TV Brands?

[PancakeBill]

Replacing the TV in our camper. Not going with satellite, just don't need it for our more limited use. We have found OTA to be almost useless. Don't want to spend much and looking at available TV's, that doesn't seem to be an issue. Just a Smart TV, capable of streaming thru a phone hotspot etc. Seeing a bunch lf brands, LG, TCL, Samsung? many others, favorites? Ones to avoid?

 

[8Muddypaws]

The most important this is finding one that fits The available space.

I gravitate towards Sony, LG, and Samsung but I have seriously thought about a very inexpensive Amazon FireTV. I think they are made by TCL.

 

[Oldgator73]

I just bought two Amazon Fire Smart TV’s. A 32” for $65 and a 42” for $129. Got the 3 year warranty for each.

 

[TheBar]

My wife likes to have the TV on even when she takes a nap. We have a large screen Vizio that has been turned on at 7 AM and off at 10 PM every day since 2011. Still has a perfect picture.

 

[Oldgator73]

My wife likes to have the TV on even when she takes a nap. We have a large screen Vizio that has been turned on at 7 AM and off at 10 PM every day since 2011. Still has a perfect picture.

We have two Vizios; one in the den the other in the kitchen. They’ve been been good TV’s.

 

[John From Detroit]

I do not know if they are still made in the USA but at least one model of ELEMENT tv used to be made in Michigan.. that plant closed (But they may have other plants).
That said... far as I know most all TV's made today.. Save one brand.. Can receive the old analog tv (What is that NTSC) The new Brodcast standard (ATSC)and the digital cable non-encrtypted standard (QAM) that one brand (Can not decode QAM) is Element so I'd avoid them.

 

[Onyrlef]

My wife likes to have the TV on even when she takes a nap. We have a large screen Vizio that has been turned on at 7 AM and off at 10 PM every day since 2011. Still has a perfect picture.

That's a long nap.

 

[Ex-Calif]

I have Vizio and TCL.

Make sure to read the box carefully to ensure the streaming service(s) you use is represented in the TV. Some TVs don't have all the apps.

I use Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and piggy back on my kids HBO Max account.

 

[meierjn]

I have a Vizio at home. It's been a great TV. I wanted to get another, but unfortunately they are not sold in Canada anymore.

 

[TheBar]

A smart TV can update its software but not its hardware and will get slower and slower over the years. I bought a TCL/Roku smart TV in 2017 because it was on sale cheaper than the "dumb" TVs.

It now has a $24 Firestick plugged in the back. The Firestick runs circles around the old Roku plus it has Alexa.

 

[TheBar]

I have a Vizio at home. It's been a great TV. I wanted to get another, but unfortunately they are not sold in Canada anymore.

Why did they stop selling in Canada?

 

[Isaac-1]

Hisense is the new up and comer for mid range brads, often outperforming TV's that sell for nearly twice as much on the various benchmark ratings.

 

[NY_Dutch]

When our front TV died a couple of years ago, we bought a 28" Continuo.us brand tv on Amazon that was one of only two we found that fit well in the 29" space between two overhead cabinet doors. The other one was over double the price and not much smarter. The Continuo.us has near zero smarts, but the three HDMI ports handle our Firestick 4K Max and satellite receiver nicely. The Firestick gives us all the "smarts" we need to stream our programming, including DishAnywhere for when we don't set up our dish for overnight stops.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I think there are two main criteria: (1) a size and shape that fits the available space, and (2) picture quality. The later is as much a matter of the model & price range as the brand - even the major brands (Samsung, Sony, Vizio, LG) make "entry level" models with lower performance standards. We have two 55" smart tvs at home, a top end Samsung QLED in the living room and a low-mid range TCL in my daughter's bedroom. The TCL looked great in the store and was less than half the price of the Samsung, but now that we can see them almost side by side, the picture difference is enormous. Some people won't notice or care, but if you have a discerning eye for clarity/sharpness/contrast, buy one of the higher grades.

Somebody mentioned HiSense. We had one in a summer rental cottage two years ago and I was impressed with the quality relative to the price. But again, HiSense make a tvs in a couple diferent price tiers, so choose the upper one if best picture quality is important to you.

 

[PancakeBill]

The picture and sound is decent especially for just a week or 3 here or there. So maybe one of these sticks might work? I hear of the firesticks, roku etc, but really never looked into any of it. I was thinking more fr the casting of a show from my phone, I have no subscriptions with anything but Amazon Prime Paramount and Starz.

Maybe a stick will work better?

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Firestick, Roku, etc add the smart to an otherwise dumb tv. It can't supply any more resolution than the tv has natively. Nor any better contrast or brightness of anything else. It does, however, substitute for the tv's built in tuner and may render a stream faster.

As an extreme example, a 720 dpi tv has a max resolution of 1280x720. A 4k capable Roku or Firestick can deliver at 3840x2160, but the tv can't display the extra pixels, so it's just wasted bit and processing.

The stick device may have some built-in streaming apps or even games that some smart tvs may lack, e.g. Peacock, Paramount, Netflix, Hulu, etc. But these days most smart tvs have most every popular app or can readily download them..

The net is there is little point in adding a stick device if you buy an already smart tv. Only pay for what you need. On the other hand, you could buy a really dumb display (aka monitor) and a Roku or Firestick and probably have everything you want except OTA (and you can buy a tuner for that too).

 

[Oldgator73]

My two Amazon Fire just arrived. Once they are up and running I’ll let you know how well they work.

 

[SMR]

Following, might need one in the near future...

 

[L-M-L]

We have two Vizios in our home and two Vizios in our 5th wheel.

 

[Tulecreeper]

I've always had good luck with Panasonic products.