40" 'dumb' TV - not a lot of choices
 

The layout of our living room limits us to placing the TV in a narrow corner between two large doorways and a 40" TV is as big as we can fit there. (Actually the limitation is a maximum outside width of 36").

We use the cable box as the primary video source except when using game consoles or playing DVDs. 1080 is more than adequate resolution for our needs.

There aren't too many options left in that size, and even fewer without built-in streaming service devices, which is a functionality we would not be using. Sound isn't important because we always run TV sound through the stereo system.

Any suggestions - other than splurging on capabilities to "grow into" which we won't yet be using?

In general, the 'smart' capabilities are treated as a separate unit of the tv, in terms of the menu system and all that. If you're not going to use that type of stuff, you probably wouldn't even know it was there anyway. Just sayin'

Should we be assuming that you want an inexpensive TV, then?

Buy a cheap 2-3 year old used set that no longer receives updates and the apps no longer work? I don't even list "smart" TVs as "smart" anymore as by the time they come my way most of the apps don't work anymore and no updates are available.

The upside of this is many otherwise decent sets that are still working in every other respect are being discarded or sold cheaply.

Just make sure it isn't one of the models that always goes into the "smart" menu. I has a Soniq 50" set the other day that did that. Takes 15-30 secs to even startup as it's waiting for the android based interface to load - then there's no way to get the interface to go away without the remote - So it couldn't even be used as dumb monitor - Everything was just stuck in window with no easy way to kill the interface and just have full screen video.

Partly I'd like to keep the price low, but also I am concerned that if the set has additional circuitry for those functions, the maker has skimped somewhere else in the build in order to hold it within a competitive price bracket. And partly it just galls me to buy features I don't want.

I was looking at a Sharp. I know Hisense owns that brand now. Are they OK or is that a brand known for frequent failure?

The smart TV functionality actually brings pricing down. Companies like Netflix pay to have bloatware preinstalled and the companies collect and sell your viewing data.

I would just not connect the TV to your network if you aren't interested in using the smart features.

Hmmm...an old friend of mine gave me a heads-up about this practice when I posed the same question on FB. Can't say I'm fond of the idea.

I just keep an eye out for the commercial grade sets. Often they have a better range of inputs and don't have overly fancy bezels but the premium is paying a little bit more for something that can go from standby to on in under 5 seconds.

I have an Insignia 39 inch 720p tv, got it for 130 bucks. No smart anything, just a plain old dumb tv. Sufficient for what me and my roommates use it for, mostly gaming on the PS4. Not a bad option if you want something cheap and simple.

That's Best Buy's store brand, right? Is it an actual company or is it like Realistic or Kenmore where they are made on contract by a "real" company?

Yes, Insignia is Best Buy's house brand.

My In-laws have an Insignia 39". The speaker is timid but the picture is OK.

If your OTA TV sites are not all in the same direction, avoid this set. It has no manual tuning mode, no add-channel mode, and entering an RF channel won't work. Scanning is the only way to acuire channels.

If you want a truly dumb 40" set go find a 90s 40" CRT set... Everyone will agree it was a dumb purchase... including your back. :D

We don't view OTA. Our reception with an indoor passive antenna is awful. Dunno if boosting would help or just provide stronger noise. I think I'd need an attic or rooftop antenna to pull in stations clearly.

Sony made a 40" CRT Trinitron right at the time they quit making CRT TVs altogether. Well, they did this month, discontinued it next month. & re-introduced it right after that. I had a 36" CRT Trinitron, & I was not impressed w/it like I had been earlier ones. It started to die about 5 years after I got it, & its pic was NEVER as brilliant as we all remember earlier Trinitrons as being. I kinda wanted that 40, but now I'm just as glad I never got one...After Morita died, they kinda went all to H3!!.... That & buying that studio... I think that studio was looking for a Turkey to unload themselves on, & boy, did they find one....

That was a comical coincidence - I was poring over TVs listed on Craigslist and just as I read a 36" CRT TV described as "great for a kids play room", in the background I heard the phrase "This is a perfect opportunity to be crushed alive" in some promo for an upcoming show on The Science Channel.

Not sure if an obscure Chinese manufacturer qualifies as a "real" company, but yes Insignia is Best Buy's store brand and the products are built on contract. Hopefully I can get at least 3-4 years of use out of mine, we'll see...

The Insignia and Zenith DTV converters are built by LG. Maybe their TV's are, as well.
I never heard any real grumbling about Viseo sets. Every seems to like them a lot . :thmbsp:

That was a common big screw up. Even the early Sonys did it.
You have to read the manual before buying. In my area the stations
are in 4 directions. You have to point the antenna first hoping its on
the sweet spot. Then wait for a channel scan. All your old saved
channels are gone. I miss NTSC !

73 Zeno:smoke:
LFOD !

Get a Zenith DTV converter box go into the menu manually tune the carrier observe the OSD signal strength meter while peaking the antenna then transfer the antenna back to the crappy internal one in your TV.

Tom OM
I gave up on OTA. With ears I only get one station & one other sometimes.
In NTSC days ears would reach out over 100 miles. A big antenna would
get ME, NH, VT, RI, MA, Conn & at nite NY, NJ & PA. all from the average
elevation. Well thats progress ? ........
You know what they say "if its digital its got to be good".

73 Zeno:smoke:
LFOD !

I miss NTSC too...We are probably in the company of most of VK on that.
I'm mostly cable and internet on TV viewing, but I like to DX and play around.... also the family cabin only has access to OTA so I had to get good at grabbing weak signals.

That cabin is so far out in the boonies that the girl who the news says was adbucted and held captive for months was being held a few miles away from there.

Unless you have VHF DTV carriers or are not far enough out to qualify as fringe, rabbit ears are not much better than a foot of random wire jammed in the center of the ant jack...If you want an indoor DTV UHF ant go with a 70s bowtie chop the twinlead off and solder a balun to the feed point with the shortest leads possible.... I was able to best a new expensive amplified antenna relatives bought for the family cabin by a good margin with that 2 buck rig.:thmbsp:

BTW if OM was supposed to mean old man I'm still a long way from reaching that title.

I own a LG set, a 32" and it's over 4 years old. Excellent picture (720p). Not one problem with it ever. And it's a high hours daily watcher. The Zenith 40" flat panel in the other house, reliable, mom watches it many hours, not one problem. I'd buy another LG set if I needed to replace one.

Digital TV is not always easy, but there are often workarounds.

If you're within 30 miles of your local full-power stations (15 from LPTV stations), you are less likely to have a problem with weak signals than with multipath.

Go to a website that shows the locations of TV transmitter sites (e.g. tvfool.com) to find out where the TV stations are (in relation to where you are). If you find that your main TV is in a room that faces AWAY from the local stations, and you want to use an indoor antenna, consider placing an antenna in a window facing the stations, install an amplifier, and drill a hole in the floor to lead the cable though the basement or the crawlspace, to a splitter, which will allow you to feed several sets. An attic antenna can feed such a system as well if not better.

Also pay attention to the actual (RF) channels all your local stations will be on. If the're all on actual channel 14 or above, a small antenna may be able to receive all of them. If any of them are 7 through 13, you'll want an antenna with High-VHF capability (you may still get the H-VHF stations, if you're VERY close). If any are on 2 through 6, you'll need an all-channel antenna, which must be installed outdoors or in the attic.

The sound on some of these lower-end sets is pathetic! The speakers are really tiny. My brother had one of those sets and I hooked up one of those computer sound systems, small left and right speakers and a larger sub-woofer. It sounded a lot better! :thmbsp:

A smart TV I can deal with

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SJ9CP6nmfs

You could learn every function before you finished 2 beers.
Software was thought out so even a 95 year old could run it.

73 Zeno:smoke:
LFOD !

Z = MC squared :D