My 14 yo 60" Panasonic TV went kaput yesterday

[Smokin Okie]

And for the first time in a long time, I'm shopping.

I cut the cord 7 or 8 years ago and been streaming since and using OTA. I have Amazon Fire Sticks and Roku devices also. I don't see that one is better than the other. I'm hearing some good things about Roku TV's. They are the most popular.

I recognize that Amazon Prime Days are tomorrow but this TV was our primary TV in the living room and I want to get it replaced ASAP, so it will most likely come from Best Buy or Sams. I'm not a Prime member and don't want to wait for a long delivery time.

But I really don't know where to start, except I know I want at least 60" screen. I'm sure 4K is all that's available.

 

[clifish]

We got a 75" Samsung at wally world last month in NH in the $450 range

 

[Smokin Okie]

We got a 75" Samsung at wally world last month in NH in the $450 range

I'm looking at similar at Sams.

I'm beginning to think we've entered the age of disposable TV's. Pay $500 or less, it lasts 5 years and then go get another one.

I spent around $1,000 for my Panasonic 14 years ago. I doubt I'm gonna buy one today that will last that long.

Whirlpool service man told me the same thing about refrigerators when I replaced my 20 yo side by side. He said I won't get 20 years from my new one. Said to expect 9 years.

 

[chopsaw]

I bought a new setup a few months ago .
Sony Bravia XR X90L . UHD LED . I got the 65" . Some programming comes in at 2160 . Insane how great it looks . Really nice TV . Like you I was running an older Samsung on a fire stick . HUGE difference in this TV . So nice to be off that damn firestick too . They serve their purpose , but for a main TV , never again .

If you look at Sony's , know that they are priced high , but give discounts for bundles .
I bought the TV , then went back and bought a sound bar , then went back and bought the sub and speakers . Buying the speakers I realized I could have gotten a discount .
The store manager was good enough to discount the TV / sound bar as a combo , but it wouldn't let him do the speakers .
So he takes the sub , opens the box . Yup , " It's in there " Tapes it back up and puts a 50% off open box price on it .

Anyway . Just a heads up if you consider a Sony .

 

[Smokin Okie]

I bought a new setup a few months ago .
Sony Bravia XR X90L . UHD LED . I got the 65" . Some programming comes in at 2160 . Insane how great it looks . Really nice TV . Like you I was running an older Samsung on a fire stick . HUGE difference in this TV . So nice to be off that damn firestick too . They serve their purpose , but for a main TV , never again .

If you look at Sony's , know that they are priced high , but give discounts for bundles .
I bought the TV , then went back and bought a sound bar , then went back and bought the sub and speakers . Buying the speakers I realized I could have gotten a discount .
The store manager was good enough to discount the TV / sound bar as a combo , but it wouldn't let him do the speakers .
So he takes the sub , opens the box . Yup , " It's in there " Tapes it back up and puts a 50% off open box price on it .

Anyway . Just a heads up if you consider a Sony .

I really have to wonder just how much better the picture quality can get. Just what little shopping I've done, it appears I can step up to the $1500 range, but is the picture a thousand dollars better ?

 

[fxsales1959]

This is the world I live in, as I help design and sell cameras and monitors or the broadcast world.
Let's start at 4K . doesn't mean diddly squat unless you have a blue ray or stream hi-res video from some you tube source. Without wading in too deep. If you're on an antenna you will never get a 4K"signal" unless some rogue entity decides to invest billions to broadcast 4K
OK back to square one. I haven't cut cord, and have Amazon Fire TV's on my patio and bedroom.
Luckily when dish receiver turns on it automatically switches the input of those
TV's to straight from the Dish box. Going back to Roku (or what have you) they depend highly on a robust WiFI signal, hoping you have hearty wifi and will "stream" theirs or someone's programming. (sling/hulu/you tube.)
I pay too much for my dish programming and get chastised by "non-broadcast" types hat tell me.. "you can get all that crap from the web.
Sorry, had to go back and re-read your post.
As fart as the TV goes, all of those unbelieveably low priced TV's at walmart are reverse engineered from TV's from the good guys (Samsung/Sony)
Typically you get what you pay for. My eye can see the difference in a picture on let's say a TCL or whatever brand and my 75"Samsung. These are TV's made by the lowest bidder for low sales price. when you get it and set it up you, and many others will be so excited to have a BFP (bif F'n picture you will never notice things like true black and contrast.
I've probably already lost most folks by now.
It kinda goes back to the days where "they" told you that you need a special HD antenna. The antennas from home depot will receive whatever signal reaches your house. I'm fortunate to live smack dab in the middle of the Miami/Palm beach broadcast area. I can hit the program channels button and receive 54 channels. They are all variations of the big four networks, ( no CNN/Espn or the like.
Let circle back. I only buy TV's somewhere I can return it to physically. Of course most sales folks at best buy were selling garden tools at Lowes last week, and aren't trained to help customers, just close sales.
I'd set a budget and buy what looks good to me. most store TV's only come with 90 day warranties.
My eye is trained enough to see the picture difference between OTA (over the air/antenna) and the compressed signal that cable/satellite gives you. If I'm going full bubba nd Watching NASCAR, I will switch to my antenna (still have one mounted on the chimbley)
I'd be happy to discuss further offline as to not pollute this thread.
Just remember you get what you pay for. Wal-mart recently bought vizio who previously made "OK" TV's.
TV's today are made to be disposable appliances.
You're most likely not going to have it for 10 years like you used to with your old Sony.
Message me if you really wan to learn more or hear more gobble-dy gook.
or ask here.
John

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

Honestly the last 2 tvs I got have been Insignia 4k whatever other crap they call it we got 2 55” and one 75”. The 75” was less than $500. They are fire tv’s and I couldn’t be happier. I can’t tell the difference enough to justify paying $1500+ for a tv. I know you said you need it quick but Amazon could probably deliver one within a couple of days. We bought it last one at Best Buy.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia-75-class-f30-series-led-4k-uhd-smart-fire-tv/6480926.p?skuId=6480926

 

[Smokin Okie]

This is the world I live in, as I help design and sell cameras and monitors or the broadcast world.
Let's start at 4K . doesn't mean diddly squat unless you have a blue ray or stream hi-res video from some you tube source. Without wading in too deep. If you're on an antenna you will never get a 4K"signal" unless some rogue entity decides to invest billions to broadcast 4K
OK back to square one. I haven't cut cord, and have Amazon Fire TV's on my patio and bedroom.
Luckily when dish receiver turns on it automatically switches the input of those
TV's to straight from the Dish box. Going back to Roku (or what have you) they depend highly on a robust WiFI signal, hoping you have hearty wifi and will "stream" theirs or someone's programming. (sling/hulu/you tube.)
I pay too much for my dish programming and get chastised by "non-broadcast" types hat tell me.. "you can get all that crap from the web.
Sorry, had to go back and re-read your post.
As fart as the TV goes, all of those unbelieveably low priced TV's at walmart are reverse engineered from TV's from the good guys (Samsung/Sony)
Typically you get what you pay for. My eye can see the difference in a picture on let's say a TCL or whatever brand and my 75"Samsung. These are TV's made by the lowest bidder for low sales price. when you get it and set it up you, and many others will be so excited to have a BFP (bif F'n picture you will never notice things like true black and contrast.
I've probably already lost most folks by now.
It kinda goes back to the days where "they" told you that you need a special HD antenna. The antennas from home depot will receive whatever signal reaches your house. I'm fortunate to live smack dab in the middle of the Miami/Palm beach broadcast area. I can hit the program channels button and receive 54 channels. They are all variations of the big four networks, ( no CNN/Espn or the like.
Let circle back. I only buy TV's somewhere I can return it to physically. Of course most sales folks at best buy were selling garden tools at Lowes last week, and aren't trained to help customers, just close sales.
I'd set a budget and buy what looks good to me. most store TV's only come with 90 day warranties.
My eye is trained enough to see the picture difference between OTA (over the air/antenna) and the compressed signal that cable/satellite gives you. If I'm going full bubba nd Watching NASCAR, I will switch to my antenna (still have one mounted on the chimbley)
I'd be happy to discuss further offline as to not pollute this thread.
Just remember you get what you pay for. Wal-mart recently bought vizio who previously made "OK" TV's.
TV's today are made to be disposable appliances.
You're most likely not going to have it for 10 years like you used to with your old Sony.
Message me if you really wan to learn more or hear more gobble-dy gook.
or ask here.
John

I followed most of what your saying. The picture quality is going to depend greatly on the input. Which is why I'm not gonna spend $1500 on a Samsung QLED.

I see Vizio has a QLED for $500. Those were once solid value TV's. I'm not sure about them now, its been a long time.

I'm just now digging into the diff between QLED and UHD. I will probably have to go to Sams and look at them .

Sams offers a free 3 year warranty on some TV's to Plus Members. I'm not sure if its worth the paper its written on but its something to think about. Probably better than nothing.

I don't watch a lot of OTA until football season. I get all my NFL OTA. And if I can get a college game OTA, I prefer that over streaming.

 

[fxsales1959]

Honestly the last 2 tvs I got have been Insignia 4k whatever other crap they call it we got 2 55” and one 75”. The 75” was less than $500. They are fire tv’s and I couldn’t be happier. I can’t tell the difference enough to justify paying $1500+ for a tv. I know you said you need it quick but Amazon could probably deliver one within a couple of days. We bought it last one at Best Buy.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia-75-class-f30-series-led-4k-uhd-smart-fire-tv/6480926.p?skuId=6480926

I've had Insignia's before and they are an OK source. They are made for Best Buy by the likes Toshiba or the lowest bidder. Check warranty though. Not knocking insignia. typically much better than the "center row" bargains at Walmart.

 

[fxsales1959]

I followed most of what your saying. The picture quality is going to depend greatly on the input. Which is why I'm not gonna spend $1500 on a Samsung QLED.

I see Vizio has a QLED for $500. Those were once solid value TV's. I'm not sure about them now, its been a long time.

I'm just now digging into the diff between QLED and UHD. I will probably have to go to Sams and look at them .

Sams offers a free 3 year warranty on some TV's to Plus Members. I'm not sure if its worth the paper its written on but its something to think about. Probably better than nothing.

I don't watch a lot of OTA until football season. I get all my NFL OTA. And if I can get a college game OTA, I prefer that over streaming.

ok QLED is the screen type. typically better for contrast and blacks, but you pay for it.
UHD says it will play Hi-res (4K) . Most all Qled's will be UHD. if you watch a shit ton of blu=ray UHD, you'll see the Difference. A step back from QLED is plane old LED. Not bad pictures especially for OTA. for foosball (Waterboy reference) you might check the refresh rate.
120Hz is typically fine for fast action sports. I watch a lot of Nascar and Dolphins football.
My TV's are all 120hz refresh rates and I'm good with it.
QLED is the latest marketing gimmick from the dudes that make the screens and want the main brands to use them. Remember, the pictures you see on TV's at Sam's and elsewhere are typically being played back over a network and are optimized to make you go "Damn"
I won't spend th extra money for QLED.

 

[Smokin Okie]

ok QLED is the screen type. typically better for contrast and blacks, but you pay for it.
UHD says it will play Hi-res (4K) . Most all Qled's will be UHD. if you watch a shit ton of blu=ray UHD, you'll see the Difference. A step back from QLED is plane old LED. Not bad pictures especially for OTA. for foosball (Waterboy reference) you might check the refresh rate.
120Hz is typically fine for fast action sports. I watch a lot of Nascar and Dolphins football.
My TV's are all 120hz refresh rates and I'm good with it.
QLED is the latest marketing gimmick from the dudes that make the screens and want the main brands to use them. Remember, the pictures you see on TV's at Sam's and elsewhere are typically being played back over a network and are optimized to make you go "Damn"
I won't spend th extra money for QLED.

Excellent ! I suspected QLED was marketing.

That makes this decision a lot easier. And since I'm not making a 10 or 15 year decision, it gets even easier. I'm buying a disposable TV.

 

[fxsales1959]

Excellent ! I suspected QLED was marketing.

That makes this decision a lot easier. And since I'm not making a 10 or 15 year decision, it gets even easier. I'm buying a disposable TV.

i JUST SAW THIS ONE ON sam's website. i would see if they have one in-store
good price for a disposable. I won't ever have a TV shipped. I want to easily stick it up someones backside if its broke out of box. warranty is good, but exercising warranty is another question.

VIZIO 65" Class Quantum Series QLED Smart TV - Sam's Club

Buy VIZIO 65" Class Quantum Series QLED Smart TV : 60"- 70" at SamsClub.com

www.samsclub.com

 

[chopsaw]

, it appears I can step up to the $1500 range, but is the picture a thousand dollars better ?

I'm around $2300 with the sound bar , sub and rear speakers . TV was $1200.00
I have no complaints on the price because of the performance .

I respect fxsales1959 opinion on this stuff so if I'm saying it wrong please correct me . . I did pay up for the 4K through YouTube Tv . Mostly to get the unlimited seats , but for my eyes I can tell when something is being broadcast at a higher resolution . That and the sound quality increases .
Not pushing Sony , just my experience with it . Always bought Samsungs , and have several .
The TV I replaced with this one is a 55" Samsung . 2014 . So I would think just the step up in new tech will show up for you , as it did for me .

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I bought a new setup a few months ago .
Sony Bravia XR X90L . UHD LED . I got the 65" . Some programming comes in at 2160 . Insane how great it looks . Really nice TV . Like you I was running an older Samsung on a fire stick . HUGE difference in this TV . So nice to be off that damn firestick too . They serve their purpose , but for a main TV , never again .

If you look at Sony's , know that they are priced high , but give discounts for bundles .
I bought the TV , then went back and bought a sound bar , then went back and bought the sub and speakers . Buying the speakers I realized I could have gotten a discount .
The store manager was good enough to discount the TV / sound bar as a combo , but it wouldn't let him do the speakers .
So he takes the sub , opens the box . Yup , " It's in there " Tapes it back up and puts a 50% off open box price on it .

Anyway . Just a heads up if you consider a Sony .

I have the Sony XBR-75X900E and have just loved it. Not sure how many years ago I got it but would buy another Sony. I also calibrate my displays.

 

[chopsaw]

would buy another Sony.

My Son bought one last year . That's what steered me to the Bravia . I have a 32" Samsung in the kitchen . Getting ready to replace it with a Sony .

My surround speakers and soundbar are all Sony . Nice to have it all match . The TV has a " center channel sync " with the sound bar . So you get sound out of the TV speakers and the soundbar for voice . Really like that feature . I'm with ya , I'll buy another one .

 

[Smokin Okie]

i JUST SAW THIS ONE ON sam's website. i would see if they have one in-store
good price for a disposable. I won't ever have a TV shipped. I want to easily stick it up someones backside if its broke out of box. warranty is good, but exercising warranty is another question.

VIZIO 65" Class Quantum Series QLED Smart TV - Sam's Club

Buy VIZIO 65" Class Quantum Series QLED Smart TV : 60"- 70" at SamsClub.com

www.samsclub.com

I was looking at that earlier. Had pretty much decided on this Samsung cuz I wasn't sure about Vizio as a brand. I have two Vizio bought prior to 2010 and they've been good units.

Here's the Samsung but I would not be adverse to the Vizio.

https://www.samsclub.com/p/samsung-...v-un65du7200dxza/P990331721?xid=plp_product_2

 

[fxsales1959]

I was looking at that earlier. Had pretty much decided on this Samsung cuz I wasn't sure about Vizio as a brand. I have two Vizio bought prior to 2010 and they've been good units.

Here's the Samsung but I would not be adverse to the Vizio.

https://www.samsclub.com/p/samsung-...v-un65du7200dxza/P990331721?xid=plp_product_2

I love my samsung. I'd go Samsung if in stock. Mine is 4 YO and still love it.

 

[radioguy]

We have Samsung smart TV's in the house, but have gotten away from using the Samsung TV Apps, I have RoKu devices on all my sets now. We bought a new camper and needed a new TV for the bedroom. I thoroughly dislike FireTV and Firesticks. Dont like the software, difficult to work it. I had a small fireTV installed in last camper. I disliked it so much the I left it in the trailer when I traded it in.

RoKu (IMHO) has it all worked out. Very intuitive software, not many bugs. My daughter has had a good experience the generic Roku TV from Costco. Ended up getting a 43" TCL for about $230.

RG

 

[fxsales1959]

My Son bought one last year . That's what steered me to the Bravia . I have a 32" Samsung in the kitchen . Getting ready to replace it with a Sony .

My surround speakers and soundbar are all Sony . Nice to have it all match . The TV has a " center channel sync " with the sound bar . So you get sound out of the TV speakers and the soundbar for voice . Really like that feature . I'm with ya , I'll buy another one .

Please, please don't get me started on home theatre audio. currently running 7 channel "Atmos" with legacy B&W mains. also still using a legacy Class A Yamaha amp for stereo only M-80 (Vinyl)
I use another yamaha receiver to "decode" crappy filters, and as a base for my outside speakers. and front and rear effects speakers and subwoofr pre-out. Then again I still have my Marantz 2230 in the office

 

[zwiller]

radioguy beat me. We LOVE the Roku platform. Highly recommend. 2 adapters & 2 TCL Roku TVs. The adapters require a power cycle now and then, but otherwise are great.

On the Panny... I managed to get mine working again using a hdmi to component adapter. I geeked on pic quality out during the Blueray craze. I have the first Sony Bluray player. All 30lbs pounds of it. $40 hdmi cable too LOL Mind blowing back then. Last time I was at Sam's saw some really good deals and got me looking again...