Question: Time for a new TV...

We’re doing some renovations, in amongst which Mrs. Basket Case is allowing me a new TV.

Did a lot of research, including polling TF techsters, and ended up ordering a 75” Samsung Q80R from BH Photo. The letter is important, as it’s last year’s model.

From everything I read, this year’s Q90T is about like last year’s Q80R. This year’s Q80T is about like last year’s Q70R, and so forth. In other words, they backed up a model.

I would have gone with the Q90T, but long story short I don’t want the OneConnect box, and can’t use it anyway. But you can’t get a Q90R or T without OneConnect, and the only place I could find last year’s Q80R was BH. Best Buy doesn’t have it anymore. At least not in the 75” version.

The Q80R is on its way, should arrive next week, and will be installed early July, hopefully July 2.

I’ll let you know how it goes with BH, the carrier, the installation, and the TV itself. Fingers crossed, acknowledging that’s a lot of moving parts.

Only tangentially related to the TV, there may be a new receiver involved. Or hopefully not. Not worried so much about the cost (in the context of all the renovations, it‘s a burp in a hurricane). I just don’t want to have the universal remote totally re-programmed.

One bit of good news is that we already have the AV system wiring in place.

@4Q Basket Case - I've ordered cameras, computers, and other electronics from BHP. I've found them to always be first class but never anything large like a 75" TV.

BamaNation said:

@4Q Basket Case - I've ordered cameras, computers, and other electronics from BHP. I've found them to always be first class but never anything large like a 75" TV.

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I had some heartburn about it, too. But decided the 30-day return window would get me through any possible damage in shipping. Then there's the 1-year manufacturer warranty, but you have to pay for shipping under that -- not a minor cost.

Have a friend who ordered a similar TV from BH a couple of years ago. Had some problems with the TV, but nothing to do with shipping -- that blasted OneConnect box crapped out after about 6 months. And it was the worst kind of crap-out -- mysterious intermittent problems, getting more frequent, then finally total failure after 2-3 months of stomach acid.

The one I ordered doesn't have OneConnect, which was part of the reason I chose that model.

Scheduled to be delivered Friday and installed the following Thursday. I'll let the board know my own experience.

4Q Basket Case said:

We’re doing some renovations, in amongst which Mrs. Basket Case is allowing me a new TV.

Did a lot of research, including polling TF techsters, and ended up ordering a 75” Samsung Q80R from BH Photo. The letter is important, as it’s last year’s model.

From everything I read, this year’s Q90T is about like last year’s Q80R. This year’s Q80T is about like last year’s Q70R, and so forth. In other words, they backed up a model.

I would have gone with the Q90T, but long story short I don’t want the OneConnect box, and can’t use it anyway. But you can’t get a Q90R or T without OneConnect, and the only place I could find last year’s Q80R was BH. Best Buy doesn’t have it anymore. At least not in the 75” version.

The Q80R is on its way, should arrive next week, and will be installed early July, hopefully July 2.

I’ll let you know how it goes with BH, the carrier, the installation, and the TV itself. Fingers crossed, acknowledging that’s a lot of moving parts.

Only tangentially related to the TV, there may be a new receiver involved. Or hopefully not. Not worried so much about the cost (in the context of all the renovations, it‘s a burp in a hurricane). I just don’t want to have the universal remote totally re-programmed.

One bit of good news is that we already have the AV system wiring in place.

Click to expand...

Well, mostly good news, with aggravation small enough to be categorized as, “expected.”

FINALLY got the TV and AV re-connected and working today. Fortunately, TV appears to work fine.

Which is a good thing. Because due to a long sad shaggy dog story, installation was delayed well beyond what would have qualified for a free shipping on a return.

Picture is great, and while it dominates the room a bit, I don’t mind. Guessing when football is back, it’ll be great. Meanwhile, we’ll watch BluRays of Alabama games with happy endings.

Only sticking point is kind of to be expected. We now have a TV, BluRay, CD player, vinyl turntable and two speaker zones (one for the main room, and one covering four pairs of speakers in other parts of the house), plus, hopefully, AirPlay. So it’s a lot, and required some re-programming of the universal remote.

A few glitches on that point, primarily due to some Infra-Red (IR) overlaps in some places and gaps in others. AV crew understands the problem, and is coming back with IR ”bugs”, which they are confident will fix everything. Fingers crossed there.

Unexpected bonus: We‘d been having some problems with peripheral speakers not getting signal. Turns out, it was gradual failure of a pre-amp / distributor (didn’t know there was such a thing until now). We replaced it, and the difference is sound, even in the main area, is like going from one of those old self-contained record players to your first true stereo system (OFC reference there).

So, bottom line:
TV — great

B&H — first class

Shipping carrier — did their job just right — delivered a large package of sensitive cargo on time and in good shape. So far, no apparent damage.

AV crew — Incomplete, but positive so far. Attention to detail on what they call “dressing” (organizing wires, hiding them from public view, and making them as unobtrusive as possible within the cabinet) was first-rate professional. Most stuff works fine.

TBD on tying up the loose ends, but I would be surprised if the performance profile fell apart at this point. Still, not done yet.

My and Mrs. Basket Case’s learning curve on changes from previous setup — TBD.

@4Q Basket Case - I use a Logitech Harmony remote with hub and IR repeaters. it works great 99% of the time. Pretty easy to configure and the new version (linked) has an LCD screen. It's priced on the high end of what's acceptable but the setup simplicity and additional functionality across many devices make it worth it IMHO.

BamaNation said:

@4Q Basket Case - I use a Logitech Harmony remote with hub and IR repeaters. it works great 99% of the time. Pretty easy to configure and the new version (linked) has an LCD screen. It's priced on the high end of what's acceptable but the setup simplicity and additional functionality across many devices make it worth it IMHO.

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Thanks! Fortunately, our universal remote is a Logitech Harmony.

The IR components are about 7 years old, and the setup is materially different from what it was. So I’m fine with waiting for the right stuff.

Really could be a good thing in that we have a week to play with the new toys, discover any other bugs, and figure out where the OFC household members need further instruction.

TIDE-HSV said:

Don't you have any grandchildren yet who could show you...

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I wish! No kids, so there are neither grandkids nor prospects for any.

Would have to enlist a nephew, but the best one lives 4-5 hours away.

TIDE-HSV said:

Pretty much. I contacted CS/billing this AM, resigned to at least 30 minutes on the phone and that's what it took. She was very sweet and flirty and explained to me over and over how complex it was to take the $70 off,

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Here's my standard response when I encounter something like this. "We can put a man on the moon and an object on Mars. But we can't remove a $70 charge off my bill?" I normally get a long pause on the other end with either a laugh or they just repeat the same "how hard it was to...".

TIDE-HSV said:

Well, our whole mountaintop is now strung with Google Fiber. For that matter, it's strung with AT&T fiber also, so there's multiple choice as soon as they get us connected to the valley. I plan to leave for Google the first month it's available...

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Years ago (15+) when they finally got cable internet around my parents house, 10miles NW of Florence, I tried to convince my Dad to switch from dialup to cable and he refused for a long time. After a few months I got a call from him and he couldn't stop talking about how much faster 5mbs cable was than 54kbs dialup. I felt the same way going from 1mb DSL ->5mb cable ->20mb cable ->75mb cable -> 1gb fiber I've said I would pay double for this speed if necessary.