A lot of current HDR sets are really rubbish. Hisense do models with a panel of only 250 cd/m2 and claim HDR yet the panel can only go almost half as bright as some non HDR televisions. I think the first true HDR set at a reasonable price is the Samsung 7000 series (8000 series in US) which has 1000 cd/m2. I think the ideal HDR level is something like 1400-1500 cd/m2 so we aren't there yet with regards proper HDR performance. The Samsung 7000/8000 series has a high failure rate and some users have reported judder because their panels have too low a pixel response rate on some batches.
I have a budget 4k tv and love it. Couldn't be happier with it. Great features and performance. It's based around a LG panel though because it has passive 3D. My next tv will be OLED though which to me is far superior to LCD with LED backlighting. Don't assume paying more gets you a better tv. My tv is made by a company called Vestel in Turkey under their own brand 'Finlux' and is feature packed with a quad core board but Vestel also make tv's for other brands in Europe like 'Panasonic' and that set actually seems to have a slower dual core board and reduced features yet is considerably more to buy, maybe 40% extra in price. Finlux tv's are directly sold by Vestel, but Panasonic are sold in stores so you have the shop margin, wholesaler margin, Panasonic margin on top of the Vestel factor door price. Panasonic have since started assembling chinese tv kits in Europe with noticeably poor panels at entry level with judder and other issues. I realise that Panasonic are not a brand in the US for televisions now I think they withdrew from that market last year but are still sold elsewhere. The best tv's tend to be the 2 Korean companies who are technology led even if they still manufacture mostly in China. I personally wouldn't buy a Japanese brand now at close to full price because they are basically a brand slap on other companies parts. Some of the mid range or above Hisense models easily match the Japanese brands at much lower prices even if their budget models are best avoided.
