4K & UHD Televisions

I am starting to plan or budget towards my Xmas expenditure and was wondering about getting a new TV, I still have an old (non-smart) Sony Bravia 46" 1080p HD TV.

Seeing as I have a PlayStation 4 Pro, and with the rise of 4K gaming coming with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, which I hope to get in the future (perhaps 2ng gen). I thought it a good idea to get a newer, more up to date, television.

A few questions though, for those that are perhaps already in that space. I am yet to bear witness to a 4K goodness unless in the shop showroom or on my MacBook Pro.

1. Seeing that Sony TVs are no longer attainable, what brand should I go for?
2. Does size really matter? We live the apartment life and frankly, the 46" was ample, but if the price difference is minimal I may move towards a 56/60"
3. SMART, OLED, QLED, all that jargon… I am not familiar with what is trending, help?
4. Do I need a specific HDMI cable to be able to carry the upgraded visual?
5. Is there a market for selling my other TV, or not worth it and just keep it as a second?

I hope ya’ll can help me here. I am not looking to make an immediate decision and planning to make a good choice as I don’t want to buy again in a year or two. Current TV is probably around 5-8 years old.

The best advice I can give is to go see the tv in real life. And in lighting situation similar to where your TV will end up. I bought an LG a few years ago. The store was pretty dark so the picture looked great and vibrant. But in my home, where my lounge is pretty light, it looked like garbage! I took it back and swapped for a Samsung. Pretty happy so far.

If I could buy a TV now I would find a decent OLED. The black levels and contrast is freaking amazing! But they are not as bright either, I believe. I am actually pretty behind in TV’s tech these days.

Sony tv’s are available in South Africa again. But they cost quite a bit. There was an article at MyBroadband recently.

I’d say wait for Black Friday if you can.

I have a Samsung but I’m not too happy with it. Especially compared to the Hisense that my parents have. Theirs cost a lot less but looks a lot better.

Try and find a TV with as high refresh rate as possible. And don’t fall for their marketing tactics that make it look like a high refresh rate, as many claim to be 120Hz, but it’s a simulated 120 that actually runs at 60. There are panels out there with higher refresh rates - I believe some might run at 75, 100 or 120Hz.

Sadly it will likely be after this. Banking on my 13’th check.

Thanks all for the feedback.

I’m looking for the Hisense 50B7100, I sadly missed the deal takealot had on that 3-day sale where the 55inch went for 6299…its now on “sale” for like R7500.
…Stupid ABSA that kept timing out when i was at checkout :’(

But yea with us moving in together end of the month the responsibility falls on me to get a TV for us, although my mate said we can use his FHD tv in the meantime, so I’m happy to wait for a better deal.

My research led me to conclude that the Hisense 50B7100 was very nice bang for buck (it even has Plex built-in, something i dabbled with when trying to convert my freebie xbox360 into a media thingy) if you can get it for under 6k, which is roughly our budget.
I don’t see anything 50" or near it for 4k resolution at that price from anything that isn’t SUPER dodge brand

my 2c

Oh, to try answer OP’s specific questions.
1- Stay AWAY from Telefunken and JVC (caught with deliberate false advertising on their boards they sold, exposed by MyBB), and be wary of the Sansui and Skyworth brands, they seem to be “generic” versions of the more well known brands…Samsung is your “rolls royce” brand, you’re def going to be happy with what they offer, but you’re gonna pay about a 30% premium for it.

2- Size is ENTIRELY up to personal preference. Especially with UHD, QHD etc coming out, bigger screens aren’t as “blocky” or pixelated as it used to be…altho since DSTV is still 720p, that might not look SO great on your 60" and over.
3- Its generally the technology behind the the glass, and how/what is providing the actual picture
SMART just means is “internet” capable (our old samsung tv is “smart” even though basically all it can do is look for firmware online lol), so your newer “smart” tv’s, have built-in youtube/netflix, or even shitty little inet browsers etc…
Linus can explain the LED/OLED etc better than I

4. For the most part, NO. don’t get pulled in by the “you need this 799 gold plated HDMI cable to provide better picture” HDMI 2.1 is out and old cables will still do exactly what they did before. they just won’t reach the 2.1 speeds (4k60fps 8k 30fps is the limit, ie you CAN get that). Somehow I doubt you’re looking at THOSE monster TV’s, so any HDMI cable will do the trick, you don’t need some overpriced crap the guy at Hi-fi corp is trying to peddle. Digital signal is digital signal

5. Not sure, sorry

fuck me thats a wall of text…apologies, its late but i’m not tired

haha… no worries, thank a whole heap for the info overload. It really helps.

I should make it clear, though I may be looking at buying a new TV, it will not be used for the traditional sense of television viewing (SABC & DSTV). I really couldn’t care if it has a tuner in it either but hey, tis a requirement for the sale of such peripherals, sadly.

The primary use case will be for console gaming, PS4 Pro and OG Xbox, along with video streaming from YouTube and or Netflix.

Thanks for the assistance ya’ll, much appreciated.

Ok then I may need to clarify my 1 statement regarding HDMI 2.1, just so theres no muddy water. Its not likely to come into play but I’d rather you know it for future proofing.
HDMI 2.1 is something that would basically only benefit gamers (since its higher bandwidth ie higher fps). So while i doubt you’ll be gaming at 4k120fps or 8k60fps keep in mind that if you DO, you’ll need to make sure your tv is hdmi 2.1 compliant and you WOULD then possibly need 2.1 compatible cables. for everything else, R90 hdmi cable is sufficient.

For this reason, really consider a higher refresh rate TV. It will drastically improve your experience - more so than just a bigger panel size.

Of which I have plenty.

Thanks again gents, solid info, much obliged.

Is a soundbar necessary?

I have been using built-in TV speakers for ever, otherwise headphones when I want more clarity or oomph without making too much noise at night.

Though always been enticed by the premise of what a soundbar offers.

Nah, I don’t use a soundbar at all. Just use the tv as is.

I have one and the only real benefit is deeper bass from the sub. At louder volumes you have better clarity and range than what the TV’s built-in speakers can offer. So it all depends on what you’re looking for… For the average Joe just watching TV, I wouldn’t say it’s a necessity.

So I just went and bought the Hisense 50A7100 from Hifi Corp (not my FAVOURITE retailer, but since they have a physical store here probably better to deal with for potential warranty stuff later than takealot/online) For R6000.

I feel thats a good deal since its the newer model of the one i’ve been looking for and had been researching for a few months now (the b7100) and was prepared to pull the trigger as soon as its available for under 6k.

Just thought i’d mention here

Yeah absolutely, thanks for mentioning it. I will only look at buying probably closer to December but this gives me things to consider up till then.

IU’ve heard great things about the Hisense panels and boards, think @Talentloos specially mentioned it to me. I think they may actually use the same boards or chips as Samsung.

I have a Hisense TV for the living room and have no issues with it. It’s not as flashy as a high spec Samsung, but it gets the job done adequately.

Thanks, I guess as long as it doesn’t show bad “shaders” or image bleeding into different colors (don’t quite know what to call that effect) and as long as it has the UHD fidelity and HDR I’ll be happy.

Obviously I have a lot of Blu-Ray DVD’s and perhaps a lot of 1080p and 720p videos, I don’t want that loooking worse than it does on my 1080p display when it is stretched up upscaled.