Posted 3 January 2023

Is it worth paying extra for OLED TV?

Hi,

Looking for some advice.

I'm planning to get a new TV to replace my current 11 year old 40" Toshiba (not a Smart TV). The current one still works fine, but I think I could do with getting something a bit more modern. Plus I get terrible aerial signal so I use a Freesat box with it, and I'm planning to go for something (most likely LG) with a Freesat tuner built in, to save having a separate box.

There are some decent looking 42/43" TVs for around £300, give or take £20-30 depending on the model. However, I see most people recommending OLED TVs which are a few hundred more.

I'm way out of touch with 4K/UHD/OLED/QLED etc, and to be honest I can't even tell the difference between HD and SD on my current TV.

Would it be worth someone like me paying extra for OLED to future proof the TV, or would I be as well just sticking with one of the £300 TVs?
Community Updates
New Comment

19 Comments

sorted by
's avatar
  1. 666FU's avatar
    Forget OLED, do your eyes a solid and spend the extra money on a larger television. 55-60 inch should be within your £350 budget.
  2. KodaBear's avatar
    Costco have the 43" Toshiba UK4D Available for £259.99 And that comes with a 5 Year warranty - If you are happy with Toshiba from your current set. Add £15 For a Costco online membership if you don't already have a card (Anyone can qualify for online membership)

    costco.co.uk/TVs…059

    This is a 4K Smart TV and also has a satellite tuner built in which meets your requirements.

    If you can't tell the difference between standard and high defininition, you aren't going to be able to tell the much more minor differences between HD and 4K, or likely even LED vs OLED unless you're regularly watching movies in a very dark room - (It makes the blacks look more black)

    Future proofing isn't really a thing. And an LED Television isn't going to become obsolete any sooner than an OLED One since they both ultimately receive the same picture in the same format.

    Unless you need the extra features, I wouldn't advise it to be worthwhile to spend the extra money for someone like yourself who isn't after the absolute cutting edge, doesn't see much difference between one technology and the next, and just want's a TV to do the basics with a half decent picture quality.
    melted's avatar
    A quick google suggests that Toshiba has a satellite tuner, but is not Freesat, so no 7 day programme guide which would make its satellite tuner fairly useless compared to a Freesat box. And I'm pretty sure you won't be able to install an app, or something like Enigma2 on a TV to get unlicensed access to the Freesat guide.

    OLED has better contrast, blacker blacks, wider viewing angles than LED (LCD) displays, but suffers from screen burn with static images. It also has less peak brightness than LED displays, so not good in a brightly lit room, and a standard LED light + LCD TV will probably last longer unless the other electronics in the TV die first. I first noticed some screen burn on my LG OLED (which did have proper Freesat) after about 5-6 years, although it is an older model and newer OLED displays are brighter and should last a bit longer too.

    I would suggest visiting a few stores to view the pictures to see what you are happy with, although bear in mind that the viewing conditions are usually quite poor and in store TVs are usually set to "Store Mode" which will have the brightness cranked up high amongst other setting tweaks to make the pictures look better.

    We went with OLED partly for the wider viewing angle, but mostly because the OLEDs displays we saw outclassed the other TVs. (edited)
  3. echobase's avatar
    Oled kicks the backside of any other type of tv but is expensive. Surprised you can actually get one for just a few hundred more. Personally not seen one as low as £600. 
  4. adam.mt's avatar
    Does your current TV actually support HD (720p) or better, Full HD (1080p)? If it does and you can't tell the difference between SD and HD, then OLED may be wasted.

    Best way to tell is to view a few TVs in person to get a general idea. It's your eyes, no one else can answer for you! It doesn't have to be the specific model(s) you're thinking of getting. (edited)
  5. adam.mt's avatar
    I believe LG make the current smallest OLED mainstream TV at 42", but you're looking at £850.
    Update: £799 here.

    55" models are more common.

    That may make up your mind for you? (edited)
  6. EndlessWaves's avatar
    OLED has two selling points:

    1. Reasonable support for the new picture standards, allowing a greater range of colour and contrast that's closer to reality. This requires content to me made using them though, and the freesat standards don't support it so it's of no use to you.

    2. They're very good at the home cinema business - darkened room performance and so on. As you're after a smallish TV I'm guessing that's not very relevant to you either.

    Future proofing doesn't work as the current standards are still evolving, so you'd just end up with an out of date version of it when the content you watch started using it. You may as well save the money and put it towards the TV after that one.

    So I'd say don't bother. For you the important thing is likely to be the TV's picture processing and how it handles low quality content like freesat broadcasts, as well as general interface quality (responsiveness etc.)
  7. deleted9453's avatar
    Depends on the size you want to upgrade to.
    Also, wouldn't bother with Toshiba anymore. The OS/menu interface is pretty poor and lacking many features you'd get on a Sony, LG, Samsung etc. I've had a 55inch OLED and currently have a 77inch.

    I think 55 and above to pay a premium for a decent set be it LED or OLED just for the better PQ and lighting.


    Hisense and TLC make good sets if you're on a budget.

    Go for Costco, Richer Sounds or John Lewis for the 5/6 Yr warranty.

  8. thepostie's avatar
    We went to an LG OLED as our older Samsung TV had light spots that kept falling down inside and that was only about 7 years old. The LG one is a fantastic bit of kit. It cost us £799 just for a 42" though but the picture quality is the best we've ever seen and perfect for gaming. But like someone said above if you can't tell the difference between SD and HD then get a TV in the £300-500 area unless you have money to spend.
  9. bracey100's avatar
    if u into console gaming i wud go oled if not i wud get a cheap 4k like the toshiba 1 mentioned
  10. slimy31's avatar
    For me it's not just the OLED aspect. It's the upscaling side. I've had cheap TV's for quite a while, and they all struggle to work with SD and HD particularly on Freeview and similar. You say you can't tell the difference, but is it because your current TV is just making a hash out of both standards? BluRay and streaming services were fine as they start out at a higher resolution (less processing needed on the device)

    Even if you don't want to move to OLED, check the reviews to make sure the processing unit is up to scratch. You're on a safe path with LG though.

    I went for the LG C1, purely because I wanted to treat myself. I think that was a grand well spent, and the step up from the Hisense (Which I thought was decent for the money) is just ridiculous.
  12. Helpful567's avatar
    look at normal channels on your current tv (channel 1 - BBC 1 channel 3 ITV)

    Then look at the HD channels (channel 101 - BBC 1 channel 103 itv)

    We have a 65 inch OLED and can definitely see a big difference




    on a smaller screen (40 inch) then the difference may not be as noticeable

    BUT, if you are going bigger, then the difference will be noticeable.


    we also have a 43 inch (not oled)
    43UM7400PLB
    43'' LG ULTRA HD 4K TV which gives a nice picture
    there is a definite difference in hdu and sd broadcast

    as stated in other posts, check whether your new tv has good “up scaling “ which is a big improvement on picture quality (edited)
    adam.mt's avatar
    Depends whether their current TV supports HD (as per my first post way back).

    We're waiting on the original author and whether they've read any of the replies
  13. Edgerunner's avatar
    First of, your current TV is 11 years old and its a Toshiba... you will never notice any difference with a TV that old, between SD and HD.

    The TV you should get, should be the LG: OLED42C24LA (LG OLED evo C2 42'' 4K Smart TV).

    It would suit you perfect. The price for it, was cheapest back in November, i would possibly wait if you want to save a hundred or so, till the price drops again.

    LG's next line of TV's will be out within the next 4 months. So its higly likely it should drop in price again.
    adam.mt's avatar
    I disagree on your first point, I've used older TVs, including 32" and could clearly see the difference between SD and HD. You forget Toshiba used to design their own TVs; they weren't a bad brand.

    As advised by a number of people, the OP should try viewing a £300 TV vs. an £800 OLED themselves and make up their own mind. Unless, of course, you're offering to refund the difference should they buy OLED and regret the expense (edited)
  14. john_n3MU's avatar
    Yes, Yes,......Yeees! I run QLEd at home, all Samsung from 32" 40"(4K) to 43"(4K)pictures are all stunning even on SD, but go to HD on Freeview and even the 32" 1080p is brilliant. External sources add to it too. No going back when you have used them purely as TV's - I don't game. F1 with NOW Boost is superb too watching fast moving cars. Fill yer Boots. Pick of the bunch is the 43" 4k QLED which is my choice.................bought last year for £430 with 5 Year warranty........... (edited)
's avatar