Deciding between LG/Philips/Samsung 4k TV

[Firenze]

Hello,

 

I am buying my first 4k tv mainly for watching movies,netflix,streams etc.

 

At the moment I have 3 different options:

 

1) LG 55UM7100 55" Smart 4K Ultra HD LED 350€

My thoughts: LG seems to be a solid choice, but it lacks any kind of local dimming

 

2) Philips 50PUS6504 50" Smart 4K Ultra HD LED 300€

My thoughts: Customer service said the tv has over 6000 individually controlled dimming zones, which sounds good. On the other hand the tv has 3x the amount of returns according to the stores statistics and is 5 inches smaller. Also Philips isnt quite as established in the tv world(?).

 

3) Samsung UE55RU7092 55" Smart 4K Ultra HD LED 390€

My thoughts: Samsung should be solid choice too. Its a weird model so customer service couldn't give me exact numbers on dimming zones, but 70xx series info site says "hundreds of dimming zones", which is a lot less than Philips' 6000+

 

 

I'm having a hard time making a decision, currently leaning more towards LG / Philips. Looking for some input to make my decision easier

 

Thank you!

[burh4n]

Looks like some of those are UK based SKUs. So my big question for you would be what's your budget? Looks like it might be around 400-500 GBP? That's a tough call, personally I'm not familiar with these models (I used to work for a US based AV company) and we all agreed that the LG OLED displays (B and C series) are king. Those are quite a bit more, but if you can hold off, that's what I'd go with personally (I'm still using a 10 year old Panasonic plasma until I can upgrade to an LG OLED).

If you have to stick with those, I would go with either the LG or Samsung. Can't say much about Phillips TV performance since in the pro realm they're not really used (which is why I'd steer clear). With or without local dimming zones for whichever you end up with, I strongly suggest calibrating the display. This will help a lot with avoiding contrast bleeding and give you the best bang for your pound picture quality. Most of all tho, go somewhere (when you can) to view them in person (preferably somewhere that has environmental lighting closer to what you have at home, which probably isn't eye-searing florescent lights).

[Firenze]

Added pricing to the main post.

 

I know OLED would be the best choice, but it is three times more expensive(B9 @999€), which I don't think is good value for me right now.

[jj9987]

LG has IPS panel, which is better for viewing in bright rooms. Other two have VA panels, which are better for viewing in dark rooms.

Generally LG makes better software/firmware for TVs, but that depends how many of the smart services you will actually be using.