Flat Screens

When it comes to buying a flat screen, there are a few things you want to look for. Obviously, you want it to be clear and vivid, and fortunately most new offerings are.

Do you go 3D? 4K? Smart? 4k would be my priority, 3D if you can swing it, and almost as big as you can go if you’re going to spend the money. However, if you are going to go with a 3D TV that uses passive glasses (which I recommend because they are much less expensive) you need to make sure it isn’t too big. The 3D can distort when you get too close, so there is a minimum distance you have to be from the TV. If you have a shallow room, you need to be careful not to go too big.


I’m also a fan of LED; it’s almost free in electricity, and generates a lot less heat. What’s really nice is when you get a TV with ARC (Audio Return Channel) which is an HDMI cable, and an amplifier like my Denon AVR, and you can run all of your audio to your TV instead of your AVR. When you turn your TV on and off, the AVR turns on and off along with it. You change your inputs through your TV and the audio is handled by HDMI.

Here’s a video that explains ARC a bit more:

 

Rather than go into major details about color spectrum issues, refresh rates, and crazy in depth information, I’m going to list a few good examples:


Are these the absolute best flat screens available? That’s subjective to your needs, but I think they are worth looking at. At the moment they are the ones I would buy, and LG is the only one making a passive 3D as of 2015. Their smart features are the best I’ve used so far, but this isn’t flat screen 101, so don’t take my word for it. I just bought the 65UF8500 when the Vizio gave up the ghost and it is outstanding, aside from a flashlight issue.


I can’t recommend a Square Trade warranty enough. Although my TV was covered by Asurion, Square Trade repaired my laptop with similar quickness. Had it not been covered, I’d be back to a 43″ 720p. I didn’t have the $2,000 just laying around.  Square Trade is considerably cheaper than many Box Store warranties. I was able to call them and get my new TV covered, even though I picked it up at a Box Store. So long as it’s Brand New (not refurbished) you can get coverage within 30 days. I also got the $1,999.99 warranty and saved $100 instead of the $2,000-$3,000 warranty plan for the $2,099 TV. If anything happens, they will pay a max of $1,999 if they can’t fix it, not bad. Not buying from Amazon meant only getting a 4 year instead of a 5 year, but at least it’s covered.

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