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Which budget($1200-$2300) ~70” TVs are best at upscaling lower resolution content?

601 views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  rnk21 
#1 · (Edited)
Please help me select a good HDTV for my parents.

Target Size: 65”-75”

Budget: $1200-$2300

Uses:
80% of the time: Watching upconverted low resolutioninternational channels on yupptv running off an Apple TV
10% of the time: AirPlay videos my nephew uploaded onto YouTubeor movies from YouTube
5% of the time: Neighbor’s kids playing videogames orwatching a dvd or bluray
5% of the time: Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Plex, HBO Plus (WhenI’m Over)

Priorities:
Great at Upscaling Lower Resolutions
The larger the size, the better
Bright (There’s Lots of Ambient Light in My Parent’s LivingRoom)
Solid Picture Quality
 
#2 · (Edited)
Update: Since my parents are never going to watch 4K content, I've not been focusing on the highend 4K TV's much any more.


Right now, the most appealing option seems to be the Samsung UN75J6300 (Fantastic Size, Prize, PQ, and Amazon Reviews) if I can find it anywhere for less than $2000 (any tips finding it at this price?)


The other good options seem to be 2015 80" Vizio M Series and possibly the Sony KDL 75W85C (but the reviews aren't as good).








Thank you in advance for any help you provide.


I already got one good suggestion from Ph8te to look at JS9500 and JS8500s on sale. Both only seem to come in 65" when in that price range. But I'll go that route if that is indeed my best option.
 
#3 ·
Thank you in advance for any help you provide. And sorry again for posting another thread. I asked the mods to lock the other one.


I already got one good suggestion from Ph8te to look at JS9500 and JS8500s on sale. Both only seem to come in 65" when in that price range. But I'll go that route if that is indeed my best option.
Personally I like the Vizio TVs for displaying low resolution content. When setup properly their controls are excellent for it. The issue is that most people simply don’t setup their Vizio TV correctly for that.

Most people insist on turning the sharpness to zero. That is an extremely poor decision with the Vizio TVs. You will get excessive artificial blurring that is almost like noise reduction when you do that. Typically leaving sharpness set to the default value of 20 with the Vizio TVs will yield good detail without having over sharpening artifacts that are visible from a normal sitting position.

There are some cases with overly processed or overly compressed material where going below 20 for sharpness on the 2016 P-series is beneficial. However, in those cases you will find that a value of between 8-14 is much more pleasing than going lower than 8.

If the compression artifacts are extremely distracting then you can consider using the “Reduce Block Noise” setting to smooth out the macro blocks. It works very well even on “low” but it will also smooth out some of the detail just like any other noise reduction routine will do. I wouldn’t be too aggressive with this setting. When in doubt turn it off completely.

Some of the review sites will tell you that the Vizio TVs are terrible for low quality low resolution sources. They simply messed up their settings and that is why they got substandard results. They usually set sharpness to zero, turn on the noise reduction settings aggressively, and then turn off the local dimming. All of those things are terrible ideas and should never be done simultaneously. You will get the terrible results they encountered if you follow their advice. You will get excellent results if you follow my advice.

I would recommend a 2015 70” Vizio M-series or perhaps one of the new P-series depending on their wants and needs. Both of those TVs are below $2000. However, the new 2016 P-series uses a tablet style remote that may be frustrating for elderly people to use.

2015 Vizio M65 $1400
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/vizio-6...lack/3858039.p?id=1219606085774&skuId=3858039

2016 Vizio P65 $2000
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchp...t=n&iht=y&usc=All+Categories&ks=960&keys=keys
 
#4 ·
My vote goes to the Sony 930C. It does excellent HDR, has a very high contrast ratio and simply the best upscaling in that price range.

If 80% of your viewing is cable/sat, then the Vizio would be a horrible choice. The complaints on their upscaling are endless (although Blu-ray and UHD are fine).
 
#6 ·
Isn't the 930C both discontinued and above that price range?

EDIT:

I see that Amazon.com still has stock of the 65", albeit for a bit more than the top end of that price range.
 
#8 · (Edited)
I actually don't think they're ever going to watch any 4k content. So I guess it doesn't make much sense to spend $2300 just to get a highend 65" 4k tv when what they really asked me for was a good 70-75" tv.


After reading a bunch of reviews at rtings.com, I think I want to buy them a Samsung UN75J6300 if I can find one under $2000 (which should be possible since it's last years model).


What do you guys think of the tv?


They'll definitely appreciate the giant size, the Samsung brand, the aesthics, the thin bezel (they're mounting). Is it good at upscaling lower resolutions? Most samsungs upscale well, right?


Any tips on where I should look to try to find a UN75J6300 for less than $2000 would be much appreciated (it went for that much throughout Christmas and thanksgiving so it should be doable again now that new models are coming out).
 
#9 ·
I will say that you are putting too much faith in the word “Upscaling”. Just think about what it actually means. It means that you are creating detail that isn’t there in the original recording by simply decreasing the size of the pixels.

Upscaling is a myth. You can’t create something from nothing. Instead what you can do is process low quality, overly compressed, low resolution material to have less detail with less artifacts but you will never get more detail with less artifacts no matter how much you process it.

Instead you really should be worried about how well the TV’s macro block noise reduction does. That will eliminate the distortions in the overly compressed material if done properly.

Getting a really large 1080p TV is just going to exaggerate those macro blocks and other compression artifacts regardless of what the resolution of the TV is. If you get your parents a giant 1080p TV they are still going to need to turn on the noise reduction settings with low quality sources. There is no getting around that.

You have been caught up in the upscaling myth like a lot of other people when you really should be more worried about the processing the TV can do or simply finding a way to get them a higher quality source like Blu ray instead of DVD or DirecTV or Over the air instead of an overly compressed cable signal.

Honestly, scaling is never the issue. It is almost always compression artifacts or interlacing artifacts but scaling is almost never an issue with a recent 4K TV.
 
#10 ·
I get what you mean but over all, on Amazon atleast, it seems to be the best reviewed 70 inch+ tv in this price range from what I can find. The two alternatives I see are the 2015 80" Vizio M Series and the Sony KDL 75W85C.


Which would you recommend and why?
 
#12 ·
I'd like to echo the Sony 930c suggestion. Nobody in the business has processing like Sony, andand their X1 chip is simply amazing at handling lower res content, along with it just being a fantastic TV.

Im also betting it can be found for 2,000.

Keep in mind as well that while big tv's are great at displaying high quality content, they're also great at showing you the obvious flaws in a low quality source.
 
#13 ·
Was reading slickdeals where they were discussing the deal where the Sony 930c is $2300, and everyone there is suggesting that the 65" Samsung UNJS8500 is better tv and a much better buy since it can be had for $500 cheaper. What do you guys think. 930c for $2300 vs JS8500 for $1800
 
#14 ·
I am actually a big fan of the JS8500 at the right price. I talked my brother out of getting the 2015 Vizio M-series in favor of the 65” JS8500 because the Samsung was only $1800. For anything less than $1800 the 65” JS8500 is a steal. It is an excellent TV. Its only issue was the really high initial asking price.
 
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