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I need a TV lesson - Printable Version

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I need a TV lesson - pipiens - 08-21-2017

I have lived without TV for many years. I do occasionally look at classic movies trying to learn about lighting techniques (my condo has a media room). The condo supplies 'free' cable but I do not have any working TV sets and I don't know anything about them. The last time I had anything to do with them they were CRT gadgets.

I do know a fair amount about lcd monitors. I have a bunch(8) of the large ones that I calibrate and profile as part of my photography work flow.

I have lost the battle. My SO(wife) wants a TV. She points out that we are starting to produce some video clips for our photo exhibitions - we 'need' a TV to check them on. So I am about to bite the bullet and get three TVs. One somewhat large one and two small ones for bedrooms.

It seems to me that the small ones can be anything that happens to fit. What do I have to know about the new technologies? resolution? how big/close do I have to be to be able to notice 4k. What do I need to know about LEDs Quantum dots, dynamic range??? etc?

What do I need to know about source material - I will be getting a bunch of channels and 1Gb internet from the condo association.

HELP!!! Please


Re: I need a TV lesson - jdc - 08-21-2017

Whats your budget?

For the small ones, id say 32" fits most normal size bedrooms. If you subscribe to any streaming -- hulu, netflix, amazon -- then a "smart" TV wouldnt be a bad idea. I think 720p is fine. About $150 for anything decent.

As for the larger TV, Id says the sweet spot on price vs performance is 50-55" 4K.

They can range from as little as $400 up to 600. Id pick your price and just buy within.

Brands are a whole other thing, but thats like ford vs chevy or pepsi vs coke.

We have a Samsung (720p) and a Vizio 32", a Sharp 42" (both 1080) and TCL 55" (4K). All various years old, all seem about the same picture wise.


Re: I need a TV lesson - pipiens - 08-21-2017

I have no real budget. I would be happy to pay for a noticeable difference


Re: I need a TV lesson - jdc - 08-21-2017

pipiens wrote:
I have no real budget. I would be happy to pay for a noticeable difference

Since you really have no baseline, not sure how you might tell if one TV is better than another?

Are your monitors 4K-5K? If not, what size? And how old? And what brand? $100 Asus or $1000 NEC?

how about a review: http://gizmodo.com/tcls-new-roku-4k-tv-is-very-good-and-beautifully-cheap-1796514028

https://www.amazon.com/TCL-55P607-55-Inch-Ultra-Smart/dp/B06Y6FSV5Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503331859&sr=8-1&keywords=tcl+p+series


Re: I need a TV lesson - pipiens - 08-21-2017

My current monitors are 30” NEC MultiSync EA304WMi 2560 x 1600


Re: I need a TV lesson - jdc - 08-21-2017

So great monitors, few years old, but not 4K, or even a 5K iMac.

Im of the notion it just doesnt really matter. Pop into costco, buy something you like and bring it home and give it a try. Take it back if you hate it.

You might consider a bias lighting for a better experience.


Re: I need a TV lesson - davemchine - 08-21-2017

I bought 4k OLED for the main viewing tv as I don't care for most LCD tv's. Bedroom and kid's room are 720p LCD as viewing quality wasn't as important there. If I were buying today I wouldn't go lower than 1080 though. You should probably visit a show room to determine how picky you are about picture quality.

If you are considering an AppleTV it might pay to wait a short amount of time as a new 4k version is rumored to be around the corner.

How will you listen to your shows? You can use the TV speakers, a sound bar, vintage stereo, or modern surround sound. Lot's of options. If you plan to use a vintage stereo make sure the tv has analog audio outputs.


Re: I need a TV lesson - Carm - 08-21-2017

Although 720 Is the HD standard, go with 1080. Just because it's the Blu Ray Standard.
If you plan on watching sports go with 120hz or higher refresh rate. If not, go with 60hz.

But as davemachine suggested, look at them in "action". That's what we do. For most people not to picky a sound bar will do.


Re: I need a TV lesson - pipiens - 08-21-2017

Thanks all. I was planning to use my Sonos system for sound so I will make sure that there is an output I can use.

My monitors are used to produce prints from my photography. I have tried higher resolution but It seems like what I have gives the best soft proofs

I just looked at Samsung 55" TVs on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-UN55MU9000-55-Inch-Ultra-SmartTV/dp/B06XGC4L85/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1503333219&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=samsung+55+inch+4k&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-UN55MU8000-55-Inch-Ultra/dp/B06WVH9T2D/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1503337899&sr=1-6&keywords=samsung+55+inch+4k

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-UN55MU7000-55-Inch-Ultra/dp/B06XG311P8/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1503337630&sr=1-4&keywords=samsung+55+inch+4k

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-UN55MU6300-55-Inch-Ultra/dp/B06XGJX3SH/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1503337694&sr=1-3&keywords=samsung+55+inch+4k

There is about a 2 to 1 price difference. The OLED units are quite a bit more. It looks like I have a lot of looking to do.

Do you have any most favored or least favored brands?


Re: I need a TV lesson - NewtonMP2100 - 08-21-2017

....IMHO....the best bang for the buck is the TCL......big brand in China and it comes with Roku built in.....Vizio used to be the best bang but the quality seems to have gone down and they have like 3 different lines, so you have to make sure to get the best line......

.....I avoid Samsung because in the past, they used cheap capacitors that had issues and they wouldn't repair......others here love Samsung but after my experience with them, I will not buy one from them in the near future......

......Costco has the TCL so you rely on their return policy if it doesn't work out.....