Feeling OLD (bought a new TV last night)

[kx250rider]

First, let me say I'm a CRT holdout, and in fact still have a 1965 Zenith 21" color TV which works perfectly; with a converter box and rabbit ears. But my wife of course likes a bigger screen, so I had procured a Sony KE-61XBR950 61" plasma set, which cost $18,000 in 2004 (I got it for $100 a year or 2 ago not working and repaired it). I used to be a Sony factory authorized tech, so no issues there. But when I learned that 2013 is the last year of the plasma TV, and neither my wife nor I can stand the picture on LCD sets (regardless of type of backlight; LED, CFL, OLED, whatever), I thought I better get a current-model plasma set while still possible.

I got a 65" Panasonic plasma at Costco, and it was the LAST ONE in the county. It's a lower end model of the 65" lineup, but it has the same panel as the double-the-price top model… Just less extra stuff.

Now for the reason I feel old: I had to read and re-read the owners manual to figure out what half the features are! I figured I could just plug it in, give it a signal, adjust the picture and watch. But no; I had to hook it up to the internet and "update the operating system", and then I had to tell it to quit linking with everything in the house on bluetooth (including my wife's Lincoln out in the garage!!!). And it kept trying to hook up to our wifi (and any other signal it saw). WTF; it's a TV set not a computer or home automation system…. at least I thought!

Just give me an on-off switch, a volume control and a channel knob.

Charles

 

[WoodyO]

Plasma's have that nice 600hz refresh rate that large LED LCD's can't get anywhere near, but they look like shit unless you are in a pitch black room. You can turn off the WiFi connection and disable all the smart TV functions if you don't want to use them.

 

[kx250rider]

Plasma's have that nice 600hz refresh rate that large LED LCD's can't get anywhere near, but they look like shit unless you are in a pitch black room. You can turn off the WiFi connection and disable all the smart TV functions if you don't want to use them.

Yes. The room where it is, has good lighting for anytime TV watching. The 2004 Sony had a polarized coating (as good as the Oakley polarized coating) over the front glass, which the Panasonic I don't think has. That makes a radical difference in reflections and lighting problems, as I found when I was comparing two identical Sony 61" plasma sets to see which one I wanted to keep at the time. One had been ruined by somebody cleaning it wrong, and the other one still had the coating on it.

And about the wifi linking; I sure HOPE I can get away with preventing it. But if it's like other stuff, it'll demand updates at the worst moment if it's not online.

Charles

 

[musclemom]

We got a Smart t.v. ... stupid thing, we ended up completely shutting off the WiFi, more problems than it was worth, slow as mud, streaming would lock up. Way prefer the Sony Internet box.

 

[PICK3]

 

[nangiggles]

First, let me say I'm a CRT holdout, and in fact still have a 1965 Zenith 21" color TV which works perfectly; with a converter box and rabbit ears. But my wife of course likes a bigger screen, so I had procured a Sony KE-61XBR950 61" plasma set, which cost $18,000 in 2004 (I got it for $100 a year or 2 ago not working and repaired it). I used to be a Sony factory authorized tech, so no issues there. But when I learned that 2013 is the last year of the plasma TV, and neither my wife nor I can stand the picture on LCD sets (regardless of type of backlight; LED, CFL, OLED, whatever), I thought I better get a current-model plasma set while still possible.

I got a 65" Panasonic plasma at Costco, and it was the LAST ONE in the county. It's a lower end model of the 65" lineup, but it has the same panel as the double-the-price top model… Just less extra stuff.

Now for the reason I feel old: I had to read and re-read the owners manual to figure out what half the features are! I figured I could just plug it in, give it a signal, adjust the picture and watch. But no; I had to hook it up to the internet and "update the operating system", and then I had to tell it to quit linking with everything in the house on bluetooth (including my wife's Lincoln out in the garage!!!). And it kept trying to hook up to our wifi (and any other signal it saw). WTF; it's a TV set not a computer or home automation system…. at least I thought!

Just give me an on-off switch, a volume control and a channel knob.

Charles

A lot of features are pretty redundant and repetitive in new TVs. Hubby wants a smart tv but doesnt even use the features its good for

Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using EliteFitness

 

[miplank]

smart tv's are dumb and a waste of money...


you can buy an apple tv to add to it for less than $100 and have the same damn thing.

 

[cindylou]

smart tv's are dumb and a waste of money...


you can buy an apple tv to add to it for less than $100 and have the same damn thing.

you can have all the same apps?

 

[miplank]

i dunno what all apps the smart tv's have, but pretty sure it has the one's you'll actually use.

 

[musclemom]

smart tv's are dumb and a waste of money...


you can buy an apple tv to add to it for less than $100 and have the same damn thing.

We paid less for our smart t.v. than equivalent sized regular one, we were strictly shopping for a specific size and picture quality and it just happened to have the smart features. Husband likes the fact the Sony box is compatible with his Droid phone. Say Apple anything to that man and he spits.

 

[WoodyO]

Pretty much any TV over 32" that is 2013 or newer is going to be a smart TV. The prices dropped drastically this year and they are dropping more and more as we approach Xmas.

 

[ceo]

The prices dropped drastically this year and they are dropping more and more as we approach Xmas.

just like my pants.

 

[kx250rider]

We did actually use Netflix on it, just to see how it is, and it's nowhere near the definition of HDTV; at least at the setting for a reasonable file size. And where we are, there's no unlimited internet data, so it's TOO COSTLY to download or stream anything. Also, the wifi kept cutting in & out, so I had to stretch an ethernet cable from the livingroom to the kitchen where the router is. Even if the TV is right next to the wifi hub, it's too unstable. Hassle.

But I have to say I like the picture quality, an it doesn't act like a furnace and heat up the whole house, like the Sony plasma 61" KE-61XBR950 does.

Charles

 

[miplank]

We did actually use Netflix on it, just to see how it is, and it's nowhere near the definition of HDTV; at least at the setting for a reasonable file size. And where we are, there's no unlimited internet data, so it's TOO COSTLY to download or stream anything. Also, the wifi kept cutting in & out, so I had to stretch an ethernet cable from the livingroom to the kitchen where the router is. Even if the TV is right next to the wifi hub, it's too unstable. Hassle.

But I have to say I like the picture quality, an it doesn't act like a furnace and heat up the whole house, like the Sony plasma 61" KE-61XBR950 does.

Charles

just hard wire it then. Get up in your attic and drill a hole in the top plate of the wall your tv is on, and then put a cut in box behind the tv in the sheet rock. Fish tape the ethernet cable down through the wall and plug it in the tv. Do the same on the other end w/the room w/the router.

boom! problem solved.

 

[kx250rider]

just hard wire it then. Get up in your attic and drill a hole in the top plate of the wall your tv is on, and then put a cut in box behind the tv in the sheet rock. Fish tape the ethernet cable down through the wall and plug it in the tv. Do the same on the other end w/the room w/the router.

boom! problem solved.

I wish it were that easy… I can hook up an ethernet cable from the TV to the router directly/no problem… The problem is that we're not in an area where any kind of hardwired internet access is available (no cable TV, no phone wires for DSL, etc), so it's just an ethernet cable to a cellphone modem. The only "unlimited" data internet service we have, is a UHF radio linkup to the Reagan Library, where the main router is installed. It's a small privately-owned ISP that serves the area where our ranch is. At least we're a primary relay station with a direct link to the library… Most of our neighbors are sub-links to ours. The best speed is MAYBE 1.5Mbps. The only access we have with enough speed for TV, is Verizon Home Fusion (cellphone link). And it's the one that racked up the huge overage in data for a few low-def TV shows and a few iPhone-cloud backups.

At my in-laws' place in Jacksboro, TX, you're lucky to get one eMail to open in 10 minutes….. WITHOUT any pictures! At least it's not as bad as that.

*We tried HughesNet and another useless satellite internet service, and those were a joke.

Charles