4K TV recommendation

[BGesus4]

Anyone have recommendations for 55 to 65 inch 4K TVs? Need a living room upgrade.

 

[HuskyHawk]

How much light do you have in the room? Are you usually watching in the dark? Don't spend on LG OLED if you aren't using it in a fairly dark environment. Look at the reviews, TV Reviews: Best of 2021 count HDMI ports and features. You may need a TV with good brightness in a well lit room (Sunday football in a family room). You need deep blacks for movies in a dark room. You may need a wide viewing angle vs straight on, or not. Different LCD panel technologies provide benefits and tradeoffs in all those areas. IPS vs VA: Comparing LCD Types Found In TVs

 

[CTMike]

Did you get the new Sony HT Speaker system Mike? Great reviews and compatible but apparently sound great with or without a center.

Denon AVR-X3700H receiver, some older Boston Acoustics speakers for front/surround, and 65”Sony Bravia A90J is the center speaker (has center speaker terminals/input). Works really well imo.

 

[Jimdish255]

I'm convinced TCL is the way to go. My CR "Best

LG makes everyone’s display, but Sony adds better quality to the processing. More reliable too.

Actually Hisense makes a lot of panels too.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Timely advice from you on commodification of appliances. We have a 3-4 year old dishwasher (Insert Mrs. Diesel jokes here) and it doesn't heat up any more. I spent $35 for a new heating element. Checked out wiring and connections. No joy. Debating whether it's worth getting an appliance repair guy to come take a look or just buy a new one. Diswashers have started going up in price so, I'll probably make a call for a repair dude before buying a new one.

While looking at dishwashers at a store I wandered over to electronics and was looking at all the TV's. At a certain level you know a $2500 TV is better than an $800 TV. But I kept asking myself what is the difference and is that difference big enough for what I use a TV. I'm looking and I know all of them are better than my current 5-6 year old TV but I sure ain't the one to talk someone in to the more expensive one.

That's a difficult question. In a bright family room? Hell no. Buy a cheap TCL (I did). They will have good brightness levels, and usually good viewing angles. If you are building a home theater room, that is where those OLEDs shine. I cheaped out slightly and got the best Sony LCD they made, and the blacks are still terrific, if not quite as good. An LCD with full array local dimming is really the minimum for home theater use. Local Dimming on TVs: Direct-Lit, Full-Array, and Edge-Lit

It used to be that the refresh rate mattered, especially for games and sports. But now they are all good enough with the low now at 60 fps. Not many sources even display 120 fps. It could matter more in the future, so again, what's the use case?

We have found dishwashers die too fast as well, and sadly it's often easier to just buy a new one.

 

[huskiesNhoos]

Just recently bought a sony OLED because BB dropped price by ~$800 getting it into my price range (be prepared to spend ~$1500-2500 for an OLED - Sony or LG are the only right choices for OLED). Best thing to do is wait for the new model years to come out and catch a previous year on crazy discount like that. I highly recommend getting from BB and doing geek squad warranty (5 yr runs like $150-200 and they will replace the tv if they can't fix it - making it a guaranteed 5+ yrs of a solid tv for ~$700-800) if you're going to do the TCL or Hisense since they tend to have higher rate of quality issues (still great budget tvs, in particular the TCL 6 series or Hisense U6)

These 2 websites should be your guide as they will tell your more than you ever wanted to know about picture quality. At the end of the day it's hard to get a "bad" tv that size unless you're in the budget realm <~$750

My best value TVs, 2020-2021 Edition

My best value TVs, 2020-2021 Edition Please read this post before posting and asking for advice. Include all the information we need to recommend you the right TV! Before choosing an LCD TV you must understand which panel type you want from a TV, all have their pros and cons here. If you...

www.avforums.com

The 7 Best 55-Inch TVs of 2025

The Samsung QN55S90DAFXZA, also known as the Samsung S90D/S90DD OLED (QD-OLED), is the best 55-inch TV. Like any OLED TV, you get unrivaled black levels for deep, inky blacks in a dark room.

www.rtings.com

These were the "best of" lists but the Rtings site in particular has awesome breakdown of every tv model out there and gives a great side by side if you find a good deal on something

 

[JordyG]

It’s wild how good TVs have gotten and because of that, how slow the improvement has gotten. The best TVs today show marginal improvement in actual viewing quality (I.e. at a normal viewing distance and not standing two inches away) compared to the best TVs ten years ago. In the couple decades before that, it felt like you couldn’t go 2 years without your TV being completely obsolete.

That is because the human eye is a finite machine. At a viewing distance over 8 feet on a 65" TV the human eye cannot distinguish the difference between 1080P and what used to be called standard definition. Most people have a sitting position in their living room or dedicated viewing areas in excess of 8 feet, so if you can't tell the difference you're sitting too far away. The human eye/brain can distinguish such things as better or more saturated colors, higher contrast ratios and motion problems. But not detail. Not pixel density. What these TV companies won't tell you but frequently imply is that those rates are halved as the pixels increase on 4K TV's. In other words, the human eye cannot distinguish the difference between 1080P and 4K on a 65" at distances further than 4 feet. So those who are buying 55" inch or smaller TV's are doing themselves a disservice. Now again, features such as HDR, Dolby Vision, color saturation etc., these area easily seen from far away, but not pixel density. As for 8K? Well, good luck seeing any increase in detail at any reasonable sitting position.

 

[whosurdaddy2720]

Treated myself to an LG OLED CX 77" last Christmas. Paid an arm and leg for it but seeing as it's something I use nearly every day for hours at a time I figured it was worth it in the long run.

Beautiful picture and the thin profile is damn sexy to look at. Highly rated and I would highly recommend it if it fits your budget.

 

[CTMike]

That is because the human eye is a finite machine. At a viewing distance over 8 feet on a 65" TV the human eye cannot distinguish the difference between 1080P and what used to be called standard definition. Most people have a sitting position in their living room or dedicated viewing areas in excess of 8 feet, so if you can't tell the difference you're sitting too far away. The human eye/brain can distinguish such things as better or more saturated colors, higher contrast ratios and motion problems. But not detail. Not pixel density. What these TV companies won't tell you but frequently imply is that those rates are halved as the pixels increase on 4K TV's. In other words, the human eye cannot distinguish the difference between 1080P and 4K on a 65" at distances further than 4 feet. So those who are buying 55" inch or smaller TV's are doing themselves a disservice. Now again, features such as HDR, Dolby Vision, color saturation etc., these area easily seen from far away, but not pixel density. As for 8K? Well, good luck seeing any increase in detail at any reasonable sitting position.

Yes, buuuut - 4K programming is noticeably sharper/more detailed than 1080P at 10-12ft in real viewing on my 65” TV. Maybe not ENORMOUS difference, but noticeable… especially same programming (like sports, switching between 1080P and 4K versions).

Agree on the diminishing returns though.

 

[FriarJ]

I have a couple year old LG E9 OLED 55" with the glass front. I did it because of the viewing angle with glass and it was a light filled room. I think you would be hard pressed to find a nicer looking TV for a wall mount, with incredible picture quality. I recently moved to a larger home and had an additional room and wanted to add a 65" TV. I thought long and hard about the latest LG Glass front unit, but in the end it was not going to be wall mounted, and simply couldn't justify the money in my head, and went with the Hisense 65" U8 ULED. It's very nice, and I'm happy with it but it is a step below the LG E9. I think it's probably right there with the C1 LG and it's a great price but the glass front LG's are works of art. If you are ok spending that kind of money you won't be disappointed.

 

[BGesus4]

I have a couple year old LG E9 OLED 55" with the glass front. I did it because of the viewing angle with glass and it was a light filled room. I think you would be hard pressed to find a nicer looking TV for a wall mount, with incredible picture quality. I recently moved to a larger home and had an additional room and wanted to add a 65" TV. I thought long and hard about the latest LG Glass front unit, but in the end it was not going to be wall mounted, and simply couldn't justify the money in my head, and went with the Hisense 65" U8 ULED. It's very nice, and I'm happy with it but it is a step below the LG E9. I think it's probably right there with the C1 LG and it's a great price but the glass front LG's are works of art. If you are ok spending that kind of money you won't be disappointed.

Thanks

How was the viewing angle for this:

 

[FriarJ]

Thanks

How was the viewing angle for this:

It was okay, but this was beautiful on the LG

 

[AreBee1969]

I was scared off from OLED due to image burn-in issues. Can any of you OLED owners speak to that?

I agree that rtings.com is phenomenal for TV information, right down to what you are watching and the room you are watching in.

For the record, I have the XBR-65X850F and the Samsung Q60T Series QLED and the blacks suck.

 

[Fishy]

We have the TCL 55” whatever that people keep mentioning.

It’s fine.

TVs are one of those things that people drive themselves into the weeds over - kinda like lobster rolls and pizza. Don’t overthink it.

 

[CL82]

At aviewing distance over 8 feet on a 65" TV the human eye cannot distinguish the difference between 1080P and what used to be called standard definition.

Yeah, I’m calling BS on that. For reasons that I still can’t figure out, YouTube TV defaults down to standard definition on live TV (but weirdly not on on demand stuff.) on LG TVs. It is a known issue. We are at probably 12 feet away from the TV and the difference is obvious. The workaround is for me to just access YouTube TV on my phone or laptop and cast it via chrome cast to the TV. Then the resolution comes in at 1080p.

Everything else Hulu, Netflix, Disney+ even peacock, comes in at 1080p, it’s just freaking YTTV. Anyway the distance is definitely noticeable for about 12 feet away.

 

[FriarJ]

Yeah, I’m calling BS on that. For reasons that I still can’t figure out, YouTube TV defaults down to standard definition on live TV (but weirdly not on on demand stuff.) on LG TVs. It is a known issue. We are at probably 12 feet away from the TV and the difference is obvious. The workaround is for me to just access YouTube TV on my phone or laptop and cast it via chrome cast to the TV. Then the resolution comes in at 1080p.

Everything else Hulu, Netflix, Disney+ even peacock, comes in at 1080p, it’s just freaking YTTV. Anyway the distance is definitely noticeable for about 12 feet away.

Hit the down arrow when you are watching any channel on youtubetv, select the little black box that probably says SD and change it from auto to 1080 and you will be set. It’s a known issue they are working on.

 

[CL82]

Hit the down arrow when you are watching any channel on youtubetv, select the little black box that probably says SD and change it from auto to 1080 and you will be set. It’s a known issue they are working on.

Yep, when I manually set it to even 780 it will stutter like it is too much information for the TV to process. Which wouldn’t surprise me since it’s getting kind of old, but everything else works fine on it. It is a known issue, but I have a healthy skepticism that they are actually working on it. Anyway Chromecast is only a slightly inconvenient work around.

 

[FriarJ]

Yep, when I manually set it to even 780 it will stutter like it is too much information for the TV to process. Which wouldn’t surprise me since it’s getting kind of old, but everything else works fine on it. It is a known issue, but I have a healthy skepticism that they are actually working on it. Anyway Chromecast is only a slightly inconvenient work around.

Weird, I have the 4k package and football is incredible on it.

I also want to add the poster that talked about the eyes perception is correct. There is a big difference between 480 and 1080 on a tv and you almost certainly can’t get far enough from it to see them the same.

I can print 3 posters, 3’x4’ and one is at 75dpi one at 150 and one at 300. At 25’ you cannot tell the difference. At 20’ you recognize the 75dpi is lower res and at 15’ you can see the difference in the remaining two. Get up close to a billboard and all you will see is dots

 

[CL82]

Weird, I have the 4k package and football is incredible on it.

I also want to add the poster that talked about the eyes perception is correct. There is a big difference between 480 and 1080 on a tv and you almost certainly can’t get far enough from it to see them the same.

I can print 3 posters, 3’x4’ and one is at 75dpi one at 150 and one at 300. At 25’ you cannot tell the difference. At 20’ you recognize the 75dpi is lower res and at 15’ you can see the difference in the remaining two. Get up close to a billboard and all you will see is dots

Yeah, keep in mind that the top resolution on this TV is 1080p. I am thinking about getting a 4K TV. Is there enough 4K content that it makes a difference? I’m happy with the quality of this TV, but it may be one of those things that once I see the 4K resolution I won’t be able to live with 1080p.

 

[FriarJ]

Yeah, keep in mind that the top resolution on this TV is 1080p. I am thinking about getting a 4K TV. Is there enough 4K content that it makes a difference? I’m happy with the quality of this TV, but it may be one of those things that once I see the 4K resolution I won’t be able to live with 1080p.

I don't notice it too much streaming movies. Full 4K HDR Blue Rays are great. Sporting events however are pretty cool. They have multiple different games every week in 4k. I have not seen basketball yet but I assume it's equally as cool. If you are going to get a new TV 4k is a must. Do they sell tv's that are not 4k still?

 

[upstater]

I'll tell you what not to do: don't buy a TCL through Amazon. I did. First one arrived and it was a dud. Thing had a high-pitched scream which wouldn't leave. Amazon took it back and brought me another. This one turns off in the middle of shows or sports and it turns on in the middle of the night. No amount of troubleshooting will help and it's a well-known problem on the TCL forums. Amazon refuses to take it back, and worst of all I purchased with Amazon credit because it gives me automatic 5% off. I'm stuck with a dud TV and I'm getting very near to chucking it out on the street.

 

[CL82]

I don't notice it too much streaming movies. Full 4K HDR Blue Rays are great. Sporting events however are pretty cool. They have multiple different games every week in 4k. I have not seen basketball yet but I assume it's equally as cool. If you are going to get a new TV 4k is a must. Do they sell tv's that are not 4k still?

I'm sure they still do, but it is tough to think why'd you get one given the current prices of 4K. Let me know if makes a difference for basketball. That may be the thing that pushes me to do it.

 

[huskiesNhoos]

I was scared off from OLED due to image burn-in issues. Can any of you OLED owners speak to that?

I agree that rtings.com is phenomenal for TV information, right down to what you are watching and the room you are watching in.

For the record, I have the XBR-65X850F and the Samsung Q60T Series QLED and the blacks suck.

It becomes less of an issue every year as quality improves. I haven't had mine long enough to comment but generally speaking it's only an issue for constant images for looong periods of time (rtings.com has a cool study showing a few different instances Real Life OLED Burn-In Test on 6 TVs )

So if u watch CNN or fox all day every day for like a year straight and have constant banners, same sporting event on same channel with constant scoreboard, video game with always present menu, etc. But again you have to basically have that image and nothing else all the time for a long time to have a noticeable effect. If you watch a variety of things you have very low chance of issues (QC related issues aside)

Also, on a side note, I've worked in industry with liquid crystals and can attest that LG is the top dog in the screen world... probably not much of a secret as even Apple sources their screens through them. Doesn't mean all their stuff is the best, but at the mid-high end range of screens you will almost certainly get better quality with an LG (lemons and QC issues notwithstanding)

 

[JordyG]

Yeah, I’m calling BS on that. For reasons that I still can’t figure out, YouTube TV defaults down to standard definition on live TV (but weirdly not on on demand stuff.) on LG TVs. It is a known issue. We are at probably 12 feet away from the TV and the difference is obvious. The workaround is for me to just access YouTube TV on my phone or laptop and cast it via chrome cast to the TV. Then the resolution comes in at 1080p.

Everything else Hulu, Netflix, Disney+ even peacock, comes in at 1080p, it’s just freaking YTTV. Anyway the distance is definitely noticeable for about 12 feet away.

Read the studies, do a distance test, read the manufacturers advisories, call your own game.

 

[Fishy]

I'm sure they still do, but it is tough to think why'd you get one given the current prices of 4K. Let me know if makes a difference for basketball. That may be the thing that pushes me to do it.

I don’t think it is compelling enough to warrant an upgrade on its own.

 

[JordyG]

Yes, buuuut - 4K programming is noticeably sharper/more detailed than 1080P at 10-12ft in real viewing on my 65” TV. Maybe not ENORMOUS difference, but noticeable… especially same programming (like sports, switching between 1080P and 4K versions).

Agree on the diminishing returns though.

You have two TV's, one 4K another 1080P side by side for the comparisons?