Budget 65” 4K? (1 Viewer)

[Martin_Teller]

Let me preface this by saying I’m a hardware dummy. I don’t know the difference between LED, OLED, QLED or whatever.

Looking for a 65” TV to replace our aging 55” Samsung in the living room. 4K is a must as we plan to get a PS5 (as soon as we can find one) and some 4K discs. This TV gets a LOT of use, for movies, streaming and some gaming. Most important to me is longevity and accurate display for movies.

We don’t want to spend more than $1000, more comfortable in the $600 range. Easiest for us would be Amazon or Best Buy, but if a better deal is available elsewhere, I’m open. What are the best options?

thanks HTF!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Look at the brand TCL, specifically their “Series 6” line or higher. I don’t know if Amazon carries the brand but Best Buy does. To my eyes, their Series 6 models get you 90-95% of what a $3000 TV will give you at a fraction of the price.

Regarding longevity, TVs just aren’t built to last like they used to be. Plan on getting five years out of it. If you get more, fantastic, but no one will guarantee or provide a warranty for anything longer than that anymore. So my advice here is don’t spend more than you could afford to replace in five years or so - don’t buy a TV today with the idea that it’ll last you a decade.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

The Vizio M Series should fit your criteria. The price should be $700 or less. I have a previous model year of their 70-inch version, and it's been a great set. This is probably what I will be purchasing for our condo in South Carolina in the spring.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I don’t have as much experience with Vizio but I agree that their M series is also worth a look!

 

[JohnRice]

I've bought three 4K TVs in the last 14 months or so. I'm essentially in agreement with my buddies above. TCL 6 series (do NOT get a TCL below the 6 series) or Vizio M Series. They are both well below your budget.

One of the three TVs I got is a TCL 5 series. Like I said, do NOT get a TCL below the 6 series. TCL is very nice, as long as you stay a 6 series or above. In theory, a TCL 6 should beat the Vizo M Series, but the M Series I got early this year has given me zero reason to complain. At the same time, you can probably get a Vizio P Series at the top of your price range on sale, but I don't see them available. I don't know the current specifics of Vizio's line.

 

[Martin_Teller]

Thank you guys!

I forgot to mention that I have no need for a "smart" TV as the Playstation has always worked perfectly fine for me as a streaming device. Not that I'd say no to one, but if a "dumb" TV gets me more bang for the buck quality-wise, I'd rather go that one. I imagine they're all smart nowadays though.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

They’re pretty much all smart these days. I think the TCL has a better interface because it’s Roku‘s design built in, but I still end up using my external AppleTV box just the same.

 

[JohnRice]

These are my couple of differences. The upscaling of the Vizios isn't very good from sources lower than 1080. Fortunately, most upscaling is done before it reaches the TV. If you use an antenna for TV, the TCL has an awesome channel guide with schedule, but you can't directly tune to channels. IOW, to get channel 30, you can't just hit 3 and 0. You have to change channels by accessing the channel guide, so if you use something like a Harmony remote, forget about directly choosing broadcast channels. Not that many people use OTA antennas for TV, but I do.

 

[Martin_Teller]

I ended up getting a Vizio M series. Thanks all for the guidance!

I don’t use an antenna, we don’t watch live tv.

 

[JohnRice]

I ended up getting a Vizio M series. Thanks all for the guidance!

I don’t use an antenna, we don’t watch live tv.

The M Series is hard to beat, especially for the price. The TCL 8 Series is most likely better, but also a fair amount more expensive, as I recall. I think it's closer to the P Series Vizio in price. The 55" M Series in my living room was under $500 on sale. Really an excellent deal.

 

[Martin_Teller]

Update: this set has an incredibly annoying problem. When the volume dips below a certain level (say, during a scene with just ambient sound like wind), the sound cuts out completely. Happens whether I use the TV speakers, the sound bar, or headphones. Been trying to watch ALIEN 4K on the PS5 and it's torture with the sound constantly cutting in and out. Judging by the Reddit threads, this is an ongoing and well-known problem with Vizio sets. I intend to call their support tomorrow but I'm not expecting a solution. I'll probably end up returning it and get a TCL instead.

 

[JohnRice]

That’s bizarre. How are things connected?

 

[Clinton McClure]

I agree with John. I own two Vizio M series displays and have never seen this problem.

 

[JohnRice]

I own both M and P series, and use the internal tuners for OTA, and no such problem.

 

[Martin_Teller]

That’s bizarre. How are things connected?

Model is M65Q7-H1. PS5 plugged into HDMI1 (as was the PS4 before it, which exhibited the same problem). Soundbar into optical. Headphones into analog.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Look at the brand TCL, specifically their “Series 6” line or higher. I don’t know if Amazon carries the brand but Best Buy does. To my eyes, their Series 6 models get you 90-95% of what a $3000 TV will give you at a fraction of the price.

Regarding longevity, TVs just aren’t built to last like they used to be. Plan on getting five years out of it. If you get more, fantastic, but no one will guarantee or provide a warranty for anything longer than that anymore. So my advice here is don’t spend more than you could afford to replace in five years or so - don’t buy a TV today with the idea that it’ll last you a decade.

Can you identify what that missing 5-10% is? If I can be happy with a TCL instead of an OLED (always wanted one, never had one.) I’d sure like to save the money.

 

[Martin_Teller]

Talked to Vizio for about 45 minutes. As expected, they couldn’t fix it. They’re going to replace the set, hopefully it’s not a problem with this model in general.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

I bought a 55" TCL 2020 series 5 and think it's very good. IIUC from the reviews the quality of the 2020 series 5 is equal to or better than the 2019 series 6.

 

[Martin_Teller]

Update: someone was supposed to call me to arrange the exchange, but that hasn't happened yet. I'm sick of waiting and honestly I doubt the replacement won't have the same problem. So I'm returning it and getting a Hisense H8G instead. It's only $70 more and has better ratings. It's supposed to come on Saturday.

 

[Martin_Teller]

No sound issues with the Hisense, and to my eye it sports a better picture.