Author Topic: TV Ideas  (Read 8596 times)

ober

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TV Ideas
« on: June 04, 2016, 07:38:18 PM »
So I want to start pricing TVs.  We have a 42 inch vizio that we really like that we're thinking of moving to our bedroom.  And we want to replace it with a 55 inch in the living room. 

I started poking around on Amazon and there is a brand called 'TCL' that I've never heard of but they have tons of positive reviews and apparently the customer service is great.  Anyone heard of them?

Also, anyone have any recommendations?  I don't give a shit about 4K and I don't 'need' a smart TV.  My Tivo and Roku do those things just fine.  So whatcha got?

KnuckleBuckett

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Re: TV Ideas
« Reply #1 on: June 05, 2016, 10:00:09 AM »
Yo.

Chinese brand.  Gaining in popularity the last five years or so due to their pricing.  Typically they lack in some features, however their image quality has really been what keeps them out of full fledged direct competition with Visio, Samsung, and the like.  A couple similar brands are HiSense, Sceptre, and Changhong.  The latter being the Samsung of China.

4K is not ready for prime time yet in that it simply lacks content.  It is coming, however by the time we have a real library of 4K content you will probably considering a new TV.  That said, 4K sets have really done a great job of forcing manufacturers to incorporate significantly better CPU/GPU combinations.  Allowing for faster clearer pictures, better app performances, and decreased glitches and temperature issues.  In that the 4K televisions are becoming fairly reasonably priced, do please consider them beyond the 4K panel alone.  Smart TV is not a need, however the quality of a non-Smart TV is in the dumps these days.  It simply is not where the manufacturers spend money on quality and durability.

If I were going to recommend/purchase a brand it would be either Visio or Samsung.  It would be smart and probably a 4K.  55" to 60".  That is the prime real estate for a quality set at this time. 

Curved or flat?  Curved decreases on axis reflections while decreasing off axis picture quality.  So the environment and use dictates whether this is a good idea.

ober

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Re: TV Ideas
« Reply #2 on: June 05, 2016, 06:38:44 PM »
Thanks.  I really like my current Visio so I have no problem going with them again.  I did read that TCL was a chinese company that Samsung was outsourcing to.  Interesting.

OK, I'll see what I can do with shopping around with your ideas in mind.  I appreciate the input.

KnuckleBuckett

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Re: TV Ideas
« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2016, 05:53:24 AM »
Watch for sales near holidays or high profile sporting events and get a good warranty if you can.

KnuckleBuckett

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Jake

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Re: TV Ideas
« Reply #5 on: June 06, 2016, 08:46:49 AM »
I am not in the market but looked at prices on TVs over the weekend at Costco and holy shit have they come down! I mean, even the one knuck linked to is only $750....compare that to 3 or 4 years ago....


Sorry, I don't have anything else to add other than we also have a vizio and it has sound issues.
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KnuckleBuckett

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Re: TV Ideas
« Reply #6 on: June 06, 2016, 12:18:11 PM »
IMO turn the sound off on the TV speakers and connect a set of stand alone amplified to the audio outputs of the set.  Crisp clear sound and at very little cost.

I still maintain any money spent on video should be equaled in audio.

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Re: TV Ideas
« Reply #7 on: June 06, 2016, 02:33:29 PM »
Both of our TVs are LG. Like them both. One is a smart tv with a magic remote (like Wii remote but no sensor bar or anything), it works really well and makes web browsing usable. I regularly read Google news on it. The Netflix tv app is great too, it's kind of like the new web interface but it's been like that for years.

I only bought the smart one because it was on sale for the same price as the regular version, but overall I'm glad I did. It's convenient.

KnuckleBuckett

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ober

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Re: TV Ideas
« Reply #9 on: June 10, 2016, 12:25:42 PM »
Ha!  Pass.

KnuckleBuckett

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ober

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Re: TV Ideas
« Reply #11 on: June 14, 2016, 12:54:40 PM »
Eh... 65 is a teeny bit on the big side for the space.

KnuckleBuckett

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ober

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Re: TV Ideas
« Reply #13 on: June 28, 2016, 10:39:57 AM »
That actually begs another question I have.  Do you guys buy refurbished stuff?  I'm always afraid to pull the trigger on it in case there is some hidden issue that wasn't resolved in the refurb.

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Re: TV Ideas
« Reply #14 on: June 28, 2016, 10:50:57 AM »
I usually don't.

When my xbox 360 red-ringed (the first time) I sent it back and they sent me another refurbished one.  The one they sent couldn't read my harddrive when I attached it.  They must have tested it at the factory (without adding an HD) and figured "hey it works, lets call it refurbished"

I once bought a laptop at sams club that was "new."  The copy of Windows already had a user set up (which should have been our first clue to return it immediately) Turns out it had a bad memory port on the motherboard that didn't become evident until we had owned it for a while.  That wasn't sold as a referb, but I feel like its a similar situation.  I'm sure it would have passed whatever inspection they do when deeming something as "refurbished" only to turn out it was still broken with some underlying issue.

That said, my last two cars I bought used.  So, sometimes its worth taking the chances to save money.
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