"Middle of the Road" smart TV

[CRLLS]

Decades ago when TV was only analog OTA, I thought of myself as a TV snob. At the time, I had a 21" color TV from a company in Canada. The colors, brightness and contrast was not oversaturated and very much true to real life. Much better than a Heathkit color TV I had. Remember them? Later I worked at one of the last US TV mfgrs and built my own TV from various parts. It was my 1st 25" CRT TV. I later purchased a state-of the art DLP for well over $3K. It lasted only a few years after 3 lamps and a couple of fans. I swore that I would never again buy this year's models or the latest and greatest. Today's entry-level TVs are so much better than any of them. So far, I have not been disappointed. There is simply no comparison between them and any of my previous TVs. I am happy for the clean. crisp, video.

Now, audio is my issue. I have an LG soundbar and am missing a bunch of audio. Speach mostly. It seems that the OTA and various streaming channels use different sound encoding that my sound bar or TV cannot decode very well. Even different programming on the same channels act differently. Probably has something to do with my own hearing too.

 

[ncbill]

Talking about black blacks...I will give up my Panasonic plasma 1080p HDTV when you pry it from my cold, dead hands...or I want to stream in 4K.

 

[Dawg52]

Talking about black blacks...I will give up my Panasonic plasma 1080p HDTV when you pry it from my cold, dead hands...or I want to stream in 4K.

Speaking of Panasonic they are back in the USA again. They have a couple of oleds and a mini-led available on Amazon now. Their tv's have built in speakers much better than your average tv speakers. Which might be attractive to those not interested in soundbars.

 

[ncbill]

Speaking of Panasonic they are back in the USA again. They have a couple of oleds and a mini-led available on Amazon now. Their tv's have built in speakers much better than your average tv speakers. Which might be attractive to those not interested in soundbars.

Thanks!

Since I don't use a sound bar, I was considering the Sony OLED HDTVs because of their "screen is the speaker" design but they cost just so much more than the LG OLED HDTVs.

I'll keep an eye out for more Panasonic reviews.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Talking about black blacks...I will give up my Panasonic plasma 1080p HDTV when you pry it from my cold, dead hands...or I want to stream in 4K.

If you like to see the best resolution picture available you will want to stream in 4K. Preferably in 4K Dolbyvision, but 4K HDR is the next best thing. Truly a gamechanger.

 

[cbo111]

With anything google, you are the product. I bought a 65” LG OLED TV last year and couldn’t be happier. And as a former audiophile, I’m actually impressed with the quality of the built-in audio.

OP here. I violated my $1K max requirement, but I just spotted a Costco ad offering a $200 e-card with the purchase, so I pulled the trigger last week. Very nice picture. It's got a lot of electronic wizardry using AI, which I was not expecting. I ordered an LG sound bar also with subwoofer and rear speakers.

 

[rembrandt]

My Sony Bravia V-series kdl-52v5100 52-inch 1080p 120hz lcd hdtv, black (2009 model) still works great!

 

[JackJester]

OP, which LG model did you get? I have my eye on this model with an attachable sound bar.

65-Inch Class QNED 4K LED QNED85T series TV with webOS 24​	$900​	65 inch LG QNED AI QNED85 4K Smart TV 2024 - 65QNED85TUA | LG USA Discover the next generation of LG's Smart AI TVs, the QNED85 65 inch smart TV, with awe-inspiring graphics and audio refined to match your taste by the alpha 8 AI Processor 4K, dazzling QNED Color, webOS 24, and elegant Super Slim Design. www.lg.com
LG S70TY Soundbar with Dolby Atmos® 3.1.1 channel​	$350​	LG Soundbar for TV with Dolby Atmos 3.1.1 channel S70TY | LG USA Discover the LG Soundbar S70TY, perfect for TV pairing, with Synergy Bracket, Dolby Atmos soundscapes, and simple WOW Interface control. www.lg.com

 

[shafer9]

I am in the market for a 65" tv to watch cable, sports, Netflix, AppleTV, and Prime, that sort of thing. No interest in gaming features, just want a decent quality picture, something less than $1,000 US. I browsed the Costco website...lots of choices. Samsung 65" Class - Q60D Series - 4K UHD QLED LCD TV looks pretty good. Anybody recently purchased something they can recommend?

On our second Samsung. Perfect for us, smart but not overwhelming. Reasonable. Excellent picture. Dependable. We Like it.

 

[sparky08]

We have a dark TV room, but the entryway is bright. So, we get reflections on the screen of our old (10+ years) tv.

Is there a type (OLED, QLED, ??) that are better in such conditions? Or is that a problem with the coating on the glass?

 

[Qs Laptop]

We have a dark TV room, but the entryway is bright. So, we get reflections on the screen of our old (10+ years) tv.

Is there a type (OLED, QLED, ??) that are better in such conditions? Or is that a problem with the coating on the glass?

The coating on the glass can make a big difference. It you're looking for a new TV check out TV Reviews. www.rtings.com

They meticulously and thoroughly test TV's for many criteria including reflectivety.

Generally speaking, a QLED will have a brighter picture than an OLED (at least on paper) which may help if your viewing room is bright. In your case it sounds like it's not the room that is bright but there may be a light source (the entry way) opposite the TV. This is the same situation I have with a south facing patio door opposite my LG OLED TV. Reflections are not an issue for me. I see that rtings.com gave my TV a grade of 9.2 out of 10 for neutralizing reflections.

 

[Lsbcal]

Using Qs Laptop's link I noticed that the LG C4 OLED review says:

The TV is suitable for use in a bright room due to its outstanding reflection handling and very good SDR brightness. It looks exceptional in a dark room due to its nearly infinite contrast ratio that delivers deep and inky blacks.

This is encouraging for me as our room has some windows that reflect if watching during daylight.

LInk: LG C4 review

 

[old medic]

I hate our new "DUMB" smart TV. Its a Vizio 32 inch, Same model # of the one it replaced that was several years old. No Complaints about the color or sharpness.... but its ridiculously stupid.... This TV is hooked to an antenna, as 90% of viewing is OTA, Blu-Ray player, and WiFi thru our phones on occasion. EVERY time you turn on the TV, its nearly 2 minutes and 10 buttons to push to get to the OTA antenna.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I hate our new "DUMB" smart TV. Its a Vizio 32 inch, Same model # of the one it replaced that was several years old. No Complaints about the color or sharpness.... but its ridiculously stupid.... This TV is hooked to an antenna, as 90% of viewing is OTA, Blu-Ray player, and WiFi thru our phones on occasion. EVERY time you turn on the TV, its nearly 2 minutes and 10 buttons to push to get to the OTA antenna.

There should be a setting called something like, "use previous input on power on" or something similar. This will set your TV to the same input it was using the last time you turned it off.

 

[old medic]

There should be a setting called something like, "use previous input on power on" or something similar. This will set your TV to the same input it was using the last time you turned it off.

There should be a setting called something like, "use previous input on power on" or something similar. This will set your TV to the same input it was using the last time you turned it off.

Its crazy... and Ive tried everything but sit waiting on the phone for customer service....
I can be watching OTA ... switch to a DVD, and when done to go back to OTA.... it still has to search for the internet before it finds none and then asks if I want to go to the antenna.

 

[triangle]

I am with @old medic in how much "like" my aging smart-tv. The user interface of my Roku powered TCL looks to have been designed by someone who did not do any long term usage study. But maybe we should trade sets, as mine is almost the opposite of his, in that it will power-on to the last input, but its OTA TV interface is really bad, because of the minimalist remote and UI implementation. But in fairness, I also have the stereotypical guy-habit of wanting to flip back and forth between multiple TV broadcasts when watching sports or a broadcast channel and a youtube channel. The experience reminds me of running MS-Dos on a 16-bit computer, slow and single tasking. When new, this TV that got universial praise from review sites and the picture quality is still more than good enough. Plugging in a newer Roku HDMI stick improves responsiveness but then one has multiple remotes and the base TV still crashes as before.

 

[Texas Proud]

Well, I did not go for middle of the road, but also not the best..

Bought Samsung S90s... a 77 for me and a 65 for DW... it was easy to see that the OLEDs were really superior to the LEDs...

 

[Lsbcal]

We wound up with a 77 inch Sony Bravia 8 Oled from Best Buy, not middle of the road after all. This and a new Denon AVR-S970h receiver plus Roku Ultra. Best Buy did a price match on the receiver which was $50 lower at Amazon. One surprise is the the Roku Ultra basically is the only remote I need. It will control the sound and streaming selections. Cool.

 

[pb4uski]

For our new place we got a new TV. I wanted to splurge and get an 75" LG or Samsung OLED but DW balked at spending so much on a TV even though we can afford it and watch a lot of TV.

I ended up getting a 75" Hisense QLED (QD75N). It was well rated for TV Shows, Sports and PC Monitor. I'm happy with it.

TBH, I must have tin eyes... when I look at the same content playing on OLED, QLED and even just 4K HDTV side-by-side I can't tell any difference so at the e of the day I didn't see the value proposition of paying more for OLED.

One pleasant surprise is that the remote controls both the TV and our FIRE TV Stick Max well.

 

[Lsbcal]

I did not check out the QLED tv's. We have some windows behind us and in the summer we might get some reflections before about 8pm. The OLED tv we got might help in that regard.

Anyway, we can well afford it so I did not go to far in comparing models.

 

[Surewhitey]

We finally replaced our "going dark" Vizio 55". The past year was disappointing as Walmart bought & seemed to monkey with the software too much & beat me down. I'll likely never go back to them.

Went with an LG UT7550 65" and, so far, working perfectly with a short set up with my sound bar. The difference is night and day from the old dog.

OLED's were impressive, just don't need that personally.

LG 65” UT7550 Series UHD Smart TV - Sam's Club

Buy LG 65” UT7550 Series UHD Smart TV : 60"- 70" at SamsClub.com

www.samsclub.com

 

[wolf]

For our new place we got a new TV. I wanted to splurge and get an 75" LG or Samsung OLED but DW balked at spending so much on a TV even though we can afford it and watch a lot of TV.

I ended up getting a 75" Hisense QLED (QD75N). It was well rated for TV Shows, Sports and PC Monitor. I'm happy with it.

TBH, I must have tin eyes... when I look at the same content playing on OLED, QLED and even just 4K HDTV side-by-side I can't tell any difference so at the e of the day I didn't see the value proposition of paying more for OLED.

One pleasant surprise is that the remote controls both the TV and our FIRE TV Stick Max well.

Plus " 1" for dear " DW ". I've been pushing Hisense for years. A real "sleeper". Amazing picture quality for such a low price. I purchase the basic Hisense. When home, my eyes cannot tell the difference between
the more expensive TV's. Like you, I can afford any price TV. But cannot pass up a deal.

 

[Texas Proud]

For our new place we got a new TV. I wanted to splurge and get an 75" LG or Samsung OLED but DW balked at spending so much on a TV even though we can afford it and watch a lot of TV.

I ended up getting a 75" Hisense QLED (QD75N). It was well rated for TV Shows, Sports and PC Monitor. I'm happy with it.

TBH, I must have tin eyes... when I look at the same content playing on OLED, QLED and even just 4K HDTV side-by-side I can't tell any difference so at the e of the day I didn't see the value proposition of paying more for OLED.

One pleasant surprise is that the remote controls both the TV and our FIRE TV Stick Max well.

I am really surprised... when we were looking the OLED TV colors were so much more rich than the back lit LEDs that were near them... my DW was sold just by looking at the blue sky on the two TVs...

Maybe a mini LED is closer... not sure as we did not see them.

 

[Murf2]

I am with @old medic in how much "like" my aging smart-tv. The user interface of my Roku powered TCL looks to have been designed by someone who did not do any long term usage study. But maybe we should trade sets, as mine is almost the opposite of his, in that it will power-on to the last input, but its OTA TV interface is really bad, because of the minimalist remote and UI implementation. But in fairness, I also have the stereotypical guy-habit of wanting to flip back and forth between multiple TV broadcasts when watching sports or a broadcast channel and a youtube channel. The experience reminds me of running MS-Dos on a 16-bit computer, slow and single tasking. When new, this TV that got universial praise from review sites and the picture quality is still more than good enough. Plugging in a newer Roku HDMI stick improves responsiveness but then one has multiple remotes and the base TV still crashes as before.

This is disappointing to hear. I’ve been shopping for a TV. I was leaning towards something with the Roku OS.

I was interested in them due to their supposed “ better integration of OTA and streaming. I guess I will have to revise my search.
To others here that use a fairly equal mix of OTA and streaming services.

Which OS do you prefer for intuitive use, channel guide quality and overall fell for someone who is just a “TV watcher” looking for the simplicity of the old days?

 

[Lorenzo]

Decades ago when TV was only analog OTA, I thought of myself as a TV snob. At the time, I had a 21" color TV from a company in Canada. The colors, brightness and contrast was not oversaturated and very much true to real life. Much better than a Heathkit color TV I had. Remember them? Later I worked at one of the last US TV mfgrs and built my own TV from various parts. It was my 1st 25" CRT TV. I later purchased a state-of the art DLP for well over $3K. It lasted only a few years after 3 lamps and a couple of fans. I swore that I would never again buy this year's models or the latest and greatest. Today's entry-level TVs are so much better than any of them. So far, I have not been disappointed. There is simply no comparison between them and any of my previous TVs. I am happy for the clean. crisp, video.

Was the Canadian TV by NAD Electronics? I believe it was the manufacturer of high-end audiophile gear's sole and short-lived venture into the realm of TVs. I had one, and I recall the picture was as good as it got back then--true blacks, which nowadays a relatively inexpensive OLED TV can do even better.

Heathkit!