New TV Recommendations

TitanClone

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I have a cheap 60" Insignia with Fire TV built in, it's great other than Fire being a bit laggy. From other friends with Google TV built in that interface seems a lot more responsive
 

CYdTracked

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Mar 23, 2006
18,047
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Grimes, IA
Unsolicited advice: Fix the softener when you get a new heater. Hard water is the biggest cause of water heaters failing early. It’ll seem cheap compared to the water heater.

Yeah, I just put i in bypass mode and i may tinker with it some more as at this point I can't really break it any more than it already is. there is water above the salt in the tank and tried to force a recharge cycle and it did not drain. I run a cleaner through the brine well about every 3 months and already have a whole house filter that the water goes through before it enters. It's at least 10 years old, should last longer than that but who knows. I'll probably just replace it in a month or 2 after I cover the bills from this week that piled up. Looks like new ones start at $400 and up so probably buy one and hire someone to install it. The tankless heater I just replaced I figured it was coming at some point. The previous owners of this house did a horrible job with routine maintenance on anything. We replaced the furnace as soon as we moved in 11 year ago as our HVAC company inspected it before we purchased it and found issues so we got an adjustment for that. I mean the filter was caked when we inspected it and its was in the inspection report with a photo, when we moved in a month later it was still the same gross filter. Then we had to replace the AC about 5 years later likely because they neglected it too. The water heater has acted up a few times in the past but I replaced a $50 sensor 1 time and the other time the noise it was making just went away. The 1st time I ran a descale flush on it the water came out filthy, so you know they never did that. I flush it once a year and it doesn't come out very cloudy at all because that is what it is supposed to look like if you do it once a year.

So year just an example of how you can get much better life out of your HVAC and plumbing by just doing routine maintenance to it yearly. I guess the silver lining is despite the big price tag to replace this one I hopefully can get 20+ years out of it. I'll never do tank water heaters again, with the harder water in the DM metro area you are lucky if you get 10 years from a tank but if you maintain a tankless not only are you saving on energy efficiency but it will have a much longer lifespan too so you kinda pay for the prolonged savings and longevity upfront I guess.
 

Cloned4Life

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Mar 5, 2006
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It's always difficult to recommend a TV to someone because it depends on a lot of things like:

1) Is there a lot of natural sunlight in the viewing room?
2) What kind of viewing angles in the room?
3) How far away are you watching the TV?
4) What does the budget look like?
5) How sensitive are you to picture quality?

I am a TV junkie and follow this stuff every year (and end up buying a new TV every year) and am a bit of a picture snob.

Here is what I currently own:
1) 65 inch Hisense U8N (2024 model mini-LED QLED)
2) 55 inch LG C2 OLED (2022 model)
3) 48 inch LB B3 OLED (2023 model)
4) 50 inch Samsung Frame TV (2024 model)
5) 43 inch LG Nanocell (2021 model)


Let's start with the basics.

Most panels are LED based panels and are marketed as 4K UHD (ultra high definition). Cheaper TVs are either edge-lit or back lit with no dimming zones (more on that later) and have a limited color gamut (think the 178 dollar Hisense referenced in this thread from Walmart). A QLED TV is a tv that has a quantum dot filter on top of the LED panel. This widens the color gamut tremendously and things just pop more in ultra high definition. There are two kinds of ultra high definition: HDR 10/10+ (mostly used by Samsung) and Dolby Vision (they use color/light encoding to generate a high definition resolution (HDR) image standard). All 4K content must be in either HDR 10+ or Dolby Vision. Finally, most live TV broadcasts are in 1080p are are 60 hz.


Let's move on to more advanced:
There are a ton of things to consider when your image palette is a little more sharp. QLED is a must for me. I also enjoy high contrast image processing and TVs with dimming zones. A dimming zone is a section of the TV that can turn off/on depending on the image (darks are more darks). Sony/LG are the best at this technology while Samsung is middle of the road in their QLEDs (their OLEDS are quite good but pricey). If you are interested in a QLED, then Hisense and TCL are the BEST bang for your buck. The Hisense U8N is an absolute beast while the TCL QM 8 is neck and neck with it. Honestly, the Hisense U7N and TCL QM 7 are waaaaaaay better than anything any other manufacturer makes at their price range. A Samsung Q80 can cost $1300 for a 65 inch while a U7N or QM 7 will cost half that and are actually better.

Brightness:
It's important to realize that QLEDs and OLEDs have differing benefits. QLEDs are fantastic for well lit rooms as they get much brighter than OLEDs and burn in isn't a thing. The cost is less contrast and blooming in image quality. Mini-LED TVs are a solid balance between QLED and OLED (but can get pricier). Nothing will beat an OLED when it comes to contrast and images "popping". This is because each pixel turns on/off. Black is literal black. The drawback is brightness. ALL OLED displays are manufactured by LG. All LG displays come with a heat plate that was introduced back in 2020. Burn in is much much much much rarer these days. It's still a thing, but not that big of a thing. OLEDs also have the best viewing angles while QLEDs often struggle with off-angle viewing.

Motion:
I am super sensitive to motion and cannot stand soap opera effect. Sony and LG have the best image processing out there while Samsung/TCL/Hisense are #2. Sony/LG are also the best at upconverting 1080p content to HDR while Samsung/TCL/Hisense are #2.

If you want to spend more on a higher quality TV:
Image quality is everything and don't overpay with Samsung. LG and Sony are where your dollars should go because of image processing and quality control in panel manufacturing. Look up dirty screen effect and you will see LG and Sony the absolute kings of high quality manufacturing. Samsung has really struggled in this area and their premium TVs are actually poorly made with tons of quality issues. You shouldn't have to play the panel lottery when you pay a premium amount (that is why you should go with Sony/LG). Go OLED. Nothing pops like OLED tvs. They get decently bright and perform so so so well in a dark room. You will feel like you are in a movie theater and it's incredible.

If you still want quality but on a budget:
Hisense and TCL are crushing it in the budget space. Your dollar cannot be beat with these brands. You can get all the bells and whistles with the U8N/QM 8 or U7N/QM 7 without breaking the bank. A 6 series TCL is also a solid tv along with the QD6 from Hisense. A decent budget Samsung is the DU7200 (and the A series Hisense).

Stay away from Vizio. Walmart just bought them so avoid that trainwreck.

Finally: don't worry about the user interface on the TV. Spend the money on an 4K apple tv or Roku Ultra. Avoid any other streaming device (I have had 4 amazon Firesticks brick out on me the past year alone).


Hopefully this helps.
Fantastic post! Agree with everything here.

We have a house full of budget friendly Hisense TV’s and they’ve been great.
 

spierceisu

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Jan 28, 2007
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I am looking at getting a 55" TV to replace a 50" Samsung that died a few weeks ago. I know they go on sale around the Super Bowl. How soon before should I expect them to go on sale? I don't need a high end one and looking to be in the more budget kind like Hisense or TCL. May go to an LG if the price is right. I have a small spare 40" TCL Roku TV in it's place but it is quite small for the space so thinking of going to 55". I have a nice 65" TV in my basement so not needing a high performance one like an OLED or something,
 

Clonehomer

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Apr 11, 2006
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I am looking at getting a 55" TV to replace a 50" Samsung that died a few weeks ago. I know they go on sale around the Super Bowl. How soon before should I expect them to go on sale? I don't need a high end one and looking to be in the more budget kind like Hisense or TCL. May go to an LG if the price is right. I have a small spare 40" TCL Roku TV in it's place but it is quite small for the space so thinking of going to 55". I have a nice 65" TV in my basement so not needing a high performance one like an OLED or something,

I wouldn’t expect the budget ones to come down much. A budget 55” Samsung is $360 (or $280 for the lowest model). You may see that come down $40 or so, but not enough to really make a huge difference.

The higher end ones will have the sales that make a real savings.
 

Gonzo

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Mar 10, 2009
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Behind you
I am looking at getting a 55" TV to replace a 50" Samsung that died a few weeks ago. I know they go on sale around the Super Bowl. How soon before should I expect them to go on sale? I don't need a high end one and looking to be in the more budget kind like Hisense or TCL. May go to an LG if the price is right. I have a small spare 40" TCL Roku TV in it's place but it is quite small for the space so thinking of going to 55". I have a nice 65" TV in my basement so not needing a high performance one like an OLED or something,
Are you going to be watching sports on this new one, or is that mainly on the 65"? Target has a pretty solid 55" Vizio for a little over $300, but it's 60hz refresh rate so not the best for watching sports.

 

Clonehomer

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Apr 11, 2006
25,254
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Are you going to be watching sports on this new one, or is that mainly on the 65"? Target has a pretty solid 55" Vizio for a little over $300, but it's 60hz refresh rate so not the best for watching sports.


I have one 55” 60 hz and one 65” 120 hz. I really can’t tell a huge difference even with watching the 4K stream. Only difference I can tell is some movies on VUDU. But maybe people with younger eyes can tell.
 
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urb1

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Jan 23, 2010
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Urbandale
I am looking at getting a 55" TV to replace a 50" Samsung that died a few weeks ago. I know they go on sale around the Super Bowl. How soon before should I expect them to go on sale? I don't need a high end one and looking to be in the more budget kind like Hisense or TCL. May go to an LG if the price is right. I have a small spare 40" TCL Roku TV in it's place but it is quite small for the space so thinking of going to 55". I have a nice 65" TV in my basement so not needing a high performance one like an OLED or something,
I picked up this 65" TV for $300 and love it.
 
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1UNI2ISU

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Jan 30, 2013
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Waterloo
Related but not related.

BIL ended up with an extra SuperBox. He's used one for years with no issues.

Thoughts?
 

1SEIACLONE

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Jun 2, 2024
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TVs are like anything else, the more you pay the better the picture. Look for something that refreshes at 120 Hz. if you watch sports, the 60 refresh rate will give you a choppy picture. Screen size is less important than the processor n a TV. But it costs more to get a better picture, I love the LG and Sony OLED TV, but Samsung has really come on the past year or two.
 

Gonzo

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Mar 10, 2009
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Behind you
TVs are like anything else, the more you pay the better the picture. Look for something that refreshes at 120 Hz. if you watch sports, the 60 refresh rate will give you a choppy picture. Screen size is less important than the processor n a TV. But it costs more to get a better picture, I love the LG and Sony OLED TV, but Samsung has really come on the past year or two.
I'm pretty sure that the bigger you go with screen size the bigger the difference between 120hz and 60hz matters.
 
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1SEIACLONE

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Jun 2, 2024
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I'm pretty sure that the bigger you go with screen size the bigger the difference between 120hz and 60hz matters.
People think that bigger is better, but when you get above 55 inches in screen size, the HZ is more important for a quality picture.
 

CYdTracked

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Mar 23, 2006
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I have one 55” 60 hz and one 65” 120 hz. I really can’t tell a huge difference even with watching the 4K stream. Only difference I can tell is some movies on VUDU. But maybe people with younger eyes can tell.

Walmart bought Vizio so not sure what that says about their quality going forward.

Anyone have opinions on Hisense and TCL brands? I am not familiar with them but a coworker who I feel knows his stuff on electronics says they have some pretty good models at reasonable prices. He's not sold on OLED yet but thinks there is a lot of quality in mini LED and QLED TV models right now. I have a ceiling fan with lights not far from the TV so we get a bit of a glare in the room. I'm not looking at going over 55" for a TV as the space it is going in doesn't have a place to mount to a wall so I am limited with the height on a stand. It sits up on a mantle that has a hollow area behind it because the house was built in 2003 when flat screens weren't common. I'd have to have someone fill in that space and even then a larger TV would stick out over the mantle.
 

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1SEIACLONE

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Jun 2, 2024
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Walmart bought Vizio so not sure what that says about their quality going forward.

Anyone have opinions on Hisense and TCL brands? I am not familiar with them but a coworker who I feel knows his stuff on electronics says they have some pretty good models at reasonable prices. He's not sold on OLED yet but thinks there is a lot of quality in mini LED and QLED TV models right now. I have a ceiling fan with lights not far from the TV so we get a bit of a glare in the room. I'm not looking at going over 55" for a TV as the space it is going in doesn't have a place to mount to a wall so I am limited with the height on a stand. It sits up on a mantle that has a hollow area behind it because the house was built in 2003 when flat screens weren't common. I'd have to have someone fill in that space and even then a larger TV would stick out over the mantle.
OLED's will provide you with the best picture since the days of plasma, at half the price. There is nothing wrong with TCL or Hisense brands, but unless you get one with 120 hz refresh rate, you will see a jagged image on sports like hockey or tennis when watching the puck or ball. OLED's are also very good with glare from an outside source like the sun or a light.
 

IST8CIVILENGR

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Jan 17, 2011
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It's always difficult to recommend a TV to someone because it depends on a lot of things like:

1) Is there a lot of natural sunlight in the viewing room?
2) What kind of viewing angles in the room?
3) How far away are you watching the TV?
4) What does the budget look like?
5) How sensitive are you to picture quality?

I am a TV junkie and follow this stuff every year (and end up buying a new TV every year) and am a bit of a picture snob.

Here is what I currently own:
1) 65 inch Hisense U8N (2024 model mini-LED QLED)
2) 55 inch LG C2 OLED (2022 model)
3) 48 inch LB B3 OLED (2023 model)
4) 50 inch Samsung Frame TV (2024 model)
5) 43 inch LG Nanocell (2021 model)


Let's start with the basics.

Most panels are LED based panels and are marketed as 4K UHD (ultra high definition). Cheaper TVs are either edge-lit or back lit with no dimming zones (more on that later) and have a limited color gamut (think the 178 dollar Hisense referenced in this thread from Walmart). A QLED TV is a tv that has a quantum dot filter on top of the LED panel. This widens the color gamut tremendously and things just pop more in ultra high definition. There are two kinds of ultra high definition: HDR 10/10+ (mostly used by Samsung) and Dolby Vision (they use color/light encoding to generate a high definition resolution (HDR) image standard). All 4K content must be in either HDR 10+ or Dolby Vision. Finally, most live TV broadcasts are in 1080p are are 60 hz.


Let's move on to more advanced:
There are a ton of things to consider when your image palette is a little more sharp. QLED is a must for me. I also enjoy high contrast image processing and TVs with dimming zones. A dimming zone is a section of the TV that can turn off/on depending on the image (darks are more darks). Sony/LG are the best at this technology while Samsung is middle of the road in their QLEDs (their OLEDS are quite good but pricey). If you are interested in a QLED, then Hisense and TCL are the BEST bang for your buck. The Hisense U8N is an absolute beast while the TCL QM 8 is neck and neck with it. Honestly, the Hisense U7N and TCL QM 7 are waaaaaaay better than anything any other manufacturer makes at their price range. A Samsung Q80 can cost $1300 for a 65 inch while a U7N or QM 7 will cost half that and are actually better.

Brightness:
It's important to realize that QLEDs and OLEDs have differing benefits. QLEDs are fantastic for well lit rooms as they get much brighter than OLEDs and burn in isn't a thing. The cost is less contrast and blooming in image quality. Mini-LED TVs are a solid balance between QLED and OLED (but can get pricier). Nothing will beat an OLED when it comes to contrast and images "popping". This is because each pixel turns on/off. Black is literal black. The drawback is brightness. ALL OLED displays are manufactured by LG. All LG displays come with a heat plate that was introduced back in 2020. Burn in is much much much much rarer these days. It's still a thing, but not that big of a thing. OLEDs also have the best viewing angles while QLEDs often struggle with off-angle viewing.

Motion:
I am super sensitive to motion and cannot stand soap opera effect. Sony and LG have the best image processing out there while Samsung/TCL/Hisense are #2. Sony/LG are also the best at upconverting 1080p content to HDR while Samsung/TCL/Hisense are #2.

If you want to spend more on a higher quality TV:
Image quality is everything and don't overpay with Samsung. LG and Sony are where your dollars should go because of image processing and quality control in panel manufacturing. Look up dirty screen effect and you will see LG and Sony the absolute kings of high quality manufacturing. Samsung has really struggled in this area and their premium TVs are actually poorly made with tons of quality issues. You shouldn't have to play the panel lottery when you pay a premium amount (that is why you should go with Sony/LG). Go OLED. Nothing pops like OLED tvs. They get decently bright and perform so so so well in a dark room. You will feel like you are in a movie theater and it's incredible.

If you still want quality but on a budget:
Hisense and TCL are crushing it in the budget space. Your dollar cannot be beat with these brands. You can get all the bells and whistles with the U8N/QM 8 or U7N/QM 7 without breaking the bank. A 6 series TCL is also a solid tv along with the QD6 from Hisense. A decent budget Samsung is the DU7200 (and the A series Hisense).

Stay away from Vizio. Walmart just bought them so avoid that trainwreck.

Finally: don't worry about the user interface on the TV. Spend the money on an 4K apple tv or Roku Ultra. Avoid any other streaming device (I have had 4 amazon Firesticks brick out on me the past year alone).


Hopefully this helps.
So if you had this spec
Poor lit room (OLED required from your post)
Viewing mainly straight on but some from side
Distance 8-10 feet away
Budget 1000-1500
55-70”
Would like high quality picture

What tv would you recommend?
 

aeroclone

Well-Known Member
Oct 30, 2006
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The 65" LG C4 series OLED goes for around $1500 and would check tour boxes. I am a happy owner of an LG C series and agree with pretty much everything CycloniusPrime has posted as a fellow TV snob.
 

CyclonimusPrime

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Aug 18, 2021
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So if you had this spec
Poor lit room (OLED required from your post)
Viewing mainly straight on but some from side
Distance 8-10 feet away
Budget 1000-1500
55-70”
Would like high quality picture

What tv would you recommend?

If there is a lot of natural light and you watch TV during the day a lot then QLED may be an option. By too much light I mean you see a ton of reflections currently or your TV seems "dull" during the day.

That said, the LG C series OLED can get bright enough to compensate (The LG B Series is also really solid for a cheaper price). The other thing is the viewing angles. OLEDs have the very best viewing angles while QLEDs can suffer. For example, my Hisense U8N looks great when you are in front of it, but can have "banding" at off-angles.

The best all around TV is an LG OLED C series (B Series at a minimum) for most environments. 65 inch from 8-10 feet away is ideal, but 55 inches may do. 70 inch TVs are a bit of an anomaly and I would choose between either a 55 inch or 65 inch TV.


Head to Best Buy and look at these QLEDs and see which one you like the best
1) TCL QM 8 (mini-LED)
2) Hisense U8N (mini-LED)
3) Sony Bravia 7 (mini-LED)
4) Sony XL 90 (non mini-LED, but still solid and a little cheaper)

While at Best Buy, look at these OLED
1) LG C4 (B4 as well)
2) Samsung S85D (on sale currently the cheapest OLED)

You will see OLED really pop while QLEDs tend to be very bright (Brighter isn't always better).

Too long didn't read: go with OLED (LG C4 or even last year's LG C3 is great)
 
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packattack425

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Trying to decide between the LG C4 or Samsung S90D. Rtings.com tells me to go with the Samsung.

 

Legothug

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Jan 19, 2007
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Trying to decide between the LG C4 or Samsung S90D. Rtings.com tells me to go with the Samsung.


I got a 77” s90d in November from Costco. The picture is unbelievable and I can highly recommend it for the visual quality, but that can depend on the size of screen you’re getting. Rtings breaks it down, but different screen sizes use a different panel. The QD-Oled panel that they review lived up to what they say.

HOWEVER, they might have an issue with the power board and it might be more frequent on the 77” size, so be aware of that and try to find the best store for return/replacement issues. My first TV actually died about a month after we got it with very little use. Worked fine the night before, went to flip it on the next day and no power. Everything else on the same surge protector was fine and there weren’t any strange weather events. A Google search led me see a few others with the same issue in the same time frame. I decided to go to Costco and replace it with the same panel because of their built-in coverage, but if I didn’t have 2 years of manufacturers warranty and an extra 3 from Costco through an Allstate plan, I would have probably looked elsewhere. Hopefully I dodge any issues though because I would hate to have to go in a different direction