HDTVs

How cheap they are really should answer your question. For twice the money you can get a TV that is 4 times as good*, if that matters. *keeping in mind it's all relative. I paid out the ass for my Samsung 'Smart TV' because I wanted the picture quality, and a lot of people think better is more smart features. Basic quality, though, there are some pretty solid sub 1k options.

My advice on cheap TVs like that is to get the extended replacement warranty, which I usually advise against if it's a good brand. May as well get a good replacement plan, preferably that pays out check or gift card, since you're basically just renting the thing and may as well get some compensation back when it breaks. Costco has pretty good square trade deals. Some store-specific plans will pay out gift cards which is nice.

Been Tv shopping for a few days now, and I'll have to admit, the 4k curve TVs look better the larger they are. I'm debating over buying this, UN65HU7200, from Samsung or a Sony 65" equivalent but un-curved. Any suggestions?

TVs is a very personal choice.

I personally wouldn't buy a curved tv unless I was sitting dead-center in the sweet spot for 90% of viewing, and even then it feels like paying for a gimmick.

I also decided I'd get a F8500 plasma before they were not more, and love it, but a lot of people don't notice the picture quality or don't care. If not for that, or if it craps out, I realized I would get an oled or consider not getting a new tv at all.

Also, stay away from Best Buy. Holy crap what a nightmare. The bonus 10% back wasn't worth it, hah. At one point they missed a delivery date, then wouldn't let me cancel an order, so it had to be delivered with a second TV that wasn't open box, so both scheduled for delivery the same day and neither show.

I considered a 64inch, but realized sitting a bit closer to a 60inch for the same perspective was the better option both from space and comfort. Again, very personal, though.

Oh, edit to add, don't trust any TV picture in the store unless it's all dark Magnolia setup. Learn to trust reviews, because if you ever say 'my my this one looks nice' on the showroom floor you're doing it wrong unless you live in a warehouse and plan to watch tv with fluorescent lights on full blast.

It's all about the Panasonic VT plasma. I'm so happy I bought it before they bailed! Seriously. Best tv ever

Convo_sl said:

It's all about the Panasonic VT plasma. I'm so happy I bought it before they bailed! Seriously. Best tv ever

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Yeah, I was pretty close, but couldn't pull the trigger (and for good reasons, at the time, so try not to regret it). My Samsung 60inch F8500 is pretty nice, though, and I'm very happy with it. Buzzes like a swarm of wasps, though, but I'd never sit straight on anyhow with my setup. And I only spent 1500 and got a free (actually rather nice) $180 moutable TV stand because Best Buy is satan (and got $75 back in rewards that I bought gift cards with).

Plasma is no more, though, so now what would you recommend? Like I said, I couldn't imagine buying anything but oled at this point, as even high end led/lcds at friends/family's houses look like shit to me anymore. Not a lot of options, but 2k for one of the LG oled isn't too bad.

It's been a while since I've looked. I agree with not getting caught up with what's on the wall. I still think cnet has some of the best reviews you can find. I'd start there. Actually, I'm going to go look up some of the oled's. LG is slowly becoming one of my favorite brands for all appliances, not just tvs.

Intrinsic_sl said:

There was once a fix for the Sammy buzz. Back when I got my C8000 Plasma that was all the convo and someone on AVS posted a way to fix it that didn't include going through warranty. But that was years ago and a completely different generation of TV.

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The F8500's are great TVs, but have such a thin front glass that you get a directional buzz like a laser reverberating off the back plate and/or walls out the front. Lot of fixes for really bad ones. Mine isn't so bad, and none of the mechanical fixes did anything, decent calibration helps and it has mellowed with time, but will always be there. All tech has drawbacks, and it's a manageable one, so I'll take it as I wasn't quiet ready to afford oled, but that seems to be the future.

Honestly, I'd consider Sony and LG(rather than Samsung). I have not been impressed with Samsungs quality in recent years. It seems to be going downhill, fast.

I'd snag something like this:
Amazon.com: LG Electronics 55UF7600 55-inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV (2015 Model): Televisions Video

I have a 50" LG Plasma and a 55" LG LED, and both are phenomenal. Everyone that comes over to my home to watch football or whatever always comment at how incredible and vibrant they look. (It also helps if you calibrate your TVs correctly, via settings found on somewhere like AVforums.com)

My first question would be if you've been trying to get rid of it and are glad someone wants to buy it, why are you wanting a new tv? Need more inputs? Don't like the picture quality? Answering why you want to move on from your old tv will do a lot more to address getting a new tv than simply saying you have money and asking for recommendations.

I need recommendations for a 55"+ 1080p HDTV that's great for consoles (PS4) and good enough for streamed movies/TV shows. I don't care about 4K, and it seems like 60hz is actually preferable for game consoles? I'm hoping I can pick something up this Black Friday for ~$500 or so, although willing to spend more for quality.

my preference is samsung, then lg, then vizio. costco or best buy. there will be a ton of good deals around black friday for sure. they are all basically the same honestly, there are only like 4 LED/LCD panel manufacturers in the world so all you are buying is the app software and stuff. and yeah, 4k, 120/240hz, etc are all worthless as far as gaming and TV/movie streaming is concerned, its all 1080p 60hz input source right now that is upscaled and interpolated to match higher specs. when you turn on game mode (for consoles) it turns off everything but 1080p and 60hz so all the extra stuff is irrelevant.

samsung apps are nice, it plays usb MKV/etc files no problem and DNLA built in will stream any media servers you have around the house. has a samsung ios/android app too so you can control it with your phone if you want, although remote works just fine for me

go to slickdeals.net and the hot deals forum and set up keywords that email you so you get notified of a goood deal. every 2-3 years I just buy the latest model samsung model at costco, price variation honestly is just going to be around $100-200 between best deal and every day price so i don't sweat it too much. i'll probably buy a 75" LED this jan for around $1500, although I bought my last 60" for $900 two years ago.

So was thinking about getting a small TV for the bedroom but it would be about 10.5' away from the headboard. Looks like I really need a bit larger though at least a 42" for that distance?

If you believe the calculators floating around the internet, you'll need something between 60 and 90 inches. Realistically, what size can you sell your wife/girlfriend/headmate on?

It also sounds dumb, but different people have different preferences. Where do you like to sit in a movie theater? I like to sit 3/4 back, and found myself at about that range of most distance calculates on TV size. Some people like to sit closer, and may be more comfortable being 'engrossed' by a huge screen and tend to sit closer than conventional wisdom or the charts would indicate is preferable.

I'm comfortable at about 9 feet from my 60 inch in my living room (closer for video games and sports, sometimes I tend to want to be a bit further back for movies/tv). Wouldn't personally want a 60 inch in the bedroom, though, as that's where the TV may be on, but not where I'm every really watching TV, and that would be a huge, obnoxious distraction to the room, if that makes sense.

In summary, buy the cheapest brand name TV w/ warranty in the size range one wants as they're all pretty damn similar at this point unless you're looking for alternate tech like finding an old used plasma or going for OLED where there are still decisions to be made. Put it however far away as you're personally comfortable with. And always turn the fucking brightness down and tweak some settings from default/manufacturer or assholes like me will come over and start doing it for you when invited to watch the superbowl, because being forced to go to a party is the only time I intend to watch something on most other people's ugly, bright, poorly calibrated TVs.

So,

sitting 20' away from the screen, I'm pretty much fucked?

Ronaan_sl said:

So,

sitting 20' away from the screen, I'm pretty much fucked?

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If you've got 20 feet go with a projector! There are some good advice/guides out there and aside from a little extra noise from the fan and heat that is causing the fan, etc, projector setups can be awesome.