Looking at new televisions...

[rash_decision]

Hi All...

I currently have a Panasonic TX-47AS650B which I have owned for a few years now, it's been faultless and does everything I need a television to do really... However, I am looking to replace it as my Dad's telly has gone on the blink, and my plan is giving him my current television as a replacement, and buying myself a new one. Win win!

I quite like Panasonic and they did have a good name, not sure if that's changed recently but will happily take opinions. Based on this I was looking at 2 options, TB-50W60AEY (£349) TV-50W90AEB (£599). On the face of it they look to me to both be very similar in specifications, is the 90AEB worth the extra £250? All me and the wife use the television for is watching movies and general stuff.

That said, if someone could recommend a better alternative at similar price point I would consider it too.

[Tony1963]

“Watching movies and general stuff” sort of covers what a telly is used for really

Edited by Tony1963 on Saturday 21st December 14:33

[rash_decision]

Tony1963 said:

“Watching movies and general stuff” sort of covers what a telly is used for really

Edited by Tony1963 on Saturday 21st December 14:33

I was clearing that up for the folk considering it being used for gaming.

[Jinx]

TB-50W60AEY (£349)
Backlit LED

TV-50W90AEB (£599)
Full Array - multi-zone backlit LED

So the second one is a step up but not quite OLED standard.

Depends how much you want your blacks to look black - if you dislike light bleed than the extra £250 migh tbe worth it - but if you are looking at spending £600 it might be worth looking at some OLED TVs.

[OutInTheShed]

Last time we bought a TV, we went to Richer Sounds at an off-peak time and watched and listened to a few.
I would definitely recommend doing that rather than taking much advice as to what model to buy.

Time before, we went to John Lewis, reasonable environment to buy in, and a free longer guarantee.

[rash_decision]

Jinx said:

TB-50W60AEY (£349)
Backlit LED

TV-50W90AEB (£599)
Full Array - multi-zone backlit LED

So the second one is a step up but not quite OLED standard.

Depends how much you want your blacks to look black - if you dislike light bleed than the extra £250 migh tbe worth it - but if you are looking at spending £600 it might be worth looking at some OLED TVs.

Thanks Jinx

[rash_decision]

OutInTheShed said:

Last time we bought a TV, we went to Richer Sounds at an off-peak time and watched and listened to a few.
I would definitely recommend doing that rather than taking much advice as to what model to buy.

Time before, we went to John Lewis, reasonable environment to buy in, and a free longer guarantee.

I’ll do that tomorrow I think. Both RS and JL will be on my agenda tomorrow. I might even pop into Curry’s just to have a look…

[stevensdrs]

Be careful what you buy. A lot of TVs may have a brand name you associate with quality on the front of the set but may be manufactured by a third party and just badged by the brand you are familiar with. The cheaper Panasonic you refer to may indeed be one of these.
The clue will be the label on the back giving the country of origin. If it says Turkey it will be a Vestel set and if it says China it will be a TCL creation. Whatever you buy, Richer Sounds or John Lewis give the best warranties . LG have the best OLED screens.

[nickfrog]

You can buy a 55 QLED for less than £350. TCL with the super fast responding ROKU OS.

Edited by nickfrog on Saturday 21st December 18:32

[TEKNOPUG]

stevensdrs said:

LG have the best OLED screens.

LG are the only OLED screen manufacturer, so all OLED TVs have LG screens.

[stevensdrs]

TEKNOPUG said:

stevensdrs said:

LG have the best OLED screens.

LG are the only OLED screen manufacturer, so all OLED TVs have LG screens.

Not strictly true. LG display panels make the majority of OLED panels. Samsung display panels make an OLED panel too. Not all OLED panels are the same as the technology evolves all the time. The processing that is used to drive the panel makes a difference and in my opinion LG make the best combination of screen and processing in their TV's.

[TEKNOPUG]

stevensdrs said:

TEKNOPUG said:

stevensdrs said:

LG have the best OLED screens.

LG are the only OLED screen manufacturer, so all OLED TVs have LG screens.

Not strictly true. LG display panels make the majority of OLED panels. Samsung display panels make an OLED panel too. Not all OLED panels are the same as the technology evolves all the time. The processing that is used to drive the panel makes a difference and in my opinion LG make the best combination of screen and processing in their TV's.

Samsung make their own QD-OLED panels. It's a different technology. LG still supply all the panels for Samsung's non QD TVs.

Whilst it's largely subjective as to which TV is best, if you look at any of the publications that actually measure the performance of TVs, it's very rare that an LG model is declared the current best reference set. It's almost always a Sony or Panasonic.

LG tend to focus on mass market, mid price TVs, not higher end models.

[Digger]

LG G4 is pretty much the top OLED offering this year & arguably the best value - negligible differences in PQ at this level with the current crop, I would suggest.

[Onespeeder]

I too have been thinking about replacing a Panasonic with a new TV. Mine is about 8 years old and works perfectly and generally has a very good (not 4K, though) picture. What I do not like however is the Smart TV software; I think it is essentially unusable and thus I never use it; it has never been updated as far as I know. Trouble is Panasonics never break – they go on forever.

I have been impressed with LG’s software especially with the remote that you wave about and also by their OLED picture quality. The one I fancy is this LG C4 42 inch OLED evo 4K HDR Smart TV (2024) - OLED42C44LA – but by God it is dear and I have yet to discover how much better is than one half its price. A task for the New Year, I think.

[OutInTheShed]

Onespeeder said:

I too have been thinking about replacing a Panasonic with a new TV. Mine is about 8 years old and works perfectly and generally has a very good (not 4K, though) picture. What I do not like however is the Smart TV software; I think it is essentially unusable and thus I never use it; it has never been updated as far as I know. Trouble is Panasonics never break – they go on forever.

I have been impressed with LG’s software especially with the remote that you wave about and also by their OLED picture quality. The one I fancy is this LG C4 42 inch OLED evo 4K HDR Smart TV (2024) - OLED42C44LA – but by God it is dear and I have yet to discover how much better is than one half its price. A task for the New Year, I think.

Someone on PH wanting a telly smaller than mine?
World's gone mad I tell you!

I get your point about the software and remotes and all that, it seems pretty clunky thumbing through the channels and catch-up programmes on our remote, compared to a mouse and keyboard on a PC or a touchscreen on a tablet. Anyone else remember the bollux we talked about the 'fusion' and 'convergence' of 'puters and TVs 25 years ago?

[TEKNOPUG]

55" is the default OLED panel size

The further you get away from that (smaller or larger) the less value for money (screen size/price) they become.

Whilst Panasonic are particularly bad, most manufacturers stop supporting models after 3-4 years, they want you to buy a new set after all!

Buy your TV with the best image of you intend to keep it for a while. Use a third party box for Smart features.

[The Gauge]

The other day I bought my elderly mother a new TV and got her the Panasonic 43W90AEB. When setting it up I was very very impressed with the picture quality, and that's from someone who has a Panasonic 4K OLED.

It uses the FireTV OS instead of Pants own, and used Freely for the TV guide, neither of which she needs but she's got used to using it.