We are a very budget-conscious family. Not cheap-skates, but people who have zero debt outside our mortgage, have managed to adopt to kids from Korea, and live within our means. Anyway, we still have a perfectly working 12-year old Sony Trinitron square TV, which we love.
However, I am looking to get an HD wide-screen TV just like many folks have already done in the past 10 years. We’re basically joining the last decade.
Here are the following hopes:
$400-$700 - tell us if this is crazy or not.
We sit approximately 10 ft. from our tv, so please recommend a size
1080p, though I’m not sure if 720p is something still offered for less. If so and the difference at our distance is negligible, I’m up for a bigger screen with slightly lower resolution.
We don’t need a smart TV, though it looks like most are. We use Roku for streaming Netflix, Youtube, and various other streaming sites(Blip, etc.).
Our main usage for this TV will be: Watching downloaded Xvid/Divx, Mpeg, Mkv, Flv and other video format files on the TV. We stream them using Mymedia on the Roku. We also stream Netflix and other video services, which should with no prob.
So, what do you guys recommend that is a TV that is a reasonable deal?
$400 to $700 is actually a huge budget. You could get a 1080p 50" monster if you wanted to. You could even get a 4K TV at that price, though 4K content is very rare right now.
You can basically choose from all but the highest-end televisions. (meaning like laser, OLED, or other fancy technology). Go down to your local Costco (or somewhere else with good prices and a good return policy) and find a TV that looks good to you. Or just look through Amazon.com or Newegg for models with good reviews.
Don’t go by the TV that “looks good to you”. Rely on professionals who use measuring instruments to determine what TVs are actually good. The trouble with “looks good to you” as a metric is that the TV that looks the best in stores is usually just set brighter. This does not in any way equate to accurate reproduction of content.
Why do you want accurate reproduction? Because the people who made the content you watch use special calibrated TVs, and they work to make their content look the best on those. The closer your TV is to the ones they used to make the content, the better things will look on average.
Personally I trust these guys, but there are a lot of review sites out there. Look for the ones that use colorimeters and high speed cameras and other scientifically valid tools.
Right now, I recommend the RCA 50" for $499 on there. I’ve heard RCA is a bit of a “sleeper” brand in that the quality of their LCD TVs exceeds their current reputation.
$400-700 is more than enough, as stated above.
Were I you, I’d spend ~$4-500 on a 47"+ Tv and another $100-150 on a good quality sound bar - the TV picture on all but the worst TVs is pretty good, but the speakers range from mediocre to awful on just about all HDTVs (mainly just because of size)
Bigger is better. I’ve heard people worry about buying something too big, but after they actually purchase something I’ve only ever heard people say “I’m glad I bought the big one,” or “I wish I’d gone bigger.”
Of course, you want a quality TV with good reviews, but you won’t regret going with the largest such set you can afford.
And I second the advice of getting a good sound bar + subwoofer system.
I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but I’ve got 6 HD sets. The most recent is a 50" Toshiba that I picked up right before Superbowl weekend for $499. If you aren’t in a rush, wait for a big sale. I also have a 50" Sony in the basement that we use more for movies and I’d say the pictures are close… slight edge to the Sony, but the price difference was big (although it was also a few years apart).
Sound bars are nice, but I’ve found sets with satisfactory sound out of the box. Also, as long as you have WiFi and a laptop, don’t worry about a smart TV… spend $35 and get a Chromecast.
Check for the number of inputs you need/want. If the deal is good enough though remember you can always get an A/B switch to turn one HDMI input into two. (exactly what I did on the latest).
I have quite a few TVs also, and have had several others in the recent past. I personally would classify Vizio as a decent “value oriented” brand. I wouldn’t tell people to avoid it, but it’s not generally at the same quality level as the top brands such as Samsung and Sony (I say “generally” because it does vary by model even for the top brands). If Samsung and Sony are “A” quality, I’d give Vizio “B.” In other words, Vizio should be good enough for most people, but I think it’s good to be informed about what you’re buying.
When you order, the gift card is automatically added to your shopping cart. It is sent separately later. Still, Samsung is an excellent brand and to get one for $650 is good, and a gift card for $250 makes it a steal.
Hz matters very little - don’t pay extra for it. In the real world, the only undisputed advantage (other than 3d, which is basically a gimmick), is the ability to play 24FPS Blu-ray movies without “3:2 pulldown” - on a 120HZ TV every movie frame shows up exactly 5 times, while on a 60hz TV it shows some frames 3 times and some frames 2 times. Makes a very very minor difference IMO.
Primarily picture quality. Contrast ratio, color accuracy, lighting uniformity, adjustability, etc. I haven’t seen any evidence of premature failure. In my admittedly relatively small sample size (though I’m willing to bet it’s bigger than most people here), the picture quality of the average Vizio set is not as good as the picture quality of the average Samsung set.
Before we get too far into the debates between the videophiles please remember that the OP is upgrading from a 12 year old square CRT which they love. Any step up to a modern wide screen HD will be a huge step up.
You can get a good set for the bottom of your budget, and probably an amazing one at the top (I don’t think you can go 4k in your range though). Get a good quality brand, the size that works for your room (I would say you are right thinking in the 50-53" range) at a price you can live with and you will be fine.