How to buy a second hand telly
Discussion
Context: Mrs 2btoo and I watch very little TV. We don't have a TV licence and our current TV was given away free at a local yard sale. But it's Panasonic (which I understand to be good) and much clearer than it's predecessor, which was made by LG and came from richer sounds 15 years ago. Or maybe 20 years ago. At about 24 inches it's bigger too.
However we're thinking of upgrading. And I'm thinking that if we spend some money this time we might get something decent.
A friend has pointed out that you can buy a 60inch lcd TV for less than £300 from richer sounds. We'd like something smaller than this and are quite happy to buy used. We use a firestick so don't care what apps are on it, but it does need to have an optical output to connect to our hifi.
If I was to spend £50-100, what should I look for? Apparently lcd is better than plasma (I haven't got a clue what we have at the moment). What brands are good? What should be avoided?
Thanks for any advice!
However we're thinking of upgrading. And I'm thinking that if we spend some money this time we might get something decent.
A friend has pointed out that you can buy a 60inch lcd TV for less than £300 from richer sounds. We'd like something smaller than this and are quite happy to buy used. We use a firestick so don't care what apps are on it, but it does need to have an optical output to connect to our hifi.
If I was to spend £50-100, what should I look for? Apparently lcd is better than plasma (I haven't got a clue what we have at the moment). What brands are good? What should be avoided?
Thanks for any advice!
Plasma was the better technology back in the day, but most plasma TVs will be at least 10 years old now and for that reason I would probably avoid. Plasma's mainly came in 42in and above (there were some 37in) and you can tell it's a plasma as it will have a glass panel and thus weigh far more than a LCD.
But at this price point technology won't really matter. Most TV's will be LED from the past 10 years (which is just a update of LCD)
If going second hand buy something from a bigger brand if you can - Sony, Samsung or LG. The newer Panasonic's weren't the same as their forbears as Panasonic outsourced the manufacture so I would be hesitant to recommend them. There are new models released every year so it's impossible to recommend a specific model. If you see something on facebook/gumtree give the model number a google to see what you can find out about it.
Buying new would be tempting but the optical output will be your biggest challenge. I doubt most budget tv's will have this and you will need to carefully check any second hand tvs.
But at this price point technology won't really matter. Most TV's will be LED from the past 10 years (which is just a update of LCD)
If going second hand buy something from a bigger brand if you can - Sony, Samsung or LG. The newer Panasonic's weren't the same as their forbears as Panasonic outsourced the manufacture so I would be hesitant to recommend them. There are new models released every year so it's impossible to recommend a specific model. If you see something on facebook/gumtree give the model number a google to see what you can find out about it.
Buying new would be tempting but the optical output will be your biggest challenge. I doubt most budget tv's will have this and you will need to carefully check any second hand tvs.
Our - 2010 vintage £650 1080p LG LED telly gave up last year because of the backlights.
I think the issue with lots of that vintage now across all LED might be backlight failures.
So it’ll be cheap but might not last long as it’s just worn out?!
Unless you can find one from someone you know who’s got low hours on one?
I think the issue with lots of that vintage now across all LED might be backlight failures.
So it’ll be cheap but might not last long as it’s just worn out?!
Unless you can find one from someone you know who’s got low hours on one?
Just go on Marketplace and look what sub £100 Sony/Panasonic/Philips TV in the size you want. Contrary to others opinions, a Plasma TV is by far the biggest bang for your buck. Better HD picture quality than anything new at 5x the price. Better audio too. I have a 15 year old Panny Plasma in use every day. Still works as well as the first day I bought it.
Everyone wants massive screens nowadays, even if the picture quality is poor. No one wants relatively smaller Plasma TVs, literally can't give them away. For less than £100, even if it only lasts a year, still a total bargain.
Everyone wants massive screens nowadays, even if the picture quality is poor. No one wants relatively smaller Plasma TVs, literally can't give them away. For less than £100, even if it only lasts a year, still a total bargain.
TEKNOPUG said:
…a Plasma TV is by far the biggest bang for your buck. Better HD quality than anything new at 5x the price. … No one wants relatively smaller Plasma TVs, literally can't give them away.
OLED surpassed Plasma a good while ago. Plasma were good at the time but that time was A LONG time ago (very nearly 30yrs ago since they become mainstream, 33 since launched) - given it’s over 10yrs since they stopped being made and in the 5yrs up to that numbers made were very small.
People don’t want them as they’re heavy, thick, inferior and cost considerably more to run that a modern TV.
Alorotom said:
TEKNOPUG said:
…a Plasma TV is by far the biggest bang for your buck. Better HD quality than anything new at 5x the price. … No one wants relatively smaller Plasma TVs, literally can't give them away.
OLED surpassed Plasma a good while ago. Plasma were good at the time but that time was A LONG time ago (very nearly 30yrs ago since they become mainstream, 33 since launched) - given it’s over 10yrs since they stopped being made and in the 5yrs up to that numbers made were very small.
Alorotom said:
People don’t want them as they’re heavy, thick, inferior and cost considerably more to run that a modern TV.
Which is exactly why they are such are bargain if you only intend on viewing 1080p HD material 
Unless you need to watch it in bright sunlight any LCD TV should be fine.
It's pot luck and opportunism, but they are not worth much if you want to sell one.
If you keep an eye out on facebook and ebay, you should get something OK for £50 or so.
House clearance businesses don't ask a lot more.
If you drop lucky, someone will be moving house, upgrading or clearing their parents' house and be grateful to get a nice bottle of wine in exchange.
OTOH, a new one comes with a warranty and smart apps that work,
Probably do ten years if it's only a couple of hours a day and might be cheaper in the long run.
Personally, I think sound quality is important, there are a lot of TVs out there with poor sound which doesn't help with muffled dialogue on badly produced programmes. I think our Sony is better than most. YMMV.
It's pot luck and opportunism, but they are not worth much if you want to sell one.
If you keep an eye out on facebook and ebay, you should get something OK for £50 or so.
House clearance businesses don't ask a lot more.
If you drop lucky, someone will be moving house, upgrading or clearing their parents' house and be grateful to get a nice bottle of wine in exchange.
OTOH, a new one comes with a warranty and smart apps that work,
Probably do ten years if it's only a couple of hours a day and might be cheaper in the long run.
Personally, I think sound quality is important, there are a lot of TVs out there with poor sound which doesn't help with muffled dialogue on badly produced programmes. I think our Sony is better than most. YMMV.
OutInTheShed said:
Personally, I think sound quality is important, there are a lot of TVs out there with poor sound which doesn't help with muffled dialogue on badly produced programmes. I think our Sony is better than most. YMMV.
That’s a good point - never had an issue the sound on the Panny Plasma. The cheap Toshiba we bought had front speakers but turns out that’s very unusual. Its replacement (Sony) has terrible sound, especially dialogue was awful, so ended up buying a Sonos Beam.Sheepshanks said:
That’s a good point - never had an issue the sound on the Panny Plasma. The cheap Toshiba we bought had front speakers but turns out that’s very unusual. Its replacement (Sony) has terrible sound, especially dialogue was awful, so ended up buying a Sonos Beam.
That's another benefit of a Plasma - thicker, heavier chassis to mount speakers.TEKNOPUG said:
Sheepshanks said:
That’s a good point - never had an issue the sound on the Panny Plasma. The cheap Toshiba we bought had front speakers but turns out that’s very unusual. Its replacement (Sony) has terrible sound, especially dialogue was awful, so ended up buying a Sonos Beam.
That's another benefit of a Plasma - thicker, heavier chassis to mount speakers.We do also now have a Sony OLED with acoustic surface (the screen becomes the speakers) and that works pretty well.
Sheepshanks said:
I’m surprised there aren’t cheap TVs with better sound - the Tosh was configured like TV sat on a built in soundbar and sounded fine.
We do also now have a Sony OLED with acoustic surface (the screen becomes the speakers) and that works pretty well.
Because they are all thin LED panels and minimal bezels, so literally no room to fit decent speakers.We do also now have a Sony OLED with acoustic surface (the screen becomes the speakers) and that works pretty well.
TEKNOPUG said:
Douglas Quaid said:
OP just go on avforums and get yourself a secondhand oled. Turn all the processing off and turn it film maker mode. Enjoy it.
For £100?Douglas Quaid said:
TEKNOPUG said:
Douglas Quaid said:
OP just go on avforums and get yourself a secondhand oled. Turn all the processing off and turn it film maker mode. Enjoy it.
For £100?For occasional use I'm not sure it is five times better.
The extra thickness and weight are pretty irrelevant, as once it is put in the corner of the room what difference does it make? The extra coat of running it boils down to a few pounds per year. And for SD and HD content, I'm not sure an old OLED is actually much better viewing experience.
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