Hardware What TV should I go with?

[CheatingSoi]

Hi there. I'm looking at buying a new TV for my apartment. I've narrowed it down to these two TV's. From what I understand, the Vizio is better because it has a full-array LED system so the blacks are darker and all around the picture is better. However, the Insignia is cheaper and bigger. But the black levels probably aren't as good. I just can't make up my mind. Is there anyone out there who has better knowledge of these TV's who could help me decide? I'm not sure how much of a difference it really would be. I might as well go for the cheaper, bigger one if it's not noticeable. Also I don't care about smart TV features. Anyways, Thanks

Vizio E500I-B1

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/vizio-e...&st=number3_categoryid$abcat0101001&cp=2&lp=3

Insignia NS-55D550NA15

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/insigni...&st=number3_categoryid$abcat0101001&cp=1&lp=1

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Your formatting was bad for the dark theme, fixed it.

Both of those TVs are LED flat-panels, with the same 5m:1 contrast ratio so they'll have the same picture quality for the most part.

Basically, your choice depends on whether you want to bother with a smaller Smart TV, or a larger "dumb" TV. The Vizio appears to have pretty bad speakers, so audio quality will take a hit with that one.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I would go with the bigger TV, because in my experience Smart TVs are not all that smart and the added features are not likely to be used much.
You're essentially paying more for smart functionality which isn't worth it in my opinion, whereas a bigger size will benefit you every time you turn your TV on no matter what you are using it for (and it's cheaper too!)

I just got a huge 60" 3D Smart TV a week ago and I have to say that while having Netflix (and maybe Hulu/YouTube) directly on your TV might be nice the other Smart features are largely useless and it's not worth paying $200 extra just to watch Netflix on your TV when you can get a much cheaper Android HDMI stick or similar that can turn your TV into a Smart TV and actually has a large selection of nice apps.

The large size however is something I wouldn't trade for anything
I had the option of going with a smaller UHD TV but found it wasn't worth it.

 

[CheatingSoi]

Thanks for the help guys. What do you think about the Full-Array LED backlight dimming system? That's about the only thing still pulling my towards Vizio. Do you think a TV without such a feature is going to be noticeable? Or will I still get the same enjoyment out of it? I'm mainly going to be using the TV for gaming. I just read that this is a feature normally only used in higher-end TV's.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Honestly? It's not worth the extra money. All it does is change brightness settings based on the light detected. Unless your eyes are really sensitive, it's pointless.

Jdbye is absolutely right, most smart TVs are pretty "dumb", since you're using it for gaming for the most part, the Insignia would be much better.

Also, whenever you paste things in from other websites, highlight all your text and hit the eraser in the top right. Fixes formatting issues with the dark theme.

 

[CheatingSoi]

Ha yeah I noticed that. My bad.

But yeah I guess maybe you're right. I saw the Insignia in the store and the quality seemed far better than something in that price range should have. Maybe I'll go with that then. I could care less about smart-TV features. I have an Xbox and a Chromecast. Thanks again. Any other comments are welcome.

 

[WiiCube_2013]

I get that a Samsung or Sony would cost you more but you'd be getting a higher quality product than these brands Vizio/Insignia, but either of the two? Insnigia seems to be the better one and larger resolution.

I live in Europe (well, UK -- Saying "I live in Europe" is like "I live in Africa") and never heard of these brands, we have the "Bush" which I always avoid and quite popular Toshiba that I ditch too for Samsung/LG.

Edit: Screw the audio quality of the TVs, just buy an audio equipment for them since it's far better for the viewer's experience.

 

[CheatingSoi]

I get that a Samsung or Sony would cost you more but you'd be getting a higher quality product than these brands Vizio/Insignia, but either of the two? Insnigia seems to be the better one and larger resolution.

I live in Europe (well, UK -- Saying "I live in Europe" is like "I live in Africa") and never heard of these brands, we have the "Bush" which I always avoid and quite popular Toshiba that I ditch too for Samsung/LG.

Edit: Screw the audio quality of the TVs, just buy an audio equipment for them since it's far better for the viewer's experience.

Yeah. I know the Vizio's sound is pretty bad from what I hear. But I can't imagine them being so bad that you HAVE to get a soundbar. I'm moving into an apartment with some friends and I don't want things to be loud anyways as we are on the second floor. So I think any speakers will be just fine with us. But maybe we'll get a cheap soundbar if we really think we need it.

This is for you, Tom.

 

[jonthedit]

Don't get the VIZIO! You will regret it!
Every VIZIO I have seen is built from cheap material, and the screens tend to shit out after 1 year.

 

[vayanui8]

As an owner of the 48 in. Vizio equivalent, I can confidently say that its a good product. However, the other TV seems like a much better deal. I would check for what kind of configuration options the insignia has first though. Adjusting the picture size is a common issue with alot of TVs these days, so Id see how well the insignia works with that. If it doesn't offer alot of configuration, I'd go with the Vizio, but if it does the Insignia is a much better deal.

 

[CheatingSoi]

As an owner of the 48 in. Vizio equivalent, I can confidently say that its a good product. However, the other TV seems like a much better deal. I would check for what kind of configuration options the insignia has first though. Adjusting the picture size is a common issue with alot of TVs these days, so Id see how well the insignia works with that. If it doesn't offer alot of configuration, I'd go with the Vizio, but if it does the Insignia is a much better deal.

Oh nice. How is the black levels and overall picture compared to other tv's? Or just in general.

 

[vayanui8]

Oh nice. How is the black levels and overall picture compared to other tv's? Or just in general.

The picture is very good. I have it connected to my Gaming PC and it looks great.

 

[CheatingSoi]

Yeah it's hard for me to stray away from that TV. That's the one I first settled on after a lot of research. Then I found this deal. My sister just got a 40" insignia so I'll have to play around with that and see if it's acceptable.

 

[Mario92]

You are buying those for gaming use specifically? History what I have had with 100/120Hz TVs aren't exactly great as they insert fake frames to make image smoother and then doesn't even accept 120Hz signal from PC. If used for 3D then image will be flickering.

What you should be looking for is what TVs input lag is. That's the thing that effects most for gaming and I almost pulled out my hair to find out what those were as no manufacturer seems to states those. Some models, especially 100/120Hz seems to have massive input lag even with gaming mode on. In the end I found out that plasma models always have smallest input lag, best image quality in gaming mode, they were MUCH cheaper than every other model with same things and that they have already gotten rid of issues like image burning and such.

Best bet would be something like Sony or Panasonic. However especially with Sony it cost per features are much higher.

Also, whenever you paste things in from other websites, highlight all your text and hit the eraser in the top right. Fixes formatting issues with the dark theme.

Right click -> paste only text or CTRL+Shift+V. Saves trouble in other situations as well

 

[CheatingSoi]

You are buying those for gaming use specifically? History what I have had with 100/120Hz TVs aren't exactly great as they insert fake frames to make image smoother and then doesn't even accept 120Hz signal from PC. If used for 3D then image will be flickering.

What you should be looking for is what TVs input lag is. That's the thing that effects most for gaming and I almost pulled out my hair to find out what those were as no manufacturer seems to states those. Some models, especially 100/120Hz seems to have massive input lag even with gaming mode on. In the end I found out that plasma models always have smallest input lag, best image quality in gaming mode, they were MUCH cheaper than every other model with same things and that they have already gotten rid of issues like image burning and such.

Best bet would be something like Sony or Panasonic. However especially with Sony it cost per features are much higher.


Right click -> paste only text or CTRL+Shift+V. Saves trouble in other situations as well

Yeah I was reading that a lot of these cheaper TV's "fake" the 120Hz. But I dont know. This is really only a TV we are going to be using for a year. And I have an old 60hz 720p LCD that I'm 100% fine with for gaming. Also I cannot stand plasmas because of their glossy screen.