What kind of TV to upgrade to? Too many confusing options, Pls help clarify (screens, connect)

[tiberiusP]

[SIZE=2][SIZE=2]Now that we've settled into our 2nd home, we are looking to replace our current 1080p LCD Sharp Aquos TV. I recall paying about $2500 back in 2004 for it when the plasma VS LCD war was waging. Back then, all I wanted was a TV that would be able to play our BluRay movies. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]

The TV works fine and its only 10 years old. But its TINY for the room and wall space we have.


Honestly, my head is spinning now with 4KTVs, ultra4K, LED and OLED.

Looking for maybe a 60-70 inch flat screen TV to hang on the wall. What's the best technology right now? I realize that I may end up paying the same for a TV that is much better and bigger.

(I think OLED will be best in the future but opting to hold off now & watch prices and the tech improve.)


Any advice on whats good right now?

Oh and this just came abross my email today.... Yeesh!
Sharp's 80-Inch Beyond 4K Ultra HD TV Is Overstuffed With Pixels


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[Peregrine]

I personally don't think 4K is worth it right now. Not for the reason most people give "there's no content!".
No. For this reason: it's an incremental improvement. At least to my eyes. Unless you are sitting 4 inches from a large TV, it is very... I mean VERY hard to tell the difference between 4K and HD. Certainly not worth the premium.
I say skip 4K completely, get a nice OLED (LG announced some new ones today that are supposed to be reasonably priced) and upgrade when 8K comes out.

[Panu16]

4K, Ultra 4K and Ultra HD are all referred to the same thing. Right now 4K contents are very limited. Some streaming services such as Netflix have 4K contents but you will have to pay extra for it. TV companies and media companies will undoubtedly make a push for 4K products in the next few years in the order to get people to buy their stuffs again. 4K TV will play 1080p/i contents fine. 4K TV won't dramatically improve the picture quality of 1080p/i contents despite the claims of the manufacturers.

If budget is not a big concern, I will buy 4K TV over 1080p TV today. A 55" Samsung 4K is about $1,500 on Amazon & Best Buy.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by Panu16

4K, Ultra 4K and Ultra HD are all referred to the same thing. Right now 4K contents are very limited. Some streaming services such as Netflix have 4K contents but you will have to pay extra for it. TV companies and media companies will undoubtedly make a push for 4K products in the next few years in the order to get people to buy their stuffs again. 4K TV will play 1080p/i contents fine. 4K TV won't dramatically improve the picture quality of 1080p/i contents despite the claims of the manufacturers.

If budget is not a big concern, I will buy 4K TV over 1080p TV today. A 55" Samsung 4K is about $1,500 on Amazon & Best Buy.

If budget is not a big concern, choosing OLED will give you the best all around picture available today when watched from normal distances (as per Peregrine's post above). There are some reservations about OLED concerning image retention - but that can probably be avoided with proper panel break-in.

[metroxian]

Don't go for a sell labeled as a 'smart TV'. Technology is going to change while you have that TV. It will be cheaper to upgrade the Roku (or other) box than to buy a new 10' TV. It's okay to get a smart TV but not just because it's so smart. Some word that Roku is coming out with a 4k box later this year, or next.

[Bubble99]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I personally don't think 4K is worth it right now. Not for the reason most people give "there's no content!".
No. For this reason: it's an incremental improvement. At least to my eyes. Unless you are sitting 4 inches from a large TV, it is very... I mean VERY hard to tell the difference between 4K and HD. Certainly not worth the premium.
I say skip 4K completely, get a nice OLED (LG announced some new ones today that are supposed to be reasonably priced) and upgrade when 8K comes out.

I think has to do with up conversion. Get a 4K movie a movie not remastered.

Same with HD some HD movies look good and others look awesome.

He should wait 5 years the cost will come down and more content.

[Bo]

Originally Posted by Temp43k

Don't go for a sell labeled as a 'smart TV'. Technology is going to change while you have that TV. It will be cheaper to upgrade the Roku (or other) box than to buy a new 10' TV. It's okay to get a smart TV but not just because it's so smart. Some word that Roku is coming out with a 4k box later this year, or next.

I agree with this advice. I went with Sony's smart TV platform in 2008, and the company mostly abandoned it by 2011. The Sony TV is still fine, but most of its smart features are now obsolete.

Focus more on getting plenty of HDMI inputs, so you can connect smart devices to the TV. The devices are cheap enough that you won't feel bad replacing them every couple of years to gain new capabilities.

[loves2read]

I love plasma but unfortunately the mfgs felt they were not selling enough and stopped making them--
at least Panasonic and Samsung have

Consider two factors--
how much light will get into the room where/when you will be using the new tv and

how do you normally choose your viewing material--pretty much straight cable tv shows or do you use streaming sites like Amazon, Hulu, YouTube, Netflix--
or play lot of DVDs

Personally we have gone from watching movies on DVDs and gone to streaming--using Amazon, Netflix, Hulu+, YouTube for the most part --with some rented OnDemand via cable--

I am Amazon Prime and use the video aspect of that and have just discovered Hulu+ which I love for the available BBC/UK television series I can get that aren't available on other sites

In Texas we have an older format (6 yrs old) Samsung 72 flatscreen--not smart--paired with a newer Sony blu-ray dvd smart player--had to replace the older model when Sony stopped updating it and it needed a firmware fix--
we have a Panasonic plasma my husband uses for his XBox gaming and a 46" Samsung in master bedroom

We also bought a smart Samsung 36" inch flatscreen w/wi-fi connect to Internet to use in guest bedroom with a UVerse cable box--it get Amazon, and other main sources and apparently has strong connection even though our router is downstairs...the DVD for that tv is older and not smart but rarely used anyway and we needed a larger screen

In FL vacation house we have Samsungs--and also the smart Sony DVD players--main one is Samsung plasma 52"--my husband wouldn't spring for more $ Panasonic since we were not visiting as often when we first bought that television...now that we are there for longer times and more often, he would probably spend more.
I use a Samsung 720/60hz set in the bedroom that my husband won at golf tournament--and paired with a smart Sony blu-ray dvd I can watch pretty much anything but football w/o really having quality issues--
but maybe I am not as picky as you might be

I agree that it makes more sense to buy a good quality DVD player w/smart feature or maybe something like a Roku if you can find a good quality large flatscreen w/o smart technology at a good price

check Cnet ratings and also site
TV Size to Distance Calculator and Science

I found that when shopping for new 48" flatscreen for our daughter/SIL for Christmas--and thought the info was very unbiased and informative--

they wanted flatscreen for second living area where she could view while in kitchen and toddler could watch cartoons w/o using main tv or going into bedroom
We bought a 48" Vizio Eseries for several reasons--one of which being that they didn't ask for it until close to Christmas and our shopping sources were limited by then w/stores out of stock for ones I might have preferred...
While the Vizio E series might be ok for second tv I wouldn't pick it for main viewing location or pick one of the large screens--too many issues with poor quality/performance/durability

[metroxian]

5 Reasons You Shouldn't Buy a Fancy New TV Anytime Soon

By David Christopher Bell
January 20, 2015

...we sent a team to this year's Consumer Electronics Show to find the newest HD innovations in gaming, television, and heinous pornography. Our efforts found that the TVs of the future are less like a technographic wall of blinding progress and more like a Sisyphean mountain of eternal madness.

[Peregrine]

I love Cracked. Great article.