Per subject, we're looking for recommendations for a new TV for our living room with following features:

• size 55"
• preferably QLED, as I've heard many of the OLED screens have an issue with burn-in over time.
• around $1,000-$1,300 mark.
• presumably 4K and 120Hz refresh rate - seems most new TVs in this price range have those specs now.
• to be used mostly with cable tv box & Amazon Fire TV box (including Netflix, YouTube etc), so the built-in bloatware smart hub o/s will likely never be used.
• will be sitting on a cabinet, so wall mounting is not a concern, although I will attach straps to the back so there's no risk of it falling forward (we have a young kid).
• we don't have an xbox, and don't plan on using if for gaming other than what our kid might install on the Fire TV box.

 
I've been looking on Amazon at the 55" Samsung QN55Q8FN ($1,297), mostly good reviews but a few bad reviews too, so I'm hesitating. Anyone had experience with this, or can recommend one that fits the bill for us?
 
We currently have a 46" Samsung UN46D6000SFXZA which is about 7 years old (~$1,000 at the time) & a Sony HTXT1 sound bar (~$250 at the time), both of which we will move into our bedroom. The existing TV is awesome, the picture has always been great and we don't use their smart hub at all, so we're pretty happy with Samsung based on our experience to date. The sound bar is not doing so well because I think we've managed to blow the sub-woofer in it lol, but it'll be fine for the bedroom.
 
We'll also probably need some sound, as most TVs have mediocre (at best) onboard sound. We're not big audiophiles, and not looking at high quality surround systems or spending much on it, but maybe a soundbar with a subwoofer? We liked the Sony HTXT1 because the TV could sit on top of it - we live in NYC so space is always an issue. Maybe around $250 mark? If anyone has recommendations on that please chime in.
 
Last but not least, prefer it to be sold on Amazon as I get 5% off.
 
Appreciate any suggestions. 
 
 

The Samsung you mentioned is a fine choice

XrayMan
My first choice is Samsung. I also like LG too. LG seems to have more connections in the back, and Samsung took away a lot of theirs.

I took a look at LG - they have some good TVs too. OLED is probably better in some respects, particularly for viewing angle as I understand it, but the panel burn-in really concerns me, which is something QLED does not have an issue with. I really only need a couple of HDMI connections and an optical for sound, and the Samsung I linked to has 4 HDMI ports and 1 optical, along with ethernet, 2 USB ports, and I think an external antenna if needed. It doesn't have component-video inputs, but I don't need them. I like that the remote can also handle some of the basic functions on your TV (volume, power, and I think switching between HMDI connections)... although I have a Logitech Harmony universal remote so...
 
 

I like the Samsung sets myself and feel they offer a great deal for the money. As for OLED they do look great for most stuff but the non OLED are also really good looking. You might notice a slight difference but in action both are going to offer about the same image quality to the eyes. It really takes a static image to notice the difference easily. I was really surprised by how good the image quality was on my parents set that wasn’t OLED but one of the higher end Toshiba models. The image quality has came a long way in the couple years since I got my set.

Nereus
 
Thanks for the comments. Just pulled the trigger on the Samsung QN55Q8FN.  :)
 

          

I have to agree that you will probably be very happy with it. As I said above the quality of sets has came up to the point that the display is often better then the equipment that is hooked up to it.
 
On a side note it's a good time to look at any equipment that you rent. I just over the weekend went to Comcast retail store and made sure my rental equipment was up to date.

Hoggle
I have to agree that you will probably be very happy with it. As I said above the quality of sets has came up to the point that the display is often better then the equipment that is hooked up to it.
On a side note it's a good time to look at any equipment that you rent. I just over the weekend went to Comcast retail store and made sure my rental equipment was up to date.

Good point. The only thing rented is the modem (not by choice), but yeah it's still good and capable of bandwidth higher than we have. I use my own router (ASUS RT-AC68U) and keep the firmware current.

 
Yup :)  "Motion Rate" 240, which is 120Hz refresh rate, or 60Hz at 4K.
 

got this in my mailbox today, from Ollies. Samsung 55" UN55NU6900/6950 $299.00
https://www.ollies.us/currentflyer/flyer.html?store_code=54&utm_campaign=Flyer_Email_2019-05-02&utm_source=OA_Member&utm_medium=Email