melasnus

If buying a 4K, get the best you can afford....cheap is cheap.
Look for something that can do Dolby Vision.

IMO, Sony has the best Video Processing on the market.
However, there are other brands that have fine flagship models as well.

TomOpus

I got a Visio 43" yesterday and it has Dolby Vision. With tax $300. It's for my bedroom and, so far, I'm digging it. I was going to hold off on a 4k player until Black Friday but I caved.

mattysemo247

My understanding is that Dolby Vision was a marketing gimmick more than anything. And even the content that had Dolby Vision was also available in HDR10 (and even HDR10+) since it's the most popular and available version. Again, I'm no expert here but that was essentially what was explained to me from a couple people before we bought our TV.

melasnus

4K resolution won't do much for ya at 43 inches (unless really watching close to the screen).
However, you WILL benefit greatly from HDR.

Dolby Vision is NOT a marketing gimmick:
https://www.whathifi.com/us/advice/d...u-need-to-know

mattysemo247

That's what the people who supported HD DVD said too

I think it's also safe to say that DTS-HD MA is also used 90% more than Dolby True HD.

At the end of the day it's about accessibility and cost, so if Dolby Vision is only available on a fraction of TVs then studios and manufacturers are not going to pay the extra money for licensing.

TomOpus

It's in my bedroom, about 5 feet away.

melasnus

For BDs, that's true.
Interestingly, for 4K UHD releases, studios have reversed their preference from DTS back to Dolby.
Dolby ATMOS is much, MUCH more common than the competing DTS: X format.

This is what I thought too initially...
However, Dolby has done a good job marketing their product.
It is now found on Sony, LG, Vizio, Hisense, TCL displays.
Also, it is available on Apple TV 4k, Google Chromecast, and NF.

melasnus

At such closeness to your eyeballs, you should be able to notice the difference.

Deadman31

My TV crapped out last week so I went with the TCL 5 series 55S525 with the 4K. Pretty good so far. It was on sale at Amazon for about $400

soundman2

Picture quality and cost is important, so is reliability -A good TV should last at least 7 to 8 years or more. I wish Panasonic made more 4K TVs.

Consumer reports this month has over 200 models listed - if you have access or a friend who has access or magazine, or at public library - it is worth looking into ( I understand people can have opinion about consumer reports ) Just trying to help.

https://www.consumerreports.org/tvs/...s-of-the-year/

Jon2

Got a 40" Samsung that's showing some glitchiness on and off. Looks like every third vertical line goes black. Makes it near impossible to read small print. FYI, I use it mostly as a computer monitor (a temporary situation). Not a computer issue as it shows up on whatever video source I have selected.

Been thinking of replacing it with as inexpensive as possible 40" to 50" 4K set... to test the 4K water, so to speak. There's some good deals (I presume) on sets in that range at BB and Costco.

Unfortunately, while most of them have a number of good reviews... 4.+ stars mostly, the few negative reviews are bring up recurring issues that would drive me bonkers if I had to deal with them constantly. Wonky remotes, poor "smart TV" interfaces, intrusive system pop ups, and wireless networking problems.

And recommendations.

BTW, does anyone make a non-smart 4K TV? Streaming is a nothing to me. Don't want it, don't need it. ISP wouldn't support 4K streaming anyway. From what I can see when wife is watching Netflix, it barely manages SD... let alone HD.

kahuna

Costco & Best Buy have the 2018 TCL 6 series on sale.

Best Buy - 55" TCL 55R615 6-Series 4K UHD HDR Roku Smart LED HDTV - $429.99 + Free Shipping
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/tcl-55-...?skuId=6204548

Costco - 55" TCL 55R613 6-Series 4K UHD HDR Roku Smart LED HDTV - $419.99 + Free Shipping
https://www.costco.com/TCL-55%22-Cla...100515013.html

Jon2

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, they're a bit larger than I have room for. The space I have limits me to a maximum 50" TV, and that's provided the area around the screen isn't more than 1". Also looking for a Samsung, Toshiba, or LG. Have experience with them and trust their quality.

Something I left out of my post was that the deals I found included several of those brands (and others) and all were in a $220 to $300 range.

kahuna

Costco has the LG50UM7300 for $299.99, $50 less than Best Buy.

LG 50" Class (49.5" Diag.) 4K Ultra HD LED LCD TV

https://www.costco.com/LG-50-Class-(...100488985.html

Bandoman

I also need recommendations, figured I'd just piggyback on this thread rather than starting a new one. I currently have a Samsung 42" LED which is about 10 years old (I think - I really don't remember how long I've had it, but it's been awhile).

I'd like something in the 55" - 60" range. I'd like 4K, but I don't care about "smart" or voice-activated TVs. I have AppleTV for my streaming needs. I paid $1800 for my old Samsung years ago, I'm sure I can get something good for well under that, but I really don't know where to start. There are so many options, and I just want something that looks good and will last.

Thoughts, my fellow DVD Talkers?

TIA

TomOpus

Yeah, so many options at that size and price (I'm guessing you'll stay under $1k). Might come down to aesthetics. Does it matter which side the extra HDMI ports are located? It was better (easier) for me to have them on the right side.

I'm happy with (my first) Vizio. But I was also happy with my previous Samsung.

tommyp007

I really love my Sony. Take a look at the Sony XBR55X950G. It's got the same video chip that last years top model had, and is about $1100. My Brother-in-law just got one and it blows mine away, and mine is only a couple years old.

kahuna

Both Best Buy & Costco now have dropped the price to $399.99 for each model.

Bandoman

kefrank

I second the recommendation to look at the Sony XBR line. I have a XBR49X900E and XBR75X900F and they both have awesome picture quality and have been extremely solid.

Josh-da-man

Okay, this is probably as as good of a place to ask as any...

Do all new 4K televisions play videos encoded with HEVC/H.265?

I'm in the market for a mid-sized 4K, and would like one that can play .mkv and .mp4 videos from a USB stick that are encoded with HEVC/H.265, and would like to know if there are certain models I should avoid or look for. I'm thinking that HEVC is going to be a standard in the near future, and would like a tv I can play videos on without having to convert them to x264. Or at least play through a VLC player app on a Smart TV.

I'd also like something that can handle as many audio formats on the HEVC videos, too, that would downmix surround sound to work on the stereo tv speakers, and not just play the R and L channels.

E Unit

As far as I know, there is no 4K TV standard for which files they can play. To be safe, I'd just look up the specs on the TV's you're interested in.

Mike86

Any thoughts on the Vizio M-Series Quantum 4K tv's? Sounds like a cheaper alternative to OLED, but still a reasonably good tv for the price. Anyone have one?

Iron_Giant

I have the Samsung 65 Inch 4K 6900 series (from Best Buy last year, it has only 2 HDMI Ports which is OK for me).

Looked terrivble out of the Box, had to do adjustments on almost every Video Setting (Color, Contrast, Sharpness, Turn OFF Auto Dim...ETC) to get it to look GREAT...which it now does.

LOVE my 4K movies, Netflex/Prime 4K, Streaming YouTube...and Over The Air Broadcast (incredible and Free, though Comcast HD does look better).

The Problems I have:
1. On 4K Disks ONLY....when a person is walking/running by a Brick Wall (Something with a Pattern to it), the person has a "Shimmer" around their body.
-This DOES NOT happen on BR Disk, Broadcast TV, Prime/NetFlix

2. Now that I have signed up for Disney+...Samsung DOES NOT have a Disney+ App to download on their TV or 4K Player
-Have to Get a Ruku or use my son's Older XBox that does NOT have 4K built in

Other than those two things, I love the 4K TV...HDR10+ does seem to make a difference in VQ and Color
-There seems to be about 30 Titles with HDR10+ at this time

gerrythedon

I was gonna get it back in September, but went all out instead and got the PX65-G1... Love it.