MJB
Wholenote
Who's we sucka? Smith, Wesson and me.
Posts: 634
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Post by MJB on Jan 18, 2020 8:05:35 GMT -5
Got a 55" TCL Smart TV, UHD,LED, 4K, blah blah blah. $280, it was time. I won't get it hooked up until tomorrow as the table top stand will arrive today. The feet that come with these TVs are so far apart they are useless to me and I didn't want to wall mount it. I think the last TV I bought was in 2006 or so. I can't complain. We really don't watch a LOT of TV so maybe this will be my last one. www.tclusa.com/products/home-theater/4-series/tcl-55-class-4-series-4k-uhd-led-roku-smart-tv-55s423 |
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Post by HenryJ on Jan 18, 2020 8:47:37 GMT -5
We've had our 46" TV since 2007, and it's still going strong. It's not 4K and it's not a smart TV.
My wife keeps mentioning the possibilities, especially since I told her that they can be had for under $500, unlike the one we have not that was well over 4 figures in 2007 (and I have not adjusted for CPI).
I wish the price of acoustic guitars would go down like the price of TV sets has done!
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Ryder
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Butterscotch Blues
Posts: 856
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Post by Ryder on Jan 18, 2020 9:30:09 GMT -5
I’ve heard great things about the TCL brand TVs. Sounds like a good choice and a good price.
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Post by Mfitz804 on Jan 18, 2020 10:57:55 GMT -5
The price of TVs is amazing right now. My first flat screen TV was 37” and cost $1300, and was like 5 inches deep. My current is 4k, Smart TV, 55”, and was under $300. and they are everywhere, my supermarket has a 50” Samsung 4K smart TV on sale every week, fluctuating occasionally, between $250 and $280.
The trade off is, they aren’t lasting as long. My last one went bad after only 2 years. I was not pleased. But at under $300, it’s way easier just to get rid of the old and bring in the new.
To the OP, I hope it lasts long enough to be your last one, but I hope YOU last long enough that it isn’t.
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babsobass
Halfnote
One small step for man
Posts: 57
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Post by babsobass on Jan 18, 2020 11:38:23 GMT -5
Got a 55" TCL Smart TV, UHD,LED, 4K, blah blah blah. $280, it was time. I won't get it hooked up until tomorrow as the table top stand will arrive today. The feet that come with these TVs are so far apart they are useless to me and I didn't want to wall mount it. Bought the same brand and size. I have a stand for it that is only about 2.5' wide. Since the feet mount pointing out, it would not fit. The solution was to mount the feet facing inward. Mounted like this the feet are making contact closer to 2' apart. Voila! |
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Post by rickyguitar on Jan 18, 2020 12:11:38 GMT -5
No tv in our house, but I have noticed they are a lot less expensive. Enjoy.
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Ragic
Wholenote
Posts: 170
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Post by Ragic on Jan 18, 2020 15:14:17 GMT -5
If your TV feet are too far apart... Here is the answer. TV Stand |
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Post by HenryJ on Jan 23, 2020 15:47:48 GMT -5
The price of TVs is amazing right now. My first flat screen TV was 37” and cost $1300, and was like 5 inches deep. My current is 4k, Smart TV, 55”, and was under $300. and they are everywhere, my supermarket has a 50” Samsung 4K smart TV on sale every week, fluctuating occasionally, between $250 and $280. The trade off is, they aren’t lasting as long. My last one went bad after only 2 years. I was not pleased. But at under $300, it’s way easier just to get rid of the old and bring in the new. To the OP, I hope it lasts long enough to be your last one, but I hope YOU last long enough that it isn’t. That last line is a very sweet Irish blessing. |
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MJB
Wholenote
Who's we sucka? Smith, Wesson and me.
Posts: 634
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Post by MJB on Jan 23, 2020 17:23:56 GMT -5
Ragic, I bought a Perlesmith stand similar to that one. The new TV is great. Besides a great picture, the audio is VERY good, no need for a soundbar.
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Post by walshb 🦒 on Jan 23, 2020 19:58:21 GMT -5
We bought the same brand and size, slightly different model # (421), about 6 months ago, and we've had no issues so far. It's strange to go to a "smart TV" and have all these apps available. We don't use many of them, but "they're there" if we need them for some reason. Good luck with it, I don't think you'll regret it.
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Post by LM on Jan 23, 2020 20:05:32 GMT -5
I won't have a smart TV since they're hackable. I don't want to go to YouTube and see videos of me in my underwear eating Fritos and drinking V8's.
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Post by Mfitz804 on Jan 23, 2020 20:58:36 GMT -5
I won't have a smart TV since they're hackable. I don't want to go to YouTube and see videos of me in my underwear eating Fritos and drinking V8's. Never again lol. |
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Ragic
Wholenote
Posts: 170
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Post by Ragic on Jan 23, 2020 22:10:36 GMT -5
Ragic, I bought a Perlesmith stand similar to that one. The new TV is great. Besides a great picture, the audio is VERY good, no need for a soundbar. The TCL TV's are great. It sucks that all the TV's come with the feet so far apart. Hate to spend the extra money on a stand but at least you have a solution if you are putting it on a narrow table. |
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Post by walshb 🦒 on Jan 24, 2020 6:50:36 GMT -5
I mounted ours on a swivel mount just above the TV/Stereo stand that it started out on. I didn't trust those legs because it would have slid off with little effort. Sometimes my wife sits on the other side of the room when I'm not home, so she can then swivel the TV in that direction. The swivel mount was $30 and the most difficult part of the installation was the measurements I took to get the TV height just right.
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Post by Leftee on Jan 24, 2020 7:32:06 GMT -5
Ragic, I bought a Perlesmith stand similar to that one. The new TV is great. Besides a great picture, the audio is VERY good, no need for a soundbar. I think that sound bar necessity comes from a number of factors. 5 years ago we got a 55” LG for our den downstairs. The sound was good so I never even thought about a sound bar. At the end of 2018 I bought a 65” Sharp for the upstairs living room. It’s a bigger room with a peaked ceiling. It was immediately noticeable the the sound was not coming from the screen. You could see the lips moving, on the screen, but the sound was coming from the room. And our daughter would turn the sound up so loud to compensate that I could easily hear the TV downstairs. So I ordered a nice refurb Yamaha sound bar. It made a dramatic difference with the big TV upstairs. Since it was a nice sound bar at a nice price ($90 IIRC) I ordered another for the 55”. Although the improvement was not as dramatic, I’m still very glad I did it. It wasn’t “bad” to begin with... but the sound bar was still a nice improvement in both audio and dialogue quality. |
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Post by walshb 🦒 on Jan 24, 2020 7:53:25 GMT -5
Since it was a nice sound bar at a nice price ($90 IIRC) I ordered another for the 55”. Although the improvement was not as dramatic, I’m still very glad I did it. It wasn’t “bad” to begin with... but the sound bar was still a nice improvement in both audio and dialogue quality. I purchased a cheap sound bar with ours, also. It definitely makes a difference. My wife doesn't like it as loud as my hearing impairment does, so I don't use it a lot. I'd actually rather have a better one, but that's probably not happening. |
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Post by Leftee on Jan 24, 2020 8:04:45 GMT -5
Since it was a nice sound bar at a nice price ($90 IIRC) I ordered another for the 55”. Although the improvement was not as dramatic, I’m still very glad I did it. It wasn’t “bad” to begin with... but the sound bar was still a nice improvement in both audio and dialogue quality. I purchased a cheap sound bar with ours, also. It definitely makes a difference. My wife doesn't like it as loud as my hearing impairment does, so I don't use it a lot. I'd actually rather have a better one, but that's probably not happening. I really lucked out with the Yamahas. They were factory refurbs, and they came packaged like new. They also have a built-in sub that provides what I find to be adequate bass. I don’t see the need for a separate sub - although I’m sure that would up the game more. |
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Stratluvr
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Post by Stratluvr on Jan 24, 2020 8:44:28 GMT -5
Most of these big screen TVs need a sound bar. Otherwise, dialogue is next to impossible to hear in movies and shows.
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Post by Leftee on Jan 24, 2020 8:47:42 GMT -5
Most of these big screen TVs need a sound bar. Otherwise, dialogue is next to impossible to hear in movies and shows. In our experience, this truth grows with the size of the TV. |
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JDC
Wholenote
I STILL say: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"
Posts: 528
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Post by JDC on Jan 24, 2020 15:45:20 GMT -5
Most of these big screen TVs need a sound bar. Otherwise, dialogue is next to impossible to hear in movies and shows. My mom doesn't have a big screen T.V. but does have an issue hearing dialog in movies and shows. For Christmas I bought her a smallish soundbar (to fit in her entertainment center). The particular one I bought was made specifically with half a dozen settings that (when toggling from setting #1 to setting #6) are progressively/increasingly "dialog enhancing". I'm guessing the settings are merely preset EQ levels designed to filter more of the frequencies usually assigned to sounds other than the human voice. At the highest (6th) setting, about all one CAN hear is the dialog. Mom has it on setting #1. Even at that basic level of "enhancement" the improvement is readily apparent. |
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Post by digiboy on Jan 24, 2020 15:58:50 GMT -5
I have a 32" Visio which ran me a little over $300 a few years ago. It's 1080P, plays great, and I certainly wouldn't need anything bigger for this minuscule Manhattan studio apartment. Starting to sound like I may have trouble finding something small enough to replace it some day! A 55" would be ridiculous!
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Post by Taildragger on Jan 24, 2020 16:07:52 GMT -5
Older 40" Samsung. Sticking with it til it dies.
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JDC
Wholenote
I STILL say: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"
Posts: 528
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Post by JDC on Jan 24, 2020 16:12:43 GMT -5
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Post by LM on Jan 24, 2020 17:18:05 GMT -5
Speaking of soundbars, here's mine...
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Post by LTB on Jan 24, 2020 20:00:27 GMT -5
Don't remember the date but it was the first flat screen TV that came out. Plasma price tag at Highlands in Hurst Texas was $11,000. I marveled at it at it and walked out with just a dream of owning one someday. Fast forward to today. It blows my mind what you can get for $300 or so.
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MJB
Wholenote
Who's we sucka? Smith, Wesson and me.
Posts: 634
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Post by MJB on Jan 25, 2020 13:21:33 GMT -5
The Samsung this TV replaced absolutely needed a sound bar. This TCL, not at all.
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babsobass
Halfnote
One small step for man
Posts: 57
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Post by babsobass on Jan 26, 2020 18:49:20 GMT -5
For those that have had a TCL for a while, how's the reliability been for you?
Mine was bought in December 2018, a 55". Love the picture and features. About 6 months in it blew; loud pop and that was it. I had it repaired for no charge as it was under warranty. There are 3 primary electronic boards in it and all were replaced. Since then it has worked Ok except for the occasional "automatic" shutdown and reboot.
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Post by LTB on Jan 28, 2020 1:00:28 GMT -5
I won't have a smart TV since they're hackable. I don't want to go to YouTube and see videos of me in my underwear eating Fritos and drinking V8's. Lol, your hilarious. I agree with you but it is kind of hard these days to find a "non smart" TV. What I did is just not connect Ethernet cable to the TV and thus not using the "Smart" part. |
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Post by walshb 🦒 on Jan 28, 2020 7:34:39 GMT -5
For those that have had a TCL for a while, how's the reliability been for you? Mine was bought in December 2018, a 55". Love the picture and features. About 6 months in it blew; loud pop and that was it. I had it repaired for no charge as it was under warranty. There are 3 primary electronic boards in it and all were replaced. Since then it has worked Ok except for the occasional "automatic" shutdown and reboot. We've only had ours since last July. So far, no issues at all, but I've read reviews where others had a problem similar to yours. So if it happened to us, I wouldn't be surprised. |
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