If you had to buy a new TV, what brand would you get?
A friend is looking for one and I don't know what to recommend.
Assuming that the goal is to never connect it to the internet and plug in another device with HDMI.
The Dell P5524Q is a 55" conference room monitor. It has no built-in wifi, microphones, camera, or other smart tv bullshit, it's just a big monitor. It just turns on when you turn it on and turns off when you turn it off - it doesn't take 5 minutes to boot up because of the shitty low-grade computer hardware built into it. You can find them on eBay in the US$900 range.
900 for a 55 in TV seems really high doesn't it?
Almost 2 decades ago I paid close to that for a 50" plasma TV as one of my first big purchases after I got my first job.
Of course this isn't a direct 1:1 comparison, they're different display technologies, TVs these days have a 4k if not 8k resolution when that one I bought was 720p, there's been almost 20 years of advancement driving costs down, and 20 years of inflation driving them up, etc.
So I don't even know where to begin trying to fairly compare the relative costs of those 2 TVs
But back then tv manufacturers also weren't getting paid to include apps, and put a button on their remotes to launch Amazon prime, or show me ads, or anything of the sort. Their only revenue stream was me buying the tv.
Yeah monitors typically cost more than the equivalent TV as it’ll have more features.
LG OLED for a main tv. Anything less is meh.
Seriously. I’ve had an LG B7 for many years now and it’s amazing. It’s not internet connected and I don’t use any of the built in apps. Straight up display.
The first time a pitch black scene came on and my room likewise went pitch black was something else. No going back from OLED after that.
I think that's the same OLED I have. B7 or C7. It's starting to band on red, but I got at least... 7 (?) years out of it, and the bands are only mildly annoying. Similarly, I have never connected it to the internet, and don't use any of the apps.
It's not very bright, but I'll take that over washed out or blotchy blacks. I'll shop for a used OLED like this when I'm ready.
Sony Bravia. Because I just did this last year. My old TV was also a Bravia, and it lasted about 15 years. One big selling feature for me was that you can set it up as either a smart TV, or a 'basic' TV that doesn't require an Internet connection and doesn't pester you for one.
I'd buy an HDMI monitor instead of a TV, I guess. Why a new one though? There are tons of super cheap ones at goodwill stores.
Does anyone make a 65"+ monitor though?
Web search says absolutely yes. Affordable ones? IDK, you'll have to check.
100%. if ever i buy another display thingy it'd be a beamer though
LG or Samsung, but the model matters too. If you’re on a budget, there are some solid TCL options
I am very done with Samsung’s smart tv OS.
LG OLED. You can find last year’s models at some price clubs. I’ve seen the 65” C4 for like $1100 which is great.
Assuming that the goal is to never connect it to the internet and plug in another device with HDMI.
Ooh, this sounds like you may be interested in Commercial TVs? I heard those are the closest you can get to a dumb TV. I haven't dived deeper than that though.
Any one have experience with commercial TVs?
Samsung Commercial TVs: https://www.samsung.com/us/business/displays/commercial-tvs/
This one even calls out that it's not smart:
Samsung HU600F Non-Smart Hospitality TV with Pro:Idiom for Set Top Box Deployments
You need to be mindful of specs when looking at commercial panels. Video quality is not a primary focus so I’ve seen them use 8 bit and even 6 bit panels instead of the recommended 10 bit or 12 bit panels.
There's are still some consumer TVs out there that allow you to use the green without an Internet connection. Although they are kinda rare these days.
I really like my LG G4 OLED, best television I’ve ever had and reviews are great.
I know you asked for TV recommendations, but, if your friend is open to other ideas, they could also look into home theater projectors. I got a super cheap projector on sale a few years ago and being able to watch TV and movies on a 150 inch screen is absolutely bitchin'. I later upgraded to a higher quality projector cause the cheap one crapped out after about a year (and replacement bulbs were impossible to find due to the supply chain issues during early covid). Spent about the same amount on the high quality projector that I would have spent on a much smaller TV.
Though there's obviously drawbacks to projectors:
When we moved into our house a few years ago, I saw there was an elevated alcove in the living room with a big, blank wall on the opposite side of the room. I knew right then that it would be perfect for a projector.
Movie night kicks ass. Every re-watch of Lord of the Rings is like watching it in the theater again. And Superbowl Sundays are epic on the big screen.
I have an Epson 2250 and it's worked nicely these past few years.
If you get a brighter projector, you could probably view it in daylight pretty well. I have an Epson 3200 and it was a massive jump up from my old Viewsonic 8200. Refurbished/renewed can help save you money too.
LG, the quality is really great, just have a few issues with CEC on my Nvidia Shield Pro.
Shield Pro is known to be a bit of a bitch with CEC, in fairness.
I've read through quite a few posts about specific issues with CEC on LG TVs, just kinda hoping they get fixed when Nvidia actually cares to do something about it
I'm lucky! Mine (2015 pro) has been awesome, except for when it was going through a Demon AVR. Its fine when direct to the TV or through the Onkyo. It has flaked out before though, and I never updated to the "experience" version that introduced ads on the home screen.
For sure, never ever connect it to the internet.
Samsung equipment is pretty good, and to some degree the larger companies subsidize the cost of the TV with the assumption that you'll connect it and give them data to sell. So while a large monitor might be more expensive, there's a reason why. Unless your friend actually gets over the air TV stations, consider a large monitor, then Samsung and LG.
I wouldn't get a television. I would get a monitor. No UI. No smart features. Just a black square that had HDMI inputs.
If you really want to watch OTA TV, you can buy box tuners that connect to the HDMI. Usually with DVR capability.
It will cost more. Like.....a LOT more. But thats just what regular TVs used to cost back in the 90s. You wanted a bigscreen tv? $800 then, which would be like $2,000 now. And "big screen" was like 55 inch. Though it was a 4:3 ratio. So 55 inch then wold be more like 70 inch now in a 16:9 ratio.
I bought a hisense tv last year, you can run advtv to cripple its ability to phone home and disable stuff, then install projectivy launcher to bypass all the other bullshit.
Sony also was an option for that.
I dont see it mentioned here, but I went with a 75" Spectre earlier this year. I had a 40" Spectre that was given to me third- hand, and I only replaced it because it was too small for the new place I moved into. Spectre doesn't seem to even offer smart TV, and I wanted to support that decision. The only potential downside that you may see is the lack of a 4k offering, but that wasn't something I care about.
There's at least one supplier here in the UK that still sells free-to-air-only dumb TVs. Digital of course, because we turned off analogue TV signals years ago, but no smarter than that. Definitely no Internet connectivity.
If I decided I was going to become a regular TV watcher again, I'd probably get one of those.
Is look for a hospitality TV or some other dumb tv, at least 120hz refresh, excellent contrast, 4k.
Can you even find these anymore?
Yeah. The AI search engine is dumb and included at least 1 smart tv, but here are examples https://www.perplexity.ai/search/i-m-looking-for-dumb-tvs-A8yqzSZKQ7ipW8MSOrkmGg
Or there's this list
Not a Vizio and not a Samsung.
Not Vizio because their customer support is terrible and the firmware updates they push render older televisions slow as dog shit and require customer service intervention to undo.
Not Samsung because their panels are so fucking blue that it scalds your eyes.
Probably not an LG because their webOS interface is dogshit.
So I guess a Sony Bravia because it can be used as a dumb TV or worst case like a TCL or something. I just use my cell phone Wi-Fi as its Wi-Fi setup and then change the Wi-Fi SSID so that it gets to talk once and then never again.
Slight counterpoint
I have 2 TVs in my house. A 70" Vizio as my main TV and a 40-ish inch Samsung fame in the bedroom
Haven't used the TVs smart features in years, everything I watch is run through a game console or dedicated streaming device (currently a 4k Chromecast)
Their software is kind of dogshit, but I never interact with it except once in a blue moon after a power outage or something when it defaults back to that. I otherwise find it to be a perfectly fine TV for the price I paid for it.
However, as bad as the software is on the Vizio, the Samsung is 10x worse. And unfortunately as bad as it is, that's what we use because it was hard enough trying to hide the box the TV came with (the way they get the frame TV's so light and thin is by moving all of the electronics into a separate box, I installed a cabinet in the wall behind the TV to hide it) let alone trying to hide a separate streaming stick/box along with it. I also feel like using one of those may not play as well with the art mode as the built-in software, which is kind of the whole point.
I second LG. Probably even if I don't connect it to the internet. OLED + webOS + magic remote. If it was super important to not require internet etc, still LG but JB it.
Excellent picture quality. I’ll never connect it to the internet. No usage for the smart side of it but the image quality is awesome!
I spent months on Rtings looking up ratings, pricing, checking out tv sub's and i came to the conclusion that you have 2 options.
LG makes great OLED's, but you do need to be aware of burn in if you watch lots of news channels. Also the pricing is much higher and the technology for Mini LED's is getting much better every year.
Avoid ALL Samsung TV's as they are poorly made and will break quickly like all other samsung products.
I have a TCL 6 series Mini LED and love it. It has Dolby Vision, little glare, and it's bright AF (not sure of the NIT rating). I also have a hisense U75 series mini LED and the picture quality is fantastic. The OS is buggy and it freezes, crashes every month or so. But both my TCL and Hisense have buggy OS's and freeze randomly, just the cost of a cheaper TV.
I didn't have my TCL hooked up to the internet for a couple years and used my computer for everything. Then i realized my computer cannot process 4k with HDR, so i connected them to the internet and set up Plex and they both look fantastic with 4k HDR, HDR10, or Dolby Vision.
Their build in speakers are the worst i have ever heard, even the Hisense with it's supposed 2.1 speaker setup, they both sound horrible and you WILL need a good AV home theatre setup, or at the very least, a good quality soundbar.
This is very detailed and helpful, thank you
If you have some more time, which soundbar or AV system did you end up going with?
I personally don't like soundbars so i go with an AV setup with 5.1 speakers for now. I got my AV recievers on nextdoor, craigslist, ebay, etc. I get them used because people constantly upgrade and i was able to get really nice Onkyo, Denon, and Pioneer AV receivers for under $80 each. Then i got REALLY lucky and found some Definitive Technology studio monitors at goodwill for $5 each and a center KLH platinum center speaker for $4. I found my other surround speakers in my attic from past friends and they are Sony or Bose. But best buy open box and outlet stores are your best bet for subwoofers and front speakers as they can be 30-40% off and still new with warranty. Monolith/Monoprice also makes some decent quality speakers and i love mine.
The vast majority of TVs nowadays have really just become manufactured e-waste, mainly due to the piss poor computers they have running the "smart" features. Have a look at your local thrift store or Goodwill. You might find something there for a discount that will last a bit.
Nowadays, I probably wouldn't buy a new TV. Too much malware preinstalled even if their smart features aren't under powered. I would look instead at digital displays or larger computer monitors. It will bump the price back up to what TVs used to cost when I was younger, but at least your paying with cash instead of your privacy. Will probably last a bit longer to boot.
I think that's the point of this post, either as a commentary or specific recommendations to avoid junk. Let's hope LG or Samsung have some good offers.
Sony bravia proper if you can, TCL otherwise.
Since I use a PC with a TV and ignore the "smart" infestures entirely and never connect to the internet unless I become aware of a bug fix that concerns the displayed picture, it doesn't matter much to me. I just compare panel quality on the fly with my phone while out buying one and check for any deal breakers like a high failure rate or something. I'd look for microLED /w an adequate amount of dimming zones, HDR1000, VRR Freesync, and 120hz. The last two times I went during winter holidays and bought heavily discounted clearance last year's models 75" panels. Won't again until it breaks. Edit: LG currently but I have no brand loyalty.
The cheapest one with the best picture in the largest size I could fit, from Costco
That friend needs to be more specific, they didn't even give you resolution or screen size preferences? What kind of friend does that?
well first I'd take an extension cord to goodwill
If you really like to watch television, the you can't go wrong with the Carnivalé.
If you're going to utilize the interface for apps then LG or Samsung, if not, then it doesn't matter much, try and get the equivalent panel if you can afford it in one of the brands that uses LG and Samsung panels. The biggest difference going with big brands is upscaling performance and menu smoothness.
Honestly? Probably something like this:
the tvs for business/digital signage have stripped down os (if any), this is just a stock android tv.
I'm not a videophile, probably looks good enough for me, and they aren't going to be dropping ads on it as they assume it's going in a restraunt for a menu, not in your living room.
I agree with the sentiment but not the price. You can find commercial ones of this size for almost half the price. Ex. https://a.co/d/63aVKxp
Personally I don't need it to be fully bezelless, so if that's not a deal breaker, there are less expensive options available.
I've only bought cheap TVs, because that's what was available to me.
A year or so ago I got a big Samsung at an estate auction. It's older than all my other TVs, but much better than all of them.
There may be higher quality or better value brands, but I can confirm that Samsung makes a nice TV.
What's the goal of the tv? Budget?
Want the best quality picture? Want the highest refresh rate for gaming? Anything beyond just displaying a moving picture?
If it’s going to be a glorified display then simply get a non-smart tv designed for digital signage.
I would probably be trying to pick something with at least 120hz now.
It would also need speakers (I recommend plug in kind) but I really like my Epson 3200 projector: Bright enough to use in the day, my screen is 120", and there's no "smart" garbage.
If you want an actual TV, look at commercial displays instead of stuff from big box stores: They will be more expensive, but won't have any of the junky ad ridden stuff.
I have been happy with my Hisense U8.
That's a tough one, I've had the same TV since I was 4 (17 now). It's probably exactly what your friend is looking for (no internet connection, has ports for HDMI, SCART, and the red-white-yellow cables), but it's pretty old so I don't imagine it's being sold anymore.
It'll break at some point, despite my wishes, so I'll end up dealing with this question soon enough
A LGOLED and then a Apple TV box so it never has to connect to the Internet