Curved Televisions?

[Fretters]

Are they any better than flat screen or just a gimmick? Looking to upgrade.

[martin_p]

Great for wall mounting if you live in a lighthouse.

[FactualFrank]

Great for wall mounting if you live in a lighthouse.

Haha!

[KateR]

Are they any better than flat screen or just a gimmick? Looking to upgrade.

not seeing any difference with the 48" one we have, in fact with being curved it shows the wires behind a little

[cbx750]

I asked the same question in Currys PC World and was told gimmick.

[TVC15]

I have a samsung curved one and picture is decent but no better than my other Samsung TVs....but I do like the way it looks !

[kritichris]

I think in a cinema they would have relevance but not in a house unless you have a very big room.

[clive40golf]

There is only one manufacturer of curved Tv’s now. All the other manufacturers have stopped making them. Kind of tells you something.

[dsr]

Possibly all right if you live on your own. But if they improve the view of the person sat directly in front, it can only be at the expense of making the view worse for the people at an angle.

[Quickenthetempo]

Would it stop light reflecting off it?

Can be a nightmare in my house with the light from opposite window reflecting back or from the mirror and glass framed pictures.

I have the angle just right to avoid but the blummin kids always move it.

[kritichris]

Would it stop light reflecting off it?

Can be a nightmare in my house with the light from opposite window reflecting back or from the mirror and glass framed pictures.

I have the angle just right to avoid but the blummin kids always move it.

Most new telly's don't reflect light so shouldn't be an issue. As some one has said a curved telly must have a focal point which in theory should make it ideal from only one point of view.

[Fretters]

Thanks all, flat screen it is.

[groove]

I don't like wall mounted Tv's. I've never got used to it. Tried it for a while it just feels so formal and contrived to be staring up the chimney breast. I've gone back to an eye level cabinet mounted corner set up.

[ClaretAL]

I don't like wall mounted Tv's. I've never got used to it. Tried it for a while it just feels so formal and contrived to be staring up the chimney breast. I've gone back to an eye level cabinet mounted corner set up.

Exactly the same for me, although it does now give problems with speaker placement for the Dolby Atmos from the AVR.

[superdimitri]

There's much more to a TV than whether it's curved or not. Here's the most important bit about shopping for a TV nowadays: 99% of TVs people buy with HDR on the box cannot display it without problems.

Focus on getting a model with good HDR hardware so you avoid these issues in the future. With a limited budget it's best to buy second hand.

New, my recommendations would be the LG B9 OLED, or the C9 if you are a gamer. If you want cheaper than that don't spend less than the Samsung Q70R or Sony XF9005/XG9005. Although you must only consider those if you view the TV directly in front and not at an angle.

If you need to view at an angle and can't afford an OLED look at the Samsung Q80R or Q85R.

Unfortunately buying a TV has become more expensive now with both HDR and UHD so don't make the mistake many people do who believe a budget model now is going to be better than their old model if you are spending similar money on a larger TV. Also try not to shop for models smaller than 55" because otherwise you'll get worse spec models at worse prices.

[ElectroClaret]

Absolutely agree with the suggestion about LG OLED.
Stretch to one of those if you can, Fretters.
Brilliant picture, my mates got one, its awesome.
I'll be getting one when its time to upgrade.
(Unless something even better comes up)

[karatekid]

I have a Samsung curved 48" TV with matching curved Samsung soundbar. Picture took some getting used to as it sort of throws the picture out at you in a 3d sort of way. Only problem is light reflection from artificial light. Lamps are a problem at night from certain angles so we had to relocate them but I suppose you get that with all tellys. It looks great though and has a brilliant picture quality.The soundbar is awesome.

[California Colner]

Wall mounted 75” flat screen Samsung

[IanMcL]

The only good reason for a curved screen is to prevent the folk on the end of a long sofa from seeing what you are watching!

[IanMcL]

Wall mounted 75” flat screen Samsung

You'll get a nice tan from that!

[SalisburyClaret]

I have a Samsung curved 48" TV with matching curved Samsung soundbar. Picture took some getting used to as it sort of throws the picture out at you in a 3d sort of way. Only problem is light reflection from artificial light. Lamps are a problem at night from certain angles so we had to relocate them but I suppose you get that with all tellys. It looks great though and has a brilliant picture quality.The soundbar is awesome.

I have exactly the same

The only thing that doesn’t look quite right is tennis as the court lines look slightly distorted. Other than that, it’s top notch

Depending on how your room is configured, a curved screen gives better viewing angles for more people than a flat screen

[Buxtonclaret]

Great for wall mounting if you live in a lighthouse.

Giggled at that one!

[dougcollins]

To get the perfect view you would have to be in the centre of the circle of which the tv is the curve of the circumference, ie a radius length.

That would probably put you about 20 yards away.

[Fretters]

There's much more to a TV than whether it's curved or not. Here's the most important bit about shopping for a TV nowadays: 99% of TVs people buy with HDR on the box cannot display it without problems.

Focus on getting a model with good HDR hardware so you avoid these issues in the future. With a limited budget it's best to buy second hand.

New, my recommendations would be the LG B9 OLED, or the C9 if you are a gamer. If you want cheaper than that don't spend less than the Samsung Q70R or Sony XF9005/XG9005. Although you must only consider those if you view the TV directly in front and not at an angle.

If you need to view at an angle and can't afford an OLED look at the Samsung Q80R or Q85R.

Unfortunately buying a TV has become more expensive now with both HDR and UHD so don't make the mistake many people do who believe a budget model now is going to be better than their old model if you are spending similar money on a larger TV. Also try not to shop for models smaller than 55" because otherwise you'll get worse spec models at worse prices.

Wow, £1300 for an LG OLED 55". You get what you pay for though, thanks for the advice.

[superdimitri]

Wow, £1300 for an LG OLED 55". You get what you pay for though, thanks for the advice.

The C9 is the step up model which is needed if you want to fully future proof with next gen gaming.
The cheaper B9 is more than enough otherwise and has taken a price drop recently.

New 2020 CX is out now and even more expensive but I'd wager to see another 100-200 off the C9 as retailers try to make room for the newer models. Generally the B and C range sit about 150 apart in price.

There's a good thread to follow on the avforums.com -search for OLED price changes.

[ElectroClaret]

Fretters, there's a LG OLED on the AO website, 55inch for £1093.
Model 55B9PLA

It might not be the model superdimitri is recommending, but that's a cracking price.
Five star customer reviews.

Tempted myself at that price.

[BleedingClaret]

Always cracked me up when they had HD adverts showing on your non HD TV and firstly displaying an undefined drab coloured image then switching that same image to a bright we’ll defined vibrant version
And I’m thinking hold on if I can see that on my non HD TV....

[JohnMac]

I always wonder why the Sport on Sky pre HD looks awful nowadays yet a 1930's film is perfect.

[ClaretTony]

I'll know where to come for advice in the near future, or when I can finally get all the work done in my house.

By then I'll be looking for a new TV and sound system and there are a lot of people on here know a lot more than I do. I imagine everyone on here knows more than me.

[karatekid]

Just be careful when you see the TV in operation in a shop as they are normally showing 4k videos and as we know there are very few channels that actually broadcast in 4k so the picture won't be that sharp when you get it home and put Corrie on.

[ClaretTony]

so the picture won't be that sharp when you get it home and put Corrie on.

Someone knows me well

[superdimitri]

Fretters, there's a LG OLED on the AO website, 55inch for £1093.
Model 55B9PLA

It might not be the model superdimitri is recommending, but that's a cracking price.
Five star customer reviews.

Tempted myself at that price.

It's exactly the model I'm talking about.

55 is the size
B the range
9 the year of release (2019)
PLA regional differences in model numbers that are largely insignificant.

On the subject of using a TV still for regular broadcast TV like Corrie I'd advise one of the new 48" OLEDs they've just released. If you view far from the TV you may be okay with a 55 or 65" but the HD channels are going to look better on a smaller TV.

Broadcast TV, even when you watch Corrie in HD isn't great quality by today's standards and a 4k model has to upscale it to boot. Sadly though there's no decent HD TVs any more so you have to live with the upscaling until itv etc to update to 4k.

[dsr]

I'll know where to come for advice in the near future, or when I can finally get all the work done in my house.

By then I'll be looking for a new TV and sound system and there are a lot of people on here know a lot more than I do. I imagine everyone on here knows more than me.

Certainly not me. All I know about TVs is that one that cost £300 some years ago is perfectly good for my purposes and shows a picture as good as I can imagine and (so long as it doesn't pack up) will continue to show the same pictures and broadcast the same sound as one costing a grand more.

How young do you have to be to get the benefit of the sound improvement? I bet 55 is too old. Hearing is fine for normal purposes, but I bet the super-HD-ultra-Bang-and-Olufsen effect would be no benefit.

Anyway, apart from football (where not hearing the commentators would be little loss) I watch with subtitles because my mother is virtually stone deaf so they're always on. A much cheaper option that super-duper-surround-sound-bars.

[yTib]

can't get my head around them.