Television upgrade time

[Clay Pigeon]

I've had my old roomate's 19 inch CRT since he left it to me when he drove home to Washington state.

My wife wants to replace it with something larger, since it's our only tv, so our daughter can watch sesame street and other children's programming.

I don't know the first thing about televisions. I just know we want something around 32 inches, and that the wall space/table space is limited to 40 inches in width.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Checkm8]

I bought a new TV about a year ago. 48 inch Samsung Smart TV. From my experience when purchasing at the time, Best Buy was pushing ultra high def TVs and Smart TVs. Honestly, I dislike my smart TV. It updates every once and awhile and changes the interface. It does not always play apps appropriately. I chose not to go ultra high def because... I don't see the feasibility in it yet. I'd suggest a simple flat screen and don't let the salesman tell you otherwise. If you are worried about inputs, HDMI is pretty much the standard input method these days. That's always my concern as I need standard composite inputs.

That's all from a consumer perspective. I got nothin' on technical details on TVs.

[Plas]

My parents were upgrading from a crt tv to a newer tv at the start of this year. I ended up going to a few different electronic stores to look at TVs and researching options online. We ended up getting them a Samsung 32" 1080p 60Hz LED Smart HDTV, UN32H5203AFXZA.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-32- ... Id=5663049

[NerevarineKing]

Having a Chromecast pretty much negates the usefulness of a SmartTV. I suggest just getting a normal TV and buying a Chromecast if you don't have one.

[jim beam]

When I bought my TV I just went to best buy and walmart(they had the largest selections and different brands) and looked at the pictures to find the one that I liked the most. Then I looked at reviews and prices at different places. Also what are you wanting to watch. Refresh rate is important just like in monitor. Also are you going to get hd services. If not then you dont need to spend a ton. Sorta like whats said above are you wanting a tv with wifi built in or do you want chromecast or apple tv. I will say look at vizio samsung panasonic and sony they do normally have the best pictures. My parents bout a cheap tv and the picture is ok but I dont like watching football on it as much as mine. So in short go look at the picture quality at a store then look online to find the best price.

[Boss Llama]

I'd suggest a normal TV (not a smart TV), and 32 inches sounds like a good size. You could go a bit larger (like a 40) but it isn't necessary unless you're going to be viewing it from unusually far away. At that size range, there is no point at all going above 1080p - save the money. I am personally a big fan of the Samsung and Sharp brands of LCDs TVs, though plenty of other companies make good ones.

If you have Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu Plus, or premium channels like HBO, then something like a Roku can be a wonderful accessory - cheap and easy, and puts all that content on your TV for you through one simple interface. Between my fiancée and I we have all four of those, and it's a boon to be able to just view them directly on TV without swapping anything around or having to sign-in (after initial setup).

[Clay Pigeon]

Well the couch is about 10 feet away. Maybe something larger would be better? I don't know.

No we don't have amazon prime or anything like that.

[Boss Llama]

At ten feet I'd probably go for a 40-42 inch screen, but if you've been OK with a 19 up til now, a 32 will still be fine. My rule of thumb is to take whatever the industry recommends, and halve it (according to some TV manufacturers, the average home "needs" a 90 inch screen - $10,000 please!).

For reference, using a 42 inch 1080 screen as a monitor once, I could read size 10 font from 15 feet away.

[Plinko]

Definitely do not get a smart tv.
There are a million devices you can buy that will run whatever apps you might use to watch streaming stuff - our BLU-Ray player does it.
It's always better to upgrade/replace the little device rather than your TV, IMHO.
We got the Amazon Fire Stick this week (we are Prime members) and it is pretty great, but you probably ought to be a Prime member to really make it worthwhile.

As for TVs, I would definitely go to stores and look for the picture you like/reasonable price range for you and then comparison shop for them online. If you are a member at Costco/Sams/BJs there are usually some good prices but you might find better prices on Amazon/Wal-Mart/Target online depending on what they're putting on sale. With TVs, a shipping deal can be pretty valuable if you order online, so keep that in mind as well!

I really like our Phillips (much more than the Vizio we have, but that might all come down to what year we got them, screen type, etc that I can't remember!!