Some Television Questions.

[Manny]

I've just started looking for a new TV.

Something confused me and some of you folks may know.

This Sony Bravia is £699.

This Sony Bravia is £1599.

Apart from being six inches bigger, and being OLED (whatever that may be), the difference is £900. How might the second one be worth £900 more?

Also, I thought we sized TVs by their diagonal measurement? The first one says its 49", but the drawings show the screen is 43". Which is smaller than I wanted. 

[Markje]

I've just started looking for a new TV.

Something confused me and some of you folks may know.

This Sony Bravia is £699.

This Sony Bravia is £1599.

Apart from being six inches bigger, and being OLED (whatever that may be), the difference is £900. How might the second one be worth £900 more?

OLED technology. (as you already noticed). Its a much more expensive technology than LCD (liquid Crystal Display) and plasma (huge power consumption). One of the main advantages of OLED is that its much better to see in sunny conditions (for instance if the sun hits your tv).

OLED basicly combines all advantages of plasma and regular LCD/LED screens.

OLED = wide viewing angle (same as plasma)
OLED = high contrast with loads of color (same as plasma)
OLED = low power consumption (as with LED)
OLED = fast response times (as LED / Plasma)

And yes, sometimes its also the new cash cow !

If I were to buy a TV , I would go with (in decreasing order) OLED , Plasma, LED, LCD, CRT. (the last tech is not sold anywhere now with new tv and only very cheap brands still go with LCD).

[Markje]

Ah and I forgot to mention, typical OLED advantages:

- No light around the screen. Oled is its own light source and does not need any backlighting to get pictures. if you often watch in the dark, oled is perfect.
- Perfect black , since OLED is its own lightsource, black is made by simply turning those pixels off, which also results in huge powersavings on the electric part of the tv and you won't see those gray-like borders around the TV either.

[andrewfi]

The first one is 49" but does it include the bezel?

In your room I'd go for a 55" model. If it goes where it is now then you'll be glad of the extra size. If it goes on the wall you'll still like the extra size.

As you've seen in my room I have the TV on a unit with casters. I did that so I could use a smaller TV and bring it forward if I wanted to. That works out really well for me but you can't really do that.

OLED is not perfect. You'll be impressed by the blacks and contrast but there's always a 'but'. An OLED TV will not be as bright as a broadly equivalent Led model. That's OK in normal use when the light isn't shining into the room. The other problem from lack of brightness is the HDR functionality. This can give stunning images but it works by having a large difference between the brightest parts of the screen and the darkest. OLED tvs cannot equal a decent. Led TV here and many people notice it when watching movies. You tend to see colours blown out to white.

The effect is kind of the opposite of what happens with Led TV where blacks are crushed but brighter colours can look great.

In the end, brightness beats all because it enables most of the other goodies in the picture.

This is not me saying 'don't buy OLED'. This is me saying that it isn't everything that it's cracked up to be and that, as with every product, there are compromises. This is a compromise you'll see every day so make yourself aware of it and look into it.

By the way, if you go to see TVs in real shops then before making comparisons get the sales person to turn off the Demo or Store mode on any TV you look at. Every TV has this kind of mode. It runs everything to the max. Colour saturation will be maxed out as will brightness, contrast and either white or black levels, depending on what the strengths of the set are.

Getting a TV set up right can take some time when it's in your living room but in the shop you'd probably be safest asking for the demo to be run in Movie mode.

Don't be too fixed on Sony and, given that you now have some of the best speakers around on their way to you, I'd not spend too much on TV sound functionality. Spend money on the picture. Almost no TV made today has good sound and it certainly can't be as good as what you now have.

Another thought - about sound. Don't get sucked into 'home theatre' it'd be hard to pull off in your room but also, a well set up pair of stereo speakers will give you a sound field that you'll be very happy with. I am constantly amazed by how well the B&O speakers anchor sound to the TV while giving a wide stereo field.

Only about 10-15% of audio information is passed to the rear speakers (if they are used at all) and you'll be surprised by how often you are taken aback by sounds that seem to come from immediately to your left or right - sounds that have no business being there.

[andrewfi]

Here's an interesting video reviewing a Sony OLED TV.

He is reviewing the second TV you linked to. A larger size though.

[BillyB]

I've just started looking for a new TV.

Something confused me and some of you folks may know.

This Sony Bravia is £699.

This Sony Bravia is £1599.

Apart from being six inches bigger, and being OLED (whatever that may be), the difference is £900. How might the second one be worth £900 more?

Also, I thought we sized TVs by their diagonal measurement? The first one says its 49", but the drawings show the screen is 43". Which is smaller than I wanted.

OLED is supposed to give you a better picture than LED. Question is are you willing to pay big for the latest and greatest technology? I watch tv less than one time per week. For me it's an easy decision to not pay a premium for the latest technology. Most tv stations/cable networks do not broadcast in 4K anyway so my current 4K LED tv's picture is limited by what tv stations send me.

[Manny]

That’s a thing as well. We watch mostly Netflix or Freesat, occasionally iPlayer. And maybe only an hour a day. I don’t know what signals they use. Our satellite signal often isn’t strong enough to get HD channels. Our internet speed is adequate. Terrestrial and Freeview TV doesn’t really work where we live as there’s moors nearby. I’m not a Sky user.

I’m not bothered about paying the extra grand if it improves the experience considerably, but if I’m buying a TV for a signal that I don’t have there’s no point. I may as well buy something cheaper that’s adequate.

[andrewfi]

Netflix has a large amount of 4k programming. Sky has loads. And you can't buy a large screen TV that isn't 4k in the UK.

It may be different in the colonies.

You're buying something for a few years, not just for today.

[Danchik]

We have a decent sized TV, but can't remember when we turned it on the last time.  I doubt we'll be upgrading or would even by a replacement if it 'goes away'.

Everyone has an iPad instead.

I never liked iPads. My main complaint was the keyboard. I'm a pretty fast typist, do a lot of typing and had to constantly go back and correct my spelling. Hey, that's just me. Basically gave mine away to a student as a wedding present after owning it for a month. I much prefer toting around a MacBook Air all things considered (size, weight, keyboard, etc.) and I can literally blaze on its keyboard.

I don't know, watching sporting events, movies, playing video games etc. is much better on a big screen TV, no contest really. Sure, an iPad or laptop will suffice, but it's like comparing hamburger to steak IMO.

I hadn't watched much TV until I bought my new one recently, so I know what you're saying, and still don't watch much TV. However, I must say, I'm really happy that I bought it for what I do watch. I've never been much of a gamer as well, but I'm even thinking about buying the new PS5 once it comes out. My nephew tells me the graphics are insane.

Once you learn some of the ins and outs of the TV, it's way cool.

P.S. good to see you posting here BC.

[Manny]

Thanks for the info and feedback all. 

This Sony Bravia is £1599. 

I found this same one in Costco today for £1428 inc VAT on an offer, so cheaper than Richer Sounds at £1599 and close to AO at £1399, but I get 2% back as a black card Costco member, so not too bad. So actual cost will be £1399. Plus we get the VAT offset so £1165 really. I'm quite happy with that.

For our friends over the pond, £1428 is currently $1846. Dropping to a net $1500 after discount and business sales tax offset.

Its installed already, I've not wrapped my head around all the stuff it does yet, but the picture quality is absolutely superb. 

[andrewfi]

Good oh! That'll fit nicely with the Beosystem if you go that way.

[Manny]

Good oh! That'll fit nicely with the Beosystem if you go that way.

That's what I thought. Speakers next week and Beosystem after that.