Would you buy an ex-demo OLED?

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Scott3

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#316070 13-Sep-2024 14:06

TV is a 65" Samsung S90C, discounted from $2500 to $1000 (no stand). May well have already sold since we visited a couple of hours back

Its a 2023 model TV, so I expect it has seen ~ 1 year of demo use in a large format retail store.

For context:
- Currently running a 40" FHD Samsung that has served us well for over a decade (panel did get replaced once under warranty). Smarts handled by a NVidia Shield.
- 65" is borderline too big for the space, but is workable. Curtains will need tucked behind the tv ETC. If I was buying a TV at full price I would get 55"
- My partner loves having the TV on (usually streaming vlogs), as background noise, rather than actively watching, so our use case is fairly high risk for screen burn. Other than this, the TV doesn't see a heap of use, but it would still be good to have something nicer for when we do use it.
- Love the deep blacks of OLED, but a bit scared to pay $3000 for one given the screen burn risks of our use case.
- Have a lower end Bose soundbar

ARIKIP

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#3281738 13-Sep-2024 14:59

$1k sounds good. I would probably check it first by running tests for uniformity,Banding and burn in. You can usually find these tests on places like youtube. If it passes these then i would be good to go. Check the Hrs as well that its been turned on. I assume as its a floor model it will still get the manufacturers full warranty etc?.

Sony 77" A80J OLED, Integra 60.7, Panasonic UB820, Toshiba HD-XE1, Apple TV 4K, JBL L100T,JBL 18Ti, JBL L20T, Velodyne HGS15

EviLClouD

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#3281739 13-Sep-2024 14:59

I think $1000 is a really good price for a 65" OLED. Are you able to view the actual tv and check for any burn in/image issues etc? Do you know if it comes with any sort of warranty?

Would also be good to check how many hours it has been on as well.

gehenna

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#3281741 13-Sep-2024 15:00

I wouldn't, personally, but if your appetite for risk is flexible, it's a good price. Just be kind to yourself if or when it presents any issues.

reven

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#3281751 13-Sep-2024 15:30

personally, no i wouldnt. 1 year of demo time, on same image, people messing around with it, kids touching it. yeah nah.

Scott3

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#3281755 13-Sep-2024 16:04

I just went and grabbed it (Made the decision before your responses.

It was from Costco (didn't want to disclose that before I made my decision), Their return policy for electronics is reduced to 90 day's.

It's in bubble wrap, Need to do some other stuff before I test it out.

Launch price was north of $6k in may of 2023, which makes me feel good.

https://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=12811755#statistics

Apparently this model has either a gen 1 or gen 2 panel in it, with the latter being much better. Seems probable that the demo would have come at launch so would be the older panel.

Normally when I check reviews of something with a deep discount I find it to be poorly reviewed, but in this case, this TV was reviewed really well.

They also have an ex demo 75" Q60C QLED 4k for $1899.99 if anybody is interested in that.

Goosey

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#3281759 13-Sep-2024 16:14

Good luck.. you might want to give it a gentle vacuume across the rear vents…. It’s been sitting in a Big barn for awhile…

Good price. Make sure your curtains don’t hamper the air flow for rear vents…

Scott3

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#3282117 14-Sep-2024 16:32

Just wanted to say thank you everybody for your advise.

Even though I was to impatient to wait for your responses, I do really appreciate them.

----

Have unpacked and set the TV up now. 5353 Hours.

Compared to the 40", 65 is comically large for the space, but workable, just....

Below image is with a grey test pattern (screen protector still on, hoping the reflections will be less once I remove it)

I had no idea how thin / flimsy modern TV's have got, bulk of it is just a think sheet of glass, pretty glad I was able to get it home without damage. Seems the days of having a metal chassis is long gone...

Samsung 65" Class S90C OLED 4K UHD with HDR in Titan Black - Smart TV | Shop NFM

It still has a screen protector on, which is great news as it has a heap of finger prints & some scratches.
Spent ages getting the remote to work, but it was just flat. (it's a solar charging one, but turns out a few minutes by the window wasn't enough, took me a long time to work out it had a USB-C port on the bottom). Working good now
When I first turned it on, it went straight into retail mode, which play's a loop of moving over-saturated high resolution scenes to generate a wow factor in a brightly lit retail shop. Sure looked impressive when the TV was leaning up against my couch
5353 Hours.
I couldn't notice any burnt patterns etc. (but does seem to have a little fairing around the edges).
Compression artifacts in the old TV episodes that streamed automatically once I synced my Samsung account to the TV are super obvious, but I guess this is just the cost of having a giant and glorious TV, in that content quality becomes a lot more important.
Its a Gen 1 panel (ANA PEAK of 682), which is less desirable than the Gen 2, but the more likely outcome given it's been on demo for a while, not new.
Wall mounting points are really low on the chassis, so despite being on the lowest setting for our wall mount bracket, the TV sits 200 - 300mm higher than I would like.

Generally pretty keen on keeping it. Despite the high number of hours it still seems crazy bright and clear vs our decade+ old 40" Samsung LCD. Also given the high number of hours and relatively cheap price, I don't need to be to precious about avoiding screen burn on it, like I would a $3000+ TV.

Anything else I should check before I break out the drill & impact driver to move the screen down, and then rip off the screen protector?

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Scott3

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#3282118 14-Sep-2024 16:34

Goosey:

Good luck.. you might want to give it a gentle vacuume across the rear vents…. It’s been sitting in a Big barn for awhile…

Good price. Make sure your curtains don’t hamper the air flow for rear vents…

Thanks. The curtains are far from the vents & I will give it a bit of a vacuum.

Didn't even consider proximity to the heat pump to be an issue (our 40" was really far away), but will likely drop by ~250mm to give a little more clearance.

gehenna

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#3282135 14-Sep-2024 17:33

OLED won't dim after many operating hours like backlit LCD screens. Each pixel is individually lit. Pixels will just fail instead of fade, so you'll get black dots if that happens. Sometimes individual pixels get bright compared to others, if one or two of the red blue or green lights fail. Or the whole panel will simply fail, but that sort of thing tends to happen early in life due to manufacturing flaws. If it's this many hours of operation you're closer to losing some pixels than the whole thing failing. And it certainly won't get dim.

SpartanVXL

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#3282137 14-Sep-2024 17:38

It’s an OLED so usual warnings apply. This includes direct sunlight and moisture levels.

If you start seeing dead pixels pop up at edges/corners in clusters then it’s covered under cga/warranty. Means a seal on the edge of the panel let some air/water in.

Scott3

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#3282303 15-Sep-2024 13:19

Thanks everybody.

Reflections are much reduced now I have removed the screen protector.

I dropped the screen by 150mm from the height above (meaning I only could re-use one set of holes in the wall, only needing a new pair). Looks much better.

Very happy. 4k content is amazing on the new screen, but you really see the limitations of older footage.

Stu1

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#3282365 15-Sep-2024 16:06

Scott3:

Thanks everybody.

Reflections are much reduced now I have removed the screen protector.

I dropped the screen by 150mm from the height above (meaning I only could re-use one set of holes in the wall, only needing a new pair). Looks much better.

Very happy. 4k content is amazing on the new screen, but you really see the limitations of older footage.

Enjoy just in time for the v8s this arvo ;) enjoy the new purchase

Wakrak

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#3282402 15-Sep-2024 20:23

Considering what you were working with prior, that's quite the upgrade! Kudos to you for persevering so long with the same TV.

Scott3

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#3282420 16-Sep-2024 01:25

Wakrak:

Considering what you were working with prior, that's quite the upgrade! Kudos to you for persevering so long with the same TV.

Cheers.

Other than the panel failure in 2014 I hasn't missed a beat. Was quite surprised when I dug the receipt out that it was purchased in 2011. Being a LED LCD is it a lot more durable of a technology than the new OLD. Built a lot stronger too, with a big plastic bezel, and a metal case on the back.

We were basically using it as a display. We had smarts handled with a Nvida sheild, and sound by a Bose soundbar. While it doesn't have the amazing contrast of the OLED, Image quality is pretty good. 1920x1080 is a good fit for the 40" size.

40" fitted in that corner in our lounge quite neatly. and our lounge is quite small, so there wasn't a pressing need to increase the size.

Stack this with some option paralysis (have been keen on an upgrade for ~ 2 years, but wasn't able to choose between spending $1000 on a 50" - 55" LED LCD or $3k on a OLED (I wanted the latter, but at that price I would want to baby it, which could end up as a chore)

But of course I am very happy with the upgrade.

sidefx

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#3282425 16-Sep-2024 06:49

Scott3:

Very happy. 4k content is amazing on the new screen, but you really see the limitations of older footage.

I would have taken this in a heartbeat at that price ;-) Also recently moved to OLED from an oldish TV. My understanding is that the 4K OLEDs are generally pretty bad at upscaling so it might not completely be the older footage that's the issue?

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