Is there a best time of year to buy a new TV, and what should I expect to pay?

[SticksarelifesaysCassie]

Hi

I last bought a TV in 2013. A Samsung, 50".

It still works fine but we are losing lots of apps - YouTube went last year and now All4.

So I would like to plan to buy a new one. I can save £100-150 a month so was thinking of aiming for Christmas, but is that an awful time of year to buy electricals? Does everyone want a new TV at Christmas and so the price is highest then?

I paid about £1000 in 2013. Looking now there seems a much wider price range. What would you expect to pay for a good brand, Smart TV, future proofed as much as possible - but I don't need the latest top notch thing or special curved screen.

We watch quite a bit of TV. One parent, three kids. Plus the kids have a Switch for the TV.

Thanks.

[Milomonster]

You could get another Samsung from Samsung directly and spread the cost interest free. I have never owners a TV and bought my first one, which I love. It’s the Samsung Frame 55 inch, which cost 989. I bought from Samsung direct - they were amazing to deal with and I received it the next day. It’s so easy to use and has all the apps you’d need and easy to download others.

[SticksarelifesaysCassie]

Thanks @Milomonster I'd prefer to save then buy. I'm a bit reticent to buy another Samsung as they seem to be the first to have apps removed from their set up. Once I googled (having lost All4) it seems to be a regular issue and it's why Samsung are cheaper than equivalents.

We use apps more than standard TV (as reception here is awful) so it makes a big difference.

Thanks though.

[Ellmau]

Sales in the January?

[StoneColdBitch]

We last bought a TV in 2019 and paid about £400 for a 32 inch Samsung Smart TV. Do you need a big TV? If £1000 was a lot of money to me, I wouldn't spend it on a TV.

I've just looked on the Currys website and you could pay a fair bit less than £1000 and get a big Smart TV, if that's what you want, as long as you're prepared to buy a less well-known brand.

We have a Samsung and our apps work well.

[SticksarelifesaysCassie]

@StoneColdBitch It's a really big living room so 50" looks surprisingly not-huge. 32" would mean I had to concentrate more rather than just relax. It's the only room in the house where there's a TV - there's nothing in the kitchen or the snug or bedrooms - so keen to keep the size.

Which? seems to suggest not to go for lesser known brands. So I was keen to take views generally.

@ No idea if there's such a thing as the January sales for TVs etc. Is there anymore?

[HaggisTheGreat]

If the tv itself still works, could you just get an Amazon fire stick or another similar device? We have a non-smart tv with a fire stick plugged into the back and get all the apps through that.

[Chasingsquirrels]

Get a smart stick rather than a new TV. Amazon Firestick or similar.

[TheSugarRefiner]

We recently bought a brilliant 55" Samsung Tv from John Lewis for £500. Always prefer to buy from them for the guarantee.

[Cheekyweegobshite]

If the size of the TV is OK and it is working fine, then just buy a chromecast or firestick. We have a Samsung smart TV and even before the apps stopped working we'd switched to using a chromecast because we found the WiFi dropped out on our TV annoyingly often and also it was just easier really than pointing a remote control.

[sirfredfredgeorge]

Just buy a smart thing to plug into it, there is absolutely no need to save up simply for the TV when the smartness is all that matters.

Assuming it doesn't have HDR, that would be the only thing worth buying in a new TV, but there's still not really enough content, a firestick, roku, apple tv etc. all will all return it to being smart.

[SticksarelifesaysCassie]

Those saying to get a Firestick - does All4 work OK on yours? Reviews are very mixed on the Amazon site - talk of plugging in and unplugging / not remembering where you were up to in an episode etc.

[eatsleepread]

I have a LG tv, OP. I've had it for years, it never loses apps, and it never lets me down. I love it.

[MrsPnut]

We have an Apple TV box instead of a fire stick but it works perfectly and wasn’t so expensive. I like that we can airplay from our iPads etc to the TV as well as get all the apps.

[Caspianberg]

We use Apple TV box as well. Was about £120. Works on any tv to make ‘smart’.

Our Samsung was bought 2010. Works fine still with Apple TV box. Don’t like the smart internal systems as always outdated quickly.

[CovidCorvid]

I have/had a fire stick and it was fine with all4, never needed to unplug it. I changed it for a roku stick ... I think for Now Tv. Roku also very good.

All TVs will lose apps after a while. A smart stick of some sort is a much cheaper option and more likely to be kept up to date.

Otherwise Black Friday is the best time.

[Pedallleur]

Just get one from Richer Sounds.

[MiloAndEddie]

I’d recommend a Roku stick over a fire stick because you can get now tv on it.

I’ve also had two fire sticks that just gave up and wouldn’t update

[Newnormal99]

If you register with HDUK you can set up an alert when prices drop and that will give you an idea of deals you could get. I paid £300 for a 43 inch Samsung last year. I think if you go for previous years model / not top spec they are quite reasonable.

[vinoandbrie]

We have a Sony and we like it.

Re when to buy, Black Friday might make sense with your timescales.

I would also consider just buying a fire stick, they are cheap and would give you all4 etc.

[LovingBob]

New models are released in spring so if buying now I would get last years model or wait until they go down in price later in the year

[LovingBob]

I got a refurbished Apple TV from Apple as they are rarely on offer, it came all boxed up like new.

[NoGoodPunsLeft]

Black friday! TEsco had a range of sizes and brands for crazy low.prices last year

[Trunkysbun]

I use Hotukdeals when I get something big like a telly.

Our last tv was from Very, 55" LG .. I think it was about £400/500 and we paid it off in three interest free instalments

[BarbaraofSeville]

A now TV stick will give you access to all the apps, without needing to pay for now TV unless you want them. No need for a new TV.

[fruitpastille]

We have a Google chromecast plugged into our TV. Really easy to cast from the iPad whatever we are watching, Netflix, prime, disney+..