School me on TV’s

[EWC88 24]

I have a older flat screen tv that is slowly starting to go, some parts in movies are extremely dark but when watching on different TVs it’s not that dark where you can’t see anything. So with sales going on I figured time to check TVs out. I was at a Walmart for something’s and also BJ’s so checked those at first. Saw your normal name brands (Sony, Vizio, Samsung) then some brands I have never heard of. The next thing I noticed when I saw dirt cheap tv’s was it then said “Roku TV” or things like that. Lastly I saw QLED/OLED etc so I’m lost lol.
 

I use to be all about technology but now I’m a AIR head when it comes to it, so I need some help. Currently we have Comcast, now I don’t know if we will end up saying goodbye to it and stream. My biggest thing of not knowing is because the only time I ever saw someone stream something it froze more times to enjoy the show then anyway. We do use a amazon fire stick as well plus dvds. I think I want to be in the 65” size. 
 

Any input to help me out I appreciate. 

[kc17 622]

I upgraded to OLED this past summer when my trusty Plasma died. Statements below are my opinions and recollections from when I did my research.

I despise Roku as a company, they will never get another penny from me. They forced down a software update, which basically bricked my player. They knew about, said I had to wait until they came out with a new update, no eta; no method to role back to a functioning version of the OS. Google it if you don't believe me; this was probably close to two years ago though.

LCD/LED is basically the lower tier now. OLED is top dog. QLED is Samsung's attempt to bridge the gap between LCD/LED and OLED. If you care about dark/rich blacks and high contrast rates OLED is the way to go.

Of course there are different levels of each technology as well.

I have mixed results on Samsung as a company; they refused to stand behind a PC monitor that crapped out since I lost the receipt and didn't register it with them. Even though the mfg date on the monitor made it impossible to be out of warranty. They basically told me to go pound sand.

LG makes the OLED panels, so if you buy another mfg, it still has an LG display in it.

[Malice4you 627]

LCD, LED LCD, local dimming LED LCD, QLED, then OLED from "worst" to best as a general rule.

Do some research if possible, cheap TVs may have a TN panel vs an IPS panel. TN is good for fast motion at the expense of viewing angle, IPS tends to be better image quality but may not be as responsive to lots of motion, if my memory serves me right. I would at least do some research on TN vs IPS if looking at anything below QLED.

Also look into refresh or motion rate. 60hz might be OK for some things and not others.  I have a 60hz tv, i do wish it were higher but it works well enough for everything I do.

OLED may have some longevity issues (some colors fade faster than others) depending on how heavily used they are, though probably not a huge issue.

I see zero reason not to get 4k now, unless there is some specific reason (say 1080P OLED at super discounted price vs 4k LED LCD). Even if you don't have any 4k stuff yet, you might sometime soon.

If you are a 1 device kind of person, see if the TV has smart features you care about, 90% probably do. I prefer different devices for specific things, so big big big deal for me was appropriate number of inputs - my tv has 4 hdmi inputs, and i woulda been even happier if it had 5+.

Whatever TV you get, spend some time setting it up. I can't tell you the number of TVs i have looked at in someones house that looked terrible because the factory settings were just....wrong...  A cheap TV set up right can look much better than you'd think.

[YankeeSC 1,204]

Malice can you recommend some setup guides?

[raz-0 1,259]

These days you have LED backlit LCD, local dimming LED backlit LCD, full array local dimming LED backlit LCD,  and OLED. 

Samsung has QLED technology that is basically a different way of doing LED LCDs and I beleive at this time comes in both full array local dimming and edge lit local dimming. 

While it has some flaws, IMO OLED is top of the heap. If you want something cheaper than that, look at full array local dimming sets.

 

 

[AlDente67 563]

I got a 32" LCD from TCL recently (it fits the cabinet).  It is Roku and all that but I just watch Discovery channel, lol.  It works for 100 bucks.

 

The Visios are cheap now in 65" so they can spy on you sitting there picking your nose.  4K is not yet supported but will be soon.  Picture quality is pretty impressive.  I used to hold Samsung as the gold standard, but I keep hearing otherwise lately.  Visio is supposed to be junk, but for 400 bucks, you cant go wrong unless you are gaming hardcore.

[Malice4you 627]

9 hours ago, tomk62 said:

Malice can you recommend some setup guides?

I don't have anything specific I can recommend.  I have hardware to do color calibration on my computer monitors, and could theoretically do the same for my TV, but I have not.

The basic settings might or might not be OK for you (my TV has about 6 presets i can change PER INPUT (so like 24 total presets I can mess with)).  For me, I went in and tweaked each preset (things like contrast, brightness, color saturation, tint, sharpening, motion compensation, etc).  Even if you don't tweak the settings to your preference, at least I would see what picture modes the TV has and see if you prefer one over the default. 

For example, during season 8 of Game of Thrones, one of the episodes was very dark.  A LOT of people complained about it.  People with a properly set up TV saw things just fine without washing out the darkness.  Yeah nighttime is dark, but you could still see what was going on.  You also might want one setting for a bluray player vs cable TV with different settings, or different settings for a TV you might watch during a bright day vs nighttime viewing where you don't need it to be super bright.

My suggestion is watch something you would typically watch, and pause it here and there (a still image allows you to compare a lot easier than a constantly changing screen), at least a bright scene, a dark scene, and something with a lot of colors.  Go into picture settings and play with the settings, and don't be afraid to go back in again later if you change your mind.  (Maybe write down what you were at before you mess with things).  Find a nice balance between not being too bright, too dark, too saturated, and the other settings the TV may have.  I would go back through the settings multiple times, as each one may affect the other settings more than you'd think.

Once you have things set up how you like, you'll probably never have to mess with em again, so the extra time spent on getting it right makes it worth it.  But again, do write down your finalized settings somewhere (tape to back of TV?) so if you have to do a firmware update or reset to defaults you can get your preferences back.

[EWC88 24]

Good info Malice thanks for that! 
 

Also thank you guys on giving me the run down on rating and all.

[Zeke 5,504]

@Malice4you has a big brain! Good info!

nerd

[1LtCAP 4,262]

I know there's gotta be some of you that watch live pd. which of the above mentioned would display well, even when you've got the reds/blues flashing? the one I've got is old....and sorta pixelates with lights going.....

[Malice4you 627]

5 hours ago, 1LtCAP said:

I know there's gotta be some of you that watch live pd. which of the above mentioned would display well, even when you've got the reds/blues flashing? the one I've got is old....and sorta pixelates with lights going.....

90% chance that is the fast color changes overloading the bandwidth available on the TV channel, and/or the compression method of transmitting the live signal (believe that is a cause of some of the green you see), and/or the compression of the signal from the cable provider.

If you own a blu-ray of a movie and see the same movie on cable TV, you'll be amazed how much of a difference there really can be (and that is on something created under near-perfect conditions, almost the polar opposite of LivePD). You will likely see compression effects (blockiness) most in highly detailed areas, especially with motion, like looking at lots of leaves/grass or at slightly choppy water. The broadcast has a set, finite amount of bandwidth while the bluray tends to have a much higher bitrate. You might also see less color banding in large expanses of sky on the bluray.

So really, don't think it is likely to be your TV as much as the content being displayed. If you have a computer monitor with an hdmi input that you can try, maybe see if it acts exactly the same. I expect it will.

Unless you are trying to convince the wife you need a new TV, in which case, you absolutely need a new TV. And a new gun to go with it.

[AlDente67 563]

Just read an interesting article about the 65" size range.  They said the manufactures are making no money on them (really cheap pricing), but they plan to make the profit on selling any personal info they can gather.  Now I'mnot sure how much value my idle nose-picking while watching Parking Wars might be worth to marketing folks,  but you can get around their collection efforts.  Personally, I just use my Fios wifi to make life simple.  Between that and my Prime membership, I have more than enough things to watch.  I just don't have the desire to hook up a bunch of tech like many folks here.

 

As an update, the TCL (which I never knew existed) is still doing great for a dirt cheap unit.  But that is just a 32" 1080p.  I see the 4k stuff going for around $500 or even less at bestbuy.  32 is too small to show off the differences, but 65 would.

Vizio is one brand I would still shy away from, unless it was free, or meant for the kids room.

 

Still am amused at the 105" unit at PC Richards a few years back, on sale for $15,000 marked down from $45,000 (!!)  Not even sure I could fit that through the doorways in my house, lol.

 

By the way, if you have an Amex card, you can use points on Amazon to offset the cost.  Yeah, I charged around $20,000 over time to pay for the TV, but it isn't as if I went out of my way with that goal in mind.  (I have pretty steep travel expenses for work)

[JackDaWack 2,895]

38 minutes ago, AlDente67 said:

Just read an interesting article about the 65" size range.  They said the manufactures are making no money on them (really cheap pricing), but they plan to make the profit on selling any personal info they can gather.  Now I'mnot sure how much value my idle nose-picking while watching Parking Wars might be worth to marketing folks,  but you can get around their collection efforts.  Personally, I just use my Fios wifi to make life simple.  Between that and my Prime membership, I have more than enough things to watch.  I just don't have the desire to hook up a bunch of tech like many folks here.

 

As an update, the TCL (which I never knew existed) is still doing great for a dirt cheap unit.  But that is just a 32" 1080p.  I see the 4k stuff going for around $500 or even less at bestbuy.  32 is too small to show off the differences, but 65 would.

Vizio is one brand I would still shy away from, unless it was free, or meant for the kids room.

 

Still am amused at the 105" unit at PC Richards a few years back, on sale for $15,000 marked down from $45,000 (!!)  Not even sure I could fit that through the doorways in my house, lol.

 

By the way, if you have an Amex card, you can use points on Amazon to offset the cost.  Yeah, I charged around $20,000 over time to pay for the TV, but it isn't as if I went out of my way with that goal in mind.  (I have pretty steep travel expenses for work)

What personal info would they be collecting to sell?

 

These things are cheap to produce. 

It's plastic, semiconductors and LED technology... nothing real fancy going on here. 

I would think the biggest issue these companies have is trying to be on the cutting edge of tech, and dumping money into R&D to make a marginally better product to compete with other companies. 

[AlDente67 563]

Iwould imagine your viewing habits would be the main data set, but heard if there is a cam built in, they can watch and listen to what you are up to.  Bit of masking tape takes care of the video, but audio is a bit tougher I suppose.  As such, we raely discuss how many kilos of blow are coming in next week,

[JackDaWack 2,895]

43 minutes ago, AlDente67 said:

Iwould imagine your viewing habits would be the main data set, but heard if there is a cam built in, they can watch and listen to what you are up to.  Bit of masking tape takes care of the video, but audio is a bit tougher I suppose.  As such, we raely discuss how many kilos of blow are coming in next week,

or dont connect it to the internet