Dan

Been out of the TV market a few years. Wife wants TV in her sewing room, she can have this one. I have always been partial to Sony colors and 50"-55" will be big enough. What is the latest/greatest out there now?

Dan

This looks interesting; Sony XBR-55A1E

Doom878

Budget?

Dan

What ever it takes. Only requirement is maximum of 55". The one I am looking at, Sony A1E 4K HDR OLED, is about 4K.

A1E 4K HDR OLED TV with Acoustic Surface? A1E Sony US

Doom878

Yes if you don't mind early adopting Sony's OLED. I believe still an LG panel due to patent but with Sony's processing power. There's a thread at avsforum

Sony A1E 4K HDR OLED TV at CES 2017 - AVSForum.com

Dan

Been there; I feel like a newborn trying to understand a mission to Mars! There are some very AR people there.

SamDoe1

It all depends on how much you care more so than how much you want to spend. OLED is definitely better but you pay for it.

All TV manufacturers divide their stuff up into 6, 7, 8, and 9 series models and the prices/features go up as you go up in numbers. There definitely is a law of diminishing returns on these though as you'll get 90% of the 8 series in the 7 series and so on. OLED will probably be its own series.

Things to look for if going with LCD:
- Local dimming
- 4K
- HDR

You can get all those things in 7 series and up, most other features are usually fluff and stuff that the AV bros seem to think they can see (they can't) in the nitty gritty details. I bought a 9 series Sony LCD last fall and kinda wish I would have and got the bigger 8 series instead or saved the money and got the same size for less.

Doom878

These guys are well respected as well for their thorough reviews.

Best picture quality 55 inch TVs - Spring 2017: Reviews

If you HAVE to go Sony but the reviews for the 2017 A1E isn't up yet.

Sony 2017 TVs: Reviews

And yeah I feel your pain. I've been researching a lot of stuff including whether or not to go RVU for 4K through DirecTV.

If you're early adopting and don't plan on upgrading, I'd go with the OLED A1E. It will have superior blacks. Excellent color processing. Has both formats of HDR. All the bells and whistles that will hold you for years. I just purchased a 2016 LG OLED and when I actually find good content it's stunning. The downside is that regular HD satellite looks meh because it's so compressed. Everything still gets upscaled but If you're going to show off this badboy use the apps built in or invest in a UHD player. We are early to the 4k HDR content party.

Dan

Got the XBR 55" A1E yesterday. Words cannot describe the picture quality on this set!
On a customer service note; My seven year OPPO Blu-ray did not play well with the A1E. No sound and colors were purple. Called OPPO customer service, was on hold for two minuets, problem diagnosed immediately and patch emailed.

Doom878

Congrats!