What to look for when buying a TV?

Deleted member 77746 · 16 Jun 2020 at 18:23

What to look for when buying a TV?

Don't listen to other peoples reviews, your taste in a TV might not be mine or anyone else's taste. Check out the features, see if it's something you require. Then get the model number and then compare prices and warranty.

robfosters · 16 Jun 2020 at 19:40

stockhausen said:
I would advise looking for a TV that allows the user to record TV programmes directly to a USB memory stick (or external USB HDD).

I have found this incredibly useful if you want to watch something but may not be around when it is on.

I realise that it could be said that this is now redundant with iPlayer, 4OD, ITV player, etc. but at least this way you can skip adverts.

also . . . modern TVs seem to be cutting back on the number of HDMI sockets.

Totally not needed. As you say, catchup services are on every TV now, and even more unneeded if you have sky or virgin, as it’s all built in.

Belly · 17 Jun 2020 at 09:12

One feature I will certainly look for when buying a new one is that using the ear-phone socket won't cut off the TV speaker.

When watching TV I need to have the volume higher than my wife therefore I wear cordless earphones and need to control both volumes separately.

My current Sony Bravia does NOT have such a feature, as such I had to use the RCA sockets which limited the channels in use on the Sony wireless earphones.

I bought a smaller Panasonic for the bedroom. That one has a separate feature when I could plug in the earphones into the earphone socket and control the volume with the remote control and then increase the speaker volume separately.

opethdisciple · 21 Jun 2020 at 15:01

So we went in to a store to look at TV's. From the naked eye the LG OLED's looked the best.

But the guy in store ended up pointing us at the Sony BRAVIA KD55AG8BU when I asked him to show me what TV he would buy if he was buying for himself.

What do people think of that TV?

Psycho Sonny · 21 Jun 2020 at 16:06

Marky said:
Check out RTings - They do great reviews for TVs, Audio etc.

When I bought my TV, I spent a good few weeks researching and reading reviews

Basically this.

I wouldn't listen to anyone off here.

I'd go straight to rtings and make a small shortlist.

I wouldn't even bother going into a store. I'd just buy online after googling the prices and weighing up what offers a good deal in terms of its marking vs price.

If price is no issue then LG OLED is the no brainer choice.

Psycho Sonny · 21 Jun 2020 at 16:07

opethdisciple said:
So we went in to a store to look at TV's. From the naked eye the LG OLED's looked the best.

But the guy in store ended up pointing us at the Sony BRAVIA KD55AG8BU when I asked him to show me what TV he would buy if he was buying for himself.

What do people think of that TV?

Asking the guy in the store is basically asking him what he gets paid highest commission on.

You would be better off asking a random person off the street than the guy in the shop.

Look up both on rtings. It's not rocket science.

Psycho Sonny · 21 Jun 2020 at 16:10

Belly said:
One feature I will certainly look for when buying a new one is that using the ear-phone socket won't cut off the TV speaker.

When watching TV I need to have the volume higher than my wife therefore I wear cordless earphones and need to control both volumes separately.

My current Sony Bravia does NOT have such a feature, as such I had to use the RCA sockets which limited the channels in use on the Sony wireless earphones.

I bought a smaller Panasonic for the bedroom. That one has a separate feature when I could plug in the earphones into the earphone socket and control the volume with the remote control and then increase the speaker volume separately.

Great story. However pointless for every other person who uses a TV.

Psycho Sonny · 21 Jun 2020 at 16:12

ahar said:
QLED is different from bog standard LCD, and pedantry will not help the OP.

OP, this article should help:

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/qled-vs-oled-tv/

No it isn't. Both are the same technology.

Its basically Samsung only marketing. Every other manufacturer uses their own acronym for the same thing.

Also I'd day qled are terrible in terms of value for money. You are much better off with oled.

Marky · 21 Jun 2020 at 19:43

Psycho Sonny said:
Basically this.

I wouldn't listen to anyone off here.

I'd go straight to rtings and make a small shortlist.

I wouldn't even bother going into a store. I'd just buy online after googling the prices and weighing up what offers a good deal in terms of its marking vs price.

If price is no issue then LG OLED is the no brainer choice.

Can confirm - Got a LG OLED - It’s immense!

Psycho Sonny · 21 Jun 2020 at 20:03

Marky said:
Can confirm - Got a LG OLED - It’s immense!

I have 2 major home projects over the next year. After that I'll be getting one. Hopefully by then I can get a good deal on a large model. The 77" is ridiculous currently.

Marky · 21 Jun 2020 at 20:05

Psycho Sonny said:
I have 2 major home projects over the next year. After that I'll be getting one. Hopefully by then I can get a good deal on a large model. The 77" is ridiculous currently.

Blimey that’s a big TV

Mine is 55” - I think it’s probably my favourite thing I own

The_Arbiter · 21 Jun 2020 at 20:51

Check it has HDMI for their player/s, maybe smart interaction from their phones, if the remote has lights on it, if the UI is intuitive, speakers as mentioned, port for the soundbar, generally that's about it. As long as the price is competitive you're fine. I doubt your folks care for blacker blacks, and having a better viewing angle than the neighbour's TV. Maybe see if there are some soundbar deals too.

My parents watch a 21" over the 42". The room that holds the 21" is warmer, and is closer to the kitchen.

Psycho Sonny · 22 Jun 2020 at 09:44

The_Arbiter said:
Check it has HDMI for their player/s, maybe smart interaction from their phones, if the remote has lights on it, if the UI is intuitive, speakers as mentioned, port for the soundbar, generally that's about it. As long as the price is competitive you're fine. I doubt your folks care for blacker blacks, and having a better viewing angle than the neighbour's TV. Maybe see if there are some soundbar deals too.

My parents watch a 21" over the 42". The room that holds the 21" is warmer, and is closer to the kitchen.

If they are old then it's likley they will not be spending a lot of time away from home.

A 55" oled is around £1000 and with a 5-6 year warranty its £200 per year if it were to break straight after.

Not a huge outlay for someone who watches a lot of TV.

Also their eyesight is likely to have deteriorated and watching on a 21 inch is only going to give them headaches through eye fatigue.

With the cost of large tvs being so cheap the best value for money option is on the 55 inches these days. Thereafter it gets a lot more expensive for smaller gains.

I cannot even recall the last time I seen a 21 inch sized TV. Will have been longer than 10 years ago for sure.

jpaul · 22 Jun 2020 at 10:29

Pipe & Slippers said:
Read reviews of the sound quality
Many have poor sound just because of the limitations of the thin TV
I got a heavily recommended and expensive Samsung a few years ago and the sound was rubbish - I ended up getting a sound bar
On the other hand, maybe my hearing's going

thought that was a good point ... what are they coming from .... if it's an old lcd with front facing speakers on either side - they may need to budget for a sound-bar, or something else too , so the Sony BRAVIA KD55AG8BU oled at, what £1200, might need another £200 too.

robfosters said:
Totally not needed. As you say, catchup services are on every TV now

native catchup for c4/itv is rubbish - cant' jump adds, ffwd clunky, continuing a programme another day, bad too.
so I think a separate dvr, or sky/bt with a hard disk is essential, but maybe ? they have that already that,
on board, tv usb recording, too, only gives 2 tuners, so if you are watching one, it's not very versatile.

stuie · 22 Jun 2020 at 10:53

Its for parents?

Avoid OLED. I Love it, I have one, but I also know how to channel cycle and avoid too much time on channels with bright static images etc. Unless they are tech savvy and understand how to avoid burn in as best they can it will end in tears.

Psycho Sonny · 22 Jun 2020 at 13:07

stuie said:
Its for parents?

Avoid OLED. I Love it, I have one, but I also know how to channel cycle and avoid too much time on channels with bright static images etc. Unless they are tech savvy and understand how to avoid burn in as best they can it will end in tears.

not an issue on the latest models. it's only the first few gens that had issues. i'm glad i have waited thus far. i think next year i'll get an oled as i want the new HDMI on it

Belly · 23 Jun 2020 at 09:31

Psycho Sonny said:
Great story. However pointless for every other person who uses a TV.

How? Everyone else can use the remote in the normal way. The person (me) wearing the earphones can have an individual volume level. It certainly suits me and the O/H. Additionally when she decides to go to bed I just turn off the main TV speaker and it doesn't disturb her.

Psycho Sonny · 23 Jun 2020 at 10:36

Belly said:
How? Everyone else can use the remote in the normal way. The person (me) wearing the earphones can have an individual volume level. It certainly suits me and the O/H. Additionally when she decides to go to bed I just turn off the main TV speaker and it doesn't disturb her.

Because I have never ever in all my years of everyone asking my advice in a personal setting for what TV to buy they wanted this feature.

And basically all my friends and family ask me when it comes to tech and I ask their rough budget and preferred size and then go straight to rtings and see what they can get.

Also i've never heard of someone wanting to us both speakers and headphones at the same time. It's a pretty nice feature. Just because you use it and find it useful doesn't mean more than a handful of other people on the entire planet will.

You could always use the tv speaker and when they fall asleep switch to wireless headphones, etc. Requiring both at the same time is not high up on anyone's list.

jpaul · 23 Jun 2020 at 10:51

Psycho Sonny said:
Also i've never heard of someone wanting to us both speakers and headphones at the same time. It's a pretty nice feature. Just because you use it and find it useful doesn't mean more than a handful of other people on the entire planet will.

not that his point really needed defending ....
well it is very common , which could be why they provide the functionality to control headphone volume and speakers independantly.
I forget what the % of people using hearing aids is (for youngsters too), and even with top end ones that have bluetooth, or a wireless mechanism, you need a fixed volume output from the tv.

I think it's cynical on the part of the tv manufacturers that people have to buy separate soundbars, to get any reasonable, audio quality

Psycho Sonny · 23 Jun 2020 at 11:25

jpaul said:
not that his point really needed defending ....
well it is very common , which could be why they provide the functionality to control headphone volume and speakers independantly.
I forget what the % of people using hearing aids is (for youngsters too), and even with top end ones that have bluetooth, or a wireless mechanism, you need a fixed volume output from the tv.

I think it's cynical on the part of the tv manufacturers that people have to buy separate soundbars, to get any reasonable, audio quality

it isn't cynical at all. it's a part of the issue with tv's becoming smaller. it's a physics issue.

the bigger the driver, the louder it can go and the clearer it will be. multiple drivers of different sizes being optimal for different frequencies.

as tv's got thinner speakers had to get smaller.

also not all tv's have terrible built in sound quality. my LG (top end though) has one of the best built in speakers you will ever hear. it was that good a friend though my 5.1 sound system was on but it wasn't as I had an old AVR at that point which was incompatible with 4k and my sky q box to deliver 4k. so i was using the tv speakers and waiting my new AVR's arrival.

again those speakers were made by harmon kardon before samsung bought them over.

which is why now all of a sudden samsungs soundbars are beating yamaha when yamaha has been the kings of soundbars for decades.

harmon kardon know how to make speakers and their AKG line of headphones are brilliant too especially the k702