Current TVs/technologies?

[Tyro]

Our CRT HD TV has apparently just died 3 years ahead of anticipation, so we find ourselves having to go through the whole consumer/technology research ordeal again. I searched the archives for threads on television or TV, and the last pertinent ones seem to be at least 3 years old, and as we all know, "for [-]an android[/-] consumer electronics, that is nearly an eternity."

Is anyone up on the current choices, plusses/minuses, and opinions on them (in addition to what I find elsewhere online)? I've come to appreciate the broad consumer opinion spectrum available here.

Our viewing tends to be mostly movies (cable & DVD) and science/learning shows, and the set is usually on all day every day. An upgrade to Blu-ray is probably also imminent. Not sure, but it may be too early yet for 3-D(?)

Thanks as always,

Tyro

 

[Andre1969]

My housemates and I just went in together for a new living room tv. Got an LG 55" LED 3D tv from Costco, for something like $1266 out the door. That includes tax and an extended warranty that covers it for 5 years. It came with six pairs of 3D glasses, and if you ever need more than that, they can be, umm, "procured" from the movie theater!

I don't know much about the specifics of it, but I'm happy with it, so far.

 

[golfnut]

We will be looking for a new tv in the near future and below are the features we would like to have:

- 55 inches or so (cannot fit much larger)

- LED with 120 hz or preferably 240hz

At this time, not interested in 3D. I have put those 3D glasses on in the store and get a little dizzy after awhile.

Regarding the size of the screen, there are guidelines as respects the sitting distance from screen vs. screen size. One can google these guidelines. Experts point out you should always buy a screen per these guidelines - never smaller.

Good place to purchase include Newegg, Tigerdirect

 

[Katsmeow]

We bought a TV a year ago. The one thing that was a surprise to us was that we could actually buy a TV that had a Wifi connection built into it and could access netflix and hulu and youtube, etc. We watch a lot of netflix and hulu so this was a nice feature.

Also the TV was extremely thin and the front was entirely flat with rim along the edge. We liked that as well.

I bought mine at Best Buy actually (it was a Sony Bravia). The online price at Best Buy was less than the in the store price and I asked for and received the online price (at the time you had to ask though to get it). WE checked other places online and the Best Buy one was comparable.

 

[REWahoo]

The choices in TV's these days and the features available on them is nothing short of overwhelming. Good luck on narrowing down your selection, but you probably won't go wrong with whatever you choose.

BTW, Consumer Reports says both picture quality and reliability for TV's today is very good. The lowest scoring brands when it comes to reliability are Westinghouse, Phillips and Samsung. We have way too many TV's in the house and RV (Vizio, Samsung, & Sharp) and the only set we've had problems with is the Samsung.

 

[Koogie]

I'm just waiting for our Sony Trinitron to blow up... 11 years old. Come on you d*mn machine.. ha

Did a lot of reading about this last year.. LED seems definitely the way to go, in terms of image quality, life expectancy, power usage and price. Unless you start wanting a HUGE screen (60"+), in which case go for rear projection.

 

[painterbill]

We just replaced a ~50" rear projection with a 47" Vizio LED with built-in wifi and 3D capable, so far very impressed with it. We bought it at SAM's for about $600 and thought it looked enormous on the cart as we were leaving, then a someone was pushing out a cart with a 60" that made ours look puny. We don't have 3D available with our cable but will be picking up a 3D BluRay player after Christmas The 3D displaying at SAM's did look great and will rent 3D movies for the grand kids. The LED was estimated at about $6 per year energy use for 4 hours use a day if I remember correctly. We also have Amazon prime that we use the wifi to access and it is for the most part seamless. May also pickup the Vizio sound bar but are waiting for a little more price drop, although the sound is certainly acceptable and may forgo it.

 

[W2R]

I guess the problem with 3-D is finding something to watch. My present 60" Samsung plasma TV has 3-D, but to me it is just a gimmick. I would have to buy a blu-ray player, a 3D movie to watch on it, and the 3D glasses, which would all amount to several hundred dollars for the experience and I am not willing to do it. My TV has lots of other good attributes, which is why I bought it in the first place.

 

[Tyro]

Who'da thunk?

The LED was estimated at about $6 per year energy use for 4 hours use a day if I remember correctly.

I'm only about halfway through CR's article Top TV Ratings | TV Buying Guide (I was overwhelmed by page 2, and haven't even looked at all the associated linked articles) but just read this paragraph:

TVs and cable and satellite converter boxes now must use at least 40 percent less energy than comparable models to be branded Energy Star compliant. The new regulations also address "vampire power" issues--devices that draw electricity even when set to "off" or "standby." New Energy Star-compliant cable and satellite boxes must have a "deep sleep" mode, dropping energy consumption from about 16 watts to 2 watts or less. The EPA estimates that if all TVs and set-top boxes in the U.S. met these new standards, consumers would save more than $5 billion in energy costs annually, and the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from power plants would be equal to taking 7 million cars off the road.

 

[Texas Proud]

I guess the problem with 3-D is finding something to watch. My present 60" Samsung plasma TV has 3-D, but to me it is just a gimmick. I would have to buy a blu-ray player, a 3D movie to watch on it, and the 3D glasses, which would all amount to several hundred dollars for the experience and I am not willing to do it. My TV has lots of other good attributes, which is why I bought it in the first place.

.



I do not have 3D, so can not comment on how good or bad it is....

But, I just read an article that had it listed as one of the bust for electronics for 2012.... IOW, a gimmick for now.... they also said that there will be less content going forward as the studios are not supporting it at this time...

 

[Tyro]

Have you got a link for that article? Everything I've read (including last month's CR article above) says just the opposite.

 

[Midpack]

I'd go with an LED Smart TV, whatever size makes sense for you - ours our 40" & 32" Sony Bravias, but most people want bigger it seems, unless you watch with a crowd of people just sit a foot closer. Don't know what to make of 3D, very limited availability, but that was the case with HD a few years ago and now almost everything is available in HD. The only think you can bet on is no matter what you buy, it will seem ancient (if not expensive) in a year or two...nothing you can do about that.

 

[Mulligan]

I'm just waiting for our Sony Trinitron to blow up... 11 years old. Come on you d*mn machine.. ha

Did a lot of reading about this last year.. LED seems definitely the way to go, in terms of image quality, life expectancy, power usage and price. Unless you start wanting a HUGE screen (60"+), in which case go for rear projection.

Just because you want it to blow up, will ensure the fact that it will probably go another 10 years. I gave up on mine quitting about 3 years ago. I have a 55 in panasonic plasma and got it specifically for sports, but it is in my dungeon man cave so there is no glare issues. Now I am waiting for my projection tv to die upstairs so I can get a 60 in LED myself. As far as 3D goes.. I have in the last year been forced to wear glasses to read. I refuse to do so when watching TV.

 

[Texas Proud]

Have you got a link for that article? Everything I've read (including last month's CR article above) says just the opposite.

Nope... I was just clicking on different headlines here and there and ran across the article...

They did say that a lot of 3D TVs were being sold, just that it was not for the 3D entertainment...

 

[pb4uski]

I have a nice 47" Vizio that we have been very happy with but that we bought before smart wi-fi HDTVs were prevalent. Any idea as to how I can add wi-fi internet access to an older HDTV.

Are Apple TV, Roku, Vizio Co-Star, etc my only options? Anyone done this and been happy with the result?

 

[GrayHare]

Are Apple TV, Roku, Vizio Co-Star, etc my only options? Anyone done this and been happy with the result?

Roku requires personal info just to activate the device, including a credit card to bill in case you happen to select a pay-per-view item. The Sony brand we have did not have such a requirement, and we're happy with its performance.

 

[Katsmeow]

I have a nice 47" Vizio that we have been very happy with but that we bought before smart wi-fi HDTVs were prevalent. Any idea as to how I can add wi-fi internet access to an older HDTV.

Are Apple TV, Roku, Vizio Co-Star, etc my only options? Anyone done this and been happy with the result?

Before we got our Sony with wifi in it we used Apple TV, Wii and PS3 for this. The Wii and PS3 we already had so there was no added cost. The Apple TV worked well and is particularly good for those who use Apple devices.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have a nice 47" Vizio that we have been very happy with but that we bought before smart wi-fi HDTVs were prevalent. Any idea as to how I can add wi-fi internet access to an older HDTV.

Are Apple TV, Roku, Vizio Co-Star, etc my only options? Anyone done this and been happy with the result?

My HDTVs are a few years old and do not have those features. Just two days ago, I went to Best Buy and saw this Sony blu-ray player that had WiFi built-in.

So, I bought it for $90, with the intention of using it to access video and audio files that I stored on a DLNA home server. Turned out that it could also access the Web (via my WiFi router) and play movies on Netflix (which I do not have an account), Hulu, and also Youtube among several other sites which I do not recognize. I have been watching some Youtube video clips with it. Yes, all those music videos that posters linked to on this forum.

Same as with any media player, entering the search title is a pain via the remote control. You can plug a USB keyboard into the player, or use a smart phone as a remote keypad. It might be possible to use an iPad too, I imagine. However, I do not have any iThing to test.

Happy with it so far.

PS. I use my PC to set up playlists in my Youtube account. Then, by logging in to the account with the blu-ray player, I could just select a playlist to play music videos.

 

[Tyro]

As far as 3D goes.. I have in the last year been forced to wear glasses to read. I refuse to do so when watching TV.

I felt the same way when I had to get glasses to read a few years back. I was going to just get reading glasses, but after getting an eye exam, learned I have a slight astigmatism (and the exact same HD TV as my optometrist). I wound up getting bifocals for reading and watching HD TV, which benefits I was missing out on due to the astigmatism and didn't even know it.

I don't really care about 3D TV at this time, but as the article states, the better sets may all have it anyway, so we'll make sure the (whichever kind of) glasses are piggybackable over what we're wearing now.

FWIW, for our viewing habits/requirements, based on the CR article, DW & I are both leaning toward plasma.

Tyro

 

[FUEGO]

We have 2 plasmas. A 40-something inch and a 50 inch. Both were dirt cheap ($400 for the smaller and $475 for the bigger). Great pic quality on low end devices.

 

[Mulligan]

I felt the same way when I had to get glasses to read a few years back. I was going to just get reading glasses, but after getting an eye exam, learned I have a slight astigmatism (and the exact same HD TV as my optometrist). I wound up getting bifocals for reading and watching HD TV, which benefits I was missing out on due to the astigmatism and didn't even know it.

I don't really care about 3D TV at this time, but as the article states, the better sets may all have it anyway, so we'll make sure the (whichever kind of) glasses are piggybackable over what we're wearing now.

FWIW, for our viewing habits/requirements, based on the CR article, DW & I are both leaning toward plasma.

Tyro

I am sure you are aware of this, but in case you aren't, if you go plasma, make sure the room in which it's in does not have light coming in that could reflect on the screen. Some models now have screens that aren't as reflective, but something to think about. I usually have no light on while watching mine and it is downstairs. I personally think the colors are more vibrant with the plasma I have, but that may just be me.

 

[Tyro]

We have 2 plasmas. A 40-something inch and a 50 inch. Both were dirt cheap ($400 for the smaller and $475 for the bigger). Great pic quality on low end devices.

That may explain DW's remark upon turning in this evening that I may be pleasantly surprised at prices. At the time we bought our current CRT HD, LCDs were twice the price of CRT models (for same size screens, and viewing angles were horrible). Plasma screens were larger, but began @ 4x what the CRT cost. I read that plasmas had come down to lower than LCDs, but I didn't know they'd come down that much!

Might even have enough left over for a Blu-ray player...

Tyro

 

[MichaelB]

Our CRT HD TV has apparently just died 3 years ahead of anticipation, so we find ourselves having to go through the whole consumer/technology research ordeal again. I searched the archives for threads on television or TV, and the last pertinent ones seem to be at least 3 years old, and as we all know, "for [-]an android[/-] consumer electronics, that is nearly an eternity."

Is anyone up on the current choices, plusses/minuses, and opinions on them (in addition to what I find elsewhere online)? I've come to appreciate the broad consumer opinion spectrum available here.

Our viewing tends to be mostly movies (cable & DVD) and science/learning shows, and the set is usually on all day every day. An upgrade to Blu-ray is probably also imminent. Not sure, but it may be too early yet for 3-D(?)

Thanks as always,

Tyro

CRT died prematurely? I thought they all disappeared years ago.

If I were in TV buying mode I'd look for the biggest screen I could afford, make sure the set has wifi and Internet browsing features, and lots of ports and connection capabilities. AVS forum is an excellent resource for discussions AVS Forum

My preference has always been plasma over LCD, but LCD/LED may be a better long term option. 3D seems a bit unsettled to me

 

[travelover]

I wouldn't go expensive or high tech. The minute you buy anything electronic it starts becoming obsolete. I went for plasma to get better viewing angle capability, but after an old CRT, I was blown away with a $450 42" TV.

 

[NW-Bound]

Whenever I walk through an electronic store, I get thoroughly disgusted. Things are always cheaper and so much better than what I bought. And whatever I bought, I always thought it was such a good buy at that time.

My first 42" HDTV was bought in 2002, at a price of $1700. I was the first among family and friends who had an HDTV, and people ooh'ed and aah'ed when I put on the DVD of Lords of the Rings. Piece of crap now! It predates HDMI, hence does not have such port. It also predates HD broadcast standard, so its tuner cannot get over-the-air signals. And it was expensive at an inflation-adjusted price of $2,200.

But the darn thing still works, compared to my brother's later HDTV that croaked after just a few short years. My wife has hinted that we should let it go. I think I will bring it up to our boonies home. No broadcast TV signal up there!