General : Choosing a TV

[Jacquesb]

Hello there

My Samsung 43" TV (UE43RU7100K) is dying with a blackish section on the screen. I bought it in 2013 so I guess I may have had my moneys worth ?

I mainly watch sport - football, rugby, tennis, golf - so the picture quality is important. I have a soundbar (Azatom). I'm willing to spend, say, £400; would like a bigger screen but am restricted to 43" by in-room furniture.

I've been with Virgin (now TV360) for years & years and just agreed another contract for 18 months. A few questions before I ask for recommendations, please.

(1) Do I need a SMART TV or can I get all the streaming services I need through Virgin ?

(2) If I use a soundbar, can I assume the sound quality is irrelevant ?

(3) Some TV's seem to offer PVR capabilities - is this redundant ?

(4) Remotes seem to offer voice inputs - again is that useful ?

(5) I think I understand LCD, LED + QLED (OLED seems out of my price range), but I'm a bit bewildered by differences between HD, HDR, 4K, UHD etc.

My apologies if this is a bit boring and off-topic but I would welcome some advice and/or recommendations.

Thanks in advance, Jack

[spiderplant]

If your existing TV really is an "RU", that's a 2019 model. It might even still be in warranty.

https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00087664/

[Jacquesb]

Thanks SP - you are correct, but the 3 year warranty has expired so it must have been the previous one I bought in 2013. 5/6 years is not very good for the life of one of these - perhaps I should give Samsung a miss this time.

[nodrogd]

Originally Posted by Jacquesb

Hello there

My Samsung 43" TV (UE43RU7100K) is dying with a blackish section on the screen. I bought it in 2013 so I guess I may have had my moneys worth ?

I mainly watch sport - football, rugby, tennis, golf - so the picture quality is important. I have a soundbar (Azatom). I'm willing to spend, say, £400; would like a bigger screen but am restricted to 43" by in-room furniture.

I've been with Virgin (now TV360) for years & years and just agreed another contract for 18 months. A few questions before I ask for recommendations, please.

(1) Do I need a SMART TV or can I get all the streaming services I need through Virgin ?

VM carries most mainstream streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime & Paramount +, but by no means all

(2) If I use a soundbar, can I assume the sound quality is irrelevant ?

Yes. You will have to connect the soundbar directly to the TV, as VM boxes do not have a separate active audio output.

(3) Some TV's seem to offer PVR capabilities - is this redundant ?

With VM, yes. TV PVRs can only record from the TVs internal Freeview antenna tuner, not from any other input.

(4) Remotes seem to offer voice inputs - again is that useful ?

Some people like it, some don't. If you have a strong accent they can be a problem, but they do offer a lot of shortcuts.

(5) I think I understand LCD, LED + QLED (OLED seems out of my price range), but I'm a bit bewildered by differences between HD, HDR, 4K, UHD etc.

Unless you are going mega screen size then HD is fine. UHD/HDR on smaller screens below 50" rely on you being fairly close to the set to get any real benefit

My apologies if this is a bit boring and off-topic but I would welcome some advice and/or recommendations.

Thanks in advance, Jack

[jonbxx]

On the question of whether you need a smart TV, I have found that the upscaling of the V6 box (I still have the TiVo software but I assume that the upscaling is hardware based) is not as good as my 2 year old Samsung TV. It’s a small difference but noticeable so I use the streaming apps on my TV rather than the cable box. I also don’t let the cable box do any upscaling and let the TV do that

[Mr K]

Better to have a smart TV then you ve got options, especially if your VM box is wired to 2 tvs as mine is.

As for Samsung, my 2013 tv is fine , so is my 2010 Toshiba. If it ain't broke then don't fix/replace it.

My 1980 black and white portable is also ok. It won't pick up any tv stations, but it'll still work with my Sinclair ZX81 microcomputer

[epsilon]

Originally Posted by Mr K

Better to have a smart TV then you ve got options, especially if your VM box is wired to 2 tvs as mine is.

As for Samsung, my 2013 tv is fine , so is my 2010 Toshiba. If it ain't broke then don't fix/replace it.

My 1980 black and white portable is also ok. It won't pick up any tv stations, but it'll still work with my Sinclair ZX81 microcomputer

Good to know you are keeping up with the latest tech.

[Stephen]

I think 99% of all new TVs are smart ones these days. I prefer using their built in apps over the stb ones. They tend to load faster and have fewer issues.

I'm currently on a 2020 Samsung 55 QLED. Prior to that my 2011 Samsung 46 inch 3D LED is still going strong. I tend to go for the higher cost top spec ones as they definitely last a lot longer.

HD tends to be 1080P meaning full high definition. 4K and UHD are the same ultra high definition or 4k resulting is a much higher pixel count giving a sharper image but unless to sub to any streaming with those options your best sticking to HD.

[epsilon]

Originally Posted by Stephen

I think 99% of all new TVs are smart ones these days. I prefer using their built in apps over the stb ones. They tend to load faster and have fewer issues.

I'm currently on a 2020 Samsung 55 QLED. Prior to that my 2011 Samsung 46 inch 3D LED is still going strong. I tend to go for the higher cost top spec ones as they definitely last a lot longer.

HD tends to be 1080P meaning full high definition. 4K and UHD are the same ultra high definition or 4k resulting is a much higher pixel count giving a sharper image but unless to sub to any streaming with those options your best sticking to HD.

8K is around now too but probably better to avoid it for now. Very expensive for very little gain unless your viewing room is massive.

[Stephen]

8K TVs been around for years. But there really is no need to even think about them. There is no actual content in 8K available on any TV platform.

[epsilon]

Originally Posted by Stephen

8K TVs been around for years. But there really is no need to even think about them. There is no actual content in 8K available on any TV platform.

Well, yes, sort of. Not mass produced and priced in the tens of thousands of pounds range so not something you would see in the TV section of your local ASDA. Content is available on YouTube for instance but, again, not really mainstream. It's a case of buyer beware again, earlier 8K models will have relied on HEVC and won't have taken advantage of more efficient codecs now available (AV1 etc). Roku is building AV1 into newer models of its high end devices and Netflix is rolling out AV1 for high end TVs. As you say though, there is no need to even think about buying them. If someone feels they absolutely must have an 8K TV, probably better to wait a few years until the newer codecs become mainstream. Then buy a much bigger house to take full advantage of the format...
https://discover8k.com/finding-8k-content/
No doubt we'll see people arguing in future that they really need 8K to watch That's TV or for their 24" kitchen TV but we aren't there yet.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by epsilon

Well, yes, sort of. Not mass produced and priced in the tens of thousands of pounds range so not something you would see in the TV section of your local ASDA. Content is available on YouTube for instance but, again, not really mainstream. It's a case of buyer beware again, earlier 8K models will have relied on HEVC and won't have taken advantage of more efficient codecs now available (AV1 etc). Roku is building AV1 into newer models of its high end devices and Netflix is rolling out AV1 for high end TVs. As you say though, there is no need to even think about buying them. If someone feels they absolutely must have an 8K TV, probably better to wait a few years until the newer codecs become mainstream. Then buy a much bigger house to take full advantage of the format...
https://discover8k.com/finding-8k-content/
No doubt we'll see people arguing in future that they really need 8K to watch That's TV or for their 24" kitchen TV but we aren't there yet.

Samsung have been producing 8K TVs for years now. They have them starting at £2,499. However Curries have a 2023 model on offer at £1,299. Their range goes to about £5,500. While LG have one at £17,999

[epsilon]

Originally Posted by Stephen

Samsung have been producing 8K TVs for years now. They have them starting at £2,499. However Curries have a 2023 model on offer at £1,299. Their range goes to about £5,500. While LG have one at £17,999

Indeed. Prices have come down significantly since they initially hit the market.
The only people I've seen showing any real interest are photographers for displaying their own content and gamers.

[Hom3r]

My 40" Samsung is still going strong, we bought it on the day of the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony.


It was wall mounted in 2020, I hope when it does die, I'll be able to get another 40" or one which meets the weight limit on the mount. (I'm hoping that a bigger screen will be lighter as tech improves), but I cant go to big.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by Hom3r

My 40" Samsung is still going strong, we bought it on the day of the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony.


It was wall mounted in 2020, I hope when it does die, I'll be able to get another 40" or one which meets the weight limit on the mount. (I'm hoping that a bigger screen will be lighter as tech improves), but I cant go to big.

They definitely to get lighter. My 2011 46" Samsung weighs considerably more than my 2020 55" Samsung. Also not too much bigger as the bezels have got so slim now too.