Let's argue about televisions (again)!

[hitbyambulance]

I'm not sure what we'll do with our old 42" Westy. It doesn't have a tuner, so it's not really even a TV -- more like a monitor, it needs input from a cable box, DVD player, or something else that can resolve pictures for it to display. We have no use for a second TV in our tiny house, but it still works as well as ever and I hate to throw it away. I wonder if I can donate it, or if old dumb TVs are worthless now.

It did cross my mind that I could simply buy one of those Roku things to turn it into a streaming TV, but losing our cable is a sign that it's time for a major upgrade, and I have the money.

it's far from useless. not just Roku box, there are a ton of devices you can plug into the various inputs to give it various functionalities. everything from Chromecast to weird Chinese Android devices to Amazon Fire stick to OTA DTV tuners.

i personally would loathe buying a Smart TV, and would prefer a monitor like you have. don't even need sound - it's routed through my stereo setup anyways.

[Kasey Chang]

I'm not sure what we'll do with our old 42" Westy. It doesn't have a tuner, so it's not really even a TV -- more like a monitor, it needs input from a cable box, DVD player, or something else that can resolve pictures for it to display.

Literally ANYTHING that plugs-in... Fire TV, Roku, ChromeCast (if you cast from handheld devices or tablets), any of the AndroidTV devices, Apple TV, etc.

[Z-Corn]

I'm not sure what we'll do with our old 42" Westy.

Duh, that's easy...Virtual Pinball Cabinet!

[Isgrimnur]

I am getting a little antsy waiting for my chosen Hisense model to go on sale.

Walmart sale.

[Kraken]

I am getting a little antsy waiting for my chosen Hisense model to go on sale.

Walmart sale.

I'm after the Hisense 65H9F 65-inch 4K Ultra HD Android Smart ULED TV HDR10 (2019)...which a third-party seller has for $1200. It's $900 at Amazon and Best Buy. Very stubbornly $900.

[Isgrimnur]

The 65H8F is $599.99, but that doesn't have the new Quantum Dot technology.

[Kraken]

Or the pedestal base. It's a minor feature in the world of TVs, but I really do like that pedestal base. More to the point, though, this year's model is considered a big leap in quality above anything Hisense has produced to date.

[Kraken]

The Hisense 65H9F 65-inch 4K Ultra HD Android Smart ULED TV HDR10 (2019) that I've been watching went down by $100 today, to $800. That's $200 below list, so I bought it. Will the price fall further over the holiday weekend? Maybe. But Amazon only showed 3 in stock, and my cable service goes out next Monday. By buying the TV today, I'm sure of getting one, and getting it on Friday gives me the weekend to figure out which streaming service I'm going to buy and how to set it up. Even if it drops another $50 or $100, the convenience of timing is worth that to me. (If it falls by 25%, though, I'm going to kick myself.)

[pr0ner]

The Hisense 65H9F 65-inch 4K Ultra HD Android Smart ULED TV HDR10 (2019) that I've been watching went down by $100 today, to $800. That's $200 below list, so I bought it. Will the price fall further over the holiday weekend? Maybe. But Amazon only showed 3 in stock, and my cable service goes out next Monday. By buying the TV today, I'm sure of getting one, and getting it on Friday gives me the weekend to figure out which streaming service I'm going to buy and how to set it up. Even if it drops another $50 or $100, the convenience of timing is worth that to me. (If it falls by 25%, though, I'm going to kick myself.)

Rtings.com lists that price on their Black Friday deals list, so I think you should be set. Hard to see how it's going to go too much lower than that, at least through the end of 2019.

By the way, if you already have Amazon Prime, that's a streaming service you can already take advantage of.

Beyond that, whatever other service(s) you decide on will depend on what you're looking to watch, and how much 4K/HDR content matters to you.

[Kraken]

Yeah, I started comparing Hulu, Sling, and YouTube as my main service and abandoned the effort due to excessive complexity (and not needing it yet). There are just 4-5 must-have channels, and none of those services all of them. They're all around the same price. I'll bump the appropriate thread later on to revive that discussion. We do have Amazon Prime, so...bring on The Expanse!

[Jaymann]

I just ordered a 43" 4K Samsung for $329 from Amazon (assuming it is not a Chinese fake). Will have it in time for The Expanse.

[pr0ner]

I just ordered a 43" 4K Samsung for $329 from Amazon (assuming it is not a Chinese fake). Will have it in time for The Expanse.

Which model did you order? Samsung lists a 43" TV on their own site for $299.

[Jaymann]

I just ordered a 43" 4K Samsung for $329 from Amazon (assuming it is not a Chinese fake). Will have it in time for The Expanse.

Which model did you order? Samsung lists a 43" TV on their own site for $299.

Samsung UN43RU7100FXZA Flat 43-Inch 4K UHD 7 Series Ultra HD Smart TV with HDR and Alexa Compatibility (2019 Model)
List was $297.99. My cost was with tax, etc.

[pr0ner]

Yep, that's legit.

[JCC]

Hisense today announced a new model - the R8F - another ULED for next month. It will be on Amazon for $699 for the 65" version.

Presumably it is not as nice as the one you ordered based on its price.

[Kraken]

It is a physical law that immediately after I buy something expensive, it is succeeded by a better model. Cheaper is unusual, though.

At some point you just have to commit. Today was that point.

[Pyperkub]

Saw the 82" Samsung 4k QLED at Costco over the weekend for $1999.99. Been looking for a 75" plus quality 4k TV, but not sure if it will fit into the budget this Black Friday. May wait for Super Bowl sales...

[pr0ner]

It is a physical law that immediately after I buy something expensive, it is succeeded by a better model. Cheaper is unusual, though.

At some point you just have to commit. Today was that point.

You would be safe in assuming the TV you bought is better than the R8.

[Jaymann]

Wow! HDR is da schizzle!

[rittchard]

I finally bit the bullet and ordered the LG B9 OLED 55" for use as my PC gaming monitor. I've never had an OLED TV so I'm a little nervous about rumors of burn-in and whatnot but I'm also excited to see what the fuss is all about. Apparently they've recently made driver upgrades to support Nvidia G-Sync so I'm excited to see if I can tell the difference. Not that I'm super picky or even know what "tearing" is but it sounds good on paper lol.

[Isgrimnur]

Wow! HDR is da schizzle!

It is when it's actually being used.

YouTube channel HDTVTest is known for doing quality analysis of the HDR implementations in popular media like films, games, and TV shows, and it found that Disney+'s The Mandalorian live-action Star Wars series is the latest in a long line of high-profile content that is just SDR wrapped up in an HDR package. The show has none of the actual benefits of HDR and a number of additional downsides, such that viewers might actually prefer to disable HDR on their TVs when viewing.

[Hrothgar]

I finally bit the bullet and ordered the LG B9 OLED 55" for use as my PC gaming monitor. I've never had an OLED TV so I'm a little nervous about rumors of burn-in and whatnot but I'm also excited to see what the fuss is all about. Apparently they've recently made driver upgrades to support Nvidia G-Sync so I'm excited to see if I can tell the difference. Not that I'm super picky or even know what "tearing" is but it sounds good on paper lol.

How far away are you sitting from that? I'm pretty sure that wouldn't fit on my desk.

[Jaymann]

Wow! HDR is da schizzle!

It is when it's actually being used.

YouTube channel HDTVTest is known for doing quality analysis of the HDR implementations in popular media like films, games, and TV shows, and it found that Disney+'s The Mandalorian live-action Star Wars series is the latest in a long line of high-profile content that is just SDR wrapped up in an HDR package. The show has none of the actual benefits of HDR and a number of additional downsides, such that viewers might actually prefer to disable HDR on their TVs when viewing.

So you are saying it will only get better? Sweet!

[hentzau]

So I used to be really big on TCL Roku TVs...I picked up the 55" 6 series about two years ago, and it's worked like a champ since I got it. But now I'm having problems with HDR content, specifically DolbyVision content. I'll admit, I'm not sure how long this has been a problem, since this TV primarily gets used to play video games and watch cable content. But with the advent of Disney+, my family is actually gathering around to watch TV, and anything that is in DolbyVision is almost unwatchable. The content is dim and gray and during dark scenes you can't tell what the hell is going on. There are very few controls to adjust this...once you are in the app, you can change the picture settings to Dark, Normal or Bright, but even with it set on bright, you can't see what's happening.

I've researched this and I'm not the only person bitching about this problem. A common solution is to use the Roku remote and go into the "secret" menu, but so far I've been unable to get into this menu using the remote codes that are commonly thrown about.

I've contacted TCL, and they're washing their hands of the whole thing...so, I'm not a happy camper with TCL right now.

[malchior]

I had the same issue with the same set - this code works for me: HOME BUTTON (5X) - RW - PAUSE - FF - PAUSE - RW. I had to do it 2 or 3 times to get into it. Then you just need to set the HDR mode to Open which disables DolbyVision. I haven't had an issue since. The hardcore tv forums put the blame pretty solidly on Dolby for selling a standard that isn't an actual standard...but TCL should have an easier fix for this.

[hentzau]

Yeah, that’s the code I’m trying to use. Spent about half an hours at night trying to get it to work. I’ll try again tonight.

[malchior]

I use home to get to the 'stable' root menu then wait a few seconds then press it in an even cadence. I just got into it 2 times straight. You might need to do a firmware upgrade too from what I read. Mine was up to date so that could have helped.

[rittchard]

I finally bit the bullet and ordered the LG B9 OLED 55" for use as my PC gaming monitor. I've never had an OLED TV so I'm a little nervous about rumors of burn-in and whatnot but I'm also excited to see what the fuss is all about. Apparently they've recently made driver upgrades to support Nvidia G-Sync so I'm excited to see if I can tell the difference. Not that I'm super picky or even know what "tearing" is but it sounds good on paper lol.

How far away are you sitting from that? I'm pretty sure that wouldn't fit on my desk.

Yeah I'm about 6-8 ft away. I have a weird setup, it just kind of evolved over time. The TV sits on a (now largely wasted) corner desk and I have a separate workstation thing that I sit at that can be as far away as my small bedroom allows. My old TCL had a more awkward footprint that barely fit on the desk because it had two feet on the edges, but the LG uses a stand in the middle which works much better for me.

At first glance I couldn't see too much difference but after a little more use I played a couple of 4K UHD demos, and really started noticing the richness in colors and contrast and yes, the deep deep blacks everyone always talks about. It's the kind of thing that's not really an issue until you've seen it. I was perfectly fine with my TCL and had trouble imagining it could be much better. I haven't done any adjustments or anything yet and haven't spent enough time to say just how good it is (esp for gaming), but first impressions are definitely very good, exceeding my expectations. Spent a few minutes in Jedi and it just looked amazing.

[hentzau]

I use home to get to the 'stable' root menu then wait a few seconds then press it in an even cadence. I just got into it 2 times straight. You might need to do a firmware upgrade too from what I read. Mine was up to date so that could have helped.

Finally got it to work. I had to press the buttons in pretty quick succession, and that finally did the trick. Disabled DV, and it looks a lot better. It was washed out, but I had the brightness turned up as high as possible. Set it to dark mode, and it was pretty good. Going to play around with the settings some more to see if I can't dial it in some more.

[hitbyambulance]

I use home to get to the 'stable' root menu then wait a few seconds then press it in an even cadence. I just got into it 2 times straight. You might need to do a firmware upgrade too from what I read. Mine was up to date so that could have helped.

Finally got it to work. I had to press the buttons in pretty quick succession, and that finally did the trick. Disabled DV, and it looks a lot better. It was washed out, but I had the brightness turned up as high as possible. Set it to dark mode, and it was pretty good. Going to play around with the settings some more to see if I can't dial it in some more.

https://www.consumerreports.org/lcd-led ... e-quality/

[Jaymon]

im getting old and starting to struggle to hear the tv sometimes, so I am thinking about a soundbar, or maybe some speakers.

TV is wall mounted. so, ya'll got any advice on how to get the sound closer to me, without having a lot of ugly wires all over? And without needing a separate remote? I have a roku enabled TCI.

[Anonymous Bosch]

im getting old and starting to struggle to hear the tv sometimes, so I am thinking about a soundbar, or maybe some speakers.

TV is wall mounted. so, ya'll got any advice on how to get the sound closer to me, without having a lot of ugly wires all over? And without needing a separate remote? I have a roku enabled TCI.

Here's a useful guide on how to connect a soundbar to your TV via Bluetooth, along with relevant links for the necessary items if your TV lacks built-in Bluetooth compatibility:

How to Connect a Soundbar to a TV Using Bluetooth

[Tao]

I am not an audiophile but I am using a Yamaha YAS 207 and think it's awesome. It has a small footprint and supports wireless (Sub-Woofer) and Bluetooth. I have it connected to my LG OLED, think it's one of the B7 models from a couple of years ago. I have the sound bar connected via cables to the TV but I also have it paired with other devices in the house, like my laptop so I can play music from it as well. I have not looked at reviews for the latest and greatest though.

[Hrothgar]

I have a roku enabled TCI.

TCL does make soundbars. Presumably they're compatible with their TV's.