Black Friday Smart TV recommendations?

[DaveTN]

I need a new TV for a bedroom. I already have a 65” in the living room so this won’t be my primary TV. For the size of the room I think I want to stay at 60” or below, maybe down to 55”.

I want a smart TV with all the internet capabilities. I don’t think I really need 4K, but some I have looked at are. My budget is around $1k. Most I have been looking at are around $800- to $1K with the 4K TV’s running in the $1400 range, I don’t have a problem with that if I could justify it. (I’m on the fence on 4K)

I have waited because I expect some pretty good deals during the next few weeks.

I have always thought the best picture was plasma, but most mfg.’s are or have discontinued them. So it looks like most will be LCD?

Anything I need to look for in options or connections? I guess all I need are HDMI and Ethernet connections? I assume some are wireless?

When the deals come; I’ll need to move quickly so I’m just trying to get ideas. I want the best technology and quality; the wife wants the best price.

Thanks.

[Sam1]

4k is WAY overpriced right now and very few things actually have 4k quality that you could use on the TV. Any smart TV is going to have a wireless adapter built in, don't worry about looking for that.  Also don't worry about the HDMI's, all TV's have them now.

 

Here's a list of the available ones on Black Friday.  Looks like there's a 65" Sharo Aquos for $688 @ hh gregg

 

http://bfads.net/Category/Televisions?sort=Most-Expensive&category=Televisions&subcat=LED&page=2

[runco]

Smart TV?  Cut the cord!  16 mos now without any cable or sat.  Saved close to $1,600.00, and honestly have not missed much.

Edited November 16, 2014 by Runco

[TripleDigitRide]

You must have a very large bedroom if you are considering a 55"-60" TV, especially if you'll be watching it in the dark. My bedroom is fairly large, and 42" is plenty.

As far as HDMI inputs go, make sure the TV you buy has enough for your needs. While looking at Black Friday deals last year, many of the "door buster" TV's had only 1 or 2 HDMI inputs. You may find you'll need more.

Personally, I don't think 4K is worth the money quite yet. Not enough available content to justify the additional cost.

[DaveTN]

You must have a very large bedroom if you are considering a 55"-60" TV, especially if you'll be watching it in the dark. My bedroom is fairly large, and 42" is plenty.

I thought the same thing at first. But I will be over 12 feet from the TV in this room. I’m only 10 feet from the 65” when I’m lying on the couch and it looks great.
The other bedroom has a 42 in it. I’m 10 feet from it and have to wear my glasses to see real detail, 10 feet from the 65” I don’t have to wear my glasses.
 

Personally, I don't think 4K is worth the money quite yet. Not enough available content to justify the additional cost.

Well, and if I’m understanding what they are saying the 4K standards may still change. Not sure what impact that would have on TV’s already out there though. I just don't see the $300-$400 difference being of any value to me.

[down4ttown]

Samsung curved tv is top of the line for 1200 at Walmart.

[E4 No More]

Personally, I prefer the LED with refresh rate of 240 Hz. I let my wife talk me into getting a LCD a few years ago becaue it was a better "deal" for a larger screen, and I've wished I had gone with the LED ever since.

[Sam1]

Personally, I prefer the LED with refresh rate of 240 Hz. I let my wife talk me into getting a LCD a few years ago becaue it was a better "deal" for a larger screen, and I've wished I had gone with the LED ever since.

 

back-lit instead of side-lit make a huge difference with those as well

[GlockSpock]

http://blackfriday.bestbuy.com

Looks like they'll have an $899 Samsung 4K 54.6".

Good luck getting it!


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[GlockSpock]

Amazon has released "Pre-Black Friday" Samsung TV's. Some of those are tempting, but I am not anywhere near the desire to actually purchase a newer tv.

Edited November 19, 2014 by CZ9MM

[tnguy]

I don't really care for smart TVs. I view them much like those old TV/VCR combos. Consider the TV picture and properties first and anything else is just gravy in my book (i.e. in a short period of time, it won't be good anymore).

[GlockSpock]

I don't really care for smart TVs. I view them much like those old TV/VCR combos. Consider the TV picture and properties first and anything else is just gravy in my book (i.e. in a short period of time, it won't be good anymore).

 

I didn't care anything about smart TV's either until I read about HDMI CEC.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#CEC

 

You can use it to have your Xbox One turn your TV on/off and adjust the volume. I had to purchase an IR transmitter to accomplish that task.

 

Other than that, I agree that smart TV's are a half solution to a problem better fixed my attachted/upgradeable boxes.

[tnguy]

That is nice (other than that I don't have or ever intend to have an XBox One) but really a separate thing from being a smart TV IMO.

[GlockSpock]

That is nice (other than that I don't have or ever intend to have an XBox One) but really a separate thing from being a smart TV IMO.

Well from what I see most TV's only support it if they are a "smart tv". A feature worth it alone, probably not.


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[tnguy]

That may be the case. But maybe correlation is not causation :) It seems like most TVs are getting to be smarttvs anyway these days. Great way to build in obsolescence. Edited November 20, 2014 by tnguy

[midtennchip]

There was an article a few days ago that said Black Friday is not a good time to buy a TV. According to the article, January (post-Christmas and pre-Super Bowl) was much better. Who knows these days, but I need to get a new one for the bonus room, as well.

[glowdotGlock]

Contrary to popular belief. All the "LED" tv's are still LCD. The screen is an LCD panel with LED back lighting. I have a 60" Vizio LED back lit and a 120 hertz refresh rate. I have owned many different types. The older LCD tv's have an LCD panel and are back lit with florescent bulbs. There is a world of difference from 60 to 120 hertz but not much from 120 to 240.

[tnguy]

But then there are OLED

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLED

[Sam1]

There was an article a few days ago that said Black Friday is not a good time to buy a TV. According to the article, January (post-Christmas and pre-Super Bowl) was much better. Who knows these days, but I need to get a new one for the bonus room, as well.

 

Chip, if you buy open box/used TV's, after the superbowl is the best time hands-down.  When I worked at BestBuy in college, people would come in a few days before the superbowl, open a CC account, buy a monster ass TV to impress their buddies with, then they would return it the day after the superbowl.  Happened like clockwork every single year.

 

Then the store is full to the brim of used TV's that the managers know work well, and they will negotiate the price more than any other time to get them back out of the store.  The normal markup on a TV when I worked there ranged from 25%-40%, as long as they think they can break even, they'll sell it.  Don't be afraid to lowball 'em.

[Sam1]

Contrary to popular belief. All the "LED" tv's are still LCD. The screen is an LCD panel with LED back lighting. I have a 60" Vizio LED back lit and a 120 hertz refresh rate. I have owned many different types. The older LCD tv's have an LCD panel and are back lit with florescent bulbs. There is a world of difference from 60 to 120 hertz but not much from 120 to 240.

 

There's a big difference between backlit and side-lit.  LED's have both side and back lit versions, the backlit screens have a much better real-world contrast, especially when it's a dark scene.

 

side-lit is I think normally referred to as edge lit, not actually side-lit... but we're in TN and can call it what we want.

[dats82]

I'll preface this by saying that I am not a techy, and I do not follow the electronics market.  My wife and I bought a Phillips smart TV several months ago and have really enjoyed it.  We bought it after Christmas and paid less than $600 for it.  I think it is about a 55", and at the time, I had seen many reviews saying Phillips was one of the more underrated brands in TVs.  Either way, hope you find you a good one; I just wanted to throw out an endorsement on one of the less popular brands. 

[glowdotGlock]

There's a big difference between backlit and side-lit. LED's have both side and back lit versions, the backlit screens have a much better real-world contrast, especially when it's a dark scene.

side-lit is I think normally referred to as edge lit, not actually side-lit... but we're in TN and can call it what we want.

I was just using that as a difference. I have the edge lit and it does well but I would prefer the actual back lit.