Michigan Radio & TV Buzzboard

Very interesting, I'm a little gun shy on getting a 4K TV after this fiasco. Maybe I should give 4K another chance? Since the 55" in was way too big I might scale down to a 43". And there aren't a lot of TV's to pick from that are not 4K.

What size and model are you using? How many HDMI ports and what smart TV OS? I guess I have learned you get what you pay for, I was just lucky I didn't have any hassles trying to return it. It was a pain trying to box it back up!

I didn't realize it was the fact the TCL was a budget model which cause poor picture quality on older shows. I just figured the 4K telly's were trying to upscale the content and made it worse.

MWmetalhead wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 31, 2023 7:04 pm

It's not the fact the TV is 4K compatible that is causing the old content to look poor; it just looks poor on the particular model of TV you purchased (it's a budget model, so you're not going to get high end performance).

I have a 4K TV in my living room, and old content looks better than any prior TV I've owned.

My TV is a 2021 model. It is a 55 inch Samsung Q80T.

I paid $1,097 for it. It features 3 HDMI ports. That model was second from top-of-the line for 4K Samsungs in that screen size at the time, bested only by the Q90T.

Flat panel television technology is ever evolving. I have no idea if current day Samsung models compare favorably or unfavorably from a performance standpoint.

I strongly suggest reading reviews at rtings.com (yes, that unusual URL is spelled correctly!) to see what will work best for your viewing environment and budget.

One downside to that site is I've not yet seen any reviews for retailer house brands such as Insignia.

I think Hisense, Insignia, Toshiba, and Amazon's Fire TV may be worthy of consideration. I don't know if Westinghouse's budget TVs are any good, but I believe those do feature the ROKU interface you crave.

If you are willing to give TCL another chance, their Q6 QLED can be had for $348 at amazon.com right now.

Best Buy has a 55 inch Pioneer online for $239.99 right now ($110 off).

I might look at that TCL on Amazon. I was at the Walmart today and they had a 43" Hisense 4K for $228. Might consider it.

Walmart now has a TCL 43" for $176. Budget yes, but the price is great. Maybe 4K would look better on a smaller 43" screen vs a 55" screen.

Taco wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 08, 2024 8:24 am

Walmart now has a TCL 43" for $176. Budget yes, but the price is great. Maybe 4K would look better on a smaller 43" screen vs a 55" screen.

You would probably perceive little if any difference, at least on a set from the same maker.
The better "look" people seem to take notice of is that provided by HDR, best displayed on OLED screen.

Perhaps 480 content will always look better to long-time HD beholders on a 720p set than upconverted on any higher res set.

My daughter had a FHD TCL Roku TV lent to her in between moves; it wasn't OLED quality, but performed fine (I also found the TV setup itself and integrated Roku rather slick and intuitive).