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Black Sheep:
Have any Kitizens recently upgraded their TV set ???

Although our current Panasonic Viera still appears to be ok after quite a few years, compared to others I see during my day-to-day workings, it is nowhere near as sharp, crisp or bright.
So I've decided the time has come to update, but my god ..... technology has moved on in leaps since I last spent time comparing LED v Plasma, before opting for the Viera !!  ??? ???

4K v HDR, or a set equipped for both modes, or maybe Dolby ?? Flat or curved ?? I have to admit to losing patience slightly trying to absorb all the info.

So, with that in mind ........... do any of you guys have any recommendations regarding a set that is tech future-proofed for a reasonable amount of time to come, that is also reasonably priced ?? By that, I mean I don't want to be spending £2k on a set just for the name, where a lesser known make has the same spec.

I know it's a long-shot but if tha' dunt ask, tha' dunt get.  :)

sevenlayermuddle:
We replaced our 2008 Sony with a new Panasonic just over a year ago, have been very pleased.  Ours is basic 4k led backlit, nothing special.   The one technology that inspires me is OLED, but it was just too expensive then, maybe still is.  And I've yet to see a reasonable demo of OLED, showing typical program material, rather than stuff contrived to look good.

There are lots of 4k demos on youtube and it does look amazing.  But apart from demos it is a bit  pointless as there is hardly anything available to watch, unless you resort to Netflix home-brewed material, which has never inspired me.  I'd make sure you have 4k as most sets do, but don't raise your hopes of getting much use from it.

A big consideration was the OS, as I found Sony were now in bed with Google, shipping Android as the underlying OS.  I am deeply mistrustful of Google, so that that made Sonys a no-no for me, but to each his own.  Panasonic run Firefox OS which scares me a little less but even so, you have to go hunting around the setup menus to disable the option that allows Panasonic to collect and sell your viewing habits, even on normal terrestrial channels BBC/ITV etc.   :(

Panasonic have obviously struck a deal with Netflix, as they have stuck a dedicated Netflix button on the remote.   If you don't like Netflix that may annoy you and even if you do it may still annoy you as it is located in a position that is all to easy to hit by accident.   Then again, if Netflix pay Panasonic for the button, it means Panasonic can sell me the TV for less money.    :)

NEXUS2345:
OLED is certainly the technology to watch, but only LG and Sony are really investing into it. Samsung are going with QLED, which is basically just a slightly upgraded LED TV, as opposed to OLED which is a completely different underlying technology.

In terms of OS, I prefer TVs that use Android TV due to the fact that it is more likely to get updated for longer, as it tends to be that with most of the work being done by Google, the TV manufacturers are willing to release updates for longer. Samsung are quite poor for updating their TVs in the long term.

4K is certainly a technology to invest in, with HDR being a nice addition but not a necessity. 4K content is definitely going to become more ubiquitous over the next year, with Sky being one of the first to release mainstream TV with 4K soon, which means the others won't be far behind.

In terms of the built in Netflix button, I think they have struck that deal with several manufacturers, as a Sony television my grandparents own also has a dedicated button.

At the moment my recommendation would be an LED 4K TV from Sony, LG, or Panasonic. Samsung TVs are good, but as I say, their smart features tend to get left to die, meaning it is more likely they would be vulnerable to security flaws. Sony tend to be the sharpest, while LG tend to be the brightest and most colour accurate.

j0hn:
Sony, Samsung, LG or Panasonic. My preference would be 1 of the 1st 3, less so Panasonic. 4k with HDR, if you're actually going to pay to watch 4k. I wouldn't bother with 4k without HDR.

Sony's now run on Android, with YouView tv guide and interface, brilliant for On-Demand.
LG have their webOS for the interface which is also excellent
I have a Samsung smart tv from just before they switched to Tizen as the tv's OS and haven't really used it.

Many sets now come with Freeview Play, which is a good alternative to YouView if you actually watch tv through your aerial. Like YouView you can watch On-Demand content straight from the tv guide just by scrolling back through time.

If you want to spend big bucks, go OLED. It's still very expensive though, but if you're willing to pay the picture quality beats anything else out there.

roseway:
Concerning flat or curved, I understand that the curved screens have a very limited angle of view. So unless you'll be watching the TV on your own, get a flat one.

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