The TV Deals and Recommendations Thread

[rx7boi]

I've also been noticing that alot of places try to lump HDR10 and Dolby Vision together even though the latter can do more with metadata. Is there that big of a difference?

For instance, my TV has a Vudu app so I hopped online. I can rent Infinity War for 3.99 or pay 19.99 for the UHD version which supposedly encompasses 4K, Dolby Vision, HDR10, and Atmos.

Is Vudu a good choice to save on the cost of buying the Apple TV 4K?

[rage2]

You need VPN or DNS service to use Vudu as it’s US only. On the bright side it does allow you to pay with a Canadian PayPal account.

Vudu is the only place to get infinity war in Dolby vision, which is the best movie to show off HDR. It’ll play at the highest version your tv supports.

[bjstare]

I'm looking for recommendations for a new TV. It's going to be in a media room, and budget is ~$1000. Ideally not smaller than 65". Is the M65 still the way to go? This option seems to have more/better reviews, and it's the same price right now: https://www.costco.ca/LG-65UK6090-65...100458431.html

[CompletelyNumb]

Basically the same as this model https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/lg/uk7700

Vizio M65 is still the best value

[HiTempguy1]

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I'm looking for recommendations for a new TV. It's going to be in a media room, and budget is ~$1000. Ideally not smaller than 65". Is the M65 still the way to go? This option seems to have more/better reviews, and it's the same price right now: https://www.costco.ca/LG-65UK6090-65...100458431.html

If I had bought the TCL 65R615/617, I doubt I'd be upgrading to a PQ65.

But it's $1199 @ BestBuy https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product.../13185855.aspx

Supposedly, Roku is superior as well as a streaming service, but I just stream everything off my phone usually.

- - - Updated - - -

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I posted this drop a couple pages back. None in store in Western Canada, benyl and I both ordered online. It's in the airdrie distribution warehouse so it was delivered in 2 business days.

Oh, I wasn't sure if that deal had disappeared. Tempting to pull out the CC....

[rx7boi]

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I'm looking for recommendations for a new TV. It's going to be in a media room, and budget is ~$1000. Ideally not smaller than 65". Is the M65 still the way to go? This option seems to have more/better reviews, and it's the same price right now: https://www.costco.ca/LG-65UK6090-65...100458431.html

@rage2 just posted a page back. He recommends the TCL 65" (65R615-CA) best bang for buck.

That said, it's $1200 compared to the $1000 you'd pay for an M65 at Costco.

[bjstare]

I even saw that post on the TCL 65, as I've been keeping up with this thread lately... somehow it completely slipped my mind when I posted this morning haha.

Thanks guys.

[Mitsu3000gt]

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This is where I disagree. The whole point of HDR is so that the director can determine the light output (not just white) of pixels in a scene. It’s so that the TV can mimic the real world with real world levels of light output. What you are talking about is contrast when referencing deep blacks, as well as perceived brightness in comparison to viewing conditions. Even then, when you’re outputting 4 times the light output compared to OLED, even perfect blacks won’t help in the contrast gap. When you have a couple thousand nits of light output shining in your face from headlights of a car in a scene, no amount of perceived brightness in a dark room can give you that same feeling at a couple hundred nits.

I’ve always been all about TV size, and calibrating to nail the colors accurately, and call it a day. I’m not even that impressed at the leap from 1080 to 4K. Peak brightness has changed that for me to the point that I prefer watching on smaller screens but with higher light output. You mentioned theaters looking blindingly bright, yea, that’s what I thought till I first saw 2000 nits in my face lol. The gap between 50 nits in a theater and 2000 nits is massive. No amount of contrast or perceived brightness can compete.

Edit - here’s a review of Sony’s 10000 nits monster: https://www.cnet.com/news/tvs-are-on...ght-is-enough/

The best part about UHD isn't 4K IMO, it's the full P3 color gamut, HDR, perfect gradients etc. Most people sit way too far (usually at least 3-4 times too far) from small 4K screens to see much of a difference from the resolution bump from 1080P. If you have a huge screen, the benefits of 4K are very noticeable even to the layman, plus all the other good stuff. 8K will take this even further, and massively benefit the guys with 160" screens or similar who like the 'front row' of a movie theater experience, but that isn't for everyone either.

Regarding the brightness, your eye is like a camera aperture, only it can't adjust nearly as fast. So if you're in an otherwise pitch black room with your eyes adjusted to a dark scene, it doesn't matter if your TV flashes you with 1000 nits or 2000 nits, you probably aren't going to see anything other than blinding white, likely preventing you from seeing other on-screen content and possibly giving you a headache after a while lol. If you have to sacrifice black levels, panel uniformity, contrast, etc. to get that kind of momentary brightness, I would rather have the dimmer option with the better panel, especially inside a theater room. In a living room flooded with light, absolutely I would want the extra brightness because even 1000 nits wouldn't look that bright. Anyways, like I said, there is a fairly big subjective factor to all this as well - for me, peak momentary brightness is not the most important thing either for general viewing or for HDR. I'd still rather be watching a screen 3-4 times the size that is capable of well over 1000 nits, 2.40:1 without black bars, with slightly worse HDR and at least as good everywhere else.

10,000 nits is crazy haha. I know it's probably just the shitty pictures in that article, but it looks like hot spots and blown highlights more than anything else. Also I imagine a 2-3hr film with that kind of brightness in a dark room would be very fatiguing on the eyeballs!


Also for you guys looking to test out your new setups with 4K/HDR, if your content is coming from legit sources, make sure every single piece of the chain is HDCP 2.2 compliant and if you want 4K/60fps for games and future movies you need 18Gbps HDMI 2.0 compatibility throughout.

[rage2]

Ya you can’t capture these high nits highlights in pictures. Even my photo looks stupid blown out. It’s not blown out in person.

I’d invite you over to check it out but this is my bedroom tv and the viewing position is literally on my bed.

[Mitsu3000gt]

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Ya you can’t capture these high nits highlights in pictures. Even my photo looks stupid blown out. It’s not blown out in person.

I’d invite you over to check it out but this is my bedroom tv and the viewing position is literally on my bed.

Yeah I figured it was mostly just the bad photos in the article. Using photos to display home theater stuff is for the most part completely useless anyway without full exif data and an understanding of exposure, as you could make a 50nit display look the same as a 1000nit display, good blacks look bad (or vise versa), etc.

Haha that's OK, we can save the demo for a less intimate setting

[rx7boi]

I upgraded to the 4K Netflix package last night and threw on a couple of shows in Dolby Vision. I had a bit of trouble substantiating what was actual or placebo improvements but noticed colours are way more vivid.

I think it goes back to what rage2 said about resolution. I definitely don't notice too much of a difference in pixels between 4k and 1080 because I'm so far away from the TV anyway but I can tell colours on the panel are much brighter.

I tested it out on Planet Earth and that Formula 1 show, but I'd really like to get my hands on some Dolby Vision Marvel movies.

I also relied on the rtings article when I calibrated my M65 back in December. I don't know any better about optimal calibration so I just followed the article and hope for the best.

For the budget conscious, what are your suggestions on a Dolby Atmos setup? Links for equipment would be greatly appreciated.

[Mitsu3000gt]

The problem with 'calibrating' displays with other people's settings (which in itself goes against the definition of calibration) is that every panel is different, every panel ages differently, and everyone's room is different. Sometimes it works OK, sometimes it doesn't. You also need different calibration depending on what mode you are viewing in. Most people don't calibrate at all, but if you care about it you should do it yourself on the individual TV or have it done professionally. Since most people have nothing to compare it to though, I think it's pretty rare that a person is unhappy right out of the box.

[HiTempguy1]

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Also for you guys looking to test out your new setups with 4K/HDR, if your content is coming from legit sources, make sure every single piece of the chain is HDCP 2.2 compliant and if you want 4K/60fps for games and future movies you need 18Gbps HDMI 2.0 compatibility throughout.

Where do we confirm HDCP 2.2 compliance?

Amazon basic hdmi cables are supposed to work with HDMI 2.0, and I am pretty sure the UBP-X700 sony blu ray player is hdcp 2.2 compliant but fucked if I can find that info again.

I am completely on the blu ray disc wagon, partially because I like owning physical media, partially because I like to be able to back it up, partially because I like collectors editions of things I love, and partially because LTE at 50mbps can only do so much for streaming in the boonies

[rx7boi]

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The problem with 'calibrating' displays with other people's settings (which in itself goes against the definition of calibration) is that every panel is different, every panel ages differently, and everyone's room is different. Sometimes it works OK, sometimes it doesn't. You also need different calibration depending on what mode you are viewing in. Most people don't calibrate at all, but if you care about it you should do it yourself on the individual TV or have it done professionally. Since most people have nothing to compare it to though, I think it's pretty rare that a person is unhappy right out of the box.

Yeah that's exactly what I mean when I just followed Rtings and hoped for the best. I wouldn't even know what settings to touch. Usually all I play with is contrast haha.

Anyone in Sage Hill want to come over for a BBQ and help me calibrate?

[rage2]

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I upgraded to the 4K Netflix package last night and threw on a couple of shows in Dolby Vision. I had a bit of trouble substantiating what was actual or placebo improvements but noticed colours are way more vivid.

I think it goes back to what rage2 said about resolution. I definitely don't notice too much of a difference in pixels between 4k and 1080 because I'm so far away from the TV anyway but I can tell colours on the panel are much brighter.

I tested it out on Planet Earth and that Formula 1 show, but I'd really like to get my hands on some Dolby Vision Marvel movies.

I also relied on the rtings article when I calibrated my M65 back in December. I don't know any better about optimal calibration so I just followed the article and hope for the best.

For the budget conscious, what are your suggestions on a Dolby Atmos setup? Links for equipment would be greatly appreciated.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is in Dolby Vision on Netflix. Probably your best wow factor there if Netflix is all you have. Press the info button to see if it’s playing in Dolby Vision once the movie starts.

As for Rtings settings, they’re close enough. Panel differences are minor. Only thing that needs adjustment is backlight depending on your viewing area light conditions. I’ve done self calibrations, Pro calibrations and it’s awfully close to published settings in the last 4 years. Before that, published settings needed a bit of work because of panel inconsistencies but those days are long gone IMO.

[rx7boi]

Ah interesting. I clicked into GOG2 last night and saw that it was listed as HD instead of Ultra 4K HD or "Dolby" Vision.

Will check again tonight. Thanks for the tip.

[rage2]

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Ah interesting. I clicked into GOG2 last night and saw that it was listed as HD instead of Ultra 4K HD or "Dolby" Vision.

Will check again tonight. Thanks for the tip.

Tested on my M65, the built in Netflix app seems to be capped at 1080p and no HDR. Listing shows Dolby Vision.

Edit - I’m only connected in WiFi, it seems to be connecting to a far away access point for some reason, that could be my problem.

Edit 2 - same problem on pq65. Starts immediately in 4K dolby vision on Apple TV also on WiFi.

Edit 3 - the vudu version is way the fuck better.

[Asian_defender]

I am also in Sage Hill, Will provide free beer for help with mounting and calibration!

I'm also now sold on the Vizio PQ series over OLED. Just have to wait for another price drop as I'm cheap. Thanks for the suggestion Rage

[rage2]

I doubt there will be another price drop. This is their clearance pricing to make way for the PX models. This TV launched at $3500 CAD.

[killramos]

The pricing sounds great it’s just that I could really use the extra 5 inches...
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