It's 'OLED vs OLED' and 'miniLED vs miniLED' at This Year's Value Electronic's TV Shootout

(July 18, 2024) Over the last twenty years, Robert Zohn's annual Value Electronics' TV Shootout has gone through many iterations. The event was first held at his flagship store in Scarsdale, NY, eventually moving to CE Week NYC in Manhattan and, most recently, to the Company Building on Madison Avenue. During that time, the cast of characters – the TVs and their technologies – have also changed, morphing from Plasma and edge-lit LCD to OLED and LED, with sprinkles of display enhancement innovations like quantum dot and full array local dimming. The Shootout's category parameters have also changed and evolved, with Zohn and his expert evaluators crowning champions for different kinds of categories from year to year. Most recently, the event identified winners in two categories: 4K and 8K TVs.

This year, in an interesting twist, display type, not resolution, defines the categories as the TV Shootout looks to identify the best OLED TV and best miniLED TV among contestants. And to top things off, the event is returning to its roots and setting up shop at its birthplace in Scarsdale.

2024 contestants hail from three notable brands: Sony, LG, and Samsung. According to Zohn, "Only flagship TVs from the premium manufacturers that are available in the U.S. are selected to compete in the annual TV Shootout event." That means the world's second-largest producer of TVs – Hisense – and a rapidly rising brand in TCL aren't included, though there's a good argument that they should be. It also means that Panasonic and its lack of North American market presence will need to watch from the sidelines.

TVs in this year's shootout will be calibrated prior to the event by industry veteran DeWayne Davis and Cecil Meade of Classy Tech Calibrations, creating a competition where each model is in its best operating state. A panel of eight judges comprising Hollywood video colorists, film finishers, TV reviewers, and video experts will rate the TVs for elements of picture quality, including contrast, color fidelity, color saturation, and motion resolution using test patterns, real-world content, and a Sony Professional BVM-HX3110 mastering monitor. Those ratings will then be averaged to reveal the winners.

The Shootout's orchestration will feature state-of-the-art switching, distribution, and test equipment supplied by AVPro Global. It will also use Magnetar’s UDP-900 flagship 4K universal player for content.

“For our 20th year, we are bringing the TV Shootout back to its roots and hosting it in our Scarsdale, NY store where it first originated," says Zohn. "We are excited to show off the capabilities of these displays and see them side-by-side to compare. This is a must-see event for all who are interested in the best video displays.”

TVs competing in the OLED TV Shootout:

• LG OLED65G4PUA OLED TV (Buy on Amazon, Buy from Value Electronics)
• Samsung QN65S95D OLED TV (Buy on Amazon, Buy from Value Electronics)
• Sony XR65A95L OLED TV (Buy on Amazon, Buy from Value Electronics)

TVs competing in the MiniLED TV Shootout:

• LG 65QNED90T MiniLED TV (Buy on Amazon, Buy from Value Electronics)
• Samsung QN65QN95D MiniLED TV (Buy from Value Electronics)
• Sony K65XR90 Bravia 9 MiniLED TV (Buy on Amazon, Buy from Value Electronics)

The event takes place on Saturday, August 3, 2024. AV NIRVANA will have onsite coverage, so stay tuned for more! In the meantime, if you'd like to learn more about Value Electronics, watch a video detailing the unique nature of this incredibly knowledgeable independent retailer!



Additional Reading:

• A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Friendliest National Home Theater Retailer In the US: Value Electronics
• Value Electronics Crowns New Kings of 4K and 8K TVs at Its Annual Flatpanel Shootout Event!
• Value Electronics' Flatpanel Shootout Takes Place This Coming Weekend... New Kings of 4K and 8K TVs Coming Up!
• Value Electronics Set to Hold Its First Annual Headphone Shootout Event
• A Clean Sweep: JVC Wins Big at the 2022 Value Electronics Long Throw Shootout

 

[Robert Zohn]

Thank you for covering our 20th annual TV Shootout® Evaluation event!

Look forward to seeing you again at our August 3-4, 2024 TV Shootout!

 

[Todd Anderson]

Robert, you mentioned that TCL might be included, but Hisense declined. I'd love to see those brands stack up with the big three.

Might be interesting to have a third "Price for Performance" category that attempts to identify the model that offers the best higher end performance when considering cost. I know the empahisis of your event it is find the best performer in the US market... and that information has a ton of value. But, I bet a bang-for-your-buck high end performer would also capture a lot of interest.

 

[tjcinnamon]

Robert, you mentioned that TCL might be included, but Hisense declined. I'd love to see those brands stack up with the big three.

Might be interesting to have a third "Price for Performance" category that attempts to identify the model that offers the best higher end performance when considering cost. I know the empahisis of your event it is find the best performer in the US market... and that information has a ton of value. But, I bet a bang-for-your-buck high end performer would also capture a lot of interest.

100%. Im sure they are catching up and they are likely the market leader at greater than 98” displays.

I’d like to see those against the Bravia 9.

The problem is the results become quite obvious at 80+ inches.

LG G4 because QD-OLED isn’t available.
Bravia 9 for miniLED at 85”

These new larger than 85” are exciting sets.

 

[JStewart]

Might be interesting to have a third "Price for Performance" category that attempts to identify the model that offers the best higher end performance when considering cost.

I dunno, Todd. As an owner of a Hisense 55” U8H for casual viewing (or listening sometimes) I can personally attest that Sony’s motion processing is superior. I won’t watch a movie or good series on the Hisense. Then when it comes down to real value one must also consider how long the set will last. Fortunately, the good people over at Rtings are helping to answer that question with longevity testing. Compare these two popular sets owned by AVNirvana members

JStewart’s Hisense U8H (Ouch!)

@Michael Scott ’s Sony 950H (Nice!)

No contest there. The more expensive set wins the best value title, too. At least in this case.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I dunno, Todd. As an owner of a Hisense 55” U8H for casual viewing (or listening sometimes) I can personally attest that Sony’s motion processing is superior. I won’t watch a movie or good series on the Hisense. Then when it comes down to real value one must also consider how long the set will last. Fortunately, the good people over at Rtings are helping to answer that question with longevity testing. Compare these two popular sets owned by AVNirvana members

JStewart’s Hisense U8H (Ouch!)

@Michael Scott ’s Sony 950H (Nice!)

No contest there. The more expensive set wins the best value title, too. At least in this case.

Yes, I don't disagree with you. I guess I was thinking more about the best bang for the buck in terms of higher performance.

 

[Robert Zohn]

I do mention this when I give my remarks on how to use the summary of the judges ballets that we publish on our website for each element of image quality to select the TV that best matches your likes and use case. Many folks that use our TV Shootout® results just look at the TVs within their budget and add 10% just so you don't miss anything that would make you want to very slightly stretch your budget.

 

[Todd Anderson]

That's a good point, Robert. I think I may take a swipe at making my own pick (using that data).

 

[tjcinnamon]

Has Sony abandoned the Z series? I kind of hope the Bravia 9 is their flagship unless they get another OLED.

Also, any rumors of 83” QD-OLED panels? Otherwise, we only have 83” MLA as of this year

 

[Todd Anderson]

@Robert Zohn, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Sony discontinue Z series?

I don't believe that Samsung Display can cut QD-OLED panels larger than 77". Yes, MLA is at 83"... replacing W-OLED .

 

[Robert Zohn]

Sony's new 2024 BRAVIA 9 QD MiniLED TV is their flagship for the MiniLED category. Sony's flagship A95L Master Series QD OLED is still their flagship for the OLED category.

Sony's 75" Z9K will be available through the end of 2024 and likely a little longer. The 85" Z9K is near the end of life, but we still have a good supply of 85" and 75" Z9K.

We're setting up Samsung's new 2024 75" QN900D next to Sony's 75" Z9K so everyone attending our August 3, 2024 TV Shootout® Evaluation event can see these two ultra high-end Native 8K TVs butt next to each other. We're also setting up LG's new 77" Z3 in the same 8K demo room.

 

[Robert Zohn]

Just a Quick iPhone Picture Of Our Day 2 Review of 83" - 86" Top TVs​

Samsung 85QN95D, Sony 85" BRAVIA 9, - LG 83" G4, - LG 86" QNED90T

 

[Robert Zohn]

We're in the final stage of setting up for this Saturday-Sunday's, August 3-4, 2024 TV Shootout® Evaluation event and we just connected our OTA antenna that is connected to our ZapperBox M2 ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV DVR to the HDMI 2.1 48Gbps Matrix Switch.

So the Zapper Box M2 will be included as one of our video sources for all of the judges to see the new ATSC 3.0 content across all of the OLED and MiniLED TVs competing in the event.

 

[JStewart]

We're in the final stage of setting up for this Saturday-Sunday's, August 3-4, 2024 TV Shootout® Evaluation event and we just connected our OTA antenna that is connected to our ZapperBox M2 ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV DVR to the HDMI 2.1 48Gbps Matrix Switch.

So the Zapper Box M2 will be included as one of our video sources for all of the judges to see the new ATSC 3.0 content across all of the OLED and MiniLED TVs competing in the event.

Will the event be on YouTube? I can’t seem to find mention of it. I’ve probably overlooked it and it’s probably really obvious.

 

[Robert Zohn]

Yes, we'll have some of the TV Shootout® broadcast live on Stop the FOMO's YouTube channel, followed by many edited videos on FOMO's Channel, and Brian's Tech Therapy, and several other TV Speciality YouTube Channels.

Also wanted to update my previous post to say. Other video source devices we'll have connected to AVPro's HDMI 2.1 48Gbps Matrix switch are:

- Oppo UDP-205 BD player

- Magnetar's UDP900

- R_volution's new PlayerOne 8K Media Player

- Kaleidescape new Strato V Movie Player.

and our OTA ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV

 

[Sonnie]

Wish I could be there. Retired and still can't get freed up like I want.

 

[Robert Zohn]

Thank you Sonnie! We wish you could join us too!

 

[JStewart]

Yes, we'll have some of the TV Shootout® broadcast live on Stop the FOMO's YouTube channel, followed by many edited videos on FOMO's Channel, and Brian's Tech Therapy, and several other TV Speciality YouTube Channels.

Thanks Robert. Looks like FOMO has the festivities starting tonight.

 

[Robert Zohn]

Due to copyright limitations we are not live streaming all of the event. But much of the TV Shootout® will be broadcast live.

All of the event will be reordered and just after the event ends several edited versions of the event will be also be available on several YouTube Channels.

Here's the link to the 1st in a series of YouTube videos that will actually go live every evening tonight.

 

[Robert Zohn]

Heres the link to FOMO's live video that is active now as he interviews all of the judges.

In 1/2 hour we'll have the results announced that will be on FOMO's Channel on the above link.

I'll also post the results on AV NIRVANA