So I'm by no means a techy guy. Bought a new Samsung from Best Buy 6-7 years ago. Has been fine for us, other than the Smart functions age out, which we have read is common.
So we are looking for a new TV. I'm a buy once, cry once kinda guy. However I wont just throw money away for a TV that we just football, racing, and stream through our Roku stick.
Whats a QLED as opposed to a LED? What are the hit brands now? Samsung has been fine for us, but not loyal to them. What retailer?
Figuring stuff will go on sale some September with Labor day and football season.

I'm not a tech guy either, and currently don't have a TV (it moved with my wife)

I'd go to Costco and buy what looks good. Costco models usually aren't the same as other retailers. They reduce inputs or features to bring the price down. Since we only really use 2-3 HDMI inputs and don't care about the other features it makes sense

+1 on Costco. No fuss no muss 90 day return policy AND they extend the manufacturer’s warranty by 2 years if you use their Visa credit card. We have a Samsung in the BR and a cheap no-namer like hi-sense or something in the family room. Black Friday week deals are pretty good for TVs, etc.

We picked up our LG OLED from them and came with a free extended warranty. We used our debit card so I am not sure if that would even extend the warranty 1 year like our BECU credit card would.

I would set a budget and then go to Costco and buy one that quadruples your budget. Oh no, wait... that's what we did. Planned on spending $400-500, bumped ourselves to $1,000 and then went full bore at $2,000. And we don't regret it.

Brands I would buy without hesitation in no particular order:

Sony
LG
Samsung


Type I would buy in order:

OLED
QLED
LED


If you want to get lost in minutia visit rtings.com and read up on all the different models and their positives and negatives. Sometimes you can find a cheaper TV that has the same screen as a more expensive one that will work fine for you as you may not need the processing power or other features.

I cannot recommend anyting except if you cut the cord.

We cut the cord moving to MT, relying on streaming (ISP) and have 4 Roku TVs (2 in separate RVs and 2 in the house)

Mind you, we use TV for going to sleep cause there ain't shit on TV these days. We supplement Roku Live TV (local news, national shit like we filter) and have Netfucks and Amazon movies.
We average $120/month for live TV, Movies, and Netfucks, that includes the cost of our ISP

We completely cut out NFL, MLB, NBA when they all went BLM. We might catch a game if we go out on date night during the seasons....

Ok thanks

I recently cut the cord and bought a new TV. My only criteria were at least 55-inches and that it be a smart TV. The one I settled on was inexpensive and had great reviews. I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised with the picture quality, as well as the smart interface.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/toshiba-55 ... Id=6394762

Thanks. We have 2 young kids, so we stream lots of crap. Have cheap satellite, and only to get Sunday Ticket for football. We used the smart tv interface until it shit out. Come to find out that is common after a few years, they cannot update any more and are worthless. Roku stick took care of that issue for us.
Mostly looking for brands, retailers, and types that are best. Thanks for the input. Will be looking into that Toshiba at BB.

+1 for rtings.com. They rate the tv’s and also discuss what each tv does well or not as well. Just bought a new tv for our media room and rtings was a big part of the decision making process.

I agree with this. ^^^^^

If you tend to leave your TV on a static image for a while, or watch news/sports stations where there are static logos, the OLED can suffer from image burn.

Also, try out the remotes if you can. A quirky interface or remote can drive you nuts, regardless of picture quality.

Only advice I can give is don't buy for smart features, they'll be outdated in a few years.

If you buy a cheaper TV (looking at you Roku) be aware that they track you, and look into getting a Pi-Hole and setting up ad/tracking blocks.

When I was doing research a few years back, Panasonic & Samsung kept being tops on most lists.

Back in May, Consumer Reports recommended this one:

“The Samsung QN65Q90T, the LCD set, earns top marks for both HD and 4K picture quality, and it offers a great HDR experience, among the best of any set we've tested and a bit better than the LG OLEDs.”


Here’s some of what’s on the site that other’s recommended:


https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/best/ ... the-market

Samsung

The last three smart TVs That I purchased to convert the bedroom, shop, and loading room have all come from Walmart.

All were markdown returns and then on top of that if you request a manager, they will mark it down another 10-20 percent upon request if you ask nicely.

They get TONS of returns after big games and holidays since folks buy an extra TV when guests are over and then return it on monday since they have a "no questions" return policy.
Last time I was in they had TWO pallets of tvs after the stuper bowl.

We just bought a Samsung Frame TV and it’s pretty slick. Mounts flush to the wall and all the brains and power supply are a separate box.