new T.V. smart or Not?
 

We are looking for a new TV. Heard the smart TV is the way to go? Any experiences with one? Definitely want it mounted on wall? Where to buy etc..?

Chromebit $100
Google just introduced a whole new kind of Chrome OS computer—a dongle that plugs into any HDMI-equipped display. It’s called a Chromebit, and it isn’t your run-of-the-mill streaming stick. For under $100, you’re looking at a full computer that plugs right into your TV.
read more here

This is what I would buy.

How much do you want to spend on a tv?
How big?
How about a sound system? Do you need one of those too?
How far will you sit from the screen? That determines size.

Wow!....
 

he asks about a new tv...not a flash drive to turn a tv into a computer....

Go with 4k...50-60 inches...the better brands are Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, Sharp, Vizio....they're all mostly led tv's...get one with a 240hz refresh rate at the least...OLED if you can afford it...go to ledtvbuyingguide.com and check out the ratings...if you have to buy local then Bestbuy(about the only good choice for local is your best bet...otherwise look at buying direct from the company, amazon or other reliable online retailers...good luck...oh and you really only need a smart tv if you'll do a lot more than watch tv...but most come as smart tv's now...

I told him what I would get. He heard the Smart TV is the way to go.

click here

We have had ours for about a year and think it was worth the expenditure. I like it wall mounted provided that no cords etc. are visible. It takes up less space than on a stand. However, a stand is convenient for DVD storage etc.

Good luck with your purchase. Ours is a Samsung from Best Buy.

A "smart" TV essentially incorporates internet video streaming capabilities directly into the set instead of using an external box such as an Apple TV, Roku, a streaming Blueray player, etc. An external streaming box may provide you more options. For example, a Roku box has access to a huge number of internet "channels". Even if you purchase a "smart" TV, you can still use an external streaming box. It may become difficult to find TVs that aren't "smart" as the additional electronics for streaming are pretty cheap and don't require much space. Currently, your better TVs are all "smart" TVs. Given the small incremental cost, when you have a choice, I would opt for the "smart" TV. Sam's Club has good TV pricing and a very low cost extended warranty including delivery.

This is starting to drift off topic but what the heck. 4K (2160p) sets look very impressive in a show room when displaying true 4K material and your nose is 6 inches from the screen. At normal viewing distances (say 12-15 feet) with a typical screen size of 50", regardless of the material, you will not be able to discern the difference between a 1080p set and a 4k set (2160p). The three resolutions you can buy today are 720p, 1080p, and 2160p (4K). You will not find 720p in any sets over about 32" in size. There are various tables/charts on the internet which will relate viewing distance and screen size to the resolution your eyes can discern. Here is one such chart:

http://s3.carltonbale.com/resolution_chart.html

Essentially, the closer you sit to the TV and the larger the screen the more likely you can see resolution differences. As such, 4K (2160p) sets, in my opinion, are not worth the price premium for the majority of viewers. However, I suspect you may find that the vast majority of the set are 4k (2160p) sets within 2 years (except for small, low cost sets) as the major manufacturers transition the majority of their production to the higher resolution 4k sets. Keep in mind that there is very little 4K material available right now. That will change with time but 4K (2160p) material requires much higher bandwidth than current 720p or 1080p material. This will be a challenge for sat and cable providers and also for internet access providers for those streaming video. For example, I believe you need about 25 megabits/sec download bandwidth to stream 4K (2160p) material from Netflix (yes, they have some limited 4K (2160p) material). In the near term, the vast majority of the material will continue to be 720p and 1080p resolution. 4k (2160p) sets can display that material but the 4x increase in the number of pixels isn't being fully exploited (but then again, depending on your viewing distance and set size it may not make any difference anyway regardless of whether the material is 1080p or 2160p).

Regarding the technology, OLED TVs are incredibly expensive and equally impressive. Virtually all other TVs are LCDs. When you see the term "LED", that refers to the source of the back lighting of an LCD TV. The other source of back lighting is CCFLs (essentially fluorescent lamps). We currently have both CCFL and LED back lit LCD sets. They look about the same but LEDs are a better technology. There are also sets with multiple "zones" of LED back lighting. It is easy to get wrapped up in buying the latest and greatest while the incremental improvement in the picture quality is marginal.

From my perspective, a bigger 1080p set is better than a smaller 4K (2160p) set unless you are sitting very close. Use the chart I reference above to help you make an informed decision.

Locally, Sam's Club has good prices on sets and very inexpensive extended warranty that includes home delivery. Sets bigger than 60" can be a challenge to get home unless you have a large SUV or pickup truck. Good luck with your purchase.

Doesn't matter if smart or dumb, if you connect it to Comcast, it will only be as good as the Comcast signal. I'm sure the same is true of Brighthouse or Dish or Direct or Cenurylink. The picture quality in the store is based off a loop not cable.

You best video will be from an over-the-air antenna (uncompressed 720p and 1080p signals) and Blueray players. The sat/cable/IPTV providers provide a compressed hi-def signal, but still plenty good.

I've owned 3 HD TV's since 2005. A Sony 42" projection, which is now older technology. The second was a 2007 Panasonic 50" plasma TV, which had a purple line down the middle by 2012 and required a new circuit board to fix the problem which would of been $500 parts and labor. A new plasma could of been purchased for $700 at the time, so we scrapped that TV and decided not to get it fixed or to go with plasma again. Even thought plasma has what some consider a great picture we went with LED because plasma TV's must also be upright at all times, even when moving. If you lay it down on it's side that will mess up the color.

Our current TV is a 2012 Vizio 60" Smart LED TV purchased at Sam's Club for $979. They currently sell for $798 to $878 at Sam's Club depending on sales and time of year. The picture is great, haven't had any problems and Vizio is an American company which I've heard is much easier to get maintenance for, especially when compared to Samsung. Vizio was started about 15 years ago in Calfornia and now sells about 50% of the LED HD TV's in America.

If you need bigger than 60", Sam's has the Vizio 70" LED Smart TV for about $1350, which is a great price. I like the Smart TV function since we do belong to Neflix and I also enjoy watching concert videos on Youtube. I noticed this week on or about April 20th that many people with TV's older than 2012 lost access to Youtube because they have changed their software. I had no problem going on Youtube this week and you may want to make sure the apps on the TV you're buying is compatiable with the Youtube updates. Here's my TV and I really like it.

http://scene7.samsclub.com/is/image/..._size_380x380$

get a smart TV, one of the new antennas, and computer internet. No more cable TV.
With this you can add Roku, thousands of channels and stream TV wirelessly. No more monthly contracts. The university kids have been doing it for years. Wish we had known sooner.
The new antennas gave us 80 channels, most crystal clear....better than cable.

We are looking for approx 50 in. Don't know if smart is necessary as we have no desire to use Internet on it?? Our priorities are a great picture, wall mounted with no wires. Trying to learn what smart TV is capable of

For most people, having access to Netflix, Hulu+,, Amazon Prime Instant Video, Pandora, Youtube and perhaps a few other internet streaming services is plenty. A "smart" TV and internet service will allow you to access all these and more. An external streaming box such as Apple TV or Roku will accomplish the same thing if you select a "non-smart" TV. For most typical users, a "smart" TV is easier than an external streaming box because you eliminate a remote control.

If you have a "smart" TV, most people don't require a Roku box as it provides essentially the same functionality. For most people this means Netflix, Hulu+ and Amazon. A Roku box will provide access to many more internet "channels" than the typical "smart" TV but most people probably don't need or want the huge Roku selection. Hisense and TCL make LCD sets with the Roku functionality built in if you really like Roku and would like to avoid the external Roku box.

The OP was referring to US sales and Samsung and Vizio are pretty close at about 29% and 25%, respectively. Regarding quality, I currently own 3 Samsung LCD sets and have had a total of 4 Samsung sets. One of my Samsung LCD sets had failures of both the main system board and the power board and my Samsung DLP set had a failure of the main system board. The power board of the LCD set was repaired under the terms of a class action law suit. The main system board of the LCD set was on my nickel. When the main system board of the Samsung DLP set failed, apparently a common problem, I ditched the set. While they offer good pricing and features, my experiences would suggest that Samsung's quality control has been suspect as I have had 50% of my Samsung sets fail prematurely. I know lots of people with Vizio sets that have had no problems. To suggest that Samsung provides better quality than Vizio is contrary to my experience and the nearly 100% failure rate of certain Samsung LCD sets (the ones covered by the class action law suite). By the way, Samsung sells lots of sets in Best Buy, Wal-mart, Costco, and Sams Club, as does Vizio. Caveat emptor.