I’d like your feedback on TV, your advice on receiver/player, and any forewarnings you think we need to consider.
We are a mixed Apple iPhone/Android Phone household. Our tablets are iPad exclusively. Our PCs are Mac Air and Windows laptops, and our desktop (when we’ve had one) have been Windows.
Based on the strong recommendation of my installer, I have bought a Synology NAS with Plex media server. Now, I’d like to buy a 75 inch Smart TV at the $1700-$2200 USD price point that works well with it. Based on picture & price, we like
Tied - LG SM9070PUA & Sony X950
3rd - Vizio PX or P-Quantum
But I am concerned about…
Sony Android TV -vs- privacy & Google lock-in (strong priority over iOS/Apple, Amazon, etc.)
Vizio & LG support of Plex.
Vizio reliability & support (according to Consumer Reports & what I read in forums like this since it is not DLNA certified)
Plus, I want to update / upgrade our stereo (1980’s Onkyo Integra with Infinity Reference Standard speakers) + home theater (Panasonic 5.1 with BluRay) and 900MHZ remote speakers (patio, backyard, deck) all connect today (with a Toshiba 1080p flat screen) via the Onkyo preamp. I am not sure what we should keep and what we should chuck.
With the experience I have had with LG your pick is solid for value, the only better LG’s are OLED’s.
I love the LG PLEX app and it is now a mature app, only major missing piece is Grid EPG but you can use a companion app on iPad ,iPhone, Android Device to have a Grid EPG.
As for replacing you Onkyo, there not the quality of the past and suffer with hardware issues. I have had 2 failures in 6 years. I would recommend Yamaha or Dennon with eARC and couple it with a Nvidia Shield pro 2019 for best possible solution for future proofing 4K and the Audio codecs involved.
I understand 75" OLED is a crazy price, the Nano Cell is not a bad unit just doesn’t have the blacks of the OLED. Only warning, be careful of installing the Nano cell. Follow LG instructions exactly, in fact download prior to purchase if your going to DIY, same for OLED.
Sony TV’s have the best Picture Quality on the market other than Panasonic (just watch some videos from Youtube by HDTVTest, Vincent knows his stuff). But Panasonic is not available in the US Market anymore, not sure where you are…
But to be fair, whatever TV looks best to you, get that. Also, I would steer clear of any of the native tv plex apps, get yourself a streaming device like an NVIDIA Shield Pro as mentioned above. More codec support = better play experience.
If you’re looking for a ridiculously large screen (like 75" or 77") then you may actually be better off with one of the new Laser Projectors, they go all the way up to 110", have much longer lasting bulbs, extremely decent black levels on the right screen, full HDR support, and are typically much cheaper than the OLED’s. LG has 2 models to consider, one short throw and a new one that is a long rectangle… I hear both are nice… Optoma, VAVA, and a few others also have offerings that are pretty fantastic.
If your viewing area is dark, without a lot of Ambient light, and no daylight seepage, a projector on a darker screen with less gain is actually a really really nice viewing experience.
As far as receivers go, I’d wait just a bit to get something ATMOS and DTS:X with 8K Passthrough… This way you’re future proofing, they’re just around the corner, I’d expect them out last half of this year.
What kind of media are you going to be using? Having a bunch of nice equipment paired with some AC3 MP4 video files won’t make you smile about all the money that was spent lol.
