How often do you upgrade your TV?

Michael Scott · Dec 19, 2024

How often do all of you upgrade your main (or secondary) TV sets over the years? Do you upgrade every few years on schedule to take advantage of new display tech? Are you comfortable with what you have until something MAJOR comes along (HDR vs. SDR, 1080p vs. 4K etc)? Or do you just look for deals when you can?

As a reviewer I keep to a moderate schedule of ever 4-5 years as display technology changes enough where I have to in order to take advantage of new formats and new tech within the formats, although for my secondary (Living room, bedroom, office) I keep a much more lax approach on the subject and do so when I get a good enough deal to make it palatable to change out a $1,000 display

So what are your upgrade habits? Do you have a specific time frame? or does it simply happen when your old one dies?

Mike Schramm · Dec 19, 2024

As a general rule, I upgrade when the current one dies. There was one exception to this rule. When I upgraded to my current TV I got approval because I was able to sell my existing TV to help cover the cost. Plus it was a legitimate upgrade, from a 4K non-HDR model to a Sony XR-A80J.

Otherwise, I live with my TVs until they go kaput.

Sonnie Parker · Dec 19, 2024

Great question, Mike.

For our main great room TV, it's been every 4-5 years or so. Each time, it was due to better technology. On the last three upgrades, we also increased the size.

We've had the TVs in our bedroom and sunroom for a while. The bedroom TV is a 32" model we purchased in 2014. We don't really watch it much, but Angie turns it on every morning to listen to the news while she's getting ready. The sunroom TV is a 15 year old Panasonic built in August 2009. It's probably time to update it.

For my theater room... while some might consider it a downgrade, it was an upgrade for me going from a JVC projector to a Sony 98" TV. It's so good, it's going to take something special to get me to upgrade it. Maybe 110-115" with newer technology... but the price needs to be right as well.

Todd Anderson · Dec 19, 2024

My response is complicated. Of course!!

We have quite a few TVs in our house... there's one in our gym that's been in existence for about 15 years, and there's a couple in our basement rec and bar area that have been around for 6 years. Honestly, outside of outright failure, I don't think any of those will be replaced at any point outside of failure.

The main TV in our living room is a different story. I'm on our 6th TV there since we've lived in our current home (20 years). It went from a Sony Trinitron CRT to a Panasonic Plasma to a Pioneer Plasma to an LG OLED B6 (I think?) and, most recently, a Sony A95L. So, that's a swap-out rate of roughly every 3.5 years?

I probably would have stuck with the LG OLED, save for the fact that my oldest daughter was moving into her first apartment... gave me a perfect chance to gift it to her and make a move on the A95L.

For me, right now, movies are pretty much strictly watched in the theater. So, one of the most important qualities of a TV is its ability to upscale HD content to 4K, but also agilely switch between HD channels/streams and 4K HDR channels/Streams. The LG was ok at upconverting... but I had all sorts of issues when switching between HD and 4K HDR content with Apple TV. The A95L seems to have solved that. And 4K sports look RIDICULOUS. Standard HD sports, particularly baseball, look excellent... but 4K streams are sooooo nice.

Not sure what's next on the horizon, but I'm beginning to cringe at the thought of what amazing technology will flare-up my upgradeitis next!

Todd Anderson · Dec 19, 2024

Sonnie Parker said:
Great question, Mike.

For our main great room TV, it's been every 4-5 years or so. Each time, it was due to better technology. On the last three upgrades, we also increased the size.

We've had the TVs in our bedroom and sunroom for a while. The bedroom TV is a 32" model we purchased in 2014. We don't really watch it much, but Angie turns it on every morning to listen to the news while she's getting ready. The sunroom TV is a 15 year old Panasonic built in August 2009. It's probably time to update it.

For my theater room... while some might consider it a downgrade, it was an upgrade for me going from a JVC projector to a Sony 98" TV. It's so good, it's going to take something special to get me to upgrade it. Maybe 110-115" with newer technology... but the price needs to be right as well.

What kind of screen were you running with your JVC? Do you remember what mode you were running it in?

I think some settings may have been off the mark, that thing should have been knocking your socks off!

Sonnie Parker · Dec 19, 2024

Todd Anderson said:
What kind of screen were you running with your JVC? Do you remember what mode you were running it in?

I think some settings may have been off the mark, that thing should have been knocking your socks off!

It was an Elite screen... supposedly one of their better ones. It looked nice, but it was nothing like our 98" Sony. I've personally never seen any projector anywhere that looks as good as this Sony.

I believe the mode of Cinema. It was whatever was recommended out of the box. I did try some settings over the years that others were using, and again, it looked good.

tripplej · Dec 19, 2024

Two things --

1) Money.. Do I have the funds to pay for the high end tv that I want and if not, I wait till I save up for it. Of course, it is low on the priority so if emergency happens such as water heater needs replacing, etc. money gets allocated there first. Slowly but surely, it will get funded but it will take time.
2) Once funds are secured, I replace the old one but typically this is after 10 years of use.

Innocent Bystander · Dec 20, 2024

I normally only replace TVs when they reach end of life, which I expect to be >10 years, I have on a couple of occasions replaced because a significantly bigger screen (with decent picture) has become affordable, but not before the older one was more than 5 years old.

mollie · Dec 20, 2024

I keep the TV's always upgraded to the latest available software version!!!

pjcamera · Dec 20, 2024

55" Panasonic plasma 14 years old. Still going strong. Every time I look at replacements they all look a little over-processed and over bright. Tempted by slightly bigger screen and 4K. Plus I don't like binning stuff that's still working

Tom899 · Dec 20, 2024

Interesting question, I have a 60" Pioneer Kuro Plasma in my living room, bought in 2007! It was calibrated in 2008, and still looks great! I check it with Calman software, still perfect colors and clarity. I know it's not as bright as today's TV's, but we only watch it at night with no lights. I kind of wish it would crap out so I could get a new Sony A95L, but it won't! They must have used very good parts in this thing, over 38,000 hours in the service menu.

perceval · Dec 20, 2024

Easy!

I don't have a TV.

No cable subscription, some streaming here and there, and an extensive collection of movies and tv shows amassed through the years.
When I want to watch something, I fire up the projector and lower the screen.
The rest of the time, I have a good sound system and I listen to music. No TV running all day in my house. No TV at all.

I used to think that some people not having a TV in their house were weird.
Now I get it... or maybe I'm weird too.

MeJ · Dec 20, 2024

When it breaks... I don't watch TV, my wife does.

robertkjr3d · Dec 20, 2024

Let's be honest... HDTV, Monitor, and Computer Technology progression speed has slowed way down in the last decade. We are all able to keep our technology much longer than in previous decades. Remember when you had an 8086, then a 80286... how long did those last? And you had to get the new computer when it came out, because of how blazingly fast the newer one was. It's just not like that anymore. There isn't that much of an advantage to buying brand new anymore.
When '4K-HDR' came out, yes that made a big difference in your picture. But that has been around for a long time now. What is the black-level of your TV? Some TV's do just show colors and the black-level way better than others. The cost has come way down today. Yes you can buy a 8K tv, but you can't find content for it, so it was just a pipe dream, that I don't think will ever be realized. There are video-games that are higher than 4K, but I think they like using specialized expensive monitors.

Now it's hard to find smaller monitors that will do HDR, and they are expensive. Let's say you want a 4K-HDR 24in monitor, and I do want one, that's almost impossible to find, and the few that have been released, the price point is still astronomical. But most things in tech, I think are slowing in progression, and you can keep for a very long time. Well except AI or cars that drive themselves and stuff. But cars are another example of things that last forever now, where as a car from the 1980s was junk by the time it hit 100000. (maybe that's why it only had 5 digits on the dash)

rattus · Dec 20, 2024

LG C1 OLED here which I got for a great price just before the C2 was released ie. about 3 years ago. I'm 100% happy with this TV.
Had to tweak it a bit to get my preferred picture though, out of the box IIRC it's in "Vivid" mode which is really unnatural. The only other tweak was to get the service remote so I could disable auto dimming as I also use it for PC monitor and that feature is annoying.
Can't imagine replacing it until it dies, unless I get a bigger room.

Duggar · Dec 20, 2024

I generally keep my tv as long as it’s working. Last year I upgraded from a 65 in. Panasonic Plasma after 13 year. My replacement was a LG C3 77 in. 4k, really liking it. I’m running it through a Marantz SR7015 AVR, Emotiva Basx a3 amp for the LCR channels. Kef Q900 frt speakers, Q600c center. The Marantz powers Q 300 side surrounds and the B&W 601 back surrounds along with the Q100 back hight and Sonance MAG8R 8.5 in frt hight. The i sit about 10 feet from the tv and that works really well. I don’t think I’ll be going 8k very soon.

Chuck Gerlach · Dec 20, 2024

Living room TV? Maybe every 5 to 8 years. But this is NOT our primary movie viewing source as we have a theater using a projector. It gets upgrades about every 2 ro 3 years. We have another TV [workout room] which has never been upgraded in the 15 years we have owned it. We no longer have a TV in the bedroom.

austinblackboxspace · Dec 20, 2024

Michael Scott said:
How often do all of you upgrade your main (or secondary) TV sets over the years? Do you upgrade every few years on schedule to take advantage of new display tech? Are you comfortable with what you have until something MAJOR comes along (HDR vs. SDR, 1080p vs. 4K etc)? Or do you just look for deals when you can?

As a reviewer I keep to a moderate schedule of ever 4-5 years as display technology changes enough where I have to in order to take advantage of new formats and new tech within the formats, although for my secondary (Living room, bedroom, office) I keep a much more lax approach on the subject and do so when I get a good enough deal to make it palatable to change out a $1,000 display

So what are your upgrade habits? Do you have a specific time frame? or does it simply happen when your old one dies?

i have not owned a television since 1988. my wife never owned a tv before i even met her.

but we upgrade our projector pretty much with each new generation. i think i have owned over 24 projectors since 1988.

Michael Campbell · Dec 20, 2024

Michael Scott said:
How often do all of you upgrade your main (or secondary) TV sets over the years? Do you upgrade every few years on schedule to take advantage of new display tech? Are you comfortable with what you have until something MAJOR comes along (HDR vs. SDR, 1080p vs. 4K etc)? Or do you just look for deals when you can?

As a reviewer I keep to a moderate schedule of ever 4-5 years as display technology changes enough where I have to in order to take advantage of new formats and new tech within the formats, although for my secondary (Living room, bedroom, office) I keep a much more lax approach on the subject and do so when I get a good enough deal to make it palatable to change out a $1,000 display

So what are your upgrade habits? Do you have a specific time frame? or does it simply happen when your old one dies?

I use my TVs until they fail, then I buy a new one.

jlanzy · Dec 20, 2024

TV used in living room mostly for morning show/news, 47" vizio bought in 2009, still looks good for news, keep it till it dies.

Since I love movies and streaming shows, I have a tv room with a projector that I upgrade every 5 to 6 years since picture quality improves significantly to my eyes. But since I am in my later years I will be making the ultimate upgrade in picture quality with a 4K micro led video wall, 12ft x 5.5 ft., cost is ludicrous ( for me) but since I can't take it with me I plan to have nothing in the bank when they carry me out of my theater room feet first

Gerry Iaria · Dec 20, 2024

I love changing tv, had a Samsung 75 inch 8k tv for 4 years, changed it last year for the Samsung qd-Oled s95d, on our local store they were doing a tax free special, plus 10% on coupon, couldn't resist, wife was happy as she used the 10% coupon to trade in her older I-phone

Todd Anderson · Dec 20, 2024

pjcamera said:
55" Panasonic plasma 14 years old. Still going strong. Every time I look at replacements they all look a little over-processed and over bright. Tempted by slightly bigger screen and 4K. Plus I don't like binning stuff that's still working

The truth is, if you’re primarily watching HD material, that plasma is going to do you right. They really nailed that technology

Todd Anderson · Dec 20, 2024

austinblackboxspace said:
i have not owned a television since 1988. my wife never owned a tv before i even met her. but we upgrade our projector pretty much with each new generation. i think i have owned over 24 projectors since 1988.

Wow!

But you do watch “tv” on the projector, yes?

Robert Zohn · Dec 20, 2024

Being a dealer that specializes in all of the premium TVs and Audio we typically upgrade our TVs at home every year. But I am happy to say we still have our Sony 83" A90J (2021 model) OLED TV in one of our rooms and still performs like the day we brought it home.

I got this TV as one of our clients that ordered it with our full Q/C, proper break-in and professional calibration unexceptionally lost his job and had to cancel.

We're considering Sony's 85" BRAVIA 9 QD MiniLED, or LG's 83" G4 Gallery Series MLA OLED TV and now that we just became TCL dealers we are also considering their new Flagship 115" QM891G QD MiniLED TV.

I'll be at CES January 6-9, 2025 so if any of the next generation 2025 TVs has any serious upgrade/enhancements we'll wait for them to come out in the summer of 2025.

Todd Anderson · Dec 20, 2024

Tom899 said:
Interesting question, I have a 60" Pioneer Kuro Plasma in my living room, bought in 2007! It was calibrated in 2008, and still looks great! I check it with Calman software, still perfect colors and clarity. I know it's not as bright as today's TV's, but we only watch it at night with no lights. I kind of wish it would crap out so I could get a new Sony A95L, but it won't! They must have used very good parts in this thing, over 38,000 hours in the service menu.

Such a classic TV. It’s the pinnacle of plasma. My pioneer only left the building because we wanted something more minimalist - but, it’s found a happy home!

How often do you upgrade your TV?

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