New TV recommendations
dromunds
Posts: 10,051
in Electronics
I have a friend who needs to purchase a new TV, so I thought I’d ask what is a good bang for the buck TV out there right now? I don’t know exactly what his budget is but let’s assume it’s between a grand and $1500. I know that’s not a lot of dough but what’s out there right now in that range, possibly on sale right now? Thanks for your help.
Comments
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Hey Don, some of the Hisense and TCL's have gotten high marks.
I'm a big Sony fan myself you could probably pick up a lower model for the upper part of that budget.
On the other hand Vizio has been good with the exception that their remotes have sucked in the past. -
dromunds,
Have your friend look at the reviews at RTings.com They have very thorough reviews and recommendations for each price range and size. Depending on the size, $1500 can get a nice 65" OLED if you catch a sale. Make they understand burn in risk for OLED though. If they leave the TV on all day tuned into cable news or a video game screen, there can be some noticeable image retention and eventually permanent burn in. That said, I've had my OLED since late 2021 and haven't noticed any retention or burn in. (Note: I never watch cable news and rarely game)
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I forgot to mention that they currently have a 55” and that’s the size they want to stay with. Thanks for the replies fellas.
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Tell them to pick a price range:I forgot to mention that they currently have a 55” and that’s the size they want to stay with. Thanks for the replies fellas.
https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/best/by-size/55-inch
Personally, I'd go for the LG C4 OLED in that size.
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Thanks, I’ll be seeing them tonight and get a specific budget. This is helpful tho.
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One thing I have found out is that many TV's nowadays don't seem to offer many connections. You may want to also ask them what connections are required....and how many of each. I haven't ran across any new ones (that I have seen) that offer RCA outs....many of them don't even have optical outs anymore.
Tom~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
Thanks, I’ll be seeing them tonight and get a specific budget. This is helpful tho.
At a 55" size, they can probably lower their price expectations by a fair bit. $1100 will get them the best recommendation from RTings. -
Stay away from Samsung. They seem to have more problems than most.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
And stay away from edge-lit LCD’s .
Heat dissipation issues resulting in longevity problems ….
Google it .
BkPS Audio S300 , WiiM Ultra , Yamaha wxc-50 , Salk SuperCharged Songtowers , Kimber Kable 4TC, Sony 48” - BEDROOM
B&K EX-442 ( it will go in my casket when I die ... ) , PS Audio 4.6 preamp ( old school , but it still jams on ... ) , Eversolo DMP-A6 , Boston Acoustic voyager 7’s - POOL
Parasound A21, Eversolo DMP-A8 , Kimber Kable 4vs , Ascend Acoustics ELX Ribbon Towers , Sony XBR-A8F 65” OLED - DEN , MAIN system
Onkyo TX-nr609 , Polk atrium 7 , Boston acoustic sound ware (4) , Boston acoustic sub , B&W center , Sony 65” TV - PATIO -
Sony Bravia 7 for mini-LED or Sony Bravia 8 for OLED. On sale because they're 2024 models. For best picture quality I prefer OLED but for everyday use I'd go with mini-LED.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_158K55XR70/Sony-BRAVIA-7-K55XR70-55.html?tp=60890
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_158K55XR80/Sony-BRAVIA-8-K55XR80-55.html?tp=60890 -
Stay away from Samsung. They seem to have more problems than most.
Our house would disagree, 😎 -
All TVs, from all brands these days are not built to last like the old days. There is a reason the prices have dropped so much over the years. They have become disposable. If you get beyond 7-10 years of daily use out of anything purchased after ~2015, you are doing better than average.
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Our house would disagree, 😎
I don't know, but could be due to the vast number they sell. I do know I see a lot claimed as transit damage when in fact it's a known problem, which is all over the Net.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Sony X90L would be be a good starting point …. Full array LED local dimming backlight.
BkPS Audio S300 , WiiM Ultra , Yamaha wxc-50 , Salk SuperCharged Songtowers , Kimber Kable 4TC, Sony 48” - BEDROOM
B&K EX-442 ( it will go in my casket when I die ... ) , PS Audio 4.6 preamp ( old school , but it still jams on ... ) , Eversolo DMP-A6 , Boston Acoustic voyager 7’s - POOL
Parasound A21, Eversolo DMP-A8 , Kimber Kable 4vs , Ascend Acoustics ELX Ribbon Towers , Sony XBR-A8F 65” OLED - DEN , MAIN system
Onkyo TX-nr609 , Polk atrium 7 , Boston acoustic sound ware (4) , Boston acoustic sub , B&W center , Sony 65” TV - PATIO -
I don't know, but could be due to the vast number they sell. I do know I see a lot claimed as transit damage when in fact it's a known problem, which is all over the Net.
We have had great luck with Samsung over the years, the one Sony we bought, has a thin red line that goes down the right side of the screen, after a couple years. You can’t really see it from where you sit, but still annoying.. -
Thanks fellas. It sounds like they're going to be looking at LG and Sony.
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FWIW, I have had nothing but Samsung TV's in this house. We have been here for about a decade now, and we had 2 fail already. One day, one wouldn't show anything on the screen. That one was replaced. The one out in the LR has 3 white "spots" on the TV that are annoying as heck. Not so annoying that we are going to replace it but annoying nonetheless.
I think the next go-'round, we will be trying a different brand. TV's should not ever become a "monthly payment" of sorts, because you have to continually replace them....but that may just be the norm now. I dunno but it bites.
Tom~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
That is one of the well known problems.The one out in the LR has 3 white "spots" on the TVPolitical Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Highly recommend Sony OLED. Get the extended warranty.
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Sony X90L would be be a good starting point …. Full array LED local dimming backlight.
Bk
Just put the 55" X90L in my kitchen, it's great.
Edit to add, it's even $150 less than what I paid for it on 1/10/25. Crazy good deal. -
Just replaced my Samsung plasma with an LG C4 OLED. Pretty satisfied with it so far. I would have happily kept the plasma but it developed a vertical line near the center.
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Have never had a hiccup with either of our viera plasma’s.
Why is it that once they perfect something it has to be discontinued? -
skipshot12 wrote: »Have never had a hiccup with either of our viera plasma’s.
Why is it that once they perfect something it has to be discontinued?
Well they had many more they were going to introduce BUT new energy standards were adopted and they dropped the line because they would never be able to meet the new energy standards.
The Panasonic Plasma was my favorite TV panel, I've had 3, still have a 50" ST. Closest to the old CRT yet hi-def. The motion artifacts in LED panels was something I couldn't unsee. My only LED has been a Sony XBR-65X950G, very very little motion artifacts and the viewing angle does not change even extremely off axis. I'm very happy with it. -
Well they had many more they were going to introduce BUT new energy standards were adopted and they dropped the line because they would never be able to meet the new energy standards.
The Panasonic Plasma was my favorite TV panel, I've had 3, still have a 50" ST. Closest to the old CRT yet hi-def. The motion artifacts in LED panels was something I couldn't unsee. My only LED has been a Sony XBR-65X950G, very very little motion artifacts and the viewing angle does not change even extremely off axis. I'm very happy with it.
I also think that the plasma panel technology didn't scale down in pixel size enough to reach a 4K resolution in an affordable manner. 4K was where the market was heading in the late 2010s. OLED was becoming cheaper and for the most part, has most of the advantages of plasma, but with lower power, smaller pixels and even better blacks. Plus, they can be made much thinner, which was also a market preference. Plasma had better motion though. That part still hasn't been matched, but they have come up with tricks like black frame insertion, to make it better. -
Bill 4K plasma was made.
https://newatlas.com/panasonic-hd-3d/13842/
Energy consumption was also a big issue for plasmas with the EU and California passing strict regulations not long before the plug being pulled on plasmas. For example in 2008 regulations were passed requiring that new televisions sold in California should consume 33 percent less electricity by 2011 and 49 percent less electricity by 2013. The press release announcing the new regulations included the following:
For example, 42-inch screen would consume 183 watts or less by 2011 and 115 watts or less by 2013. Pacific Gas & Electric estimates that over a decade the standards will reduce CO2 emissions by three million metric tons. After ten years, the commission estimates the regulations will save $8.1 billion in energy costs and save enough energy to power 864,000 single-family homes. -
Seeing as how it costs about $16 to power a TV for a year, they can knock of the energy saving crap. Let's get back to reliable TV's.
My 2 cents...
Tom~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
Sucks that we're getting a lesser product because of energy restrictions.
Having been in the electric industry, it really blows that energy companies push incentives for efficient products, all because they haven't invested in upgrading our T&D infrastructure.
I can only imagine what a 4k plasma tv could be today.
Love my Viera when watching sports. It's also cool to up-convert regular tv programs to 3D. Watching golf in 3D, you can visually see how difficult the pro courses are seeing depth & height.
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I was checking out a 98'' TCL today and started thinking it might be time to upgrade our 8 or 9 year old 75'' tv. The picture on the QLED tv's is just amazing. What I wasn't happy to see is they use 500 watts. That can add up when the tv is powered on 12 hours a day 7 days a week like ours is.
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Our tv is from 2011, an LG LCD, still going strong and we like it...Remember, when you're running from something, you're running to something...-me
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Seeing as how it costs about $16 to power a TV for a year, they can knock of the energy saving crap. Let's get back to reliable TV's.
My 2 cents...
Tom
How long are you getting out of a TV?
I've only purchased Sony TV's for about 10 years now and they are all still going strong.
They just keep getting moved around the house.
My oldest one is now in my garage, next oldest in the basement workshop, next oldest in the bedroom, then the 2ch system, then the living-room, then the newest is in the kitchen.
I'm now realizing I might have too many TV's...
