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Calibration is key. A properly calibrated $400 Hisense will destroy an un-calibrated TOTL Sony OLED in watchabilty and picture quality.
I’ve run Samsung and Vizio for years (decades) with zero issues. The only time I’ve gotten rid of one was when there was literally no room for it. For example, went with a new Samsung 75” in the HT, moved that 65” Vizio to the family room, moved that 60” Vizio to the 2ch area, and moved tha t50” Samsung to a needy neighbor.
As for OLED, QLED, or mini-LED, I really don’t see the value vs investment. Maybe when 8k goes mainstream, but as of now, not so much.“Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn -
Damn Bill! All I was showing is that they were coming and possible in 4k until the energy restrictions nixxed them.
Name one new technology that wasn't unaffordable to the masses until they scaled it down to the affordable area.
Hell even I remember when my neighbor bought a new betamax and projection TV that he paid high 5 figures for.
I hate to belabor the point, but 4K wasn't coming in smaller plasma TVs. There was talk for years from industry experts at AVSforum about the difficulty in shrinking the plasma pixel size. The cost vs other technologies is what really made plasma go away. OLED skunked it. The energy savings was part of the equation, but not the only factor. -
Calibration is key. A properly calibrated $400 Hisense will destroy an un-calibrated TOTL Sony OLED in watchabilty and picture quality.
How do you calibrate your TV?
2ch rig: Speakers: LSi9s with VR3's Fortress mods Preamplifier: Parasound P5 DAC: Fiio K13 Amplifier: Parasound A23 CDP: Pioneer DV-563A Cables: Wireworld Equinox 7 XLR ICs, Wireworld Ultraviolet 7 USB, AudioQuest Q2s, AudioQuest NRG X(preamp)
Standby: Magnepan LRS w/Magna Riser stands -
Read up here. https://www.avsforum.com/forums/display-calibration.139/
So much information to try and summarize in a quick forum post.
To do it right, most people hire a professional calibrator to come to their house and do the work. They use special colorimeters connected to a laptop running calibration software. It can be a very complex procedure that requires expensive equipment and years of training.
For the frugal among us, you can adjust by eye using a series of reference images and you fine tune the menu settings to achieve the best look.
Even easier it to take a set of published numbers from someplace like RTings, but every display has some variance, so that is the least reliable way to get a proper calibration.
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There are several discs out there. I settled on this one years ago - it includes the blue-filter for setting color/tint and a host of other tests for brightness, contrast, sharpness, etc.
It also includes a suite of audio tracks for HT calibration.
“Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn -
A disc is nice to have. Keep in mind that calibrating with a DVD will only adjust the Rec.601 color space. A Blu-ray or a USB loaded with HD files would be needed for the Rec.709 color space. UHD is BT.2020 color space, then there are others for Dolby Vision (DV) and HDR10 spaces. It can get frustrating because modern TVs will change the settings each time a different signal is received. Took me awhile to figure out why some things were blinding me when I finally got a UHD TV. It was the DV settings, which you can't access until it receives a DV signal.
For Rec.709, AVSforum created set of free calibration files. I had them burned to a disc at one point, but I don't know what happened to it. I still have a Spears and Munsil DVD from 25 years ago, but I only use the color filters that came with it.
It might take some time to find the download, but here is the AVS thread for the 709 files.
https://www.avsforum.com/threads/avs-hd-709-blu-ray-mp4-calibration.948496/?nested_view=1&sortby=oldest#replies -
For my $, 75-77 QLED to replace my (still works great) 13YO Samsung 60” 1080p later this year or early nextSamsung 60" QN65Q7FAMFXZA QLED, Outlaw Audio 976 Pre/Pro, Samsung BDP, Amazon Firestick, Phillips CD Changer
Canare 14 ga - LCR tweeters inside*; Ctr Ch outside
BJC 10 ga - LCR mids “Foamed” & “Plugged**”, inside* & out
8 ga Powerline: LR woofers, inside* & out
*soldered **Rob the Man (Xschop)
LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels*. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & Mids - RB981*
Ctr Ch: Rotel RB981* -> Bi-amped CSi A6
Surrounds: Rotel 981* -> AR 12 ga -> RTi A3
*all connected w/Premiere ICs
5 Subs: Sunfire True SW Signature -> LFE & Ctr Ch; 4 Audio Pro Evidence @ the “Corners”
Power Conditioning & Distribution:
4 dedicated 20A feeds; APC H15; 5 Furman Miniport 20s -
Thank you for the info All.2ch rig: Speakers: LSi9s with VR3's Fortress mods Preamplifier: Parasound P5 DAC: Fiio K13 Amplifier: Parasound A23 CDP: Pioneer DV-563A Cables: Wireworld Equinox 7 XLR ICs, Wireworld Ultraviolet 7 USB, AudioQuest Q2s, AudioQuest NRG X(preamp)
Standby: Magnepan LRS w/Magna Riser stands -
So just to pile on the discussion, I have been looking at BOTL Samsung OLED screens vs. a decent LED screen. I am looking to spend right under 1K if I can snag a deal during this year's holiday season. Anyone sporting an OLED panel right now??
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OLED is great, but they are not as bright as the comparable LCD (LED Backlit). If you want dark room movie viewing, it is very hard to beat OLED. At the lower price spectrum, I would suggest looking at the LG OLEDs. They typically offer better value and no loss of image quality. You didn't mention what size you are looking for. At 55", you should easily find one under $1k. At 65", that might need to be a BF sale.
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I would be looking for. 65" screen. The other thing I am wondering is, when its all said and done, how much better would a 1K cost OLD perfom vs a say 750 cost LED. I know LG gets generally high ratings, but since I have had so many issues w other LG stuff, I really am trying to avoid them out of my one man protest.
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Get OLED. They just look better. The whole brightness debate is a little overated.
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Anyone sporting an OLED panel right now??
I've had several. Loved them all. All long as your room isn't really bright, OLED rules.
The new Panasonic has my attention. Z95B, or the Z95A if a deal can be found.
Enjoy your search! -
I would be looking for. 65" screen. The other thing I am wondering is, when its all said and done, how much better would a 1K cost OLD perfom vs a say 750 cost LED. I know LG gets generally high ratings, but since I have had so many issues w other LG stuff, I really am trying to avoid them out of my one man protest.
In a dark room the OLED would be significantly better in its black levels and color rendition. They also tend to be more reliable than any edge-lit or local dimming LED backlight TVs. Rtings really is your best place to look for comparisons. They tested a very large number of various TVs for long term endurance, which I found enlighteing. As far as protesting LG, I'd say Samsung has just as many bad appliances in the last 10 years. LG has had above average reliability (and panel endurance) on their OLED sets since at least the 2rd generation. -
In the last couple years OLED sets have gotten better with brightness and LED sets have gotten better with picture quality. I'd still pick an LED set for a bright room where a set would be used throughout the day and an OLED set for picture quality in a room where light can be controlled. I have LED and OLED sets in different environments. Picture quality on my OLED set is still considerably better than on my LED sets. OLED sets tend to be a bit more expensive to buy but cheaper to run compared to mini-LED sets and lighter in weight because OLED is self-illuminating.
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Panasonic has a 77 inch OLED set now. The 55, 65, and 77 sizes were announced in January. They get good reviews except for the Fire TV operating system built in.
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Overall, looking at current pricing, I think it will be hard to find a 65” OLED in any brand for under $1K given inflation and tariffs over the last couple years. Maybe if you can find a closeout model. I haven't been following sales though. I guess what I'm saying is you might not have many OLED choices if your purchase is price/size driven. There will be plenty of LED/QLED/mini LED choices though.
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Panasonic also just released a new lower cost Z8 series model in the 77 inch size last week. Not widely available yet.
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Overall, looking at current pricing, I think it will be hard to find a 65” OLED in any brand for under $1K given inflation and tariffs over the last couple years. Maybe if you can find a closeout model. I haven't been following sales though. I guess what I'm saying is you might not have many OLED choices if your purchase is price/size driven. There will be plenty of LED/QLED/mini LED choices though.
Kev, I guess I stand corrected. Samsung has the S84F for under $1000 in 65" at BestBuy, which I suspect is the main one you are looking at. I can't find any detailed/measured reviews of that model. It is not the same as the S85F, which uses a QD-OLED panel and is quite a bit more expensive. That said, I've been happy with the old school OLED panel on my 4-year old Sony. I'm the Samsung would look nice once you put it into the Film mode and turn off all the garbage AI enhancements. I bet Samsung is using older panels to use up surplus on that model.
One thing I forgot to mention previously, is that Samsung does not use Dolby Vision. They have HDR10+ which is their proprietary method for dynamic tone mapping. Most video geeks prefer DV, but overall, that shouldn't be a huge hurdle. Just make sure your streaming box can support HDR10+ (unless you plan to use the Tizen interface). -
I forgot to mention that they currently have a 55” and that’s the size they want to stay with. Thanks for the replies fellas.
Honestly, at 55" there is unlimited options and even the TVs at $300 are pretty impressive. There are 51 TVs in stock at my local Best Buy that meets the 55" and $1500 criteria.
Set your budget, pick your brand, and head to BestBuy/Target/Nebraska Furniture etc.
The main advice I tell people is don't get hung up on the streaming software and UI. Almost every display will long outlast the UI support, and something like a $50-100 Roku will offer a better experience.
I know this because all of our Samsung TVs are still working great, with a few approaching the 8-10 year mark. Once certain apps got glitchy we didn't start replacing TVs. We just got a Roku for every TV in the house. Total investment of $180 I think. Zero issues for the past 3+ years with the exception of replacing the living room remote. And that was something we just added to the next Target run. Much easier than replacing OEM remotes.
Analog: Hana ML > VPI Prime Signature 21 > Bob's Devices Sky 20-S > Sutherland 20/20 w/LPS
Digital: Cambridge CXC / Streaming > Cambridge CXN v2
Norma IPA-140 > Rosso Fiorentino Volterra
Hifiman EF600 > Hifiman Arya Stealth
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