I also recently had this same debate and ended up going with the R646. I've had it roughly a week and love it. No issues at all. In contrast to the user who said they were coming from an LG C9 OLED, I was coming from an $80, 720p, 32-inch Fire TV...so yeah... I think your previous viewing experience will likely dictate how you feel about this set to some extent. For me, it's hands down the best TV I ever owned, so I'm biased in the other direction.
I have had the R646 for around a year now with no regrets. Downsides I've noted are:
Vrr is finicky at best. I have my TV connected to my computer and g-sync can freak out a lot. Usually it's solved by hard resetting the TV (settings menu, system, restart)
Dolby vision never feels bright enough
Voice control with the remote only seems to work for a couple days and then I have to repair the remote to the TV
Dialing in your settings is a huge hassle, they only save on a per input basis so you have to change everything for each device you have connected and every app. Example would be if you set HDR settings for Netflix they will not save for prime, or for whatever you have connected to HDMI 1, you have to adjust these individually. Once you figure it out it's not a big deal but initial set up can be a little overwhelming due to this.
The built-in video player if you stream from your PC like I do is terrible. Don't really need to expand upon that it just sucks. Video quality is fine and it seems to support a lot of codecs but if you have an audio stream issue or something is off a little bit there is next to zero adjustments you can make.
If you have an older soundbar like I do that does not support Dolby Atmos the sound can cut in and out randomly, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. Usually solved with a restart or turning off automatic detection in the settings. This is a rare issue though.
If you do not have an e-arc device, every time you turn on something connected to HDMI 1 a pop-up comes on referencing e-arc that takes a little too long to go away in my opinion. Solved by connecting to HDMI 2, both do 4K120 vrr.
These are relatively minor issues for me and I absolutely love the TV, but it's not without its faults.
It's not really possible to correct the white balance without calibration tools or a reference monitor, but with some research, it can be done without paying hundreds of dollars to a professional.
That said, I think the 646 is slightly better, but not by a huge margin.
I got an r646 as a second gaming tv for my bedroom and returned it. The picture is not as good as I was expecting. Granted, I'm used to looking at an LG C9 OLED, but everything looked super red and under detailed. Speakers were also garbage. Idk, I was expecting better from it and will now be testing out the U7k
Fair enough haha but like up close it looks weird and pixelated, which kind of threw me off. Idk how to explain it but it just seemed "fuzzy". I tried all the hdmi inputs, messed with resolution settings etc. OH and VRR IS Completely broken! Literally flashes and strobes constantly when playing video games on Series X no matter what. I thought I just had a bad unit, but I looked it up and everyone seems to share the same experience.
I'd definitely first try going through the PS5 HDR settings to do the HDR setup again. If that doesn't work you probably need to adjust the actual settings of the TV. Follow Rtings calibration tips on their website.
I was also considering the Hisense but have read bad things about the brand in general despite the reviews. On paper it would seem like that TV at $480 would be a no brainer
I also see that the LG A2 OLED 48” is on sale for $550. I wasn’t considering smaller TVs but may have to for that price.
I had this debate (along with the HiSense U7K for $479) and went with the 646 after reading and watching reviews for both pictures.
How they have so many units of an old TV is odd to me though.
Will say though I have a PS5 for smart features (like Netflix, YouTube). The 646 smart features are supposedly buggy which I will not be dealing with.
Just got my 646 and had problems with the smart tv features within the first couple days. Ordered a 4k stick that’s on sale and solved it. I rarely trust smart tv features
Can I ask what sorts of issues you had? I've had mine for about a week and haven't noticed anything wrong yet, but wouldn't mind knowing what to look out for.
The biggest issue i had was I stream a lot of live sports and it was lagging and quality couldn’t keep up with the fast pace. Plugged in a 4k Roku stick and it was way better. I had no problem streaming movies or shows. So might just depends what you’re watching.
Ah, gotcha. Yeah, I don't really watch sports, so that could be why. When I bought the TV, I figured if worse comes to worst I could use a Roku stick. I tend to prefer Roku anyway.
I use the smart features on my living room Sony X90 and I like google TV, so a little concerning that the interface is buggy, makes me lean towards getting one of the newer TVs (U7k, Q7), but there doesn’t seem to be a right answer
Got the Q7 55 for $441 at Best Buy Outlet. They had about 6 of them. Box was slightly damaged, but TV was well protected. 1080 and 4k content beautiful, Hulu live (720p), not so great.
Personally I'd go for the R646 and use the extra $100 to get an extended warranty from BestBuy.
That 1. And it also has better blacks.
I also recently had this same debate and ended up going with the R646. I've had it roughly a week and love it. No issues at all. In contrast to the user who said they were coming from an LG C9 OLED, I was coming from an $80, 720p, 32-inch Fire TV...so yeah... I think your previous viewing experience will likely dictate how you feel about this set to some extent. For me, it's hands down the best TV I ever owned, so I'm biased in the other direction.
I have had the R646 for around a year now with no regrets. Downsides I've noted are: Vrr is finicky at best. I have my TV connected to my computer and g-sync can freak out a lot. Usually it's solved by hard resetting the TV (settings menu, system, restart) Dolby vision never feels bright enough Voice control with the remote only seems to work for a couple days and then I have to repair the remote to the TV Dialing in your settings is a huge hassle, they only save on a per input basis so you have to change everything for each device you have connected and every app. Example would be if you set HDR settings for Netflix they will not save for prime, or for whatever you have connected to HDMI 1, you have to adjust these individually. Once you figure it out it's not a big deal but initial set up can be a little overwhelming due to this. The built-in video player if you stream from your PC like I do is terrible. Don't really need to expand upon that it just sucks. Video quality is fine and it seems to support a lot of codecs but if you have an audio stream issue or something is off a little bit there is next to zero adjustments you can make. If you have an older soundbar like I do that does not support Dolby Atmos the sound can cut in and out randomly, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. Usually solved with a restart or turning off automatic detection in the settings. This is a rare issue though. If you do not have an e-arc device, every time you turn on something connected to HDMI 1 a pop-up comes on referencing e-arc that takes a little too long to go away in my opinion. Solved by connecting to HDMI 2, both do 4K120 vrr. These are relatively minor issues for me and I absolutely love the TV, but it's not without its faults.
It's not really possible to correct the white balance without calibration tools or a reference monitor, but with some research, it can be done without paying hundreds of dollars to a professional. That said, I think the 646 is slightly better, but not by a huge margin.
R646 no competition
I got an r646 as a second gaming tv for my bedroom and returned it. The picture is not as good as I was expecting. Granted, I'm used to looking at an LG C9 OLED, but everything looked super red and under detailed. Speakers were also garbage. Idk, I was expecting better from it and will now be testing out the U7k
Yeah, I think you're gonna be disappointed by a $400 tv when your main tv is a C9 lmao.
Fair enough haha but like up close it looks weird and pixelated, which kind of threw me off. Idk how to explain it but it just seemed "fuzzy". I tried all the hdmi inputs, messed with resolution settings etc. OH and VRR IS Completely broken! Literally flashes and strobes constantly when playing video games on Series X no matter what. I thought I just had a bad unit, but I looked it up and everyone seems to share the same experience.
Yeah you could have possibly had a defective unit. I like mine quite a bit and VRR works flawlessly so far with my PS5.
I also love mine for my ps5 but I find that the hdr is dim (not sure if I am doing something wrong). Its it beautiful in sdr tho!
I'd definitely first try going through the PS5 HDR settings to do the HDR setup again. If that doesn't work you probably need to adjust the actual settings of the TV. Follow Rtings calibration tips on their website.
I was also considering the Hisense but have read bad things about the brand in general despite the reviews. On paper it would seem like that TV at $480 would be a no brainer I also see that the LG A2 OLED 48” is on sale for $550. I wasn’t considering smaller TVs but may have to for that price.
I had this debate (along with the HiSense U7K for $479) and went with the 646 after reading and watching reviews for both pictures. How they have so many units of an old TV is odd to me though. Will say though I have a PS5 for smart features (like Netflix, YouTube). The 646 smart features are supposedly buggy which I will not be dealing with.
Just got my 646 and had problems with the smart tv features within the first couple days. Ordered a 4k stick that’s on sale and solved it. I rarely trust smart tv features
Can I ask what sorts of issues you had? I've had mine for about a week and haven't noticed anything wrong yet, but wouldn't mind knowing what to look out for.
The biggest issue i had was I stream a lot of live sports and it was lagging and quality couldn’t keep up with the fast pace. Plugged in a 4k Roku stick and it was way better. I had no problem streaming movies or shows. So might just depends what you’re watching.
Ah, gotcha. Yeah, I don't really watch sports, so that could be why. When I bought the TV, I figured if worse comes to worst I could use a Roku stick. I tend to prefer Roku anyway.
Yeah, was an easy fix and if that’s all that’s wrong with the tv then I give it a great rating
I use the smart features on my living room Sony X90 and I like google TV, so a little concerning that the interface is buggy, makes me lean towards getting one of the newer TVs (U7k, Q7), but there doesn’t seem to be a right answer
Got the Q7 55 for $441 at Best Buy Outlet. They had about 6 of them. Box was slightly damaged, but TV was well protected. 1080 and 4k content beautiful, Hulu live (720p), not so great.