# Is this television FUBAR? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 4, 2024, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-television-fubar/1006785 "2024-09-04T22:07:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-television-fubar/1006785/41 "2024-09-06T12:09:35Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > > [@pkbites](#): > > > > Meh. At our old house we had a Toshiba 13" TV/VCR combo that was also left on 24/7. It lasted 16 years. > > My God! 😳 > > Would you be so kind as to lay your hands upon my TV and bless it? LOL The VCR went out at 12 years. It continued to record video but would not record sound. The TV iself completely died and wouldn’t even power up at 16. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-television-fubar/1006785/42 "2024-09-06T12:14:24Z")
I suspect the OP won’t want a TCL TV since he already stated he doesn’t like it has the Roku remote… But for other passers by, I think TCL is a good “TV in the basement” option. They are relatively inexpensive. They sell various versions of the Roku remotes, including one that is RF, so you can use it even if it’s under the covers on a cold night. My one nitpick is that they put dumb sponsored buttons on the remote that, if you breathe near them, will instantly launch Disney or Hulu or something else you didn’t want to launch. It turns out that those buttons are fairly easy to disable permanently–I posted a video on that some time back–it’s all about opening the controller and putting some paper between the circuit board and the buttons. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-television-fubar/1006785/43 "2024-09-06T12:15:46Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > The VCR went out at 12 years Just 12 years? Slacker! 🤣 So, my Roku went out in 6, but that was during the intense electromagnetic activity that was producing the visible northern lights in Chicago. Could have been a coincidence but, when I got my new TV, I got UPS also. The battery actually provides the power to the TV, so the electricity coming in is separated from the power the TV is receiving. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-television-fubar/1006785/44 "2024-09-06T12:42:01Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > I suspect the OP won’t want a TCL TV since he already stated he doesn’t like it has the Roku remote… I don’t mind the ROKU remote when I’m actually using ROKU for Pandora and such. What I don’t like about it is the lack of numbers so I can’t just tap in what channel I want to instantly go to. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-television-fubar/1006785/45 "2024-09-06T13:30:57Z")
Yep … (looking at my remote) … that would be a problem! I’m more of a “watch YouTube videos” kind of guy, so I have never noticed it, but if I used it to switch channels this would be annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-television-fubar/1006785/46 "2024-09-06T15:39:10Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I want a cheap set and don’t need many features but I don’t want it to suck. If you won’t actually use the replacement TV very much, maybe you could go smaller. I saw a 40” Roku at Walmart for about $130. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-television-fubar/1006785/47 "2024-09-06T16:05:20Z")
Most television UIs nowadays are not optimized for over-the-air anyway. 99% of the content universe is not behind a channel number any more. Which sucks if 99% of _your_ preferred content is. How does direct tuning work with OTA subchannels? Would I be able to direct dial channel 5.3? Because with digital TV channels aren’t integers any more. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-television-fubar/1006785/48 "2024-09-06T20:15:49Z")
> [@Steven\_Maven](#): > > > [@pkbites](#): > > > > I want a cheap set and don’t need many features but I don’t want it to suck. > > If you won’t actually use the replacement TV very much, maybe you could go smaller. I saw a 40” Roku at Walmart for about $130. Nah. That wouldn’t look right on the fireplace TV stand. Needs to be at least 55" but no more than 65". I found a 65 inch set for $248 but it’s a Hisense and I’ve already heard some bad things about them. Not really super concerned on price though I don’t want to spend a fortune on something that won’t get used as much as the others. Fate always punishes me when I become a cheapskate. I can afford any set I want. > [@gnoitall](#): > > Most television UIs nowadays are not optimized for over-the-air anyway. > > 99% of the content universe is not behind a channel number any more. Which sucks if 99% of _your_ preferred content is. > > How does direct tuning work with OTA subchannels? Would I be able to direct dial channel 5.3? Because with digital TV channels aren’t integers any more. That’s a point. We do use OTA channels sometimes. There are over 80 of them here, most not available on cable. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-television-fubar/1006785/49 "2024-09-06T22:40:05Z")
I don’t know what you’ve heard about Hisense, but FWIW, they are the second-largest TV manufacturer in the world. Of course that doesn’t necessarily correlate to product quality, but they’re not some minor brand despite not being as well-known in the US as some others. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-television-fubar/1006785/50 "2024-09-07T02:15:00Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Fate always punishes me when I become a cheapskate. I can afford any set I want The expression - “ I’m not rich enough to buy cheap things” comes to mind. In this case very cheap products cost more over the long term than better ones. For TVs, cheap ones skimp everywhere. The phrase “value engineering” takes hold on every component. Product runs may number in the millions. Save ten cents in the product cost and an engineer has paid for his entire year’s salary. Cheap remotes with no buttons - no brainer. Cheapest processor handling the control functions, same deal. Slow and painful HDMI and HDCP protocol negotiation, who cares? And so it goes. If the use case is to make it look as if someone is home that is fine. The moment there is a possibility it gets used by humans I would be buying based upon a set of requirements that included me not wanting to throw the thing through the window in frustration. Picture quality would start to matter too. That drives the display technology as well. A TV for daytime sports needs to be bright, and motion handling needs to be good. Nighttime and movies and you may relax this and prefer something that prioritises absolute picture quality with dynamic backlight handling and lots of backlight regions. If it is on all the time you don’t want OLED. And given that puts you well into the top end of prices, not on the radar anyway. Tl;dr Don’t let fate punish you. Spend up a notch. The long term you will thank short term you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-television-fubar/1006785.md?page=2)