I am in the process of buying a condo, and my 21 inch tube TV from 2001 won’t fit in the space I have. I bought it in grad school to use until it died, but the idea of abig piece of furniture to hold it up in my small living room isn’t appealing - especially when the cost of the piece of furniture looks like it would be more than a new TV.
As you can tell, I’m not up to date on anything TV related. I don’t want to pay for cutting edge, but also don’t want to have obsolete connections in two years. Can you help?
Considerations:
I have a nice WiFi/Bluetooth speaker and it would be nice if the TV can talk to it.
I use Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Cable comes with my internet, so I will actually have channels.
Alexa has moved into my house, and I would like to be able to control the TV through her if I can.
I will want to be able to watch DVDs at least for the next few years (my DVD player is also from 2001 or thereabouts).
I will have to wall mount on an arm that folds away.
Do I need HDMI connections? If so, are two enough? Would all ‘smart’ TVs be able to connect to my fancy speaker? What is a decent resolution on TVs these days? Does brand really matter anymore? Any good review sites for people like me who just don’t care that much?
‘Smart TVs’ can stream from both. Typically not as well as Roku/AppleTV/FireTV boxes connected via HDMI
Cable boxes are required these days, usually connected via HDMI.
Depends on TV - or FireTV box. Also can be done with some Harmony remotes in a limited manner.
New DVD players use HDMI. Check TV inputs to see if it works with older player.
If you count HDMI above, you might need 3.
1080p is standard HDTV - 4K is newest, but not absolutely necessary. Some 4K streaming shows are available but 4k is not broadcast at all, is hard for cable systems and is just starting to appear on disc.
I dislike ‘Smart TVs’ and Disc players. Built-in software never seems as good or gets updated like a dedicated box. Cheapest TV brands may not have repair or parts available and end up being disposable.
1. I have a nice WiFi/Bluetooth speaker and it would be nice if the TV can talk to it.
You can buy a Bluetooth transmitter that you connect to the TV and it sends audio to your speaker.
2. I use Netflix and Amazon Prime.
A Smart TV will have these built in, or you can get a device that will get these onto your TV (Chromecast, Apple TV, Amazon Fire stick, Roku, etc.).
4. Alexa has moved into my house, and I would like to be able to control the TV through her if I can.
In this case you will want to go with the Amazon Fire TV or stick.
5. I will want to be able to watch DVDs at least for the next few years (my DVD player is also from 2001 or thereabouts).
All you need is an HDMI cable (or RCAs, depending on the age of your DVD player).
Aside from the extra hardware you may need to get all that stuff connected together, pretty much any new TV you can buy today is going to have all you need to do all of this stuff. Just make sure it has at least 3 HDMI and USB inputs and you should be fine.
Additionally, most have standard mounting points so getting it on the wall mount should not be an issue. Visio makes some good bang for the buck tvs and I’ve helped my Dad and my in-laws who both ended up buying the same tv, a 55 inch Sony from Costco for about $1000 CAD.
Until just a few years ago, my parents’ main set was a 35" Sony tabletop CRT television that weighed about 300 lb. When they finally bought a new HDTV, I insisted they get it from Best Buy, because at the time at least, the delivery included pickup and disposal of the old set. Looking at the website, they’ll haul away the old set for fifteen bucks, if you opt for their delivery service. The OP’s old set is smaller at 21" so it’s less of a boat anchor than the one my parents had.
And as far as HDMI connections, I think most sets have four of them. And more is better.
Another tip that is probably obvious but bears mentioning: don’t just read specs and reviews and have a TV delivered, go to an actual store and actually look at the models that interest you. And absolutely talk to the salespeople; they will know exactly which models have what you need, and at a store like Best Buy they don’t earn commissions so they have no real reason to lead you down the wrong path just to make a bigger sale.
It’s a new TV, so obviously bigger is better, but to truly get a sense of how big you need the tv to be, you need to know how far away your couch is from it.
If you’re going to only sit 3 feet from the TV you definitely don’t need a 60’ monster, but if you’re sitting 20 feet from it, it’ll make a huge difference