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Should I buy a big TV that I don't want?

99 replies

TheYearOfSmallThings · 02/09/2023 13:54

We have a 32" TV, and every child who has come for a playdate this summer (and that feels like hundreds) has said "WHY do you have such a tiny TV?!" often followed by "MY TV is SIX times bigger than this." My son has been to their homes and is now questioning whether we too should get a great big massive humongous TV, and ideally hang it on the wall, maybe over the fireplace instead of a mirror.

I fucking hate huge TVs. I hate them, and I would prefer not to have one. But...I don't want my son to be one The Weirdo With The Small TV, and I could just not look at that corner of the sitting room (it is NOT going on the wall).

OP posts:
TrishTrix · 02/09/2023 20:44

IF you don't want one don't get it.

I think the line that kids would comment about is not having one at all.

I grew up in a household where TV was rationed and we weren't allowed to watch ITV as it had adverts so was beyond the pale (I'm old so Channel 4 didn't even exist!).

I didn't have a TV for years get the snobbery but my attitude has changed due to the available tech and my own hobbies. Tech-wise I got a Tivo initially so I could record stuff to watch when I wanted and streaming has been a game changer for me. I tend to watch loads of documentaries with the occasional flurry into trash (sweet magnolias anyone!). Hobby-wise I now do a lot of craft and love to sit and watch TV and knit/sew. When I machine sew I listen to audiobooks/ podcasts but hand sewing I like to watch stuff.

I have a 40 inch one and wouldn't go any bigger.

MrsSkylerWhite · 02/09/2023 20:44

I didn’t want our huge Sky Glass.

Its excellent 😁

IWanderedLonely · 02/09/2023 20:52

Our TV is 32". We rarely watch it. i prefer to waste my evenings on mumsnetGrin
IfI lived alone I wouldn't have one at all.
I'd do what you and your family want, not what others want, though.

rwalker · 02/09/2023 20:59

Can’t stand Big tv tasteless and dominate the room

IcedPurple · 02/09/2023 21:53

PrincessPeaches123 · 02/09/2023 20:41

As someone already said. Have a look at the Samsung frame. It doesn't look like a tv it looks like a piece of art. We have genuinely had people mistake it for a picture. But if you don't want the be do t get one.

I've been researching a new TV and was tempted by the Samsung frame.

But they are so expensive! Especially as you have to pay extra for the art 'subscription'.

In the end I bought an LG which was marked down as it's last year's model!

teaandtoastwithmarmite · 03/09/2023 00:45

We've got a 42" Sony Bravia we've had since 2011 and were determined not to replace it and see how long it lives. We'd look stupid with anything bigger

passiveaggressivenonsense · 03/09/2023 03:38

I often Watch things on my phone so 32" seems totally big enough ! We have a projector we can use if we want a home cinema experience, when it's not in use it's in a cupboard !

boboshmobo · 03/09/2023 06:13

Those kids are rude, we have a media wall with a 60 inch but have a huge lounge so it doesn't look big but some tv's look ridiculous in normal size lounges .

They look smaller oj the wall and less invasive which is why people put them there

DrMarshaFieldstone · 03/09/2023 06:22

Bloody love a MN competitive undercutting thread.

Looking forward to the inevitable post from a MNer claiming that her family are PERFECTLY HAPPY with their 12” CRT TV from 1986 and anything bigger is PURE OSTENTATION.

TVs aren’t a measure of moral fibre. My house contains upwards of 2000 books and two big tellies Grin

JustWhatWeDontNeed · 03/09/2023 06:31

My old bedroom has a 12 incher in it Grin I'm amazed how tiny it is every time I see it.

I think our living room one is 75 inches. It is big but I do like it. I'm always amazed at the depth of the images on it, if that makes sense, though I think that's a quality rather than size matter.

Dh insisted on a 55er was needed for the bedroom and I hate it. It's far too big for the room and is massively in the way, but he thinks a bedroom TV is a must.

guiltyfeethavegotnorythym · 03/09/2023 06:32

Do not go down the route of keeping up with the Jones' , that way madness lies .

JennyForeigner · 03/09/2023 06:59

Yeah, as PP said, get a Samsung Frame with a coloured frame. They look great - my very techy dad didn't realise ours wasn't a Cezanne despite sitting next to it for an hour and enough of a talking point to not have to go too massive.

JennyForeigner · 03/09/2023 07:02

IcedPurple · 02/09/2023 21:53

I've been researching a new TV and was tempted by the Samsung frame.

But they are so expensive! Especially as you have to pay extra for the art 'subscription'.

In the end I bought an LG which was marked down as it's last year's model!

Show quote history

I don't think we paid the extra - you get a couple of arty images in the standard package and we picked one we like and hung a group of complimentary prints around it. Looks good.

Cinnamonandcoal · 03/09/2023 07:14

It's your house, you should stick with what you want.

Having said that, I wanted a smaller TV and my husband a larger one. He won and now I love it and don't want to watch certain things on anything smaller.

It's on the wall but I hate large TVs above fireplaces, I think it looks awful plus uncomfortably high up. Personally.

PrincessPeaches123 · 03/09/2023 08:13

@IcedPurple you don't have to pay for the subscription, you can do but it's a waste of money. You can upload your own pictures. There are also a handful of free ones that are nice.

QuillBill · 03/09/2023 09:00

I don't want my son to be one The Weirdo With The Small TV,

You would probably have brushed it off if you hadn't got memories from your own childhood.

I think a Samsung frame or a projector is a good idea if you are really trying to avoid the same thing you felt like happened to you. The visitors probably haven't seen a small tv so that's why they are noticing it.

I

RampantIvy · 03/09/2023 09:09

I see the morally superior who only fill their lives with worthy activities posted pretty much straight away. I am clearly not worthy as I love a good crime drama, and would far rather watch it sat comfortably on the settee with DH rather than hunched over a laptop/tablet.

If you don't want one don't buy one. We have a 43" TV because I have crap eyesight, and I would have to sit much closer to the TV if it was the same size as yours.

Lehenaghmore · 03/09/2023 09:15

To quote from ‘Telly’ in the musical Matilda, ‘The bigger the telly, the smarter the man!’ 🙄

Beargrumps22 · 03/09/2023 09:16

we dont have a tv at all

MerryMarigold · 03/09/2023 09:16

I was in similar situation but it was dh wanting the massive TV. He is the one who watches it most to be fair. We got one. It involved changing the whole room around and I don't particularly live the look.

I would say unless your kid wants the big TV for good reasons then don't get it just to fit in. I have 2 close friends with no TV 😱 and their kids manage to have friends.

RexWillKillYou · 03/09/2023 09:18

TheYearOfSmallThings · 02/09/2023 13:54

We have a 32" TV, and every child who has come for a playdate this summer (and that feels like hundreds) has said "WHY do you have such a tiny TV?!" often followed by "MY TV is SIX times bigger than this." My son has been to their homes and is now questioning whether we too should get a great big massive humongous TV, and ideally hang it on the wall, maybe over the fireplace instead of a mirror.

I fucking hate huge TVs. I hate them, and I would prefer not to have one. But...I don't want my son to be one The Weirdo With The Small TV, and I could just not look at that corner of the sitting room (it is NOT going on the wall).

Just say “Why on earth would I want a vulgar monstrosity permanently in my house- the temporary one is quite enough” and then give them a hard stare.

MerryMarigold · 03/09/2023 09:21

SM4713 · 02/09/2023 14:02

If you don't want it, don't buy it! Your living room must be tiny though if you can actually see things on a 32' TV! I'd have to sit far too close and that would look far weirder than have a tiny TV.

I often wonder how people can see such a large TV from close by! You need a large living room to be able to sit far enough away! (Ours is not hence I don't really like it).

UnicornMadeOfPinkGlitter · 03/09/2023 09:26

I hate big tv’s but we have a 55” in the lounge. We have a bog standard 80’s built 3 bed semi and it’s too big, but H brought it.
if I had my way we wouldn’t have a tv. The only person who watches it is H. The dc watch things on laptops or iPads and I use my iPad if I want to watch anything.
when H isn’t home the tv never goes on.

32” is fine a decent size and big enough for most room unless you live in a mansion.

DrMarshaFieldstone · 03/09/2023 09:31

DrMarshaFieldstone · 03/09/2023 06:22

Bloody love a MN competitive undercutting thread.

Looking forward to the inevitable post from a MNer claiming that her family are PERFECTLY HAPPY with their 12” CRT TV from 1986 and anything bigger is PURE OSTENTATION.

TVs aren’t a measure of moral fibre. My house contains upwards of 2000 books and two big tellies Grin

Completely forgot about the ‘we don’t even have a telly’ crew. No topping that unless someone wants to claim that they not only don’t have a telly but sabotage other people’s when visiting their homes Grin

ThanksItHasPockets · 03/09/2023 09:34

Having seen some frame TVs in situ I have to admit they are very convincing and I quite like them but I can’t quite shake the sense that they are the 21st century equivalent of a bourgeois 70s TV cabinet. Like a few pp I don’t see a big telly as a moral failing, however.

It’s academic however as DH is an AV obsessive and won’t consider them as the spec isn’t high enough for the price 🤷🏻‍♀️

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