Sony's new X720E and X690E UHD/HDR TVs.

 

[Todd Anderson]

^^^ Call Robert and talk to him (Value Electronics). You'll get some good advice (and then come back here and report! ;-)