[akhil_007]

Originally Posted by Elito11

This might be controversial but today I was at Croma with a friend and we both seem to agree that some of the latest 4K tv's with their stock footage running seemed 'un-natural'. I mean everything was too nice and bright and it almost seemed like animation(?). Anyone else feel this way?

I don't know the exact name but some kind of boosters(devices) are used in addition to keeping picture quality as "Bright/Dynamic". Right from LCD days,I have never seen store quality pictures at home.
Samsung areas and their dedicated sales guys are notorious for doing this and Sony bays get step-motherly treatment. Intentionally keep Sony picture preset as cinema so that it appears dim.

[Su-47]

Originally Posted by GTsunny

And thank yourself for purchasing an OLED and let your family enjoy the deepest blacks possible on any TV in the world today

There are people (like my family) who pause stuff and forget it for hours. Things like Netflix run a screensaver like thing, so it is okay, but a PVR STB will hold the same picture on the screen for hours together. When I was looking for a TV last year, OLED burn-in was still a concern, so chickened out for this reason. But, when watching a movie in a dimly lit room, nothing comes close to an OLED.

Originally Posted by Elito11

This might be controversial but today I was at Croma with a friend and we both seem to agree that some of the latest 4K tv's with their stock footage running seemed 'un-natural'. I mean everything was too nice and bright and it almost seemed like animation(?). Anyone else feel this way?

In a showroom, most TVs are set up in a "competing for attention, buy-me mode" with color saturation, sharpness and other image processing gimmickry set to insane levels. You can turn it way down and have a pretty enjoyable experience. Both 4K and HDR are awesome - but some colorists abuse HDR like "bandar ke haath mean ustara (razor blade in hands of a monkey)" and can be painful to watch.

Originally Posted by Ithaca

If you would like Dolby Atmos, check out Sony 55X8000H.
If you are okay with Dolby DTS, check out Sony 55X7500H.
I preferred Sony as it is an Android Smart 4K TV & I don’t need a separate 4K fire stick to watch OTT platforms.

With Atmos, Dolby tried to move away from concept of authoring a one-size fits all 5.1 (or 7.1) mix, and letting the AVR do it to suite the user's configuration (based on object instead of channels and a lot of metadata). Then there is the support for height speakers which matters in things like helicopters flying overhead.

IMHO, if you are connected to an OTT service serving Atmos, you need the capability to pass through the Atmos content to AVR (hence HDMI e-ARC is important). But, when playing sound on the TV itself, how much of a difference would Atmos make? Some TVs have top firing speakers to reflect the sound from ceiling to create the height speaker effect, but the size restrictions on a TV don't allow for great sounding speakers.

About Android TV - Most modern TVs can stream directly from OTT providers. I personally find Android TV to be sluggish on everything except the highest end hardware and it is also the most intrusive of the lot (even the Sony flagship seems to be showing ads).

[Elito11]

Originally Posted by akhil_007

I don't know the exact name but some kind of boosters(devices) are used in addition to keeping picture quality as "Bright/Dynamic". Right from LCD days,I have never seen store quality pictures at home.
Samsung areas and their dedicated sales guys are notorious for doing this and Sony bays get step-motherly treatment. Intentionally keep Sony picture preset as cinema so that it appears dim.

I agree with the Samsung/Sony part. Samsungs looks 'amazing' in store and sales people (in delhi croma's atleast) definitely seem to push them as compared to Sony's (which in some cases they discourage!).

Another thing that bugs me is the race for screen size. I find watching screens above 50 awkward. Something just does not feel right. Not talking proper home theatre constructs with adequate distance and sound but just folks putting up regular 50+ screen in their bedrooms or mid sized rooms. Personally most satisfaction i get watching movies is on my 22 inch FHD monitor (LG IPS) in a semi-dark/dark room, though that is partly due to factors such as comfort and habit.

[JithinR]

I got a LG um7290 Tv for my parents during the BBD sale. The TV is fine but the sound clarity especially for dialogues is not great (especially movies and even for watching content on Youtube).

We have a set of old speakers lying around that came as part of a old DVD player. I did get a digital optical cable to connect the TV to the DVD player thinking that I would connect the RCA cable from the DVD to the speakers. That idea bombed because stupid me didn't read the manual or notice the "OUT" written underneath the digital optical cable of the DVD.

Now I just want to connect the RCA plugs directly from the TV to the speakers but the cable doesn't fit the audio output port on the TV. Do TVs these days use some different sort of plugs for TV audio analog output?

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by JithinR

Do TVs these days use some different sort of plugs for TV audio analog output?

Modern Tvs only have following 3 types of sound outputs. 1. HDMI ARC 2. Optical 3. Headphone 3.5 mm jack. Not all TVs have 1 and 3. You dont see RCA out anymore. If your speakers have amplifier, and your TV has headphone jack, see if you can connect the two. Or go for a brand new soundbar.

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by Oxy

What is your budget?

Not decided actually. I don't want to spend a lot for all the latest technologies. I don't do gaming. I don't need OLED etc. I was thinking 70-80K should be good enough or do I need to raise?

Originally Posted by Ithaca

If you would like Dolby Atmos, check out Sony 55X8000H.
If you are okay with Dolby DTS, check out Sony 55X7500H.
Both are 4K Android smart TVs. And there is a price difference of ₹10,000 between them with 7500 being the cheaper option.
H series is 2020 model year. G = 2019.

Vijay Sales exchanged my 4 year old Sony for ₹4000 while Croma offered 2000.
At the time I bought it (Dusshera sales) Sony had an offer - 1 year manufacturers warranty & 2nd year only panel warranty.

I preferred Sony as it is an Android Smart 4K TV & I don’t need a separate 4K fire stick to watch OTT platforms.

I would definitely like to try Sony. I have so far had all Samsung's and frankly, those experiences have been nothing great to be honest. I had reliability issues with both my Samsung TVs.

From a longevity point of view, which type of panels are better - VA or IPS?

[Oxy]

Originally Posted by adimicra

Not decided actually. I don't want to spend a lot for all the latest technologies. I don't do gaming. I don't need OLED etc. I was thinking 70-80K should be good enough or do I need to raise?

From a longevity point of view, which type of panels are better - VA or IPS?

IPS panels give you wide viewing angles while VA have better contrast ratio. So it depends on your usage. If you are only going to watch seated directly in front of the TV then go for VA.

Increase your budget to a lakh and you will get a very good Sony for that price. Check out the X9000H and the X9500G in particular.

[JithinR]

Originally Posted by shipnil

Modern Tvs only have following 3 types of sound outputs. 1. HDMI ARC 2. Optical 3. Headphone 3.5 mm jack. Not all TVs have 1 and 3. You dont see RCA out anymore. If your speakers have amplifier, and your TV has headphone jack, see if you can connect the two. Or go for a brand new soundbar.

I am actually talking about the ports highlighted in the attached picture.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by JithinR

I am actually talking about the ports highlighted in the attached picture.

Are you sure those are out ports? As far as I understand those are input ports.

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by Oxy

IPS panels give you wide viewing angles while VA have better contrast ratio. So it depends on your usage. If you are only going to watch seated directly in front of the TV then go for VA.

Increase your budget to a lakh and you will get a very good Sony for that price. Check out the X9000H and the X9500G in particular.

Is there a good website for television reviews and comparisons?
As I have mentioned, my current TV panel has a refresh rate of 120 Hz.
So, should I make sure that the new one have at least a refresh rate of 100 Hz?
Obviously, I don't want to experience an inferior experience on a new TV.
The Sonly X8000H and X7500H both have a refresh rate of 50 Hz, which is concerning though those will be within my budget.
I am seeing great reviews for Sony X9500G in particular but it is >1 Lakh, which is the limit I have set for myself.

Are there other brands worth considering? What about Samsung/LG or others in the 75-80K price range?

EDIT: 9500G is not available in the stores where I checked, So 9000H seems like the best option.
What would be a good deal for the 9000H? I got an offer of 96K from one store.

[prasathlr]

Originally Posted by adimicra

Is there a good website for television reviews and comparisons?
As I have mentioned, my current TV panel has a refresh rate of 120 Hz.
So, should I make sure that the new one have at least a refresh rate of 100 Hz?
Obviously, I don't want to experience an inferior experience on a new TV.
The Sonly X8000H and X7500H both have a refresh rate of 50 Hz, which is concerning though those will be within my budget.
I am seeing great reviews for Sony X9500G in particular but it is >1 Lakh, which is the limit I have set for myself.

Are there other brands worth considering? What about Samsung/LG or others in the 75-80K price range?

EDIT: 9500G is not available in the stores where I checked, So 9000H seems like the best option.
What would be a good deal for the 9000H? I got an offer of 96K from one store.

The native refresh rate of TVs is either 120Hz or 60Hz. The 100Hz is more of a marketing gimmick pushed by the manufacturer. The refresh rate of 120 Hz matters the most only if you are gaming but if you watch movies then it creates something called Soap-Opera effect. All the movies are shot in 24fps and that's what the filmmakers want you to experience as well.

In case, you are used to the higher refresh rate and aren't bothered about soap-opera effect then no need to break your head about refresh rate.

If you are buying a TV for gaming and movies, then go ahead with Sony 9000H that is the best value for money. But if you are not going to game at all, then go ahead and buy X9500G. It is one of the best TVs for movies around 1.10L. The extra price over 9000H is justified if you plan to hold the TV for more 5+years.

If 9500G is not available then go for 9000H. It is a value for money product.!

[GTsunny]

Originally Posted by Su-47

There are people (like my family) who pause stuff and forget it for hours.

Very good point made of burn in, and something to keep in mind for both current and future OLED TV owners, I’ve been extremely scared of the same too, fortunately LG has an inbuilt screensaver so for example if you run YouTube and are on the Home Screen and no user input for couple of minutes, it moves to a screensaver and, same happens for Netflix and Amazon Prime, however there are times when a video plays on YouTube where it’s a still image and audio playing, so those still scare me but, overall yes LG has taken good care of this.

Also, the LG OS is good as in on YouTube and Netflix IIRC, after a few videos it’ll ask user to confirm if they’re still watching the videos and if there is no response in a set amount of time then it goes into screensaver mode.

[Sineman]

Originally Posted by adimicra

Is there a good website for television reviews and comparisons?

You could check RTINGS.com. They have a good number of reviews and comparisons.

[Su-47]

Originally Posted by JithinR

I got a LG um7290 Tv for my parents during the BBD sale. The TV is fine but the sound clarity especially for dialogues is not great (especially movies and even for watching content on Youtube).

LG has something called ClearVoice/ClearVoiceII which is supposed to enhance dialog clarity. I would say, give that a try before going down the path of connecting external speakers etc.

Originally Posted by prasathlr

The native refresh rate of TVs is either 120Hz or 60Hz. The 100Hz is more of a marketing gimmick pushed by the manufacturer. The refresh rate of 120 Hz matters the most only if you are gaming but if you watch movies then it creates something called Soap-Opera effect. All the movies are shot in 24fps and that's what the filmmakers want you to experience as well.

When playing 24fps content on a 60Hz display, TVs need to do something known as 3:2 pulldown. Which basically means that half the frames are held on the screen for 3-frame time and other half are held for 2 frame-times. This creates an interesting effect in slow pan shots. 120 Hz eliminates the need for 3:2 pulldown as every frame is held on screen for 5 frame times.

Soap opera effect is the result of the TV's processor trying to interpolate between the frames. But, it can be turned off (look for something called Motion Compensated filtering, or MotionaFlow or something like that). Creating "new frames" by interpolating from surrounding frames is an interesting engineering problem, but if it bothers you, it can be turned off.

IMHO, 60/120 Hz are specs from NTSC markets (US and the likes) and 50/100 Hz are specified for PAL markets (EU and India). With 100/120 Hz marking the manufacturer is trying to tell you that they have a double speed panel - but then there is marketing nonsenselike "effective refresh rate" which makes it difficult to find the true refresh rate of a panel.

[Su-47]

Originally Posted by GTsunny

Very good point made of burn in, and something to keep in mind for both current and future OLED TV owners, I’ve been extremely scared of the same too, fortunately LG has an inbuilt screensaver so for example if you run YouTube and are on the Home Screen and no user input for couple of minutes, it moves to a screensaver and, same happens for Netflix and Amazon Prime, however there are times when a video plays on YouTube where it’s a still image and audio playing, so those still scare me but, overall yes LG has taken good care of this.

Apologies about back to back posts, but looks like the edit window has closed on the previous one.

What I was most scared of was the DTH provider's logo (Airtel/TataSky). That thing is there at the same place, day after day, every day. But, if OTT is the primary usage, it should be fine. The OTT provider gets an opportunity to show you "content you might be interested in" and you save your expensive screen. Win-win :-)