I'm looking at upgrading our current Panasonic 40" tv that's 5+ years old.
Thinking 55-65" would be good. We like to stream on Netflix via wifi occasionally. Need to have HDMI and USB.
What should I be looking for and anything in particular to be avoiding?
Hoping to spend around $1000-$2000.
Cheers
My in-laws have 2 LG LCD TVs. Both TVs are slowly dying because of poor soldering. There are heaps of guides online that teaches you to remove the TV circuit board and "reflow" it again in your kitchen oven to fix it. There are even several people on Gumtree advertising to offer you a small amount of money to take your "broken" LG TV.
My older LG Plasma however is still going strong. Point is, LG quality seems to be a bit hit and miss.
TV circuit board and "reflow" it again in your kitchen oven to fix it.
Agree however there are some caveats with this process.
IMO:
Many eBay sellers will sell laptop motherboards as "refurbished" and has used the heat gun/oven reflow trick (BGA reflow IC). Only offer warranty for 30 days.
Then miraculously 2 months later, the board has died as the original issue resurfaced.
Hence IMO reflow is touch and go. Even proper BGA welding is hit and miss.
I guess it doesn't cost anything to try if you are going to use the oven.
Excuse the lengthy response :P
Cheers
Totally agree with what you have just said, I have attempted to fix my in-laws' TVs as the method is quite well-documented and it works, but only for a few months like you have pointed out before I had to "reflow" the PCB again.
My point is that LG quality is hit and miss. My LG Plasma TV from 7-8 years ago hasn't given me any problems yet but my in-laws had 2 LG LCD TVs from 4-5 years ago are slowly dying on them after the warranty period has lapsed. I had similar problems with LG branded mobile phone, the bootloop issue on the LG G4 about 2 years ago. I know LG is a "name" brand, but my next appliance will probably not be a LG as it seems their quality has since gone downhill.
I agree that even the name brand TV's can have paltry lifespans and even warranty support.
My rationale is picture quality and features where quality of build and lifespan is rather subjective.
My opinion is based from my own experience, and currently owning lower end (JVC - 4K cheapie), mid-tier (LG LCD/LED) and the higher tier (LG OLED) and I can succinctly say that don't waste your money on the cheapie. You will be disappointed over the picture quality vs the mid-high tier.
Many prospective buyers get sucked in to the TV advertisement of the cheapies … flaring bright colours on the screen, looks on the site, massive discounted price, acronyms of all the features and then take it home and then discover picture quality is a disappointment. … Then spend another $1K on a "real" TV.
Rather than spending $600 on a disappointment, spend additional $400 on top and get a real TV.
Thus far the LG's have not developed any issues (yet), however saying that, I didn't spend top dollar on them (LG OLED B7 @ $1669) …
In regards to reflow, I have done that many of times like yourself and IMO it is all a waste of time (countermeasures)
Cheers
oled or nothing
get the 55" 4k oled …under 2k when on sale
Still very happy with my old 42" Panasonic Plasma. Rock solid, been with me since 2008.
Have any Aussie buyers got a TCL 6 Series TV?
Reviews of the US TVs are promising..
https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/4/17417402/tcl-6-series-tv-r…
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/tcl-6-series-65inch-roku-tv-65r…
Can you even get them down under? Someone was recommending them but I couldn't find it here.
Yes and the prices are ok.
They run AndroidTV which I actually prefer.
E.g.
https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/tcl-55-uhd-led-smart-tv-p6-quhd…
Some discussion about the differences to the US here:
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2701106
Seems AU models might not have local dimming?
From the linked thread, it looks like we're getting completely different sets, with missing features and sometimes even different panels though…
65in is starting to be the sweet spot for your money.
Sony makes the best LCD (yes, LED-LCD is this too) TVs and I wouldn't buy anything else.
OLED is the pinnacle of screens, for movie watching, at the moment. Even the best LCD screens will have technical drawbacks which heavily impact the viewing experience.
Do you have a soundbar at least? Absolute minimum, to enjoy movies, as you need subwoofer.
Your Pana will last and last …. they don't make TV's (or many electronics) like they used to ..
It won't be like many current TV's that has a hit and miss on their life expectancy.
Does your Pana have HDMI?
If so, you can just buy a google chrome or apple TV for $100+ and turn it into a smart TV, watch Netflix and the like rather than a quick upgrade.
If not then, IMO;
Cheers