quote:

Originally posted by Chris17404:
TCL 55R625 for $550 - Best 55-inch TV for the money, period

Definitely this. TCL's 5-series and 6-series TVs are outstanding TVs and great values, rivaling the picture quality of TVs twice their price.

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:
This thread makes me a little sad, know that day is coming.
Good luck with your replacement. Remember to play taps when you bury the ol' gal.

Me too! I've loved this old plasma. Great picture.

Samsung QLED 55" TV is what I'd recommend. Costco had some smoking deals on them including either a 3 or 5 year warranty depending on the model. Check and see if they're still on sale their. If not, Best Buy I guess. 55" are pretty cheap these days for a good one, no reason to go to a lesser brand to save $50 or $100 on something you use so much. I'd rate them Samsung/LG/Sony/ in that order for a 55". It might just be a blown fuse inside of your plasma.

Costco has this 8 series Samsung UHD for $629.99, comes with $75 in gift cards and free delivery:
https://www.costco.com/samsung...oduct.100494081.html

quote:

Originally posted by ugeesta:
I too was interested in the LG OLED but ended up with a Samsung QLED. Reason, the tv faces the western exposure windows of my house. The Samsung screen has a flat finish to where the LG had a gloss finish. The flat finish is so much better at getting rid of the glare from the windows.

Conversely: While my wife shopped, I examined displays at Costco while we were in there a month or so ago. I kept coming back to this 55" LG 55UM7300AUE. I mentioned to one of the salespeople it looked better, to my eyes, than any other 55" TV there. He showed me one reason why, by having me stand off at an angle and comparing the glare against the other TVs next to it. Much less.

I checked when we got back home and the on-line reviews were universally great. We went back that night and got it.

This TV is located in a room where better than half the wall space is either glass or opens into the kitchen. It's much more watchable in the daytime than the Samsung it replaced.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris17404:
OK, so now I'm pretty convinced to get a new TV. Thus I've edited the title of the thread. Here's the top two I'm considering, based on CNET's reviews:

Best 55" TVs for 2020

TCL 55R625 for $550 - Best 55-inch TV for the money, period

LG OLED55B8P for $1100 - Best high-end 55-inch TV for the money

I really think the TCL will fit my needs quite well. Not sure if I wanna spend double for the LG just for OLED. Thoughts?

I just got the TCL's main competitor, the Vizio M558 G1. They are very similar in specs. I mainly got the Vizio because its feet fit my stand and the TCL did not. But they are so close that you would be hard pressed to see much difference other than the operating system.

If you consider the Vizio, do NOT get the M557 or M556, those are not as capable (but are a little cheaper),

And yeah, 10 years old and plasma is time to be replaced.

I got a 50" TCL Roku TV for $285 out the door just before Christmas. It's shocking how much prices have come down on these things!

So far it's been great and I love how the Roku functionality is built right in and my cable TV box shows as an app tile on the Roku app menu rather than having to hit Source to change from Roku to TV.

Our panasonic plasma died and we found a local guy that works on TVs. He found some parts online and got it all fixed for under $200. There's DIY info online as well, so you may be able to replace a board or such yourself.

quote:

Originally posted by bryan11:
Our panasonic plasma died and we found a local guy that works on TVs. He found some parts online and got it all fixed for under $200. There's DIY info online as well, so you may be able to replace a board or such yourself.

That seems crazy to spend $200 fixing an old TV when you can get a new, bigger one for just a little bit more.

Last year I traded up from a 54" Panasonic Plasma to a used 60" for net $50. There really hasn't been anything as good as the Panasonic Plasmas until very recently. To this day 10 year old plasmas still have a great PICTURE. I don't care much about 4k yet, not much source material and adding on a Roku for smart TV costs $50.

The OLEDs are a beautiful picture but they are expensive and I don't think they have solved the burn in issue yet.

If my plasma goes out I will go for a Sony full backlight LED/ x900 or above series. I can tell a difference and favor the full backlight over the edge lit displays.

I'm a huge fan of Samsung flat screens. I have 4 in the house from 2014 time frame, all different sizes and models and they have all been flawless. If you have a Costco nearby, they have some great prices and a nice selection of TV's.

Deciding between TVs is really splitting hairs, imo. If two TVs are in the same price range, you can pretty much bet that they will perform in a really similar way.

Personally, I think Sony and Samsung are top of the line. The Sony XBR series are great.

If you are going to use it's smart capabilities, decide on which platform you like best (Roku, Android, Chromecast, etc.) and which apps come installed (netflix, disney+, sling, HBO Go, etc.) Then maybe look at hardware type things like how many HDMI/component/analog/usb inputs. If you use an AVR even that won't really matter.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

That seems crazy to spend $200 fixing an old TV when you can get a new, bigger one for just a little bit more.

The picture of a new $300 TV won't be near that of the fixed 10 year old plasma TV. You'll spend $1,000 or more to get an equivalent or better picture in a new TV.

I have a Vizio M65 and a 42 inch TCL

I like the Roku much better than the Vizio interface. I think the Vizio has a better picture. I don't think you can go wrong either way...

quote:

Originally posted by armedprof:
I have a Vizio M65 and a 42 inch TCL
I think the Vizio has a better picture.

Apples to oranges.

Like every TV company, TCL produces various "tiers" of TVs. If you're comparing a higher tier Vizio model to a lower tier TCL model, naturally the Vizio should look better.

TCL's 3- and 4-series don't have the same level of picture quality as their 5-, 6-, or especially 8-series. And their highest tier 6- and 8- series aren't even offered below 55 inches, so your TCL isn't one of those. The "best" it could be is a 5-series, or it could be a lower-tier 3- or 4-series. (Or potentially even something else, depending on how old it is.)

Whereas your M-series is one of Vizio's higher tiers.

Plus, your 65" Vizio is a solid 54% larger than your 42" TCL, which contributes further to the comparison disparity.

TCL 6 series or LG 7 series. Don't buy a Samsung. Their picture is great, but they don't hold up.

I am in the same boat, We have 2 Panasonic Plasma's, a 50" from '08, and a 46" in the bedroom bought in 2010.

The lead up to the Super Bowl is traditionally the best time to buy a TV for the best price. Good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by bobtheelf:
TCL 6 series or LG 7 series. Don't buy a Samsung. Their picture is great, but they don't hold up.

I’ve got one Samsung that’s 11 years old (55”) and the other (46”) is 8. Both have been trouble-free.

I just bought a 70" Vizio from Costco on Thanksgiving. It was only $549, so I cannot complain too much, however, be warned that Vizio smart TV's do not support Disney+ or Apple TV+. We have access these streaming sources through another device.

I'm also a Sony or Samsung guy. Personally, I think the color reproduction was better on the Sonys but the Samsungs were brighter. Recently, I really like the Samsung QLEDs and their interface. The remote that comes with the QLEDS that controls your other products (cable boxes, blu rays, etc.) is fantastic.

I have a 10 YO 63" Samsung plasma. It's being giving signs that it's reaching the end of it's useful life. When it goes, and there is not big change in technology and pricing at that point, it will be replaced with a 75" FALD LED/LCD set, which will likely cost 1/2 to 2/3 what the plasma cost. I've been hoping that the cost of OLED will drop by then, but that's looking unlikely.