Changes coming to my boob tube this summer

[washman]

After yet another increase in cable rates from my local company, I did the Popeye thing (sans a can of spinach)and am in the process of cutting the cord.

A few things are in order, one of which has me weeping right now

I will be getting rid of my beloved assembled in USA Toshiba 27 inch energy guzzling tube for a couple of reasons. One, it is 16 years old Two, I would need a converter box to go over-the-air. Three, more and more programming is being broadcast in 16 x 9 ratio and as such , I am losing almost 1/4 of the program being aired due to screen constraints.

It tears me up but I have to realize that programming has far outrun my Toshiba's ability to broadcast it to where I can actually watch it. THere is no adjustment on it or the cable box to correct this. It is an analog design, it is what it is. I really got good use from it and I am proud that it was assembled in USA, someplace in TN I believe so at least I helped a few remain on the job.

Having said that, I am going to secure a flat screen from a somewhat local appliance store. Like the SQ purchases, I want to go local for service after the sale. That means BIG BOX stores are out of the question for me. I have decided on a 50 inch LG made in Mexico (gag, cough, wretch, sweat, vomit)that is also a smart TV so I can stream Speed Queen vids, yes even my own, on it. Amazon prime is $9.95/month for instance and I have a host of streaming choices besides. I looked at tons of "brands" (would you believe Hitachi is on a box at Sam's?). I asked questions, went online, did the homework and LG appears to be the best choice as they make not only their units but also source parts to other "brands" as well. 3 appliance stores carry LG because they give fewer problems than the other brands.

The action plan is:
1. Wait for the model I want to be in stock at a local store; LG is bringing out new models this summer
2. buy the thing, have it delivered, say a tearful goodbye to the Toshiba
3. Remain on cable whilst I suss out the nuances of the LG, test the streaming capabilities.
4. Research OTA omnidirectional antennas. I cannot mount one outside, because, well, I don't want to! An attic mount is not an option either because I have engineered roof trusses 16 on center and NO place to even run a plank of sorts. Thus I am relegated to an indoor unit. Which I am ok with.

Antennaweb.org is a great site and if I get the right type of antenna, I can theoretically get 43 OTA channels, some in hi def. Including the ones I currently pay a mint for from my local cable company.

Once I find a good omnidirectional indoor antenna, get it hooked up and see if I can get the channels I want, it is goodbye cable. I do realize the weather channel goes bye. As does CNN and some others but I never watched them anyway unless the weather channel was running "why planes crash" or something. I can get Fox so I will still be able to see Ramsay yell and cuss, if not I know I can stream it on fox's site.

FWIW, I have been to some homes where the families are OTA and I was blown away at the picture quality they were getting. In fact, I swear it could pass for cable or satellite. That's how good it was.

Hi frig!

 

[frigilux]

Hi, Ben! I cut the digital cable cord--and my landline phone--a couple of months ago, saving $135.00 per month. I find plenty to watch on Hulu and Netflix with an Apple TV box.

My big concern was losing KELO (CBS affiliate) from Sioux Falls, SD, which I've been watching all my life. Fortunately, they webcast their 4:30-7:00 a.m., noon-12:30, 5:00-6:00 p.m. and 10:00-10:30 p.m. news programs. They can be watched live or streamed at one's convenience until the next live webcast begin. I believe they also webcast when they break in to programming to report on severe weather in the area.

It was a big step for me, but honestly I don't miss either and frankly wonder why I didn't do it years ago.

Edit: I really like my two 32" LG TV's. CR online provides optimal settings for every model they test and I've found their recommendations to be helpful. The only tweak was to bring down the brightness a tad for the tv in my bedroom, which is usually blackout dark. The picture was a bit bright in that (lack of) lighting situation.

[this post was last edited: 5/5/2016-22:16]

 

[washman]

Frig

you pretty much nailed what everyone I talked to says about cutting the cord. Not one person went back to cable or dish. Not one.

Were it not for relatives in Europe and Cyprus, I'd cut Vonage off too and go mobile. But it is the cheapest, best option for LD overseas calls for me. I tried skype once.

Once.

 

[frigilux]

Let me know the model number of your LG when you get it. I'll see if CR tested it and provided optimal settings. It's a quick way to optimize the picture which can then be tweaked to fit your room lighting and personal preferences.

 

[lordkenmore]

Some thoughts...

First, while I see value in buying locally, I'm not sure how much value there is in support with TV sets. If the place does service, it's likely only swap the circuit board out. Or just completely swap the set.

I know someone who was recently part owner of a local audio dealer, who believed in the "buy local" idea. The store had a huge range of equipment available, but when it came to TVs I think he said he just told customers to go to Costco.

Secondly, one worry I have with smart TVs is the possibility of them spying on one. If streaming off the Internet, I'd personally aim for dumb, dumb, dumb TV, and use something else to actually do the streaming. If, of course, one can find something that protects privacy. Given Apple's attitudes, Apple TV seems like a reasonably good bet.

 

[lordkenmore]

Like Eugene, I have yet to hear about anyone who cuts the cable and misses the cable later on...

I don't have experience with LG TVs. My TV remains solidly CRT ca. 1990-something. But I have been impressed by the LG sets I've seen on display, and I'm currently using an LG monitor that has given me good service.

 

[artcurus]

@washman,

Just as an FYI, you're not going to see whole lot of energy savings. These newer sets have a higher standby power rating.

Hows this for irony? I had a Magnavox 25 inch color TUBE set from 1972. You look in the back and see tubes glowing. I got tired of yearly maintenance on it and the HO tube and damper were getting too expensive and had to be replace at the same time. I replaced with a flat screen 2007. The Magnavox actually drew less current that flat screen.

 

[washer111]

Shame...

At least in my experience, set-top-boxes, the TV or some part of a typical A/V setup will have options to alter the aspect ratio.

I noted with a friend's Foxtel connection years ago on a cheapie CRT that the box would send a 16:9 signal and chop the video up, whereas the Free-to-Air tv of the time would not.

While it seems as though you're set, I would personally look into the feature sets of even cheap set-top-boxes to see if any of them can correctly scale the picture for your requirements. Even if they're unreliable pieces of junk, it might make more sense buying one of these every so often than a whopping great "Smart" TV that burns your back pocket.

 

[gusherb]

There is a 9 year old Sharp Aquos on the wall in the family room that has worked fine all these years, and I have a 32" Samsung smart TV in my bedroom that's 3 years old. Smart TV ended up being stupid and I purchased an Apple TV to use instead. We use OTA here via a big attic antenna and amp. Works great, HD is better than most cable or satellite I've seen. DirecTV came close though. People think OTA has bad HD PQ but it's actually among the best.

 

[whirlcool]

We used an indoor antenna when we went OTA two years ago. We got mainly the stronger stations and an ok picture. About a year ago I installed a Winegard Hd7080 antenna up in our attic. I just used the same cable that was used by DirecTV so installation was a real snap. No fighting with wires.

Excellent reception on all channels. And the antenna was less than $50.00 too.

 

[vacerator]

I have basic

cable still. My step daughter and husband have Apple TV, and have also cut the cable cord, except for internet.
We have two sets, a 40 inch and 32 inch Phillips smart sets.
Comcast is now offering streaming, for a price I'm sure. I'll keep Netflix for $10 after the price hike.

 

[mark_wpduet]

We haven't cut the cord

but I do use OTA. We have indoor atenna's on all 3 of our TV's and since we are in the city, OTA comes in pretty well. We only get 12 channels OTA though. But the coolest thing I found is a converter box that actually records OTA to an external drive. There are 3 shows on ME and Antenna TV that I record to the drive, then take the drive to my computer to edit out commercials,convert the files to mp4 to save.. but you can leave the drive connected to the box and use it as a DVR...

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmU8qSI6MsY

 

[vacerator]

OTR

is good if you have Apple TV. No local news or weather on it.

 

[tolivac]

Something said about the older tubed TV's ,most of them-when you turned it OFF-it wasn't drawing any power.Only exception was for remote control sets.Some power was drawn by the remote receiver in the set.-or "keep alive" tube quick heat tube filament supplies that kept the tubes at "blackheat" when the TV wasn't being used.Since MOST TV's sold today have remotes-there is a little power drawn by the remote reciver in the set.

 

[fan-of-fans]

I found even with my newer flat panel TV, there is a bit at the top and bottom of the picture that is missing. I'm not sure if I have it set incorrectly or not. I had a Sanyo big CRT tv from 2001 that was great. It died and got a Westinghouse flat panel, the picture seemed so much better on the Sanyo. The Westinghouse got knocked over by accident and cracked the screen. So got an LG, the picture seems better. I messed with the settings and couldn't get it to fill the entire screen with the picture, it was either too big or too small.

The biggest thing I don't like about the flat panel tv is the speakers are terrible. I got one of those external speakers and its ok. But I don't like how we have to have so many different remotes to run everything. I miss when you just had the remote that came with your TV and you were good to go. I did manage to get my cable remote to run the TV and speaker, which at least is better than watching TV with three remotes.

I do have two late model (2007-08) CRT TV in the bedrooms, flat tubes, one is an Emerson and one a Sylvania, but they are the same model in different color. They seem to have a good picture almost as good or better than the new one.

 

[washman]

Frig the model is the LF6100series

Any dope on it?

 

[frigilux]

LG 50LF6100: Reviews are very good overall; weakness is motion blur (common in the LG line), but I really don't notice it much; not an issue with me. May be more pronounced when watching high-action BluRay discs.

Settings:
Picture Mode: Expert 1
Contrast (Picture): 90
Brightness: 52
Gamma: 2.2
Color: 58
Tint: R14
Sharpness: H=0; V=0
Color Temperature: Warm2
Backlight: 100
Aspect Ratio: Just Scan
Miscellaneous: Color Gamut=Standard; Black Level=Low; Real Cinema=On;
**All remaining settings should be set to OFF or '0'

 

[washman]

ok dumb question

how in the hell does one set all that up? Is it easy or will I need an M.I.T grad student?

 

[frigilux]

Super simple.  Just use the remote to access your picture settings menu.  It's all right there.