My nine year old TV is dying. Picture is fine, but it is having some kind of issue with on/off/power. Sometimes it spontaneously turns off, other times it won't turn on unless I unplug it and reconnect the power.
Anyway, it is/was a 55" 1080P Vizio LED. I want to keep the same size, presumably upgrade to 4k. I have no idea what else. I see acronyms like OLED, QLED, UHD, FHD - I don't even know what they are. Please respond ASAP as the malfunctions are accelerating and Walmart is having some crazy sale this weekend. Also keep in mind I'll probably take what's in stock given the current state of - waves hand at all that.
Recommend a display type, or brand , or model, whatever. Thanks.
I have a Samsung 6 Series 55" TV. Specifically the UN55MU630D. It's an LED display, 120 Hz, three HDMI inputs, which I'm pretty happy with. Got it at Costco for around maybe $600 a few years ago. Was a move up from a 40" Vizio. I tend to buy middle-of-the-line home electronics though so you can definitely spend more to get more.
A step up would be something like the C1 that's been mentioned. Those are around $1100 I think, main difference is they have OLED screens instead of LED. Brighter, sharper, blacker blacks, just nicer to look at. OLEDs are better, but they do add a good bit to the price. 4K is worth the extra over 1080P. Won't actually be that much more but it's worth it, especially with larger screen sizes. You can get higher resolution screens but the cost goes up pretty sharply and at least for now there's not much extra benefit. Ask again in five years though as we all my be thinking about 8K TVS. Number of HDMI inputs is also a factor. Some models cheap out and only give you two inputs. Three was my minimum but four would have been better, and that seems to be the standard nowadays I suppose. Also, check the stand/legs. A lot of the larger TVs have four legs in the corners, but with a 55" model that may be wider than your stand. That's one reason I chose my Samsung over some other similar models, because it had a center pedestal and would fit on my existing cart/table. Don't want to get your giant TV home and have it be too wide for your stand, ya know? Would not get a 60Hz refresh model nowadays, although probably most are now 120 Hz, but also probably don't need to spend extra on 240 Hz either although they're available. Lastly, would also recommend at least a sound bar. They make a big difference in the sound quality over the built-in speakers in most TVs.
Short version: at 55 inches a $400 TV will be OK, an $800 one will definitely be better, and a $1200 model will be better still but not required unless you want the nice one.
Technical concerns: OLED vs QLED doesn't really matter, mostly. Basically QLED uses a backlight and can be brighter, OLED doesn't need a backlight behind the screen so they can be thinner and also can have blacker blacks. As to the various HDs, 4K (sometimes called UHD) is probably what you want. It's double the resolution of your 1080p TV. And while 8K is better, heading into Apple's Retina display territory even at large screen sizes, it's more expensive for now and not much if anything content-wise is ready for 8K.
LionNYC 's suggestion last year and love it.
JCMore and
Seth made a good case for midrange. But the C1 really seems to be a consensus pick everywhere. I'm not sure the ratio of extra quality/features to dollars makes sense, but I can't resist it.
JayH has bought at least 3 TVs in the last 5 years.
mgarbowski for reminding me this thread exists.
FootyLovin I ended up keeping it simple with Sonos Move. The more permanent set-up was going to require too much construction and wiring. I already have the Sonos set up in the house with the amplifiers, etc., so it was an easy solution (and substantially cheaper). It sounds surprisingly good for what it is.
