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


My current Vizio 65" is either 7 or 8 years old, and it gets a lot of use.  Is there an average life span on these?  My previous Samsung 70" made it about ten years as I remember.  I see that WalMart still has flat screens in that (or around that) size for relatively cheap.

immatthewj

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!