TV Buying guide

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Gonzo

Well-Known Member
Mar 10, 2009
23,176
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Behind you
We’re a Vizio house. I’m not huge in to pixels and zones and backlight or whatever. I just want it to turn on fast and have easy menus.

24”
40”
55”
65”

All varied in age from 1-4 years old and all different “series”. Not sure which ones are which but I think the 40” inch is the “M” series and it’s the best one of the bunch in terms of picture imo.

Last three I've bought have been Vizios, all in the last few years. 32", 55", and 75" for recently finished basement. My brother is a tech guru who knows his sh*t about this stuff and he swears by Vizio, especially for the value.
 

Dr.bannedman

liberal
Aug 21, 2012
8,677
9,872
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that island napoleon got sent to
Anything I need to know before buying a TV tomorrow on Black Friday pre sales ? 4k and Smart TV are my requirements . 65inch . I honestly dont watch much TV at all. A little youtube , some antenna and play a little XBox or stream some amazon prime on it. Any recommendations ? Looking to buy at Walmart or online as I live in Rural Iowa.


Samsung best for the $.
sony is too much $.
knock off brands (hi-sense, tcl, etc...)make you look like you're not selling enough seed.
 
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dawgpound

Retired Billy the Barnstormer
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Jun 18, 2011
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Des Moines, iowa
TCL's are pretty good TV's for the price. Samsung and LG are better. But for what you listed, you could get a cheap brand and be fine. I got a Hisense Roku TV earlier this year, and honestly has worked great.
 

srjclone

Well-Known Member
Nov 17, 2014
11,912
11,243
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Downtown Minneapolis
I just got a vizio 55 inch HDR 4K smart TV and I really enjoy it. I am, however, not one to get overly critical of TVs. As long as the picture is clear and colorful and the size isn't too small/too big for the room, I am usually happy. Vizio's are probably just below the top tier of new TVs, but solid and long lasting. I'd recommend.

I got mine at Target where they have "black friday deals" going all month, and decided to bump up to the 55 inch because the cost savings was nice.
https://www.target.com/p/vizio-v-se...dr-smart-tv-v555-h11/-/A-53281451#lnk=sametab
 

KnappShack

Well-Known Member
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May 26, 2008
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Parts Unknown
I'm sure this is worth very little

But the guy from Best Buy swears by Sony and LG. Showed us all of the Samsung sets that have been returned (there were a lot)

Said to stay away from Visio as their quality has tumbled. (We have a Visio and I'm not impressed)
 

2forISU

Well-Known Member
Oct 8, 2008
6,063
2,023
113
Samsung Frame is legit.

We replaced two Vizio TV's that were garbage. Picture quality is so-so.
 

JimDogRock

Well-Known Member
Feb 21, 2010
713
840
93
Cedar Falls
Also look for a decent deal on a sound bar, almost a requirement now
Agreed. It's become the reality of the market that people want bigger and thinner TVs. That makes having quality, built-in speakers a physical design difficulty.
If someone is looking for a TV and wants to have a decent audio experience then they'll likely want to budget for a soundbar as well (if they don't already have a home theater setup or aspirations of that).
 
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isuno1fan

Well-Known Member
Mar 30, 2006
22,829
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Clive, Iowa
Always been an LG guy, but the majority of reviews say unless you buy their OLED, the price to quality ratio just isn't there anymore vs other brands. Bought the Sony x900H from Best Buy but haven't gotten it yet but am hopeful. Did more research than I probably should have beforehand. Never owned a Sony but I know they're known for being top notch. My #2 was going to be the Vizio M series. Looks like a solid tv for around $600 for a 65".
I have a Sony 75" x850G. No major problems and have had it for 1.5yrs. I'm convinced Sony has the best picture of all the major brands.

Vizio absolutely sucks dog crap.
 
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BryceC

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Mar 23, 2006
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I bought a TCL for a gaming TV for my kids and one I can easily detach and take outside for tailgates and movies and stuff. The built in Roku is fantastic and honestly the picture is great. It's only a 55' but I'm a pretty big TCL guy now. I'm not a huge TV guy either - I have a TV upstairs that's basically like 8 years old, I have a projector in the basement and this random one in the kids' room. If you're not a big TV guy or audio guy I'd go ahead and just get something with all the stuff built in like a TCL.
 

NDMARTIN2015

Well-Known Member
Jun 7, 2018
453
753
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31
Des Moines
decided between Sony x900h and x950h. Im getting a PS5, but that will be used on my Samsung. I decided to go with best picture. Got an x950h for 1098 shipped from greentoe. Picture is much brighter than the x900h, better picture processor. Doesn’t have HDMI 2.1 but has eARC. PS5 would still look good, as we won’t be seeing 4K 120hz on these consoles. You’re insane if you think you will.
 
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SEIOWA CLONE

Well-Known Member
Dec 19, 2018
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You have to decide if you want quality or is price more important. If you are looking at the best picture possible, 4K and plenty of HDMI outputs, then look at Sony or LG, OLED versions.
If you are thinking price then look at Vizio as they will be the cheapest with a decent, not great picture.
Samsung TV are in the middle of the three in my opinion, and that is what we own, one of the 8000 series, my next TV will be an LG OLED.

Do not be afraid to buy online, we have purchase the last 3 tv online through Hippins out of Seattle, their on line version is onecall.com. They had free shipping on most of their sets, also look at joining Costco, they carry all these brands, and you can buy online, they also double the warranty on all electronics, worth the $100 membership fee.
 

JimDogRock

Well-Known Member
Feb 21, 2010
713
840
93
Cedar Falls
I bought a TCL for a gaming TV for my kids and one I can easily detach and take outside for tailgates and movies and stuff. The built in Roku is fantastic and honestly the picture is great. It's only a 55' but I'm a pretty big TCL guy now. I'm not a huge TV guy either - I have a TV upstairs that's basically like 8 years old, I have a projector in the basement and this random one in the kids' room. If you're not a big TV guy or audio guy I'd go ahead and just get something with all the stuff built in like a TCL.

I bought a TCL 6 series earlier this year for the TV room because it was a good blend of what we were looking for.

Does not break the bank
Entry level HDR
Roku interface is easy to use (for the wife)
Plenty of custom configuration options (for me with gaming consoles of various ages)
 

srjclone

Well-Known Member
Nov 17, 2014
11,912
11,243
113
Downtown Minneapolis
Last three I've bought have been Vizios, all in the last few years. 32", 55", and 75" for recently finished basement. My brother is a tech guru who knows his sh*t about this stuff and he swears by Vizio, especially for the value.
It's pretty obvious when talking with the sales people LG and Sony are the big dogs, but few are actively trying to sell me those in my experience. It's probably because I don't care to the extent I am a big time gamer or need crystal clear quality for my sporting (looks pretty solid to me from what I can tell), so they know when to not push those, but all 3 sales people I spoke with said the next level "down" was Vizio for quality, value and longevity. I've loved mine as well so far.
 
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enisthemenace

Well-Known Member
Dec 5, 2009
12,877
8,451
113
Runnells, IA
I bought a TCL for a gaming TV for my kids and one I can easily detach and take outside for tailgates and movies and stuff. The built in Roku is fantastic and honestly the picture is great. It's only a 55' but I'm a pretty big TCL guy now. I'm not a huge TV guy either - I have a TV upstairs that's basically like 8 years old, I have a projector in the basement and this random one in the kids' room. If you're not a big TV guy or audio guy I'd go ahead and just get something with all the stuff built in like a TCL.

I agree. TCL is great. Roku included, with the Netflix and ESPN Apps (amongst others) built in, and they are very inexpensive. Have a 65” in the living room. Picture is great, and we can use it in a lot of ways.
 
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jdcyclone19

Well-Known Member
Apr 14, 2017
3,493
4,806
113
Iowa
Anything I need to know before buying a TV tomorrow on Black Friday pre sales ? 4k and Smart TV are my requirements . 65inch . I honestly dont watch much TV at all. A little youtube , some antenna and play a little XBox or stream some amazon prime on it. Any recommendations ? Looking to buy at Walmart or online as I live in Rural Iowa.

TCL is the best bang for the buck with a good picture. I have a 65” and have no complaints at all for the 2 years I’ve had it.
 

BryceC

Well-Known Member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Mar 23, 2006
25,686
18,420
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I bought a TCL 6 series earlier this year for the TV room because it was a good blend of what we were looking for.

Does not break the bank
Entry level HDR
Roku interface is easy to use (for the wife)
Plenty of custom configuration options (for me with gaming consoles of various ages)

I would add I bought the TCL because I wanted it to be easily transported from indoor to outdoor, and from all the research I did you need a TV at at least 700 nits (brightness) to be usable outside. The TCL at 700 nits was like hundreds if not thousands of dollars cheaper than other models.
 
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