What TV?

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peejayw

1841 posts

Uber Geek

#157127 20-Nov-2014 17:26

Coming from an 8yr-old 32" tv and have decided its time to upgrade but I have no idea what brand to go for.
What I want...

40-50"
Smart
I am assuming LCD but open to Plasma.

Seems simple but is LPS screen good? 50 or 100Hz? Panasonic? LG? Sony?

I watch some tv during daylight and my current model is quite dim, need a bright but glare-free screen. I output the sound from the earphone jack to some external speakers, would like to keep that setup.

I want to be able to watch Netflix one day so guess I need a smart tv for that?

Budget is $1500.
Any suggestions welcome.

I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

Uber Geek

#1180657 21-Nov-2014 11:23

100Hz, IPS panel, try a TH-50AS670 Panasonic.
I'd suggest that buying a TV because it's 'smart' is almost pointless, as any TV can be made 'smart' by plugging in a computer / media box / console...

timmmay

20592 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1180660 21-Nov-2014 11:29

I like Samsung TVs, I have two and they both work well. I don't like plasma much, I had one but didn't like the picture, the motion, the weight, or the power consumption. Many people are fans though.

Forget the smart TV, get a basic TV with a good panel. Put a smart device in front of it that you can easily replace, otherwise you'll be replacing your TV more often. We mostly use a R.Pi running XBMC with our 50" Samsung.

heylinb4nz

656 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1180681 21-Nov-2014 12:01

- Panasonic Plasma for $1350 - Roku 3 from Amazon ($150 shipped)

Great picture, and waaaay better than any smart TV.

EDIT: http://www.trademe.co.nz/electronics-photography/tvs/plasma/43-and-over/auction-808242808.htm
Buy this one and have change left over.

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

Uber Geek

#1180857 21-Nov-2014 15:38

Ewww - the U50 was the sort of TV that gave plasmas a bad name.
Not a patch on the NeoPlasma TV's for motion, black levels, bright room performance etc.
Look for a ST50 or VT50 if you're looking for a plasma.

heylinb4nz

656 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1180868 21-Nov-2014 16:00

Dunnersfella: Ewww - the U50 was the sort of TV that gave plasmas a bad name.
Not a patch on the NeoPlasma TV's for motion, black levels, bright room performance etc.
Look for a ST50 or VT50 if you're looking for a plasma.

Now youre talking....rare though.

Last VT50 I saw on Trade Me was $3600 used.

Great TV (I have the ST50).

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

Uber Geek

#1180968 21-Nov-2014 18:01

Yeah they'll sell close to their RRP for a few years I'd say... much the same as the last of the Full HD Pioneer Kuro's.

bfginger

1272 posts

Uber Geek

#1181101 22-Nov-2014 00:44

I output the sound from the earphone jack to some external speakers, would like to keep that setup.

Many televisions no longer have headphone jacks so you would need to check that one carefully. Some have optical audio out which can have a converter plugged into it but some TVs won't pass through surround sound and most converters won't downmix surround to stereo. So that is far more tricky than you would guess.

I want to be able to watch Netflix one day so guess I need a smart tv for that?

We don't know what Netflix will do for support in NZ but there are Netflix applications for all the major brands, they just have to make them available to NZ regioned TVs. Don't get your hopes up too much for Netflix as the NZ service will probably be missing most major content compared with overseas.

Panasonic and Samsung have stopped making plasmas. Plasma models without glare filters like the U50 were bad for glare. The Samsung 8500 and Panasonic ST/GT/VT were the ones with glare resistance.

Dunnersfella: 100Hz, IPS panel, try a TH-50AS670 Panasonic.
I'd suggest that buying a TV because it's 'smart' is almost pointless, as any TV can be made 'smart' by plugging in a computer / media box / console...

I don't think the AS670 is available at that size. For 50" the AS700 is the IPS panel.
IPS panels have better colours and viewing angles but black levels aren't so good unless you get a high end model with local dimming like the AS800. The black levels are far less important in a brightly lit environment and it is more of an issue when watching in a dark room.

I don't think right now is the best time to make a long term TV purchase with the transition to 4k models. But if you don't want to wait another year you could likely buy a 4K Sony 49X8500B for around $1600 on the boxing day sales.

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KiwiTim

384 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1181216 22-Nov-2014 11:35

I use the Smart Hub on my Samsung TV (UA50F6700) all the time. The picture on this TV is excellent, however this model is no longer available. The great thing about Samsung Smart TVs is that it is very easy to change the Smart Hub country to any country, then you can load the apps for that country. The country with the most free streaming video apps is the UK, so that is the best choice to make for smart hub country. You get Netflix app, BBC, 4oD, Channel 5, ITV, plus loads of other apps. I much prefer to stream from the Samsung apps rather than use the PC.

A Samsung Smart TV is well worth getting. I should think folks who say otherwise probably haven't tried one, or haven't configured the smart hub country to the UK, or perhaps have a slow internet connection. I get great value from my Smart TV. There are loads of free video content out there, and if you use a service like unoTelly and have fast internet, it usually streams very well. I have 50mbps and don't have any problems streaming BBC HD quality (which is excellent).

If I was buying a new TV around the 50" size, I would buy the Samsung UA48H6400. It has a 100 Hz panel and a Clear Motion Rate of 400, so there should not be any issue of ghosting during fast action. It has local dimming, so the black levels are good and the picture quality is excellent.

I know you can get LV Martin to order one in (they don't usually stock this model; Noel Leeming does). LV Martin can do it for $1300 (I asked last week).

Don't buy the UA48H6300 as it does not have local dimming, which produces an inferior picture.

I like the panels on Sony, Sharp, and Samsung LED TVs, but because of the greater selection of apps and the ease of changing the smart hub country, I'd always buy Samsung again.