Clueless TV idiot help please
Discussion
I'm looking to replace a TV, which will be used almost exclusively for Xbox / Playstation gaming. It's going into a "den" so the little teenage nightmares who will use it will only be around 8 feet from the screen at the most when viewing.
Previously, this was the TV they had in that room >>> JVC LT-32C490 32" LED.
It's about the right size I think, but when they use it for gaming it seems to be lower quality/resolution(??) compared to the main TV which is one of these >>> PHILIPS 43HFL6014U/12
I've had a look and they are right, the JVC picture quality is definitely not as good - but it's an HD TV so I don't know why?
I don't want to bin the JVC and replace it unless the picture quality is as good as the Phillips.
What do I need to look for in the replacement to make sure the picture quality is as good as the Phillips?
Sterillium said:
Ah, so basically anything ultra HD would be as good as the Phillips?
It would be a start, but not all 4K TVs are the same, nor will all be of similar quality in terms of display.It's always worth a visit to Currys or Richer Sounds to compare a few and see what works best for you.
And that's without mentioning the different technologies which are available - OLED, QLED, Neo, etc..
32 inch 4K TVs are very rare, and you’ll find more monitors at that size with no tuner or speakers. If you are buying new it would make no sense to get a 1080p screen as you’ll miss out on the capabilities of a PS5 or XBox.
Plenty of 42 inch ones to choose from depending on your budget.
https://www.richersounds.com/tv-projectors/tvs-acc...
Plenty of 42 inch ones to choose from depending on your budget.
https://www.richersounds.com/tv-projectors/tvs-acc...
SS2. said:
Your Philips is 4K / Ultra HD (High Definition), whereas the JVC is HD only.
It's no surprise the Philips produces the superior picture.
HD = 1920 x 1080 pixels
4K = 3840 x 2160 pixels
That JVC is actually even worse as it'd not HD it's "HD Ready" & the screen resolution is 1366x768. Even a standard HD 1920x1080 TV is going to be much better than the JVC. 4K is even better of course.It's no surprise the Philips produces the superior picture.
HD = 1920 x 1080 pixels
4K = 3840 x 2160 pixels
OP: Richer Sounds is the place to go.
HD Ready = 720p 1280x720
Full HD = 1080p 1920x1080
4k/UHD 3840x2160
If you want to future proof yourself and get a TV that will last you need to determine what you want from it. Like I said before if your kids are playing games like call of duty on a ps5 you really do want a 120hz VRR capable TV. They don't need to cost a lot either.
Entering the new year is the best time to buy a new TV as new models are released first quarter making 2022 TVs a bargain. I paid £500 for a 55" Samsung Q80A last year as it's a 2021 model and after a lot of research you'd find it hard to beat at that size and price point.
Full HD = 1080p 1920x1080
4k/UHD 3840x2160
If you want to future proof yourself and get a TV that will last you need to determine what you want from it. Like I said before if your kids are playing games like call of duty on a ps5 you really do want a 120hz VRR capable TV. They don't need to cost a lot either.
Entering the new year is the best time to buy a new TV as new models are released first quarter making 2022 TVs a bargain. I paid £500 for a 55" Samsung Q80A last year as it's a 2021 model and after a lot of research you'd find it hard to beat at that size and price point.
Mr Pointy said:
Sterillium said:
Lots of excellent help - thank you all.
What is "HD ready"?
It was a marketing con to sell TVs that weren't true HD as they didn't have 1920x1080 panels.What is "HD ready"?
And a nasty surprise when later on people found they couldnt get certain channels that broadcast on the HD frequencies.
Some of the channels were not actually transmitting HD material but one of these was Forces TV and these older tvs ciouldnt receive it.
It was one of the worse examples of a con I can remember from recent years
Sterillium said:
I'm looking to replace a TV, <snip>
The JVC isn't an HD model. It is HD Ready. There's a difference. A HD (or full HD) set has a panel resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels. That's what is commonly referred to as the native resolution. An HD Ready set has a panel resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. It accepts 1080p and 1080i signals, but everything HD has to be scaled down to fit the panel res. The quality of the scaling engine plays a part in how clear the final result is.
If you're sticking with 32" as a size, then you're going to have to work quite hard to find a proper Full HD TV with a native res of 1080p. A lot of 32' sets are HD Ready, 768p
What's more, I think it'll be near impossible to find a 32" 4K UHD TV set. 40-43" has been the step-in size for that resolution.
The panel res isn't the only factor to final picture quality. Set-up has a lot to do with it as well, plus there are other TV features that make a difference with gaming too.
In the picture set-up menus, if the TV has a game mode, then switch that on. This is a good starting point. It will disable a lot of the image processing crap that gets in the way and increases gaming lag. If you're lucky, GM will disable Overscan too. If not, find that in the menu and switch it off.
Overscan increases the picture size by around 4% to make sure that broadcast TV channel images don't show border areas that should otherwise be hidden from view. This is stuff that should normally be "off the edge of the screen". Gaming, Blu-rays, DVD and the big name streaming apps such as Netflix and Prime don't need this.
Something else to have a look at is the TV's sharpness setting. At first glance you might think "Sharpness.. yeah, I want loads of that", but the name is misleading. If it was called Extra Picture Noise then you'd probably think twice. That's what it is. It adds artificial edges to anything where there's a darker item on a lighter background. Black text on a white background is the classic to see it. You want to turn the sharpess control down imutil the halo effect disappears. You might need to get close to the screen to see is when you're dialling in the last of the adjustment.
Any other features such as Colour Transient Improvement, automatic backlight adjustment, smooth motion and anything else you can find, switch it all off. Getting rid of all this will reduce gaming lag.
That's your TV settings, but there is some stuff that you can't get around. The main once is the TV's LCD panel. Higher end LED TVs and OLEDs have a panel refresh rate of 100 / 120 Hz. It helps reduce smear and is another way to get lower lag times. It comes with a hefty price tag though. I haven't seen any 32" TV sets with anything better than 50 / 60Hz.
The other thing is the quality of the TV's motion processing. Most 32" sets are aimed at the budget market, so the processing is designed down to a price. That Phillips will be a bit better, but still not top-of-the-tree, but it does make a difference. Just be careful.not to mix up image processing rate with panel refresh rate. These are notvthe same things.
un1eash said:
Are we talking next gen consoles like the PS5? If so you really want to get a TV that supports hdmi 2.1, VRR and 120hz.
I game on a Samsung 55" Q80A and only sit about 6 feet away.
The PS5 is a current gen console. A PS6 would be next gen. I game on a Samsung 55" Q80A and only sit about 6 feet away.
OP get yourself an oled, turn all the processing off, give the kids your old telly.
Lucid_AV said:
Sterillium said:
I'm looking to replace a TV, <snip>
The JVC isn't an HD model. It is HD Ready. There's a difference. A HD (or full HD) set has a panel resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels. That's what is commonly referred to as the native resolution. An HD Ready set has a panel resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. It accepts 1080p and 1080i signals, but everything HD has to be scaled down to fit the panel res. The quality of the scaling engine plays a part in how clear the final result is.
If you're sticking with 32" as a size, then you're going to have to work quite hard to find a proper Full HD TV with a native res of 1080p. A lot of 32' sets are HD Ready, 768p
What's more, I think it'll be near impossible to find a 32" 4K UHD TV set. 40-43" has been the step-in size for that resolution.
The panel res isn't the only factor to final picture quality. Set-up has a lot to do with it as well, plus there are other TV features that make a difference with gaming too.
In the picture set-up menus, if the TV has a game mode, then switch that on. This is a good starting point. It will disable a lot of the image processing crap that gets in the way and increases gaming lag. If you're lucky, GM will disable Overscan too. If not, find that in the menu and switch it off.
Overscan increases the picture size by around 4% to make sure that broadcast TV channel images don't show border areas that should otherwise be hidden from view. This is stuff that should normally be "off the edge of the screen". Gaming, Blu-rays, DVD and the big name streaming apps such as Netflix and Prime don't need this.
Something else to have a look at is the TV's sharpness setting. At first glance you might think "Sharpness.. yeah, I want loads of that", but the name is misleading. If it was called Extra Picture Noise then you'd probably think twice. That's what it is. It adds artificial edges to anything where there's a darker item on a lighter background. Black text on a white background is the classic to see it. You want to turn the sharpess control down imutil the halo effect disappears. You might need to get close to the screen to see is when you're dialling in the last of the adjustment.
Any other features such as Colour Transient Improvement, automatic backlight adjustment, smooth motion and anything else you can find, switch it all off. Getting rid of all this will reduce gaming lag.
That's your TV settings, but there is some stuff that you can't get around. The main once is the TV's LCD panel. Higher end LED TVs and OLEDs have a panel refresh rate of 100 / 120 Hz. It helps reduce smear and is another way to get lower lag times. It comes with a hefty price tag though. I haven't seen any 32" TV sets with anything better than 50 / 60Hz.
The other thing is the quality of the TV's motion processing. Most 32" sets are aimed at the budget market, so the processing is designed down to a price. That Phillips will be a bit better, but still not top-of-the-tree, but it does make a difference. Just be careful.not to mix up image processing rate with panel refresh rate. These are notvthe same things.
It sounds like a 42" or 43" 4K is the best bet - any recommendations? One that is as thin and flush to the wall as possible would be good.
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