New TV required

[JulianHJ]

My TV has just died after nearly ten years service, I’ve no idea what the current technologies are or how they weigh up. From the reading I’ve done so far, I think the Sony XR-55 X90L might be the best fit for my ~£1500 budget and 55” max requirements. I’ve had a preference for Sony for most audiovisual stuff over the last four decades, but I’m open-minded if I can do better elsewhere. Presumably having a Sony receiver (1030?) is not an issue? I know it can do 4K, but my last TV was 1080p so I’m not sure whether things have moved on enough to justify an upgrade there too. I watch a fair bit of telly - mainly Sky Q and streaming services via an almost new Apple TV.

Any advice appreciated!

[Mr Pointy]

Go into your nearest Richer Sounds & have a play with the User Interface - they differ in how easy they are to use. LG seem to be popular, Sony less so. They are showing 11 55" TVs between £1000 & £1500 so there's quite a range, including some OLEDs which you should check out to see if you like the picture quality. All of them are 4K screens & I suspect the £1500 LG OLED may be worth a look at (sign up as a VIP member & it's down to £1400).

I find the UI to be a really important part of the deal - you're using it all the time.

[JulianHJ]

Cheers, I'll pop down there tomorrow.

[TEKNOPUG]

UI is irrelevant if using SKY and Apple TV. You'll only need to use the TV UI on initial setup.

Can't go wrong with any OLED 55" @£1500.

Where will the TV be positioned, how far from the wall and is there space either side?

[Digger]

I'd be going with either a G2 & wall mount it ideally, or a C3. Both of which I am considering right now. G2 might be running very low on stock soon as last year's model . . .

https://www.johnlewis.com/lg-oled55g26la-2022-oled...

https://www.johnlewis.com/lg-oled55c34la-2023-oled...

[Digger]

Also Black Friday (late November) should see some nice price reductions.

[bitchstewie]

I got an Apple TV 4K a couple of months back and ended up getting a new LG C2 55" OLED.

It's absolutely stunning what the combo is capable of even with "only" HD material.

[NDA]

I haven't bought a TV in a few years - but there were rumours a while ago that Samsung were including advertising within the user interface. You might want to just have that thought in mind when selecting which model...

[Digger]

bhstewie said:

I got an Apple TV 4K a couple of months back and ended up getting a new LG C2 55" OLED.

It's absolutely stunning what the combo is capable of even with "only" HD material.

Just curious what distance you are viewing this from as I may well end up getting the 55" C3 ?

My viewing will be approximately 2m away or a smidge more.

[bitchstewie]

7-8 feet I'd say and before that it was a 43" set.

There were a few days of "it's huge" but you get used to it.

Main thing is it shows up a bad source as you'd expect.

[JulianHJ]

I popped in to Richer Sounds and settled on an LG C3 - it ticks all the boxes, and should be delivered in a few days. Thanks!

TEKNOPUG - it'll be on a TV unit, speakers either side and it's about 40-50cm from the wall - plenty of room to play with if you have any suggestions on best placement. I'll keep using my Sony DN1040 receiver until I find a need to change it.

[dxg]

Fantastic choice on the LG. Can't go wrong. I have a GX flush against the wall in the living room and a C2 on a pedestal stand upstairs. The C3 can only improve on what's already outstanding.

Regarding the comments on interface. It's fine. Nothing special.

I recommend picking up a Chromecast with GoogleTV for £60. It has HDR and 4k (don't get the £35 1080p one). And a nice, consistent interface that's much better than any Smart TV.

Or an AppleTV 4k if you're an Apple household - but maybe wait until the iPhone announcement just in case it gets an update as well...

[JulianHJ]

Digger said:

Also Black Friday (late November) should see some nice price reductions.

Honestly I'm a bit gutted the old one didn't give up a week ago - LG had a 20% Blue Light Card offer which would have been perfect.

bhstewie said:

I got an Apple TV 4K a couple of months back and ended up getting a new LG C2 55" OLED.

It's absolutely stunning what the combo is capable of even with "only" HD material.

I was really impressed by the upscaled Freeview they were were showing on the display model - such a massive difference from my old 1080p set, which I hadn't been expecting.

NDA said:

I haven't bought a TV in a few years - but there were rumours a while ago that Samsung were including advertising within the user interface. You might want to just have that thought in mind when selecting which model...

I've seen that that's a thing with many manufacturers now, and LG are at it too. I don't think it'll be an issue from what I've read, as I won't be using the 'smart' functions constantly.

[JulianHJ]

dxg said:

Fantastic choice on the LG. Can't go wrong. I have a GX flush against the wall in the living room and a C2 on a pedestal stand upstairs. The C3 can only improve on what's already outstanding.

Regarding the comments on interface. It's fine. Nothing special.

I recommend picking up a Chromecast with GoogleTV for £60. It has HDR and 4k (don't get the £35 1080p one). And a nice, consistent interface that's much better than any Smart TV.

Or an AppleTV 4k if you're an Apple household - but maybe wait until the iPhone announcement just in case it gets an update as well...

Thank you, good to hear! Fortunately I bought a new Apple TV 4K in June, so I'm all set. I've been really enjoying using it, and from what I've seen of the beta reviews, tvOS 17 should make it even better.

[bitchstewie]

If you've been using it on a 1080p set your mind will be blown when you watch something from the Apple TV in 4K

Set the Apple TV to output in 4K SDR by default and set both the matching options to "on".

That way it should automatically change to the right settings for the app you're using.

Might want to get a decent HDMI cable too.

You don't need anything daft just a £10 certified one.

[JulianHJ]

bhstewie said:

If you've been using it on a 1080p set your mind will be blown when you watch something from the Apple TV in 4K

Set the Apple TV to output in 4K SDR by default and set both the matching options to "on".

That way it should automatically change to the right settings for the app you're using.

Might want to get a decent HDMI cable too.

You don't need anything daft just a £10 certified one.

Lovely, thanks - I'll do that. Any particular brands to look for in terms of reasonably priced cables? Speaking of which, whilst at the till in Richer Sounds I noticed that had an HDMI cable priced at £500.

[bitchstewie]

KabelDirect on Amazon seem to get decent write ups.

Don't get me wrong there's no need to buy an expensive cable.

But if you've just spend £1500 on a 4K OLED TV and Apple TV 4K and you're using some random HDMI cable you've had for years it might not be up to spec.

https://amzn.eu/d/c5nD6Qj

For less than a tenner that's ideal IMO.

[JulianHJ]

Perfect, they look ideal, thanks again.

[Digger]

JulianHJ said:

I popped in to Richer Sounds and settled on an LG C3 - it ticks all the boxes, and should be delivered in a few days. Thanks!

TEKNOPUG - it'll be on a TV unit, speakers either side and it's about 40-50cm from the wall - plenty of room to play with if you have any suggestions on best placement. I'll keep using my Sony DN1040 receiver until I find a need to change it.

How are you finding the C3 - 55" ?

[JulianHJ]

Digger said:

How are you finding the C3 - 55" ?

Due for delivery tomorrow afternoon - will update when it's all set up.