When it comes to TVs nowadays, bigger is not always better—when you start looking for your brand-new TV this holiday season, you should be looking for models with sharp resolution, energy efficiency, and features like 3D or built-in Wi-Fi. And then size, because let’s be real, you still want to brag about those 60 beautiful inches of screen stretching across your wall.
It seems that only Samsung and LG are offering TVs complete with those features, which is why both are currently vying to be the number one name in both OLED and Ultra HD TVs.
Which should you choose? Below is a breakdown of the current TV models Samsung and LG currently offer, with designs ranging from the higher-priced “I would sell my soul for that and not even be sorry” models to “Wow, that’s beautiful and I can actually afford it,” that you should be looking for when you bolt through those doors on your Christmas shopping frenzies, complete with all of the resolution and high-tech features you desire. Pick your side and
happy shopping!
The contestants:
1. Samsung:
The Dream:
55” Class (54.6 Diag) S9C Series OLED TV
Samsung is one of the current leaders in TV models, with its recent additions to market shelves being praised for both their added features as well as screen quality. This
Samsung’s newest OLED TV model, coming out shortly after the very first OLED TV released by LG, is absolutely stunning.
Using organic self-emitting pixels, the model comes with amazing picture quality, a color spectrum that far surpasses current LED screens along with greater contrast and deeper blacks. It’s BlurFree, with action and motion strikingly clear, and its curved screen makes it look like a work of art. It also comes with MultiView, so you can watch two different shows at once with HD video and sound quality. Here’s the only problem:
Price: $8.999.99
While that’s definitely a fair price—actually, it’s the cheapest OLED currently on the market—for the model considering its features, it’s also definitely on the steep side. LG’s model does cost more but has higher ratings by reviewers. You could also check out Samsung’s UHD models, which are also stunning but mostly cost as much as cars, though Samsung is selling its littlest UHD for only $5,000. So when you shop, this is the first OLED TV you stop to stare at longingly (maybe caress the screen if nobody’s looking), contemplate selling your car, before you move on to:
The Reality:
If you have some money to burn (lucky you) and want to treat yourself without actually breaking the bank, check out Samsung’s 46” Class LED 7500 Series Smart TV.
Price: $1,499.99
Samsung does not currently offer either an OLED or an Ultra-HD model below $5,000, so if you are bound and determined not to switch to LG’s side, back to regular LED you go. This particular model comes with HD 1080p, but has an added Quad Core Processor that allows you to explore multiple features at the same time, S-Recommendation so you can just ask your TV for a new show to watch, and a Smart Hub that organizes your content into 5 separate, incredibly convenient panels.
OR
Samsung 55” Class 954.6” Diag) LED FH6030 Series TV:
Price: $799.99
This particular model was given 4/5 stars, and is an excellent choice for a high-tech TV without a price tag that will make you cry. It has the same HD 1080p as the LED 7500, but is not a Smart TV. For its price, however, the resolution is stunning, and it also comes with immersive 3D and color enhancer features, complete with a CPR—Clear Motion Rate—of 240, an excellent level of motion-clarity.
2. LG:
The Dream:
84” Class Ultra High Definition 3D TV with Smart TV (83.9 Diag):
I would buy this TV immediately. It’s barely a TV; it’s like LG scaled down a movie screen and mounted it on a wall. Not only does it come with Ultra HD Definition—that’s 4K resolution with 3840×2160 pixels—but it has a TruMotion 240Hz and LG Cinema 3D, with 2D to 3D conversion. It’s a Smart TV, complete with built-in Wifi, Smart Share, a Resolution Upscaler that lets you enhance the already stunning resolution to an even higher quality, and a magic remote that lets you select content with a wave of your hand or will respond naturally to your voice using it’s Speech Recognition. That’s just some of the model’s features. But:
Price: $16,999.99
There are probably some of you that are financially stable enough to purchase this for the Christmas season, but for most of us, this is the model that we stop at and take at least 20 minutes to seriously contemplate shoplifting or bank robbery (and by contemplate I mean we would totally do it, if that eagle-eyed security guard hadn’t been stalking us through the aisle for the past twenty minutes like a deer).
For a second dream option, you can also check outLG’s OLED model, a mere $1,000 more expensive and higher rated than Samsung’s model.
The Reality:
55” Class Ultra High Definition 4K TV with Smart TV (4.6” Diag):
For those of you with a small surplus of funds, this is the TV you want. LG seems to be farther along in the UHD game than Samsung, considering this model comes at a semi-affordable price:
Price: 3,499.99
Like the 84-inch Class, this model comes with the same 4K resolution and the same LG UHD Cinema 3D, with 8.3 million pixels making the digital picture quality stunning, especially when combined with LG’S 178° angle viewing panel. That’s four times the resolution of HD 1080p. It’s also a Smart TV that comes with a Magic Remote complete with Speech Recognition, so you don’t even have to navigate through features and content on your own. You can share files from external storage devices on the screen, or if you also have an LG Smart Phone, you can watch TV on it through LG Smart Share.
This TV is the one you spend those extra dollars for. It’s very much worth it.
OR:
LG 50” Class Full HD 1080p Plasma TV (49.9 Diag):
Price: $749.99
For a cheap model that is also energy efficient, try LG’s “simply stunning” 50-inch class full HD. While it won’t offer you anywhere near the same picture resolution and quality as their UHD models, the regular HD is still fabulous at 1080p, at double the pixel resolution of standard HDs. It comes with a 600Hz refresh rate that basically cancels motion blur, and comes with a user-friendly self-calibration tool so that you can adjust picture quality and features yourself if need be.
So who wins? I'm going to have to say:
LG
They had me at their affordable and sleek UHD TVs and the better rating and higher quality of their OLED model. The designs are altogether more energy conscious than Samsung’s, as well as more user-friendly, and they seem to be advancing at a faster rate in both OLED and UHD models. So when you go into the store, I would stop at the LG models first.
Advertisement
