My turn .. 40" none HDR TV recommendations please

signs · 15 Jan 2019 at 09:18

The elderly couple who live opposite me asked me to go and have a look at their TV last night as the sound was awful, seems the speaker has blown .

They have asked me to find a new one for them , budget isn't an issue as it's their only form of entertainment theses days ..bless

they only have a aerial input along with a DVD player and what looks like a freeview box , So they need something simple to use and has freeview built in please

cheers

lucid · 15 Jan 2019 at 10:11

Thinking slightly outside the box, is the reason the speakers have blown because the sound quality was pants?

It might be an idea then to solve the sound problem now because any new TV will still sound pants. There isn't the space inside to place large speakers. A sound bar is the common solution, even with new TVs.

As for TV choices, you'll be swimming against the tide trying to find a decent basic non-HDR set. The major manufacturers have pretty-much abandoned 1080p non-smart non-HDR and left that part of the market to the likes of Vestel and the other cheap-end manufacturers. They make almost everything that isn't Sony Samsung Panasonic and LG. They even make some of Panasonic's budget sets.

Sony produces a 1080p TV with pseudo-HDR: KDL43WF663 @ £400. The HDR feature won't work with their sources unless forced.

signs · 15 Jan 2019 at 10:16

Thanks for the reply Lucid , the TV with the "blown" speaker is about 7 years old (they tell me) flat screen 37" Samsung , so i'm guessing they are happy with the speakers within a flat screen

Heisenberg · 15 Jan 2019 at 10:19

Could you not just get them a sound bar?

cheesyboy · 15 Jan 2019 at 10:19

Worth just getting a cheap soundbar to plug into the current tv?

signs · 15 Jan 2019 at 12:07

Good call about the soundbar , i'll nip over tonight and see what connections on the back of the TV

Psycho Sonny · 15 Jan 2019 at 14:34

cheesyboy said:
Worth just getting a cheap soundbar to plug into the current tv?

+1

i don't see the point in replacing a tv if all they need is a speaker.

personally i'd try and advocate a 55" smart tv to them with budget not being an issue. with a netflix subscription. it's only £10 a month or if they have kids they can just use theirs instead for free and create their own profile.

at their age their eyesight must be going therefore bigger tv is better. also freeview is full of a lot of crap. netflix is cheap / free solution to get them better content. sky may be too much as when you include movies and everything else they won't call up to haggle will see their price being £50+ per month in no time.

how old are they exactly?

signs · 15 Jan 2019 at 16:59

Psycho Sonny said:
how old are they exactly?

put it this way , they might not full use out of a years subscription to sky !!

Psycho Sonny · 15 Jan 2019 at 17:04

signs said:
put it this way , they might not full use out of a years subscription to sky !!

if they are on their last legs then i'd advocate a bigger tv with smart built in and HDR and using their kids netflix sub.

once set up it's easy to use. i mean kids use it with no issues.

they may as well enjoy it. as the £200-£300 on a soundbar may be better invested on a decent tv. 55" XF90 for less than £1K will be a big upgrade for them.

cheesyboy · 15 Jan 2019 at 17:06

Psycho Sonny said:
£200-£300 on a soundbar

I was imagining a £50 job

Psycho Sonny · 15 Jan 2019 at 17:11

cheesyboy said:
I was imagining a £50 job

unless second hand you won't get anything for £50 apart from crap that's if crap is available for £50.

at that budget i'd go for active speakers which take optical input. most likely to be pc speakers for that price range.

200sols · 15 Jan 2019 at 18:45

£200-300 is a modest outlay for much improved sound.

cheesyboy · 15 Jan 2019 at 18:50

For a couple of very elderly people, who've been satisfied with their bog standard tv speaker sound, they just need something functional, I'd have thought. I'd not be super comfortable, if it were me, spending hundreds on hi fidelity sound

signs · 16 Jan 2019 at 08:56

cheesyboy said:
For a couple of very elderly people, who've been satisfied with their bog standard tv speaker sound, they just need something functional, I'd have thought. I'd not be super comfortable, if it were me, spending hundreds on hi fidelity sound

yeah i'm with you on this

200sols · 16 Jan 2019 at 08:59

Maybe they dont know what they're missing

Psycho Sonny · 16 Jan 2019 at 11:39

cheesyboy said:
For a couple of very elderly people, who've been satisfied with their bog standard tv speaker sound, they just need something functional, I'd have thought. I'd not be super comfortable, if it were me, spending hundreds on hi fidelity sound

yeah but £50 soundbars are worse than £50 active 2.0 speakers. as in they are terrible.

so it's either spend £200+ on a soundbar or go second hand or buy pc speakers. or kill 2 birds with 1 stone and buy a new tv.

if all they do all day is sit in front of the tv then IMO a new tv could be a worthwhile way for them to enjoy the last moments of their lives. rather than sitting in front of a 37" tv straining their weak eyes and listening to a rattly £50 soundbar.

they can't take their money with them. they may as well spend a grand on a tv.

mad_allan · 16 Jan 2019 at 13:55

I agree with Cheesyboy - cheap soundbar. No need for an expensive one, my grandma has a 40" Samsung H6400 and an £80 soundbar and is more than happy with that.

pcfarrar · 16 Jan 2019 at 15:17

Psycho Sonny said:
if all they do all day is sit in front of the tv then IMO a new tv could be a worthwhile way for them to enjoy the last moments of their lives. rather than sitting in front of a 37" tv straining their weak eyes and listening to a rattly £50 soundbar.
they can't take their money with them. they may as well spend a grand on a tv.

Exactly my WW2 veteran grandfather in his 90s just got a new Sony 4K Android TV and upgraded to Sky Q 4K. He would have got a soundbar too but there is not much point as he lost most of his hearing in WW2.

Psycho Sonny · 16 Jan 2019 at 15:48

mad_allan said:
I agree with Cheesyboy - cheap soundbar. No need for an expensive one, my grandma has a 40" Samsung H6400 and an £80 soundbar and is more than happy with that.

i'm willing to bet she would be even happier with a 55" screen

200sols · 16 Jan 2019 at 16:04

Psycho Sonny said:
i'm willing to bet she would be even happier with a 55" screen

Indeed!