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Sony Bravia 2021 OLED's

S

Si74

pfm Member
Looking to buy, probably our last tele, decided to up the budget as we were so impressed with the picture/sound quality from a 65" one of these.
Decided to delve into the reviews only to discover people unhappy that they do not support BBC iPlayer,
All4, etc.
Seemingly Sony/Google are in the process of obtaining licenses for these (no definite outcome)
and other folks trying to install the apps say the OS does not support them.
However wondering about the difference between these two models at the same price, stumbled on this which suggest someone has their facts wrong? :

https://kagoo.co.uk/tvs/compare/sony-xr65a80ju-vs-sony-xr65a84ju

The 84ju appeals as it has the capability to up the vocals without increasing the level on everything else,
a big help with my hearing as her indoors is desperate for the valve pre and Meridian M2s to vanish from the living room. Saying that, the record function on the 80ju appeals greatly.

Hmmn, in a Quandry as 2.2K is a tad more than we intended to spend and strange that, as far as I can gather, last years full array LED's all had Freeview to access All4 etc.

Beginning to wish we had just kept our Panasonic Plasma and actually very happy with the 300quid 55" Sharp bought from Lidl's a few months ago.

I know zilch about televisions so any thoughts, pointers welcomed.
 
Si74 said:
Looking to buy, probably our last tele, decided to up the budget as we were so impressed with the picture/sound quality from a 65" one of these.
Decided to delve into the reviews only to discover people unhappy that they do not support BBC iPlayer,
All4, etc. ...

I know zilch about televisions so any thoughts, pointers welcomed.
Click to expand...
My "smart" Sony TV is now very "dumb". It maintains its superb display quality. However, over the years various apps have ceased to be updated and Sony also changed the software platform from proprietary to (I think) Android-based.

So I would not buy a future TV for its smarts - only its display quality and interface(s). I currently have a cheap "smart" DVD player for the apps (now also decaying towards "dumb"), which can be inexpensively replaced (creating WEEE, I know, but "smart" stuff will do that until manufacturers offer longer support periods).

When I need to update that I will look around for the least impactful app platform that will drive a good display. This PC, for example, will cast video/audio to the TV but maybe that isn't very user-friendly.
 
It does seem to be that as a 'new' TV gets older, you end up buying a seperate box to get the required online services - cos the the TV software goes out of date and newer online services arrive. There must be quite a few not-that-old TVs that cannot get BBC Sounds or Netflix or Disney+ or Amazon Prime natively - which are all important but relatively recent services.
 
I must say our Panasonic smart TV bought several years ago is still, well, smart enough, all apps and streaming services work nicely and are up to date, wifi is strong and stable, and we don’t even need a separate sky box for the free services as if you have the dish, the TV has the box function integrated. We’ve been very happy so far and I like Panasonic’s relatively natural colour rendering and image quality.
 
We’ve a TOTL Samsung (2019 model) and Panasonic (2017 model) in different rooms. The Samsung still impresses me two years in but the Panasonic was disappointing for its lack of support and relatively mediocre picture (relative to QLED). Another big plus for the Samsung is that it has a separate box into which HDMIs, ethernet etc. plug, and a single discreet cable from there into the TV itself, which makes installation tight against the wall much neater.

I like some Sony stuff but when we replace the Panny it’ll almost certainly be with a latest-gen Samsung…
 
PS. Worth mentioning that the Panasonic software is sluggish and streaming support dated or with gaps (e.g. Disney+). We added a £25 4K FireTV stick and it’s way better and more responsive than the native Panny apps. The Samsung apps are much better but the big gripe there was buggy support for using your own pictures in ‘picture’ mode, which was something we wanted to do.
 
JTC said:
We’ve a TOTL Samsung (2019 model) and Panasonic (2017 model) in different rooms. The Samsung still impresses me two years in but the Panasonic was disappointing for its lack of support and relatively mediocre picture (relative to QLED). Another big plus for the Samsung is that it has a separate box into which HDMIs, ethernet etc. plug, and a single discreet cable from there into the TV itself, which makes installation tight against the wall much neater.

I like some Sony stuff but when we replace the Panny it’ll almost certainly be with a latest-gen Samsung…
Click to expand...

I used a setup DVD to tune our Panny OLED which made a big difference, plus I have used an Apple TV for a while and like that it removes the app demand on the tv.
 
I have a Panny TX-55HZ2000 OLED bought a year ago just for the picture quality. I use the Sky Q box for all the apps but the TV can run them all natively as well, no issues with speed either. I avoided Samsung as at the time there was no App support for iPlayer I think, since sorted I believe.
 
Just as my next car won't have a screen function (which prob. means no next car), my next TV from 9 yr.old Sony 40" will have RCA outs to feed my hifi. Again, I'm dreading my next TV. I've no idea what functions apart from pic. and sound I'll inherit in a new, larger Sony, but I'm frightened off already by the mentions above of software/app problems.

BBC i-player could be useful but I already have the cumbersome Virgin catch-up. Virgin is the better pic., but that may be because of my Mickey Mouse ancient aerial. I hate technology but enjoy what it brings although my all valve CDP and amplification with ESLs does point me to the past. ;)
 
Not sure the TV software would ever be a deal breaker for me, all the content is fed to it anyway. The TV is just a screen.
 
My advice is to buy the best display quality you can, and not worry about the “smart” features at all. Half of those services will be closed down and the TV will still have years of life left in it. A Roku box (£40 and up) will add anything new for you... actually, if you have Sky or other pay-TV system, you probably have the useful players already on that box.

The one downside of OLEDs is that they’re not as bright as a backlit LCD set (i.e., everything the industry insists on calling “LED TV”). If you mainly view in a dark room, it’s perfect, because OLEDs do black superbly - better than a plasma. But if there’s a lot of sunlight in your room, you might find it a bit dim at times.
 
Thanks for the info chaps.Given we use i Player, All4 quite often and our large bay window sans curtains makes summer/daytime viewing a pain, now thinking of a Samsung QLED with regards to the oft quoted brightness issue with OLEDs .
Also the Grand Children have on numerous occasions paused the picture and b-ggered off which has me a bit worried about screen burn on an OLED. The Samsung I fancy started at retail of near 3k and
can now be had for £1,999 with a further 10% discount. Will have a look at one tomorrow but must admit the sound from the Sony enthralled me as much as the picture.
 
QLED will look good in a shop because shops are much brighter than home environments - and the screens will be set to shop mode anyway. Any decent OLED should switch to screen-saver after a few minutes or displaying a static picture.

(buy some curtains)
 
I view the tv with the same jaundiced eye I use for streaming. Buy the screen , not the software. The latter disappears in an arbitrary fashion that should be illegal given the way it’s used to sell the original product. For the same reason I won’t buy a streamer with in-house software.
 
About 6 months ago my Sony TV said it wanted to update its software
It had done it a couple of times previously...so I let it get on with it
From then on. . periodically..it reboots from scratch when you turn it on... taking about 2 minutes ..it's a pain in the ass
I've force it to update the software a couple of times more since then to try to cure it...but no ..I'm stuck with it.... and so are many more if a quick Google search is to be believed
 
We had a Samsung QLED 4K set prior to our current 77" LG OLED. The latter's got a better picture, no doubt about it, but viewed in isolation the Samsung had a superb picture too - we made a mistake & bought one of those curved screens, which gave horrendous reflections in our room.

The big plus for the Samsung is the aforementioned separate box for connections, joined to the main set by a thin optical umbilical cable. Brilliant idea, can't understand why other manufacturers don't do this. Regarding the Apps, you really are better off getting an Amazon 4k Firestick. We've got an Apple TV, but it's no better than the Firestick for picture & sound quality and isn't as flexible. A bloody sight more expensive too.
 
LG/Samsung - Best OS, updated regularly, all daily use Apps included and many more

LG - Best TV / OLED

Sony - Best sound in their top models, but dire operating systems and lack of app support that may or may not appear in the future.

Panasonic - Archaic operating system, very natural picture but the whole experience feels old fashioned and clunky. Panasonic have always been weak on their operating systems.

Samsung - QLED is not as good as OLED, simply put, but great operating system.

My LG E7 OLED is five years old now and gets updates all the time. Screen is still perfect, and this was one of the models with a built in soundbar, so its sound is also great. Has recording function also. You can pick these up now for around £700-1000.

I would go for an LG, covers all bases and they are the main panel supplier afterall therefore you get the best panel with one the best operating system.

Im not sure why anyone would want to punt 2k for an OLED then have to insert a £30 stick and use a seperate remote to use apps that should be natively installed.
 
Suffolk Tony said:
bought one of those curved screens, which gave horrendous reflections in our room.
Click to expand...

you do need to choose carefully - we bought an LG curved screen knowing our room setup and it has been brilliant with no reflections.

Every Samsung QLED we have seen are excellent, but LG OLEDs have been better. I didnt look at the apps on the TV, we get everything we need either through a FireStick and/or our VM V6 cable box
 
flutteringwow said:
Im not sure why anyone would want to punt 2k for an OLED then have to insert a £30 stick and use a seperate remote to use apps that should be natively installed.
Click to expand...
Far more apps available through a Firestick, & they're easily hackable. If you've a sound processor, it means you route the Firestick's HDMI through it & pick up the surround sound formats on the way. Often difficult to pick up Dolby Atmos etc. from the TV.
 
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