OK so, pic quality is fantastic whether I use the Chromecast dongle for films off Google or Amazon (I cast everything from my mobile) or the onboard choice for other services.
I find most of the other adjustments in the User menus unnecessary and I’ve no need so far for any of the Homescreen apps.
One really odd thing is that, unlike the old Samsung where I would just change from TV to Favourites in the NAIM app, I have to also toggle the button on my nDAC to switch between the TV and the ND5XS2.
Any LG CX/C1/C2. Out of the box the Rec709 is over saturated and the primaries need dialling back but all else is as close to what is achievable from a ‘Grade 1’ display like the Sony BVM HX310 or EIZO CG 3146. Sony and Panasonic all use the LG panel and there’s very little difference in performance.
To share my experience, I have recently swapped out our trusty 50” plasma for a Samsung 65” O LED, detailed picture, punchy but less realistic colours, great sound, less than intuitive OS and quite flimsy construction, ok we did pick a thin one cos it looked swanky but never the less, I don’t know how it would survive a house move!
I doubt if it will last as long as our clunky old plasma which was still working when I sold it on.
Did the same a few months ago – I still have my Pioneer plasma, just in case!
While the picture is far more detailed and I’ve settled to it, it does have its foibles (esp with sport). Sometimes, it produces a picture (via Sky Q) which is unwatchable, as it seems to struggle to process the contrast between the background & foreground.
The remote is poor IMHO and the tiny buttons (for my fingers) make programming in the router codes a right PITA.
I think OLED is the best technology with the pure black background the visual equivalent of a low noise floor in a Naim system. We’ve always found Panasonic the best for a natural visual presentation, finding others to be over saturated.
I agree with Mike on the OLED, but I personally recommend Samsung. Whichever one you get, just make sure that you spring for the in-bouse colour-correction add-on by one of the techs. It’ a $200 or $300 extra (in Canada) but so worth it. Mike is right when he mentioned colour saturation. They push the blues when they ship from the factory so that they like so brilliant in the showrooms, but it’s not at all natural. Also, once the tech has done the colour correction, the TV will run much cooler with the blues back to natural and because of this the TV will last much longer as well as look so much better.
You’ll be so glad you paid the extra few bucks.
I had a good play with all the settings when I got it, as well as trying to understand what things like ‘Cinema/Film’ setting did to the picture and the micro-settings.
Generally, it’s fine but I’m 99% sure it’s the processor which sometimes struggles to come to terms with the background/foreground issue, as I can see the scene change over a few seconds (it’s not the any variation of light in my room). It’s worst on some of the channels which show older films and series. A few nights back the picture was akin to a moving X-ray slide, where you could see broad images but no detail – I wonder if the broadcast was low on signal power.
I turn most processing modes off. Especially the ambient light sensing. When you have a bright scene that lights up the room cutting to a very dark scene, I can see a lag if it’s on.
“All downhill after my last CRT TV (a Panasonic).”
That makes me feel better. I bought a top end Panasonic CRT TV in 2003 and can’t bear to part with it as the sound is so good! Hence why I’m wondering whether to use my Muso for its replacement.
Have a search for ‘isf calibration’… similar to computer screen calibration used by designers. Had mine done and the company overwrote a few of the default profiles which shipped with the tv. My calibration took about 3 hours in total and takes into account both light and dark viewing situations so they bring black out blinds for windows etc with them. The new profiles are maintained over firmwre updates but if would need redoing if you where to reset to factory settings for whatever reason.
The first was my Panasonic plasma VT50 along with a separate Lumagen video processor and the difference truly was night and day! Even the Mrs noticed!
The 2nd was my current Panasonic OLED, and although the difference this time isn’t as obvious as the plasma (mainly due to the improvements in ‘out of the box’ settings) it’s still worth it to eek every last bit of performance out of a £2k TV.
Our Pioneer 55” 504 Plasma is 20-ish years old, tuner is analogue so NFG, but there is not one dead pixel on the screen.
I wish the bloody thing would die, so I could justify a new 75” Super Ultra 8K High Definition model….and hence could claim bragging rights over Daughter2’s rather lovely 65” LG!
You’ll also likely be saving a fair bit in electricity costs replacing it with something new, the old Plasma is probably like boiling a kettle all day when it’s being watched
I know the Pioneer one I had many years back could easily heat the room it was in to a comfortable level.
…well said, our Pioneer (42 inch) is from 2006 and still going strong, but instead of waiting any longer, we ordered a Panasonic OLED 4K LZ2000. I say, go for the Super Ultra 8K;)
