I need a new TV

[Big Dave]

Our TV is just about to give up the ghost, so we are looking for a new TV with a separate sound bar.  We currently have a Sony and it has been great.

We are looking for a 55" TV, and can pay up to about £800.

Not too concerned about brand, but want one of the established brands such as Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, LG.

There are a huge number out there and not really sure where to start.  I would usually go into a couple of store for some advice, but obviously cant at the moment.

Not really sure about all the differences, such as OLED, QLED, etc etc, and not sure what I would need.

We are not TV aficionados.  We generally watch Netflix, Prime and Sky HD.

 

For the sound bar, would prefer the same brand as the TV, and happy to pay up to £300.  Ideally want a stand-alone sound bar (not with a separate sub-woofer).

 

Anyone who knows more than I do can give any brief advice?  What to go for, what to avoid (and why).

 

Cheers

 

[Bellend Sebastian]

This is usually my starting point for stuff like this:

https://www.whathifi.com/best-buys/best-55-inch-tvs-great-value-4k-smart-tvs

 

[Trumpet]

We bought a 65” Samsung 7 series last year for about £700. I’ve had Sony Bravia and LG smart TVs previously and this Samsung seems to have the most responsive and intuitive Smart interface. 
 

I’m no TV expert but I’d go Samsung every day of the week.

[Leicester_Loyal]

This thread made me curious about my Samsung TV, just had a look and it's almost 10 years old now, I've definitely had my moneys worth.

[Mike Oxlong]

Bit over your budget but this sound bar comes out well in all the reviews (399/379 in white)

 

https://www.richersounds.com/sonos-beam-black.html

[VLC86]

New TVs are a mine field. I bought Ann absolute monster for my front room and it’s difficult to choose between the huge number of options out there.

 

Find one you think looks good and look at numerous reviews and go from there.

[Mike Oxlong]

5 minutes ago, Costock_Fox said:

New TVs are a mine field. I bought Ann absolute monster for my front room and it’s difficult to choose between the huge number of options out there.

 

Find one you think looks good and look at numerous reviews and go from there.

I bet Ann’s not too happy about your description of her 

[FOXYTALK]

Philips with ambilight. You'll never go back when watching telly at night. 

[Strokes]

29 minutes ago, FOXYTALK said:

Philips with ambilight. You'll never go back when watching telly at night. 

Oh god they are awful, absolutely horrendous. So distracting. You couldn’t pay me to have one of those abominations.

[Paninistickers]

1 hour ago, Leicester_Loyal said:

This thread made me curious about my Samsung TV, just had a look and it's almost 10 years old now, I've definitely had my moneys worth.

Yeah, I reckon my Samsung smart TV is 5/6 years old now. Still absolutely perfect. It needed an addition of a sound bar. But been well-worth the 500 or so quid I guess i paid for it (i guess it was that as I can't imagine me ever forking out more for a telly)

 

 

[Ashley]

Samsung or LG are the way to go. 

 

LG cx, especially if you're q gamer and have either PS5 or Xbox Series X.

[Legend_in_blue]

Panasonic plasmas still look better than the majority of new TVs imo.  And mine is over 7 years old.  

 

You need to spend big money for something better.  

[FOXYTALK]

42 minutes ago, Strokes said:

Oh god they are awful, absolutely horrendous. So distracting. You couldn’t pay me to have one of those abominations.

You don't have to have it on 👍

[Zear0]

https://www.avforums.com/

 

This is my go to place for TV advice. Good reviews on the website, and good knowledgeable forum specifically for hardware. 

[Webbo]

I was browsing tvs the other day. There was a 65 inch Hisense one that was quoted as the best value on a few comparison sites. IIrc it was around £ 585

[Wolfox]

Don’t get too caught up in ‘brands’

 

Loads of them haven’t made a telly in ages…. Toshiba for example

 

Hisense is becoming an established brand and apparently do cracking sets

 

consider Costco as they do a 2 year warranty…. You’ll get a 55” for way less than your budget and your knocking on the door of OLED with your budget

 

spend your spare money on a proper sound bar the sky one is amazing made by Diavelet…. It’s a fantastic soundbox…The way a film sounds is just as important as the way it looks in my book

 

I got mine from here and it’s amazing 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154121022690

Edited 20 March 2021 by Wolfox

[Free Falling Foxes]

22 minutes ago, Wolfox said:

Don’t get too caught up in ‘brands’

 

Loads of them haven’t made a telly in ages…. Toshiba for example

 

Hisense is becoming an established brand and apparently do cracking sets

 

consider Costco as they do a 2 year warranty…. You’ll get a 55” for way less than your budget and your knocking on the door of OLED with your budget

 

spend your spare money on a proper sound bar the sky one is amazing made by Diavelet…. It’s a fantastic soundbox…The way a film sounds is just as important as the way it looks in my book

 

I got mine from here and it’s amazing 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154121022690

Richer Sound do a 6 year warranty.

 

We always go for Sony or Panasonic. My family would laugh at me spending 'More than you need to' but we've had just 3 TV's in 41 years. They on the other hand, have had more than twice as many over that period, probably spent more than me and none of them compared in picture quality with ours.

Edited 20 March 2021 by Free Falling Foxes

[Parafox]

16 minutes ago, Wolfox said:

Don’t get too caught up in ‘brands’

 

Loads of them haven’t made a telly in ages…. Toshiba for example

 

Hisense is becoming an established brand and apparently do cracking sets

 

consider Costco as they do a 2 year warranty…. You’ll get a 55” for way less than your budget and your knocking on the door of OLED with your budget

 

spend your spare money on a proper sound bar the sky one is amazing made by Diavelet…. It’s a fantastic soundbox…The way a film sounds is just as important as the way it looks in my book

 

I got mine from here and it’s amazing 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154121022690

I was going to suggest Costco above the likes of Curry's etc. I had an LG 55" curved Oled from them about 4 years ago. Fully interactive and Wi-Fi equipped. Cheaper than the mainstream dealers as well. 

We have a Denon sound bar  which is excellent but it has separate sub-woofer linked by Bluetooth which you say you don't want but I don't think sound bars have big enough speakers to produce the bass rumble especially when watching films.

[Wolfox]

6 minutes ago, Parafox said:

I was going to suggest Costco above the likes of Curry's etc. I had an LG 55" curved Oled from them about 4 years ago. Fully interactive and Wi-Fi equipped. Cheaper than the mainstream dealers as well. 

We have a Denon sound bar  which is excellent but it has separate sub-woofer linked by Bluetooth which you say you don't want but I don't think sound bars have big enough speakers to produce the bass rumble especially when watching films.

The soundbox I suggested above has a very good bass rumble…. Remarkable considering the size (not small but not sub sized)

 

costco are generally excellent price / service / warranty 

[Bellend Sebastian]

https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/should-i-buy-a-hisense-television

[Wakeyfox]

I'd had a 50 inch LG plasma for about 10 years and then upgraded to an OLED 55 inch in the black Friday deals. The difference is day and night, never spent this much on a TV but so glad I did... 

 

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-and-home-entertainment/televisions/televisions/lg-oled55bx6lb-55-smart-4k-ultra-hd-hdr-oled-tv-with-google-assistant-amazon-alexa-10212942-pdt.html

 

Was going to get a soundbar as well, but the sound quality from the TV is excellent, far better than I thought possible from the small inbuilt speakers. They fire downwards and we've got it mounted fairly high up on the wall, so not sure if that helps but the sound is Susan. 

[Unabomber]

LG are good as they have nowtv built in

[slymunn]

LG make the parts for alot of the new TV's. My last two are LG and had no issues at all with them. Got a 55 inch for around £400 and it was the best for around that price range.

[Webbo]

I'm a bit disappointed with my LG, the smart part of it anyway. The TV guide and list feature take ages to load. The Internet channels only seem to last 10 minutes before they run out of memory and have to restart. It's the first smart TV I've had, maybe they're all like that

[Bellend Sebastian]

7 minutes ago, Webbo said:

I'm a bit disappointed with my LG, the smart part of it anyway. The TV guide and list feature take ages to load. The Internet channels only seem to last 10 minutes before they run out of memory and have to restart. It's the first smart TV I've had, maybe they're all like that

They're a bit of a lottery in my experience, in terms of access to apps and functionality.

 

I bought my parents a Panasonic a couple of years ago, and the interface was surprisingly clunky and the Amazon Prime app just doesn't work, meaning we had to give them a spare Firestick to enjoy the Prime subscription we bought them for Christmas.

 

My Samsung is a year too old to access Disney +, and there's no UKTV app on there either, less of a problem now Channel 4 have bought the rights to Taskmaster.

 

I expect the operation gets a bit slicker and faster on the more expensive models, but I begrudge spending loads on tellies as they go out of date so quickly. Mind you, I think like with phones the technology has progressed so quickly manufacturers are running out of ideas