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I've been considering buying a new tv now for a few months and am just overwhelmed by the choices. Almost every "Best HD TV 2023" review I find online, all seem to have different tvs rated as the top 1-3.
I was at one time set on the Sony Bravia, but after research and going into stores to see in person I wasnt too impressed.
I already have Amazon Alexa cubes and am just looking for the absolute BEST possible picture possible. Not really all that into the Smart tv features, I just want stunning picture quality and G-Sync.
What are your recommendations in the 48" - 55" inch HDTV OLED range?
You're ahead of the game to completely ignore smart TV features. They are all second rate when compared to the good (and absurdly cheap) streaming devices, and have serious quality and age-out problems. Buy the best "TV as a TV" your budget can stand, and use a separate streaming device — I have trouble recommending any but Roku, but that's just a suggestion.
Picking a "best" TV is a meaningless game, really. The actual differences between generally equivalent size, screen technology and makers are mostly benchmark numbers and the like that mean absolutely nothing to the average viewer or user, even demanding ones. If you have no budget limitations, buy an OLED of the size you want from any of the two or three better makers. If you need to curb the limit, buy a "QLED" model from Samsung.
Frankly, buy any but the cheap tier of Samsung and you'll likely be happy. Don't get too bogged down in side issues like number of inputs or "frameless" or refresh rates as long as it does HDR10/60. Which nearly all somewhat better models do.
Just as smartphones have gotten into a screaming slapfight over their camera features, most of the TV makers are similarly duking it out with pool noodles over their smart platforms... and they all stink. The actual TV underneath, equivalently compared, are as indistinguishable as the actual phone and comm part of all modern smartphones. Narrow your selection down to two or three equivalent models, then read reviews to find any deal-breakers (not trivialities over numbers, but things like poor reliability, dead spots or uneven lighting, lack of full HDR10 and other current standards, etc.)
(Expert cord-cutting advisor and author for almost a decade, finishing up a contract advisory gig with one of the major smart TV makers.)
Concur. If you have a small living room, it is possible to go too big — I've seen 85-inchers in studio apartments where it was impossible to get more than about ten feet from them. If you have to pan your head back and forth, even slightly, it really diminishes viewing comfort. There's a formula for size to viewing distance, but what really matters is: can you sit comfortably and see the whole screen, and a good margin around it, without moving your head or eyes? Within that... bigger is better, and no longer much of a price differential. I've seen very nice QLED TVs in the 75" range for well under $1k, with series 55's only a bit cheaper.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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TVs have become almost disposable as the prices have dropped so far and people replace when the next generation of fancy features and higher resolution comes out. I remember when a relative bought a 70" about 10 years ago for $3,000, now a 70" Roku 4K UHD is just $448 at Walmart. For their house that was too big, you couldn't even see the whole screen at once. We bought a 55" Panasonic for $499 in 2014 and have kept it ever since with never a problem. It's only 1080p and not smart, but we can stream through our cable system and a Roku device. After 9 years it's served our purposes, but if it goes, that size fully featured LG is now only $379. Do NOT buy a Westinghouse TV, they are really cheap, and for a good reason.
Don't buy a Roku TV, either. Until just now — with caveats — they were all relatively low-end TVs that simply licensed the Roku smart platform. A poor combination. That Roku is supposedly now building their own TVs is questionable, since it appears to be the same maker and factory (TCI), simply under Roku's supervision.
Buy a great TV. Buy a Roku to power it. Best of all worlds without the multiple downsides.
Sure, if ones wants to display the main interest in their life. A prominently featured television is an obvious and inevitable eyesore in any room.
I look for ways to conceal it. Moved mine from living room to a sunroom decades ago, and looking for ways to make it "invisible".
BTW:
Don't expect the same picture quality at your home.
What you see in the stores is a special crafted display that doesn't really exist. That's not life TV, just very colorful pictures or videos made for marketing purposes...
Sure, if ones wants to display the main interest in their life. A prominently featured television is an obvious and inevitable eyesore in any room.
Absolutely. I have adored being able to make living/family rooms something other than a TV room grouped around the digital altar... or, as a book of some time ago called it, the "cool fire." There are many ways to hide even a large flatscreen, so size alone doesn't matter as much.
Hint: a powered window blind makes one great starting solution.
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Don't expect the same picture quality at your home.
Yes, as you note, the TVs on display are in "torch" mode (called Dynamic or Vibrant or such in the user menu), and the video loop is optimized like an F1 racer.
But then, comparing pictures in a showroom is just about the worst way to buy a TV anyway. As I noted, nearly all TVs of equivalent tech are nearly identical in performance these days. Pick a size, pick a tech, pick a couple of good options for your budget, then compare their reviews — not for numbers and pointless details, but for downchecks on that specific make/model/size.
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An 8K TV tops the picture quality charts.
Don't buy an 8K TV. Too soon, too expensive, too unnecessary. A 4K with one of the two premium technologies and HDR10 (which pretty much all have, now) is as good as it gets within useful reason. Come back to 8K in 3-4 years when it has actual worth beyond bragging rights and a very, very limited selection of content... at which time your 2023 model will be hopelessly behind the standards curves and need replacing anyway.
I was recently in a BB store and saw a couple of stand-alone TV displays. One was, I believe, a Sony OLED that looked pretty nice - a step above the second unit. Believe it was in the $2800 range for a 55". I'm not sure if any of the current models are in the G-Sync compatible lists (re: the links, above).
And, as others have noted, TVs on display in-store usually have been set up to attract attention (higher brightness, more vivid colors, etc.). In most cases, similar types of sets (4K vs 1080) are being sent the same source through some type of distribution system, so that should be considered when looking at the overall picture being displayed.
There used to be a web site (TweakTV.com) run by Kevin Miller of ISFTV.com (About ISFTV - ISFTV.com) that had in-depth reviews and setting adjustments that could be made by the end-user on their sets to achieve the best picture possible based on professional video calibrator's settings. The site, unfortunately, doesn't exist now, and I haven't been in contact with Kevin for a while, so I'm not sure of the status at this point.
In any case, if you buy a set, be sure to save the box and packing and stay within your return period in case you decide it doesn't work for you.
While ATSC 3.0 has yet to make it to my area, I wanted to be prepared for the future.
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