Help finding a new TV

tinpanalley · September 27, 2023

Looking for help for a new TV.

We’ve got rather atypical needs. What we have right now is this. It has been the best TV we’ve ever had. No, I'm not joking.

Why are our needs different than most? We need the following:

We need the DVD and BluRay classic films that we watch often to look the way they’re mastered. Good contrast ratio and blacks are of utmost importance even over viewing angles and screen glare. (The contrast ratio and black levels of our current Vizio are what make it among the two best TVs we ever had. The other was a Samsung HD CRT we had before)
The only other thing we watch is sports and a few English TV shows (relevance being no need for high frame rate, blur controlling visuals)
We don’t consume anything that is any higher than 2K.
HDR is of absolutely no use to us. We won’t ever use it.
We don’t in any way use our television for “smart home” features or for streaming services so no on board software is necessary. If and when we do connect to an online service, we access it via our computer that we patch in to our TV because of the next point…
We often output our desktop to our TV for gaming, online use (our desktop which runs our home a/v network and TV are in the same room). So, if it could have a higher refresh rate for that HDMI input that would be nice because our GPU can handle pretty high refresh rates.
We don’t like software enhanced filters and antialiasing. We just want to project what the source material is.
We do need component inputs for our older game consoles but I suppose I can find some kind of adapter if that’s no longer possible to have.

Other than that, the Vizio is 43 inches and we’ve since moved to a place where our living room can handle going up to 55 so 55 would be ideal, but 50 is fine if the screen is going to be significantly better. The Vizio was about $399. Can we get something for a similar price or is it necessary now even with our low needs to spend more? If possible, what would also be helpful would be to understand what specs are particularly important to us in tvs made today.

Thanks!

seanondemand · September 27, 2023

Well, you’re getting 4K because 1080p TVs have ceased to exist, and you’re getting built-in software because dumb TVs have similarly ceased to exist. Component inputs - forget about it (guess why).

Quick rtings research - TCL Q7? Certainly not 300 bucks but still “budget” in 2023. Probably the lowest price you’ll get good contrast ratios and high refresh rate for the PC. Looks like it’s on sale at Best Buy.

HypixelBedwars · September 27, 2023

It would depend on your budget. A lot of cheaper TVs have lots of AI or artificial trickery to make the TV look better. A good starting point would be a Samsung Qled and if your budget allows it a Samsung Neo Qled. If you were looking for a OLED tv then get a A3 for budget or a C3 for a larger budget.

dalekphalm · September 28, 2023

21 hours ago, tinpanalley said:

Looking for help for a new TV.

We’ve got rather atypical needs. What we have right now is this. It has been the best TV we’ve ever had. No, I'm not joking.

Why are our needs different than most? We need the following:

We need the DVD and BluRay classic films that we watch often to look the way they’re mastered. Good contrast ratio and blacks are of utmost importance even over viewing angles and screen glare. (The contrast ratio and black levels of our current Vizio are what make it among the two best TVs we ever had. The other was a Samsung HD CRT we had before)

If you want the best contrast, you want to go OLED (or MicroLED). However, a good MiniLED panel can still get pretty good blacks.

21 hours ago, tinpanalley said:

The only other thing we watch is sports and a few English TV shows (relevance being no need for high frame rate, blur controlling visuals)

To be clear, you do later down say you want high refresh rate for gaming. On a TV, refresh rate and frame rate are intrinsically related.

21 hours ago, tinpanalley said:

We don’t consume anything that is any higher than 2K.

When you say 2K, can you be specific? Are you talking about 1080p? 1440p? (I absolutely hate that some manufacturers incorrectly market 1440p as 2K), or did you actually mean the DCI cinema 2K standard (which is effectively nearly the same as 1080p)?

For the sake of this, I'm gonna assume 1080p is what you meant.

Frankly I'm kind of surprised you won't be consuming anything higher than 1080p, especially given this TV is going to be with you for presumably years from now. Even YouTube has 4K support. Same with all the major streaming services, and of course physical media with 4K Blu-Rays.

If you want a decent TV, you're getting 4K anyway. 1080p TV's are nearly non-existent now.

21 hours ago, tinpanalley said:

HDR is of absolutely no use to us. We won’t ever use it.

Doesn't matter much. Just like with 1080p vs 4K, basically any good TV has HDR anyway. Also, if you're a big movie/TV show buff, frankly, you're missing out. Whatever you end up buying will have HDR regardless.

21 hours ago, tinpanalley said:

We don’t in any way use our television for “smart home” features or for streaming services so no on board software is necessary. If and when we do connect to an online service, we access it via our computer that we patch in to our TV because of the next point…

Again, like the 2 above points, you're getting a smart TV anyway, if you buy any half decent TV. You can always just not use the smart functionality.

I have a Sony A80J OLED (Android TV built in) and I never use the smart functions. It's just a TV plugged into my Xbox One S, which does all the smart functions for me.

21 hours ago, tinpanalley said:

We often output our desktop to our TV for gaming, online use (our desktop which runs our home a/v network and TV are in the same room). So, if it could have a higher refresh rate for that HDMI input that would be nice because our GPU can handle pretty high refresh rates.

You'll need to check the reviews and specs, but most good TV's have one or more HDMI port with support for higher refresh rate.

21 hours ago, tinpanalley said:

We don’t like software enhanced filters and antialiasing. We just want to project what the source material is.

Generally speaking, you'll want to disable as much of these features as you can.

21 hours ago, tinpanalley said:

We do need component inputs for our older game consoles but I suppose I can find some kind of adapter if that’s no longer possible to have.

You'll likely not get component input. You're gonna want to look around for a Component to HDMI adapter.

21 hours ago, tinpanalley said:

Other than that, the Vizio is 43 inches and we’ve since moved to a place where our living room can handle going up to 55 so 55 would be ideal, but 50 is fine if the screen is going to be significantly better. The Vizio was about $399. Can we get something for a similar price or is it necessary now even with our low needs to spend more? If possible, what would also be helpful would be to understand what specs are particularly important to us in tvs made today.

50" and 55" are absolutely no problem. Every good TV is sold in that size range.

In terms of useful specs on a modern TV?

Backlight type (LED vs OLED (Yes I realize OLED isn't a backlight), plus the more exotic subtypes like Quantum Dot LED (QLED or QDOT), MiniLED, MicroLED, etc)

Refresh Rate

Panel Type (If LED, VA/IPS, etc)

HDR compatibility (HDR10 only, or does it support HDR10+ or Dolby Vision)

Aside from that, always check the review on RTings before you buy.

The above mentioned TCL 7 series is a great option, especially for a budget TV. If you want the best of the best? Go with an OLED basically (But also understand OLED limitations, like brightness/glare, and possible burn in).