Question Looking for help with 49-50" around the £500 mark

stevo1977

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Thanks so much to anyone who can help me......

I am looking to upgrade my current Samsung UE40F6670 as it has developed a few problems and is nearly 6 years old. These are my circumstances;
  • Content/Sources: 50% normal TV viewing via SKY. 25% Netflix and Amazon Prime. 15% Blu Ray (will look to upgrade to a 4k Blu Ray also). 5% XBox 360.
    Watch around 2-3 hours a night. Xbox use is limited to be fair for a 2-3 hour session once a month
  • Viewing angles: This is not greatly needed as the room is relatively long and sofas are central/slightly off
  • Distance from screen: 2-3m
  • Budget and screen size: Around the £500 mark and maximum of 50"
I have been looking at various threads and had a few discussions in Richer Sounds and have streamlined my selection to either Samsung UE50NU7400, Panasonic TX49FX700B and LG 50UK6750PLD. I have had Samsung's for the last 10 years and am quite happy to go with the NU7400 but Richer Sounds are recommending the FX700B with the 6750LB 2nd and dont recommend the NU7400 as in their eyes Samsung have neglected the middle of the road 2018 TV's and the FX700B with the 6750LB are better for picture quality...etc.

Are the FX700B with the 6750LB really that much better? I am a complete novice so any help would be welcomed.

Thanks in advance

Steve
 
The fact that you don't need wide viewing angles makes your choice somewhat easier, you can knock the Panasonic off your list as it uses an IPS panel.

The other two, Samsung and LG will both have better overall picture quality from the front as they use VA type panels.

The Samsung is technically the better spec TV as it has a wide colour gamut. However that is only beneficial when you use HDR, which by the sounds of your sources won't be very often.

The LG however has the better smart TV platform, whilst Samsung's isn't bad the LGs is well regarded as being the best.

In terms of picture quality for everyday use both Samsung and LG will be identical.

When you upgrade you will want to keep as much as your viewing in HD or better if you can, regular TV, sometimes even HD doesn't look as nice upscaled to UHD as it does on a native FHD TV.
 
Thanks Dodgexander, that is a great help.

I have just spent some time looking over your guides and got upto speed with a few more things.

Viewing angles - whilst 1 seat is central, the 2nd seat is at about 35 degrees, I note from one of your guides that you recommend a VA panel up to 30 and then IPS up to 45-50. Would this change your opinion on the Panasonic? Richer Sounds have the Panasonic at £70 more currently which i have no problems stretching to.

I have read your UHD vs FHD guide and understand the positives and negatives, do you think there is any point considering any other 50" UHD's at a higher cost (say up to £700) or is it a simple decision that based on use you would need to go up to a good OLED/QLED to see a difference?

I am going to be going onto SKY Q in the near future so that will hope with sources.

The other dilemma i will have is with my AV Receiver - the 4k pass through that it claims to have is actually not as future proof as I thought over 5yrs ago when i bought it as the HDMI is 1.4. I know I can get a 4K Blu Ray with 2 x HDMI 2.0 (HDCP 2.2) and feed one into the TV and 1 through the receiver but if I am going to get the best out of it I will need to upgrade.

Thanks for your help
 
Viewing angles - whilst 1 seat is central, the 2nd seat is at about 35 degrees, I note from one of your guides that you recommend a VA panel up to 30 and then IPS up to 45-50. Would this change your opinion on the Panasonic?
35 is pushing it on a VA panel TV, if you want that position to look its best then indeed the Panasonic is a better option. The Panasonic is a nice TV too but it just won't do as well in blacks and contrast compared to the others. You may also find if you view in the dark or in a dim room that that Panasonic has worse overall screen uniformity than the others. Bottom line is you need to decide which is more important, picture quality at that position, or picture quality from the front. Maybe that seat is used all the time, maybe not often. Maybe its used by someone who won't really notice these things and won't care/mind.
I have read your UHD vs FHD guide and understand the positives and negatives, do you think there is any point considering any other 50" UHD's at a higher cost (say up to £700) or is it a simple decision that based on use you would need to go up to a good OLED/QLED to see a difference?

I am going to be going onto SKY Q in the near future so that will hope with sources.
Higher end models build on smaller models with things like anti reflection filters to deal with ambient light better, if you have windows or have problems with lamp reflections spending more will get you a TV that gets brighter and has a better anti glare filter. They also tend to come with better motion processing, although most of those TVs are 55" and up. If you are going to use SkyQ in the future then Sky will be handling all the upscaling, making the TVs upscaling redundant. However what will be better if you can stretch to a model with a 120hz panel will be the TVs ability to remove stutter, blur and judder. This is integral if you want to avoid any judder when watching a film on Sky as Sky will always send 60hz to the TV and only TVs with 120hz panels will be able to detect this and playback the film at the correct frame rate.

More about the judder caused when a TV does not do this can be seen here: Judder-Free 24p on TVs
 
Thanks Dodgexander.

I think I am bordering on the Samsung purely as the other half is used to their operating system (she will also be sat in the c. 35 degree seat - not sure if the same principal applies to the 40F6670SB we have currently but she is fine with the view) and there is not much difference between the LG and Samsung.

That is a interesting piece on the SkyQ factor and 120hz panel. I think the only 100hz+ on a 50" are the Sony 9005, 8577, 8505 and Panasonic 750. I have steered away from thinking of a Sony due to the negative references of their Android function. Are there any others that i have missed?

I think you can mitigate the judder effect to an extent by amending settings (auto motion plus)?

Unfortunately as you say by moving up to 55" you gain a lot more but I just don't think there is the space and also got to consider the cost bearing in mind i think i will be better off replacing my AVR unless the workarounds work.

Thanks for your help and guidance on this, whilst Richer Sounds have been very helpful and undoubtedly the Panasonic is a good TV in the right conditions I feel they may have a few of these to shift.

Thanks

Steve
 
Sony’s refurb centre has the 49” XF90 for £629. Only comes with one year guarantee though, up to you whether that’s worth the gamble and increase in budget.

49” XF85 is a decent alternative.

From what I’ve read the Android problems can be mitigated somewhat and aren’t all that bad.
 
XF85/90 have got very narrow viewing angles as well as the Samsung NU8000, this is always the case with Samsung Display panels in VA normally.

I'd advise to go to a local shop and view the suggestions beforehand from 35-40 degrees either side and then you will know for sure if it's gonna be fine.

You could go for a second hand EX750 50" from the Panasonic 2017 range, it has a 100hz panel and is pretty decent with HDR.

General Buying Tips
 
Having read a few threads now i think there was some confusion over panels in the XF85....is it a VA or IPS on the 49" do you know?
I am going to go and have a look at the viewing angles just to make sure later but is the XF85 worth paying the additional £200 for? (over Sam 50NU7400).

I dont think it is worth considering the NU8000 as you only get the 100HZ on the 55" which is too big.
 
Having read a few threads now i think there was some confusion over panels in the XF85....is it a VA or IPS on the 49" do you know?
I am going to go and have a look at the viewing angles just to make sure later but is the XF85 worth paying the additional £200 for? (over Sam 50NU7400).

I dont think it is worth considering the NU8000 as you only get the 100HZ on the 55" which is too big.

49" XF85 is VA for sure, as to whether it's worth £200 more than the NU7400 depends on what content you are going to use and whether you really need a 100hz panel, it might be better going for a 50" model like the LGUK6470 which is only £399 for your uses, sometimes you can overpay for something you may never use so think very carefully before committing to a purchase, as you don't have a legal right to return your purchase back if it's unsuitable, only if it's faulty.
 
Yes I completely agree, that is why I was looking around the £500 mark but Dodge mentioned the Hz issue with SkyQ feed and watching movies/sport and so worried will spend the 400-500 and have the judder issues when an extra couple of hundred would have solved this.
 
Yeah they use different panel types at different sizes, it makes the XF85/XF87 series look bad because when you read an unfavourable review it will likely be a different size from 49" and therefore an IPS panel.

If you care for the smart functionality I would indeed avoid Sony.

The problem is there isn't much choice unless you go up to 55" and you want a 120hz panel.

Your choices would basically be:

Panasonic 49FX750 - IPS panel so better viewing angles but worse overall picture quality from the front.
LG 49SK8500 - Same as above, better smart TV though.
Sony 49XF85 or higher - Narrow viewing angles but much better picture quality, especially the XF90.

If its only 35 degrees and the wife its probably fine getting a VA panel, I don't think many wifes will notice the poorer viewing angles of a VA panel compared to a IPS unless they view them side to side.

Viewing in the store isn't a bad idea to see what you make of the differences in viewing angles.

You are right assuming that your current TV is a VA panel too and whilst it has better viewing angles than those today it will still follow similar traits as ones you buy today.

It has to be said, I would not worry so much about getting an IPS panel on a TV if you always watch with the lights on or during the day, you can also get bias lighting to help alleviate its weaknesses.

If you were leaning towards Sony due to the picture quality then you could always buy a Roku or similar and use that for smart TV instead. Chances are you'll be fine with the operating system, its just not as polished as the others.
 
I don't get anyone complaining who sits on the side sofa, about 35-40 degrees to the right, 2x VA sets now so a VA should be fine.
 
Thanks all for your help.

I am close to a decision now and thinking that the Sony KD49XF8577 maybe the choice for 49” which would appear to be a good quality TV for the size before going up to XF90 or OLEDS. However, If I can move up to a 55” would the UE55NU8000 be an overall better option (I’ve read the size matters post and I think I would satisfy both distance and screen quality criteria’s).

Whilst I would probably love to save a bit of cash and get the LG 6470, I am just weary that I won’t be getting the best 4K experience I can when I can probably stretch to the 100-120hz TVs mentioned....or is there really little difference and you really need to spend a fair bit more?

Thanks again all
 
or is there really little difference and you really need to spend a fair bit more?

This all depends on the model and size in question, for e.g the 50" models, for the lower - mid range of tv's there is very little difference apart from minor features, it gets interesting when it comes to the higher range at 55" or above like OLED's, they all use the same LG Display panel but are quite different in how the firmware is setup depending on the manufacturer, a bit like a Raspberry Pi with multiple combinations but essentially using the same hardware under the hood.
 
Well I have managed to get into RS today and had a play around with the Sony smart function and to be fair I didn't think it was bad as I expecting it to be. There is an obvious difference when considering the LG or Samsung but nonetheless I think I could live with the Sony smart function and as Dodge mentioned there are other ways of getting around it if it becomes an issue.

So anyway I think i am settled now on the Sony KD49XF8577 if i go for a 49/50" and the UE55NU8000 if i can get up to a 55". If for whatever reason i decide that i won't get the benefit of the XF85 I will just go for the 50NU7400

It was an interesting experience in RS to be fair as it was my 3rd visit in 2 weeks and having spoken to 3 different people the message seemed to be the same.....go for an LG!!!
So when I said that I was leaning towards the XF85 I was pointed towards the LG 49SK8500PLA as the Full array local dimming made it a better option. When I previously said the Samsung 50NU7400 they recommended the 50UK6750PLD. There was a lot of love for the LG!!
 
They seem to be trying to push LGs, no idea why. Probably stock related.

The 50" LG isn't a bad option if you want a lower tier TV. Its not the same spec as the TVs you have been looking at so no idea why they are recommending other than for business reasons.
 
they recommended the 50UK6750PLD. There was a lot of love for the LG!!

50" UK6470 is cheaper(£399 currently) and there's really nothing between the two to be honest apart from minor features, there's another model UK6950 as well but again the price difference is not worth it.

I've had a play with that 50" LG a little while ago and it's pretty good value for money and is about on par with the NU7400 which I also took a look at but does have a better OS with WebOS compared to Tizen which still has a lot of security issues.

I have to go alone nowadays as I spend hours playing around instore and last time I got a right rollicking from the missus as I had spent over 2 hours when I said I was only going to be half and hour.:devil::rotfl:
 

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