# Good TV? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 2, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-tv/611496 "2012-02-02T03:01:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-tv/611496/1 "2012-02-02T03:01:20Z")
I’m looking to get a new TV, and unfortunately… I’m cheap. I just plain don’t want to spend a lot, (but damn are those 54" screens nice!) Alright, my current tube is a 24" square analog. Yes, you heard me, old-style CRT. Unfortunately, it’s not really cutting it when I’m playing me some Dark Souls. So I think it’s time to upgrade. I need something with a larger screen, better picture, and sharp enough definition to actually read whatever the hell Namco Bandai saw fit to put in those tiny text boxes. That said, it doesn’t have to be great. So can anyone catch me up with the TV world? What’s good and reliable and what’s not? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-tv/611496/2 "2012-02-02T03:26:12Z")
Here’s some recent threads for ya: > **[Where should I shop for a new TV and what should I buy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=634669)** > > I’m not a Luddite, but I just can’t typically be bothered to upgrade to new tech until the old stuff is no longer usable. Our TVs are both over 10 years old now, and we’d like to replace at least one of them with some of the new, cool toys, and need... > **[Help us come into the 21st century, entertainment-wise](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=628434)** > > So we’re just about convinced that we have room in the budget (between saved-up points, gift cards, cash, and regular Christmas gift budget) to get a wide-screen HD TV. Our current big TV was one I bought in 1991… and it’s 19 inches. Needless to... > **[new tv-buying advice](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=619393)** > > So I’m in the market for a new Tv. I’m going to use it as a monitor as much as a tv, since I do most of my tv watching of the internet now. My budget maxed out at 350 dollars, which includes a 200 dollar gift card I got for Best Buy. What sort of... > **[Convince me: Plasma or LED LCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=611825)** > > My old TV died a few months ago, it was an “early adoption” 42 inch Standard Def Sony Plasma. I couldn’t afford to replace it straight away, but now I have a new job and can look into getting a new big-ass TV. I’ve never been an advocate of HD. I... > **[Buying a new TV, what is the BEST one to get?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=610814)** > > So I FINALLY got that $6000 first prize from the Oscar Pool at work that I got a perfect score on last February! I was already planning on buying a new TV this month (I’ve been running my shows/blu-ray off a 24" on my desk for the last two years) but... > **[Teach me what to look for in a new TV](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=609388)** > > Up to this point I’ve been using my 22" computer monitor as my viewing screen for DVDs, video games, etc. However, it’s time to finally buy a TV. The last time I owned a TV it was a Zenith from around 1994, so I’m out of the loop on what is and... ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-tv/611496/3 "2012-02-02T03:40:32Z")
Well, that’ll teach me not to use the search function. ---
**Author:** ![SnowCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@SnowCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnowCat)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-tv/611496/4 "2012-02-02T14:40:04Z")
At least you are upgrading on your own…we were holdouts but got the dreaded ‘single line across the screen’ when we turned our old one on one day about a year ago. I did a lot of looking and I settled on the Samsung un37c5000 LCD/LED (the 37 is the inches, they make others in that model that are bigger/smaller). Again, it has a 37" screen which was the very max we could go and still fit width-wise in our tv armoire. It has been a great tv and we combined it with a Panasonic Blu-Ray player to get Netflix, but Samsung has since put out tvs that already have Netflix loaded (almost immediately after we bought ours) 😃 but it is a great tv and a value for what you get! ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-tv/611496/5 "2012-02-02T16:44:48Z")
At our local Walmart last week, we saw a 55" LED TV for $848 and a 60" Plasma TV for $898. Huge and cheap. And has been mentioned in many threads, no matter what size you pick, nobody has ever said, “Gee, I wish I had a bought a smaller TV.” Plus, for the prices mentioned above, if you get 10 years out of it you are getting it for practically nothin’. We have had our tiny 42" plasma for about 8 - 9 years now with nary a problem and it was a non-name-brand (Ilo) Walmart special. Granted, back in those days it was pricy - about $1,700 - and now you can get something like ours for about $400 - 500 tops.