Kinda OT: New TV for Football season?
Costco has some pretty good deals on TVs that are Samsung or Sony. They stock a lot of Vizio but sometimes you can get a great deal on the bigger brands if they also include a manufacturer rebate.
I have had two Samsungs and they've been great. Go with the ultra slim LED and wall mount it with a slimline wall mount. Looks great.
...but you have to play the display lottery with Samsung. Are you getting a genuine Samsung display (e.g. high quality)? Or are you getting a size made by a contract manufacture that is inferior in everyway possible?.
Also, it's not even like you can stay away from the "budget" model and expect a good TV as say a model comes in sizes 48", 50", 52" there is a very good chance that each of those displays are made by a different manufacture even though your staying within the same model line. Plus they've been known to serve pop-up ads to your through the TV.
I was in the market last year for a TV after my beloved Samsung plasma when kaput and I was very suprised to learn that AV geeks do not hold Sammie in high esteem anymore due to the above mentioned issues.
We have two HD LED TV's and one HD Plasma (a Samsung 55" 1080p). My TV of choice at home? The Plasma---and it's not even close. Picture quality is waaaaay better than LED's
Plasma TV's got a bad rap when they first came out (and they deserved it) for screen "burn-in", and for eating a lot of electricity and producing a lot of heat. But later plasma models eliminated all of those problems and more.
One by one, nearly all the TV manufacturers have discontinued making plasma TV's. Demand for them wasn't there anymore, largely because of the bad reputation of older model plasmas.
My recommendation? Do some research and get one if/while you still can. Mine is just 1 1/2 years old; before I bought it I did quite a bit of on-line research and I'm glad I did, you can't get that much TV for your money and be happy with any comparibly-priced LED. And all the higher-tech TV's will cost a bundle more for a while, which is fine if spend ing the big bucks isn't a problem.
I just bought a 65 in 4k Samsung 9000 series curved TV. I love it. I didn't buy it specifically for the season, but it definitely was part of the internal justification when I got it. Here's my new setup. THat's a 4k show streaming from Netflix.
Man those pictures got warped. I'll try hosting somewhere else.
that your TV has a curvature to it?
Nope. Probably just the format I took them in.
Reduce the pixel width in the image properties. Usually anything below 450 will fit.
Thanks. Trying that now.
Man you are lucky they make special TVs for strangely narrow rooms like yours!
How the hell do you fit through that door?
Unfortunately I have a normal shaped room so I'm SOL :(
Been watching a lot of Waves Crashing on Rocks lately?
I wanted to see something actually in 4k. They just recently added more to the list. That was top of the list. it really is quite relaxing though. Nice and slow, like a Hoke offense.
For all the smart asses in here. Let's see if this works. All this work for 2 pictures that don't matter! lol
for the pics I could roll with that.
They recently stopped making the best TV's available, the top end Panasonic plasmas. The next greatest thing, which will surpass plasma technology, is OLED. The costs haven't come down enough to make them a great value, but once they've been on the market for another couple of years they'll be a lot more affordable. I won't bother getting a new TV until that time.
I'm lucky to have snagged one of the VT series that uses the Kuros technology, and it is by far the best picture I've ever seen. It can be a bit dark, if you're used to LCD sets, but I have no complaints. I know Kuros owners who have had their sets for decades, so I'll keep my plasma until everything is in 3-D holograms.
Yelling at the refs in your living room. :-)
I did as well. As soon as Panasonic announced they were no longer going to make plasmas I upgraded my 60ST30 to a 65VT60. Stunning picture quality and I haven't seen a better set in person yet. I plan on keeping this one until it dies.
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LG is coming out with a 99" 4K OLED this year. It'll only set you back about $25K, but worth every penny! /s
LG is going to drop the price of their 4K OLED $2k for the next 7 weeks. A reasonable $7k for 65".
Got a 60" the end of the year before the stopped making them (that sentence makes sense right?).
Paid like $1200 for and its spectactular. Wasn't the best TV around when I got it but man that's value.
I've had a samsung 47" LCD HDTV for the past few years and loved it. It's not heavy on the features, but the picture quality is great, and I've had no problems. It was about $750 in 2011 so I would assume its likely much less than that now.
But if I was buying today, I'd reach for a Samsung LED, as the contrast on those is excellent
You might consider waiting until Black Friday if you are willing to brave the day. Last year I picked up a Samsung 65" 1080P LED Smart HD for $779.00 at Nebraska Furniture Mart. The Sony equivalent is almost twice as much or more.
With how cheap HD TV's are these day, 50 inch is the minimum you should get if you are upgrading your living room/tv room. And I agree, Smart TV's are a waste of money. Just buy an Apple TV or Roku for 70 bucks and make it "smart".
I bought a 60 inch Sharp LED about a year ago for $1200 (soundbar, speakers, sub all included)... Absolutely love it. I have only owned Sharp's and have never had any complaints.
Thanks Jim!!!!
I recently got this TV and love it
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-UN85S9-Framed-85-Inch-Ultra/dp/B00CMEN95U
I had to sell my home and move into a one-bedroom apartment but it was totally worth it.
The comments on the Amazon page are so hilarious. Check them out.
FAQ's:
is it free to ship to Ireland?
A: Unfortunately, they have discovered that it is actually cheaper to ship Ireland to the television.
Seriously, I'm amazed. Gold, Jerry, gold.
My favorite:
I bought this it so in the winter I can leave the TV in the garage so the excess heat from the screen will stop my Maserati from getting below 70 degrees.
Some other great ones:
This gotta be the best purchase I ever made, this tv just have.. Wait I gotta go, is raining, I'll finish the review once I get back to under the bridge.
And this one...
Bought one of these for my bathroom. Now I never have to leave...actually I can't leave. It is blocking the door. If you are reading this please help! I've been living off toothpaste and mouthwash for some time now. I am also almost out of toilet paper. Good thing the picture quality is so great. I just watch the food network and it's like I am actually eating real food and not my feces
I just bought the refurbished one for $24,157. Who could pass up a steal like that?
I agree that Smart TV is a waste, Fire or Apple or Roku is the way to go. I have a Samsung plasma Smart TV and a Vizio LED, rarely use the smart features on either.
My two cents: plasma is the best for sports, by a mile. The motion reproduction is beyond what the best LED can do. The new plasmas are much thinner than they used to be, my Samsung is 1.5" thick, but of course they are still covered in glass. Most have a coating to reduce glare.
Plasma is also better for movies.
When I was shopping for a new tv a year ago, that was the advice I saw most often: skip the smart tv. It generally costs more than you could get a similar connection for, and the tv manufacturers aren't as diligent in updating firmware, or it's more of a hassle for the consumer keeping things updated. So, generally more expensive + harder to use and keep updated isn't really a combination that makes sense.
Just go with a projector. Best AV purchase I've ever made is the setup I put in my basement.
My Panasonic Viera is probably one of the clearest TVs I've seen. I'm a stickler for pixelation and horrible contrast (hello Vizio), but this TV has abosutely none and great contrast.
Affirmative. I have two Panasonic Viera's (42" + 50") and love the picture quality.
You can't go wrong with a Sharp Aquos. I have a 55 and a 40 and they are worls better than any comparable tv I have seen.
Why no smart tv? With the way everything is being streamed on the internet now that's the only way I'll go with our next tv. I absolutely loathe trying to watch something on a laptop or my phone.
There are usually cheaper and better ways of achieving the same or superior outcomes than going the smart tv route.
Apple TV = $70
Chromecast = ~$35
Smart Features on TV = additional 300 dollars.... use the money for the smart features towards the other smarter boxes + surrond sound.
Not all manufacturers are charging an additional $300 for the Smart tv option. Had a panasonic and the upgrade to the Smart tv was maybe $120 more. Also have a Vizio and the step up to the smart TV was $100 more than the non smart tv comparable. And sometimes its just easier to be able to play Netflix or Amazon streaming or Youtube from your tv instead of having to turn on an Xbox or PS3/4 or go thru Chromecast.
Summary:
If your on an extreme budget, go with VIZIO. But only as a last resort. If you can find a sale or have the extra money.... go with SONY
Detailed explanation:
If you have channels that aren't in HD, I'd NOT recommend VIZIO. HD channels come in perfect and awesome, but anything that isn't HD comes in pixellated or fuzzy. I'd also have to point out that a lot of peripherals (DVD player, PS3) come in really softly. I have to boost my volume to 100 just to hear it.
My other TV is a SONY that I adopted through marriage. It's been a champ and I highly recommend it. Combine that with a Sony HT-CT770 2.1 Channel Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer (or equivalent), and it's been an awesome purchase. Found this one by testing all the sound bars at the local best buy. This one gave the richest sound... while the others sounded hollow or tin-ey.
Not to be a dick or anything, but who has channels that aren't HD anymore? Like legit question here...what are people watching that is SD these days?
I'd have to agree with this. If you are planning on watching SD channels, why the hell would you bother spending a bunch of money on nice HD tv.
Umm not every channel I get comes in HD. There are some channels that don't offer HD or my package doesn't carry the HD option. Or if I'm watching something from a DVD that's not HD.
If you're an Amazon Prime member, they're supposed to be having a huge Black Friday type sale on 7/15 to celebrate their 20th anniversary in business.
If real, this is a great tip. BRB marking my calendar for buying all the things.