Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Which Television.....................

Dave, do some visits to tv retailers to check out the picture variations. Then, decide what bells and whistles you want as add-ons i.e OLED/ smart/ 4k etc.
It is like buying a car in some respects. So many extras that you may neve use!
We have a Panasonic 42” plasma bought about 8 yrs ago from our local independant retailer who gives great service. Size suits the location and picture is good. We have Sky HD but there is not a big improvement between std and HD, having switched back and fore to check. It has built in freeview and connections for other devices like laptop/ sound systems/ hard drive recorder/Wii etc that we do actually use. I tend to record and watch a lot rather than ongoing progs.
I have heard scare stories about the oversmart tv’s actually monitoring your viewing preferences which are then used for marketing etc but as ours is not permanently net connected other than very occasional laptop use I have no first hand experience.
I believe Which have Samsung high on the list for good tv plus some Panasonic and a couple of others.

TV, it's almost all or nothing and that make the choice complicated,

DVD player almost useless

Sound bar, good things if you watch blockbuster , but for daily and News show no need

Too flat TV it's just for increase the price,

4K , 8K , OLED , DOLBY TV and so on hard to see the difference if you watch TV program, for Film that depend on the source.

Brand: Japanese brand like : Sony , Samsung , LG they have almost all , so choose one fit your budget and that will be OK

Smart TV: this is a nice function but not so many people use it.

Must have: 2 HDMI is the mimimum , Optical can be a good point in the future like USB plug.

That's all i can said

PS: My Home Cinema system include the 105" TV is around 50k £, but only for watch movie from my NAS

Samsung. No ugly edge round the t.v. and easy to use. Stunning picture and built in freeview, smart, and internet etc.

We've got a 22" Samsung and it has performed well for around 5 years and is totally digital with HDMI inputs, SCART and optical sound coupler, we use it with a Philips HD recorder/Player which is equally good.

I just bought the Samsung 6400 smart tv.

It's just amazing. Outstanding picture quality and sound plus all the gizmos.

Saved money on Black Friday it was £420 from memory. Delivered.

Up to the release of OLED tv’s nothing could touch a good quality plasma but just about every plasma manufacturer has gone as they were too expensive to make, pioneer were loosing £100 on every plasma they made

They couldn’t complete with the price of LED TVs, were heavy and fragile with the glass and suffered from bad press to do with screen burn and life span which were only applicable to the very early ones. LED’s were also much cheaper to make and looked appealing in shops with overblown colours but were and still are pretty poor in comparison

Poor refresh rates compared to plasma
No blacks and poor contrast
Cheap upscalers

OLED is the first time that LED can compete with the contrast and the quality of the blacks of plasma

QLED is a competing technology but will be short lived as OLED gets licenced to other manufacturers and develops further

OLED or what it develops into will come down in price in the next year

As others have said - shop around. The brand really is almost irrelevant now.

A smart TV is a good idea. Make sure it has an optical sound output in case you do decide to opt for a sound bar in the future. We did - bought a cheap sound bar for under £100 and it makes a huge difference to sound quality. No more increasing and reducing volume throughout a play or film.

At least 2 HDMI sockets is a good idea - one for a DVR and another for any widget you get in the future (we have an Amazon stick in our 2nd HDMI socket).

I am a bit anti Samsung - they had a period a few years ago when their power supplies could spontaneously combust for no apparent reason. Not pleasant but will be thing of the past now.

Dave,

we have a 2010 Sony 40" LCD which was state of the art, but now is not. Nevertheless it has a great picture and all the inputs/outputs needed. It has a Free View tuner.

It replaced a 29" Sony flat screen CRT TV purchased in 1999 and which had started to get a bit dim. But 11 year life is good for any modern electronic device.

I don't plan to replace the TV until about 2021, by which time the OLED technology will have matured.

My employer is a major player in the production of the organic molecules used in LCDs and OLED has pushed them onto the backfoot...they are now pushing QLED, which doesn't use organic molecules.

OLED has evolved far more quickly than expected. Even so OLED is more expensive to produce and according to Samsung, has a shorter life, the blue LEDs are the problem, loosing 50% of their brilliance in as little 30,000 hours. LG dispute this, claiming 100,000 hours. LG produces OLED 4K TV displays for a number of well known brands.

So, OLED, or the recently trumpeted QLED? By 2021 we shall know the winner.

For now, I'd spend £1500 on an LG OLED55B7V OLED HDR 4K Ultra HD Smart TV, 55" and expect it to last about 30 years, so it would see me out.

From the above inputs I hope my Panasonic 42inch plasma last a good while yet. It is about 7 years old but still perfect. It is a pity that they became uneconomical to make.

Hi Dave,

If you do not watch it too much, then I would go for an LG OLED 4K, there are some bargains to be had at around £700-800.

On the other hand if you watch it to enjoy specific programs and love films then I Would go for the Panasonic TX-50EX750BSHOP
Retail Sales Price:£ 1,154.99, but I am sure cheaper if you look.