TVs are similar enough to computers that I thought I would ask you’all.
I bought a 42" Panasonic plasma flat-screen in 2009. It still works except for the lowest 3" which is black (failed pixels) so I can’t see subtitles.
The Wall Street Journal says that there is a glut of TVs due to supply chain issues and the end of the Covid shutdown.
I have been reading about TVs. I am totally confused. There seem to be various technologies and price points from $300 to over $1,000. I’m looking for a plain vanilla 42" - 43" TV set that has decent color in a bright-ish room (ambient window light) to a dim-ish room (table lamps). We never watch in super glare or in real darkness. I don’t care about “style” such as thin borders, etc. We don’t do gaming.
DH sits directly in front of the TV in a recliner. My recliner is next to his so it’s a slight angle of view.
I’d like to be able to watch old DVDs but none of the new TVs have the round connector the old TV has. I use an Amazon Fire stick in the HDMI port for streaming video. It might be nice to do my Zumba class (Zoom) on the TV instead of my computer monitor. I have a web cam with a USB cable.
I’d like a TV that is as reliable as the 2009 Panasonic.
I’d appreciate some guidance.
Thanks,
Wendy
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I think LG TVs are the best value, I bought a 43" for my ‘office/cave’ and it’s been great… Costo had a stack of them at just the right time.
I think this was the one:
https://www.costco.com/lg-43%22-class—uq8000-series—4k-u…
It replaced an ancient Samsung that failed…
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Flatscreen TVs are a commodity item–$200 to $400 for a decent ultra HD. I got a Samsung 43" for sub-$300 some years ago, to replace my old 2007-2009 (?) 37" 1366 x 768 (?) TV when it poofed about 5-6 yrs ago. The old one was a Black Friday special at Target–SUB $600 !!! LOL !!!
Expect thin edges–it is how they keep costs (including shipping) down relative to screen size. My old 37" had a 3"-4" border all around–so the actual TV width was about 43". Today, a 43" TV is about 43" wide. I measured it .
You will have to look at each brand to see which connectors are on their models. A more expensive TV may have a connector or two that you want (so no adaptor for those one or two connection[s]).
USB [usually USB 3 {and maybe Thunderbolt 3 or 4 (= Lightning)}] and HDMI are expected connectors. Make sure there are enough of the connectors to suit your needs (4-6?). Expect to need to buy adaptor cables for the rest (to HDMI). You MAY be able to use a switch box (everything plugs into the switch box–which connects to the TV). You use the switch box to select which “not a TV signal” input). I use a switch box to connect my VCR and DVD player to my HDTV, so I can connect up to four other devices via the switch box–because computers today do not come with a CD/DVD drive of any type.
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I’d like to be able to watch old DVDs but none of the new TVs have the round connector the old TV has.
Take a look at the back of your DVD player to see what it has available, then match up with the TV specs. Odds are you’re currently using either yellow/red/white (composite, came along with the VCR) or red/green/blue/red/white (component, 90s tech, better than composite but also still long in the tooth). The DVD player itself, though, might have HDMI already on-board, in which case just buy a new cable. If not, you can pick up a component-to-HDMI converter for roughly $30, and (again) get a cable. If you’re using composite, I would suggest replacing your currently player an up-scaling DVD/Blu-Ray combo unit instead, and enjoy the higher picture quality it’ll provide.
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Good info. I’d add that DVD players are dirt cheap. Get the TV you want and match the DVD player to that. But chances are all of this worrying is overkill these days. Most anything can be connected to most anything pretty painlessly.
glh
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If you’re using composite, I would suggest replacing your currently player an up-scaling DVD/Blu-Ray combo unit instead, and enjoy the higher picture quality it’ll provide.
I second this suggestion. Don’t buy a new TV (relatively expensive) to match your existing DVD player (which can be upgraded for dirt cheap).
You can chose to get any new basic DVD player that will have HDMI. But you can also get a Blu-ray player, which is HD quality and plays both DVDs and Blu-rays. You can also get an Ultra HD Blu-ray which is 4K. This will match any new TV you get and will have the best video quality you can get. Which may or may not be that important to you.
More important, IMO, for the long term is that your new TV support some of the HDR specs (high dynamic range). These will be called Dolby Vision and HDR10, for example. Each video stream could be encoded in just one of those formats. If the stream has it but your TV doesn’t support it then you just see a “regular” dynamic range picture…which is what we’ve all been watching forever. HDR gives you better contrast between the blackest black and whitest whites.
Mike
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I was a bit surprised to learn that the old analog ports, such as composite video (a. k. a., the A/V ports) and component ports, including the hybrid composite/component port, are disappearing on many current models of TVs.
If the DVD player can output to coax, and if you are not using an antenna for the TV, you can set the DVD player to output to the coax on channel 3 or 4 (whichever you do not have locally) and connect it to the TV’s antenna coax port, and tune the TV to either 3 or 4 to match the one the DVD player is outputting.
If you don’t see a TV in your budget that has a composite video port, the advice to consider a DVD player with an HDMI port is worth it … I noticed there is one such available on bestbuy.com for around $40.
With a 42-in to 43-in TV you are shopping for, I would second the recommendation to consider a Blu-ray player which, as a previous poster said, can play both DVDs and Blu-ray discs, and Blu-ray discs typically have the main feature at a higher resolution than available on DVDs, which can increase the enjoyment of some movies and make it feel more realistic.
And a bonus with a Blu-ray player is that for DVDs that are “enhanced for wide-screen TVs” you don’t have to play with the TV’s zoom options since those “enhanced for wide-screen TVs” DVDs will automatically fill the screen when played. (At least they do on my Blu-ray players.)
https://www.amazon.com/amazon-fire-tv-43-inch-4-series-4k-sm…
Amazon Prime deal: 43" UHD $199.99
I’m with everyone else on the replacement for the DVD.
At this price, you can probably afford a soundbar too. Bound to be better than any TV’s speakers.
And to make it as reliable as your 13-year-old Panasonic, you can always cover the bottom 3" of the screen with black tape… ;-}
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I second the LG suggestion. I have two and love them. Both are smart tv’s…doc
I really like my 55 inch roku series 5 roku it was 449 on Amazon. I know you said you wanted a dumb tv but you can get all kinds of neat apps with this