Current Future Proof Tech Needed In An HDTV

[Jamester23]

Ok. I'm starting to noodle on a replacement for my '18 65" XBR 900. Looking at a 75 or 80. I'll probably stay Sony but the question is, as I do my research, what tech does the TV have to have to be future proof for a 5 year period? Obviously, I want it HDR+ but how many nits are needed? Quantum dots, OLED, what screen tech is the best? I figure this could be a commonly updated thread to make sure we all know the news tech we need to make a $2K-$5K purchase which to most of us is substantial.

Thanks for your help in advance. I'd like to keep my purchase under $3500. Primary source is a new Apple TV using HBO Max, Youtube, Netflix, Prime. Noticing more and more that the XBR900 is getting dimmer and dimmer.

 

[Trebdp83]

It's difficult to recommend anything but OLED after moving to it from LED TVs. You might consider the Sony A80K if you want to stay with Sony. The 77" A80K would be within the stated budget.

Sony A80K 77” Class 4K HDR OLED TV with Google TV | XR77A80K

Explore the Sony BRAVIA XR OLED TV A80K with Cognitive Processor XR for pure black and peak brightness. Enjoy immersive sound with screen speakers. 77” Class (XR77A80K)

electronics.sony.com

 

[BMXTRIX]

You should NOT be able to tell your TV is dimming whatsoever. That just indicates something may be wrong with the power supply of the TV itself, or that your eyes are getting older... yes, that happens.

Many of us, I expect, have televisions well over ten years old that still look fantastic. But, the main thing with televisions is starting with a decent display technology from the start, then maximizing what it offers and understanding that all televisions seem to have some sort of tradeoff. OLED is dimmer than LCD, but it has, by far, the best overall contrast and image quality with Sony typically winning for best overall quality with their A95K. But, the LG C2/G2 panels really are solid performers as are Samsung OLEDs.

When it comes to LCD and bright room viewing, typically it is Samsung which wins for best overall with the QN95C.

I wouldn't touch LG for anything but OLED, and I wouldn't likely step away from Samsung, Sony, or LG for a higher end television purchase at this time.

Room conditions and screen size also come into play in getting the best overall television experience. Quite often, people go with sizes that are far smaller than what they really should be using from a typical viewing distance. I would say anyone 10 feet or more from their screen should be in a 80" or larger television class, which can sometimes strain budget. Especially with OLED displays.

 

[Eppie]

Ok. I'm starting to noodle on a replacement for my '18 65" XBR 900. Looking at a 75 or 80. I'll probably stay Sony but the question is, as I do my research, what tech does the TV have to have to be future proof for a 5 year period? Obviously, I want it HDR+ but how many nits are needed? Quantum dots, OLED, what screen tech is the best? I figure this could be a commonly updated thread to make sure we all know the news tech we need to make a $2K-$5K purchase which to most of us is substantial.

Thanks for your help in advance. I'd like to keep my purchase under $3500. Primary source is a new Apple TV using HBO Max, Youtube, Netflix, Prime. Noticing more and more that the XBR900 is getting dimmer and dimmer.

Consider whether source components will be connected to an AVR or to the TV. If the TV is the connection point some TVs have only 1 or 2 HDMI 2.1 ports while others will have 4. Most reviews I've seen recently lean towards either OLED or QD-OLED. LG's latest may be referred to as W-OLED as they have an extra white LED per pixel. OLEDs will give you the nice deep blacks. mini-LED does not mean OLED. Sony's X95K for example is advertised as a mini-LED set but is LCD technology. LCD is good for very bright rooms but for the average room OLED has caught up and is bright enough for most with a few exceptions. LCD tends to be worse off angle though while OLED and QD-OLED will have good images off angle. Two of the top sets this year look to be the LG G3 and the Samsung S95C but they will get pricey in the 77" format. Treb already mentioned the A80K if you like Sony. I saw the Sony OLED and LG C2 at Costoc recently and both have fabulous pictures.

 

[lovinthehd]

Hard to know why your set is getting dimmer and that you can actually determine the difference over time. How do you did you determine that particularly?

Unless new picture technologies emerge, can't see what is lacking with most current offerings. Hard to imagine what may come out that isn't already known.

 

[isolar8001]

My advice is whatever you buy, at least play a few bluray/4K discs or files to see what the set is really capable of.

Watching nothing but streaming on these newer badass sets is like buying the best audio system and listening to 128kbps mp3's.

 

[Trebdp83]

The IMAX Enhanced Marvel movies on Disney+ are very impressive in their presentation for streaming titles and the IMAX Enhanced expanded aspect ratio versions of those titles are not available on 4K/UHD disc at all. While 4k/UHD discs look amazing, Games in 4K @120Hz put them to shame. It's something to behold. So, when grabbing a new Sony OLED, go ahead and grab a PS5 as well.

 

[MaxInValrico]

Ok. I'm starting to noodle on a replacement for my '18 65" XBR 900. Looking at a 75 or 80. I'll probably stay Sony but the question is, as I do my research, what tech does the TV have to have to be future proof for a 5 year period? Obviously, I want it HDR+ but how many nits are needed? Quantum dots, OLED, what screen tech is the best? I figure this could be a commonly updated thread to make sure we all know the news tech we need to make a $2K-$5K purchase which to most of us is substantial.

Thanks for your help in advance. I'd like to keep my purchase under $3500. Primary source is a new Apple TV using HBO Max, Youtube, Netflix, Prime. Noticing more and more that the XBR900 is getting dimmer and dimmer.

Invest in a holodeck

 

[isolar8001]

The IMAX Enhanced Marvel movies on Disney+ are very impressive in their presentation for streaming titles and the IMAX Enhanced expanded aspect ratio versions of those titles are not available on 4K/UHD disc at all. While 4k/UHD discs look amazing, Games in 4K @120Hz put them to shame. It's something to behold. So, when grabbing a new Sony OLED, go ahead and grab a PS5 as well.

I have the Marvel Imax/Disney+ films on file....while it is nice to have the Imax ratio, they are about one third of the disc versions bitrate...and it shows.
Disney wanting projected income is the reason you probably will never see a full blown version of them.

 

[Trebdp83]

Yeah, it’s a shame. I stopped buying the Marvel discs awhile ago. The IMAX versions can hardly be called bad and I prefer to use as much real estate on my big OLED TV as I can and big fat letterbox bars just don’t cut it anymore.

 

[Eppie]

Yeah, it’s a shame. I stopped buying the Marvel discs awhile ago. The IMAX versions can hardly be called bad and I prefer to use as much real estate on my big OLED TV as I can and big fat letterbox bars just don’t cut it anymore.

Have to agree. I was streaming a Netflix show last week that was made for TV and it was letterboxed. I couldn't help but wonder why on earth anyone would make a letterboxed TV series when 16:9 is the standard? You loose so much screen real estate.

 

[Kingnoob]

It's difficult to recommend anything but OLED after moving to it from LED TVs. You might consider the Sony A80K if you want to stay with Sony. The 77" A80K would be within the stated budget.

Sony A80K 77” Class 4K HDR OLED TV with Google TV | XR77A80K

Explore the Sony BRAVIA XR OLED TV A80K with Cognitive Processor XR for pure black and peak brightness. Enjoy immersive sound with screen speakers. 77” Class (XR77A80K)

electronics.sony.com

What about burn in? Is it a common problem?

 

[Tankini]

What about burn in? Is it a common problem?

Yes Potential burn in is real with OLED, plus as OLED gets older the screen will get darker. It's inherited technology organic pixels. But with advances with OLED tech burn-in isn't as much a worry of days past. But yes if some dumb ass left his brand new 1600-7k OLED on 24/7 for say about a week that left it on with say a static logo on yeah burn-in.

LG has the best Pixel refresher In the industry. LG Automatically refreshes the pixels when the set is off a certain amount of times. Sonys Auto pixel refresher is good but not as good as LG. I haven't researched Samsung OLED as much as I have Sony, LG. But I'm sure it's just as good as the other two top brands. I'm sure you know OLED has Perfect meaning a10 Score which is tops for, Contrast, Blooming, which no OLED has any blooming only LED has blooming issues.

Also OLED has perfect blacks. PQ EOTF Tracking is usually above 9.5 which 10 score being perfect. HDR Native Gradient is Usually at or above 8.0 also very good. Low-Quality Content Smoothing and Upscaling: Sharpness processing again at or above 8.0. With all that being said, paying a Premium price or not because you can get very decent OLED at about 1600.00 for a 65".

Now no matter what the Manufacturers call LED TV's Whether it be QDLED, mini, Nano or QDMini LED all of them are still LED. There are some very good LED TVs out there, but come with trade offs like blooming issues. But you pay a premium for them. I say if you going to pay that much you just soon get the best Picture for that kind of money which is OLED. Just don't get stupid crazy with it, like leaving it on 24/7 for days on end.

 

[isolar8001]

Yes Potential burn in is real with OLED, plus as OLED gets older the screen will get darker. It's inherited technology organic pixels. But with advances with OLED tech burn-in isn't as much a worry of days past. But yes if some dumb ass left his brand new 1600-7k OLED on 24/7 for say about a week that left it on with say a static logo on yeah burn-in.

LG has the best Pixel refresher In the industry. LG Automatically refreshes the pixels when the set is off a certain amount of times. Sonys Auto pixel refresher is good but not as good as LG. I haven't researched Samsung OLED as much as I have Sony, LG. But I'm sure it's just as good as the other two top brands. I'm sure you know OLED has Perfect meaning a10 Score which is tops for, Contrast, Blooming, which no OLED has any blooming only LED has blooming issues.

Also OLED has perfect blacks. PQ EOTF Tracking is usually above 9.5 which 10 score being perfect. HDR Native Gradient is Usually at or above 8.0 also very good. Low-Quality Content Smoothing and Upscaling: Sharpness processing again at or above 8.0. With all that being said, paying a Premium price or not because you can get very decent OLED at about 1600.00 for a 65".

Now no matter what the Manufacturers call LED TV's Whether it be QDLED, mini, Nano or QDMini LED all of them are still LED. There are some very good LED TVs out there, but come with trade offs like blooming issues. But you pay a premium for them. I say if you going to pay that much you just soon get the best Picture for that kind of money which is OLED. Just don't get stupid crazy with it, like leaving it on 24/7 for days on end.

Just know you are responding to someone who couldn't afford a 20 dollar CRT at Goodwill.

 

[panteragstk]

Just know you are responding to someone who couldn't afford a 20 dollar CRT at Goodwill.

We know way too much about this person.

 

[highfigh]

You should NOT be able to tell your TV is dimming whatsoever. That just indicates something may be wrong with the power supply of the TV itself, or that your eyes are getting older... yes, that happens.

Many of us, I expect, have televisions well over ten years old that still look fantastic. But, the main thing with televisions is starting with a decent display technology from the start, then maximizing what it offers and understanding that all televisions seem to have some sort of tradeoff. OLED is dimmer than LCD, but it has, by far, the best overall contrast and image quality with Sony typically winning for best overall quality with their A95K. But, the LG C2/G2 panels really are solid performers as are Samsung OLEDs.

When it comes to LCD and bright room viewing, typically it is Samsung which wins for best overall with the QN95C.

I wouldn't touch LG for anything but OLED, and I wouldn't likely step away from Samsung, Sony, or LG for a higher end television purchase at this time.

Room conditions and screen size also come into play in getting the best overall television experience. Quite often, people go with sizes that are far smaller than what they really should be using from a typical viewing distance. I would say anyone 10 feet or more from their screen should be in a 80" or larger television class, which can sometimes strain budget. Especially with OLED displays.

Some TVs automatically compensate for varying light levels.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Some TVs automatically compensate for varying light levels.

Very true! My sister actually had an issue with her Samsung TV where it had dimmed significantly for no obvious reason. I visited them and turned off the 'light based brightness' of the TV and it went back to a steady brightness state. No question, something WAS wrong with the TV though as it wasn't behaving as expected. Glad it was able to be worked around and they had things up and running properly in a couple of minutes.