Tellies

[Penfold]

I know little about this but we went today to buy a new telly and got very confuddled.

We got to the stage of tossing up between these two but were getting conflicting answers from different salespeople.

https://www.johnlewis.com/samsung-qe55q7f-qled-hdr-1500-4k-ultra-hd-smart-tv-55-with-tvplus-freesat-hd-360-design-silver-ultra-hd-premium-certified/p3177340

and

https://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-55ez952b-oled-hdr-4k-ultra-hd-smart-tv-55-with-freeview-play-super-slim-design-black-ultra-hd-premium-certified/p3236297

There were differing views about Oled vs Ultra HD.

The Samsung picture seemed better but others said the oled was better due to individual lights behind each led point or something.

Anyway, genuinely confused and I know we have some TV purists on here and I'd trust you guys before anyone else so any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Chaosphere]

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/qled-vs-oled-tv/


The Tv's are very similar. It's a toss up and you won't be disappointed with either. I personally am a Samsung man and have yet to be let down by their tech.. but perhaps others will feel differently.

If you don't fancy reading the whole article, the summary at the bottom may be of interest.

Maybe it is a case of how much day time viewing you do (where QLED - the Samsung) is likely a better choice, vs evening home theatre (where the OLED Panasonic may pack a bit more punch).
If other things like viewing angles or pennies saved on the energy bill are important the OLED Panny may also be a better choice.. but the reality is it's 6 of one half dozen of the other.

[Galatoni]

Samsung all the way for me. It's worth not forgetting the other 'soft tech' stuff like the OS and app support. Samsung wins hands down with this.

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[TeaLeaf]

Rule #1: the best TV is the one that looks best to you in your own room.  

That having been said:
Do JL have a demo room where you can try them in a darker setting rather than the very bright shop floor (which favours the QLED)?   Or try an independent retailer who has them *and* a demo room and is willing to set them up for you to demo.   The shop floor is NOT the ideal place to view them to compare picture quality.
Did you also compare it to the very good LG OLED55B7V (also in JL) which iirc had as good if not slightly better picture and is cheaper?
The soft stuff, I'd say they are not much apart, they're all fairly decent and much of a muchness.

If you are unable to get a more realistic demo then here's some examples that might help: I've bought 2 TVs in this range recently (for relatives not for me) so have recent viewing and use experience with them:

• Person A went with the Samsung QLED due to the fact that the TV would have to having to hang at 90 degrees to and next to a very large window (12'x4') and the majority of viewing for this person was during the day (they are off work longterm, so the telly is their main form of entertainment).  So in this case the strong backlighting of QLED is a significant benefit to them and helps overcome the daytime brightness from the window and the fact it is daytime viewing.   He's also a single person so the worse viewing angles of QLED were not a consideration.  At night the picture is *very* bright, to the extent that is could be called tiring on the eyes and when the room is dark (think dark stormy day, or winter day, or nighttime) you *really* notice the heavy backlighting used behind the QLED panel to generate the brightness and the blacks are not black, they are instead a bright shining grey that hurts the eyes.
  
• Person B went with the LG OLED (not the Panasonic, but the arguments are very similar).  This person and her family watch more into the evening, and the room where the TV to be situated did not have massive windows, just two more normal sized (c.5'x3') windows in a fairly big room (20'x15').  In that situation the OLED wins hands down as it does not have to compete with the daytime bright glare from massive windows and its siting meant it did not have side on reflections to overcome from the window, so whilst the contrast is less, it's much easier on the eyes (the lack of backlighting removes the bright light being shone into your retinas all the time whilst watching), the better viewing angles meant everyone could see a high quality picture wherever they sat and TV in the darker rooms of your typical evening were of a much higher quality due to the blacks on screen really being black and not having that blooming effect around the transitions from dark to light that you get on backlit LED/LCD panels.

If your room or intended TV use sounds more like one than another then hopefully it would guide you.    

For me personally , I'd be all over the OLED as I love the picture quality of a screen that can really display black properly.   Every time I watch an LED/LCD I get really annoyed by the 'black' being a brilliant and painfully bright grey that slowly burns out my retinas.  Finally, the main benefit of a QLED tv is arguably it's ability to deliver more brightness than the environment in which it is watched.  This means that on a shop floor it can look great, or in a rooms where it *has* to hang next to a dirty big window then it can out brightness the sun and still make you think you are looking at nice colours.   But damn, it doesn't half tire your eyes in doing so, it's like having someone shine a torch at you the whole night.   So I'd question anyone who needs that level of brightness - in Person A's position he had no choice, that's the only place in his room where it could go, so QLED was the obvious and sensible choice.   If you have choice though, remove the daytime brightness from the environment and enjoy the (imho) better picture from the OLED.

Hope this helps. :2cents:

[Galatoni]

The software side really does make a difference. I have an LG TV and a Samsung. The Samsung is quite dated now but not only is it aging far better in terms of what it can do and how its supported but it's also more reliable than my LG. If the shop floor is willing, I'd ask them to allow you install and use a number of apps and to allow you to use the internet  on it. The RAM use and shortness of storage space will tell you everything you need to know about how it reacts to this.

Even at half capacity and using Plex via its built in network browser (using media ports - no mods) the LG regularly crashes and reboots the TV. There is also an issue with CEC control where the chip freezes and needs powering off at the wall before it comes back. This on top of the WiFi requiring manual connection most times you turn on the TV aswell. These are all known issues on many LG models.

The Samsung is a million miles ahead of this.

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[TeaLeaf]

I guess it depends on what you use it for, how old it is and lucky you are.  Of the two I bought for others neither have had the issues you describe, so they are either different models, newer or luckier!

[BrotherTobious]

From a personal view the quality of the Panasonic screens are amazing, but you should try a get a proper test with them. Angle of view distance etc.

The software can be helpful but for me it the screen and I'd your not running it though external speaker and set up test the sound too.

[albert]

I can't talk from a picture standpoint any better than the others or reviews but my experience of TV software is it is generally poor compared to tablets or phones. I have a Sony, the software is disappointing, I had a Panasonic, likewise the software was disappointing, then an LG, the software was very responsive and all the apps I needed were there and got updated regularly. With Gal on this, bad software and an amazing picture are a generally disappointing combination.

[Penfold]

Wow....

Insightful and confusing! Thanks for the comments. I see it's really a toss-up. I'll head back to store and do another comparison based on your notes which were helpful - thanks!

[Twyst]

If it helps to muddy the water somewhat, I really don't care for TV software or smartness. Just controls set picture quality and sound outputs is all I need.
Any smartness required can be derived from extra components in the stack, such as a games console - I use a PS4 for Netflix, Amazon Video, etc.
I have young kids, so I'll always have some kind of console.

Then you have the "where is the damned remote control?" factor? Using a games console we have 4 controllers, so we can always find one to work the TV shows quite expediently.

And like TL, I care more for good black levels than anything else. They can prise my plasma out of my cold dead fingers.

[BrotherTobious]

They can prise my plasma out of my cold dead fingers.

With you good buddy

[Chaosphere]

See although I totally see your point Twisted, our Samsung has all of those things (Netflix, Amazon, YouTube and so on) in a very easy to use way. Much like OLED vs QLED its 6 of one half dozen of the other, but we got used to a single button press on the T.V. to start these apps rather than navigating via consoles. To some perhaps this convenience is important, especially if you don't have a console with the T.V.- then a good TV OS can mean the world!

[Whitey]

Maybe things have changed but I hardly ever use my Samsung Plasma "smart" features as the Chromecast Plex app is far more responsive and never buffers (and the TV is on a fixed ethernet connection).  I also prefer the ability to manage the stuff I'm watching from my phone and Samsung withdrew support for my TV on the Samsung app less than 2 years after purchase.  I'd rather go for the best picture quality and leave the "smart" stuff to a dedicated device that can be upgraded at less cost than the TV.  I love my Samsung TV but wouldn't buy based on apps as what you see now may not work in 2 years time.

[Galatoni]

Considering the Chromecast can be bought for about 30 quid, aye. Definitely agree with you here. I use both of mine via Google home. Brilliant combination

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[Chaosphere]

Yep true very good point! Seems my experience with my Samsung doesn't show the whole picture, in terms of the apps at least. But you're right for £30 I guess it doesn't matter that much anymore After all!

I wonder if pen has made the only sensible decision to buy both for different rooms her :roflmao: