| Author |
Message |
Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Saturday, December 18, 2010 - 10:18 pm 
POP! when the tv was turned off last night and now we are in the market for a new one. blech.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Sunday, December 19, 2010 - 6:20 am
Ugh Serate! While not recently I have had that happen. Not fun. The good news is that I can't believe the prices on flat screens right now. They're darn good! Over the past two years we've switched out all of our TV's and now have three Samsung flat screens. We have no interest in 3-D but have gotten real spoiled on HD.
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Holly
Member
07-21-2001
| Sunday, December 19, 2010 - 10:59 am
Sounds like you would recommend the Samsung brand, Mack? What makes it stand out from others? I too am currently in the market for a bigger TV.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Sunday, December 19, 2010 - 2:38 pm
We've had all Toshibas and love them, too. We replaced them before we could get them to break down! LOL
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Sunday, December 19, 2010 - 3:52 pm
Holly - It's really in the eye of the beholder and I'm not being funny. My wife and I always pick TV together but alone. By together I mean one doesn't buy a TV unless we've both seen it. By alone I mean we split up and check out the picture on a number of different TV's. Consistently we've come back to Samsung as the one we both like the best. It helps that Samsung gets consistently high ratings from reviewers and users. We've gotten rid of Samsung TV's not because they broke but because we wanted a bigger screen or higher definition so we've had good experience with the brand. Now flat screen prices are really, really low but typically Samsung is very competitive and not at the high end versus say Sony. Toshibas are good too, it'll probably come down to what looks better to your eye and that does differ from person to person. For instance, Panasonic is another good brand but they push greens in their sets and it looks too strong to us. Others, like my son, swear by their Panasonics and wouldn't buy a different set.
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Sunday, December 19, 2010 - 4:11 pm
Mack you must have been communicating telepathically because we were heading out to get a 55" Vizio and ended up getting a 46" Samsung LCD. Haven't had time to mess too much with the settings [it's been hooked up for almost an hour and I was cooking supper for 40 minutes of that] and really need to figure out how to turn off the Motion Plus thingy as the movie we are watching looks like a soap opera lol. But I will wait till hubby goes to work tomorrow as that will work best.
Teach what we were replacing was a 50" Toshiba DLP and we loved it. We've gotten about 3 years longer out of the bulb than we were told we would. We also aren't convinced that it is totally because it was the bulb's time to go. Plain and simple the picture just hasn't looked the same since the movers moved it. The bulb blew - well at least when you press the power button it would say in a robotic voice LAMP NOT WORKING lol- and it's around $200 to replace it. [If we do the work.] Only after we replace that can we tell if there is a ballast and/or fans that need replacing. Start adding all that up [ not counting labor cuz we can probably do it all ourselves. probably.] and it was pretty close $$ to getting a new TV. Add in labor if we couldn't do it ourselves - it was a no brainer. We would have been totally ok with going with Toshiba again, just didn't find one that had our criteria in our price range.
Wish we could have gotten a 50" but surprisingly with wanting LCD, 1080p and at least 120 refresh rate there were no 50" TVs in our price range. 49" & 55", and even my hubby agreed, the 55" was just too big for our living room. Found awesome prices on plasma TV's but from what we read our living room would have been too bright for a Plasma.
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Ginger1218
Member
08-30-2001
| Sunday, December 19, 2010 - 5:21 pm
From all the electronic techies that I have spoken to, everyone seems to say Samsung is the best right now.
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Sunday, December 19, 2010 - 8:35 pm
That's great to hear Ginger!
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Monday, December 20, 2010 - 6:31 am
We also turned off the Motion thingy. We bought our Samsung at Best Buy and if you spent over a certain amount that weekend you got the Geek Squad for free. Figured why not and they delivered the TV and set it up. He did all sorts of "stuff and things" to the set, including some kind of calibration thing and admittedly it looked pretty good once he got done and we've not changed a thing. He recommended turning off the Motion Plus but showed us how to turn it back on if we wanted. Interestingly it was our Sony DLP that we replaced when it became too expensive to repair. Great TV while it lasted but we really like our 50" Samsung. We now have the 50", a 42" and a 32", all Samsungs.
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Saturday, October 22, 2016 - 8:14 pm
No posts for 6 years? I'm finally going to join the 21st century and buy a flatscreen tv. Have no idea what to buy. It will have to have connections for all of my old tech. Not too big. 32" is the largest we could go, I think. Will need a tv stand that can fit in front of the old tv and stereo. Can't anchor to the wall. And have cats that might turn it over. I hope not. Any suggestions?
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Sunday, October 23, 2016 - 6:33 am
The old technology may be an issue but that's easy to check if you have a list of the type of connectors you have now. Actually the more likely issue is going to be is if your old technology is standard definition and you're going to a high definition flat screen it might not look too good and in fact worse than when you had a standard definition TV. As for what to buy in terms of brand there are lots out there. I personally like Samsung but I'd go to a store like Best Buy where there have several models and see what best suits your eye and budget.
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Colordeagua
Member
10-24-2003
| Sunday, October 23, 2016 - 10:10 am
Abt is a long-time, well known, highly thought of appliance store in the Chicago area. They do ship nation (world?) wide. The link is to their page for 32" flat screen TVs. You can look at various brands and reviews for them before you shop locally or buy from Abt.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Sunday, October 23, 2016 - 10:51 am
The reason I recommend going to Best Buy, or really any store that has a large selection, is to actually see and watch the different brands not to necessarily buy. No two people see color, definition, etc., the same so it's good to actually see a picture and see what best suits your eye. As an aside I hadn't looked at 32" flat screens lately but I did pull up the Best Buy website just to see what was out there. I was surprised at the prices, they're really low with many brands under $200.
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Sunday, October 23, 2016 - 10:54 am
My only recommendation is to pay a little extra and get a Smart TV (internet capable)... I was not a fan until I got one, and now I love it.
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Lakecat
Member
10-01-2006
| Sunday, October 23, 2016 - 12:00 pm
I would advise against a vizio. It's less than three years old and we've had two replacements. This is a 60 inch so maybe the smaller ones don't have the issue we had.
Has anyone tried an air fryer and if so, did you like it?
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Sunday, October 23, 2016 - 6:06 pm
Well, I did go with the Vizio, series D, I think. No Smart tv. The ones I saw didn't have the connections I need. We like the tv so far.
An air fryer? How does it work?
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Sunday, October 23, 2016 - 6:07 pm
Oh, I did buy the extended 5 year warranty, too.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Sunday, October 23, 2016 - 8:27 pm
I had NO idea Bigdog's new 55" television that I have never watched was a Smart TV until we moved, and the cable outlet he tried to plug into wasn't working, so he was watching television on the big screen via the internet. I don't even have a television anymore. We have been so busy with the move that Bigdog hasn't figured out how to get the big screen hooked up in the living room with the dead outlet (plus it might involve going up into the attic, and old people can freeze in place while doing contortions in attics; who knew?). Bigdog is watching television on my 23" screen in his office while the giant Samsung Smart TV sits idle in the living room blocking a window. Of course, the living room is not set up either, so it doesn't matter a lot if the window is blocked, LOL.
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Abby7
Member
07-17-2002
| Sunday, October 23, 2016 - 9:52 pm
2009 purchased 55" philips for about 1,400 from Costco. Great tv. Ready to buy another for a different room. Want to buy same tv....can't find it.
We also have an old Sony that won't die. (25" not even hd) Want to give it /donate to someone but doubt anyone will take it. Lol
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Abby7
Member
07-17-2002
| Sunday, October 23, 2016 - 10:12 pm
Eta...our living room, dining area, lounge is narrow. Space not recommended for 55".... still going for bigger than 55" for second tv.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Monday, October 24, 2016 - 8:04 am
Philips is not a huge brand but it is still carried by Sears. I assume you're looking for the brand rather than the model as models turn over almost yearly so a 2009 model would be almost impossible to find. Lots of technology changes too in seven years.
As for getting rid of an old television. I guess I shouldn't have been but I was a bit surprised when I dropped some clothing off at Salvation Army that they had a sign saying they wouldn't accept televisions over five years old and only flat screens.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, October 24, 2016 - 9:28 am
When I bought my 50" Samsung smart tv (which I've only used in dumb mode thus far), I was replacing a 32" Trinitron that was huge and deep and super heavy.. and while it still worked, it was definitely having trouble with the tube.
So I bought my Samsung at Best Buy and paid for the Geek Squad to come out and install it.. well worth the price.. for one thing it helped qualify me for interest free for a year or two (not sure, paid it off sooner) but they came out, actually helped by moving my super heavy oak icebox tv stand and moving a heavy coffee table into the place I wanted to put the TV, they even shoved the couch where I wanted it.. then they carried the old TV to their truck (and with one really large and strong guy and a large and strong guy, they were staggering out with it) then they installed the new tv, set it up with my DVR and installed an old Bose speaker system I'd never used. I was totally thrilled!
I have been really happy with the Samsung.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Monday, October 24, 2016 - 11:15 am
None of my flat screens are exactly a Smart TV in the sense of what the new models will do. Interestingly though all my Blu-ray players which are newer than my newest flat screen actually provide pretty much the same capability. That said we don't use any of those features.
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Colordeagua
Member
10-24-2003
| Monday, October 24, 2016 - 7:28 pm
Some years ago I was saying one day TV and the internet will be on the same screen.
I have a 42" Sony Bravia from a few years ago. Always has worked well. Only thing is it has only two HDMI ports. Didn't know that would matter one day. Need port for TiVo, DVD player, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV. Had to get an HDMI switch box. It all works. 
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Monday, October 24, 2016 - 11:27 pm
Abby7, just go back to Costco, and get the newest or best priced or most features in the size you want. They have sharks nice young people feeding circulating in that area who will help you with sorting out the features. I tend to think we are living in a real sweet spot in American consumerism right now, which is after when the great giftie created Costco for America and then the world, and before Costco became corrupt and profit-hungry, if it ever does. But striking while the iron is hot is always a good idea.
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Kookliebird
Member
08-04-2005
| Tuesday, October 25, 2016 - 1:42 pm
Abby, does your city have a 'recycling' division? We have something called "Metro" in Portland where you can either go on the internet or call to find out where to donate or recycle used items. Because of Metro, I was able to donate an old Sony TV (that would never die) to an outfit that provides furnishings for low income housing people. So, maybe check with your city to see if they have a centralized database for recycling and reuse.
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Abby7
Member
07-17-2002
| Wednesday, November 02, 2016 - 7:36 am
Kooklie, probably. . I just need to spend some tme checking it out. Thanks
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Sadiesmom
Member
03-13-2002
| Wednesday, November 02, 2016 - 8:29 am
funny, my old TVs are vizio, but my JVC blew out after 3 years, I was looking at Vizio but the reviews were terrible. I know I don't want a Samsung or an LG or Vizio because they can monitor what is going on through their mike although you can turn it off with varying difficulty. Disable this feature to stop your Samsung Smart TV from listening to you
I have been looking at a Roku related TV - TCL. After other stuff over with.
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Abby7
Member
07-17-2002
| Wednesday, November 02, 2016 - 8:59 am
Juju, for some reason ...when I first read your post...I thought you were suggesting I go to Costco and "negotiate for a deal".
(Abby thrown out of Costco)
Lol
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