40" TV recommendations. $500ish

watts on 06/12/2018 - 13:38
Last edited 10/12/2018 - 10:14

EDIT: All sorted. I grabbed this Panasonic for $675 from TGG. Set it up for her saturday and she's very happy with it.

https://www.thegoodguys.com.au/panasonic-40-inches101cm-fhd-…

I didn't have the heart to tell her the old TV is working fine.

I need to grab my grandma a new TV quick because hers just died. Not a lot of time to research so I'm after some recommendations.

40" 1080p
Smart TV. not a must have but would be nice for iview etc. Must be easy to use though.
Good for sport.
Good sound. (well, not "good" but not terrible). Any makers still putting effort into sound quality?
Would prefer panasonic so she's familiar with the remote, but not mandatory.

I'd like to keep it to $500, but she's expecting it to cost more so can push the budget if needed.

thanks in advance.

edit. updating with a few I'm considering (budget and size is already blowing out!)

$549 Hisense 39" https://www.harveynorman.com.au/hisense-39-inch-p4-full-hd-l…

$695 Panasonic 40" https://www.thegoodguys.com.au/panasonic-40-inches101cm-fhd-…

$745 Sony 43" https://www.thegoodguys.com.au/sony-43-inches109cm-fhd-led-l…

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • spackbace on 06/12/2018 - 13:55
    +1

    Buy 1-2yo one off Gumtree plus a cheap sound bar?

    40" TV's go pretty cheap especially when not 4K

    • watts on 06/12/2018 - 14:08
      +1

      She's not skint and happy to pay around $500 so it'll be new and from a local store so I can collect asap. (Bargain hunting is secondary with this purchase).

      I'm actually finding very few 'good' 40" tv's around. There's lots of cheapies from AKAI, TEAC, TCL, etc etc, but I want to stick with a brand she's familiar with so Sony, LG, Panasonic, Samsung.

      Soundbar is a last resort as I want to just keep things simple. If that means paying a little more for a TV with decent sound then so be it. In the past I thought Sony did sound well, but that's before things got crazy thin so not so sure now.

  • dasher86 on 06/12/2018 - 14:17

    stick older known name brands. eg not hisense etc.

    • watts on 06/12/2018 - 14:30

      Stick them where? ;)

  • Cheeper on 06/12/2018 - 15:31

    Make sure it has at least 100mhz refresh rate.
    Also test the FTA guide in store. Some are damn useless and grandma would not appreciate that.
    I assume she will be watching mostly FTA TV so watch out for sets with a weak signal gain. Handy if she is in a poor signal area.
    I would suggest a LG and work your way down from there.

    • watts on 06/12/2018 - 15:45

      yep..100hz for sure.
      She has foxtel but seems to default to FTA via the TV most of the time so a good guide is a must (bad guides are a pet hate of mine)
      Signal is no problem but thanks for the tip.
      LG and down..does that mean LG is the best now?

    • pennypincher98 on 06/12/2018 - 20:31

      Bauhn TVs are actually really good. They surprised me with both picture and sound quality. Thin and thin bezels is good too.

      Although the remote I've got has heaps of buttons. And it's almost perfectly rectangular - the amount of times I've picked it up the wrong way and hit program instead of volume, or + instead of -
      Lights up around those buttons when you push them though.

      • watts on 06/12/2018 - 21:29

        I bought a 60” Bauhn 2 months ago. Fine for me but not for her. Complex remote is crap and simple remote is too simple.

  • ledifni on 06/12/2018 - 16:13

    Grandma? Unless she's a techie, I'd stick with whatever she's already familiar, go with the Panasonic. I'd never expect excellent sounds out of the box from any TV though…

    • watts on 06/12/2018 - 21:27

      Yes, grandma. 96.

  • [Deactivated] on 06/12/2018 - 18:20

    Could go on gumtree and if your a bit patient, and/or good negotiating, you should be able to pick 1 up for $150/$200max. Maybe $250 for smart tv.
    I will probably sell my 42inch 1080p LCD for $150 (when I could be bothered) . I have 2x 4k tv's now, and Im sure many others are in the same boat (have upgraded to 4k, and have 1080p TV's they just want gone and will sell cheap).
    Since you are asking about smart tv though, I must ask…. does she, or will she, be using netflix or other streamed content??
    If the answer is yes, I would be getting a 4k TV for sure. My hisense 4k TV is ok, was $300 on Gumtree, I think around $500 new. It's just not got HDR (only has million colours instead or billion colours lol).
    More and more streaming content is available in 4k. 4k youtube, stan, netflix etc. If TV will be used for any of this (provided she has internet connection?) then futureproof with 4k. Also 4k tv's can be had for about the same price as 1080p nowdays. So silly to get 1080p IMO unless your only using for tv stations using antenna free-to-air. From what I'veheard, the infrastructure to stream 4k through antenna is a long way off. Free to air 4k content via internet is already here though (youtube, free netflix trial, free stan trial, or let her use your stan/netflix because with can use several devices with premium Netflix subscription).
    Not sure of your financial situation, maybe chip in some $$ towards it as a Christmas present.

    • watts on 06/12/2018 - 21:41

      FHD is an upgrade from the old tv so 4k is really not necessary. It’s almost unavoidable, but not quite.

      She can use my Netflix but not at 4K until next year. I have my account set to crappy resolution because I’m on 4G net at home until NBN.

      Smart TV would really on be for FTA catch ups.

      • [Deactivated] on 06/12/2018 - 21:47

        Sounds like she kept the old tv for quite a long time. Im just thinking more down the track. ie. If she will keep this tv for 20 years, well most likely there will be an abundance of content in 4k in 5 years.
        Up to you and her of course, and I wish you the best with it.

        It’s almost unavoidable, but not quite

        Is there a reason you are trying to avoid 4k ? Just curious.

        Btw, your 4g might be able to do 4k or somewhere better than 1080p at least.
        My optus 3g comes up as 2k (when speed is going well)

        • watts on 06/12/2018 - 22:07

          20yr future proofing for a 96yo. I’m not that optimistic.

          Not trying to avoid 4K but it’s of no value. What few 40” are around all seem to be FHD anyway and 43” is probably getting too big for the space. Tempting though.

          4g can stream ok but not a good idea with 100gb quota and $10/gb penalties.

          • [Deactivated] on 06/12/2018 - 22:16

            @watts: Fair enough. Im on unlimited 3g data plan. Old optus plan.
            Stream everything and before that downloaded everything. Haven't even bothered finding the antenna wall outlet in my home of 2 years lol. This made me realize an important thing to note for your catch-up tv need/desire. My hisense smart tv doesn't have catchup tv (9now, 7app, tenapp) , only my android tv does.
            The term 'smart tv' can mean anything on tv advertising, android seems to have everything, any other 'smart tv' you might want to do a quick google/online check of what apps it will run.
            Maybe someone else here on ozbargain might know which non-android smart tv's run catchup tv apps.

  • watts on 07/12/2018 - 09:34

    Thanks for the input all. I've pretty much settled on this Panasonic. https://www.thegoodguys.com.au/panasonic-40-inches101cm-fhd-…

    Grandma is fine with $695 and was chuffed when I mentioned it was $300 off (I didn't say how ridiculous the RRP is though). I'm not 100% content because for the same or a little more $ you can get something objectively 'better', but I think the panasonic meets her needs well.

    I'd usually be OK buying used. My current tv is a $100 54" pana plasma which is great but I also once blew $800 on a used LCD which had a fault that only happened once well warm. I just don't want to risk it. The urgency and the fact she's happy to spend the money were also factors of course.

    I'll probably grab it tomorrow morning so will keep an eye out for other options today.

  • gibspmuh on 07/12/2018 - 22:54

    If you're in NSW then she may be able to get a TCL 40 inch for $195 - see https://appliance.environment.nsw.gov.au/Home/Products for details.

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