Help deciding between HDTV deals, 50+ inches, $500

sua428

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Dec 2, 2013
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Hello. I'm fairly new to the HDTV market and am trying to sort through all the different options. Out of the 4 options below, I know LG is a well-known company. Are Toshiba or RCA known for their TVs, are they reliable? I suspect none of these will stream Amazon Instant Video, right? Which one of the 4 would y'all recommend? (None is an option.) Thanks!

Toshiba 50L4300U

http://www.pcrichard.com/Toshiba/Toshiba-50inch-Class-LED-1080p-HDTV-with-Built-In-Wi-Fi-and-Cloud-TV/50L4300.pcrp?sdtid=6510572&catId=cat770105

RCA LED52B55R120Q

http://www.sears.com/rca-52-8221-class-1080p-120hz-rear-lit-led/p-05734242000P?autoRedirect=true&sLevel=0&redirectType=SKIP_LEVEL

RCA LED50B45RQ

http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_012W006191110001P

LG 50LN5200

http://amzn.com/B00F9YYN82
 
Solution
None of them are smart-tv's but If you had a gun to my head and forced me to pick between those 4 then i'd get the LG as it has the best picture quality.

But to be honest, you are really forcing me to chose between a Big Douche and a Turd Sandwich.


Throw down $1500+ to get a nice TV.

I paid $2500 for my TV that i bought used (4 months old) from some rich old man that wanted to get a smaller TV and he could not return it because the 30 day return time had expired....... and it was $3250 new after taxes.

With that being said... you could look online for used tv's in your local area as you can pick up great deals with warranty...

i'm sure lots of clueless people sell their newly bought $1000 tv's for $500~

GrandAndreasK

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Mar 29, 2012
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None of them are smart-tv's but If you had a gun to my head and forced me to pick between those 4 then i'd get the LG as it has the best picture quality.

But to be honest, you are really forcing me to chose between a Big Douche and a Turd Sandwich.


Throw down $1500+ to get a nice TV.

I paid $2500 for my TV that i bought used (4 months old) from some rich old man that wanted to get a smaller TV and he could not return it because the 30 day return time had expired....... and it was $3250 new after taxes.

With that being said... you could look online for used tv's in your local area as you can pick up great deals with warranty...

i'm sure lots of clueless people sell their newly bought $1000 tv's for $500~

 
Solution

sua428

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Dec 2, 2013
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Since they're all native 1080p and two of them (but not the LG) can display at 120 Hz, how'd you figure the LG would have the best picture quality? Was it one of the specs or general experience with the brands?

I've always been hesitant with used electronics, but I'll definitely check out what's available around here. Is there anything in particular I should watch out for when it comes the secondhand market? Anything notorious for being abused or removed?
 

GrandAndreasK

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Mar 29, 2012
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Hz is important but there are other factors that are important too... i know that the LG has better black levels and colors than the Toshiba and RCA which makes the picture better....and it is a acceptable trade off for such a cheap TV...

$500 does not give you a good "New" 50" tv... especially for tech geeks, gamers and people that loves movies....

a $500 tv is for a typical soccer mom that only watches soap operas... as that is about the only thing it is good for ;p



My Mother (that don't know a single thing about tech) bought a random 40" samsung TV on sale a few years back to have in her living room and it had 50hz and terrible colors and black levels.... she uses it for daily use as she only watches boring shows on it.... but it lags like hell if i try to watch a action movie on it.....

At that time i had a 6 year old $1500 LG 42SL80 LCD that had 200hz and average colors... and i could see a huge difference between my worn out old Lcd TV and my moms brand new crappy $500 Led TV....


Earlier this year my little sister wanted a new TV to play video games on (as she had a crappy 30" Samsung LCD that my mom got for her several years back) so i gave her my old TV and bought a nice used Plasma... and it is serving me well..... i love the 600Hz and life like colors... it is as i can climb into the TV lol... i suppose it is like this for 4000$ LED's too as i have seen some awesome Sharp TV's...


Anyway i'm getting off track here...

I assume that you are going for a Used Led right?...

There is nothing much to worry about when buying a Led/Lcd as it is not as fragile as a Plasma....

TV's usually comes with a 2 year warrenty or more... when you are buying used make sure that the seller have the Recept from the shop.......it is usually not a big worry as most people buy stuff online now so the receipt should be on his account....

Watch out for Third party TV brands... only buy TV's from the major corporations...

Make sure you that there is no Buzzing coming from the back of the TV... as that may be a problem if you are buying old tv's......that problem usually comes when the TV have become overheated and the power regulators / adapters get worn out....i dont think it is a problem with led but it was with lcd and plasma tho

Make sure there are no scratches on the screen and that the TV comes with the remote and manuals....
and make sure that the TV comes in its original Box or it may be troublesome to move it if it is 40"+...

Oh yeah and always make sure that you get to try it before paying.
 
@GrandAndreasK

if the op wanted a $1500 television they would have stated that this was the budget.

it is possible to buy a decent television for around the ops budget. not everyone requires fancy features.

------------------

@op

you CAN buy a decent television brand new for around your budget provided you dont care about 120/240hz, smart tv or any of the fancy features that honestly you do not need and all you want is just a clear picture and good colors.

personally i wouldnt suggest buying vizio or any low end brands as they are disposable however if all you want is a cheap tv they would most definitely work and you might get 120hz or some other features within your price range. rca, toshiba and the rest are perhaps a little better than the budget brands but the best brands on the market are sony, samsung and maybe lg so i would recommend sticking with them unless you are okay with buying something of a cheaper grade.

for example at best buy there is currently a sale on a 50" led sony bravia 1080p 60hz television for $599.99 ($100 off) model number kdl50r450a. my parents are looking for a quality 50" television right now and cannot justify a huge amount of money put towards one (in fact they are getting it free with reward points) so this is the model we are looking at. i have an older sony bravia 60hz and my uncle has a 2 year old led sony 60hz and they work perfectly fine. great picture, great response time but of course they come without all the bells and whistles.

that lg you listed in your original post is also 60hz. it might work.

i would suggest going to the store to check out how the tv looks in person before you make any decisions.

 

sua428

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Dec 2, 2013
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Thank you both your help. Your knowledge and suggestions definitely helped me make a more informed decision, and I am very happy with my purchase. Cheers.