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4K UHD televisions? What's the sweet spot in the main steam market?

S

Sid Post

Joined
Oct 14, 1998
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I'm looking for a new ~49" TV in the ~$750~$1,000 range. I see Samsung has Quantum Dots, Sony has Triluminous displays, there are OLED, AMOLED, and 'good' LEDs.

What are the better performing technologies and models at the various price points? For example, is a $1,000 Samsung Q6 that much better than a $700 Samsung U8000? Or how about the Sony 800 vs. 900 vs. 930 models?

I will use it with a high-end desktop computer so, if that makes a difference please note why. Generally, I'm thinking more along the lines of general TV over Dish/DirectTV with BluRay movies FWIW.

TIA,
Sid
 
Just happened to have looked at Best Buy the other day and asked a few questions. To keep it short- HDR (High Dynamic Range) is more important than resolution for picture quality- especially in the size you're looking at. OLED is a major step up from LED- LEDs are either edge lit (the worst) or back lit in zones. In an OLED TV each individual pixel is lit. So, OLED + HDR = Great picture. Of course, if possible you want to view the individual TVs. Sorry, don't know about AMOLED
 
There is a good wirecutter article on this topic. Turns out that there are some good cheap units out there, and some terrible expensive ones. Its really a matter of knowing what you need inputs-wise as well, since different model numbers will have different features.
 
Thanks! It looks like the Samsung U8000 is a really good deal today with the Black Friday rebates and its performance. A Sony 930E would be nice but, at twice the cost?
 
Often with displays, you won't notice the difference, unless you are doing something really specialized.
 
" main steam Market " had me worried for a moment , thought there was some new steam powered TVs ! :eek:
 
I got an education at Sam's when looking for a TV. I said what is this one, it doesn't say 1080 or anything numerical. It said 4K. He said take the 1080 x 4. I said, whoa! Now that was a 40 to 43" for only $298.
He said, you think That's bad, look at this, he took me around the aisle to a OLED. He said this puts the 4K to shame. I think it was about a 40" or so and it cost $2,000.
This was all eye opening to me because I'm not a teckie, I'm a low-tech redneck hillbillie from WV. :)
 
I have a $2K 4K Samsung as my main set, and picked up a 4K Sharp Aquos on Black Friday for $550 + tax. I mostly use them for streaming and gaming.

The Samsung is better, but it's not a night and day difference. I doubt that most people could tell them apart.

Honestly, I would just set a maximum amount I wanted to spend, and just research the top models in that category.
 
The Sharp Aquos sets are really nice and have gotten relatively cheap compared to a few years ago. Around where I live though, they seem to have left the marketplace. With all the issues of mergers, poor financial performance, etc. some of the good brands of the past seem to have slipped into obscurity for the most part.

The LG OLEDs are very nice TVs and I enjoyed viewing them in store. Their blacks are really nice but, burn-in and screen longevity are concerns, especially for gaming and computer use.

I saw the Samsung MU8000 in person and was impressed. For a 49" TV at $700, it was a real stunner. Picture quality, with a 120HZ native panel, and overall color and vibrancy were really nice at this price point.

In the end, I got a Sony XBR-X930E. It supports Dolby Vision in addition to the other mainstream HDR formats. The other thing it had going for it was superior brightness, especially compared to the LG OLED. Light bleed through and black differences are only going to be noticed by extremely critical viewers especially looking at very challenging scenes with superior video sources currently unavailable in most homes. Overall, considering the ambient lighting conditions where I will be using it, this TV/Monitor seemed to have the best combination of features at the price point that wasn't extreme ($2K+).

The other concern for shoppers to be aware of is 'off-axis' viewing issues. Most 'LCD/LED' televisions today use VA panels. When you are 15 degrees off of dead center, picture contrast and color start to distort. OLED panels are superior in 'off-axis' viewing if that is a concern where you will use your TV. For gamers and computer users, this is less of a concern if the 'TV' part is a secondary use scenario. OLEDs in a bright room also could have issues compared to really bright VA panels since their max brightness is less resulting in possible glare image degradation relative to the better VA panels (along with panel finish (matte, semi-gloss) being a contributing factor).

All things considered, the ~$700~$1000 55" television market today is really impressive with the ~$1500~$2000 sets being very competitive with units costing significantly more. If you are shopping in store, just make sure the video sources driving the TV are of good quality or they will all look pretty much the same and you will miss what the TVs like the $700 Samsung MU8000 really offer over the cheaper options sold at the major big box stores.
 
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