4 k Recommendations please

[AndyDursin]

Or this well reviewed TCL for $699 which has Roku along with it:



That might be a good option!! I'd feel better about that than the Toshiba etc.

Review:

https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/tcl/5 ... -2020-qled

[Paul MacLean]

I'm afraid I'm capped at $550 though. Can't go above it!

[Edmund Kattak]

I'm afraid I'm capped at $550 though. Can't go above it!

I saw a $299 55" HiSense at Shop Rite today.

Seems like they're everywhere now.

[AndyDursin]

The big problem is there's no local dimming on most of the entry level 4k sets, at least at that price level. So the HDR image on them reportedly doesn't look much different than regular content. Also issues with uniformity (sections of the screen are brighter than others) and viewing angles if you are not looking directly head on at it. Plus most don't seem to have Dolby Vision which is another big minus...not to sound snobby but if you don't have those things there's not a lot of reason to invest in 4K as a format IMO.

I'm still hunting around but I don't think there's any great option for a 65 inch at that price. You can get something serviceable but there's a reason they are so cheap, because they cut corners on brightness. Or don't display as many colors etc. That's what makes a good 4K HDR transfer work, and if the set doesn't get bright enough, it won't be able to take advantage of it.

The best deal right now seems to be the 65' $699 TCL I linked to, which is a Best Buy sale Amazon is matching...that's a $999 TV ordinarily I believe. Or even better the Hisense which looks awesome for $999, and may be a bargain choice for anyone not wanting to pony up for an OLED.

There will be more for the holidays but I'd really try to avoid the cheapest priced entry level sets. For reliability and functionality alike etc.

[AndyDursin]

Here's a Hisense 65' that has excellent specs and is now on sale for $649 (another Amazon price match of a Best Buy sale):

Unlike other entry level models, it has Dolby Vision and excellent reviews -- 8.1 at Rtings! Bargain for the price.

https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/hisense/u6g

[Paul MacLean]

That's starting to look like the best option!

I'm curious though, what exactly do local dimming and Dolby Vision do?

[AndyDursin]

Hisense now has a 100 day, risk-free guarantee on these sets too -- they've really emerged as the leader in high-performance, low-cost 4K sets and most of their models over the last couple of years have been very well reviewed.

Here's a quick primer on local dimming:

Local dimming is a way for LED TVs to improve the contrast ratio in dark scenes by dimming backlight zones. This makes blacks appear deeper than they normally are without the feature, improving the overall picture quality. It's also an important feature for watching HDR content because it can help brighten highlights at the same time. However, usually only higher-end TVs have this feature, and not all of them are equally effective, as some can worsen the overall picture quality.

https://www.rtings.com/tv/tests/picture ... %20quality.

Why it's important is because local dimming is a major part of determining how HDR is conveyed through the television -- and why THAT's important is this:

HDR is a video technology that presents pictures with a wider amount of colors, brightness and contrast, allowing them to look more natural on a HDR-enabled display.

Dolby Vision takes things one step further. It is a version of HDR that is designed to preserve a lot more information that can flow through from the original content creation - at a Hollywood studio, for example - to that content's arrival on your TV or mobile device. This information is called metadata and it carries the brightness information for every frame of a film or TV show, so the TV (or phone, or tablet) knows exactly how to display picture through the whole movie.

Because this information is there for every frame, it's called dynamic metadata, whereas standard HDR10 only has one data point, or static metadata. So, in short, Dolby Vision is an HDR standard that uses dynamic metadata. The aim is to give you better visuals and improve the image quality.

https://www.pocket-lint.com/tv/news/dol ... -explained

Nearly all 4K UHD discs -- as well as 4K content at Vudu, Itunes, Amazon, Netflix, etc. -- is typically mastered with HDR, either Dolby Vision or HDR10. Every good 4K TV set can play HDR10, but Dolby Vision is not necessarily on all TVs or playback devices (i.e. UHD players and Roku/Amazon Fire sticks; the higher-end/newer models typically have Dolby Vision capability, the cheaper/older models typically don't). If you have a TV or a device that DOESN'T do Dolby Vision, the device will still convert and display the HDR as HDR10, but it won't look quite as impressive.

I would not bother investing in 4K if the TV doesn't have decent HDR and Dolby Vision at this point in time. That Hisense is a good price and gets an 8.1 at Rtings so I think it covers the bases. You don't want to go with an entry-level $500 set that has lousy HDR and/or no Dolby Vision. It won't look as good on 4K content.

The cheap TVs also have inferior panels typically, which means they have more limited viewing angles, less dynamic colors, and other drawbacks. If the TV has lousy local dimming it can be an issue with fluctuating brightness levels. If it has poor HDR like those $500 sets you linked to, the 4K content won't look any better than regular content. So paying attention to reviews is key.

Important thing is these prices are basically Black Friday level already so the sales are already going on. And it's good to see there's no scarcity on these models either -- apparently everyone bought new TVs since covid came about!

[AndyDursin]

Here's a decent video (was trying to find something quick) explaining HDR and Dolby Vision.

[Paul MacLean]

^^
Thanks -- that helped clarify a lot!

[AndyDursin]

Paul, here's a really good video covering 4K TVs and local dimming in general. It profiles LED(LCD) sets and the more expensive OLED TVs that are on the market, the differences between them and why the latter are more expensive.

Basically local dimming is a way for LED TVs to compete with OLEDs at a fraction of their price. It's basically a "trick" the TV does to get blacks/contrast levels to be "deeper" than they would be ordinarily. Different TVs and manufacturers handle it differently -- and some are more effective, and better, at it than others, to put it mildly! The cheaper sets either don't have it, or don't do it as well as the premium models. Which is why it's good to know what model you are buying and read some reviews.

The Hisense apparently is a really good "entry level" set that has premium features in it, which is why I'd say it's a good bargain for $649! And if that's too much, the 55 inch version is also on sale at $499 --

[BobaMike]

After having a 55 inch set for a about 10 years I am sort of eyeing this 86 incher from LG:

https://www.lg.com/us/tvs/lg-86nano85apa-4k-uhd-tv

Costco has it on sale for 1999 with a 200 dollar costco card and a 5 year warranty.

However, everyone on the 4k tv reddit group bashes LG Nano tech and says it's a crappy tv. I'm conflicted. It's a good price, it's huge, it has local dimming pro (not edge) and hdmi 2.1, all for a good price, but I know the screen isn't top of the line.

[AndyDursin]

IPS panel, right? So wide viewing angles (good) but everything else not so good.

7.1 at Rtings -- not a disaster. How's the reliability angle? I know I'd never buy another Samsung after the issues we had on the KS8000 we have (panel replacement, etc.)

https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/lg/nano85