Cheap OLED TVs aren’t a dime a dozen these days, that’s why Mini-LED TVs like the Hisense U8N are ever on the rise and growing in popularity. But a new OLED out of a relatively unheard-of brand could reshape the market — and it starts at just $799.
The legacy audio brand Sansui has announced that it's making a 55-inch OLED with a 120Hz panel and a 2.1-channel subwoofer at a respectable 40W of output power for under a grand. At that same price, you’d have to go with the 48-inch LG B4 OLED, which does come equipped with four HDMI 2.1 ports and Nvidia G-Sync.
The Sansui 55-inch OLED TV launched on October 1 and can be purchased at various retailers across the US, namely Microcenter and PC Richard and Son.
In its press release, Sansui gives no mention of HDMI 2.1 ports or any screen tearing technologies either, but Tom’s Guide reached out for additional information on these specs. Its $799 price tag might be incredible, especially given its corralling of Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos built on the Google TV interface.
OLED TV at the right price or too good to be true
In the world of the best OLED TVs price isn't something you can hand wave away. Typically OLEDs come at quite a high premium and that's because they offer the best picture quality and richest blacks on the market, but finding one anywhere under even $1,500 is a blessing — and a near impossible one at that.
But the Sansui 55-inch OLED TV is aiming to put the kibosh on over-expensive OLEDs. Sansui's cheap OLED comes equipped with a slew of HDR certifications including Dolby Vision, HDR 10, and HLG. You'll be missing out on HDR10+, of course, but that's an easy sacrifice in the face of a price point situated under $1,000.
According to FlatpanelsHD, it also uses a WOLED panel from LG Display, which Tom's Guide corroborated in an email correspondence with Sansui PR. It also runs on Google TV, which is now winning the TV race, so it should be quite the punch against major players like LG and Samsung.
LG has long held the top spot for delivering quality OLED TVs built with a value backbone as seen with its LG C3 OLED TV, which remains one of the best TVs for gaming. Can the Sansui 55-inch OLED TV stand toe to toe with the likes of LG's cheaper models, or is the LG B3 OLED or LG B4 OLED a better buy in the face of its cheaper markup? We'll have to wait and see.
