Need help with buying a flat screen TV: tips suggestions and lessons learned

[AKcharger]

Our old Projection TV is about to die and I guess if there's a good time to get a flat screen it now. So for you guys that have them a few questions

1) what do you do with all your boxes once you hang it on the wall?
    Most people I know that have a wall mounted TV simply have all the wires running down the wall to the boxes directly below TV...kind of defeats the "neat/clean appearance"   What have you guys done or seen?

2)  Best brands to buy or ones to avoid? When I see a "Lekco" brand TV at Walmart I'll not real confident. my VERY brief research had Samsung as good price quality...?

3) i think plasma is dead...LED best right?
    I saw something about OCAS but it's too new, expensive

4) Any other suggestions?

[Pete in NH]

Hi,

Yes, plasma TV's are gone. We looked for one last year and no one offers them anymore. We went with a 40" Sony Bravia series set and are very pleased with it. The picture quality is very good and there is almost no fast motion blur which is an issue with LED sets and why we wanted a plasma set. Overall, it's great set for the price which was $348 at Wallyworld.

[Troy]

I love my Samsung plasma. It's 8 years old. Hopefully it never dies. Of course, I only watch it 10-15 hours per week.

Samsung usually makes pretty good stuff. I haven't done research lately so I don't know specific models. All LCD screens are made in about 3 factories around the world. The "software" and "hardware" assembled with them is where you run into price differences.

I didn't hang mine for the reasons you mentioned. However, there are ways to bundle and hide wires. I use an HDMI splitter and AVR to connect everything then the TV only has the power cord and 1 HDMI cable going to it. That's not hard to hide. with a loom or conduit. Otherwise you can fish the wires through the wall.

Troy

[AKcharger]

HDMI splitter and AVR? Never heard of that! I need to get smart on this stuff, seems like a lot has changed!

[Troy]

An "AVR" is an "Audio Video Receiver" (basically the old "tuner" as it has AM/FM and an amp to power speakers). It runs the sound system while the TV only shows video. All my "input devices" (Roku, Chromecast, DVD player, cable, TV, etc. and even video game consoles) are HDMI - but there are only 2 "input ports" on my AVR (the TV also has 2 and 1 output if I wanted to have the hassle of using multiple remotes to figure out what I was seeing). So, to make it easier I bought an HDMI splitter box which takes 4 HDMI inputs and has a single HDMI output. I can change input sources in a single place! It is a fancy one and has a optical output for sound so that goes straight into my AVR. A newer AVR may have 4-6 HDMI inputs so you may not need a splitter.

Troy

[John_Kunkel]

They also make HDMI switches that automatically switch when they sense an HDMI input or can be switched with a remote.

https://www.amazon.com/Fosmon-HD1832-Intelligent-Switcher-Supports/dp/B008D6YZXG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1481585864&sr=8-3&keywords=auto+sensing+hdmi+switch

[skip68]

Sony, Samsung, LG and Toshiba are brands I've always stuck with for Electronics.
Our Toshiba 42" plasma was bought in 2006 and is still working hanging in our sons room.   
32" Sony in daughter's room, 43" Samsung in our bedroom and 60" LG in the living room. 
Of the 4 the Samsung seems to have best picture but more high speed blur. 
The LG Has the least speed blur.  But, it's also the newest..
It was on sale at Costco last year for $800. 
The ultra high definition 4k stuff is great but most channels and movies aren't filmed in it yet so it's a waste of money in my opinion. 

[Troy]

There's not much point in going for super high def anything. Even my 42" tv can't realistically display 1080p - which is why I still use DVDs (I have an "upconverter" to get to 720p). I have no idea how big I'd need to go to justify 4K. My room is only 15' wide (about 12.5 from the front side of the tv to my face) so anything larger than what I have is like going to the movies. All cable channels are "HD" now - but that means 720p or 1080i (I believe), Netflix can go as high as 1080p (depending on your internet speed), and Bluray discs are 1080p. Most available content content these days can be played on most available tvs without a problem. Not sure what 4K content is readily available.

A little about resolution:
http://www.rtings.com/tv/learn/what-is-the-resolution

They also make HDMI switches that automatically switch when they sense an HDMI input or can be switched with a remote.

https://www.amazon.com/Fosmon-HD1832-Intelligent-Switcher-Supports/dp/B008D6YZXG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1481585864&sr=8-3&keywords=auto+sensing+hdmi+switch

Wow! That thing is cheap. Wonder if it's any good? My Roku and Chromecast are always on so how would it know which signal I actually want to see?

Troy

[67440chrg]

I am no tech person. I talked to a electrician I know who has every gadget invented. He told me they are all disposable now. They dont make parts for any more than 3 yrs old. He recommended a LG. I bought a 60" at sams club we are happy with it I recommend getting a sound bar for it. It is nice when trying to hear over the wife.

[ODZKing]

We have a Sony Bravia (40 inch) as well .... love it. Has to be 6 years old now and still looks great.
We also have a 35 " Toshiba in the bedroom. That one looks good but sounds AWFUL. the sound on it is not clear at all and there is NO audio out. That is one thing I would suggest as far as lesson learned ... make sure is has variable audio out! That way you can pump it into a amp or receiver and control the audio as well.
Otherwise I like the Phillips and Visio, they also look good to me.
We had Sharp and Samsung at the TV station when I worked there and they did not last. Burned in easily and got hazy quickly.  Now having said that they are on 24/7, BUT we also had a Sony which was also excellent.

[tcs69rt]

I was stationed in Japan in the 80s and 90s. I always watch the "Return shelf" at electronics stores and I'm going to make some people mad with this. I avoid LG, Westinghouse, Sanyo, Samsung and Vizio TV's. I have had some old tube Hitachi TVs last 18 to 25 years. However my first 55" flat screen Hitachi just died after 13 years. I replaced it with a 55" Sony Smart TV (Bravia) I got from Best Buy for $499 = Black Friday online special. I also have a 32" and 48" Sony TVs in the home. No issues with any of my Sonys = good luck!

[Old Moparz]

We had a projection TV too, but the cable inputs were outdated. I needed to use HDMI that this TV did not have inputs for, so after spending hours online looking & trips to a few stores looking for cables, I spotted a 55" Panasonic floor model that was cheap & came home with it instead.

Didn't want to mount it on the wall for several reasons, so I built a corner mount shelf that hides EVERYTHING inside.

Even started a thread for it here.....LOL

[bakerhillpins]

I guess it all depends upon your budget and wants. Personally, I have been a fanboy of OLED tech since it was first introduced and it seems to have finally hit it's stride with the 2016 models. It's not in my budget at this time though so I am living through office mates who have bought them.    Personally, the color and image is unmatched.

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/which-oled-tv-should-you-buy/

I've had a Sony Bravia 46" diag LED for probably 8-9 years now. It's been a great TV for us but 2 yrs ago it took a dirt nap (heat related display controller PCB failure) that is common for the model I have. I pulled it apart and sent the offending board into a shop (via ebay) for repair and $65 later it's been running fine ever since. I could have done the work myself but by the time I bought the replacement chip I was paying someone $35 bucks to install it and figured that was worth it.

[TruckDriver]

I have owned a Samsung since I bought it about 5 years ago. DO NOT BUY A SMART TV from them. ONLY thing I like about mine is, once the internet ACTUALLY loads (1 gig hard drive), I can listen to the German hard rock internet station I like, on it. It's pretty much useless for browsing the internet. So, I paid more for really nothing. That said. The sound always sucked on it. Cheap speakers they come with. I ended up going out to buy a sound bar for it. We have 3 flat screen TV's. My Samsung 43", Vizio 43" which is a 2008 model and a 53" Phillips tv, which is 4 years old. Me and my son agree, the best one we have is still the Vizio that is 9 years old. It by far has the BEST sound quality for the factory speakers, the best picture adjustment qualities as well. My Samsung and Vizio only have 3 HDMI plugs, where as my Phillips has 5 HDMI plug spaces.

In all, I would defiantly buy another Vizio and OR another Phillips. I never heard anything bad either about LG TV's. I know a few that own them, they love them. 

[AKcharger]

OK I went with a 60inch LG 4K LED...was on sale for $636. Odd thing was go to a 65 inch and price jumps $800!!! ?

Anyway, guess I still need to get a few of those high tech cables, sounds bar and such so please continue suggestions. Oh, Old Mopartz, love the corner shelf!

[Old Moparz]

OK I went with a 60inch LG 4K LED...was on sale for $636. Odd thing was go to a 65 inch and price jumps $800!!! ?

Anyway, guess I still need to get a few of those high tech cables, sounds bar and such so please continue suggestions. Oh, Old Mopartz, love the corner shelf!

Thanks. 

And it's still on the wall by the way....LOL

[BSB67]

OK I went with a 60inch LG 4K LED...was on sale for $636. Odd thing was go to a 65 inch and price jumps $800!!! ?

Anyway, guess I still need to get a few of those high tech cables, sounds bar and such so please continue suggestions. Oh, Old Mopartz, love the corner shelf!

I'm kinda in the middle of this too.  One extreme is go with Sonos.  Simple, clean and people seem to love the stuff.  Sound bar connected to the TV (optical, not HDMI), everything else is wireless. I think you can physically hang the soundbar off the TV to completely eliminate component storage.  The other extreme is a 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound system if your going all-in on home theater.   Wiring becomes more of a challenge. 

[67440chrg]

Try to get the same brand sound bar as TV so you can use the same remote for both.

[AKcharger]

I looked at the Sonos once...impressive but I'm not really that much of a TV/sound geek.

Good advice on sound bar!

[BSB67]

I looked at the Sonos once...impressive but I'm not really that much of a TV/sound geek.

Good advice on sound bar!

Right.  Its not for the audiophile or home theater guy.  Just simple.  The wired stuff is for the TV/sound geeks.