The (What-Do-You-Own) Television Thread

[Daydream Nation]

Some streaming services include 4K... I think HBO, Apple, Disney+.
Some... you have to pay for it. Most people are not aware that they have to step-up their Netflix to highest tier to get that top-end resolution.

EDIT: Apparently - only HBO gave 4K as part of the package.
But the new "MAX"... you have to go and upgrade pay for it.


Another feature to consider is ATSC3.0.
This is basically a built-in "over-the-air" (OTA) TV antenna tuner that can capture 4K quality video IF... IF... your local mainstream channels offer it.

"Antenna television is back."
In early 2023, broadcasters were utilizing ATSC 3.0 in around 50 local markets, including Los Angeles, Portland, and Washington, DC. By the end of the year, 75 percent of US households will have access to ATSC 3.0, according to Pearl TV, a broadcaster group that’s promoting the standard under the Nextgen TV moniker.
(Many people don't know about this perk, either!)

For those in the USA - here's a list of ATSC3.0 (4K!!!) OTA stations.
Canada probably has a list of these somewhere too.

So... if you are in a major market that has 4K... in US, say, NBC/CBS/ABC/FOX...
Then if you have this tuner in your TV... you can get the high-res feed.

A lot of people that enjoy Saturday/Sunday football through the major networks get incredible sharpness if their TV can handle it (ATSC3.0).

In Canada - I'm not sure what antenna feed gives you guys. Doesn't sound like you guys have the 4K ATSC 3.0 yet...
I grew up with the CBC HNIC feeds in Windsor... that would've been insane to get 4K hockey for free (over-the-air) these days.


I actually believe (based on reading/research) that this 4K OTA may drive an uptick in TV sales this year & next.

I need to look into this. Thanks for the info.

[Axeman33]

I cut the cord last year and stream everything through my 4k firestick. Excellent picture through that beast!

[Pengwin7]

I cut the cord last year and stream everything through my 4k firestick. Excellent picture through that beast!

Axe!
(shakes head)
Brother...
WTF.

You cut the chord... last. year. !?!

Well... don't wait 7 years again after I post P7 good-advice threads!!!
LOL.

https://forums.dobbersports.com/show...ight=cut+chord

[my mother-in-law, age 74, just cut the chord last month.]

[Axeman33]

Axe!
(shakes head)
Brother...
WTF.

You cut the chord... last. year. !?!

Well... don't wait 7 years again after I post P7 good-advice threads!!!
LOL.

https://forums.dobbersports.com/show...ight=cut+chord

[my mother-in-law, age 74, just cut the chord last month.]

Ya, I know. I was late to the party. It took a lot to get me there, I won't lie. I dont regret it in hindsight now that I stream everything mainly through an IPTV program. It's still not perfect as my Firestick's do lag from time to time and I get the circle of death but the price I am saving is worth it.

As I mentioned in the quoted thread at the time:

I won't lie, I'd love to cut the cable cord myself but there are so many issues with that for me. I have two kids who both have TVs in their bedroom, and we have another TV in our bedroom as well. It's easy to cut the cord for our main TV in the living room but not sure how I'd deal with the other TV's.

Kids are now moved out, it's just the wife and I, using two firesticks. One in the living room and one in the bedroom. Best part is, we can take the firestick with us when we go camping for the rainy days.

[Pengwin7]

Back to TVs...

There's three that I'm trying to debate between right now.
For anybody looking... I've read enough online that I'd be willing to say, with confidence, these are excellent TVs for price.

65" Hisense U8H (2022 model). $800-$900 US, currently on BestBuy and Amazon.
65" Hisense U8K (K=2023 model). $1050 US, currently on BestBuy and Amazon.
75" Hisense U8K (K=2023 model). $1500 US, currently on BestBuy and Amazon.

Folks in a (geeky) AVsforum thread are losing their shit, in a VERY good way, over the quality of this TV (U8K).
Giddy... with anticipation on the testing numbers from RTINGS (who has it purchased - maybe in testing starting this week).


The only downside I've read on these TVs is that MINI-LED technology has narrow "viewing angle".
So if you watch in a room and you have people on edge/perimeter seating - it might not look "great".
If you are primarily in that 30° "straight-on" zone, though... you get a great picture.

The 75" U8K apparently (see AVs link) has a different "panel" called ADS PRO... and apparently it opens up the viewing angle considerably more.
People are saying it's damn close to "OLED" - which is the highest end of TVs... made by LG.
chuckcouples post about an LG TV - they are, truly, THE high end - but they also, typically, cost 1.5x to 3x as much at same size.


And, FYI - several Canadians chime in on the AVsforum thread. (They mention them being available at "Costco" and "Visions"... ???)
The TV has been out since mid-July and already has 1450+ posts from these geeks.
You think WE post excessively about fantasy hockey... check out these guys - and they seem pretty smart.

[Axeman33]

What exactly is the difference, other than year, between the two 65" TVs?

[Pengwin7]

IDK... but there's several really good videos.
He has it wrong in the opening that the U8K has a 144hz "refresh rate" - which is something people that "game" from PCs to TV need.
He does cover this at 3:50mark.

In the AVS club thread - it is suggested that the U8K is better calibrated out-of-the-box (OOTB) - so people are LOVING it, just to plug it in.
The geeks always "calibrate" their TVs for optimal viewing... but it sounds like Hisense has taken measures to pre-set it up better for the U8K.
If you aren't somebody that is comfortable twiddling/calibrating their own set... then the U8K might be worth it.
(For me, though, $250 is too much money, IMO, to spend just to "not" calibrate yourself. I can figure that shit out!)



At the 5min mark - he goes over speakers.
U8H (2022) has 3 speakers, 2 bottom, + middle subwoofer
U8K (2023) has 5 speakers, 2 bottom, 2 top + middle sw


At 6min mark - he goes over some "gaming" - and that looks somewhat better on U8K.
(I'm trying to save to buy a PS5. Apparently this is one of the TOP TVs, U8H or U8K, for playstation5 gaming.)

[Pengwin7]

Nice general TV comparison thread for those interested in "mid-range" TVs in the 65"-85" range.
($800-$2200 range)




Things to know about yourself when choosing a TV:
1. What distance do you sit from where your TV will be? This typically determines your size.
2. Do you do your watching primarily close to "straight-on"... or do you have people commonly sitting "off-center"? Some TVs (OLED,QLED,WOLED) are better "off-center" than others (Mini-LED).
3. What type of content do you watch/play? True super high-def is via high-end computer internet (1 MBps) or from Blu-Ray disc. For general streaming close to "on-center", "mid-range" is just fine.

The high-end brands are: LG, Samsung, Sony - probably in that close order.
The rising mid-range brands are: Hisense & TCL (who have emerging Mini-LED technology with growing "Local Dimming" zones - which increases sharpness/brightness for small detail - like space star-fields, say.


Around the 13min mark - the guy speaks a lot to people's bias towards Samsung - quality... that goes closely with some comments in this thread. (He does mention that Samsung's do NOT have "DolbyVision")
At 14:40mark - he speaks to the LG C2... which is something chuckcouples mentioned on page2. He's got a good one, for $1600 US... this reviewer says it's a GREAT choice.

Lastly - throughout video he mentions "waiting for Black Friday"... so... I may just try to do that.
3.5 months from late-Nov... still lots of hockey season left there!

[Invictus]

Does it say what the response time is of these tv's?

(At work YouTube is blocked)

[Pengwin7]

Not in the video above, no. It's 17min and covers 10-15 TVs generically for price point vs. quality (some highs/lows each).

Once you roughly know a TV you are interested in - just YouTube search that.
There are many comparison videos of 2 TVs that are 15-20min YouTube video lengths... those will usually cover response time.

Two YouTubers named "FOMO" and "DigitalTrends" do a good job of covering the technical numbers.
Also, RTINGS.com will have response times for sure.
What is your interest in response time?

[Invictus]

I don't know what kind of response time television's have.
5ms or higher is going to be awful, and if you want to benefit from faster than 120/144 Hz then 2ms or under.

My gaming monitor has a less than 0.5ms response time.

I went on RTINGS.com and didn't see response time mentioned (75" Hisense U8K (K=2023 model))

[chuckcouples]

Response time is key of you want to game on the new TV. I didn't realize this until I played Super Mega Baseball 3 on my in-laws new LG TV (this was about 5 years ago) and I had to swing a full second later than when I was playing on my TV. The lag on my old Panasonic 65" was so bad that I don't even bother hooking my PS5 to it anymore unless we are playing family games. All my individual games (especially anything real time like sports), the lag is way too long for me to play the game well.

I now just game on my PC monitor which has a very quick response rate.

[audiopile]

4k content. Its rare. I still download bittorrent, so i can get 4K content that way, but only if it is merited. Also there is upscaling, so if you have 1080p content, some of it can be upscaled to 4k by the TV (fills in the blanks).

[Pengwin7]

I did it.
I bought a TV.

65" Hisense U8H.
They are selling off rest-of-stock from Best Buy(s) in the United States.
I bought one "open box" for $600 US exactly. ("New" - they are listed as $899 on Amazon and Best Buy. I prefer Best Buy for big items so I can return to store if I need to.)
(A bit disappointed in Best Buy - who had the TV wrapped in saran wrap when I showed up... no remote, no legs... no POWER CORD!. I made them give me a power cord).

Picture is amazing.
I'd give it 4.5 stars / 5 (the screen color fades off-center for viewer... but I knew this from reviews).

First day (Sunday) - I couldn't get it out of "store mode" and every 3min it would revert to the pre-installed video that shows off the TV's colors/brightness/darkness/etc.
I liked that very much.

I bought a $50 stand to raise it high enough to hide a high-wall outlet.
And I bought a $10 remote so I could get through the set-up screens and switch inputs.


So far I've watched Moana and Wall-E in Disney+ 4K.
Awesome!!!

I'll try some PS4 gaming next weekend - but it's 9.0 Video Games score is listed by RTINGS as "Value for price beaten by.... "none".


A photo from our new "kids room".
(The TV was a reward to myself for passing the final inspection on our home's 1400sf addition that I've been working on for the last 2.5 years of weekends!!!)

p7-tv.jpg


Ironically - I looked up the last two big TVs I bought.
2016... a 43" LG... still works in our main living room... paid... $600
2006... a 37" Olevia... stopped working in 2016... paid... $600

TVs... gotta love 'em... they keep getting bigger... I pay the same amount!

[Axeman33]

LOL! Excellent reference. Alright alright alright......