Television For Christmas Gift (1 Viewer)

[Dave Moritz]

Going to be doing a lot of research like many of us will be doing this Christmas season for a new shinny tv for a Christmas gift. Even many non forum members will be running out this year to be buying a new tv for a Christmas gift. Was originally thinking Sony right off the bat but the thought of spending a good part of my paycheck just for the tv has me thinking twice as the Sony's cost more than there competition. So I do not know about everyone else but this Christmas season with all the theft and uncertainty if something will be delivered in the time frame and hear before Christmas. There are sure alot of 4K TV's for sale at low prices. The lowest cost Sony ended up costing $699.99 ($700) for the LED X800G and no matter what I end up with I do not want to have it shipped and want to go to a local retailer where I can buy it and leave! This TV is for an older family member who is far from a critical viewer so an expensive tv is not really needed. Three HDMI inputs are a minimum just in case but only two will be used for the time being. I also am factoring in the fact that I need to purchase a new TV stand and throwing in a blu-ray or 4K blu-ray player. So the poll below is basically asking what budget 55" 4K UHD TV would you get if you where shopping for a gift.

Leaning towards Samsung or LG and Vizio is not normally on my list but I do not have a bad opinion of them so they are on the list. I have not like what I hear about Sharp so they are off the list and brands like Westinghouse, Toshiba and Insignia do not make the cut. To bad Panasonic is not in the US market as they might be a great choice if they where available. And supporting a Chinese brand is not something I care to do personally so with that and issues like panel lottery and some models with occasional choppy video take TCL and Hisense off the list as I want something that will last and not be a pain having to get fixed over and over even if covered by warranty.

 

[Dave Upton]

I'd go with the Vizio all day long. Edge lit displays have a hard time competing in terms of contrast and PQ, and the Samsung and LG models are edge lit. The vizio has 10 local dimming zones, so while it's a bit thicker, that would be my choice.

 

[JohnRice]

I've thought the Vizio 55" M Series at around $550 looks very nice. Quantum LED, full panel and 90 dimming zones. Availability seems to be tight lately. The 43" and 50" versions are a lot cheaper, but they appear to actually be a lower model, according to the specs.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I'd go with the Vizio all day long. Edge lit displays have a hard time competing in terms of contrast and PQ, and the Samsung and LG models are edge lit. The vizio has 10 local dimming zones, so while it's a bit thicker, that would be my choice.

I would second this. My last TV was an edge lit LG. Contrast was a problem -- the blacks were a dim bluish gray -- but the bigger issue is that the LED would attract tiny spiders like a bug zapper. They'd find the light and then get trapped between the reflective back panel and the display. Most would eventually die and drop to the bottom, but one got stuck in the middle of the screen. In bright scenes, it was really obvious.

 

[Dave Moritz]

Thank you for the input

 

[Dave Moritz]

Had to get more than the TV and was hearing about little issues and longevity with the Vizio so I did not want to chance it. So I ended up getting a deal on a 2019 LG UHD 55" TV with three HDMI's with the TV stand and LG UHD 4K Blu-ray player and two HDMI cables and that ended up setting me back $900. Gift exchange will be on 12/22 after Christmas lunch instead of dinner. I do appreciate the input just figured the LG was the safer route and my mother is not picky so am not worried about black levels on the tv.

LG 55UM6910 55" 4K UHD TV (was $399.99) $349.99
Whalen TV Stand $219.99
LG UBK80 4K UHD Blu-ray Player $179.99
Rocketfish 4K UHD HDMI Cables $29.99 each x 2

This setup is taking the place of a Toshiba 27" CRT TV so the new 4K TV will also be hooked up to Dish Network client box and will be a bedroom tv.

 

[Kyrsten Brad]

I've thought the Vizio 55" M Series at around $550 looks very nice. Quantum LED, full panel and 90 dimming zones. Availability seems to be tight lately. The 43" and 50" versions are a lot cheaper, but they appear to actually be a lower model, according to the specs.

That is the TV I just bought to upgrade our MBR TV. But one thing to be aware of when shopping the M Series 55s. There is at least three different versions with the M558-G1 being tops in terms of specs as I stated in my Vizio M55 thread.
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"As for the M55 Quantum, note that there are two, no now make that three distinct versions of the M55 Quantum’s. The one I got, the M558-G1 features 600 NITS brightness and 90 local dimming
zones. The M557 and now the M556 have 400 NITS brightness and 16 or 10
Local dimming zones respectively (wonder what’s with that).
"

 

[JohnRice]

That is the TV I just bought to upgrade our MBR TV. But one thing to be aware of when shopping the M Series 55s. There is at least three different versions with the M558-G1 being tops in terms of specs as I stated in my Vizio M55 thread.
=======
"As for the M55 Quantum, note that there are two, no now make that three distinct versions of the M55 Quantum’s. The one I got, the M558-G1 features 600 NITS brightness and 90 local dimming
zones. The M557 and now the M556 have 400 NITS brightness and 16 or 10
Local dimming zones respectively (wonder what’s with that).
"

I had noticed the models Best Buy sells have the better specs for the 55” and 65” models, but the lesser specs for the 43” and 50” models, which are also significantly less expensive. A little tricky that the same “model” has such different specs.