So we bought a house and I'm upgrading the TV in for the living room. I'm at a roughly $500 budget for the TV. Needs to be 55" or bigger and 4k.
I'm looking at these two:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01BGC39V...op?ie=UTF8
Walmart has this for $398. Value is awesome, I like the Roku built in. My concerns are the refresh rate says 120, but some say it's 60 with some sort of upscaling. And the display looked a little shaky around lines but you can't always trust a display tv that never turns off.
Then there's this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01IFBWE7...ref=plSrch
Walmart price $498. I like Vizio, the display picture looked a little cleaner. The built in Chromecast is awesome, but no built in smart features like the Roku. So I'd have to stream Netflix or use the Xbox. Not a deal breaker, but an inconvenience. $100 more, but a more trusted name, and has a true 120 refresh.
The TCL actually has better average reviews than the Vizio.
Thoughts? Also, the cost of TV's now is ridiculous. I remember my first flat screen I bought was a 47" 1080p (great for 2007) and it weighed like 100 pounds and cost $1600. I'm getting bigger, lighter, better, for a third of the price...
Also interested in hearing other suggestions. These are the two I've seen locally that fit my needs. Not opposed to looking at other brands/models.
Vizio imo...and you can get an external Roku...I have one.
Quote:Vizio imo...and you can get an external Roku...I have one.
I have one too. The built in is nice though, saves an HDMI
I think I'm starting to lean more Vizio myself.
cnet used to be pretty reliable for reviews
Check cnet and browse the amazon reviews.
I've been hit or miss with Visio. They used to be the Kia of TVs... buy cheap get cheap. But they have evolved beyond that and are reliable for the most part.
I'd be worried about the low ratings on amazon. Certainly follow up... and, never heard of TCL before so I'd certainly do more research on that one as well.
If there's a comparable Samsung in that price range with good reviews, I'd prefer a Samsung.
Samsung is definitely high quality, but I don't know if you can get a 55" for $500 or less. idk, I haven't TV shopped in a few years.
Unfortunately I haven't found a Samsung with the features I want for less than like $7-800. Not quite in the budget
Year end closeouts/last year's model and models without smartTV can come in cheaper for what is otherwise the same TV. Maybe drop 4k, etc... I haven't felt compelled to "need" 4k just yet, though I'll probably get it whenever my current TV (of 7+ years) ever dies.
I've found that for my main TV, I don't need smartTV features (all those features are available through my PS4 etc.) I can see where it's necessary for where you won't have that option. Just ideas of where to cut corners if you need to fit a budget.
I've owned Vizios for 6 years or so and have never had an issue.
I'm about to buy a TCL for my parents though. I think you'll be fine with either one.
Quote:So we bought a house and I'm upgrading the TV in for the living room. I'm at a roughly $500 budget for the TV. Needs to be 55" or bigger and 4k.
I'm looking at these two:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01BGC39V...op?ie=UTF8
Walmart has this for $398. Value is awesome, I like the Roku built in. My concerns are the refresh rate says 120, but some say it's 60 with some sort of upscaling. And the display looked a little shaky around lines but you can't always trust a display tv that never turns off.
Then there's this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01IFBWE7...ref=plSrch
Walmart price $498. I like Vizio, the display picture looked a little cleaner. The built in Chromecast is awesome, but no built in smart features like the Roku. So I'd have to stream Netflix or use the Xbox. Not a deal breaker, but an inconvenience. $100 more, but a more trusted name, and has a true 120 refresh.
The TCL actually has better average reviews than the Vizio.
Thoughts? Also, the cost of TV's now is ridiculous. I remember my first flat screen I bought was a 47" 1080p (great for 2007) and it weighed like 100 pounds and cost $1600. I'm getting bigger, lighter, better, for a third of the price...
If you just bought a house, get the TV that you want even if you need to spend an extra $400. The TV is one of the main features of a house and a product that will be used every day for years. Assuming you have the same TV for 5 years, you're essentially spending an extra 22 cents per day for a TV that is $400 more than your budget. You hit the nail on the head when you stated that you paid $1,600 back in 2007 for a TV of much lesser quality. That said, if there's a TV out there for less than $1,000 that you really like, I recommend you go for it.
Also, Xfinity now has NetFlix, Pandora, and other features built into their programming apps if you decide to go with a value TV that doesn't have built in Roku and don't want to have the extra Roku box to deal with.
I don't NEED Smart TV or 4k. But if I'm upgrading, I'm going to get what I want. Otherwise I'd just use the one I have.
Unfortunately, I can only get one cable provider where I'm moving. While their products are good, they don't package in Netflix with their system at all.
I'm going to spend some time reading the reviews. I might just put a couple hundred on a credit card for now and pay it off with my bonus later this month in order to get a Samsung or something.
I just purchased a 4k TV around Christmas. I got an LG, 60". I didn't opt for the OLED which is their top of the line. Anyway, I've not been able to even figure out if something is in 4k or not. I upped my netflix account to the top option as this is the only way to enjoy their 4k, but I still can't tell. :/
Anyway, there doesn't seem to be a ton of options for 4k out right now, so I kind of wished I'd waited on the new TV. As far as Brands go, I like Samsung and LG. My other TV was a Sony, which they actually came up with the 4 K technology, but their brands are too much $$$. Vizio from what I hear are pretty good too.
How many 4K sources are there? Not many now.
Just saw Best Buy has a 60" LG open box at my store for $610. I think that's the winner. I'm going to check it out tomorrow
Edit: Man BB has some options. That LG, a 55" Samsung Smart for $650, a 55" Sony Smart for $610. Probably some others. Open Box may be the way to go.
My advice... if you have a TV that works right now, use it. Save your money and when the TV finally dies, then you'll have the cash to get a "better" one. Seriously. The average person can't really distinguish the difference between a 780p or a 1080p picture on a television anyway. 4k isn't going to make a huge difference other than "bragging points".
High Definition is one thing, and something that I'm a firm believer in. The so-called "Ultra High Definition" is pretty much a marketing ploy. You're not going to get anything better and you're going to pay a lot more for it.
As far as "smart TV's", I have a couple, but quite frankly I never really use the "smart" technology built into them. If I stream video off of the internet it's usually via an external device.
Look at it this way. The TV is just a monitor which it's primary job is to be a display.
Quote:I don't NEED Smart TV or 4k. But if I'm upgrading, I'm going to get what I want. Otherwise I'd just use the one I have.
Unfortunately, I can only get one cable provider where I'm moving. While their products are good, they don't package in Netflix with their system at all.
I'm going to spend some time reading the reviews. I might just put a couple hundred on a credit card for now and pay it off with my bonus later this month in order to get a Samsung or something.
If that's the case, you might as well pocket the money and do like I'm planning... only upgrade when the old one breaks or breaks down. By then your budget will be bigger, and the technology better as well (more bang for the buck.)
Quote:If that's the case, you might as well pocket the money and do like I'm planning... only upgrade when the old one breaks or breaks down. By then your budget will be bigger, and the technology better as well (more bang for the buck.)
I should. But I've been wanting to upgrade for a whole. My current one does not have some of the settings I'd like for gaming and whatnot
Quote:Just saw Best Buy has a 60" LG open box at my store for $610. I think that's the winner. I'm going to check it out tomorrow
Edit: Man BB has some options. That LG, a 55" Samsung Smart for $650, a 55" Sony Smart for $610. Probably some others. Open Box may be the way to go.
Go buy a brand new TV, then return it after 3 days. The Geek Squad will conduct a service ticket on the product and then will reprice it as an open box item. Get your wife or g/f to go in and buy the open box TV that you just returned at the 20% discount.
I never repurchased a TV like I described above BUT I was really tempted the 1 time I returned a TV and they marked the price down. What happened is that I bought a TV to tailgate for the UF / UGA game and was going to use it after the fact. It poured down rain, I never took it out to tailgate then decided to return it. My $200 TV went back on the shelf at $150. cha ching ..... ideas happen.
Quote:Go buy a brand new TV, then return it after 3 days. The Geek Squad will conduct a service ticket on the product and then will reprice it as an open box item. Get your wife or g/f to go in and buy the open box TV that you just returned at the 20% discount.
I never repurchased a TV like I described above BUT I was really tempted the 1 time I returned a TV and they marked the price down. What happened is that I bought a TV to tailgate for the UF / UGA game and was going to use it after the fact. It poured down rain, I never took it out to tailgate then decided to return it. My $200 TV went back on the shelf at $150. cha ching ..... ideas happen.
That's an awesome idea actually