Expert Q&A Sessions, TVs, Part 1: What's a good budget for a TV primarily used to stream movies and shows?

We had another conversation with our Senior Deal Editor, Iconian, about what advice they have for people when they're shopping for a new TV. Iconian has been a Slickdealer since 2006 and has an incredible 12,000+ Frontpage deals to their name.


Question: What's a good budget for a TV primarily used to stream movies and shows? Do you have a go-to "bang-for-your-buck" model or brand?
Iconian: These days, some of the best value TVs tend to come from brands like TCL and Hisense. Of course, what counts as "budget" will vary from person to person, and depends heavily on factors like size and features. Generally though, you can often find a 75" TV with good specs from these brands for under $800.

Personally, I prefer to skip the top-of-the-line TV models, as you often wind up paying for features you won't be able to use with those. At the same time, I avoid the low-line TVs, and instead look for midrange models. These can last three to five years as my main TV, and I can always upgrade down the line if I need to.

Question: Everyone knows about Black Friday TV deals — but what are the other windows throughout the year that serious deal hunters take advantage of?
Iconian: Black Friday is known for some of the best TV deals, but it's far from the only time to buy. In the Spring, for example, retailers often try to clear out previous-year models as new lineups roll in, so there are some opportunities to score a great deal then.

That said, if you come across a great TV at a price that fits your budget, oftentimes waiting five months for Black Friday just means five months without something you could already be enjoying. In general, I don't think it's worth over-optimizing the timing unless you're replacing a working TV and therefore aren't pressed to replace it.

Question: How have TV deal trends changed over the past few years? Are certain types of TVs going on sale more or less frequently than they used to?
Iconian: First of all, 720p TVs are long gone. Most of the TVs these days, like, I would say 95% are 4K. 1080p TVs are mostly gone too. You'll find them once in a while, like a $90 TV from Target or Walmart, but otherwise they're basically gone.

I've noted the following the three trends in the past 10 years:
Larger TVs are much cheaper now. You can buy a 75" TV now for sub-$700. It's not going to be feature-packed, it might not be the best-looking one, but you can get that. Five years ago, you couldn't get one for $1,500, because of simple economies of scale and production efficiencies.

At the same time, it's harder to find deals on smaller TVs. Especially if you want to get a really high-end TV that's like a 32", because they simply aren't producing those at scale anymore.
The second trend is that OLED is much more reliable than 5 or 10 years ago. Back then, they were prone to burn-in. While you still need to be careful about watching the same channel all day long on an OLED TV, they're definitely much more durable now.

And third trend is that TV technology has pretty much settled in. The only innovation, really, in the TV world these days is micro-LED. And that's still probably 5 years away. And while micro-LED allows for extremely precise brightness control and very high brightness levels, it's still expensive and not yet widely available in consumer TVs. I think it'll take a few more years before that tech is being used in a more ubiquitously meaningful way.