Help with picking a new TV?

[snoopy5386]

We are ready to jump into the 21st century and finally dump our old CRT and replace it with a new fangled television. LCD? LED? Smart tv? Decent brands? We really have no clue, haven't bought a tv in 15 years, help!

We are looking for something around 40 inches and I'd like to get it at Target as I have a combo of % off coupons that will get me 15% off right now.

 

[Muushka]

This is more of a bump but.....

But I would buy an LED rather than a LCD, lighter, thinner and lower energy consumption.

Consider something larger than 40" unless your room is very small.

Consider getting one with built in wifi if you use Netflix or Hulu....

Good luck!

 

[JB2K]

We are ready to jump into the 21st century and finally dump our old CRT and replace it with a new fangled television. LCD? LED? Smart tv? Decent brands? We really have no clue, haven't bought a tv in 15 years, help!

We are looking for something around 40 inches and I'd like to get it at Target as I have a combo of % off coupons that will get me 15% off right now.

I wouldn't spend the extra $$$ for a "smart" TV (one that streams Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, etc.), since you can get most of that stuff on a Blu-ray player (which, these days, costs well-under $100).

Buy the "non-smart" LED, now -- and, if you're still hankering for apps to be part of the TV experience, grab a Blu-ray player...

 

[momof3ds]

We have a smart TV but there were problems with it shutting down after streaming (according to online research, something about memory).

A blue-ray player may or may not have all the apps you want if you stream. We have a roku box upstairs for the non-smart TV and just added an apple TV box for the "smart TV" downstairs.

I like the way Apple has hulu and netflix set up. If they would add amazon video on demand, I'd be all set!

 

[JB2K]

A blue-ray player may or may not have all the apps you want if you stream.

True -- just look at the box for the usual logos -- but, I can say with confidence that the Blu-ray players currently being manufactured by Sony all come pre-loaded with Netflix., Hulu Plus, YouTube, and Amazon Video (and a whole bunch of lesser-known stuff).

 

[momof3ds]

True, and this is another topic. But, the apps may not be easy to use.

We have a smart tv, a blue ray player & a tiv, roku, and Apple TV. Thy can all stream but that doesn't mean the interface works well or is user friendly.

Apple TV & roku both do a better job than the others. Our smart tv does a decent job but it cuts off after awhile but maybe that issue has been addressed...

 

[LJSquishy]

We just bought an LED smart tv for the bedroom. We got the LG 47LM6400 at Costco for $799. Samsung & LGs are the top rated brands in Consumer Reports right now. Our tv happens to also be 3D which wasn't a selling feature for us but it is pretty neat. It came with 6 pairs of glasses.

We love the Smart tv feature. Not all smart tvs have Wi-Fi (some must have a hard connection) so be sure to ask questions or read the detailed features. LG has a nicely polished smart tv section. Netflix works beautifully and loads quickly. The only thing really missing in the smart tv section is a large selection of new release movies to pay for and rent (like you can do on Xbox live). I'm also hoping eventually there will be apps for ABC, NBC, etc to watch shows rather than having to use the actual web browser, but who knows...it may never happen.

Now, in my opinion Plasma tvs still edge out any other tv when you are watching fast movements. We have a plasma that is about 4 years old and it is better than our led in that regard. But, we needed a lightweight tv for wall mounting (we have lathe and plaster walls) so our led weighs only 30lbs and is only 1.3" thick. Our plasma weighs like 80-100lbs. On our led we do see a bit of pixelation around the edges of a person if they move quickly on the screen. There are settings on the tv to help minimize that but it is still there. I only notice because I'm looking for it. A lot of people would probably never notice it.

Our led definitely beats out our plasma in terms of vividness. The colors are beautiful! So far the blacks seem just as good as the plasma.

We are very happy with our new tv, especially for the price...they have really come down in price!

Make sure you price shop on specific model numbers you want because even though you have 15% off at Target you can probably find a better deal elsewhere.

I also wanted to add that there aren't necessarily all good tvs in one brand. Each brand has a few models that stand out and others may lack. Which is why I suggest looking up specific model numbers. Amazon is a great place to look at reviews, as well as Consumer Reports if you subscribe.

 

[Muushka]

If this helps, our LED Vizio with wifi works great for Netflix.
We have LG bluray players for the BR and LR and they work great with Netflix also.

I had bought a Samsung bluray and it worked terribly with Netflix, returned it quickly.

 

[clarkshel]

If you do buy an LCD/LED tv, make sure you can live with the "soap opera effect" when watching movies. A few months ago a purchased a Samsung LED Smart TV. We tested it out watching a movie, and we found it unwatchable because of this effect I mentioned above. You should Google it for an explanation of it. I can't explain it very well. There are settings you can change on your TV to get rid of this, or minimize it, but it didn't work for our TV. I ended up returning it for a 59" Samsung plasma. Which we absolutely love.

Some people will say the plasma is no good because of burn-in and you can't have it in a bright room. Both of these are false. We have our new plasma in our main living room, beside a big window. We haven't had any problems watching TV in the daylight. If the sun is too bright, we just close the blinds. As for burn-in, this is not as common on the newer plasmas anymore, it can still happen, but as long as you have a variety of things to view on your TV. I mean, if you always play video games and pause for long periods o time, then it could happen. Out other plasma is 6 years old now, and for the last 2 years has been used 90% of the time with my kids playing video games on it. There is no burn-in at all. Still a great picture.

If you do consider a plasma, look a Panasonic. Ever since Pioneer stopped making plasmas, they have become the top Plasma manufacturer. Samsung also has some pretty good Plasma TV's.

 

[snoopy5386]

So confused!! We are limited on the size due to the size of the entertainment center it will sit in and the tv and the couch are only 8 feet apart so I don't want something super big.

We don't have netflix, or blu ray or a roku box or anything like that. We have directv for now but the goal is to cancel it and replace it with netflix/hulu at some point. We also have a spare desktop that we are going to set up as a media computer (well not us, clearly we have no clue, but a knowledgeable friend).

With a smart tv would I just be able to go to nbc.com or abc.com and stream shows? Could I do that with a media computer? Roku box or bluray player?

 

[rmjkharrisfam]

My husband talked me into a new TV this summer. After much looking we actually ended up with a 55IN which I thought would be WAY too big but surprisingly, it's not. We love it!

We got the LG Cinema Screen 55LM7600 55In 3D 1080p 240 Hz LED-LCD HDTV with Smart TV. That's a whole bunch of numbers and letters but it just amounts to a smart high def tv with 3D. It was pricy but we also hadn't bought a new tv in a very long time. Now, I wonder how we got along without it It came with 6 pairs of 3D glasses. The 3D is amazing!

I do agree with a previous post that some movies, especially older ones, definetly have a "soap opera" effect....but it doesn't botter us at all, you can see so much more detail that I've gotten used to it. We did get the LG Blu-Ray player as well. Both connect to the internet but I like the interface on the TV better. We haven't had any issues streaming. We have a roku box on our upstairs TV and that is constantly stopping & starting.

Got ours from Amazon - after pricing the same tv everywhere that was the cheapest. I'm a prime member so we got free shipping. The first tv actually came damaged - just a small scratch but we called Amazon to explain. They rushed us a new one, no questions asked, took the damaged one away and installed the new one.

Good luck - there are so many choices!

 

[Nayan]

With a smart tv would I just be able to go to nbc.com or abc.com and stream shows? Could I do that with a media computer? Roku box or bluray player?

On a computer yes, the others no. A smart TV, Roku player and BD players have 'apps', similar to your smartphone or Iphone/Ipod Touch.

 

[momof3ds]

The only way you could stream from a website is if you have a computer connected to a tv or an apple tv with an apple computer (or ipad, iphone, ipod touch) and then you could mirror almost anything on your apple device screen through apple TV

 

[DawnM]

There is an app called PlayOn that will allow you to stream from websites to your TV. I use it. You do have to have it open on your PC in order to use it, and it isn't perfect, but it does work for us.

Dawn

 

[LJSquishy]

You asked about streaming shows on ABC or NBC. Yes, you can do that with a smart tv that has a web browser -- everyone is giving you false information.

Our LG tv has a full web browser. You just click on it, type in the web address, and it looks just like it would if you were to watch it on your computer. The downside is that it doesn't fill the entire tv screen like it does your computer screen...but it is watchable (we still prefer watching on our iPad for those shows in bed).

I also wanted to comment on the soap opera effect...on our tv you can turn that off or adjust it up and down. I actually like it, for some reason you see more detail with it on, but we get less pixelation/image blur when it is turned down (even though I think it is supposed to help with that).

 

[mrodgers]

Getting a Panasonic 50 inch 1080p plasma very soon. Waiting for the end of year bonus check that hopefully will be paid out at Christmas time as it has been the past few years instead of the normal January timeframe.

I don't like LCD at all, and LED makes it worse. I'm still watching a 1996 27 inch CRT. I don't like how bright the LCD/LED units are. Every one I've viewed just look too overly bright and colorful. I don't want everything I watch to look like cartoon colors.

Don't judge by looking at TV displays in the big box stores like Walmart or Best Buy. The stores are way too brightly lit and a plasma will look extremely dark amongst the wall of LCD TVs. We stopped in Sears where it is darker in the TV section, more like it is at home and the plasma looks more natural like the CRT we are watching now instead of super bright.

The biggest issue I have with finally moving to an HD TV is I don't like to call and argue with the satellite companies about upgrading the equipment. Cost of upgrading our DirecTV service would cost more than the "inexpensive" TVs that we are looking at and even more than most of the moderate TVs. I'm not willing to pay over $700 for upgrading when I can switch to Dish Network and cut my bill in half while upgrading to current tech. Problem is, I like DirecTV and don't like Dish Network. I don't want to switch, but I also can't be one of those jerks who scream, yell, and swear at the customer service rep until I get what I want like my wife has to deal with at work on a daily basis. I think I will probably end up having to switch. If you look up my current equipment online, the comments are all "Hey, I've seen that on the Antique Roadshow" as that is how old and behind technology it is, LOL.

 

[clarkshel]

Whatever TV anyone gets. The best thing to do when you get it home is to calibrate it. You can hire someone to have his professionally done, but IMO, kind of expensive. I think it is around $200 to $300. You can also buy a blueray/DVD on how to calibrate it yourself. I did this with all three of our big screens and the picture improved greatly. Before you do calibrate it, make sure you have all the components hooked up that you will use with it.