Bought a new TV

[jb]

It's been years and I mean years since I've bought a TV. Had an old tube type that was in the den that had a tape player that had a decent enough picture. The 32" flat screen we had in the living room came from my MIL after she died.
So we decided to retire the old one, move the flat screen to the den and go buy a new one. Been told the best deals on new TV's happen just before the Super Bowl, even better deals than you find on Black Friday.
So off I go to our local Best Buy and after walking into the TV section I become completely overwhelmed.
I think the last time I bought a TV they asked if I wanted B&W or Color, then it was a choice between RCA, GE or the top of the line Maganvox.
Damn, there must be a bazillion makers of TV's today, and each one has about 4 levels of quality to choose from.
Salesman goes into all the differences, HD, Super HD, 3 million pictal 7 million or 9 million, do you want one with smart technology, we have have that will clean the air after you fart, and another that has a wrap around screen with sound around.
Every thing from $399 to $2,399.
Then what size, wanted to jump up a little from the old 32" to maybe a 42", but the most popular and the biggest discounts were on 50" or I could just buy one that replaced the wall of my living room. The picture quality in the stores are another thing, don't know where or how they get their signal, but the pictures showed little zits on all those beautiful female news people and as well as the hair on the their upper lip.
In the end walked out the door with a Samsung 50"4K Ultra SUHD with a bunch of stuff built in that I'll never use.
We have cable TV but don't have HD, but I'm still amazed at the picture quality of this new one.
Wife like it cause Netflix is built in, where the old one was added on and she had to watch it on her I-Pad.
I had to have my techie son come over and set it up, but enjoyed watching my 12 year old grand daughter telling him how to do it.
At my age I'm sure this will be the last TV I"ll ever buy, but I have to admit it's nice sitting down and watching it.

[Cards01]

Congratulations!!! Lot of choices for sure and tv's have came a long way.

[Chicken Dinner]

Just turn the remotes over to your grandkids in a couple of years and they'll show you how to use all those added features. I'm not a huge techie, but processor speed is one of the main things I look for as I watch a lot of sports and that's where you'll notice a difference with a slower unit.

[Big Muddy]

Just curious, JB....does your cable company not provide HD???

[jb]

HD is an add on to basic cable, there are a number of channels that broadcast in HD that come in, but to get 100% HD is an extra cost that neither wife nor I care about.

[Big Muddy]

I can understand that....however, you won't believe what the HD feature will do for that new tv....really, it's the difference between night and day....we got the HD feature because it is so much better for our eyesight.

[Buckrub]

HD is an add on to basic cable, there are a number of channels that broadcast in HD that come in, but to get 100% HD is an extra cost that neither wife nor I care about.

Once you get it you will........and that 4K TV will shine.

Spring for it, you old goat. And you can call me later and say how much you appreciated my advice on this!!! :)

[Fido]

Got a 65inch samsung last year. Could not believe the different models all with the same size screen, about blew my mind trying tooo figure out what was the one too purchase. when they delivered it and hooked it up I was disap-pointed with the quality of the picture, it was then that I found out it was best to get the HD option that my Dish network provides, it is a night and day difference especially with a bigger screen!

[Thumper]

Ha ha ha! I guess we're in the same boat Bubba! We had two OLD RCA's ... identical tv's, one in the bedroom, one in the den. They weren't tube types, but we bought them when we bought the house in 1989 if that tells ya' anything! We obviously don't watch a lot of tv. Lynn watches her cooking shows on the weekends and I go to bed with the tv on. There are a few shows I watch religiously at night (NEVER watch daytime tv), otherwise, I just catch up on the news (or anything special going on, like the debates or cauc ... ummm, cacau ... the cock-asses!

Lightning recently zapped the tv in the den, so like you, I headed for Best Buy. Heck, I knew it would be a flat screen, but I had no clue what I was in for. I was completely overwhelmed and realized I was totally unprepared to buy a tv on a whim! I left empty-handed and figured I had a bit of studying to do. Then it hit me. DUH! EVERY house has at least one tv, correct? It was a no-brainer. Two days later I went to an estate sale and picked up a Samsung 40" flat screen for $125. It is the PERFECT size for the bedroom and I moved the old RCA to the den so Lynn can watch her cooking shows! Oh, and like you, we're also still on basic cable. ;)

[Buckrub]

Here's a bit of trivial tidbits for y'all.

TV's can only show what is being "filmed" (haha, we're the last generation to use that word......ain't no film involved, but you know what I mean). If they don't use HD type cameras, it ain't gonna be HD.

HD comes in various flavors, or steps. 480p, 720p, 1080p, 1080i, and now the new 4K ones with 2160 pixels. Well, guess what? Almost 99% of stuff (if you discount ESPN) is 720p for HD. That's it. So if you get an HD TV you can get a HECK of a deal if it's "only" 720p capable, but what they don't tell you is that you'll get most HD stuff same anyway.

I have a 60" 4K in back room, den, whatever it is called. I have a 32" cheapo Emerson here in office. If you put them side by side (the way best buy does it in the store), you could tell the difference. But if you are watching a show in the back room, and come into office, the same show will look dadgum good on on this smaller one. You won't go "wow, there's a big difference"......

Now, the OLED HD TV's made by LG are different. They're the big boys, expensive as heck, but really can see the difference. Worth it? Probably not, but you can see the difference.

And next term you'll need to learn is HDR...........remember that one.

[Thumper]

The ONLY real term I need to know is "TV". My real pet peeve? The only buttons on my remotes that get worn down is the "on/off", "volume" and "channel" buttons. I have NO clue what those other 385 buttons are for ... and evidently, I don't need them!