Electonics purchase!!??

[Skeet 028]

Now this is an off the wall question. I know NOTHING about most electronic gadgets. My wife Imelda wants a flat screen TV and a DVD player down in the basement Living room where she has her workout stuff. Knowing nothing of the darn things, What is/are a good brand(s)? 32-38 inch will be big nuff I think Lotsa places sell 'em I know but most sales people know less about them than I do. We have Best Buy Sams Wally and Costco to buy from. My ideas on them is turn 'em on and let somebody else make 'em play right. My BIL told me I can get streaming movies from Amazon etc so would like to get a TV that would do that. Oh have DSL for internet. Is that nuff for streaming movies?? I am not into TV watching but do like movies etc

 

[bigwheelzip]

Buying a TV at Costco gives you a 2 year warranty. I've used their support to replace a wonky remote beyond the manufacturers warranty but within their 2-year period. Very helpful.
Streaming video over DSL might be problematic. You might test your connection speed to get an idea.

https://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Unless you watch TV in a closet consider getting something bigger than you're thinking.

You'll need a wireless home network for a smart TV unless you are planing on running an ethernet cord to it.

You'll want at least 5Mbps to watch HD content on Netflix. Signal strength can be good/poor in different parts of the house with a wireless home network. if your router isn't in the basement test the signal strength there. There are ways to boost it if the signal strength is too weak.

From the sounds of it you really don't care much about picture quality. In that case, pretty much any smart TV will be fine.

 

[phantomcycle]

To stream movies get a smart TV a 32" is big enough for a second TV
Best buy salesmen are good at electronics go there and look around they also have a Geek Squad that come to your house and setup electronic items
Also I stream movies all the time and have a speed of less then 2 Mbps without problems no buffering

Sent from my SM-S975L using Tapatalk

 

[ditrina]

One word.. OK 2

Costco
Vizio

That is all

 

[CustomChevyGuy]

There are a ton of opinions, and ideas that you might get in response to your questions. I worked for a small TV shop for a few years and have been asked this question more times than I can remember. I'll tell you the same things I told my customers.

1 - go bigger than you think you might want. It's always easier to think it's a little big, than constantly think it's too small every time you look (squint) at it.

2- put your brand preferences aside. Look at the TV's with an open mind. Figure out which ones meet your needs as far as number of inputs and types of features. Most of the TV's have the same processors inside, no matter what the brand is on the front.

3 - Once you see a few that you like, play with the color settings, and get them all set to what you think looks good. Let your eyes tell you which one you like the best.

The last TV I bought I found a screaming deal at Target, so also don't discount the shops you might not first consider. Online price comparison will be your friend.

 

[dave1918a2]

Look real hard at Samsung. Wallyworld always has TV's on. Compare there and go shopping for price.

 

[revolver_ph]

One word.. OK 2

Costco
Vizio

That is all

One word -- yup.

 

[Rustyt1953]

I have two Vizio's and a Samsung.

These tired eyes can't tell the difference.

 

[speedyquad]

A few years ago, my brother bought a Vizio. I teased him about buying a junk tv. There are 4 Vizio's in my house right now and my mother has one.

You'll always wish you had gone bigger, but will never wish you had gone smaller.

 

[AlHunt]

I recently bought a 50" something or other. What it is not, is a "smart TV". I figure it'd be just like that bloody smart phone, have tons of embedded junk I can't remove, be constantly updating itself (apps I never, ever use, but they run in the background doing who knows what), be chirping, clanging, beeping and annoying me, constantly tracking everything I watch and be a general nusiance. PLUS, I'd have to wonder if my TV had been hacked by some Russian teenager.

I stream on DSL with a variety of devices. Chromestick, ROKU and some other box.

I second the idea that 32" is too small. This widescreen contraption isn't the same as your old 4:3 TV.

 

[snake803]

Costco
Vizio... I have two of them...
AMEN!!!!!!!
JIM...................

 

[bigwheelzip]

Just to throw a tidbit out there for reference.

Our Costco purchased Vizio, which we liked, died suddenly after about 6 years and my husband opened it up for a look-see.

The guts (LCD panel and circuit boards) were all LG components.

 

[johngalt]

If you are willing to spend big $$$, the new OLED TVs are the first that can rival the picture quality of the sadly discontinued plasma TVs. The LCD/LED TVs aren't even close to the picture quality of OLED (or plasma).

 

[TX-Dennis]

I think Vizio is a great brand at a reasonable cost. Most well known brands are good to go. I would stay away from brands that you've never heard before. Unknown brands tend to be very low end units made to sell for a low price with sometimes questionable components. I've been happy with Sharp and Sony units as well.

 

[BC38]

We just bought a NON-smart LG brand 40" HD TV that got good reviews online. Got it for $150.

We bought a Sony brand Blu-Ray player (think DVD on steroids) that has wireless and all the internet and streaming "smart" TV functions built in for $45 (also a model with good reviews online).

We got them for our recently acquired lake cabin where we will be connecting it all to the internet via Century Link 7mbps DSL. So for under $200 we've got the exact setup you're looking for.

 

[Skeet 028]

Well we found a fair buy at Costco on a Samsung 43 inch Smart. Price was at 225. Moved the TV we had upstairs down into her workout area. Set this thing up and it had great picture quality from the start. Took me a few minutes to remember my password for the internet wifi setup. Got the smart part working. Now I have to figure out how all that works. Also have to figure out how to get the TV to turn on with the Direct TV remote. I guess we'll see how it works. TVs are sure different than they used to be.

 

[GaryS]

I agree on buying from Costco, if you are a member. I rate Samsung much higher than Vizeo on features and reliability.

I also agree on buying as big a TV as you can fit in the space.

I don't know that there are any non Smart TVs out there, but even at that, you don't have to use those features.

 

[Dennis]

I go to Best-Buy and look at electronic stuff. When i buy, I buy the same thing from Costco. A 1,000% better warranty! And same or better price.

 

[GaryS]

The most surprising thing about Best Buy is that they are still in business. They haven't been competitive on price, selection, or customer service for years.

I go to Best-Buy and look at electronic stuff. When i buy, I buy the same thing from Costco. A 1,000% better warranty! And same or better price.