Need a new telly. Mid 4K capable. Not too fussed on smarts

Welcome Guest.

You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Need a new telly. Mid 4K capable. Not too fussed on smarts

davidcole

6034 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#304148 9-Apr-2023 11:15

Similar to https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=34. I have an old (2008 Samsung 46”) that has decided it doesn’t want to turn on any more. I may look at getting it repaired as a secondary (pricing dependent). So looking at the low - mid 4K capable TVs. I run an Apple TV and a PlayStation 4. (Also a wii and Nintendo 64 via component and composite respectively - but may source something else to take their signals since it seems 90% of sets nowadays do not have these connections.

Tossing up between the (all 50” versions)
Lg qned80
Sony x85k
Samsung qn90b

Not sure any others. While I don’t care about smarts too much. Do like the lg (and Sony?). Both have a chromecast and airplay (5”the lg def does). Have a slight bias against Samsung.

For sound I have a little Bose soundbar. Currently hooked via toslink. Depending how the connections go I hope I can got arc to reduce the number of remotes. But do use a harmony as well.

Thoughts?

Previously known as psycik

Home Assistant: Gigabyte AMD A8 Brix, Home Assistant with Aeotech ZWave Controller, Raspberry PI, Wemos D1 Mini, Zwave, Shelly Humidity and Temperature sensors
Media:Chromecast v2, ATV4 4k, ATV4, HDHomeRun Dual
Server Host Plex Server 3x3TB, 4x4TB using MergerFS, Samsung 850 evo 512 GB SSD, Proxmox Server with 1xW10, 2xUbuntu 22.04 LTS, Backblaze Backups, usenetprime.com fastmail.com Sharesies Trakt.TV Sharesight

Stu1

1769 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Subscriber

#3060702 9-Apr-2023 15:16

What about one of these ?

https://www.heathcotes.co.nz/products/th-65lx650z-panasonic-65-lx650-4k-hdr-smart-tv

davidcole

6034 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#3060706 9-Apr-2023 15:30

I don’t know a lot about the Panasonics . And can’t really find reviews comparing to the others

SirHumphreyAppleby

2844 posts

Uber Geek

#3060707 9-Apr-2023 15:31

Since you're using external devices to add 'smarts', is CEC important to you?

Experience my vary by model, but based on TVs I've used with Kodi, the Panasonic, LG and Samsung CEC implementations seem a bit rubbish. Sony worked the best, so I would favour that option.

davidcole

6034 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#3060710 9-Apr-2023 15:34

I do like that a85k Sony, it seems to review well. Not as good as the a90k

PANiCnz

990 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3060727 9-Apr-2023 16:20

Looks to be some reasonable prices on Panasonic OLED's at the moment.

davidcole

6034 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#3060808 10-Apr-2023 08:54

So I think I’ve got it down to the Sony 50” a85k for $1299 and a Panasonic lz980 I’ve found on specia for $1497. Slightly smaller but oled. Will go look at them side by side today.

Edit. Pulled trigger on the lz980 oled from Panasonic.

Brunzy

2016 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#3061579 11-Apr-2023 17:14

Sounds good!
I had a quick look and couldn’t see it anywhere near that price, mind if I ask where?
Thanks

Sharesies kids

Free kids accounts - trade shares and funds (NZ, US) with Sharesies (affiliate link).

yann

135 posts

Master Geek

#3061587 11-Apr-2023 17:31

Might be the 48" one at JB-Hifi? I don't think there is a 50" version.

https://www.jbhifi.co.nz/panasonic/panasonic-lz980z-series-48-oled-4k-tv/421234/

Also there looks to be some promotion with Panasonic so $100 cashback with that model - I think.

https://www.panasonic.co.nz/promotions/panasonic-oled-tv-cashback-april-2023

https://www.panasonic.co.nz/promotions/panasonic-oled-tv-cashback-april-2023/terms-and-conditions

davidcole

6034 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#3061597 11-Apr-2023 17:57

Yeah. Was jb. Noel leeming would have matched it. But the guy didn’t seem all that interested in helping (no remotes, had no content but the demo reel). And none in stock.

The jb guy was much more helpful

jonathan18

7413 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#3061624 11-Apr-2023 18:45

We’ve got the JZ980 55” for our secondary system and it’s an excellent TV in terms of PQ (sound is as bad as anything else these days). But you’ll be using a soundbar, I see, and ARC’s worked fine with it. Annoying that it doesn’t have Chromecast built in, but you mention smarts aren’t a priority for you.

davidcole

6034 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#3061647 11-Apr-2023 20:22

Chromecast would have been nice ( over the rest of the apps). But anyway have one of those standalone as well as Apple TV.

Finding the arc a little strange. I’d used optical with my my old set.

So have figured out if I leave viera link all turned on and use arc. Then:
If it’s on tuner and I turn the tv off and on. The speaker comes on and works (mostly)
If the tv was set to ps4 or Apple TV. Then turn tv off and on the sound doesn’t come back. Unless I turn off the speaker (of which it’s turned back on in a second)

News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00

eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07

BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21

eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01

WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32

RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26

Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24

Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01

Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22

Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46

Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42

D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34

Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15

Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.

Updates »

Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.

RSS feeds: Main feed; Forums feed

Site features: Geekzone BI dashboard; Geekzone Badges; Geekzone Status Page

Affiliate links: Samsung; AliExpress; Wise; Sharesies; GoodSync

Site Information: Subscribe to Geekzone; Privacy Statement; Forum Usage Guidelines (FUG); Advertising; Trademark and copyright