First Time Buyer - TV

Hi team, just needed some advice as we are buying a tv for the first time and have no clue whatsoever. I looked at other forums and will be staying away from VEON TV from warehouse.

We were looking at buying https://store.sony.co.nz/television-4K-X7500/KD50X75K.html#s… which is coming to $795.

We are open to options.

Also any promocodes for sony NZ?

Screen size: 40-55 inch
Smart: Doesnt matter as we have chromecast
Price: $800 or less (flatting so dont want to invest a lot)

Related Stores

Sony NZ
Sony NZ

Comments

  • Sony/Samsung/LG are generally the best brands to go for… A native smart is definitely better to have.

    If you are looking for a bit more bang for buck but not exactly a main brand then TCL usually review well.

    Are you just using it for tv/streaming or will you be hooking a console up or anything else?

    • Looking at getting a PS5 too so yeah will be hooking a console up.

      • -3

        Ok so are you an avid gamer?

        More specifically will you be wanting to play games 4K at 120FPS?

        If so, you will want a TV that has the latest HDMI 2.3 standard and preferably has a low latency mode with a variable refresh rate… This is more important if you play Shooter games PVP.

        BUt if you are pretty casual, going to play more story driven games then good HDR performance and image quality is better and you won't need the HDMI that allows OVER 60FPS at 4k.

        • +2

          Can't wait for HDMI 2.3……

          The standards mean nothing. PS5 can't even utilise full spec HDMI 2.1 (48gbps). PS5 is also locked to certain features only being available when connected to a Sony Bravia TV

          "good HDR performance and image quality is better and you won't need the HDMI" these aren't mutually exclusive……any TV with 'GOOD' HDR performance will have HDMI 2.1. The problem is that HDMI 2.1 is a loose standard and that there are different 'tiers' of HDMI 2.1 ports.

          The key question that I reiterate to people all the time is WHEN and HOW will you be using the TV - are you a daytime TV user in a room with big open windows that let lots of light through (or are you able to dim the room during the day), or are you mostly using it at night time in a dark room. However, with his budget is limited to LCD/LED TV's, but he can still get something decent depending on the use case.

          I would maybe look at second hand TV's too if you did want an OLED, or maybe wait for Noel Leemings next big sale as they should be trying to get rid of 2022 TV's now that the 2023 range is about to launch across most brands.

          • -3

            @Vish: Vish, if you read my post properly, I said it is either HDMI 2.3 for High Frame Rate 4K but I said nothing about needing it for HDR.

            It said it was a choice between high frame rate at 4K 120FPS which is available on games like COD and with the PS5 Pro about to be announced there will be even more games on the list:

            https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/all-ps5-games-running-at-1…

            and even PC monitors can use the 2.3 with PS5, it is NOT exclusive to Bravia TVs and things like Variable Refresh rates is another feature that is only supported with 2.3.

            If he doesn't want the High Frame Rate or that 120FPS for competitive edge and plays games and is happy with 30 - 60 FPS then he doesn't need the 2.3 standard, he can go with HDMI 2.1.

            • @subculturenz: There is no such thing as HDMI 2.3???????????????????

            • @subculturenz: "BUt if you are pretty casual, going to play more story driven games then good HDR performance and image quality is better and you won't need the HDMI that allows OVER 60FPS at 4k." DID YOU READ WHAT YOU WROTE PROPERTLY?

              PC monitors with HDMI 2.1 are limited and typically on the pricier side too. He wants a TV. Irrelevant.

              PS5 PRO is just speculation on its features and release window is 2024? irrelevant point to be talking about there.

              Again - wtf are you on about. "he doesn't need the 2.3 standard, he can go with HDMI 2.1." there is no such thing as the 2.3 standard. It's HDMI 2.1 only. Within the HDMI 2.1 spec, there is 24gbps, 32gps, 40gbps and 48gpbs specs. The PS5 is only 32gps.

  • +2

    Personally, I would no longer look to get a Smart TV (or at least, I would not pay anything for that functionality - if it is a good deal regardless, then that's fine).

    Pretty much all TVs are out of date very quickly in terms of their Smart features, so we now just use the PS4 / PS5 and Google TV to access what would be under the Smart TV functions, and the PS4 (now PS5) / Google TV seem to get updated much more frequently, and for much longer.

    I have found Panasonic to be very reliable over many years, and Sony to be very poor, plus Sony seem to be very hard to get warranty claims through.

    For me, I would go premium (Panasonic / LG) or cheaper (Samsung), but I would not rule out something else if the price was really good - I'd just expect it to last for a shorter period of time.

    • -1

      I have found Panasonic to be very reliable over many years,

      Absolutely. But I think panasonic have done a bit of a 'dirty' in recent years on their cheap end. They started selling rebadged tcl/generic tvs with android tv that just aren't great. I think if you're in the premium end, whack a chromecast tv into a higher end panasonic and you'll be set.

    • Second this - ‘Smart’ tvs are just loaded up with ads, better to get a third party device to smart your TV

  • I recently bought a TCL 50" C635 for $900. It's a 4K Android TV with Dolby Vision support. The colour and the quality of the picture are amazing. The only downside is the OS is a bit sluggish sometimes.
    But overall I enjoy it very much.

  • Good (ish) time of year to be looking at clearance stuff at NL of jb.

  • +1

    I recently went through this (but I was looking for 65")
    OLED TVs are beautiful but expensive and not that bright unless you get the QD OLEDs (like the Samsung S95 or the Sony A995k.) - Way too expensive for me but they are more reasonably priced in smaller sizes.
    I wanted HDR and if you want to watch movies in HDR you really should have a TV that supports dolby vision, Samsung doesnt so that combined with my lack of trust for samsung meant they were out.
    I ended up with a Sony X90K and the embedded Google TV works great (I was planning to just use my nvidia shield but that hasnt been needed.) To me it has the best bang for buck
    Which ever TV you buy you will probably want to add a sound bar or external speakers. The Samsung Q990B is probably the best option for this but its hard to find stock and its expensive ($1600.) There are cheaper options, Bose actually makes one that is very popular and more reasonably priced

    • I bought the same TV recently, I absolutely love it. I already had a Shield but have ended up just using the embedded version of Google TV as it's fast enough and having the input selector button on the remote also switch between apps as well as the HDMI ports is a better user experience (in my opinion). I already had a couple of Sonos Play:1s so I ended up buying a Beam gen2 and using the Play:1s as the rears, for the size of the room it works well.

  • You can get 100 back on a 500 spend using amex. They have a free card.

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