Samsung or LG smart TV now or in January?

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oilboy123

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Pros and cons of getting a Smart TV. Leaning towards Samsung. I might consider LG. So any info on those owning

Looking at 32-46" range. Are better deals coming out after the first of the year?

Or is the Black Friday super rah rah sales the time to buy?

Thanks
 
black Friday certainly isn't a bad time. but I would suggest looking into vizio. we looked at Samsung and lg as well and it came down to the vizio and the Samsung. the Samsung has a more saturated picture. imo vizio has the most realistic picture. the price tag on them is reasonable as well. we bought the newest one out 4 months ago its a smart tv. paid right around 479. it is a 40 inch. I would definitely check them out.
 
I have 2 three-year old Samsung LCDs (46 1080p and a 32 720p) and I think they're great TVs. Neither are "smart" and for that I'm thankful. I had a brief experience using a Samsung smart BR player and I hope not to repeat it. Read this (and all the comments) before you go rushing out to get something "smart":

http://www.trustedreviews.com/samsung-smart-tv-platform_TV_review

If you still insist on wanting smart apps, I suggest you get them by buying them in the BR player and not the tv. That way, when you get frustrated enough you can throw the BR player into the trash and go on watching a very nice tv.

GrtArtiste
 
My vote would be to buy now. There are some good buys around Superbowl time, but Black Friday deals are in my opinion the best of the year.

When it comes to brand, it doesn't seem to make a great deal of difference as far as reliability is concerned.

Consumer Reports ratings of tv's

I have a 46" Sony LCD that is about 5 years old. Just as good as day one. Of the two mentioned I'd lean toward Samsung. Good luck deciding and take a look at all the Black Friday ads.

BLACK FRIDAY ADS
 
Just went thru this, researching all the ads, with the big retailer ads showing which ones will be on sale on black friday.
From what I could see, there are only a limited number with hugh discounts and you have to get them thursday evening or fri. If you find the model you want on sale and IF you are willing to fight the crowds, you could make a significant savings. Otherwise, there are a number of models on sale now with fairly good prices.
I bought a 50" Lg (LN5100) at Walmart for $448 plus tax. Extra 3 yr warranty was $44 if you want it. Its a basic model, 2 HDMI ports, simulated 120hz (most low end tv's with "120" is really simulated)and convenient controller. I have Direct TV and the 50" screen produces a good sharp picture with good sound quality.

Originally I was shopping for a 42-46" which I thought was max for the space I have, but if you measure the actually width of
of the various models, some 46-47's were as wide as my 50" and it works fine for me.

Good luck, and good shopping.
 
We purchased a Television last year around this time when the one we wanted went on sale. The same Television was still priced the same in January when they had the leftover stock stacked floor to ceiling. I doubt any purchase this time of year will see you getting a bad deal.
 
My vote is to NOT get a smart TV. Put the smart technology in something like your BlueRay player.

We bought a 55" Visio back in June and we end up using our BlueRay player because it's the device that plays it's sound through the A/V Receiver. The TV doesn't.

For us, smart TV was wasted money. Putting the smarts in another device was the way to go.

Probably could have the TV output back to the A/V Receiver, but really don't want to run yet another cable.
 
January is best price wise because the 2014 models are soon to arrive and the "last year" models are drastically reduced. The selection might not be quite as good though.
 
I'd consider a Roku and a "dumb" tv. A roku 3 is 99 dollars and well worth it, IMO.

Vizio doesn't make any TV's, so their characteristics vary from model to model depending on who created the panel. LG and Samsung are two companies who make both the components and the finished product. I have a couple Samsungs and they've be reliable for me.

IMO get the biggest TV you can. LCD tv's don't weigh that much. Buy on need, there are some deals now, and maybe in February when the 2014 models start trickling in.
 
I own 2 LG LCD's and a Samsung Plasma.

I definitely think the LG's are more reliable. The Samsung is my newest TV and I had to replace the logic board already (It started to go after about 3 years)

My first LG is about 7 years old now, and after serving as my main tv until I bought the Samsung (~3-4 years), it now runs 8 hours a day, 5 days a week at my wifes studio playing DVD's of old recitals, and is still going strong.

My second LG is in my gym, so it doesn't get used as much as the others, maybe 4-5 hours a week, so I can't really say much about it other than it still works fine. It's also only about 2 years old.

I'm not going to get into picture saturation and blackness levels and color fade and all that other stuff because honestly, I just don't notice it enough to care one way or the other.

I don't have an opinion on smart TV's, but it seems more like a gimmick to me as opposed to being something I'd use.

I can't really comment on LG plasmas or Samsung LCD's, so hopefully my info helps you a bit.
 
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We have a smart TV only because the TV we researched and decided on included that feature set. I will say it is convenient having the apps accessible right on the TV without switching any devices. If you get a smart TV the remote with a keyboard is a must.

However, I wouldn’t buy a TV just for the “Smart” features. You will save about $100 buying the “dumb” version of the TV in most cases... The premium for the smart features seems to be about $100 but many peripheral devices that cost about $100 come with the features as standard so if you will also be buying a blu-ray or one of the new gaming consoles then I would just find one of those with the apps. It may actually be harder to find one without them as it seems everything comes with them built in nowadays.

Also, whichever TV you decide upon budget for a sound upgrade. The speakers built into slim TVs are abhorrent at their best. There just is not enough space in the form factor for decent speakers. A sound bar or a 2.1 is a must… It may seem trivial but watching a deep picture with thin sound turns the experience into caricature.
 
Originally Posted By: javacontour
My vote is to NOT get a smart TV. Put the smart technology in something like your BlueRay player.

We bought a 55" Visio back in June and we end up using our BlueRay player because it's the device that plays it's sound through the A/V Receiver. The TV doesn't.

For us, smart TV was wasted money. Putting the smarts in another device was the way to go.

Probably could have the TV output back to the A/V Receiver, but really don't want to run yet another cable.


Sometimes you don't need to run a seperate cable. Most newer TVs are ARC (Audio Return Channel) capable. You may have to turn it on but once on (if your reciever supports it) any sound the TV outputs will pass back thru the HDMI cable that feed the reciever input to the television. Something to look into...
 
Originally Posted By: apwillard1986
Originally Posted By: javacontour
My vote is to NOT get a smart TV. Put the smart technology in something like your BlueRay player.

We bought a 55" Visio back in June and we end up using our BlueRay player because it's the device that plays it's sound through the A/V Receiver. The TV doesn't.

For us, smart TV was wasted money. Putting the smarts in another device was the way to go.

Probably could have the TV output back to the A/V Receiver, but really don't want to run yet another cable.


Sometimes you don't need to run a seperate cable. Most newer TVs are ARC (Audio Return Channel) capable. You may have to turn it on but once on (if your reciever supports it) any sound the TV outputs will pass back thru the HDMI cable that feed the reciever input to the television. Something to look into...


I will look into that if I remember.

I have the family trained on how to start things now, so I don't want to change too much for them
smile.gif
 
I've been reading lately, that Jan or late Dec is the best time to buy TVs. You may find a good BF deal, but is it really worth the hassle. Also, many of those deals are often lesser brands.
 
Don't think BF is a hassle online.

I got a 73" TV for $699 2 years ago by signing up for a slickdeal alert and then 5 minutes to switch on the laptop and buy.

There are deals and preorder opportunities going on right now as well as good information on actual BF online and in store prices.
 
http://en.m.wikipedia
n56i2s.jpg
.org/wiki/Vizio


Check out that link for some info on vizio. The smart tv is pretty cool. I can do anything I want with it. I have a friend who has the ruku deal and it's not as good as my smart tv IMO. For the price vizio cannot be beat.'
 
Found the problem. The shop that did the brakes before I bought it twisted the line around and had it facing forward it should be facing to the rear.
 
When I bought a new TV coming up on 3 years ago, I researched and studied a ridiculous amount. I watched sales and pricing and new releases and the best deal I found was the weekend of the super bowl. I bought a Samsung and I love it. It has been a great TV so far. Up to a year later the model I got was still priced higher on sale than when I bought it. Of course that TV model is no longer around with the next generation of TV's now but I still think that late Jan, early Feb is a good time to purchase.
 
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