The TV Thread: More for Less

Burtletoy

Good point. I should read more

emp123

Would picking up an antenna replace the need for a built in tuner?

iguanacus

Nope, the tuner is what let's you use an antenna.

Burtletoy

I'm sure there probably is some antenna that comes with a tuner, but an antenna itself is not one.

You could, also, just buy an external tuner, but that might be another $50 or so

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Electronics-External-TV-Tuners/zgbs/electronics/3015428011

VoodooV

last year, I was thinking, hey, I'm looking for a TV, I can finally take advantage of some badass black friday deal. But someone correct me. Aren't pretty much all the Black Friday deals for lower or mid-range equipment? So far, It's been my experience that higher end equipment almost never goes on sale. Additionally, I thought once I picked out a TV I liked, I could go check out the floor model at some retail. None of the retail stores I've seen carry the model I'm looking for. (though the fact that I live in the midwest may factor in here)

I'm sure there are some exceptions to this, but I guess I'm just unlucky. I don't remember the last time I benefited from some major sale.

I think I've got enough saved up to outright buy what I'm looking for, but I think I'm getting greedy now and I want the price to come down just a tad bit more. Also want to buy from Amazon since I've got a good deal of gift card and other promotional credit to use. Starting to get anxious

SeñorAmor

iguanacus wrote: »

Keep in mind that the new Vizio series seem to be dropping the built in tuners as a way to save some money on the margins. It'll be interesting to see if the other manufacturers also go in this direction.

So what series is recommended (with tuner) and I can pick the size within the series?

Seems Vizio is the goto brand, yes?

iguanacus

Any of the 2015 models still have tuners, but the 2016 M's and P's are affected. But they'll be around $750 for a 50 inch.

SeñorAmor

How can I tell what year it is? I'd hate to get a 2016 M series thinking it was a 2015.

iguanacus

SeñorAmor wrote: »

How can I tell what year it is? I'd hate to get a 2016 M series thinking it was a 2015.

Amazon usually tells you if that's an option.

SeñorAmor

I was hoping to pick it up (like at Best Buy) rather than order online, or at the very least look at it in a store first.

SeñorAmor

Vizio M50-C1 for $600 a good deal? Clearance one at a store near me.

Pailryder

seems like it, dell business had it on sale a while back for 650. walmart has some refurbs online for 400
link in spoiler for long

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Refurbished-VIZIO-M50-C1-50-4K-Ultra-HD-2160p-120Hz-LED-Smart-HDTV-4K-x-2K/47904767?u1=&oid=183959.1&wmlspartner=isIkAyUyNbM&sourceid=16163450181040408803&affillinktype=10&veh=aff

SeñorAmor

I figured it was a good deal so I picked it up anyway.

It looks nice but plugging wires in is practically impossible if the tv is mounted. It's poor design imo.

I'm also having audio issues. The #1 hdmi port is supposed to also do audio out but I can't get it to work. I have to use my optical cable.

It might be Netflix (I haven't tested with Hulu) but the audio skips a lot almost as if it can't keep up. Same cable, same audio bar, same Chromecast. The only change is the TV.

I hope there's a setting somewhere I missed, but I can't find it.

Pailryder

hdmi definitely does video and audio so it could be that port or the cable or something else...good luck!

Senna1

SeñorAmor wrote: »

I'm also having audio issues. The #1 hdmi port is supposed to also do audio out but I can't get it to work. I have to use my optical cable.

It might be Netflix (I haven't tested with Hulu) but the audio skips a lot almost as if it can't keep up. Same cable, same audio bar, same Chromecast. The only change is the TV.

I hope there's a setting somewhere I missed, but I can't find it.

Sorry if this is basic/obvious, but the audio out for HDMI 1 is only with ARC supported receivers, and must be plugged into the HDMI Out (ARC) port of the receiver/soundbar and then configured properly on both devices to work properly. Might be your issue?

SeñorAmor

Yeah I think I just don't have an HDMI 1.4 cable. My optical cable is just fine so I'm not too concerned.

Now if I could only figure out my Netflix audio issue...

iguanacus

You're wireless, right? I was having the same problem with my Samsung and it pretty much went away after going to a wired connection. Not much good with a Chromecast but there you are.

VoodooV

Bought the Samsung UN60JU7100 for realsies this time! Amazon got it down to 1,589 Delivery will be next week!

VoodooV

The price for that model keeps going down. The 60 inch is now cheaper than the 55 inch.

VoodooV

TV get!! Drooooool!

Granted, this is my first Smart TV so I'm clearly sugar-shocked right now, but this thing is truly impressive. What stands out even more is how shitty pan and scan "widescreen HD" is on cable (I haven't had cable for almost a decade so I thought pan and scan was in the past). It makes me glad that the cable I have is free as part of my rent as I am enjoying the chromecast and internet-enabled services far far more.

Shadowfire

What is that one second from the bottom? It reminds me of the Wing Commander III intro, but that was never filmed in 4k I don't think.

VoodooV

Shadowfire wrote: »

What is that one second from the bottom? It reminds me of the Wing Commander III intro, but that was never filmed in 4k I don't think.

Director's cut of the Star Citizen 300i commercial. That bit was lifted as an homage to WCIII

https://youtu.be/CuwMKX0h2ec

Shadowfire

Ah-hah. Thank you. I was definitely thinking "that is like the Tiger's Claw, but definitely not the Claw..."

Orogogus

Shadowfire wrote: »

Ah-hah. Thank you. I was definitely thinking "that is like the Tiger's Claw, but definitely not the Claw..."

It was the Concordia that was crashed and sinking like that at the beginning of WC3.

Shadowfire

Orogogus wrote: »

Shadowfire wrote: »

Ah-hah. Thank you. I was definitely thinking "that is like the Tiger's Claw*cough*cough*Concordia*AHEM*, but definitely not the Claw..."

It was the Concordia that was crashed and sinking like that at the beginning of WC3.

Yes.... ahem... yes.. that's what I said...

webguy20

Hey guys, are there any TVs made any more that actually have red white speaker output? Looking for something to replace my old computer monitor, and I would love to have something that I could use real speakers with without needing a receiver.

Foomy

webguy20 wrote: »

Hey guys, are there any TVs made any more that actually have red white speaker output? Looking for something to replace my old computer monitor, and I would love to have something that I could use real speakers with without needing a receiver.

most if not all tvs have a 3.5mm speaker out, and you can easily get a 3.5mm to rca adapter for like $2 on amazon.

webguy20

I should have been more specific, I'm looking for a TV that can power a set of speakers on it's own. Some of the nicer tube TVs had that option, you hooked the speakers right up. Going from 3.5 to RCA won't run a set of unpowered speakers.

Foomy

webguy20 wrote: »

I should have been more specific, I'm looking for a TV that can power a set of speakers on it's own. Some of the nicer tube TVs had that option, you hooked the speakers right up. Going from 3.5 to RCA won't run a set of unpowered speakers.

Oh, then I cant really think of any modern tv that includes an amp.

But i bet you could find a small stereo amp that would work for a set of speakers if you didnt need any fancy for pretty cheap.

a5ehren

Yeah, you can get a decent enough 2-channel amp for very little money.

webguy20

This is freakin' cool. Stupid expensive, but cool

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_543TVA21/Russound-TVA2-1.html

anoffday

Hey guys, new to this thread, so sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this. I recently got a new tv and I'm playing my 360 and PS4 on it, but I noticed the games aren't looking the best. Seems very dark in some places. Washed out in others. Any idea what my settings should look like? It's a magnavox model #40me324v/f7. Goolging that doesn't seem to help me much. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places?

a5ehren

TVs outside of the major brands typically won't have settings floating around online.

You'll probably just want to do a basic calibration on your own - there are guides online for that, or you can buy something like this to help you out.

krapst78

anoffday wrote: »

Hey guys, new to this thread, so sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this. I recently got a new tv and I'm playing my 360 and PS4 on it, but I noticed the games aren't looking the best. Seems very dark in some places. Washed out in others. Any idea what my settings should look like? It's a magnavox model #40me324v/f7. Goolging that doesn't seem to help me much. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places?

It sounds like your RGB range settings are not synced between your TV and your consoles. Here is a link that explains how you can fix this for your PS4.
https://www.reddit.com/r/PS4/comments/1uvedr/psa_make_sure_you_have_the_correct_black_level_set/

After you correct the RGB range then you should check out a test pattern like the one in this link. You should be able to see all the boxes except for the first one if your settings are correct.

Johnny Chopsocky

Really eyeballing Vizio's E-series 55" 1080p model (cuz I'm not really chuffed about 4K yet although should I be?). Never had a Vizio before but I'm gathering from other people's experiences in the thread that they're pretty good?

a5ehren

Apparently the 4K E-series sets have notably better non-resolution specs (contrast, etc) than the 1080p versions. Probably not a huge difference in day-to-day, but something to be aware of.

Johnny Chopsocky

I read on one of the review sites (rtings.com) that the 4K E-Series have some issues with in the gaming realm (which is the realm I'm most interested in). Although, I did notice that the D-Series 4K TVs do quite well with input lag and motion blur, so I might look towards one of those as well.

a5ehren

Yeah, I didn't know the E-series had such bad motion blur. The 1080p sets are probably totally different panels, so you'd have to wait for a review.

BlackDragon480

Johnny Chopsocky wrote: »

I read on one of the review sites (rtings.com) that the 4K E-Series have some issues with in the gaming realm (which is the realm I'm most interested in). Although, I did notice that the D-Series 4K TVs do quite well with input lag and motion blur, so I might look towards one of those as well.

I have a 65" D65u-D2 and I love it's gaming mode. I'm able to play Destiny and Rock Band 4 at high levels with no perceptible lag and almost no motion blur in games or fast-action film under it's normal picture modes.

Only downside to the D series for me is the colors lack some vibrancy/pop compared to the E or M series, but for the money and overall feature set I give the 2016 D series a big thumbs-up.

Thirith

I've got one of those "how long is a piece of string?" questions: is there anyone here who's changed from 50" to 60", and if so, how much of a difference has it made for you? I've found recently that a number of games I've played on our 50" plasma TV seem designed for bigger TVs (I'm mainly thinking of fonts and HUD display elements), and while 65" might be difficult to accommodate in our living room, 60" should be just fine, especially since most modern TVs seem to have a considerably more narrow frame than my plasma TV, so a 60" screen wouldn't actually take up that much more space.