Recommend a TV

[dbnm]

This should be fun.

Under 55 inches.

Under $1000

go!

[MattTuck]

Allow me to introduce you to The Wirecutter (https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-tv/)

[parris]

Sams Club, BJ's, and Costco are your friend for this.

As far as brand goes we've been very happy with our Vizeo(sp) tv's.

[fignon's barber]

Aren't all tv's made in the same plant in Mexico now?

[jwalther]

Saw this a couple of days ago. I'd buy one if I were in the market. Heck, I might buy one anyway!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2018/06/08/this-tv-youve-never-heard-of-is-the-best-tv-deal-weve-ever-seen/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.8204c5204a8c

[arik]

I bought 2 of those TCL TV's to replace some old ones and my family loves them, very easy to use.

[R3awak3n]

I have been very happy with my vizio. Bang for the buck.

[bikinchris]

QVC lists a Sharp Aquos 55" for $999

[jghall]

I'd add Fry's to the retailer list if you have one close.

Lot's of nice TV's.

And for $1k, you can easily step-up to 65" if you'd like/have room.

[huck*this]

Believe it or not this TV gets rave reviews. 4k, built in Roku, 55" under $400!Amazon superior CS. and free 2 day ship with Prime.

https://www.amazon.com/TCL-55S405-55-Inch-Ultra-Smart/dp/B01MTGM5I9/ref=sr_1_3?s=tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1528723535&sr=1-3&keywords=55%22+TV

[zap]

If you can, up the budget some and purchase a previous gen (if still available) LG 55" OLED TV.

Nothing better.

[tlittlefield]

Another Vizio recomendation..

I have had the P50-C1 for over a year, 4K, supports both HDR 10 and Dolby Vision.

Picture is outstanding!!

And yes it is Under $1000

[jghall]

Agree that OLED has a beautiful picture. Not sure if they are down to $1,000 though?

So here is what came in my daily Fry's ad. All 4k/smart.

Samsung, 55" - $648
LG, 65" - $797......less w/promo co
Vizio, 65" - $799.....$699 w/promo code

[providence]

I’ve purchased Vizio TVs the last 10 years or so. Solid TVs for the money.

Just bought a 65 from Sams Club a week ago for $612 including tax...

[eBAUMANN]

i bought my 55" samsung 4k smart tv for like $500 2 black friday's ago...best tv ive ever owned, previous tv (bought in 2007) was also a samsung - highly recommend em.

[ORMojo]

Several Vizios, except one, and several recent TCls have all worked very well.

The one 70" Vizio started developing white spots on the display, but was covered by warranty, so have had a newer 70" Vizio for the past couple years, and it is great.

Recently bought a couple of 55" TCL TVs (the 2018 model of the one linked above, also referenced in the video review linked below) from Costco for less ($349) than the Amazon price listed above for the older model, and way less than shown in the video below, and with the extra Costco warranty. Great with the built-in Roku, supports both HDR 10 and Dolby Vision, and has every other feature we want. The only slight downside is the sound - it is fine for everyday listening, but certainly not high end (although this is pretty much the case with any thin panel TV). Easily fixed with a $100 (or more) sound bar setup.

I've been told that TCL manufactures Samsung's display panels. Not certain if that is true, although it is a fact that TCL and Samsung are partners in one of the largest panel manufacturers in the world.

[huck*this]

Video review of the TCL. Warning from a tech geek perspective.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P56QEcFUuE

[benb]

You said under 55 inches and under $1000.

An iPad.

More seriously personally I don't want to touch a smart tv with a ten foot pole. Most of the ones I've seen are slow & annoying.

You can get an Amazon TV stick or Google equivalent for $25 and replace it when needed and come out way ahead. Google and Amazon do a much better job at updating the devices and providing access to content and the responsiveness of the UI is better. Save the money you would have spent on the "smart tv".

[Hardlyrob]

We have a 55" Samsung 4K that is really great.

If you look around, Samsung seems to have basically won the pro HDTV installation wars. If a Buffalo Wild Wings is putting in $50,000 to $70,000of TV's way more often than not, you see Samsungs hung on the wall.

[FlashUNC]

Samsung or LG personally.

[pjm]

Recently purchased a 50-inch, 4K Sony for $429 at BB.
Crazy cheap.

[woolly]

Somewhat limited selection, but hard to beat the overall deal buying from Costco. Good price, and what ended up being a full 7 years parts & labor for only an extra $120. They actually had the 65" OLED we wanted anyway, so "yay"!!

[Bob Ross]

Agree that OLED has a beautiful picture. Not sure if they are down to $1,000 though?

The current 55" LG C8-series OLED still sells for nearly twice that. As Zap suggested, a previous generation B6-series can probably be had for a lot less...if anyone still has one left in stock. Which is unlikely.

But they are phenomenal looking TVs.

[el cheapo]

Cheap and great...Vizio is the way to go! Just make sure you get controls on the set itself. Mine is only on the remote.

[m4rk540]

EPA has been looking into this:

https://toxicfreefuture.org/science/research/flame-retardants-tvs/

https://48h57c2l31ua3c3fmq1ne58b-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/TV-Reality-Report-FINAL1.pdf

[yinzerniner]

And spend the extra $3-400 as you'll be using it A LOT and the picture quality over even the best LED LCDs is worth the premium IMHO.

But also worth noting is how the TV's gonna be used. If it's a centerpiece for a living room and you entertain all the time, splurging is the way to go. If it's just a secondary TV or a kids room one then $1k is too high a budget.

[Salty]

And spend the extra $3-400 as you'll be using it A LOT and the picture quality over even the best LED LCDs is worth the premium IMHO.

But also worth noting is how the TV's gonna be used. If it's a centerpiece for a living room and you entertain all the time, splurging is the way to go. If it's just a secondary TV or a kids room one then $1k is too high a budget.

My mother has a TV that is like 15 years old, which hasn't been replaced because it lives in a piece of furniture she likes that will not accommodate an appropriately large widescreen model. I took her to Best Buy recently to show her what she's missing and it ended up being an eye opening experience for me. They had a TV on display that is so thin and flexible it can be attached to a wall with magnets. My own Samsung is maybe five years old, and it absolutely doesn't compare in any way with the latest and greatest models.

[yinzerniner]

My mother has a TV that is like 15 years old, which hasn't been replaced because it lives in a piece of furniture she likes that will not accommodate an appropriately large widescreen model. I took her to Best Buy recently to show her what she's missing and it ended up being an eye opening experience for me. They had a TV on display that is so thin and flexible it can be attached to a wall with magnets. My own Samsung is maybe five years old, and it absolutely doesn't compare in any way with the latest and greatest models.


Funny, my experience is quite the opposite. I have a Pioneer KRP-500m (the last gen of the famed "Kuro" tech) that is about 10 years old now and it's only bested by the current OLED sets. Granted it was the best picture quality of any consume electronics display at that time, and for many years afterwards, but like your grandma my viewing area just can't accommodate a larger set so I've never felt the need to upgrade, even though I keep a close eye out (no pun intended) on the newest technologies.

Also it's well known that big box stores like Best Buy, PC Richards, Frys, Costco, etc pump up the settings to get that exceedingly vibrant look which could account for some of the "WOW" factor you experienced between the older and newer sets. But also, a 15 year old TV would have been at the first generation of LCDs and Plasmas which were moderately priced for consumers, and their picture quality was notoriously spotty. Even LCDs didn't quite start getting their act together until about 2012 or so.

Now the Pioneer is heavy AF, consumes energy like crazy and operates as a second space heater, but for picture quality it's still heads and shoulders above the latest LCDs. If I need a larger, lighter or more green-friendly set will def go for the OLEDs,

[smokersteve]

I bought 2 of those TCL TV's to replace some old ones and my family loves them, very easy to use.
I bought 2 of the 55” TCL TVs from Costco and our family loves them. It was like $400 a tv

[parris]

This thread about tv costs got me thinking to when I was a kid and my dad bought our first color tv. I want to say it was between 1970-1972. The set was a Zenith and big for the time. Just for the heck of it I looked at what tv's like that were going for and the prices were from low 400 range to around 700ish. I plugged in the 400 and it comes out to just under 2400.00 today. This tells me a couple of things. TV's today can be had at a low cost if wanted. And more important for me is that my dad who was a farmer REALLY wanted a good tv! Thanks for the thread.

[pcxmbfj]

Believe it or not this TV gets rave reviews. 4k, built in Roku, 55" under $400!Amazon superior CS. and free 2 day ship with Prime.

https://www.amazon.com/TCL-55S405-55-Inch-Ultra-Smart/dp/B01MTGM5I9/ref=sr_1_3?s=tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1528723535&sr=1-3&keywords=55%22+TV

Bought this one last Dec from Best Buy Black Friday but would recommend the model up for around $700. Supposed to have sharper dark rendering.
That said the 405 is good.

[jlwdm]

Two words: Costco and OLED

Costco: best warranty and return policies

OLED: don't buy dates technology

Jeff

[Ken C]

The 2018 55" TCL R617 is well regarded for the price at $650. Only downside is the gray uniformity is not the best so if you watch hockey it may be an issue for you. This TV is far better than the 405 mentioned above. The 617 is regarded as the best TV under $1K by many like RTNGS, CNET, etc.

I have a 2017 Vizio M Series in 65inch and really like it. Rtngs likes the 2018 TCL P series better than the 2018 Vizio M. May be worth waiting to see the reviews on the 2018 Vizio P series. The 2018 P in 55 has VA panels instead of ISP like the 2017 P series did. Avoid any TV with ISP.

If you watch a lot of sports the Sony 900e in 55 is on sale for just under $1,000 and would be the best bet. The 2018 model the 900f is above $1K.

All the above TVs are HDR compatible, I would not buy a TV that is not HDR compatible.

[fkelly]

Got a LG Electronics 49UJ6300 49-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV (2017 Model) for $410 from Amazon in April 2018. Works fine.

I'd be concerned about built-in Roku options. Is the Roku in the machine upgradeable? Every few years Roku models "run out of gas" and need to be upgraded.

I'd get a separate Fire TV or Roku for streaming if the LG smarttv features don't meet you needs. But try them first.

The SmartTV options are a nice addition to the separate Fire TV box. You can then use whichever option works best for your streaming needs. For instance, in my case the web browser on my LG TV's is better than the Firefox on the Fire TV. So I can use that. For other needs I can use either the Netflix and Amazon prime built into the SmartTV or the separate ones on the FireTv. The SmartTV doesn't support the Amazon music app, so on the LG TV I have in my living room that's connected to a receiver and speakers I use the app on a Fire TV.

[unterhausen]

we have a couple of older rokus and they work fine. Spotify is the only app that has problems, they pulled it from the roku.

Can anyone point to a tv that doesn't have a built in computer for streaming? I haven't seen one in a long time

I imagine you can still plug in a better streaming device if it becomes a problem.