Sony is on the verge of becoming a second tier manufacturer as far as TVs are concerned.
Picked up the last 54" model they made. People were scrambling for them after they were all gone.
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How do I choose a TV?
- Thread starter eljay
- Start date
Sony is on the verge of becoming a second tier manufacturer as far as TVs are concerned.
Picked up the last 54" model they made. People were scrambling for them after they were all gone.
My parents just picked up a new 58" for $650 from a furniture store. I think it's a Toshiba. Apparently they had a bad batch that they replaced the panels in (before they were sold to consumers) and then cleared them out. Don't know if that's true or not, but that price for a 58 is damn cheap.
Why max 50"? You quickly get used to the big screens and I haven't heard of anyone upset with a bigger one (until you get into the 70+ inch and the picture quality goes in the crapper).
EDIT:
I've had good luck with Update TV and Stereo. They know their stuff and have lots of models/price points in stock at the Elgin Mills & 404 store. Trevor and Stacey are the owners, try giving them a call and see what they can do for you (they are normally at the Elgin Mills store).
Why max 50"? You quickly get used to the big screens and I haven't heard of anyone upset with a bigger one (until you get into the 70+ inch and the picture quality goes in the crapper).
EDIT:
I've had good luck with Update TV and Stereo. They know their stuff and have lots of models/price points in stock at the Elgin Mills & 404 store. Trevor and Stacey are the owners, try giving them a call and see what they can do for you (they are normally at the Elgin Mills store).
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:lmao: Yeah I agree with you on that. I would have thought they would have somehow incorporated this tech into current sets. Perhaps in a few years. The main difference between the Airtame and the Chromecast is that the Airtame isn't a platform running apps (like hulu or HBOGO), its a streaming device. It streams whatever you have on your desktop to your TV, which can literally be anything. So I would just start a movie on my pc and you can change the latency vs quality depending on what you are up to. Its more convoluted that a wire for sure.
I used an HDMI + TV combo for years, I can't remember what I paid for it but it was under $100 back then..
Dresden
Well-known member
Samsung > Sony TV'S.
BlackBerry lol
OP, you can't go wrong with a decent sized Samsung smart LED tv (which has Internet connectivity built in - most likely wireless).
3d has not really taken off.. I have a 3d tv and used the 3d aspect maybe 5 times max.
120hz at a minimum. The 60hz ones are quite bad picture quality.
You don't need 4k resolution at this time as hardly any channels are broadcasting in 4k. 1080P is good enough and MUCH better than 720P. If you need to get an idea, head over to youtube and look under the go pro channel. They have several videos where you can change the resolution and see the difference between each.
Look at this link:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2379206,00.asp
MarcosSantiago
Well-known member
Keep it simple! It sound like any TV will do it for you - at least for now.
A while back I was looking (online) at the Sony Android TVs... interesting ideas.
A while back I was looking (online) at the Sony Android TVs... interesting ideas.
Our first flat screen was a Sharp Aquos from Bay Bloor Radio, way back in the day.
We had it mounted to the wall and a surround sound system put in with it.
They measured everything including the ambient light from the window, and set everything up.
The only issue was that they were somehow missing the electrical plug and "borrowed" the one from my Playstation 1,
which I never saw again. TV is still going strong there, and the renter's enjoy it.
Well worth it, if you have the money and the space.
Our new house only has corners to set up a TV, so we've got a cable to Roku or Apple TV.
There's also plugs in the back to connect a Mac or PC.
That TV was bought at Costco, and it's a Samsung.
Do you have to up your internet capability to allow for the TV?
We're running TekSavvy here, where it cuts the speed in half from 8pm to midnight, and gives unlimited downloads.
We had it mounted to the wall and a surround sound system put in with it.
They measured everything including the ambient light from the window, and set everything up.
The only issue was that they were somehow missing the electrical plug and "borrowed" the one from my Playstation 1,
which I never saw again. TV is still going strong there, and the renter's enjoy it.
Well worth it, if you have the money and the space.
Our new house only has corners to set up a TV, so we've got a cable to Roku or Apple TV.
There's also plugs in the back to connect a Mac or PC.
That TV was bought at Costco, and it's a Samsung.
Do you have to up your internet capability to allow for the TV?
We're running TekSavvy here, where it cuts the speed in half from 8pm to midnight, and gives unlimited downloads.
Honestly OP, I think pretty much any 1080p TV will make you happy so I say shop by price and stick to a reputable brand. Forget about the other specs because you're not going to notice them. The only specs I might recommend are a 120+ Hz refresh rate and LED backlight. Not because they're necessarily all that superior but because those things are pretty standard nowadays so you might as well keep with the times.
My recommendation is Vizio. They started out as a budget, no-name TV set and now they're competing with the major brands. At the high-end the big names will likely still win in a comparison test. But for anything less than top-end I think Vizio is the best bang for buck. Save some money on the name and either pocket it or put it towards a larger screen size or feature set.
Actually, there is a screen mirroring service built into some TVs. It's called Miracast but it's often re-branded by the TV manufacturer. For example, Samsung calls it "AllShare Cast", LG calls it "Smart Share" and Sony just calls it "Screen Mirroring". Miracast is baked into Android natively as well Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. So, in theory you if you're running any of these operating systems on your computer/device AND your TV supports Miracast then you can wirelessly mirror your device to your TV screen.
Chromecast is a different animal. It doesn't do screen mirroring. It's actually more like a set-top box that streams content from the Internet. It also syncs with your device (computer or phone) which allows you to pause the video you were watching on your phone and continue watching it on the TV. You can also use your phone/computer as a remote. This gives the illusion that it's mirroring your screen but it's really not. It's only compatible with certain services (like youtube, Netflix, etc).
Personally I'd say avoid 4K for now. When people ask me why these are the reasons I give:
1. Lack of 4K content available
2. Price
3. Not much point unless you have a pretty large TV or sit very close to the screen
4. Some lower priced sets operate at a lower refresh rate at 4K resolution
5. Wait to see if 8K supplants 4K as the next ultra HD standard (hey, it happened with 720 vs 1080)
That being said, if you just want one so you can geek out over it that's totally cool too. I would if I had the money to burn.
My recommendation is Vizio. They started out as a budget, no-name TV set and now they're competing with the major brands. At the high-end the big names will likely still win in a comparison test. But for anything less than top-end I think Vizio is the best bang for buck. Save some money on the name and either pocket it or put it towards a larger screen size or feature set.
Actually, there is a screen mirroring service built into some TVs. It's called Miracast but it's often re-branded by the TV manufacturer. For example, Samsung calls it "AllShare Cast", LG calls it "Smart Share" and Sony just calls it "Screen Mirroring". Miracast is baked into Android natively as well Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. So, in theory you if you're running any of these operating systems on your computer/device AND your TV supports Miracast then you can wirelessly mirror your device to your TV screen.
Chromecast is a different animal. It doesn't do screen mirroring. It's actually more like a set-top box that streams content from the Internet. It also syncs with your device (computer or phone) which allows you to pause the video you were watching on your phone and continue watching it on the TV. You can also use your phone/computer as a remote. This gives the illusion that it's mirroring your screen but it's really not. It's only compatible with certain services (like youtube, Netflix, etc).
Personally I'd say avoid 4K for now. When people ask me why these are the reasons I give:
1. Lack of 4K content available
2. Price
3. Not much point unless you have a pretty large TV or sit very close to the screen
4. Some lower priced sets operate at a lower refresh rate at 4K resolution
5. Wait to see if 8K supplants 4K as the next ultra HD standard (hey, it happened with 720 vs 1080)
That being said, if you just want one so you can geek out over it that's totally cool too. I would if I had the money to burn.
Lots of great advice on this thread already.
My old set (now the basement TV was/is a Sony 50"). The set I am using for the main viewing now is a 60" Samsung LCD with LED backlighting. It is a "smart" TV and it is nice to be able to launch Netflix (and now Crave TV) from within the TV instead of having to go through the PS3. AS others have recommended 1080p and a 120 Hz refresh are kind of the sweet spots right now with respect to performance versus price.
One thing I like about my smart TV is that I have a 5 Terrabyte external hard drive hooked up to it and it will play the videos, photos, and music off of it. Pretty sweet. Also easy to play You tube videos with my laptop since I just pair them since the TV allows for that.
I do watch a 3D movie about once a month but don't let this feature define your choice. Downloaded 3D content on my hardrive does play in 3D btw...
Measure your space and see how far from the screen you will be sitting most of the time. You would be surprised how much screen size you can accommodate if the TV has an especially small or thin bezel. Our 60" TV is not that much larger overall than the old 50" TV.
It is up to you if you want to spring for a calibration. We had the Samsung done and it is better than I was able to do myself using recommended settings on the AVS forum and tweaking them. A good calibration will make a difference but $200 is monies you could spend elsewhere.
My old set (now the basement TV was/is a Sony 50"). The set I am using for the main viewing now is a 60" Samsung LCD with LED backlighting. It is a "smart" TV and it is nice to be able to launch Netflix (and now Crave TV) from within the TV instead of having to go through the PS3. AS others have recommended 1080p and a 120 Hz refresh are kind of the sweet spots right now with respect to performance versus price.
One thing I like about my smart TV is that I have a 5 Terrabyte external hard drive hooked up to it and it will play the videos, photos, and music off of it. Pretty sweet. Also easy to play You tube videos with my laptop since I just pair them since the TV allows for that.
I do watch a 3D movie about once a month but don't let this feature define your choice. Downloaded 3D content on my hardrive does play in 3D btw...
Measure your space and see how far from the screen you will be sitting most of the time. You would be surprised how much screen size you can accommodate if the TV has an especially small or thin bezel. Our 60" TV is not that much larger overall than the old 50" TV.
It is up to you if you want to spring for a calibration. We had the Samsung done and it is better than I was able to do myself using recommended settings on the AVS forum and tweaking them. A good calibration will make a difference but $200 is monies you could spend elsewhere.
easy_rider_77
Well-known member
Only thing I can add to the points here already, (and it's been mentioned twice already), is that if you are getting a 1080p TV, get at least 120hz refresh rate. It is a BIG difference between 60 to 120, and if you look, the ones on sale are usually the 60hz. If there is a 120 hz or above for sale, I would pick up one of those. 240hz i nice, but not that much of an upgrade from 120hz in my opinion.
uh huh,,,
I won't turn this into a spec fest, so after this post wont comment any further, but....
at CES 2015, while Samsung and LG were touting quantum dots and nano crystals on their 2015 models, Sony were 'first' to market this tech back in 2013.
they also market the worlds thinnest LCD TV at only .2 inch thick.
Hardly 'second tier' tech.....
A note on refresh rate... you don't really need more than 60 Hz. The refresh rate has very little to do with image quality but it does have an effect on motion. 120 Hz and higher refresh rates allow for "smooth motion" which is basically an artificial way of trying to smooth out motion blur via interpolation. This has the side effect of looking like the video was shot in a higher frame rate (also known as the "soap opera effect"). Personally, I can't stand it so I turn smooth motion off on my TV.
To put this in perspective, your computer monitor is probably a 60 Hz display. If you enjoy watching video on that then you're probably fine with a 60 Hz TV as well. I recommend a 120 Hz refresh rate only because it's basically the standard now and the smooth motion might actually be nice for watching sports. But if you don't care about the motion smoothing feature and find an awesome deal on an older 60 Hz set then I say go for it as long as it meets your other shopping criteria.
On the other hand, if you're looking for a 3D TV then I would suggest getting at least a 120 Hz set. I'm not too versed on the current 3D standards but I believe the higher refresh rate could be beneficial to the brightness level of 3D content. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this.
To put this in perspective, your computer monitor is probably a 60 Hz display. If you enjoy watching video on that then you're probably fine with a 60 Hz TV as well. I recommend a 120 Hz refresh rate only because it's basically the standard now and the smooth motion might actually be nice for watching sports. But if you don't care about the motion smoothing feature and find an awesome deal on an older 60 Hz set then I say go for it as long as it meets your other shopping criteria.
On the other hand, if you're looking for a 3D TV then I would suggest getting at least a 120 Hz set. I'm not too versed on the current 3D standards but I believe the higher refresh rate could be beneficial to the brightness level of 3D content. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this.
The tech's there. The real world performance, not so much any more.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/home_electronics/sony_tv.html
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/home_electronics/sony_tv.html
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eljay
Well-known member
I'm getting a Samsung LCD, 40-something inches, 1080p, 120Hz, with HDMI in. From Costco. Someday soon. Watching for sales.
Anything bigger or better or more features will be inconsequential. I'll go bigger if it's cheap enough and I'll switch brands for the right price too.
Gonna plug the laptop in and watch me some movies.
Anything bigger or better or more features will be inconsequential. I'll go bigger if it's cheap enough and I'll switch brands for the right price too.
Gonna plug the laptop in and watch me some movies.
I just go look at the TVs and pick the one I like the picture of the best for the price I like. Ideally with no fancy "smart" features as all that **** is going to be outdated and slow within a year, anyway. I just use laptops connected to the TV for everything. Any laptop I've had in the last 5 years, including the retired business models from work, will connect to them at 1080p.
I personally wouldn't bother with 4K until there is more media out for it.
I personally wouldn't bother with 4K until there is more media out for it.
MarcosSantiago
Well-known member
Just want to mention this... this was my TV until today.
Sony Trinitron WEGA model KV-32FS120 - It is only 165 lbs. and 6 oz. (75 kgs)
Today I got my first LCD screen (second hand Samsung).
There !
Hopefully this will make you feel pretty sophisticated and tech savvy!
Sony Trinitron WEGA model KV-32FS120 - It is only 165 lbs. and 6 oz. (75 kgs)
Today I got my first LCD screen (second hand Samsung).
There !
Hopefully this will make you feel pretty sophisticated and tech savvy!
I think we're gonna go with the 48" Samsung from Costco which is on for $699. I think it's 720, but I'm not too picky. I'll also be moving to digital tv from analog (with digital adapter )
Sent from a Samsung Galaxy far, far away using Tapatalk
Sent from a Samsung Galaxy far, far away using Tapatalk
Airtame sounds just like Chromecast and Miracast and Airplay. They just run different software, with Chromecast being Android specific software, Miracast being multi-platform, and Airplay for Apple.
There may be other differences but I think in concept they're all the same. If your laptop supports Miracast then you just need Miracast on the TV. It can be built in or you can get dongles (thingy to plug into the TV) for supposedly $40-80.
Or just use HDMI. BTW I don't think
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