What to Look for When Buying a TV

[catmman]

Hold off on 4k for 60 inch or larger for another few months.

[73Jim]

Can anyone really see the difference between 120-240 hz? Most computer monitors are between 60-70 hz without issue. So if someone has a variable refresh rate display...can you really tell a difference?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frame_rate

[castgold]

I went from a 46" 60 hz Sony to a 55" curved 4k UHD Samsung. Although the 4k broadcast content for 4k is not everywhere, I use it for gaming with a higher end video card and it makes a difference. I added a sound bar with remote sub and satellite speakers for movies and football season. The best time to buy tech is always "in a few months", but at some point you just have get on board. All newer TV's will have optical sound out, some sort of smarter connectivity, and I like having 4 HDMI inputs: cable, PC, Playstation/Blu-Ray, extra. I have a 3TB external HDD plugged into a USB 3.0 input on the TV to watch the movies on it, and it can mirror whatever is on my phone via wifi with very little signal loss.

[the86d]

One drawback I noticed is that if you go with a Smart TV, the SMART functions take some time to be available (just like if you USB power a HDMI-fob, which also takes time to boot if it is switched-power from your TV) before features are available, while externally-powered devices that stay on are avail immediately.

I learned that with the Roku vs my newish Smart TV, and Chromecast... but hey, I am anal about pressing buttons, and expecting immediate results (immediate response times are nice, as I hate when they bring up old-sh!$ ).

[dls]

Smart, wifi, LED, Big, LG or Samsung with the most current technology. I'd like an infinity edge,or very close to it.

My LG LED is 4yrs old, it's been fine. I'll most likely go a little bigger when I upgrade and move this one to another room. 65 or 70"

[antiseen]

I wouldn't stress too much about the "smart" features of the TV. They are often proprietary apps that lose support as newer tvs come out. Get a chromecast, or other usb streaming stick, and you'll be set.

[AreWeFree]

I wouldn't stress too much about the "smart" features of the TV. They are often proprietary apps that lose support as newer tvs come out. Get a chromecast, or other usb streaming stick, and you'll be set.

"Smart TV" stuff is pretty lousy from what I've seen, definitely not the best option when a $40 - $100 dedicated device is better supported and most likely faster.

Skip the Chromecast device, that just streams from your phone/tablet/computer to your tv. Neat trick but the $40 is better spent on a dedicated streaming device.

I have a Roku 3 and Fire Stick. The Fire Stick is great, got mine for $20 but even at $40 is well worth it. Only thing I don't like is it goes to sleep from inactivity and takes about 30 seconds to boot up, but hey it's a really small, cheap device that you can take with you and use anywhere you have hdmi and wireless internet. I love it, excellent remote and very nice features.

Roku 3 is much faster but they mine your data and recently partnered with Nielson, so expect worse data mining. I also hate the curved remote since you can't press buttons if it's just sitting on your couch. It does however have USB/Ethernet, though I've never used it since wireless is more than enough for HD streaming.

I'll likely be replacing my Roku with a Fire TV.

[Catch]

Are you paying for HD cable? Or getting all your content off the web?
I would hold off either way for a couple months. Could save $200+ just by stampeding some ol' lady on black friday. #Walmart

[MarkG35]

The funny thing is that my Mom has a 27" GE Console TV that was bought new by me 20+ years ago that I handed down to her 10 years ago. It still works perfectly and has never needed any repair whatsoever.

I also have a 32" first gen HD 720p Sony TV. 10 years old, and still works perfectly with a flawless picture. It was top of the line when I bought it. I could not give it away now for free because it weights almost 200 lbs and is nearly impossible to carry, even with two people.

I have a Pioneer Elite Kuro 50" that I purchased over 10 years ago.Still has a great picture,although it looks a lot different than the new models.I've been waiting for it to go out but it keeps running like a champ.
No smart crap on this model.

[FresnoRob]

Get a 4K TV, it's true there is not a lot of 4K now, but TV's last a long time.
Get the biggest one you can afford. As pointed out above, people never wish their TV was smaller. Also pointed out above wait until Black Friday if you can.
I'm also buying, I expect I'll buy another Samsung. I like the picture. Everyone's idea of a good picture is different, go somewhere you can see a bunch of different brands and decide which one you like best. You don't have to buy TV there unless they give you the best price.

[malfunction]

I have a Pioneer Elite Kuro 50" that I purchased over 10 years ago.Still has a great picture,although it looks a lot different than the new models.I've been waiting for it to go out but it keeps running like a champ.
No smart crap on this model.

Glad to hear it still runs well aged 10, I bought the last one on closeout from BestBuy when Pioneer stopped making them. I'll cry for a month if it ever breaks - best TV ever built. Wish I'd got the 60" now of course.

[Cowboy T]

I don't agree with the recommendation for 240hz or 4k TV. The source is the source, and if you're running blu ray or streaming it will be 60fps, 30fps, or 24fps. How many duplicate frames do you need? Your display refreshes 240x per second, but there's only 60 frames per second, so your frame is duplicated 4x... cool, that's amazing, it's almost like 60 fps....

240hz is for 3d tv, so you can have 120hz per "channel," 120hz is just fine for 60fps content (blu ray), and I don't see the premium for 240hz as being worth while.


As far as 4k, what are you driving it with? Do you have 4k content? If not, why are you paying more? If you have 4k content, does it look ok downscaled and do you want to save money? Then get a 1080p 120hz display.

Otherwise, spend whatever money you have, who cares, get whatever floats your boat.

What I was thinking of was using it as a computer monitor. I currently have a Vizio 1920x1080 with a 39" screen acting as a monitor for my Kubuntu Linux box, and it actually looks pretty good. But it'd be nice to be able to go higher with the resolution, if practical, say, 2560x1440 or more, given the real estate on today's TV's.

Has anyone tried this with the 4K screens?