Need advice on replacing a 50" Pioneer Kuro

daywatch

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It's time to retire my Kuro to the bedroom and replace it in the main TV room.

I've set my sights on an OLED screen because I prefer emissive tech to backlit tech. The pictures on LCD/LED can look great, but they've always had a processed look (at last to my eyes) that plasma never had.

I'll be watching in a low-lit room, so OLED's lower nits won't be an issue.

I do enjoy gaming and screen burn in is a worry I have with OLED. Many games have info, HUDs, maps, etc, on permanent display and my gaming sessions can run 4-5 hours, though in general, sessions usually last 2-3 hours. Are those sessions likely to cause burn-in with permanent on-screen items?

My couch is 3 metres from my TV and I find 50" is a very comfortable size for watching TV and movies. I have to squint more to read or see some on-screen elements in games and sometimes end up pulling the couch closer to the TV so I can see everything clearly.

So one question I have is whether a 55" or a 65" OLED would be the best screen size for me. I don't like having to look around a screen to take everything in and I sit towards the back in a cinema for this reason.

I had settled on an LG C9 as the best option, apart from the screen size, but the 55" C9's now appear to sold out. Some outlets are still carrying the 65" model but it's expensive at €2,099. A 55" LG B9 is about half that price.

The 2020 LG BX models are available in the UK but I only found one supplier here in Ireland that stocks the LG BX 55" for €1,610. It sells in the UK for £1,299 which is equivalent to about €1,425 so the supplier here is charging over the odds.

So what size screen do you think I should get, which LG model and would I be better off waiting for better prices during the Black Friday sales?
 
Everyone's usage can differ, I wrote a thread regarding burn in here: OLED Burn In Risk

If you already use a Plasma TV you will already understand the theory and how it can happen. Chances are if you didn't get burn in on your Plasma, you won't on an OLED.

If you want a TV that is most future proof with gaming features you need to consider the new LG CX, but since its a 2020 model that has just been released I'd wait to buy it at a later time. Its price should drop 30% more than it is selling for now.

The C9 would have been the TV to go for now, but its all but sold out.

Size is up to you, the larger the TV the better detail you'll notice between a good and bad source. At the same time, poorer sources will look poorer on a larger TV.

If you decide you will be prone to burn in, look at Samsung's Q80T and up instead. You'd need the higher end Q90T/Q95T to compete with an OLED though.
 
Thanks for your reply, Dodgexander. My Kuro is suffering from the purple/magenta sparklies on bright areas of the image. These seem most prevalent in the areas where games put persistent HUD elements.

The top right corner and centre-top are the most affected areas. I do think that the two are related. So that's why I'm concerned about potential burn-in on an OLED.

Seems odd that one of the features touted for a technology that's (potentially) prone to burn-in is its gaming support.

From your Burn In post, I am one of those people who frequently has long gaming sessions playing the same game with the same HUD in the same place over a long period of time. So it looks like I'd be a candidate for suffering from burn-in.

I don't like Samsung as a company. Had bad experiences with them before and swore I'd never buy another of their products. They don't value their customers.
 
That limits your options somewhat, it will mean that you can't go for a TV that includes both good HDR picture quality and HDMI 2.1 gaming features like VRR and ALLM. That doesn't mean you can't find a TV that is good for gaming without those features though, they are after all optional.
You can read about them here:

I'd recommend the Sony XF9005, XG9005 or XG9505 now, or wait for the new XH9505 to come down in price. Makes buying a lot easier by narrowing down your options. The Hisense U8Q also looks promising, another new 2020 model. Out of all these TVs only the new Sony XH9505 comes decent viewing angles (and 55" and up only).

LCD TVs you want to avoid in my opinion:
Sony XH9005 - This was dead set to be a great gaming choice, but sadly has been tested to have low peak brightness. Not suited for HDR.
Philips - They do not make high end LCD TVs any more. They reserve the high end for OLED...and you need high end for HDR to be problem free.
Panasonic - Same as Philips, no high end LCD TVs.
LG - Their higher end models do not compete with Sony for overall picture quality. They use IPS panels and have low peak brightness which is very bad for HDR.
TCL - No high end LCD TVs presently in Europe.

You also have to consider that most TVs are lower spec at smaller sizes. So if you purchase the 49" version of the Sony XH9505 it comes without a wide viewing angle filter and won't be very useful at tighter viewing angles. The 55" and 65" models don't have this limitation.
 

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