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looking for a new tv
jacko - 20/10/17 at 07:19 PM

So come on you wealth of knowledge im looking for a new tv so what should i be looking for free view etc
what make / model
we would like one about 48 to 55 ins in size
and a price of about £600
jacko

gremlin1234 - 20/10/17 at 07:36 PM

I suggest its worth looking at the 4k tv's, (ok only limited content currently, but always expanding...)
ebuyer have this on offer at the moment

samsung 4k 49inch, at £574
https://www.ebuyer.com/787193-samsung-mu6400-49-smart-uhd-tv-ue49mu6400uxxu

daniel mason - 20/10/17 at 08:04 PM

All depends on the sources you watch.
If you don't have,or intend to have any 4K sources,there's no point buying a 4K tv.
If The majority of viewing is standard definition, then a used plasma will hands down beat any new led tv,including oleds.
And you'll still have £500 in your pocket!

David Jenkins - 20/10/17 at 08:23 PM

I bought a 'smart TV' last year - and really wish I hadn't. It's really slow to respond to commands, occasionally reboots itself (the OS is Android) and doesn't offer much extra functionality over the 'dumb TV + Roku' I had before.

If I was buying again, I'd buy the best non-smart TV I could find + the best Roku box available. I reckon I'd still end up with a fair amount of money in my pocket, compared to buying a smart TV.

[Edited on 20/10/17 by David Jenkins]

britishtrident - 20/10/17 at 09:19 PM

A non-smart TV with a set top box (Roku Stick or Amazon Fire Stick) is safer bet than a Smart TV because internet TV's and set top boxes need regular software updates and after a few years TV manufacturers tend to forget about updates for older models.

If you go for a big ultra HD TV then the full size Amazon Fire TV or Roku Streaming Stick + set top box is the way to go.

[Edited on 20/10/17 by britishtrident]

loggyboy - 20/10/17 at 09:21 PM

Very happy with my recent purchase of a Panasonic tx50dx802b. A little over your budget but is future proof with 4k, built in freeview, freesat, and recording capabilities, so very all in one. Needs to be wall mounted as the swing is ugly!
But having said that those above items are fairly common in yiur budget (maybe not with free sat).
Watched a few 4k programs (currently have full sky Q package) and the step up over HD is less noticeable than it was between sd and hd. Law of diminishing returns i guess.

coozer - 21/10/17 at 08:45 AM

I'm not happy, basically my 2 year 42 inch led has gone, the screen is like a white stripes concert, unwatchable...

Now I see all the manufacturers have stopped making plasmas...

Now you can only buy leds which are crap...

I'll still using a 42" plasma I bought in 2006 (lot of money)

For me the march is going backwards!

[Edited on 21/10/17 by coozer]

sdh2903 - 21/10/17 at 10:08 AM

We've just bought a new lg oled tv. Even In a sale and using some vouchers it was still just over 1k but it's an awesome bit of kit. It knocks spots off the Samsung led that it replaced and also trumps the Panasonic plasma we still have. We are using sky q through it and the ultra hd for F1 and football is superb. The tech is improving but not cheaply.

If I could make one suggestion, if you can hold off a bit then next year's models usually get released in the next month or so which means you may get this year's higher model at a discounted price.

At the pricepoint you've gone for id go for the highest model sony you can afford. When trawling the reviews I found that the sony trumped most others and also when viewing in store. Something like this, I'd also highly reccomend richer sounds as a retailer.

https://www.richersounds.com/sony-kd49xe8004.html

David Jenkins - 21/10/17 at 11:04 AM

That's basically the smart TV I've got.

While the picture is excellent, better than many others I've seen, it's the Android OS that lets it down (or Sony's implementation of it).

britishtrident - 21/10/17 at 07:39 PM

Our main TV is 43" LG very good no issues after 4 years.

loggyboy - 21/10/17 at 08:03 PM

quote:
Originally posted by coozer
I'm not happy, basically my 2 year 42 inch led has gone, the screen is like a white stripes concert, unwatchable...

Now I see all the manufacturers have stopped making plasmas...

Now you can only buy leds which are crap...

I'll still using a 42" plasma I bought in 2006 (lot of money)

For me the march is going backwards!

[Edited on 21/10/17 by coozer]


I was in same boat. Had a top end Panasonic plasma and was loathed to get rid of it when it was working fine. All the leds id auditioned seemed fake and odd looking. Eventually bit bullet as in wanted to try 4k and was an excuse to go up to 50" so replaced with a top end led (mentioned above) and was disappointed, the look was all wrong. After some digging online it was a common complaint and easily fixed. Its all to do with frame rate, pur eyes are used to seeing around 30fps, but tv tech allows them to fill in frames to make things look more real. Turn that off and it looks every bit as good as my plasma. Even the plasmas old advantage of very black blacks isnt noticeable on the top end leds.
It also looks better as it's frame is slimmer, and is only cms off the wall.
I still have the plasma, its gonna be in my room.

DJT - 21/10/17 at 08:12 PM

Bought a 55" 4K Samsung smart TV earlier in the year. Sky+ box is only HD, but the DVD/Blu-Ray player up-scales to 4K. And don't forget there is more and more content online now that is 4K, e.g. Amazon. Really pleased with the TV. Bought from Richer sounds for about £600 and they give an extra 5 years of warranty for free. Pretty much the life of the TV I would say.