Which TV for my mom?

[IAmAndre]

Hi guys,

 

So my mom will be out all day tomorrow and her TV died last week so I'd like to surprise her with a new one. My budget is around $500 but I can extend it a bit if it's justified. I've visited some shops today and I'd need your help to pick one of the 3 models I shortlisted.

 

For context, her previous TV was a 43" full HD model from Hisense bought about 10 years ago. She isn't technical at all but she'll appreciate having a larger one. I also want it to look good (very flat with small bezels). I'll probably be using it too every now and then for watching YouTube and sports events.

 

Here are the 3 models I need to choose from:

• LG 55UP75 at $600: over my budget but I like the extra screen size. I'm not sure if the extra money is justified considering how chunky it looks but it has a ton of good reviews on Amazon, at different sizes.
• Samsung AU8070 at $580, which is the Italian version of the AU8000: still over my budget but 50". It looks gorgeous irl. Flat, small bezels and great picture quality. Rtings reviewed the AU8000 and mentioned poor vision angles, but I haven't noticed this irl. I'm no expert but I know a bit about TV's and monitors.
• Samsung AU7700 at $420: that one is well within the budget but it's only 43". It seems to have more features than the others TV's in this price range, such as Bixby integration and the 4K panel, and it also has good reviews online.

So which one would you recommend going for?

 

Thanks!

[cmndr]

Samsung and LG don't have good lower priced products at this time. They basically stopped investing in the low end YEARS ago and are focusing on premium displays that cost $1000+. I say this as someone with a $1300 Samsung QN90a who thinks his father's 55" Samsung TV from years ago and his SO's 43" LG unit are both miserable pieces of garbage whose only saving grace is that they still turn on. Basic features in those units like HDMI ARC and Aux out were stripped away to save $2 on a controller or DAC. 

https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/best/budget

HiSense UH6/UH7(has 120Hz refresh rate but not hugely better) and TCL 535/546/555 (and similar) are going to be better buys in terms of image quality and features. 
I'd look for deals on pretty much any of these models and use price as the main decider unless the next model up is within a hair. 

[BiotechBen]

Honestly, I've been loving my TCL 55S435. The 55S555 has great ratings, a better panel, better picture, and is currently on sale:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/tcl-55-class-5-series-4k-uhd-qled-dolby-vision-hdr-smart-roku-tv/6514544.p?skuId=6514544

 

Current support has been great for ROKU tv from TCL, I have a 32in set from 2017 that is still receiving regular updates.

[cmndr]

https://www.rtings.com/tv/tools/compare/lg-up7000-vs-hisense-u6h/22979/33530?usage=1&threshold=0.10
I think the LG UP75 you're looking at is a vendor specific version of the UP7000. I'm not positive. If I'm right though... there's very few use cases that would justify it. 

https://www.rtings.com/tv/tools/compare/samsung-au8000-vs-hisense-u6h/21557/33530?usage=1&threshold=0.10
Similar story with the Samsung AU8000

There's relatively little reason why you can't get a 55" TV with higher image quality and a similar/better feature set for that much over $400ish. If you find a GREAT sale it's like $350ish on a good day. 

Best buy has a 55" TCL 555 on sale for $370. 
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/tcl-55-class-5-series-4k-uhd-qled-dolby-vision-hdr-smart-roku-tv/6514544.p?skuId=6514544

It looks like it's generally better than the UH6 and just a little worse than the UH7 - https://www.rtings.com/tv/tools/compare/tcl-5-series-s555-2022-qled-vs-hisense-u7h/34812/31243?usage=1&threshold=0.10

[IAmAndre]

1 hour ago, cmndr said:

HiSense UH6/UH7(has 120Hz refresh rate but not hugely better) and TCL 535/546/555 (and similar) are going to be better buys in terms of image quality and features. 

 

1 hour ago, BiotechBen said:

Honestly, I've been loving my TCL 55S435. The 55S555 has great ratings, a better panel, better picture, and is currently on sale:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/tcl-55-class-5-series-4k-uhd-qled-dolby-vision-hdr-smart-roku-tv/6514544.p?skuId=6514544

Wow these Chinese brands look insane. I'll try to get my hands on one of these.

 

1 hour ago, cmndr said:

https://www.rtings.com/tv/tools/compare/samsung-au8000-vs-hisense-u6h/21557/33530?usage=1&threshold=0.10
Similar story with the Samsung AU8000

OK I'm biased because the Samsung looks so much slimmer compared to all these that I tend to like it anyway. I know thinness isn't everything but the Samsung just has a better design.

[cmndr]

16 hours ago, IAmAndre said:

Wow these Chinese brands look insane. I'll try to get my hands on one of these.

 

OK I'm biased because the Samsung looks so much slimmer compared to all these that I tend to like it anyway. I know thinness isn't everything but the Samsung just has a better design.

Thinness for TVs hasn't mattered for like 15 years. 

Give this a read - https://www.reddit.com/r/HTBuyingGuides/comments/ukrs2i/home_theater_101_2022_us_television_buying_guide/

I want to emphasize, the lower end Samsung TVs are garbage with LOTS of cut corners. Samsung stopped making the panels used in those displays years ago. They're basically rebadging other company's displays but charging like they're top of market. At this point Samsung is pretty much going full steam on OLED and LCDs are secondary concern to them. 
 

 

 

[seanondemand]

The Bose of TVs is a great metaphor. A brand people have heard of so they think it's good - not that everything they make is bad, but most of it is.