Suggestions for 55" Tv + separate sound system

rag_s

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Hi

I'm looking to buy a 55" Tv for watching OTT content exclusively (no cable connection). In addition, looking to get a separate sound system, but open to getting an integrated one, if it's good enough on a TV. Budget is 60k for TV and 10-15k for the sound system - so total 70-75k (ok to stretch if its a good deal).

Currently, I have a Sony 32" (5+ years). Never had issues, and happy with the quality so far. But recently had bought a Sony 43" for my parents whose panel started giving problems (albeit under warranty) - Primarily looking at the big 4 players (Sony, Samsung, LG, and Panasonic). Biased towards Sony and Panasonic. From my brief search, it looks like the budget will be tight, but hoping there is a good deal I can snap up.

I don't need a "Smart Tv" (already have an amazon stick). So looking for a dumbest Tv, with a good panel and HDR. Even open for FHD (I'll be sitting 12" from the screen, so UHD wouldn't matter much) if available, but doesn't look like FHD is available for 55" onwards.
 
Hi

I'm looking to buy a 55" Tv for watching OTT content exclusively (no cable connection). In addition, looking to get a separate sound system, but open to getting an integrated one, if it's good enough on a TV. Budget is 60k for TV and 10-15k for the sound system - so total 70-75k (ok to stretch if its a good deal).

Currently, I have a Sony 32" (5+ years). Never had issues, and happy with the quality so far. But recently had bought a Sony 43" for my parents whose panel started giving problems (albeit under warranty) - Primarily looking at the big 4 players (Sony, Samsung, LG, and Panasonic). Biased towards Sony and Panasonic. From my brief search, it looks like the budget will be tight, but hoping there is a good deal I can snap up.

I don't need a "Smart Tv" (already have an amazon stick). So looking for a dumbest Tv, with a good panel and HDR. Even open for FHD (I'll be sitting 12" from the screen, so UHD wouldn't matter much) if available, but doesn't look like FHD is available for 55" onwards.


Please clarify the below to suggest right options..

1.) Where do you sit?? Directly in front of tv or at an angle?
2.) If u find a good tv from other brands are you willing to purchase?
3.) By seperate sound system do you mean a sound bar?
 
1.) Where do you sit?? Directly in front of tv or at an angle?

Directly in front, not much of side angle viewing.

2.) If u find a good tv from other brands are you willing to purchase?

Yes - I'm in Bengaluru, so ok with going for a less known brand. But only if there is no option from the known ones. Basically looking for reliability and durability.

3.) By seperate sound system do you mean a sound bar?

Yeah - most likely a soundbar is what looks to be the norm. I'm assuming its simpler / enough for a TV setup than going for a 2.1/5.1 system. Also, that, soundbars are better than what the TV provides.
 
Directly in front, not much of side angle viewing.



Yes - I'm in Bengaluru, so ok with going for a less known brand. But only if there is no option from the known ones. Basically looking for reliability and durability.



Yeah - most likely a soundbar is what looks to be the norm. I'm assuming its simpler / enough for a TV setup than going for a 2.1/5.1 system. Also, that, soundbars are better than what the TV provides.

Based on your response here are the Models you can check. All these are for 55 inch models.

Sony X8500G/X85G: (Rs.82000 in Reliance Digital/83K in Amazon)
Display - IPS Panel, Native 100Hz, Around 550 nits brightness, Dolby Vision, HDR10, WCG, EdgeLED, TRILUMINOS Display, 4K HDR Processor X1 Processor.
Sound - 10W+10W sound, 4 Speakers (2 Full Range + 2 Tweeters) Dolby Atmos & DTS Decoding (Certified), eARC.
OS - Android TV 8.0, 16GB Memory,
Pros - Excellent Picture quality.
Great Picture Processor
Android TV (Netflix Recommended)
Great Upscaling
Dolby Vision and Atmos support.
Cons - Poor Blacks in dark room (Due to IPS Panel) since no FALD
No information about the RAM Memory details. Not sure about its OS performance.
Average Sound

LG SM9000: (Rs.80000 in flipkart)
Display - IPS Panel, Native 100Hz, Around 600 nits brightness, Dolby Vision, HDR10, WCG, EdgeLED, NANOCELL Display, Magic Remote, α7 Gen 2 Processor.
Sound - 40W sound, 2.2 Channel Speakers, Dolby Atmos & DTS Decoding (Certified), eARC.
OS - Web OS 4.6
Pros - Excellent Picture quality.
Great Picture Processor
Fluid OS
Great Upscaling
Good Sound due to 40W
Dolby Vision and Atmos support.
Cons - Poor Blacks in dark room (Due to IPS Panel). FALD can improve this a bit though.
No information about the RAM Memory details.

Samsung Frame 2019: (Rs.83000 in flipkart)
Display - VA Panel, Native 120Hz, Around 450 nits brightness, HDR10+, HDR10, WCG, EdgeLED, QLED Display, Quantum Processor 4K.
Sound - 40W sound, 2.2 Channel Speakers, Dolby Digital Plus Decoding (Certified), ARC.
OS - Tizen OS 2019
Pros - Excellent Picture quality.
Great Picture Processor
Great Blacks due to VA Panel.
Fluid OS
Great Upscaling
Good Sound due to 40W
HDR10+ Support.
Cons - Average Viewing Angles due to VA Panel.
No information about the RAM Memory details.
No Dolby Vision or Dolby Atmos support.
No DTS Support.

TCL C8: (Rs.50000 in Stores)
Display - VA Panel, Native 60Hz, Around 350 nits brightness, Contrast 4500:1, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, WCG, EdgeLED, MEMC
Sound - 24W sound, 2.2 Channel Speakers, ONKYO Audio, Dolby Atmos & DTS Decoding (Certified), ARC.
OS - Android TV 9.0, 2GB Ram, 16GB Storage, Quad Core Processor.
Pros - Very Good Picture quality.
Decent Blacks due to VA Panel.
Fluid Interface.
Good Sound due to 24W ONKYO Audio Integerated soundbar
Dolby Visoin, HDR10+, Dolby Atmos Support.
Cons - Average Viewing Angles due to VA Panel.
Average upscaling since no dedicated picture engine.


If you want a peace of mind and prefer only top tier brands then i personally suggest LG SM9000. This is one of the best TV for 80K. It has full array local dimming which the Sony lacks. This FALD should improve the poor blacks on the IPS Panel. It has very good up-scaling capability as well. Also, its inbuilt sound should be sufficient for you due to 40W 2.2 Channel setup. You can always get a soundbar later if you are not satisfied. Magic remote is additional bonus which no other TV has. This is the only TV which has eARC port (useful when you connect to soundbar to get dolby atmos sound)
Samsung is the least preferred of the lot as it has very least specs comparatively but high/equal cost. So its not value for money.

If you are willing to look beyond the top tier brands then i suggest to have a look at TCL C8. I purchased this TV recently and satisfied with it. Only drawback i see compared to Sony/LG are its up-scaling capabilities which is very average at best. But it picture is very good when you throw 1080P or 4K content. You may not need a soundbar as well. Also, it supports all the HDR formats.

Note: I have no experience with Panasonic TV so unable to suggest them. I have personally seen all these above TVs in person and my comments are based on that.
Also, i have not suggested any budget brands like VU, MI etc since i personally feel their picture quality is not that great. They also have very poor upscaling for SD,720P content.
 
The TCL C8 looks good spec wise (and cost), but my only concern is service. Browsing through Amazon comments seems to show many people facing service and quality issues. TCL seems to be doing well in US, but I'm not sure how good it is India so far. There is a store nearby though, I'll try to visit this weekend.

The LG 55SM9000PTA is showing as 1,05,999 on FK.

Also, how about Sony X7002G - (68k on FK). It doesn't have the android os of X85G (I can get Amazon stick for that), and I also see no Bluetooth support. I could pair that with a soundbar. Doesn't seem to have Dolby Vision though.

Also since I'm only watching on OTT, not worried about upscaling content.
 
The TCL C8 looks good spec wise (and cost), but my only concern is service. Browsing through Amazon comments seems to show many people facing service and quality issues. TCL seems to be doing well in US, but I'm not sure how good it is India so far. There is a store nearby though, I'll try to visit this weekend.

The LG 55SM9000PTA is showing as 1,05,999 on FK.

Also, how about Sony X7002G - (68k on FK). It doesn't have the android os of X85G (I can get Amazon stick for that), and I also see no Bluetooth support. I could pair that with a soundbar. Doesn't seem to have Dolby Vision though.

Also since I'm only watching on OTT, not worried about upscaling content.

Strange. LG SM9000 still shows Rs.80000 in FK for me. I just checked again. However, i request you to check it offline.
You can also check one model down (SM8600). It might be cheaper and around your budget. Please do check in your nearby offline store as there are lot of offers going on to push the existing stock to make way for the new 2020 models. The SM8600 has inferior local dimming comparitively, it also looses eARC, VRR, G-SYNC compared to SM9000. If these features dont bother you then you can try SM8600. I checked the price in Reliance digital yesterday for my friend and they said its 72K after all discounts. SM8600 has Dolby Vision as well so feature wise you dont lose much.

Not sure if going to Sony X7002G is a good decision compared to LG SM8600. Sony TV does not have Dolby Vision, only 50Hz (SM8600 is 120Hz). The difference between 50Hz and 120Hz panel would be pretty obvious when you watch fast moving scenes or sports. I saw this model as well in Reliance digital. You can try to go there and have a look at both Sony X7002G and LG SM8600.

But, If you are OK with the features of Sony X7002G then have a look at Samsung RU7470 as well which is 70K. Might be even lesser now with discounts. This is a very good TV along with HDR10+ support. You will not miss the lack of DTS audio support too as no OTT provider use DTS. All of them use DD/DD+/Dolby Atmos only. It has VA panel too so the blacks should be very good compared to both LG and Sony which uses IPS panels.

Note: Extremely sorry if i made your decision tougher by confusing you with options. Just wanted to help a fellow member purchase a good TV.
 
Strange. LG SM9000 still shows Rs.80000 in FK for me. I just checked again. However, i request you to check it offline.
Ah, It's not available in the Bengaluru area. I checked a few stores (Reliance, and one local) couldn't find this model.

I ended up buying x8500G for 80K from Sony showroom. I was almost going to get the x7500h for 76K that just got released. It greatly improves on the x7002G (android, X1 Picture Processor), but x85G has Dolby Vision, and got it for a good deal so grabbed it.

Even though I ended up buying something else entirely, thanks for your help!
 
Ah, It's not available in the Bengaluru area. I checked a few stores (Reliance, and one local) couldn't find this model.

I ended up buying x8500G for 80K from Sony showroom. I was almost going to get the x7500h for 76K that just got released. It greatly improves on the x7002G (android, X1 Picture Processor), but x85G has Dolby Vision, and got it for a good deal so grabbed it.

Even though I ended up buying something else entirely, thanks for your help!

Thats great to hear. No worries, as you can see X85G was my suggested option from Sony. Except that it doesnt have FALD its a great model. Just enjoy the famous upscaling capabilities Sony is known for. Its a great decision.

And yes, This year i believe the model X7500H is gonna be super hit as its packed with features for a very good price.
 
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