Should I buy another flat screen now while they are still relatively cheap?

The price of TVs continues to fall every year as new technology comes along.  Unless this is the tariff question in disguise,  I would say never buy a TV until you have to.  It will be cheaper next year.  IMHO

The price of TVs continues to fall every year as new technology comes along.  Unless this is the tariff question in disguise,  I would say never buy a TV until you have to.  It will be cheaper next year.  IMHO

It is a serious question and one  not intended to start a fire, @bigtwin , but the reason I am asking is because I would think that the ’T’ word will dramatically raise the prices, and I know how my luck usually works.  Do you know if flat screens do have an average life?  And this would be with heavy use?

And I agree with you--they seem to be crazy cheap right now.  I think I remember that Vizio I have now going for around $800 and the Samsung it replaced being around $1700 and the ancient RCA (that was big but not flat) costing about 3k.  I was at WalMart today grocery shopping, and because I have been thinking about this, I went down the flat screen aisle and 65" (or even larger) can be had for under $400.

And on edit:  I also agree with you about usually not buying a TV until the old one craps out.  'Usually' being the operative word.

I went down the flat screen aisle and 65" (or even larger) can be had for under $400.
 

so an $800 65 inch TV is still a screaming bargain compared to 10 years ago. Let’s just hope that the current generation coming up who apparently doesn’t watch TV completely skew to where we have to pay $8000 for a 65 inch TV because nobody really wants one. 

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The average flat-screen TV can last anywhere from 5 to 16 years, with LED TVs potentially lasting the longest (11-16 years). LCD screens typically last 5-10 years, while plasma TVs have a shorter lifespan of 5-7 years. Factors like usage, brightness settings, and environmental conditions can all influence a TV's actual lifespan. 

It depends on how much tech/bells and whistles you want. Depending on your budget, spending extra does pay off in picture quality. Although they are clueless about higher end audio, Consumer Report does excellent testing and reporting on Tv's. Some other sources like "The Spruce" (no membership needed) are also helpful. 

i just purchased a Sony 65" OLED at the end of last year. $500 off MSRP. The picture quality is superb. Just as an add-on, Sony and LG usually test at the top of the test charts. As an added bonus, they also are at the top in reliability.

It depends on how much tech/bells and whistles you want. 

That is not a factor for me, @llg98ljk .

Just as an add-on, Sony and LG usually test at the top of the test charts.

That is helpful.

I am literally half blind (probably more than half) so, in general, the bigger the better.  I've seen bigger at Wal Mart, up to 80", but 65" is big enough right now.  The reason for my question, however, pertains to near-future availability and pricing.

immatthewj

That is a big unknown. Given your vision issues. if you need brightness, probably stick to LED sets because of their superior brightness as compared to OLED. the one upgrade that would greatly benefit you is Quantum dot and local dimming. Nice increase in contrast. Good luck with your search.

We had a 10 year old Samsung flat panel, and we replaced it with a Sony OLED. Side by side, it was shocking.  The Sony was bright and crisp, the 10 year old Samsung was much less so.    I got mine at 500 off when Best Buy had a sale right after New Year’s Day in 2024.  The Sonys are not made in China so there won’t be a 145% tax on them.  

I highly recommend getting a Sony along with the related accessories. I finally learned my lesson after 30+ years of owning Samsung products that after 5 years or so you'll be watching something and the TV will go click, the screen will go dark and the set will go silent and you won't be able to get it going again. Yeah, and good luck contacting Samsung for support who will then after much trouble refer to a technical or repair facility that's hard to get to or when you contact them they will be vague and seem only interested in collecting their diagnostic fee with no guarantee of a remedy. Or in the case of our last Samsung TV, we had issues every time we made settings to the sound bar they would default to factory every time you turned it off and the bass would be set at maximum when you turned it back on. We constantly had issues with getting the TV, soundbar and the wireless bass module to sink so that it didn't look like you watching a Japanese Godzilla movie. Then after about a year random blacklines started to appear from the left side of the screen which severely obscured the picture. We gave it to Waste Management and bought a similar Sony system. Which looks and sounds better and has been completely reliable. I recently replaced my 20-year-old Pioneer BlueRay player with a Sony UBP-X800M2 4K UHD and I bet it too will last at least 20 years. Live and learn!

I think that costs on anything electronic will go up, particularly those components in the US made with parts overseas (and that is almost everything). Some companies will be legitimate in passing the cost of the “t” word to the buyer, others will be price gouging to increase profits. Be wary of the claim “our product is made here in the USA”. The fact is that the USA does not manufacture many electronic parts here anymore, and have not in many decades.

My 60 inch Pioneer Kuro that I still have and use daily was purchased in 2007... and  still functions and looks great!

OP I bought my LG 65 OLed 4 months after release 50% off. Texasblue1959 I bought 100.