Very soon I will be looking for an inexpensive($300ish) Smart TV 50 inch. Any recommendations?

[Caretaker]

Walmart?
Best Buy?
Other?
Must be delivered.

 

[THDNUT]

I got a Sharp 55" 4K UHD Smart TV back in 2018 for $325 delivered from WalMart.com.

It has a great HD picture and had good reviews back then. It still is excellent.

The model # is LC-55Q7030U

 

[Caretaker]

I got a Sharp 55" 4K UHD Smart TV back in 2018 for $325 delivered from WalMart.com.

It has a great HD picture and had good reviews back then. It still is excellent.

The model # is LC-55Q7030U

55 is too big for the room.
50 is perfect.
Walmart had a few nice ones a few weeks ago in the $279-329 range.
Now the same tvsare $379 and up.
I guess they raise prices so they can have a Memorial Day sale.

 

[THDNUT]

55 is too big for the room.
50 is perfect.
Walmart had a few nice ones a few weeks ago in the $279-329 range.
Now the same tvsare $379 and up.
I guess they raise prices so they can have a Memorial Day sale.

I'm looking at my Sharp owners manual, there's a list of models that it covers on the cover. The list starts at 50" (LC-50Q7000U) and goes to 65" (LC-65Q7090U)

 

[Tubejockey]

Just wait for a riot to break out in your area and apparently you can get it free.

 

[WaywerdSon]

Spend the extra $$$ for a Quantum dot LCD panel. Night and day difference in color intensity. Few come that small, but Hisense has one

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hisense-50-class-h8g-quantum-series-led-4k-uhd-smart-android-tv/6403989.p?skuId=6403989

 

[SteveC]

Not being a dick, however, in that size, and in that price range, it really doesn't matter. Just pick the one you like, that has the features you want.

Most everything, including PQ, will be the same regardless of which model you choose.

 

[WaywerdSon]

Not being a dick, however, in that size, and in that price range, it really doesn't matter. Just pick the one you like, that has the features you want.

Most everything, including PQ, will be the same regardless of which model you choose.

Not exactly. The cheap sets tend to have way worse processing. The panel itself is ok, but the processors just cant keep up with motion. I took back a couple different ones for my office/main sports watching TV and ended up with a 7000 Samsung because it was the least expensive that didnt make watching a football game look like Madden on PS2. I have my eye on the Hisense U7G. HDMI 2.1 and 1000nits peak brightness for under $1K is a 65" panel is a screaming bargain. When i was selling the very early CRT based HD big screens, I would have told you you were utterly insane to think you could ever dream of buying a 55" flat panel setfor $350. TVs are just stupid cheap

 

[jvin248]

.

For the 'smarts' go and get a Roku Box (latest version runs around $80). Then you can get all the streaming services.
The TV: just buy for the screen size, sharpness/color, and price.

One TV I have now I got because it didn't have one of the streaming services they wanted on it. I used a Roku anyway so I just plugged it in and have a great TV for cheap.

The Roku remote is easier to use than the typical TV remote and does all basic TV controls plus has a headphone jack for silent listening.

.

 

[WaywerdSon]

.

For the 'smarts' go and get a Roku Box (latest version runs around $80). Then you can get all the streaming services.
The TV: just buy for the screen size, sharpness/color, and price.

One TV I have now I got because it didn't have one of the streaming services they wanted on it. I used a Roku anyway so I just plugged it in and have a great TV for cheap.

The Roku remote is easier to use than the typical TV remote and does all basic TV controls plus has a headphone jack for silent listening.

.

Agree completely. Much prefer a consistant interface on every TV in the house, so using a Roku or Firestick or an Android box keeps you from having to relearn and reload everything. New TV? Works just like the old one. I snatch up the Firesticks when they run the 4Ks at $29.99. 10 seconds to jailbreak it and its a little cheap android box that will run any app you like

 

[SteveC]

Not exactly. The cheap sets tend to have way worse processing. The panel itself is ok, but the processors just cant keep up with motion. I took back a couple different ones for my office/main sports watching TV and ended up with a 7000 Samsung because it was the least expensive that didnt make watching a football game look like Madden on PS2. I have my eye on the Hisense U7G. HDMI 2.1 and 1000nits peak brightness for under $1K is a 65" panel is a screaming bargain. When i was selling the very early CRT based HD big screens, I would have told you you were utterly insane to think you could ever dream of buying a 55" flat panel setfor $350. TVs are just stupid cheap

That was my point. In that price range, you are not going to get anything close to "good". First, it's all going to be LCD/LED, in some shape or form. That alone is awful. Even the best of that technology is sub par in so many ways other than brightness (which is highly overvalued and overhyped). Plus, you are not going to get any decent processing. Calibration would be throwing money away. So, buy it. Plug it in and watch it.

When you get close to the $1K price point, there are a couple of decent displays that are actually worth the money. But, then you have to stop and think... for a few $$$'s more, you could step up to OLED. OLED is better the LCD/LED in every way (except brightness, which again is overhyped).

But, back to reality here... Under $500 is not really going to get you much, other than a TV. So, pick the one you like, the differences at that price point are trivial.

 

[brokentoeswalker]

I got this one recently and its almost too real. I haven't had a new tv in a long time so the jump in tech is pretty mind blowing. Honestly i can't imagine things getting much better. Its smart, and has a built in browser if i need to ever use that which i feel is a bonus, not all the cheap ones have that. They usually have a promotional model around different holidays for certain stores. This one was a Christmas model i got marked down in March or something. If you don't want to spend $1000's of dollars on a TV i really don't think you have to anymore. They are disposable now anyway right ?? I'm in Canada but i'm sure this one would be in your price range unless they have in fact jacked the prices up on TV's. Yep i had it delivered by Wallyworld. Was at my place in 3 days after i ordered it.

Samsung 50" Crystal Display 4K UHD SMART TV, UN50TU7050FXZC

 

[Lungo]

Do you have a Costco membership?

 

[fry]

Consider a sound bar. I am told that one of the places they cut corners is on the audio. I’ve seen (heard) it myself, actually. Cheap TV’s sound like shit.

 

[rcole_sooner]

Hard to wrong these days. I've had decent luck with the Vizios.

We also just got a Roku a few months ago, and it works pretty well to convert a non-smart TV into a smart TV. But Roku does not get all the streams ... I think it is missing some of the Max streams as it won't let them post their own adverts.

I'm more into the surround sound quality than the picture quality. Even the cheapest picture quality is good to me, but the surround sound now that needs some attention.

This new place were getting is gonna present some issues, as it does not have all the wires run where I need them. And the wife ain't gonna let me run on the walls. Gonna be a challenge.

 

[electric head]

Toshiba 50LF621U21 50-inch Smart 4K UHD with Dolby Vision - Fire TV Edition, Released 2020


This is a nice one. I got mine for the den back during the black Friday sale for like 249.00.
It gets a really good picture and has a great sound system..

Always going on sale..

 

[TXOldRedRocker]

I'm a Samsung guy. But their 50" start at $400.

 

[SteveC]

Do you have a Costco membership?

This... it's hard to do better. We bought a 65" LG OLED at Costco last year, and it was hundreds of dollars less than other places. Plus Costco doubles the manufacturer warranty and their extended warranty costs are low.

Hard to wrong these days. I've had decent luck with the Vizios.

We also just got a Roku a few months ago, and it works pretty well to convert a non-smart TV into a smart TV. But Roku does not get all the streams ... I think it is missing some of the Max streams as it won't let them post their own adverts.

I'm more into the surround sound quality than the picture quality. Even the cheapest picture quality is good to me, but the surround sound now that needs some attention.

This new place were getting is gonna present some issues, as it does not have all the wires run where I need them. And the wife ain't gonna let me run on the walls. Gonna be a challenge.

I'm 100% opposite.... picture quality is more important to me. Maybe that's because we have a dedicated theater, where we can get the "movie theater experience". In our family room, we just watch TV and the occasional movie. We had a great 5.1 surround system before we remodeled the family room. But, it got to be a PITA to deal with all the gear required to power up - just to watch Big Bang reruns.... LOL

So, we dumped it and got a sound bar to mount under the panel. Works fine for that use.


Movies can always be seen in the HT on a 110" screen with 7.2 sound. But, we've been thinking of undoing that room and repurposing it. We just don't spend that much time staring at screens any longer, with the kids all grown up and out of the house.

 

[rcole_sooner]

I have one (actually 3) of those Logitech smart hub remotes. They power it all up with a single press of a button. I've been using these various versions for years. This latest one ... a few years old now ... lets one use their smart phone as the remote.

I've heard they've dropped the line, however. They'll leave the database up, which is a good thing. Really nice to just pick all your gear from a database, and have all the buttons and functionality right there. Then just walk through activity setups. We really just have watch TV and game. Game gives us all our streaming stuff too.

The bedroom setup works through the Logitech smart hub with the Roku. This setup worked with the Roku setup and was super easy.

Maybe the Amazon Alexa things have this capability. I may have to look into it, in the future.

 

[SteveC]

Logitech remotes are great.... we have an older Harmony One in the HT room. Every now & then, it loses its mind. But, it's still great