85" TV

[nevets23]

Hi All,

Looking for some input. I currently have a 2016 Samsung KS8000 LED TV in my living room. The TV is great, but we just finished our basement, so I'm playing musical chairs with TVs and using it as an excuse to upgrade it to an 85" TV. I've decided LED still makes the most sense due to the brightness of the living room, and have narrowed it down to a couple different options, but keep going back and forth on which one to get. Option 1 is the Samsung QN90A (85"), which appears to arguably be the best 4k LED TV on the market right now, albeit the most expensive as well at $5k (although I expect this price to drop to around $4k sometime in July for a little bit). The other TV I'm considering is the TCL XL (85"), which retails for $3k. From everything I've read, the TCL XL is a fantastic TV, and rivals the QN90A, however it appears to lack HDMI 2.1. I also am a little hesitant as stings.com hasn't reviewed it yet, and I don't know much about TCL (although I've generally heard good things). Although I can afford to pay for the QN90A, and have been leaning to that TV recently, I'm having a hard time paying that much for a TV, b/c I know the price is definitely bloated (and Samsung's definitely aren't perfect). On the other hand, I don't know much about the reliability of TCL, and it's still $3k, so I don't want to regret paying a little bit more if the picture quality, longevity, or general satisfaction will be greater with the Samsung.

Anyone have any experience with the TCL XL 85" (or TCL) in general? Do you think not having HDMI 2.1 is a deal breaker? I don't plan on upgrading the TV again for a while, unless some crazy compelling new technology comes out that makes me go into fanboy mode lol. 

Any thoughts/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[Neo1738]

FYI Sony makes a new I think 83" OLED w over 1300 nits brightness. https://electronics.sony.com/tv-video/televisions/oled/p/xr83a90j

Best of both worlds. 

[Cyknight]

What is the reasoning behind the specific Samsung?

 

I guess I ask because I'd rather buy a 2000-3000 Sony XBR 85" than a TCL....or a different Sammy in that price range

 

You're essentially trying to choose between a top of the line Samsung and an off-brand that is priced among 'regular' (=very good) main brand devices, so I'm curious as to the reasoning.

[nevets23]

5 minutes ago, Cyknight said:

What is the reasoning behind the specific Samsung?

 

I guess I ask because I'd rather buy a 2000-3000 Sony XBR 85" than a TCL....or a different Sammy in that price range

 

You're essentially trying to choose between a top of the line Samsung and an off-brand that is priced among 'regular' (=very good) main brand devices, so I'm curious as to the reasoning.

Fair questions. Part of my reasoning has to do with the fact that both the TCL and that specific Samsung are mini-led. There is one other 4k mini-led Samsung that is about $1k cheaper, but it has an IPS screen (rather than a VA on the higher end Samsung), so it's contrast isn't nearly as good. As for the TCL vs other Samsung's or Sony TVs in the $3k price range, I'm open to the Samsungs or Sonys if the quality of the comparable TVs is just as good or better than the 85" TCL. From what I can tell, however, the Samsungs and Sonys in the $3k price range aren't as good as the TCL. I think the TCL also has a VA screen. It seems to packs a lot of value for a relatively small amount. Thoughts?

 

[nevets23]

1 hour ago, Neo1738 said:

FYI Sony makes a new I think 83" OLED w over 1300 nits brightness. https://electronics.sony.com/tv-video/televisions/oled/p/xr83a90j

Best of both worlds. 

Very true, and it looks like a great TV, but it's also $8k. Plus, I'm still a little bit concerned about burn-in, albeit I understand the risk is relatively low.

[Cyknight]

So far, TCL specs are good, but usually in most non-sponsored reviews, they are mediocre at best for the spec comparable range of TVs. That can still be a 7 to 8 out of 10 overall quality score, but those scores are then comparable to other TVs from Sony, Sammy or LG that are more in the same price range or a bit above.

In the end I simply don't think one ought to compare a starter brand's like TCL's specs face value. If you want an 85" TV at a good deal, there's nothing wrong with it - but compare it to a more similarly priced mainstream, not the 'latest and greates'

[nevets23]

5 minutes ago, Cyknight said:

So far, TCL specs are good, but usually in most non-sponsored reviews, they are mediocre at best for the spec comparable range of TVs. That can still be a 7 to 8 out of 10 overall quality score, but those scores are then comparable to other TVs from Sony, Sammy or LG that are more in the same price range or a bit above.

In the end I simply don't think one ought to compare a starter brand's like TCL's specs face value. If you want an 85" TV at a good deal, there's nothing wrong with it - but compare it to a more similarly priced mainstream, not the 'latest and greates'

I get what you're saying, but I guess that's part of what I'm asking and stating. From a spec standpoint, it appears the TCL is pretty on par with the QN90A. Do you disagree? Also, what TV do you think the best 85" TV is right now priced at $5k or less (I'm not looking to spend more than $5k). From what I can tell, the QN90A appears to be the best option, but if you or someone else thinks otherwise, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[Cyknight]

In the end this is a lot of personal prefenrece. But having seen the TV's side by side, I'm tempted to go for a Sony X950H for under 4k over the QN90A. Or happily grab a QN85A for a grand less than the QN90A.

 

Spec wise, obviously the TCL is good, but I already mentioned that I don't base on specs, I base on comparative reviews or better yet personally seeing them.

A supercar's specs are great, but it still won't seat my family....so what are those specs worth?

 

Understand that I'm not saying the TCL is a bad TV at all, I'm certainly not saying the sammy isn't great. My only 'concern' would be comparing apples to orange to .. lemons

[cdepaola]

Like Cyk I've also seen the sony and tcl side by side and would choose the Sony every day, Sony simply beats the TCl in picture quality and aesthetics of the the tv itself. The Sony also offers better controls for calibration if you're into things like that.  In the end you need to look at what you're using the TV for, what your expectations are, and what your budget is.  

 

[nevets23]

1 hour ago, cdepaola said:

Like Cyk I've also seen the sony and tcl side by side and would choose the Sony every day, Sony simply beats the TCl in picture quality and aesthetics of the the tv itself. The Sony also offers better controls for calibration if you're into things like that.  In the end you need to look at what you're using the TV for, what your expectations are, and what your budget is.  

 

Thanks for the insight. Ok, I'm ruling out the TCL. Have you seen the QN90A as well? If so, how do you think it compares to the 950H or the upcoming 2021 version (not sure the Sony model number or release date for it off the top of my head)?

The one thing that makes me pause with the Sony is that none of the led models (including the 2021 models) has mini-led, which makes me think the TVs won't be as good as the mini-led for Samsung.

[cdepaola]

The differences in quality between these two TV's are going to be miniscule, it will be more about what brand you like better or what styling you like better. Personally I still prefer Sony over Samsung and have far less issues with things like IP control on the Sony vs Samsung.  Right now it will also come down to which TV you can actually find, both have been on back order for months.

 

 

[mindedc1]

FYI, Linus Tech Tips did a review of the MicroLED Samsung against a smaller LG OLED, from their reaction and what the camera captured on the review I would say that the OLED is still slightly superior but unless you put them side by side you can't tell the difference. The Samsung seems to cure most of the issues with backlight blooming and the processing is much more intelligent about not triggering it unnecessarily.

I do suspect the next gen Sony OLED (with LG Panel  is probably the best flat panel TV on the market now and you will pay for it. I have a LGCX series OLED and no burn in issues so far.. also not my main TV but it does get used daily....

Personally, I would be loathe to buy a high end TCL. If I was buying a bedroom TV I would have no problem, but I would be afraid of issues with video processing, HDR etc....  Your money, spend how you like but I would consider that with a LG/Sony/Samsung you're getting top shelf features on the TV and things are mostly thought out and working properly....

[mindedc1]

7 minutes ago, cdepaola said:

The differences in quality between these two TV's are going to be miniscule, it will be more about what brand you like better or what styling you like better. Personally I still prefer Sony over Samsung and have far less issues with things like IP control on the Sony vs Samsung.  Right now it will also come down to which TV you can actually find, both have been on back order for months.

 

 

This is another thing. I routinely see complaints about samsung IP control with C4. I can attest that if you wire them Sonys and LG are great. LG's apps kind of suck. The only TV I don't use a Roku or Shield on is my Sony 940E.... If it slows down any more or shows any signs of weirdness It'll get a Roku though....

 

Good luck!

[msgreenf]

Samsung ip control with c4 is great...3 in my house. No issues for years.

Had issues very early on but RyanE fixed em!

[Topspin14m]

Burn in issues are greatly overstated on OLEDs.  In real world use (not a torture test), it's really unlikely you would experience burn in.  Many people use the LG OLED 48" as a monitor.  OLEDs are becoming more and more popular for use as monitors.  And many cell phones have OLED screens.  Think about it -- if burn in were so bad, wouldn't all those screens be toast?  Instead, there are isolated incidents of people who have issues.  In reality, the OLED burn in risk is super low--that myth is exacerbated by YouTube videos of people abusing their screens or putting them into extreme scenarios (or complaining about image retention which isn't really burn in and can be cleared off the screen by running the protection software).

I have 4 OLEDs and have never had an issue with burn in.  I play PS5 on my OLED all the time.  Don't let people scare you.  In probably 5 years, I've had 1 minor image retention issue.  I cleared it in approximately 3 minutes by clicking the LG image retention fixer.

As a final point -- there is a reason that Best Buy offers a burn in protection insurance plan for the same price as any other extended warranty from any retailer.  Because it's not a real risk. 

[Cyknight]

3 hours ago, cdepaola said:

The differences in quality between these two TV's are going to be miniscule, it will be more about what brand you like better or what styling you like better. Personally I still prefer Sony over Samsung and have far less issues with things like IP control on the Sony vs Samsung.  Right now it will also come down to which TV you can actually find, both have been on back order for months.

 

 

I'd say the sammy is a hair better - but not 1k+ better...

[Control4Savant]

13 hours ago, mindedc1 said:

FYI, Linus Tech Tips did a review of the MicroLED Samsung against a smaller LG OLED, from their reaction and what the camera captured on the review I would say that the OLED is still slightly superior but unless you put them side by side you can't tell the difference. The Samsung seems to cure most of the issues with backlight blooming and the processing is much more intelligent about not triggering it unnecessarily.

I do suspect the next gen Sony OLED (with LG Panel  is probably the best flat panel TV on the market now and you will pay for it. I have a LGCX series OLED and no burn in issues so far.. also not my main TV but it does get used daily....

Personally, I would be loathe to buy a high end TCL. If I was buying a bedroom TV I would have no problem, but I would be afraid of issues with video processing, HDR etc....  Your money, spend how you like but I would consider that with a LG/Sony/Samsung you're getting top shelf features on the TV and things are mostly thought out and working properly....

fyi..."Bobs projector people" or whatever YouTube reviewer you pick is generally paid or biased based on number of things and not something I would ever suggest taking seriously. The picture quality of what you see is also now subject to the camera recording it, the processing, exporting blah blah blah...

There are virtually no differences in OLED between brands so buy LG if thats what you want and don't pay for markup. Don't worry about ghosting either.  Otherwise buy Sony and enjoy pro mode and IP control. You could wait and see what becomes of Samsungs hybrid OLED... 

 

 

 

 

 

[bobbay]

Sony 950H or 95J if you can't get the 950H still. Sony over Samsung All day every day. 

[Cyknight]

4 hours ago, Control4Sucks said:

fyi..."Bobs projector people" or whatever YouTube reviewer you pick is generally paid or biased based on number of things and not something I would ever suggest taking seriously

This twice over - hence why I stated:

21 hours ago, Cyknight said:

in most non-sponsored reviews

 

To be fair, plenty of 'old-school' review sites and magazines (you know, those glossy paper things) are also sponsored or at least require payment to do a review - it's not easy to find true un-biased reviews online.

[mindedc1]

10 hours ago, Control4Savant said:

fyi..."Bobs projector people" or whatever YouTube reviewer you pick is generally paid or biased based on number of things and not something I would ever suggest taking seriously. The picture quality of what you see is also now subject to the camera recording it, the processing, exporting blah blah blah...

There are virtually no differences in OLED between brands so buy LG if thats what you want and don't pay for markup. Don't worry about ghosting either.  Otherwise buy Sony and enjoy pro mode and IP control. You could wait and see what becomes of Samsungs hybrid OLED... 

WHHHHHAAAATTTTT??????? People are paid for reviews on the internet? My world now crumbles around me.

I would presume that most people on this forum would know that LTT is one of the more honest channels and they typically have no problem throwing products under the bus when they suck. They flipped on intel in a heartbeat when AMD started slaughtering them from a price/performance perspective. They also are good about making it obvious which videos are shill pieces (he's reading a script from a telprompter...poorly) and if you pay attention they make it obvious enough where the mfr has required them to "cook" the test/comparison (we have this slightly odd test scenario that highlights a specific performance point of the product). I guarantee they were required on the Samsung review to highlight that a scope format movie no longer exhibits backlight bleed etc... Linus then does go on to point out that they are not just managing where the dim zones break but doing a less agressive job of driving backlight when a portion of the zone is black. A lot of the magic appears to be that they've been working on the algorithm to drive the miniLED setup vs the previous gen FALD display. 

That all being said, I assume everyone on this forum knows there is a game played and to take such a review with an appropriate grain of salt. If OP was asking about DeltaE after calibration and color drift I wouldn't point them to a youtube review. Since everyone is trying to beat every dollar out of every purchase, killing retail, and the days of going to a local store and seeing these things side by side set up in and calibrated in a professional way are gone, I was giving a reasonable substitute for a less than die-hard consumer.

 

[Neo1738]

Remember most OLED come from LG anyway, at least Sony's def do. That being said Sony processes better especially w motion (sports). I'm biased probably bc I have Sony's in my house but would buy them again any day. Love them IP control has been rock solid and no burn in yet on my 2 OLEDs.

[nevets23]

I decided to give the Samsung a try. It should be delivered tomorrow, so we'll see how it looks. The Sony 950H seems great, but it doesn't have HDMI 2.1 or mini-led, and is still $3700. The Samsung just dropped to $4500 (and I expect it to drop to $4k within the next month, and I can do a price match through Best Buy for 45 days), so the price shouldn't be that much of a difference. Plus, it has HDMI 2.1 and mini-led. Samsung doesn't have DV, which is certainly a bummer, but it isn't a deal breaker, as I believe they can always add it as a firmware update if they ever pay for the license. Honestly, if the 2021 replacement for the 950H was out already, I would consider it, since it has HDMI 2.1...my only hesitation is that Sony didn't use Mini-led on any TVs for 2021, which seems like an unintelligent move, even if it only provides an incremental boost in picture quality (I believe its better than incremental though from everything I read). If I don't like the Samsung, I'll return it and get the 2021 Sony.

[nevets23]

For what it's worth, I don't think rtings.com is biased or paid....at least that's what they claim, and their reviews have been pretty accurate in the past.

[MattK2]

Sony for this guy. Never had an issue with Samsung, just not what I prefer. The 900H is solid as well.

[Control4Savant]

9 hours ago, nevets23 said:

I decided to give the Samsung a try. It should be delivered tomorrow, so we'll see how it looks. The Sony 950H seems great, but it doesn't have HDMI 2.1 or mini-led, and is still $3700. The Samsung just dropped to $4500 (and I expect it to drop to $4k within the next month, and I can do a price match through Best Buy for 45 days), so the price shouldn't be that much of a difference. Plus, it has HDMI 2.1 and mini-led. Samsung doesn't have DV, which is certainly a bummer, but it isn't a deal breaker, as I believe they can always add it as a firmware update if they ever pay for the license. Honestly, if the 2021 replacement for the 950H was out already, I would consider it, since it has HDMI 2.1...my only hesitation is that Sony didn't use Mini-led on any TVs for 2021, which seems like an unintelligent move, even if it only provides an incremental boost in picture quality (I believe its better than incremental though from everything I read). If I don't like the Samsung, I'll return it and get the 2021 Sony.

Well hopefully you enjoy. There is no picture advantage with mini-LED...it's just different tech and something Samsung specifically likes to talk about since they are... or were... anti OLED. Mico-LED is a different story. There is also virtually no real reason to care about 2.1 at this time. If you care about refresh rate you should be getting a large commercial monitor.