New TV suggestions

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by SuperChief

What this means is I'm looking for a non-smart 4k QLED or OLED 40" tv. Is that even an option in today's market?

I don't think you'll be able to find a non-Smart TV these days that worth a crap but there are plenty of 40"-43" 4K Smart TV's available for less than $300 dollars.

We have six Smart TV's, all TCL Roku 4K's. I bought a 43" TCL 4K for my wife's office during the Christmas season of 2018 and the TV was dead out of the box, so I exchanged it the next day at Costco and haven't had an issue since. FYI, Costco doubles the manufacturer's warranty and allows returns/exchanges for up to 2 years.

Personally, I absolutely love the picture and convenience of a Roku TV because once it's authorized, it downloads all of our apps automatically. The most time consuming aspect is authorizing all of those apps but even that's really quick these days because the CPU's are just so fast these days.

My latest TCL QLED boots so quickly that I barely even see it. I press power and BOOM! I'm at the home screen.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

I don't think you'll be able to find a non-Smart TV these days that worth a crap but there are plenty of 40"-43" 4K Smart TV's available for less than $300 dollars.

We have six Smart TV's, all TCL Roku 4K's. I bought a 43" TCL 4K for my wife's office during the Christmas season of 2018 and the TV was dead out of the box, so I exchanged it the next day at Costco and haven't had an issue since. FYI, Costco doubles the manufacturer's warranty and allows returns/exchanges for up to 2 years.

Personally, I absolutely love the picture and convenience of a Roku TV because once it's authorized, it downloads all of our apps automatically. The most time consuming aspect is authorizing all of those apps but even that's really quick these days because the CPU's are just so fast these days.

My latest TCL QLED boots so quickly that I barely even see it. I press power and BOOM! I'm at the home screen.

We have a 75" TCL Roku, a 40" TCL Roku and I have a Roku Express in my office. I love them.

[lawrenceRaider]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

My latest TCL QLED boots so quickly that I barely even see it. I press power and BOOM! I'm at the home screen.

It probably never actually powers down, just turns off power to the screen,keeping the smart bit going all the time. Doesn't take much power to run the smart bits.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by lawrenceRaider

It probably never actually powers down, just turns off power to the screen,keeping the smart bit going all the time. Doesn't take much power to run the smart bits.

Surprisingly, I actually turned that function off and it still goes to the home screen so quickly that I don't even see it boot. It's literally press the power button on the remote and boom, there's the home screen.

I wish it allowed me to specify which app to open upon pressing the power button but that's probably asking too much at this point in time.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by SuperChief

I'm in a bit of a dilemma with TVs, myself.

I bought a 40" Sony Bravia in 2009 that still runs like a champ - it's my office/gaming tv at the moment. It works insanely well, and I've never had any issues with it whatsoever; however, I'm getting a PS5 soon and want to be able to take advantage of this upgrade in graphics. So I'll be in the market for a ~40" 4k tv soon, but....

1) I haven't had great experience with smart tvs that have built-in platforms like Fire TV or Roku. I currently have a 55" Toshiba smart 4k tv w/ Fire TV and it's slower than **** (probably because I'm constantly near the 5GB memory limit, but what can you do when it only holds, like, 10 ****ing apps).

2) I love Fire TV - I've had every generation of standalone Fire TV systems, and I just bought a Cube and it works great.

What this means is I'm looking for a non-smart 4k QLED or OLED 40" tv. Is that even an option in today's market?

There's probably some other there but not that I'm aware of.

I'm surprised you've had such good luck with Amazon Fire. I've had 3 of them in different hardware iterations and never had anything but trouble with them. We did have one of the Fire Stick HD's that was slow so out of the box, I sent it back. Literally 15-20 second delay after pushing a button on the remote. I never knew if the button push had actually registered.

We switched them out for Roku and never looked back.

[SuperChief]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

There's probably some other there but not that I'm aware of.

I'm surprised you've had such good luck with Amazon Fire. I've had 3 of them in different hardware iterations and never had anything but trouble with them. We did have one of the Fire Stick HD's that was slow so out of the box, I sent it back. Literally 15-20 second delay after pushing a button on the remote. I never knew if the button push had actually registered.

We switched them out for Roku and never looked back.

I should have clarified - I did try the Stick, and it was garbage. But I still have my Gen 1 Fire TV and it works very well. And the Cube is great now, too. I'm glad you've had luck with Roku, but any Roku I've ever used is terrible. Slow, crazy lag, ugly UI. No thanks for me!

I'm looking at this tv now. Seems to fit what I'm looking for. Thoughts?
https://www.nfm.com/samsung-43-class...hd-4k-smart-tv

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by SuperChief

I should have clarified - I did try the Stick, and it was garbage. But I still have my Gen 1 Fire TV and it works very well. And the Cube is great now, too. I'm glad you've had luck with Roku, but any Roku I've ever used is terrible. Slow, crazy lag, ugly UI. No thanks for me!

I'm looking at this tv now. Seems to fit what I'm looking for. Thoughts?
https://www.nfm.com/samsung-43-class...hd-4k-smart-tv

Avoid Samsung at all cost. Also, that's too much money for a non-UHD TV, especially a TV that small.

It also sounds like you were using very early generation Roku's. I had a stick for a while back in 2016 and agree, it was clunky and lagged.

But the latest generation Roku TV's are so incredibly fast that there's no lag, no delay, no nothing - just a great performance and great picture for very little money.

Also, keep in mind that by choosing an LG or Samsung (do NOT choose Samsung), there's a very real possibility that the apps you use aren't available without a Roku or Amazon Fire.

[SuperChief]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Avoid Samsung at all cost. Also, that's too much money for a non-UHD TV, especially a TV that small.

It also sounds like you were using very early generation Roku's. I had a stick for a while back in 2016 and agree, it was clunky and lagged.

But the latest generation Roku TV's are so incredibly fast that there's no lag, no delay, no nothing - just a great performance and great picture for very little money.

Also, keep in mind that by choosing an LG or Samsung (do NOT choose Samsung), there's a very real possibility that the apps you use aren't available without a Roku or Amazon Fire.

Aight, you've swayed me. Now I'm looking at this one. Thoughts?
https://www.nfm.com/tcl-50-class-4k-...-roku-smart-tv

[EPodolak]

Originally Posted by SuperChief

I should have clarified - I did try the Stick, and it was garbage. But I still have my Gen 1 Fire TV and it works very well. And the Cube is great now, too. I'm glad you've had luck with Roku, but any Roku I've ever used is terrible. Slow, crazy lag, ugly UI. No thanks for me!

I'm looking at this tv now. Seems to fit what I'm looking for. Thoughts?
https://www.nfm.com/samsung-43-class...hd-4k-smart-tv

I've got that TV in our bedroom. I'm a Samsung guy when it comes to televisions, I like that one pretty well. A little less clear and sharp than the other Samsung we have, which is what stands out about Sammies over the years, but still pretty good.

Edit: Heh, I see you made a different buy. I've heard good things about TCL also, hope you like it.

[SuperChief]

Originally Posted by EPodolak

Edit: Heh, I see you made a different buy. I've heard good things about TCL also, hope you like it.

Set it up this morning. I'm impressed thus far with the picture and audio quality. The input lag from the Roku is unacceptable in my book, so I've hooked up my Fire TV Cube and have a Sideclick (really cool companion remote for streaming box remotes that is programmed to TVs buttons). Works great now!

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Research up on LG fridges. For awhile their design of compressors was ass and they’d last 2 years. I’m guessing they got it fixed but just be careful

Will do.

I actually chose to replace about $150 dollars in parts myself on my 17 year old GE fridge because literally everyone I know that's purchased an LG, Samsung or Kenmore has had problems, from the icemaker to the door unit not working properly and so on.

For those of you that aren't aware, appliancepartspros.com not only carries freakin' every single part available for every company that's still manufacturing replacement parts, they have videos on their website which show exactly how to replace each part. If you understand even the basics of how to use a screwdriver or socket set and so on, these parts are easily replaceable.

I've saved thousands in labor costs just in the past 10 months alone and cannot believe how simple it is to do so.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Will do.

I actually chose to replace about $150 dollars in parts myself on my 17 year old GE fridge because literally everyone I know that's purchased an LG, Samsung or Kenmore has had problems, from the icemaker to the door unit not working properly and so on.

For those of you that aren't aware, appliancepartspros.com not only carries freakin' every single part available for every company that's still manufacturing replacement parts, they have videos on their website which show exactly how to replace each part. If you understand even the basics of how to use a screwdriver or socket set and so on, these parts are easily replaceable.

I've saved thousands in labor costs just in the past 10 months alone and cannot believe how simple it is to do so.

Right on. Thanks.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Will do.

I actually chose to replace about $150 dollars in parts myself on my 17 year old GE fridge because literally everyone I know that's purchased an LG, Samsung or Kenmore has had problems, from the icemaker to the door unit not working properly and so on.

For those of you that aren't aware, appliancepartspros.com not only carries freakin' every single part available for every company that's still manufacturing replacement parts, they have videos on their website which show exactly how to replace each part. If you understand even the basics of how to use a screwdriver or socket set and so on, these parts are easily replaceable.

I've saved thousands in labor costs just in the past 10 months alone and cannot believe how simple it is to do so.

I'm in a class action on these !@#$ing LG linear compressor model refrigerators.

They're AMAZING....when they're running. I loved my LG except for the fact that every 6 months they'd seize up and since everything is part of a closed system with a known seal failure/line clogging issue, nobody will work on them. So you have to find a factory authorized dealer and they're all WAY booked out because, again, these damn things are shit. It took me 8 weeks to get it repaired once, 6 weeks the other time.

And even under warranty (which only covers parts) you're out about $900 on labor.

So after fixing the damn thing twice in 5 years, I scrapped it and replaced it with a GE. I don't like the GE quite as much, but the door in the ice maker doesn't develop the ice block that takes up the entire bin like the LG did, so that's nice. And the entire back of the fridge is a massive LED backlight so that's awesome. But doesn't feel as substantial and the ice maker is sloooooooow to dispense so as often as not I just open the door and pull the bin out. I also don't think its temperature control is quite as precise.

But it won't have me scrambling to fit a bunch of stuff into my beer fridge/deep freeze every year, so that's nice.

If anyone is looking at a fridge, remember that LG and Kenmore use the same guts and I believe they all utilize their linear compressor setup. DO NOT buy a refrigerator that utilizes that system. It WILL fail and if you're lucky you'll get 5 years before it does. They know it will. The seals are made of a material that breaks down when exposed to the refrigerant and the pieces that decay off will slowly build up in the lines before clogging them up altogether.

This is a thing they know it WILL do, they've known this for over a decade and they've done nothing to address it. Ask any salesman you're working with if what you're looking at uses a linear compressor system and if it does, walk away. And if they don't know, find a different salesman because he's probably just lying - they know about these things.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

So after fixing the damn thing twice in 5 years, I scrapped it and replaced it with a GE. I don't like the GE quite as much, but the door in the ice maker doesn't develop the ice block that takes up the entire bin like the LG did, so that's nice. And the entire back of the fridge is a massive LED backlight so that's awesome. But doesn't feel as substantial and the ice maker is sloooooooow to dispense so as often as not I just open the door and pull the bin out. I also don't think its temperature control is quite as precise.

Living in SoCal, where it's often 70+ degrees everyday (and for the past week, 95-110 degrees), a fully operational icemaker is absolutely essential for me. I drink iced tea in the morning and ice water the rest of the day and night, so ice is a must.

I had GE replace the icemaker back in 2010, which cost me $250 with labor. About 5 years later, the icemaker stopped working, so I had it replaced, again, along with a few solenoids. But, the last repairman showed me how to replace the icemaker myself (literally two nuts and a plug), so the last time the icemaker went out, I purchased and replaced it myself for $49.99.

We were in KC over Christmas and my brother had purchased a new Kenmore fridge within the past couple of months. Not only was the fridge not staying cold, the icemaker bucket was so tiny that it could only fill a few cups worth of ice at a time and one night, it stopped working altogether.

It's actually unbelievable that in 2019/2020, ice maker technology is still garbage.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Living in SoCal, where it's often 70+ degrees everyday (and for the past week, 95-110 degrees), a fully operational icemaker is absolutely essential for me. I drink iced tea in the morning and ice water the rest of the day and night, so ice is a must.

I had GE replace the icemaker back in 2010, which cost me $250 with labor. About 5 years later, the icemaker stopped working, so I had it replaced, again, along with a few solenoids. But, the last repairman showed me how to replace the icemaker myself (literally two nuts and a plug), so the last time the icemaker went out, I purchased and replaced it myself for $49.99.

We were in KC over Christmas and my brother had purchased a new Kenmore fridge within the past couple of months. Not only was the fridge not staying cold, the icemaker bucket was so tiny that it could only fill a few cups worth of ice at a time and one night, it stopped working altogether.

It's actually unbelievable that in 2019/2020, ice maker technology is still garbage.

The last fridge we had before the GE was a Kenmore. Last 9 months.