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.

pdgoblue25

July 28th, 2016 at 12:06 PM ^

I arrived at a few conclusions:

A. Any TV you get will look pretty good, there will be only certain things that will distinguish a good TV from a decent TV

B. You have to make one decision, either spend $5-800 and live with what you got, or spend $1800 and above.

I don't think the middle of the road TVs are good enough to justify buying them over the $5-800 TVs, and the TVs that are $1800 and above are so much better than the middle of the road TVs that they are worth it.  So that's the one decision you need to make.

Where you will notice the $5-800 TV.  Fast moving scenes will cause blurring and tearing that might not be noticeable if you make the proper settings adjustments.  Where you will notice the quality of your TV most is anytime there are deep black tones on the screen.

UMgradMSUdad

July 29th, 2016 at 12:06 AM ^

Your point B is pretty much the advice my father gave me when purchasing an engagement ring: either get something fairly inexpensive with the plan of upgrading to something much better in the future, or buy the ring that would keep me and my wife happy forever.  The worst, he pointed out, was to go somewhere in the middle, and buy something expensive that we wouldn't be satisfied with in a few years.