PC Monitors & TVs thread - The Bear and Badger

kestla

drumbeg wrote:

kestla wrote:

Just tried the room thing and our creaky arse floorboards are playing havoc! Have had to give up for now. Still sounds great, but short of discovering how to levitate, I'm not sure I'll get this 'Trueplay' to work.

Hey. I have a Beam, plus two Sonos One SL surrounds in the living room. I also have an older Sonos One in the kitchen.

TruePlay significantly improves the quality of sound in both set-ups for me, and interestingly, in different ways. Defo worth it. Some people get better results with a slightly different tuning method (focus on just one part of room for example). Worth reading up on it.

I wish I'd seen your Beam musings earlier actually as I've struggled with audio lag in my surround set-up and would have pointed out the potential issues there. My TV can't pass through the 5.1 signal quick enough to keep up with the image, resulting in a small delay (depending on the content, some is fine). It's important to check for any issues with the TV model before investing in a Sonos based surround. This is because you have no option (apart from introducing a splitter) other than going through the TV with your audio.

I've tested with both HDMI-Arc and optical connections and the issue is present in both. Either way the TV is introducing some kind of processing on the 5.1 signal that causes the delay.

I think the newer Bravia sets are fine. Again, this is only an issue with 5.1.

However, when it works, with the surrounds on it sounds fucking ridiculous!

Also, music played over the system with the surrounds set to "ambient" sounds amazing.

This is good to know. Yep, definitely intend to try again with TruePlay, most likely next week once the little one is back at nursery and I'm free to swing about the living room.

Having said that, the default settings represent a stark improvement over the tinny speakers of my TV, so I'm already pleased with the investment.

Definitely want to build up to full surround sound at some point. Will upgrade the TV first, once I know what space I'll have in the new house.

Syph79

Scratch that

superflyninja

I threw caution to the wind and ordered the Ambilight. I just needed to decide whether Id wait and shell out for a proper oled, like a cx or something but I decided no. Couldnt justify dropping that amount of money, but I could just about for the Ambilight

Looking forward to its arrival!

drumbeg

kestla wrote:

Having said that, the default settings represent a stark improvement over the tinny speakers of my TV, so I'm already pleased with the investment.

Same here. It took me a while of toggling TruePlay on/off on different kinds of content to settle on the TruePlay as out of the box it sounded good. TruePlay off results in a more bassy/reverb sound which at first I was keen to keep. TruePlay on reigns it in and delivers a more flat sound, which is the point I guess, as then you can compensate for bass with the EQ.

Moot_Geeza

I asked for loads of advice on projectors last year then didn't end up buying one, so apologies for that (although I did enjoy almost buying one).

The decorating is finished and I'm after a TV instead now (I've even assembled the new TV unit so the projector dream is dead) but I know very little about 4K do's and don'ts. I'm not sure if it'll be a gaming TV or the front room TV at this stage either.

A few that should be fairly easy to answer:

What kind of price range should I be looking at for a 43-50" set? Is £400ish fanciful?
Which brand names should I steer towards or away from?
Is it still possible to get non smart TVs to save a few quid (there doesn't seem to be much point in going down the smart route as I have an abundance of consoles with apps on)?
Will a shiny new 4K TV make non 4K images look better or worse?
Do most of them still have optical cables in the back?
Are they mostly capable of 120fps these days, if a game supports them (would like to replay Ori & the Will o' the Wisps at some point)
Will Netflix etc just stream in 4K automatically (internet speed is roughly 25mbps) or is there a limited amount of 4K content on there?

Thanks!

RamSteelwood

a few answers:
you'll be able to get one for any budget really. while you pay more for better, to be honest if you're replacing an old screen, unless it was mega expensive at the time, then a cheaper one will still be an improvement.
i was never bothered by a smart tv, but find having one much easier and more convenient for those services than firing up the console (and easier for others in the house to just press the button on the tv remote).
you have to pay extra for the top netflix tier to get 4k content - it's mostly their own stuff in 4k but there are a few other tv/films too.
non 4k stuff can deffo look worse, depending on the source and how well the tv handles the upscaling etc. but then sometimes it's fine. also i've watched stuff off standard def broadcast tv that i thought looked hideous and the wife barely noticed!

stuff like 120hz (especially at 4k) and HDR are things you might struggle to get at lower budget.

RamSteelwood

if you have Disney+, i find that is the best for 4k quality and image - apple movies are good too apparently.

Syph79

£400 isn't fanciful for a 4k tv, but a good set for that price would be a stretch, particularly if you want some HDMI 2.1 ports for 120fps gaming.
If you are shopping around in mid-range, I wouldn't say there are any brands to stay away from. However, each set will have it's pros and cons and you'll need to weigh that up and prioritise what you are looking for.
4k tv's normally have some decent upscaling, so putting standard HD content through them is fine. SD content can be patchy though from the reviews I read when finding a set I wanted.
Optical cables are also patchy
Netflix tells you whether the content is HD, 4K, Dolby Vision, etc., I believe.

This is the set I and a few others bought: https://www.richersounds.com/tv-projectors/nanocell-tvs/lg-55nano866na.html

It's not perfect, but it's right up there for ticking most boxes for a 4k, HDMI 2.1 tv.

EvilRedEye

£400ish isn't fanciful but you'll be firmly in the mid-range rather than particularly high quality there. In terms of particular avoids... for £400 I would just get the best reviewed unit you can tbh.

I don't think non-smart is a thing for decent brands now and it's not worth avoiding as it tends to be better than using external devices.

4k won't make 1080p look crap but Switch games with 720p or a dynamic res below 1080p won't look amazing.

Mine has an optical cable, you'd need to check for what you're buying.

You might be able to get a 120hz TV at that price point.

Netflix has a lot of 4K content, all Netflix originals are 4K. A lot of licensed movies tend to be 1080p.

Yossarian

You only need HDMI 2.1 for 4K/120, my HDMI 2.0 TV will do 1440/120.

b0r1s

Netflix - you need to upgrade to the full package. In general all their own content is 4K/HDR (some Dolby Vision - which is a better version of HDR). Not many third party films are 4K, but there are a few. Best streaming quality for 4K is Disney+ and Apple TV+ (and Apple movies). Prime isn't too bad, but I find they buffer a bit more. Also note on Prime there is a fair bit hidden 4K content. For example Oblivion is listed as HD, but if you search for UHD Prime Movies it comes up with a 4K version (not sure what Amazon are playing at there).

HDMI 2.1 / 120hz - I can't see you getting a set at less than £700 with that feature, and tbh, I'd make sure picture quality is solid first at 60hz. I'd be more interested in getting Dolby Vision feature, for example, as it's the defacto HDR standard now for streaming services (NOTE - Samsung don't support this).

I haven't looked at Panny's for a while, but having owned a couple they are definitely up there for picture quality - this set looks nice (last year model but £300 saving) it has optical:

https://www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk/p-50649-panasonic-tx-50hx800-50-4k-uhd-led-tv.aspx

reviews are all 4 or 5 star:

https://www.techradar.com/uk/reviews/panasonic-hx800-tv

https://www.pocket-lint.com/tv/reviews/panasonic/152822-panasonic-hx800-4k-tv-review-lcd - killer game mode apparently.

https://www.t3.com/reviews/panasonic-hx800-review-4k-tv

https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/panasonic-tx-58hx800b

Minnesänger

Yeah, at that price point you'll have to accept that you're not going to get everything you want, and instead focus on what your priorities are.

You'll need to consider overall image quality, 1440p support, good HDR implementation, HDMI 2.1 and 120Hz support, VRR support, latency etc. and see which ones are most important to you. You won't get them all at a 400 quid pricepoint.

Still, it's likely you can find a nice set and a good budget 4K TV with a nice screen should still be a nice step up.

Minnesänger

Yossarian wrote:

You only need HDMI 2.1 for 4K/120, my HDMI 2.0 TV will do 1440/120.

Yup, and 4K 120 is going to be such a niche use case, I don't think it's a big loss at all for a TV to miss that.

Djornson

https://www.avforums.com/forums/what-is-the-best-tv-for-you.367/

Welcome to the rabbit hole

EvilRedEye

I haven't used the 120hz function of my TV yet despite having a PS5 - it seems like it will be most benefit for MP games as unless you're playing a BC game that's been jacked up to 120hz (or want to plug a top-end gaming PC into it) there will be graphical compromises to reach the framerate.

If I was buying a mid-range TV and had a choice between 120Hz and better HDR performance, I'd go for better HDR etc.

Djornson

Especially this guy, absolute hero -https://www.avforums.com/threads/new-my-best-value-tvs-2020-2021-edition.2325951/

b0r1s

Also modern games that run at 120fps are taking a serious hit on resolution (Titty 2 runs at 720p for example) which you'd then wonder why have a 4K TV. I think 60 fps is fine for pretty much most games.

Minnesänger

Yeah. The absolute cheapest you're gonna get something that ticks all the boxes without compromise is this - which is 770 quid, so it's a big ol' jump. It's also the TV I have and it's lovely, but if i got something half that price and lost 2.1 support and maybe a couple of other features, slightly smaller screen etc...i'd still have a really nice TV.

Moot_Geeza

Cheers all. Will have a good read when I get home.

RamSteelwood wrote:

to be honest if you're replacing an old screen, unless it was mega expensive at the time, then a cheaper one will still be an improvement.

Keen on this bit. The TV it's replacing is either nine years old with burn-in for fun, or Djornson's old 1080p set (age unknown), which is my still-glorious loft room gaming telly. If it goes upstairs the 1080p set will go downstairs.

Moot_Geeza

120fps is just something I fancied trying tbh, not a dealbreaker.

Syph79

Djornson wrote:

Especially this guy, absolute hero -https://www.avforums.com/threads/new-my-best-value-tvs-2020-2021-edition.2325951/

Yay, he recommends my TV!

That's some solid work from him.

Yossarian

Minnesänger wrote:

Yeah, at that price point you'll have to accept that you're not going to get everything you want, and instead focus on what your priorities are.

You'll need to consider overall image quality, 1440p support, good HDR implementation, HDMI 2.1 and 120Hz support, VRR support, latency etc. and see which ones are most important to you. You won't get them all at a 400 quid pricepoint.

Still, it's likely you can find a nice set and a good budget 4K TV with a nice screen should still be a nice step up.

VRR should be at or close to the top of your priority list if you’re getting a TV for gaming, it’s an absolutely wonderful addition to playing games.

Not sure whether or not you’ll be able to get VRR that will work with PS5 on a set that doesn’t have HDMI 2.1, but there is an HDMI 2.0 compatible implementation, Freesync over HDMI, which works with Xbox.

Minnesänger

Yossarian wrote:

Yeah, at that price point you'll have to accept that you're not going to get everything you want, and instead focus on what your priorities are. You'll need to consider overall image quality, 1440p support, good HDR implementation, HDMI 2.1 and 120Hz support, VRR support, latency etc. and see which ones are most important to you. You won't get them all at a 400 quid pricepoint. Still, it's likely you can find a nice set and a good budget 4K TV with a nice screen should still be a nice step up.

VRR should be at or close to the top of your priority list if you’re getting a TV for gaming, it’s an absolutely wonderful addition to playing games. Not sure whether or not you’ll be able to get VRR that will work with PS5 on a set that doesn’t have HDMI 2.1, but there is an HDMI 2.0 compatible implementation, Freesync over HDMI, which works with Xbox.

Agree on the importance of VRR - it was right near the top of the priority list for me, too.

I did struggle to find TVs with VRR support at the lower end of the price spectrum, though - that said, that couid have been a China-market problem, and it's possible that the EU / US markets have more VRR support at the 400 pound price point. It seems to be one of the features that was most regularly missing at that level.

But yes, it's amazing for gaming. Get it if you can.

Moot_Geeza

I'm definitely getting a PS5, so even if the TV goes in the front room I'll occasionally sample it for 4K gaming eyeball treats. I went with a Series S for my MS journey though, and can't envision a future where I'd opt for resolution over performance.

b0r1s

VRR sets are hard to find at the mid to lower end.

https://www.rtings.com/tv/tests/motion/variable-refresh-rate

Minnesänger

b0r1s wrote:

VRR sets are hard to find at the mid to lower end. https://www.rtings.com/tv/tests/motion/variable-refresh-rate

Yar, that's what I found. Also worth noting that this is sth that can be added with firmware updates - several of the Sony's there (including mine) have VRR support confirmed but no date yet on the patch.

b0r1s

You got the XH900 didn't you? I was so close to buying that set.

Minnesänger

b0r1s wrote:

You got the XH900 didn't you? I was so close to buying that set.

Yeah, that's the one. Lovely TV. Which one you go with in the end?

b0r1s

Went crazy with the LG CX, but it's a lovely set. If I'd have gone LCD it would have been the Sony.

Minnesänger

Heh, looked at some TCLs and the Hisense H8 (I think) but the particular models I wanted weren't on sale in the Chinese mainland. Your CX though, very nice.

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