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ATP: Buying a new television

Thanks for the input, folks. I was thinking we would put a cable connection outside and was trying to figure out where we were going to put the cable box, etc. When I realized I am probably an idiot. With modern smart TVs I shouldn't need a box, right? I can just put the Spectrum TV app on the smart TV outside and watch everything on our cable account out there, right?

Which now changes my plan. I was going to put our current 55" family room TV on the porch and buy a new OLED for the family room. Now I am thinking I need to put the new TV on the porch - so we have the latest type of smart TV out there that will work with the app. Our family room TV is a Smart TV but it is getting pretty old - it is the old LG Google TV - and I don't know how or if the App will work on it. In fact, I went to the app store on the TV and it won't even find the App.

So now the question is - do you buy an OLED for the porch? I think the answer is no. Not only are they way, way more expensive so you don't want to take a chance with weather impacts or, heaven forbid, someone breaking onto the porch and stealing it - but we also may not be able to fully appreciate the better picture out there...
 
Due to permanent DST I will only watch TV outside.
 
scooter84 said:
Thanks for the input, folks. I was thinking we would put a cable connection outside and was trying to figure out where we were going to put the cable box, etc. When I realized I am probably an idiot. With modern smart TVs I shouldn't need a box, right? I can just put the Spectrum TV app on the smart TV outside and watch everything on our cable account out there, right?

Which now changes my plan. I was going to put our current 55" family room TV on the porch and buy a new OLED for the family room. Now I am thinking I need to put the new TV on the porch - so we have the latest type of smart TV out there that will work with the app. Our family room TV is a Smart TV but it is getting pretty old - it is the old LG Google TV - and I don't know how or if the App will work on it. In fact, I went to the app store on the TV and it won't even find the App.

So now the question is - do you buy an OLED for the porch? I think the answer is no. Not only are they way, way more expensive so you don't want to take a chance with weather impacts or, heaven forbid, someone breaking onto the porch and stealing it - but we also may not be able to fully appreciate the better picture out there...
Click to expand...

Why not just get a new TV for inside, and get a new fire stick (or something like that) for outside old TV so you don't have to use its native software. That would just be attached to HDMI and work off wi-fi + have access to the latest and greatest apps.
 
cookoutdeac said:
Why not just get a new TV for inside, and get a new fire stick (or something like that) for outside old TV so you don't have to use its native software. That would just be attached to HDMI and work off wi-fi + have access to the latest and greatest apps.
Click to expand...

This.
 
Yes external streaming device is way better than native apps on the TV.
 
cookoutdeac said:
Why not just get a new TV for inside, and get a new fire stick (or something like that) for outside old TV so you don't have to use its native software. That would just be attached to HDMI and work off wi-fi + have access to the latest and greatest apps.
Click to expand...

Duh - good point. We even have a Roku...
 
We have a Samsung and use the internal apps on the TV. Spectrum, Netflix, ESPN.
 
I have a Fire Stick on every device except my Sony. It feels fast enough.
 
Never thought I'd use native apps on Smart TV's based on how they were total garbage for so long, but there's some interesting stuff going on particularly in the 4k/Atmos/HDR world just in case anyone is curious. For example, certain apps on some streaming devices, for whatever reason, will have weird gotchas like supporting 4k resolution but not HDR as well. Also, the more cables you introduce into an Atmos or lossless audio setup the more likely a handshaking or synching issue is to occur. You can essentially forget about an HDMI switcher or anything like that, and even just using an Atmos-ready audio system, a streaming device, and a tv - all connected by the right version of HDMI - still won't work. Plus with so many devices now getting what I'd call "2nd tier" software support from the app providers, it's often the Smart TV Apps that get top billing because both the providers and TV manufacturers love that they're immediately available.

Anyway, unless you have a new NVIDIA Shield odds are some streaming services are handicapped on whatever streaming device you use, even if it's a PS5 or Xbox Series X or Apple TV 4k. Pretty annoying, but don't write off the native apps anymore.
 
i have an LG OLED (LG OLED65CXPUA Alexa Built-in CX 65-inch 4K Smart OLED TV) and tbh haven't really noticed a huge upgrade from my other TV (Hisense H8F). might be sitting too close?

warning -- the LG app store is pretty limited (no ESPN or TNT) so we use a google tv / chromecast instead as needed.
 
Update... We ended up going with the Samsung QLED 55". We are a little constrained from going to 65" in the spot where it goes, so decided to just stick with the same size. Unfortunately, my wife went with me when I went to buy it. She wanted to go with the $450 TV, I wanted the $1100 OLED LG, so we compromised at the $700 Samsung QLED...
 
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scooter84 said:
Update... We ended up going with the Samsung QLED 55". We are a little constrained from going to 65" in the spot where it goes, so decided to just stick with the same size. Unfortunately, my wife went with me when I went to buy it. She wanted to go with the $450 TV, I wanted the $1100 OLED LG, so we compromised at the $700 Samsung QLED...
Click to expand...
Q70 or Q60?
 
DeaconCav06 said:
We have a TV outside on our covered porch over the fireplace that is 65”. It’s been two years without any issues.

An “outdoor” TV was so expensive I can buy 6 of the ones I have out there now and still break even.
Click to expand...

I can echo a similar experience
I had a TV, which was given to my by my in-laws and at the time I hooked it up was probably 6 or 7 years old that I put outside on a screen porch
It endured at least 4 complete years before we moved (mid 2021), it worked fine the entire time. I was told originally I needed an outdoor TV, even if it was covered, but the cost (as Cav says) was crazy high and I figured just buying a new $300-$500 TV every 6 months would be better than shelling out $5K+ for an outdoor TV....turns out the original one worked fine with yearly temps ranging from single digits F to high 90s F
 
i'm looking forward to sitting out on my porch this weekend and watching the masters from the hammock
 
More ads to skip through.
 
For cheap and quality, the 4K Insignia Amazon Fire TVs are pretty sweet. Just stupidly cheap on Prime Day, and have had zero issues. Bought 3, including 1 for outside. Easy to mount too (like Mako's mom).
 
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