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OLED choices, opinions wanted

881 views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  sytech 
#1 ·
So I still have not purchased a new set sadly. I just haven't been able to convince myself to jump yet despite some great deals. Looking at a few new options and wanted to get some thoughts/opinions.

Seating 8 to 12 feet away depending on if I push my couch a little closer and extend the wall mount out. I currently have a 42" 720p Samsung plasma from 2008. Despite its low tech/size and being a bottom tier plasma I still like it a lot. I really like the plasmas coloring and motion. In Best Buy last weekend I annoyed the salesman by turning the TV to movie mode and turned off motion smoothing on the 65JS9000 I was strongly considering. I'd like either a 55" or 65" set. I'm looking to spend between $3-$3.5k.

Option 1) LG EC9300 1080p OLED with a professional calibration (after proper break in) and a darbee darblet processor. (~$2600). Put the extra $1k toward a vacation.
Option 2) Samsung 65JS9000 (HDR/WCG/4k)- I get a discount on Samsung products through work (~$3200 with a $300 gift card bonus).
Option 3) Wait for EG9500 4k 55" Oled to drop to $3-$3.5k in the fall (hopefully) and buy that.
Option 4) Wait for 65JS9500 (HDR/WCG/4k/FALD) to drop with my discount to ~$3500 around black Friday (speculation again).


My current set is still working just fine so waiting isn't a big deal to me.

Other question: can the EC9300 support WCG? Just wondering if it might be able to take advantage of the new UHD bluray spec in that sense. Also are the OLEDs 10 or 12 bit panels?

OLED:
Cons: reading hundreds of pages on here has me worried about motion, screen dimples, near black/greyscale performance, uniformity, banding, no hdr/wcg support for new blurays.

Pros: closer to plasma in color and performance, amazing contrast, cheaper (9300 set), I passed up a zt60 2 years ago waiting for OLED.

LCD: worried about back light issues, black performance, uniformity, banding.

Pros: size, brightness, detail just seems better, JS series motion is very good, WCG/HDR compatibility means I won't miss out on the newest UHD bluray specs like i have with my 720p plasma.

What would you do? Appreciate your thoughts.:confused:
 
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#2 ·
You sound sort of like me: You buy what is very good/top at the time and then keep it a long while. Since your present TV is working fine and you are OK with waiting, to me, it sounds like the best course of action for you would be to wait and just get the 4K OLED when it's in your price range. Realize for 65", that might be another year (or more)...but what does that really matter? There are people that don't even own a TV and they're living just fine. If you keep your purchases a long while, doesn't really make sense not to just wait and get the best when it's released and you can afford it...
 
#3 ·
Thanks Chucky, I agree with you. I bought the plasma when I was in college and it was a major splurge for me at the time. Turns out 8 years later it's still going so it wasn't a terrible investment. I'd like to keep the new set for at least 5 years. I had planned to upgrade this one in 2012/13 to a ZT or F8500, but decided to hold off due to all the press around OLED and other life events going on at the time. I'm addicted to deals, so I hate paying anything more than I have to. I love high quality gear though so I shoot for the highest tier stuff I can buy within my budget range (hence waiting for the 9500 to drop to my budget).

I'm ok with the 55" OLED as great as the 65" would be though. I'd like to purchase before the end of the year, I can wait that long, but don't think I want to wait any longer. I've been on the fence waiting since end of 2012 and there's always something better that promises to be cheaper on the horizon. More than anything I'm just getting tired of researching and thinking about it at this point.
 
#4 ·
IMHO the main real con against OLED now is that it is only affordable in the (too small for me) 55" size. The other cons you mention are really in comparison against the ideal display. Personally I feel the LCD cons are more bothersome, but size does make up for a lot.

Obviously if you wait a bit the 4k OLED will come down in price, but the LCD's price will in all likelihood drop even more.

Either one will be a nice upgrade from your current tv. If you mostly watch movies or scripted TV shows in a darkened room, go OLED. If you want a more all purpose display in a bright room, if you want to game without worrying about image retention, if you like to leave your tv on as background, get the LCD and enjoy the bigger size.

It's the eternal question and no-one can answer for you. Personally, I like to be wowed by my tv. Not necessarily all the time, but from time to time with the right content I want to look at it and think wow that is why I bought this thing. Which gives you more of those wow moments?
 
#5 ·
It's the eternal question and no-one can answer for you. Personally, I like to be wowed by my tv. Not necessarily all the time, but from time to time with the right content I want to look at it and think wow that is why I bought this thing. Which gives you more of those wow moments?
Definitely agree, thanks for your response. Being wowed is exactly what I want out of the new set plain and simple. I know my old one isn't that great, but watching things like planet earth on bluray still impress me. My wife already thinks our current plasma is great, so showing her why I want to spend so much money to replace it would also be nice =D. I think the question is if the contrast/black of OLED or the HDR/WCG/4k of the LED is a bigger "wow" factor. Unfortunately Best Buy only has the OLED's on demo loops, never playing the same stuff as the high end LCDs to compare.

I've got light control down pretty well, almost always watch at night with the lights off, but have bias lighting installed which I use while watching movies. TV faces a wall with no windows behind it and blackout curtains to the side, so no issues with glare. I watch more netflix/amazon prime than anything, but love a good bluray for the picture/sound quality. I've got a pretty decent 5.2 energy surround sound system so any chance to get a master soundtrack is appealing.
 
#7 ·
Projector isn't really on the radar due to the wife approval factor since the setup is located in our living room. It would be a really interesting option though because the wall the TV is mounted on has nothing but the TV and my media console/sub. But I think I'd like to stick with a display at this point until I'm able to get a dedicated Home theater room.
 
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#9 · (Edited)
Option 1 without a doubt. I wouldn't give it a second thought. Definitely not option 3.

I own 3 OLED's and am buying a 4th. Screen dimples are a non-issue, unless you intend to use the set as a mirror while it's powered off. Is it 100% perfect? No. But it's the closest thing to perfection we have today. Personally I wouldn't bother with the pro calibration or the darblet, but thats up to you of course. At $2000 the EC9300 is an absolute steal. I only wish I paid $2000 for mine!
 
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#11 ·
Was looking in HHG last weekend. Good prices for Memorial Day. 55JS8500 dropped to $1999. Nice features, but did not look much more impressive than any of the other decent LEDs in the store. No wow factor. Disappointed until I turned the corner and was overwhelmed by the beautiful picture on the 55EC9300. Now there was the wow factor, with a nice glossy screen and great blacks reminiscent of plasma. Got them to agree to a $1999 price new in box. Same price as 55JS8500, but much nicer display. I think that's the best choice until the 4K OLEDs drop in price in another year or so. According to my tastes, unless you can still find a F8500 plasma around somewhere.
 
#12 ·
I wound up going with none of the options above and bought a used Samsung PN60F8500 Plasma off craigslist for $1k. Going to stick the extra cash in the bank and go for a 65" 4k OLED in 2-3 years once all the specs for HDR/UHD Bluray are finalized and they're able to bring the prices down. Very happy with the plasma as it's a big size and PQ improvement from my old one. It's got some directional buzz, but I was able to tilt the TV slightly to mitigate and I'm enjoying the great PQ.

Appreciate all the opinions and help everyone offered here on AVS!
 
#13 ·
Actually I would argue OLED is brighter. It handles gamma so well, that you can see everything in daylight even when playing dark video games. I've never had a TV so bright before, it almost seems unnatural; because it can be bright and not have washout at the same time, which I could never do with an LCD.
 
#14 ·
What would you do? Appreciate your thoughts.:confused:
Given your financials, it seems you're greatly jumping the gun. Any of these sets will depreciate like crazy. An OLED set in 2 years, with it being such an immature technology, will be a lot better than the current generation.

Go buy a used plasma that will be a big upgrade over what you have now, take that $1000 for your vacation and bank the rest. In 2 years it will likely buy you a very nice, much less expensive consumer grade 65" OLED.
 
#15 ·
I agree, exactly what I wound up doing (see 2 posts above). Bought a 60pnf8500 this past weekend and am waiting out OLED maturity. Love everything about it except the directional buzz which I'm working on trying to mitigate.
 
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