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

When I was house hunting a few years back (7-8 yrs), many homes were "conveying" whatever wall-mounted flat screens were used by the sellers. The resolution improvements in flat screens and costs of replacements made removal  an undesirable prospect. Why they thought the buyers would think that was a feature and not a bug was a wonder. The realtors basically acknowledged the fact, and one could always make their removal part of the contract.

65-inch Panasonic plasma from 2011 is still going strong here.  I added a 4K television to our workout room a few years ago but still have not seen anything that compels me to replace the plasmas in our living and recreation rooms.

The newer televisions do indeed display more detail and appear brighter but our two plasmas remain enjoyable to watch due to the natural color tones and smooth tracking of motion.  To me, it is sort of like an analog vs. digital thing.  At some point, the newer technology will achieve excellence in detail, color, and motion and, a couple of years after that, Costco will sell them for about half the price they started at.  However, for now, I am in no rush to replace our older units.

I think the answer is "YES" because while the prices will keep coming down, you want to give yourself time to enjoy it. Carpe diem and enjoy your purchase!

Just a heads up for those looking for really good performance for less money than you would think you should be required to spend for good performance. the new TCL Qmk6k in the 65" inch version is a serious bargain. Its accuracy is better than average. Put it next to a Sony high end model that sells for 4 times more and yeah the Sony is better but not by much. The only way you would know its less than the best is to see them side by side. For my money I will take the TCL...if it craps out after 2 years then I didnt lose $3000 like I would with a Sony. Sony doesn't have good enough longevity and out of the box quality to justify the price paid to have it. I am a TCL fanboy at least for now. :) The 65" qm6k is about 750 at the time of this post.

I miss my old 40" Panasonic Plasma....god that thing was so good...but it was power hungry. and the TCl qm6k is very nearly its equal in every way. and for much less money and much lower operating cost.