Get a Hisense HD TV instead of 4k UHD Samsung or LG

Mark

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We're in the market to buy a new TV but my dilemma is 4k being a relatively recent release is very expensive and a HD TV although cheaper could turn out to be a regret in a few years so I just don't know which way to go.

We've turned our children's rumpus room into a gym and it needs a TV to finish it off nicely and for several reasons we want to do it now so the plan is to replace our plasma living room TV with a new (energy efficient) led and move the old plasma into the gym.

Truth is I've been mulling over this decision for months and I've considered several options like: buying a cheaper brand led hd as a "holding" TV until ultra hd TVs come down; just buying a cheaper brand ultra 4k TV full stop; or take the hurt and pay top dollar for a Samsung 4k TV.

It's a difficult choice and if you Google for an answer there are lots of different positions or recommendations on 1080p/hd vs 4k/uhd but nothing definitive.

If anyone has any ideas or experience/advice about what I should do please give!
 

Ash

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I see I might have stirred up these thoughts from Stevo's 1,000th post thread! Mark, I'm not a techno gear head, but I can offer by two bob's worth.

The larger the screen the more the demand for resolution and refresh rate to make the TV worth the size you are buying it for. There is no advantage in buying a 60+ inch TV if it will only view standard definition video. But if you're going to be playing a lot of 1080p material then a full HD TV is a good way to go. Any bigger than about 42 inches and the refresh rate should be at least 100Hz to prevent jerky screen transitions. Bigger than 55 inch and 200Hz becomes more visually appealing.

4K technology is new and looks great but there aren't many programs that support the added resolution and won't be for some time. Nevertheless they do have more appeal and can be considered in the 'want' pile rather than the 'need' one. But you know with hobbies, you don't get into them looking to be frugal!

Personally I think 1080p technology is good to about 55-60 inches depending on how close the viewer is to the TV but there is more value for money in full HD TVs at the moment. UHD and SUHD will be a marketing campaign for the 4K and above resolution technology for some years to come when the video capabilities finally become more commercially available. By then the TV technology will once again be more advanced and more affordable.
 

Mark

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Thanks Ash, yes I'm starting to lean towards a cheaper branded HD TV because I'm finding it really hard to justify $2000 plus for a 55 inch UHD TV but I've had about 20 different positions in the last 2 months about what to get! :rolleyes:

For me and my wife, we're not that particular about many technical aspects of a TV screen, in other words, we don't pay much attention to "deep blacks," "light bleed," "motion blur," etc - yes, I'm particular about other electronic devices but not TVs. We're not the type of people who analyze a TV picture constantly and in fact I can't recall the last time I ever adjusted our TVs colour or contrast.

However, it is import to me that my TV does last and is good enough quality to actually perform the tasks as it should ie if it's a smart TV then I'll expect it to work and at the end of the day it does need to have a picture without obvious problems.

We've determined that we want a TV at least 55 inches big, 60 or 65 inches would be great but even HD screens at this size and time are over 2k so that rules it out. But in the 55 inch range the options are a little better and the Chinese panels/brands are very reasonably priced with a Hisense 55 inch HD TV around $1190 possibly less if the salesman is nice. This price seems much more fairer for an idiot box in my mind anyway... I've seen some good reviews (and some bad ones) on Hisense but I've seen some bad reviews for Samsung TVs also so it's hard to gauge without actually testing one out. I've played with the Hisense in store and quite liked the Android interface and picture the only doubt I have is will it last? The particular TV I have my mind comes standard with a 3 year warranty whereas Samsung TVs only come with a 12 month warranty and are already twice or three times more expensive.

It's hard for me to justify $1000 on a TV let alone $3000 but we do like the odd family movie and I love my sports so a bigger TV in our family room would look good and get good use but I'm seriously doubting whether we would appreciate a UHD TV anymore than a HD TV so I think I have made my decision. There are Samsung HD 55 inch TVs for around $1700 but then there are Samsung UHDs for just under 2k so a person might as well pay a few hundred more for that.

The way I see it now is the price difference between a Chinese brand 55 inch TV (Hisense or TCL) and an expensive brand TV (Samsung, LG, Sony) for the same size is too much to ignore. I know there's a good difference in quality overall but I'm not sure if the quality gap will be noticeable to me enough to regret buying the cheaper unit.

I think the only way to find out is to buy one and see... :)
 

Ash

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You've done you're research and that's important in such an 'investment'. I've looked at TCL and Hisense and the good thing about them is value for money, although electronics longevity can be wanting. The Chinese brands use two to three generation old screen technology which has come off patent and allows them to mass produce TVs at a much reduced price. I have a similar Chinese TV made by Senzu and after 2 years the sound began to go muddled which required us to pay more money in getting a sound bar just to hear it properly. Since then we got a Panasonic TV and the quality of the TV is absolutely excellent. I got it through Grays Online and bid to $800 with $150 delivery on a good 48 inch 100Hz TV with wifi - that was in 2013. I don't regret that purchase. It was a one generation old refurbished model and I was not keen on a new one that would have been twice the price for something similar.
 

Mark

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Since then we got a Panasonic TV and the quality of the TV is absolutely excellent. I got it through Grays Online and bid to $800 with $150 delivery on a good 48 inch 100Hz TV with wifi - that was in 2013.
Sounds like a good bargain!

Exactly... I don't feel like we're the type of family to need the very latest TV - sure, we want pretty good and reasonably up to date technology that will allow us to use it without disadvantage; however, we don't need a BMW to drive the kids to school every day if a Micra will do the same job (if you get my meaning). Some people buy a Samsung or OLED LG just to say, "look what I got," but Nina and I don't like to waste money like that unless it's necessary and as I've said we're not TV buffs at all...
Anyway, I took the plunge and got a 55 inch Hisense Vision HD TV (K390) and installed on the wall myself yesterday - it looks AWESOME. :twothumbsup:

Here's the story:

I mulled over the Hisense for about a week and I actually had a play with it at Harvey Norman because although there's many good reviews for this TV, I had read several reviews, which gave negative points about the time the TV took to start, the interface, the remote, picture quality, etc so I wanted to test it for myself and to be honest my in store testing impressed me. Therefore, I thought about it (Hisense for $12oo or Samsung/LG with equivalent features for between $2500 to $4000) and on Monday I went back to Harvey Norman to buy it but the display TV was GONE :shock:

I said to the sales guy, "what happened to the Hisense TV you had sitting here," and he explained a desperate customer demanded to take the display model as they had run out of stock. No problem I thought, so I asked if he could order me one in and he said sure but the 10 Hisense Vision TV's they have coming in have already been purchased so I would need to go on the second order list! Then he says, "buggered if I know why all of a sudden this TV is so popular," and I said, "well mate, check out the prices of your other TVs - it's ridiculous!"

Long story short, I went to Good Guys (no luck) and then JB HIFI and finally spotted the Hisense I was after on display down the back and the sales guy there said they'd only just got new stock in for this TV and already they're down to just one left out back. He tried to sell me an UHD LG 2013 model on special for $2650 (originally 6k apparently) but I politely declined and grabbed the Hisense.

My non-technical opinion about the TV so far:

Bloody amazing :)

Forgive the image quality as they are just taken with my phone and heavily reduced in quality/size to save storage space and make them quick to load on our site...

I love the size and the picture quality is a big improvement on our 2010 720p LG plasma set. To me, the picture is WOW and the "Blacks" are black not washed out grey - not that I really care anyway but people tend to guage TV sets on how black the background is so the colours pop out all vibrant etc. I understand that the latest OLED LG with a curved screen is far better than a Hisense it's just that my eyes and TV tech skills aren't good enough to notice.

hisense hd smart tv showing black.jpg

The android interface is very similar to an android phone or tablet - I think it's nice and it's very familiar since I'm an android user anyway. Movement is quite responsive, access to the internet is fine, apps are good (like YouTube and Chrome browser), the TV can talk to my PC and play my digital movie collection or music, it's 3D capable (you get one set of glasses with the TV), overall I have no complaints about the smart TV aspects or interface/UI. Start time is about 30 seconds (max) and is actually similar to my LG, however those people who whinge about start up time need to realise it's a computer TV and 30 seconds is pretty good if you ask me!

hisense hd smart tv android interface ui home screen.jpg

The remote control is great - I had read reviews saying that the remote for the Hisense is junky but I disagree and reckon it looks, feels, and works as it should. It has a mouse pointer which is responsive and moves around the screen without dropouts or issues.

hisense hd smart tv k390 remote.jpg

The 1080p HD TV resolution is all I need (in the image below you can see individual strands of hair) we don't really need any more clarity than this for our TV particularly when our viewing area is several metres back from the TV anyway so the human eye can't tell the difference between HD or UHD at this distance plus my eyes aren't the best anymore anyway so an ultra HD TV would be a complete waste on my eyesight :D

hisense hd smart tv showing picture quality.jpg

The TV bezel is thin and classy which enhances the screen size - God knows where they put the speakers but it still pumps out a good enough volume.

hisense hd smart tv showing frame thin border.jpg

For a TV that's used primarily to watch the news and the odd movie this cheap Chinese Hisense Smart TV is the smartest TV purchase I have made in many years! Yes, it's only early days and the TV could break down tomorrow and I'll be screaming "cheap Chinese junk" but obviously I'm hoping this Hisense lasts at least as long as it's 3 year warranty and if it does I'll be very happy.

hisense hd smart tv k390 on wall.jpg
 

Ash

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Macro lenses don't make good coffees either. :p
But this TV looks like a keeper, Mark. The screen (just from your images) is crisp and brilliant in rendition, so if the interface/UI is good, then you've got the complete package. As said before, with the 2 or 3 generation old screen technology, this one will be one of the best screens you can get in the 1080p.
 

Mark

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I obviously do hope it does last Ash time will tell but so far so good!

Another bonus is its access to Google play because I have a large digital video collection of ripped dvds I can use the Emby app (download first and install on tv) then it talks to my pc and plays our movies on the big screen no dramas. :twothumbsup:
 

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Hi Mark, I haven't been posting on here for a while as my mum passed away on the 12th, so I didn't get a chance to comment on this post. We recently bought the same tele and although the picture etc. is fine, I loathe the menus. They don't seem to make any sense and what I would consider all of the most popular stuff is actually at the bottom of the menu lists. I struggle to find motivation to learn how to use tech at the best of times as I am usually quite busy on the property, but this one is driving me nuts. The picture is quite good and since we've had the tv the broncos have won every game bar one, which is a bonus;).
 

Mark

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Hey B1, well at least you can vouch for the picture quality!

Yes I can imagine the menu could be annoying for people because it's different from what TVs had in the past. The menu is actually based on the android system which is a little weird as it's almost like using a big mobile phone.

Personally, I'm used to using Android devices so I have no trouble with the interface or menu system on this TV and I actually quite prefer it (especially compared to apple devices).

Having said that, it would be handy if there was an input change button on the remote instead of accessing the menu to make the switch between av sources easier but that's my only complaint with this tv so far.
 

Ash

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Oh dear! No input selection via remote?!? That's sacrilege! Who designs TVs like that? If it were based on Apple iOS it wouldn't have been so! :p (I'm just stirring ya mate!)
 
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