Help Me Pick a TV

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jttheclockman

jttheclockman

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Joined
Feb 22, 2005
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NJ, USA.
Will be looking to get a 65" TV sometime this year. I am so out of touch with today's brands, must have's, great picture quality, and the whole nine yards. This will probably be my last TV I buy. Always had Sony. and in fact the one in living room now will go in den. But it is probably a 2005 year old Bravia Sony. Not sure how old. Bought from Sears so that will tell you how long ago. Still good TV.

So looking for suggestions and what to look for. Would like to be able to have some ideas before I get brain washed from sales people. Thanks in advance.

I just stepped up to a smart phone last week and man what a transition from my old flip phone. Probably never will learn everything it can do. One of these days I will figure out the photo taking so I can take pictures of some pens and see how they look compared to my camera. I am too old for this stuff. :)
 
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questions to consider.
Is the room it will go in very bright? If so you wlil want a high nit value for more brightness.
Does the Sun shine at the area it will be mounted/installed at? OLED not good for that.
What do you primarily watch on the TV in the room it will be placed? If you watch a lot of movies (such as streamed content, OLED or Sony is good) If you watch sports then Samsung/Hisense would be good.

Watch Youtube channels "Digital Trends" and "RTings" to ready yourself for what you are looking for. It's been 3 years since I was in the market for a TV and I've noticed improvements almost every year but the same name brands keep coming up time and again.

I had an LG OLED many years ago that was good for over 7 years. The set worked like a charm but was rather dark. When we moved it was just too small for the room we set as our TV room. Ended up selling it and buying a Sony Bravia 75". The Sony is a nice TV but, I find it needs to have it's memory/cache cleared reset whatever they call it by powering it down and unplugging it every month at least, every couple weeks when I remember to do it. If not it will develop a black screen with a single line of vertical pixels on the left side of the screen. Apparently this is a common issue at least with the model I have. Picture is super awesome though.
- Hisense has bright clear pictures and is always a coveted TV series for it's price point. It rivals the more expensive models in each size range. Gets high rating on RTings,com
- Samsung is tried and true. I have a friend that purchased a 75" and he is happy with it.
- LG OLED (any of the iterations) are always a good purchase.
- I bought a ROKU TV for our bedroom and it has not disappointed. Wife watches mostly older shows on it so I can't really comment on picture quality but when I watch it it is fine. Plus it comes with the streaming apps already installed and ready to go.
 
When I was shopping for a new TV I would watch the channels I suggested in my previous response and search for, "Best xxx"(insert size) TV for watching movies, sports and or gaming (choose option)" or "Best TV in (size category) for $$$" and if the same one came up on both channels then I pretty much had it narrowed down.
Yes, I developed some "analysis paralysis" but you need to step away for a while and research best prices for those units and availability.
 
Like most other things people ask about on this forum, the first question you need to address is what do you intend to use it for? Or more specifically, what signal source are you expecting to use, and what kind of programming do you anticipate watching.

There are basically four choices (and maybe a few oddballs that are only available in a few areas) - an antenna (for old-fashioned over-the-air broadcasting), a cable TV service, or streaming. The fourth option is direct satellite service which, to my mind, is just cable TV in disguise.

If you are fortunate to live in a area with multiple over-the-air TV stations, antennas do still work. Probably not rabbit ears or those aluminum monstrosities our parents stuck on the roof of the house. Today, TV antenna can be installed in an attic or attached to a wall or window. But to be totally honest, I haven't used an antenna in 30+ years, so I can't offer any advise about them.

Cable is still an option, but my sense is that the cable TV industry is fading away. I do know that the company who supplies that service in our area is exhorbitantly expensive and their service is lousy.

That leaves streaming, but to do that you need a connection to the internet. At least in our case, that brings us back to the company who also provides cable TV service. Yuck.

We have gravitated toward streaming. We have internet service (only) from that cable TV monopoly. We never watch commercial TV entertainment programming. We do watch the local news stream from a TV station in our area, and we are members of the local PBS station which gives us access to the PBS streaming service for both national/international news and programming. We have subscriptions to Netflix and Britbox for entertainment programming. But that's us. YMMV

My experience with modern TVs is that they are considerably less expensive than older TVs, especially on a $/diagonal inch basis. The visual quality is very good, but the sound isn't great. You can always add a supplementary sound system if you find that you want that booming bass you experience in movie theaters. When looking at the selection in the store, the one (and perhaps only) differentiator is price, but I'm not sure that means much. Modern TVs really aren't designed to be repaired, and while they may last a long time, our cultural expectation is that we will upgrade periodically. I look for a minimum of two HDMI ports - the cable connections to a TV are the points that get the most physical stress and therefore most subject to wear and tear, and having redundant input port can extend the life expectancy of a TV. Most larger TVs have ate least two ports, but there are smaller TVs out there with just one.

Modern TVs are essentially computers, and an invisible differentiation between brands is their operating systems. Be especially cautious about TVs with proprietary operating systems - they may not be compatible with the streaming services you want to use. My experience is that Samsung and Roku-branded TVs are generally compatible with most streaming services, while LG is an orphan that doesn't play well with others. You can always add an external streaming device (eg, a Roku, Firestick, etc), if the TV you select proves to be unfriendly with your preferred streaming services.

Final thought - its entirely too easy to get drawn into modern TV technology and end up with something that is too complex for an ordinary human to use. In my opinion, the best solution is one that you can operate your entire TV viewing system using one remote, and if you need more than one remote for anything other than perhaps a periodic software update, you've gone too far.
 
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Sony or Samsung. We bought a 55' Sony from Costco /extended warranty. Do yourself a favor and keep it simple. There's a lot to choose from. As for pictures..They all look good. ..
 
Thanks and to address some questions. I am not looking for anything complicated. Like I said it was just last week I switched to a smart phone. I mostly watch sports on the TV with a few history channel shows and of course the ever changing news. It is a darker long room being my living room that it is going in. I basically only watch TV at evenings so even darker. I have Fios as my carrier from Verizon, which is a fiber optic system. No complaints about this service. All my computer, phones, and TV are on the same plan. 65" is the largest I can go because of the wall it is going on. The prices have all come way down so I am not concerned with pricing but do want a good TV for the money. I realize TV's today are basically throw away models but to get at least 10 years out of it would cover rest of my life time. I will not be streaming anything or connecting phone to TV or anything like that. There will be no antennas or firesticks. 2 years ago I walked into PC Richards to get my computer that I have now and looked at TVs and eye went to the Sony's and the Samsungs so probably will stay in that area. But got confused with the terms OLED, LG and others. What they mean is beyond me but need to learn differences so know what to look for.

Please keep the info coming. Thanks again.
 
We have been happy with VISIO, but have also had success with Samsung. There are only a few companies that make the important part - the screen and Samsung is one of them. The other one you mentioned, Sony, uses Samsung screens for many of their models and LG screens on others.

LCD TV's - Liquid Crystal Display - uses a separate backlight to light the screen so they can be brighter which makes them good in brightly lit rooms. They are also the least expensive as well as the most reliable (for the long term). The downside is that they don't provide as true of a black as OLED and their colors and image quality is not as good when they are viewed from off-center angles.

OLED TV's - Organic Light Emitting Diode - use individual LED's to provide both the light and the color -- no backlight. The advantage is that they can be turned off which provides a true, no-light black. Their higher contrast ratio also provides deeper and richer (more vivid) colors. Since there is no backlight they are usually also much thinner and lighter than LCD TV's. Their downside is mostly cost although the price vs quality has been coming down.

So, for overall picture quality, OLED is the way to go.

Also in the jumble of letters is resolution. Terms like HD, 4K, 8K 1080p and UHD. These refer to the resolution. Most TV's that are 50-inches and larger these days are 4K or UHD (same thing) - with 3,840 x 2,160 dots that make up the image. 8K is about double that, but outside of gigantic screens, it is likely not worth it. HD or 720p and 1080p are the lowest resolution and are ok for small screens - like computer monitors, but for TV I would try to go with something called 4K or UHD.

It can be pretty confusing. For my money, on a 65-inch TV I would look for something 4K, UHD, or Ultra HD, (all the same thing) with OLED either QD-OLED or WOLED.

Starting with that basic info, I would go to a good store that carries a variety of brands and make the decision based on how they look and on price.

Good Luck John.

Dave
 
I always had Sony too. I always thought they had the best display. I have grown disgusted with them over the years. They are limited in their HDMI ports...two....that is ridiculous, And they are somewhat proprietary in the app you can access...
They of course want to force you towards their things they have ownership in. I want versatility....I really have liked Samsung, and they have their little network of channels too. LG OLED's really have a strikingly good picture too. They are the highest price around, tho.
TV's are really cheap right now...I would not drag my feet..tariffs are definitely coming and you will be stuck paying that and it is it like there is an American option right now...
 
egnald said:
We have been happy with VISIO, but have also had success with Samsung. There are only a few companies that make the important part - the screen and Samsung is one of them. The other one you mentioned, Sony, uses Samsung screens for many of their models and LG screens on others.

LCD TV's - Liquid Crystal Display - uses a separate backlight to light the screen so they can be brighter which makes them good in brightly lit rooms. They are also the least expensive as well as the most reliable (for the long term). The downside is that they don't provide as true of a black as OLED and their colors and image quality is not as good when they are viewed from off-center angles.

OLED TV's - Organic Light Emitting Diode - use individual LED's to provide both the light and the color -- no backlight. The advantage is that they can be turned off which provides a true, no-light black. Their higher contrast ratio also provides deeper and richer (more vivid) colors. Since there is no backlight they are usually also much thinner and lighter than LCD TV's. Their downside is mostly cost although the price vs quality has been coming down.

So, for overall picture quality, OLED is the way to go.

Also in the jumble of letters is resolution. Terms like HD, 4K, 8K 1080p and UHD. These refer to the resolution. Most TV's that are 50-inches and larger these days are 4K or UHD (same thing) - with 3,840 x 2,160 dots that make up the image. 8K is about double that, but outside of gigantic screens, it is likely not worth it. HD or 720p and 1080p are the lowest resolution and are ok for small screens - like computer monitors, but for TV I would try to go with something called 4K or UHD.

It can be pretty confusing. For my money, on a 65-inch TV I would look for something 4K, UHD, or Ultra HD, (all the same thing) with OLED either QD-OLED or WOLED.

Starting with that basic info, I would go to a good store that carries a variety of brands and make the decision based on how they look and on price.

Good Luck John.

Dave
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Nice description Dave . Lots to learn but have an idea now. Thanks. I agree about the tariff thing but with the Orange guy you never know what tomorrow will bring.
 
One of the big things for me was the location of the HDMI ports. I wanted them where I could easily get to them. We bought a 77" LG about 6 months ago, replacing a 55" Samsung we bought in 2008. Most nowadays are all smart tv's, as is the one we bought. Being a smart TV, there are quite a few free apps that have free programming. Of course, that requires it to be connected to the Internet. I think you said you won't be doing that, but it is an option.
 
There's a lot of choices for sure. I think the Sony Bravia 8 or 9 has the best picture, but is very pricey. Let your eyes be the judge as far as the picture goes. If you don't see much of a difference, then don't spend an extra grand on a high end TV. The wife and I were seriously considering the Hisense U8 series last Black Friday, but decided to stick with our 50" for the time being. The brand has been around long enough to prove itself, in my opinion anyway. I would absolutely spend more for mini LED vs standard LED to avoid "bloom" (the brighter parts of the picture lighting more of the screen than it should)

Most of what you will find will be smart TVs. Whether you use the smart part is up to you, but play with them a bit to find your way around and see what makes the most sense to you. I've been really happy with the Roku interface and there are a ton of streaming apps you can use, many for free if you don't mind ads.

For what it's worth, and I don't know what all is covered by this, I hear that some electronics will not be subject to the pending extra tariffs. I'm sure it covers cell phones, but not so sure about the larger electronics.
 
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