OT - Recommendations for a New TV to watch Football

Submitted by xtramelanin on

Mates,

It is time for us to buy a new TV.  The old one works, but is 13+ yrs old and doesn't have all the features, bells and buzzers like the newest generations of TV's.   We only have the TV hooked up during college football season, so whatever we get will see light duty for 3-4 months, then be dark for the rest of the year.  Video games are not part of the equation for us, assuming people still play them on TV's. 

General specs would be that it be in the 45-50" size range.  I am looking at a Sam's Club catalog which shows a Samsung 48" 1080p Smart TV for $348.  There's a couple of Vizio's "Class 4k UHD Smart Cast" TV's, and the 50" is $448.  

So the question is:  Given the specs and usage, what do you recommend for TV's and features in that size range?  What is the most bang for the buck and the 'must have' specs? 

Thank you in advance,

XM

EDIT:  I want to thank the folks that have responded.  This is exactly the content/discussio I was hoping for.  Very helpful on all fronts.

father fisch

July 27th, 2016 at 8:41 PM ^

We bought a 65" Sammy 4K last year before the season. We love it. It up converts the HD signal so it's really crisp. Smart TV as well, so wifi works and you can stream and Google and everything. Really have no complaints. Fyi, mine is the flat one, not curved.

BIGBLUEWORLD

July 27th, 2016 at 8:50 PM ^

Samsung, Panasonic, LG, Sony.

That Samsung 48" 1080 for $348 would be a good choice for the price.

rob f

July 27th, 2016 at 8:51 PM ^

Today, a 50" HD TV with bells and whistles.

Tomorrow, you wandering around your farm while staring at your phone, playing Pokeman Go, trying to "catch 'em all".  Will the cows get milked?  Will the corn get harvested?  Will the chicken coop door be inadvertantly be left open to the foxes and coyotes?  

Indeed a slippery slope.

xtramelanin

July 27th, 2016 at 9:13 PM ^

there isn't a chance of of pokemon going on in my house either.   and if you don't work around here, you won't eat.  that is a lesson that generally only needs to be taught once.  also the solution to any child that complains about work....is to give them more work.  cures most ailments in that regard in one or two takes. 

as to the chickens, when i built the hen house i built it like a regular house with 8' walls, 6-panel oak door, double-e argon windows - returns to the local lumber yard i got for $25 each).  mgowife sees the finished product and says, 'so when is the cable guy coming?'   maybe i'll donate the old TV to the chickens?  i could do a study on how it impacts egg production.  and if they don't produce, i'll play all the 'animal planet - predators on the loose!' episodes.  

mgobleu

July 27th, 2016 at 8:55 PM ^

I was skeptical about vizio; as cheap as they are, how good can they be? Now I've had a 32" and a 70" M series for about 2 years and am still very happy with them. I also have an LG that I don't think is equal quality and a Samsung that I had to put a new capacitor in at a couple years old.

RobM_24

July 27th, 2016 at 8:59 PM ^

Everything looks good these days. You can basically make it a smart TV by buying a $35 Amazon Fire Stick. If you Google around a bit, you can figure out how to make that Fire Stick stream every movie, sporting event, and PPV event for free (assuming you have wifi).

The Baughz

July 27th, 2016 at 9:01 PM ^

Yep I have two Vizio tv's as well and I love them. I have a 40" and and 55" and both are way better than the previous Samsung I owned. 

andidklein

July 27th, 2016 at 9:02 PM ^

Stay away from Samsung. At the TV station I used to work at we were continuously replacing the Samsungs. You can't go wrong with Sharp, Sony, Panasonic, RCA or Vizio.



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LSAClassOf2000

July 27th, 2016 at 11:23 PM ^

No complaints about our 55" Samsung really, although we did get the SmartTV and part of me is still trying to fathom some of the capabilities of smart televisions which seem rather un-TV-ish, if you will. I can get most of the major apps that I can on my phone, although some apps make more sense on the phone than on the TV. I guess it is about finding some weird digital balance. 

brennifer08

July 27th, 2016 at 9:04 PM ^

I have a 65" sharp aquaos smart tv. It's not 4k but I couldn't tell the difference when I found the one we bought... my wife actually picked it out.... I'm a lucky man what can I say... The tv is amazing! I almost broke it during the msu game last year though

Doctor Wolverine

July 27th, 2016 at 9:18 PM ^

I went with an HD projector and am amazed at the clarity of the 120" picture, even in the middle of the day with the windows open. It's 3D, which is pretty cool at that size too. Plus it was the same price as a 55" tv.

bluelaw2013

July 27th, 2016 at 9:20 PM ^

I'm in the same boat as OP: TV only during football season (and for occasional movies). Bought a projector several years ago and love it. It's tiny so you can stick it on a shelf when not in use. I just take it out for games and instantly have 120+ inches in HD. At the time I bought it, it was cheaper than most 45 inch or bigger 1080P TVs.

VicTorious1

July 27th, 2016 at 9:29 PM ^

Grab a 100"-135" or larger projector screen for between $200-$500 and a projector for anywhere between $900-$3,000 and you have a better setup then any TV.

MGoVoice

July 27th, 2016 at 9:33 PM ^

Hisense 50" UHD with HDR(high dynamic range). Comes with a 4 year warranty which is somewhat unheard of these days. Regular price is $500 at Best Buy with occasional sales seeing down to around $387 I believe. For the usage you'll have and the picture quality of a 4K TV this appears to be a great deal. While there isn't a whole bunch of 4K content it's certainly in the works behind the scenes. Good luck and GO BLUE!!!!



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Carolina Maize

July 28th, 2016 at 6:14 AM ^

Hisense is a company to consider, they resently bought Sharp, because of their aggressive pricing, but as with most things you get what you pay for.  I have an AV company and we install lots of Samsungs, especially in bars.  Get the highest refresh rate you want to afford on a tv you like how it looks when its on and off.  Buy a Raspberry Pi, install XBMC (latest version is Kodi) and stream to your hearts content.  Run a Cat-5 to the Raspberry, save your WiFi for mobile devices.

I also do work for Google Fiber and what the public will be able to do with torrents in the near future will blow the cable/ satellite providers out of the water.