The left part of the screen of my parent’s Samsung TV have seriously blackened recently, so they are thinking of buying a new TV. We probably bought this like 6 years ago maybe, but I absolutely do NOT want to buy a Samsung again (6 years is just planned obsolescence reliability + their OS didn’t let me remove the bloatware in any way or shape of form)
Which brand has been the most reliable for you, and also have you been able to remove the bloatware from your TV via dev mode or with a different method?
Sony makes amazing TVs.
The screens Sony uses are Samsung or LG but just against a premium price.
Unfortunately, I think we’re trapped in planned obsolescence. I’ve been taking the approach of looking at cost as a primary driver.
The difference between a crappy 4K tv and a quality 4K tv is hard for me to distinguish in most cases. Especially, if they’re not side by side.
Let’s say I set my max price at $550.
You can find a cheap brand Onn or TCL in a 70” range size. If you go smaller you’ll likely find “better” brands.
I don’t think there’s much that makes one brand better than others. 5-7 years is probably max life of anything you’ll buy today. Unless you’re willing to open it up and start trying to find the bad capacitors and re solder to the board.
Rule #1. The tv never connects to internet Rule #2. Rule #1 never gets broken Rule #3. Use another device to play signal (fire stick, Apple TV, cable box, Xbox, PlayStation, pc, etc) Rule #4. Use a sound system not the tv speakers. Go big with surround systems or don’t. Anything is better than tv speakers. I’ve used a 2.1 setup for decades. A soundbar with sub is simple to setup and use.
I’ve heard Roku is one to potential avoid now as I’ve heard they may require Internet connection on setup of some new tvs.
A good tv has an acceptable picture, size, and plays a video source.
LG seems to be ok with internet disconnected, my cousin recently got one. I have a samsung and yeah the software is atrocious, tho mine’s from 2016 or so and still working pretty well.
No idea, but my 15 year old Sony seems to be hanging on just fine.
Maybe the old ones but the current ones have absolute dog shit software. Random crashes, audio dropping out, notifications that the network connection isn’t working even if you deliberately turned it off, the audio level is in the bottom center of the screen, covering up subtitles and a bunch more annoyances. I don’t know who shipped this and thought it was good enough.
Hmm what is your Sony TV model? Most people seems to recommend Sony’s, but I wouldn’t be surprised that the recent models are shittier than they used to be
It’s a Sony BRAVIA XR-55A95L. I‘ve read multiple reports that there issues with Sony‘s current software on their TVs and people even went as far as to recommend other TVs with the same panel instead.
I don’t use “smart” features my current TV is a MicroLED with local dimming zones hooked up to a full fat PC running Linux with GNOME because the GUI works well in a living room environment with a wireless trackpad keyboard. The Logitech one is best, there’s not many options there unfortunately but it’s a good one except the lack of backlit keys.
So ignoring the crap onboard APU and shitty TV OS, well I’ve never had a TV break before I’ve replaced it frankly…except my previous TV. OLED aren’t worth it unless you don’t care about them being expensive disposable items that absolutely will degrade over time.
Current TV is an 75" LG and it’s fine. I wanted VRR and 120Hz for gaming. Are the dimming zones apparent when scrolling websites in dark mode? Yep but I don’t care.
Obviously if you don’t care about games then get a cheaper mini-PC instead.
Well my parents do not game at all, so they don’t need VRR and such, but do you think a 90 / 120 hz TV can be beneficial just for watching movies and normal TV shows?
No, in this case I’d say 60hz is totally fine (maaaaybe if someone is an avid sports fan, black frame insertion for blur busting on a high refresh rate screen I suppose, but it’s just a nice to have feature, nothing critical) and I’d be more concerned with nit numbers / HDR certs if they’d like that sort of thing at extra expense. I don’t think anything less than 1000 really counts personally if you want HDR. Lower is all marketing wank IMO. Did have a nice wow factor with my parents when they upgraded from a plain 1080p LCD recently. My mother doesn’t really care she’d be fine with a 300 dollar TCL lol.
Panasonic dumb plasma is going on 14 years. We’re hopeful we can get about 6-10 out of it.
Oh yeah we have a Panasonic plasma TV as well, and it still works. That’s a beast for sure
LG has been great but protip - don’t use the built in “smart” features as they seem to get outdated faster than the panel. Get an external device such as an Nvidia Shield, Google TV, Apple TV.
My Samsung dumb TV is still going strong after about 10 years but the slightly newer “smart” TV is already looking dodgy and I hate the software on it.
I bought an LG in 2014 and it lasted ~10 years before the backlight died. I bought a new LG that has a bunch of smart features but I’ve never connected it to the Internet, and it’s largely stayed out of my way and not been annoying.
So I guess LG has been good for me.
And what’s your experience with the newer LG TV? Can you delete it’s bloatware apps?
I don’t think it has any apps by default, or if it did I removed them. I just plugged in an Android TV and that seems to be working just fine.
But the TV itself isn’t connected to the Internet and it doesn’t bug me to connect and the default is just a nice background image without pestering me.
Have you considered trying to repair it? Darkened screen sounds like failed LED lighting strips and those can be replaced. Watch a few videos on the subject to get an idea of what you are getting into. I did it on a vizio TV and it took me about an hour all told.
Honestly thanks for giving me this idea! It definitely should be a failed LED strip issue, which can be a fun way to fix something. There is already a great looking guide exactly about Samsung TVs right here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZwM2nU8v2Y
https://www.lapseoftheshutter.com/samsung-tv-dark-shadow-fix/
Philips. I’ve had my last one for 15 years before it died and the picture still had better colors than my sister’s new ultra thin LG. Can’t say much about their newer models as I haven’t bought a new one yet, but I also use Philips monitors on my PC and I’m very happy with them.
I also got a really old Philips TV that is still going!
Just be aware that since 2011 the Philips brand for TVs and monitors was sold to TPV Technology.
Doesn’t mean they’re bad now, but maybe not worth it paying a premium for that brand name.That’s true of course. But they must be doing something right, because even their lower-priced models are pretty good. Last year I bought a 144Hz desktop monitor for a little more than 100€ and it’s been great so far.
Ohh thanks for that context! I didn’t know it’s TV branch was soild off to TPV
There will be so much “Ying and Yang” to this discussion that the answer will be … all of them…
Could be the case, but it’s never worth to not ask your opinion.
Panasonic. Bought current Panasonic TV a few years ago based on the strength of our previous one. Brilliant picture quality on both. Never connected to the interpipes
Unfortunately, Panasonic stopped selling TVs in the US.
And what is your experience with default bloatware apps? Can you remove them?
Zenith.
I have a 43" 4K Sharp I bought back in 2016 that’s still going strong through two moves.
