Ow do folks, i'm looking to buy a bigger tv for the new gaff, about 50". Currently got a 42" Samsung 1080p smart tv jobbo that will go in the bedroom. It doesn't look like you need to spend the earth now to get a half decent TV, any advice on 4k 50" ish? Don't want curved. And it needs to run plex, from what i remember last time I looked the LG app store didn't have plex.
Sony TV's all run on android now so you wont have a problem with Plex there. Iv had my Sony 4k for just over a year now and loved it.
I bought one of these from QVC as it had a three payment plan Samsung UE55KU6000 55" 4K Ultra HD HDR Smart LED TV with WiFi. Overall very happy but one thing to watch with some Samsung TVS have problems with HDMI handshake on switching on the TV and seeing, in my case, the PVR. There is a work around but it is a known problem which Samsung do not seem to be concerned about given the advice I have had or rather not had from them.
Kronos, I'm in exactly the same boat as you and I've narrowed my choices down to either of these: The Samsung UE49KS7000 http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/samsung/1405210/samsung-ue49ks7000-review-an-amazing-4k-hdr-smart-tv-for-gaming-and-more or PANASONIC VIERA TX50EX700B https://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/panasonic/viera-tx50ex700b/pana-tx50ex700b Stearing more towards the Samsung at the moment but both are supposed to be very good.
Just a note on these as I am assuming yourself and op will be buying to last for 5 years or so. The Panasonic is a 2017 model so is guaranteed to get HLG support (for broadcast HDR) whereas Samsung have been quite vague as to what if any of their 2016 TVs will be updated to support the new standard. From experience of not getting software updates on TVs in the past I would be hesitant to go with Samsung as HLG and HDR content will be increasing a lot over the course of owning a new TV. If you wanted to stick with Samsung you would want to go for the MU7000 model instead.
What do you guys actually watch in 4K? As far as I can see there's next to no content yet. Plus anything SD that gets watched apparently doesn't upscale well on 4K, even if it does on HD.
I had never heard of HLG before now and given Samsung's pretty lacklustre support for their models I may well need to look for a replacement myself.
Found this so maybe lucky. "However, most big-name manufacturers have confirmed that their 2017 sets will be HLG ready, with Samsung and LG also confirming that their 2016 HDR TVs will receive HLG support via a firmware update. Yes, it can come with an update to some 4K TVs, which is good news."
Looks good then! We will have a similar problem again next year with HDMI 2.1 no doubt. There is a decent enough selection on Netflix and Amazon prime (when they email me a free trial) and for sofa gaming the HDR has a really good effect on some games but there are very few at the moment.
..... Also it is simple practicality. A 4K TV is not the priority in my case. Its just that 4K seems to be the standard most manufacturers are producing 49/ 50inch panels at the moment and the prices are no longer prohibitive.
I have the KS7500 (curved version on the 7000) great TV, note, I don't watch actual TV on it, only streamed content via its smart stuff which is very good and play playstation pro on it for which its HDR is very good. As mentioned plenty of 4k/hdr content when streaming and gaming.
I've got a 2016 model Panasonic 4K panel and I've always had Viera sets - mainly because in many expert reviews and I tend to agree here, they have historically had the better picture quality. Sony tended to be a bit 'flat' and Samsung, too over-coloured and too much processing. The negative for Panasonics is the poor smart features. Mine's a FirefoxOS set and whilst I have a full fat browser, Netflix, Prime, Youtube etc, the appstore is weak. I ended up buying a FireTV and installing apks to get the smart features that I feel the TV should have shipped with, like Synology DSVideo, Plex and such. Samsung offers much, much more in the way of smart features and apps. I just wish Panasonic would catch up.
Same for me, bought a DX750 from Panasonic last summer and it is a brilliant TV but requires a Chromecast or equivalent to make it fully capable. I also have my steam link plugged in for gaming off my desktop in the other room. The deciding factor for me is that Panasonic and Sony are far better regarded in build quality than Samsung or LG.