Mike86

gerrythedon

Yeah I understand, Amazing thing that I'm doing a monthly payment plan with my brother (he payed it for me) to pay him back. I tried doing to price wait on the 2018 models but they never went down to an affordable price for me and by then they were no longer manufactured.

So like I said before, my attitude was fuck it! I'm going all out...

Chrisedge

kahuna

I have a 2015 Samsung TV & it can't play H265 files from the USB port on the back of the TV.

kahuna

The 2019 TCL 55S525 is on sale now at BB for $329.99.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/tcl-55-...?skuId=6358918

kahuna

It's BB Deal of the Day & has dropped in price to $299.99.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/tcl-55-class-led-5-series-2160p-smart-4k-uhd-tv-with-hdr-roku-tv/6358918.p?skuId=6358918

Looks like Amazon has matched BB price.

dhmac

AFAIK, the 4K video standard requires HEVC H.265 decoding capability, so any TV that's 4K implicitly has HEVC H.265 decoding built-in. Whether a TV manufacturer hobbles their USB port to not support HEVC H.265 decoding from the USB port depends on the manufacturer, so some research is the best advice before purchasing.

BTW, this is the main reason why I prefer the higher end Roku players that support 4K and have a USB port, such as the Roku Ultra. Because supporting 4K means they can decode HEVC H.265 including from their USB ports (which the Roku Ultra does).

mattysemo247

I happened to be browsing Amazon today and noticed that they had a 65 inch B9 OLED in their open box Warehouse section for $500 off. It was listed as acceptable condition, so I guess we'll see what shape it's in when it arrives next week. Hopefully the gamble pays off, but if not I'll just ship it back.

E Unit

Wow, balls matty! Definitely let us know how it goes. I hope you get it in great condition and works out well for you.

mattysemo247

Yeah, me too. Funny thing is we were at Costco last week and someone had returned a Sony OLED. It was $1,700 but it was the 2018 model. I went back the next day to check it out again and it was gone. Probably for the better anyways if this works out since it's a newer model.

Mike86

Wound up picking up a 55” Vizio M-Series Quantum tv. Just got it today and will be setting it up later. Seemed pretty well reviewed and it was $499 at Target.

Really thought about an OLED, but some things about them make me hesitate. Mainly that they’re prone to burn-in, especially at their current cost, and obviously the price point is pretty high. Also considered a Samsung QLED, but wasn’t able to get one locally so couldn’t really see it before I bought it.

Norm de Plume

Anyone have a recommendation for an affordable, no-nonsense 4K TV exclusively for watching movies, including upscaling of DVDs and BRs? Is it even worth getting a 4K if I don't have any UHD material, or is it advisable to stick with a regular HDTV? Don't need or want a "Smart" TV, though I don't think a non-Smart 4K exists.

JTH182

Depending on your budget, probably something like a TCL 6-series or Vizio M series.

Mike86

Seems like the vast majority of tv’s are smart now days. I didn’t particularly want one either as I have plenty of devices that I already use streaming services and whatnot from but I guess it’s whatever.

JTH182

If all you're doing I upscaling, then also consider a Sony 900F or 950G. Sony is known for really good upscaling.

Norm de Plume

Thanks for the advice, JTH182. I'll look into those.

Mike86, I need a TV for a place where we don't even have - and never will have - internet or cable hooked up. I'll be bringing DVDs and BRs there to watch on rare occasions. I also need a "plays everything" Blu-ray player for the same purpose.

Norm de Plume

The TCL 6-series is attractive (the others are more than the $500 CDN (Boxing Week sale) we want to spend), but I'm a bit concerned about how bothersome the Roku OS would be. As I said, the display would be exclusively for DVDs and BRs. Is it going to be a pain dealing with this Roku thing, for which we otherwise have zero use?

E Unit

The Roku OS is pretty much the best OS on smart TV’s right now. Just about every app works flawlessly and is designed for Roku. Most other smart TV’s have some version of an Android OS, and have issues on one level or another. The Roku OS isn’t bothersome at all. In fact, I’m guessing you’ll quite enjoy using it, as many of the apps like Netflix and Disney+ have a lot of content in 4K with HDR/Dolby Vision. The TCL 6 Series is definitely the biggest bang for the buck.

fujishig

The other benefit is that you can use your digital copies via the Roku (Movies Anywhere or whatever), which means you can start buying 4k disks with 4k digital copies even if you don't have a 4k player.

davidlynchfan

Any Hisense owners? I been hearing the H9F series is getting rave reviews as well.

Norm de Plume

^I was going to ask about Hisense, but didn't want to get laughed out of the thread, if I'm not already a laughingstock with my woefully ignorant questions.

I have had an el-cheapo Hisense 49" HDTV for about 2 years, for regular TV and movie viewing, and I have had no problems with it whatever. When I bought it, the guy at the store said that, of all brands they sell, including higher-end ones, Hisense sees the fewest complaints/returns, for whatever that's worth.
I should add one caveat: When I left the city for longer periods in the summer of 2018, there were a couple of blackouts, and I noticed the TV was on when I came home, so now I just unplug it everytime I go away on vacation. Luckily I did not get a burned-in logo, as the TV was on for longer than a week the second time it happened. This "powering on after a power surge" does not happen with the LG we have downstairs.

Thanks, E Unit and fujishig for your input.

E Unit

The Hisense is making strides in being much better quality than before. You can read the reviews for it and it’s all for the most part really good all around. It does have “ULED”, which is their version of LCD, but based on what I’ve read, they’re both comparable.

https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/hisense/h9f

However if you’re pondering TCL or Hisense, I’d side with TCL, mostly because of the Roku OS and better build quality.

Michael Corvin

To answer the OP...

LG OLED. Hands down the best picture I've ever seen. A couple friends have 4k sets without the OLED/equivilent and I can tell the difference almost right away. I've been spoiled. Of course the big caveat is that the OLED comes at a cost, generally much much more than the standard 4k sets. Bonus, the LG Magic Remote is amazing. It has motion and voice control that both work flawlessly.

Norm de Plum - can I ask why the no smart tv interest? I didn't have much interest when I got my LG, but now use it every day. It's nice not resorting to a game console for apps or the Chromecast. Plus YouTube gets ridiculous amounts of play here. I ended up loving it so much, that I'm currently planning on adding a couple of smart tvs to the basement remodel. No cable or roku boxes, game consoles or wiring needed. Just a power cable for the tv and wifi (although I plan to hardwire some CAT5).

Norm de Plume

Because we need a TV strictly for playing a movie once in a while at the cottage. That's a place we go to escape the din and relentless media of the city. We're ambivalent about watching movies there at all, but we sure as hell won't ever have internet or television there.

fujishig

The other thing about smart TVs (and this may not be as relevant since it seems like people replace TVs way more regularly now) is that unless it's something like TCL with Roku, you run the risk of the smart apps falling out of service way before your tv goes. That happened to my samsung, where crunchyroll just pulled the app one day, and the interfaces on many apps are really really old.