Bigger is better
Hey readers, what's up? Wanna hear some news?
Although i am the small gadget (cellphones, smartwatches, tablets, ultrabooks and such...) kind of gadget freak and i do not really watch TV (my set is probably in standby 95% of the time and this is by no means one of my usual exaggerations that have helped make me that famous) i bought a new TV set just a few days ago. It was supposed to be a bargain, so i bit the bullet and went for a big TV this time.
My old one was an LG HD-ready 32 incher that was the cheapest 32 incher one could find back in early 2009. I have mainly used it for movies and some gaming (back when i had the XBOX 360 - before accepting the fact that i cannot use a joypad, that is), but all in all this TV was very little used.
My old TV is now resting face down on a sofa and is desperately seeking a new place where it can find the love it deserves.
My new TV is the Samsung UE55F6670SS. First of all let me tell you: It is BIG. The box it came in was bigger than most apartments in Hong Kong.
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| Huge TV on top of happy (camera shy) blogger |
It is 55 inch (138 cm) big, it is a SmartTV and it supports 3D through it's (included) two pairs of active glasses. This could get too technical/boring/not notjusthitech here if i wanted to give you the full specs. As usual i am going to skip the technical jargon that you can find all over the internet and give you my honest (first impressions kind of) opinion about this behemoth of a TV set.
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| Who needs a real sunset? |
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| Lean and thin |
The facts:
1) There is no such thing as a too big TV screen. Simple as that.
2) When unboxing a big TV you have to have someone help you, unless you are an "almost there" Arnie wannabe.
3) The polystyrene foam parts that are used to protect the TV when boxed CANNOT be put back in the exact same way after the TV is extracted. Entropy is always increasing.
4) The placement of the TV is of paramount importance regarding the quality of the whole experience. Before you buy a TV set, study your room and search the internet for advice.
5) Attaching the leg of a flatscreen TV is unbeliavably complicated for what it is. Especially when no instructions are included because it is considered a triviality by the manufacturer.
6) Modern TVs are more PC than TV than the opposite. Trust me on this one.
7) 3D was, still is and shall remain a gimmick that should rather quickly (after a month or so) wear off. If it doesn't you may consider consulting your shrink. The first time you watch 3D porn, though , should indeed be one of these rare moments of true happiness adults can experience.
8) A crap movie shall remain a crap movie, no matter how badass your TV set is.
9) Setting up a latest gen Smart TV is very easy, as long as you are working as IT stuff or have a PhD in rocket science or both. For everyone else, moving beyond the basic TV functionality looks like a nightmare where you have to find your way through a labyrinth of menus with a half arsed remote control as your only weapon. Good luck.
10) Your mother will always think your TV is too big.
11) Your girlfriend will always complain that your TV is too big. Still she is going to love it. Of course she will never admit it.
12) The margins around the gorgeously huge screen of your latest gen TV are significantly smaller than those on your iPhone 5S that costs roughly the same amount of money.
13) If you are even half serious about surfing the Web or watching Youtube on your big screen you definetely have to invest on a BT keyboard. Unless you actually enjoy typing with the on screen keyboard.
14) Ambient lighting in the room is a factor to seriously take into account before fine tuning your settings.
Personal opinion
I am not a specialist regarding TV sets. I do not care very much about achieving the perfect picture quality. TV is not my thing. (My thing is smartphones and smartwatches, but you already knew that.) Still i am not a total noob. I can tell a good TV set when i see one.
My new TV is a fantastic piece of hardware that fills the room. Literally, as well. It looks good, it sounds good, it becomes the topic of attention even when it is turned off. When i turn it on, women tend to show me more love.
It comes with two remote controls a touch and voice enabled one for the family geek (that would be me) and a cheapo/regular/boring one for the girlfriend who is constantly dropping her iPhone on the floor. It is obvious that Sammy has consulted marriage counsellors before coming up with this brilliant idea!
I like watching movies, YouTube, 3D videos, even TV. Although the quality of terrestrial TV (here in Greece, at least) when blown up to 55 inches of glory is totally rubbish. Still, watching soap operas on a quarter cinema display feels great...
What about the gadget side?
My TV is also a gadget. Possibly the biggest one i have ever had. It connects to the internet, has more ports than the average 12 year old could count up to, plays content from portable hard drives, connects to my Withings Smart Scale so that everyone in the living room can find out how much fat i put on since yesterday evening. What else can a man desire?
The Samsung app allows you to take the big screen with you to the bathroom, for those "Did i just finish War and Peace (much longer novels do exist - there is hope for even the unluckiest among us) for the second time in a row and still nothing?" moments of true glory, even if it is a reality show rerun being watched on a germ infested iSomething that helps your bowels move a little.
There are lots of apps for the iPhone apart from the official one but i haven't had the chance to use them just yet (after all the damned TV is 5 days old, for God's sake) and i have even heard something about custom firmwares!
The verdict
If you want to buy a new TV, make sure it is equal or larger than 55 inches in diagonal. You really can live without micro local dimming (i think) but a small display is a small display no matter how good it is. The Samsung i bought is a looker even when it shows nothing. When you turn it on, the experience gets even better (actually that depends on what you choose to watch - sometimes a blank screen is better). Then again, you know your needs better than i do and a TV is a product with a quite long life cycle so do not listen to me. What do i know? I have just reached 55.
