New 4k TV advice please

Pongo

SasqWatch
Original Sin Donor
Original Sin 2 Donor
Joined
April 13, 2012
Messages
1,901
Location
UK
So my TV blew up last night, and I need to replace it. I've got a standard HD TV so I'm looking at upgrading to a 4k.

After spending about an hour looking at reviews and Google I'm still confused about all the techy stuff.

In particular, should I care about the motion rate? The one I'm looking at is 50hz (which I understand is the common rate for UK broadcast). Presumably, if I hooked a console into it it would limit the FPS to 50, which isn't ideal but I could live with it.

But then I've read contradictory stuff about it from folk online, some saying 50hz leads to dropped frames and screen tearing etc. I'm sensitive to juddering and screen tear (my wife never notices it, but it bugs me!) - I'd rather get a smaller TV or one with fewer features to avoid it. But then others seem to be saying that the numbers don't really mean much and even upgrading to 100hz won't necessarily avoid that.

I don't have a big budget so some compromise is inevitable and I'm ok with that. If I can find a shop nearby with demo models I can go check it out, but I'm more likely going to have to buy online just on the basis of reviews and features etc. So any advice from tech savvy watchers gratefully received! :) Thanks in advance.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Apr 13, 2012
Messages
1,901
Location
UK
I'd like to hear advice too - my tv is on the way out and I plan on getting a new one before xmas.
 
Joined
Jul 7, 2010
Messages
908
I recently upgraded to HD and got a TCL with native Roku. I am very happy with it. Good performance and not too expensive.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
421
Location
by the sea
https://www.rtings.com/tv

Go there for reviews and lots of useful info. Go by what features are important to you.

I purchased a not-current Sony TV a while back. Best features for me were: Android so I could use Kodi/Plex (for my media server) and an integrated Chromecast so I could stream pictures, video, youtube and other stuff directly from my smartphone. Nvidia Shield would have been an alternative for both, so you could just go for best picture quality, but a Shield costs something as well.

I don't use the TV for gaming so I'm not sure about the importance of refresh rate etc.
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
3,486
Ok, think I'm going with this one:
https://www.avforums.com/reviews/hisense-u7-4k-lcd-led-tv-review.17094

60hz refresh rate; input lag of less than 20ms. It's at the upper end of my budget coming in at £500 (you can find it cheaper than the review says), seems good value though. I was a bit uncertain of the manufacturer at first - never heard of "Hisense" before - but they get good reviews for build quality etc. Cool - watching Man in the High Castle on my phone sucks. :)
 
Joined
Apr 13, 2012
Messages
1,901
Location
UK
Ok, think I'm going with this one:
https://www.avforums.com/reviews/hisense-u7-4k-lcd-led-tv-review.17094

60hz refresh rate; input lag of less than 20ms. It's at the upper end of my budget coming in at £500 (you can find it cheaper than the review says), seems good value though. I was a bit uncertain of the manufacturer at first - never heard of "Hisense" before - but they get good reviews for build quality etc. Cool - watching Man in the High Castle on my phone sucks. :)

I see the review mentions that it suffers with slight judder on 24fps material. That's the standard framerate of most movies, so that could be a drawback for you. It depends how sensitive to it you are. Just a slight judder bothers me, even when others can't see what I'm fussing about. Might be worth bearing in mind.
 
Joined
Nov 8, 2014
Messages
12,085
I see the review mentions that it suffers with slight judder on 24fps material. That's the standard framerate of most movies, so that could be a drawback for you. It depends how sensitive to it you are. Just a slight judder bothers me, even when others can't see what I'm fussing about. Might be worth bearing in mind.

Thanks Ripper. Yeah that's the one thing that gives me pause. Everything else sounds great. On the judder, it sounds pretty minor and infrequent (his "you have to be looking for it" comment is reassuring - I'm a bit sensitive to these things, but it's not like I'm a TV critic or anything so maybe I won't notice it). This is the kind of thing where it would be reassuring to see it in action - not sure if that will be possible sadly but I'm going to see if any of the local shops have one.
 
Joined
Apr 13, 2012
Messages
1,901
Location
UK
If you get a lot of use out of your TV and have a reasonable amount of money buy the LG CX. It is miles ahead of the cheap stuff out there. Life is too short and you need to spend your money somewhere so it may as well be on things you get daily usage out of.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
3,090
Location
Sigil
Yes, it does sound like a really good deal, with features that would have been way more expensive not so long ago.

I just mention it because years ago I bought a projector that they said was great, except for a very slight rainbow effect, which is a little bit of chromatic aberration around objects in motion. They said it was mild, and only affected certain people. Yep - turned out I was one of them, and it drove me nuts. Had to go on ebay. Hopefully you'll have more luck.
 
Joined
Nov 8, 2014
Messages
12,085
If you get a lot of use out of your TV and have a reasonable amount of money buy the LG CX. It is miles ahead of the cheap stuff out there. Life is too short and you need to spend your money somewhere so it may as well be on things you get daily usage out of.

It looks awesome, but outside of my budget sadly.

Edit: ack just read another review in Techradar that talks about judder, particularly in panning shots. Again described as a minor issue, but it's a bit of a red flag. Wish I could actually see what they're describing to see how bothered I am, but it's sounding more of a risk. Back to the drawing board I think.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Apr 13, 2012
Messages
1,901
Location
UK
Edit: ack just read another review in Techradar that talks about judder, particularly in panning shots. Again described as a minor issue, but it's a bit of a red flag. Wish I could actually see what they're describing to see how bothered I am, but it's sounding more of a risk. Back to the drawing board I think.

Yeah, took a quick look at that review:

The main place the U7QF suffers is in its motion control. Sudden camera movements, or even just cuts to a new scene can cause the frame rate to drop, disrupting the picture with artefacts that can’t keep up with the camerawork. When watching Jason Statham flick The Mechanic, a quick flurry of movement would cause sections of the screen to lag behind others. For thrillers and action movies, then, the U7QF won’t be your best option, though it’s still a minor issue that won’t outright ruin your casual watching.

With sub-20ms input lag, too, this set should perform adequately for gaming, though there are gaming TVs out there that do this metric better – and the poor motion control means this might not be a winning TV for the likes of Call of Duty: Warzone or Apex Legends.

That would definitely give me pause.
 
Joined
Nov 8, 2014
Messages
12,085
Search youtube for stop the fomo.

This guy is super knowledgeable, releases lots of videos, Talk about best gaming TV's and not just consoles, but PC as well. Covers lots of sizes and specs. I started watching him about 3 month ago because I plan to ditch my monitor and pair my a 3090 ampere that has hdmi 2.1 with a gaming tv.

While monitors are still going to beat a gaming tv, TV's have really improved. Some have VRR, Gsync, Freesync and 4k 120hz capable.

Here a link to one of his videos covering 48-50" gaming tv's. browse his videos though I was really impressed in his knowledge, how well he explains stuff and he's unbiased.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edaFaQkC04s&pp=wgIECgIIAQ%3D%3D&feature=push-sd&attr_tag=jzoy3MfhSeseX0Ew%3A6
 
Damn, I was going to go with the 49" Q80T, and he reckons that's the worst one! I don't want an OLED because of the burn-in from static UIs and I don't have room for a 55" or larger.
 
Joined
Jul 7, 2010
Messages
908
Thanks for all the input everyone! I ended up getting a 49inch Sony Bravia, which at £600 was a bit over my budget, but it ticked all the right boxes and I couldn't find any reviews raising concerns about judder or lag etc. I set it up yesterday and it's beautiful :). Very happy with the purchase.
 
Joined
Apr 13, 2012
Messages
1,901
Location
UK
Now, would you care to explain just how you "blew up" your previous TV??
 
Joined
Aug 3, 2008
Messages
8,238
Location
Kansas City
Now, would you care to explain just how you "blew up" your previous TV??

My wife was also a bit suspicious. :) In short, it just stopped turning on. It was quite old - ten years or so - and I've been talking about getting a new one for some time, so I wasn't too sad about it to be honest.
 
Joined
Apr 13, 2012
Messages
1,901
Location
UK
Back
Top Bottom