Kinda OT: New TV for Football season?

Submitted by Go Blue 1984 on
I am more pumped for this years edition of UM Football compared to most others in the last 7-8 years so I have decided to get a new TV soon. How many of you have the same idea? What type of suggestions can you offer for others such as myself who want to enhance their home viewing of UM Football. I like Sony and I am thinking in the 50" inch range. Not a fan of smart tvs, other than that I'm pretty open. What do you experts recommend?

mgokev

July 8th, 2015 at 3:41 PM ^

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.

thisisme08

July 8th, 2015 at 6:18 PM ^

...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.  

rob f

July 8th, 2015 at 11:41 PM ^

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.

poseidon7902

July 8th, 2015 at 3:44 PM ^

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.  

 

 

South TX MFan

July 8th, 2015 at 3:45 PM ^

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.

Waldorf Wolverine

July 8th, 2015 at 4:46 PM ^

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. 

South TX MFan

July 8th, 2015 at 11:17 PM ^

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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jcgold

July 8th, 2015 at 3:45 PM ^

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

IB6UB9

July 8th, 2015 at 3:49 PM ^

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.

GoBlueGB

July 8th, 2015 at 3:49 PM ^

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".

Jim Harbaugh

July 8th, 2015 at 3:51 PM ^

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.

LSAClassOf2000

July 8th, 2015 at 5:31 PM ^

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

sadeto

July 8th, 2015 at 3:53 PM ^

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. 

UMgradMSUdad

July 8th, 2015 at 4:03 PM ^

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.

Stephen Y

July 8th, 2015 at 3:56 PM ^

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.

Bigasshammm

July 8th, 2015 at 3:57 PM ^

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.

7words

July 8th, 2015 at 6:11 PM ^

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.  

MGoRob

July 8th, 2015 at 4:03 PM ^

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.

ramenboy

July 8th, 2015 at 4:01 PM ^

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.