On today’s episode of You Asked: Is Mini-LED worth the money you’ll save instead of opting for OLED? When should you save your money and invest it in something other than the TV? And what we’re looking forward to at CES this year.
Mini LED for a children’s room: TCL QM7K vs. QM6K
@rwings091 asks: At $250 Canadian, is the 55-inch TCL QM7K worth more than the 55-inch QM6K for the nursery? They will mostly be watching sports and playing their Xbox Series X. I wish you and your family a happy new year.
The same goes for you, my friend, and thanks for the question. In this case I would recommend the TCL QM6K. Although the QM7K is technically brighter and slightly more contrasty, I don’t think you’d be bothered at all by the QM6K, and you won’t notice anything different unless you see them running side by side at full brightness.
Brightness aside, I don’t think the differences are enough to justify spending the extra money on a TV that won’t be the main theater display in the house. Every child would be happy to have a TV of the caliber of the QM6K in their room to play with. I know I would have been so happy if I had had a screen like this as a child.
If anything, given the extra $250 you’ll save, I’d recommend an all-in-one soundbar that brings the gaming experience to life with a little more punch in the sound. Finding something truly remarkable for $250 can be a little difficult, but if you can find a good deal or put the money aside until your budget grows, upgraded audio is always worth it.
HDMI cable and eARC explained
Kyle asks: What type of HDMI cable is needed for eARC?
You need a certified high-speed HDMI cable that supports HDMI 2.0, or you can take it a step further with a certified HDMI 2.1 cable that is sure to support every format imaginable. Monoprice offers some great options that won’t break your budget.
In my opinion, it’s always a good idea to future-proof yourself, as long as it doesn’t put a financial strain on you. Who knows what audio and video advancements are coming that might require HDMI 2.1 and its increased bandwidth. It seems like a good time to prepare.
OLED loyalty vs. mini-LED value: Choosing a 75-inch TV
Scott says: I currently own a 2019 LG 65B8 OLED, along with a smaller LG 55B* OLED. They still work well, so I’m putting them in other rooms and want to add a 75″ screen in my main viewing room (living room). I saw your video about the LG OLED C5 and am thinking hard about it, but this is where I end up.
- LG OLED 77C5. $1,800 to $100 Best Buy promotion, so $1,700
- LG OLED 77B5. $1,500 to $100 Best Buy promotion, so $1,400
- TCL 75 QM6K $800
- Hisense U7 $1000
At the moment I just can’t get away from the TCL for the price. It’s almost half the price and you give it great reviews (as do others). However, giving the LG such high marks makes me think twice about TCL. I want to stay loyal to the brand and my current LGs are almost 7 years old. So I keep thinking about staying LG. If I go to TCL and save the money and the other two are older, I can use the savings to upgrade those soon too. A little more input, this TV is not our gaming TV, it will be up there and for now the 2019 55-inch OLED will be up there in the rotation. This TV is primarily a streaming content TV with a controllable soundbar in a reasonably bright room. I’m not sure, I’m looking for your post.
Scott, we appreciate the details, and I have some opinions, starting, ironically, with my own opinion.
You mention that all of these TVs get high marks, and that’s because they’re all great TVs. Whether it’s image quality, features, or overall value, you start with a baseline of really solid options.
However, it’s time to think about your opinion. They currently live with OLED TVs. Even though they are a bit old, they still offer excellent image quality with deep blacks and great contrast. The switch from OLED to Mini LED, especially on the QM6K, which is probably just average in terms of contrast, might annoy you, and that’s no fun.
It also sounds like money plays an important role here, so we can probably rule out the LG C5 since it’s the most expensive option.
I really think the LG B5 is the answer here. OLED picture quality, check. Premium features and LG’s quality control, check. Save a few hundred bucks, check. Plus, it could drop even further when newer TVs are announced at CES this week.
Since you want to be able to control the lights in your living room and stay true to your brand, this makes a lot of sense. Don’t worry about upgrading these additional TVs later if they actually die. When that happens, there will almost certainly be a sub-$600 Mini LED TV that will do the job.
What to expect at CES beyond the usual upgrades
Kathryn M asks: What can we expect outside of the norm at CES this year? Size and brightness are common upgrades, but what other improvements or new features might we see?
This is a great question that I need to answer carefully. It’s safe to say that RGB backlight technology, which hit the market last year, will continue to advance. We know Sony is releasing an RGB TV at some point, maybe not at CES, and everyone is dying to call it an OLED killer. We’ll see.
I would also expect to hear more about Dolby Vision 2. This new HDR format caught our attention a few months ago when it was announced, with Hisense being named as the first brand to introduce it in their TVs. Hopefully we’ll get more information and maybe even a visual preview.
In general we know the players and what they have offered in the past. The OLED and Mini-LED TVs that are updated every year are excellent and I expect they will continue to improve. It feels like the industry is excited to see what’s next. What can definitely beat the best TVs currently available? I’m looking forward to that.
Keep your eyes peeled as CES begins. The news is coming fast and we will share as much of it with you as quickly as possible.
