Budget 40 inch LED TVs faceoff (Hisense, Sceptre, Insignia)

[Smokey]

As a bottom dweller, was determined to find a decent 40 inch TV on a tight budget. These are the three LED TVs I went thru to find one to my liking. Note that these TVs don't have advance color calibration, so we are at their mercy in terms of color balance and grayscale.

The first one was 40 inch Hisense 40H3E from Walmart ($239). This TV was just awful. Two main major issues were extreme color blue push and lack of details. The blue push create havoc with colors on this TV and even effect the blacks. And lack of details made very body faces looks like plastic on non HD sources.

The only positive thing I could say about Hisense was it screen uniformity.

The second TV on the chopping block was Sceptre X405BV-FHDR , also from Walmart ($259). This TV had good detail and better colors than Hisense, but again the excessive blue color push (especially on whites) ruined other wise good color picture quality.

Another issue with Sceptre was that when adjusting contrast or brightness, color balance tend to shift also. On low settings, picture looked too orange, and on high bright setting, too blue. So no go for me.

The last TV on the scene is Insignia NS-40D510NA15 from BestBuy ($249). They say the third time is charmer, and it was true in this case. Insignia blow away Hisense and Sceptre not only in terms of colors, but also detail, blacks, clarity and the most important, no excessive color push.

Since this Tv is also used as PC monitor, good grayscale and color balance is very important and Insignia delivers. With very crisp texts and detailed picture to match.

Upscaling on Insignia is also very commendable. 75% of my movies collection are DVDs, and upscale picture look very detailed and vivid.

I am not a gamer, but watching sports or car chases, have not seen any lags.

So there you have it

[Mr Peabody]

Hi Smokey, good to see you. I thought you bought a TV not long ago, or did you not find what you were looking for until now? $249 is really cheap for a 40". Too bad it has to be from BB

[Smokey]

Hey Mr Peabody, thanks. How you been doing? Was on vacation for couple of weeks

Insignia from BB turn out to be an excellent TV. Very bright detailed vivid colors. And for $250 IMO is a steal.

This particular 40 inch model from Insignia is made by Sharp as it carry a lot of similarity to its big brother Sharp 42 inch model LC-42LB261U. Same ports lay out and labeling, double power light indicator on left bottom corner. And the same service menu code if any advance adjustments are needed.

So the quality is there and it shows from its picture quality. Blacks are deep, but at cost of narrow viewing angle.

Overall, very happy with the TV J

[Feanor]

I wish daily that our old Samsung CRV would die, die, die, but it's only about 8 years old so it could well hang in for a few more.

The Samsung is 27" but I'd be looking to replace it with about a 40" LED when the time comes -- price will be significant factor. The Sammy is in an area adjoining the kitchen and is used mainly to watch cable TV new so 'uber' quality isn't essential. I'd be looking in the league of the Insignia.

FWIW, the Insignia NS-40d510na15 has good reviews from customers of Bestbuy.ca. The price here is C$299 -- which looks like a good deal given the C$ and Cdn prices in general.

[Smokey]

FWIW, the Insignia NS-40d510na15 has good reviews from customers of Bestbuy.ca. The price here is C$299 -- which looks like a good deal given the C$ and Cdn prices in general.

If price will be significant factor in purchasing a new TV, this Insignia might be your best bet. This TV is last year model so BB might be coming with new 40 inch Insignia model, and there is no guaranty this year model will also be made by Sharp.

In reality, you are getting a Sharp TV at discount price with this Insignia model. You won't be disappointed

[harley .guy07]

I am always scared about these brands because they seem to put very weak and unreliable power supplies in these units. I have a Vizio in my bedroom and it works fine but it has started to discolor the top of the screen and it does funky things now and then.

[Hyfi]

I would save my money and buy a well known name brand set over any budget set if I expected to keep it for any length of time and enjoy the PQ. My first Sony XBR1 40" is about 18 years old and has not flinched yet. 2nd Sony XBR4 32" is over 10 years old and no issues. My latest Samsung 32" 120hz Smart set is awesome. None of those cheap sets mentioned below compare at all. Save an extra $100 and get a real TV.

[Mr Peabody]

I had a Sony HD tube Bravia, I think one of the last gen made, it had to be fixed once under warranty then it broke not long after the warranty ran out, at that time I cut my loss. I also had a Sony DVD player when HDMI first began to appear that was bad, that model was a bad run for Sony. I took it back and exchanged for another brand.

Now my Sony 590 BDP has been working great and I really like it. It was not expensive either.

Just saying, today, cost doesn't always guarantee reliability. And, it sounds like the Insignia could be a rebadged Sharp which would make it a good buy.

My Toshiba LED Smart TV was not cheap, I had it fixed a few times, the tech said there are only 3 boards in the TV yet after replacing all of them the set still had issues. I eventually filed with the BBB and got the TV replaced, so far this Tosh is working fine.

On the other end my mom, several other friends as well, bought Vizio to have them die shortly after warranty to only find they are a throw away and they wasted their money. I have to laugh when I see a rave Vizio review like they are a real contender, I'm surprised they are still in business.

Me personally, I still like to buy quality within my budget. Basically something that will perform well for it's purpose without being overkill or the cheapest thing I can find.

Sometimes I push that rule on audio, LOL

[Hyfi]

Mr P, I realize that the issues Sony has had recently and I think they are getting out, or getting all the way back in with TVs, they keep flopping.

That is why I got the Samsung as the last purchase. Best recent track records and best PQ in most stores.

[Jack in Wilmington]

I was in Best Buy yesterday to grab an audio cable and while the salesman was doing his thing, I checked out the 4 Sony sets that were on the wall. I asked if these were the new 4K sets and he said just the one on the upper left was 4K. He said, "not much difference between the 3k and the 4k picture" and I agreed. In fact, I liked the 3k in the bottom left the best. I asked about the Samsung UHD curved and he said it was down on the end and I checked it out on my way out of the store. I realize that the sets are at the mercy of the person that sets them up, but the Samsung picture was incredible. I didn't watch for long, but when the time comes, this is a serious contender.

[Hyfi]

I was in Best Buy yesterday to grab an audio cable and while the salesman was doing his thing, I checked out the 4 Sony sets that were on the wall. I asked if these were the new 4K sets and he said just the one on the upper left was 4K. He said, "not much difference between the 3k and the 4k picture" and I agreed. In fact, I liked the 3k in the bottom left the best. I asked about the Samsung UHD curved and he said it was down on the end and I checked it out on my way out of the store. I realize that the sets are at the mercy of the person that sets them up, but the Samsung picture was incredible. I didn't watch for long, but when the time comes, this is a serious contender.

Back in the fall I saw the huge curved Sharp in BB showing the 2nd Hobbit movie and the scenes with the Dragon under the mountain were lifelike. Personally tho, I think I am a Samsung convert from Sony as they have degraded quality and QC.

[Jack in Wilmington]

Back in the fall I saw the huge curved Sharp in BB showing the 2nd Hobbit movie and the scenes with the Dragon under the mountain were lifelike. Personally tho, I think I am a Samsung convert from Sony as they have degraded quality and QC.

I have a 50" and a 46" Panny plasma and a 40" Samsung LED and I will give the Samsung a hard look when the time comes.

[Mr Peabody]

Jack! buying cables at BB..... shame.

Actually BB is on my dirtbag list. I don't buy anything there.

[Jack in Wilmington]

Jack! buying cables at BB..... shame.

Actually BB is on my dirtbag list. I don't buy anything there.

I don't like to go there either, but they do carry Audioquest. Monster used to be their high end cables, so at least they upgraded. It was for the HT rig in the Family Room not for my main system. Since my HiFi shop closed down in the fall, I have to improvise. Plus I like to mess with the salesmen to see what kind of knowledge they have.

[Mr Peabody]

Yeah, that did used to be fun. I didn't realize they picked up AQ.

I don't like to go there either, but they do carry Audioquest. Monster used to be their high end cables, so at least they upgraded. It was for the HT rig in the Family Room not for my main system. Since my HiFi shop closed down in the fall, I have to improvise. Plus I like to mess with the salesmen to see what kind of knowledge they have.

[Smokey]

So Mr Peabody, what happened at BB that made you not liking them?

When I go to BB, know before hand what I am getting and just go in, pick it up and leave. That is after I gaze at 80 inch curved Samsung 4k TV with my mouth hanging open

[Jack in Wilmington]

I was amazed that all the aisles that had CD's in them were gone. The Magnolia Home Theater area had some nice Mac gear and Martin Logan's speakers. They use to have Vienna Acoustics, but I didn't see them and I didn't look everywhere.

[Hyfi]

I was amazed that all the aisles that had CD's in them were gone. The Magnolia Home Theater area had some nice Mac gear and Martin Logan's speakers. They use to have Vienna Acoustics, but I didn't see them and I didn't look everywhere.

Mine has all the Mc Gear, Viennas, B&Ws and Rotel

I heard the 802 Diamonds driven by the Mc 600 watt monoblocks and it was fabulous.

[harley .guy07]

Yeah I think the Magnolia stores go by the area demographic because the BB in my areas Magnolia has ML, B&W, Pioneer,Marantz,Yamaha, with no McIntosh or Vienna. But they are pretty short on the models of ML and B&W they have in my area and they seem to stick with the lower priced models. I heard the Martin Logans in there once and they were trying to drive them with a Marantz AV receiver and I tried to tell them that they did not have the current to get the most out of them and they looked at me like they did not get it.

[blackraven]

My Magnolia store features Mc, ML including a $60,000 system of the ML CLX's and top of the line Mc gear, Marantz, B&W, REL and a few other brands. Some of the guys at the store are fairly knowledgeable and 1 guy drools over my Pass and BAT gear.

By the way, a good friend of mine bought the Samsung 4K curved TV and is returning it. It has some bugs and issues. He is going to wait a year for the newer refined models to come out.

[TheHills44060]

I don't like to go there either...

Me either. Too many bad experiences trying to purchase laptops and television sets over the years that I will never buy from them again.

The Magnolia in my area only has Martin Logan, B&W and Definitive Technology speakers. No Vienna speakers nor McIntosh gear.

[harley .guy07]

We don't have models near that expensive at or Magnolia. There is one guy out of the whole staff that knew what Pass labs was when I was there and the rest looked at me like what the h*&^ is that brand. My mother in law just bought a Sony XBR 65" LED and loves it. I will admit it looks pretty killer and would be one I would look at besides Samsung. I have had a Samsung 6000 series LED since 2010 and it has been excellent.

[Mr Peabody]

Smokey, I bought a Samsung dishwasher from Best Buy 5/2014, not long after it began to have problems, BB was out to repair it at least a half dozen times. I'll try to keep it brief. On one repair visit, while I was waiting for my appointment, during that week about 3 boxes of parts show up, the idiot comes to repair the unit, he cleans the trap, don't wait to see if the unit will continue to work, takes the parts without replacing anything, tells my wife to call if it happens again. We call, they say they have to order a part. Really? they take 3 boxes of parts and now have to order something else. Eventually, after their last visit, my unit broke, they make an appointment to help us contact Samsung, they don't show, don't call, they leave us high & dry. So I told my wife not to call any more and I file a complaint with the BBB. Get this BB has a Class A rating, if you search the internet it's full of BB complaints on websites. One of the main guys at BB in MN basically told me to go F myself, they wouldn't try to resolve the issue at all. I even contacted my States Attorney office who said they could send a letter but I haven't heard anything more from my complaint with them. I did contact Samsung who actually was pretty good to deal with, I think after faxing my BBB emails and telling them my story, then they wanting us to get a list of work orders from BB like they may not have believed how many times we had repairs. I haven't gotten it yet but I'm supposed to have a refund in the mail to me for the price of the dishwasher. So what if BB hoses a few people, they think they are too big to fail, and, maybe they are. I think Best Buy is the nastiest most under handed scum of the earth. I wish I could get that guy who responded to my BBB complaint from BB in a cage match. Just writing this gets me mad all over again. To add insult to injury the dishwasher cost like $950.00 on sale, prior to that I bought a washer and a computer which both cost nearly just under $1k each. This shows total disregard to their customers. Samsung wanted to give me store credit and get another dishwasher from BB, I told them, no way.

[Hyfi]

They also recently changed their return policies and unless you join their club and buy $2500 worth of crap, you now only get 15 days instead of 30. I had to return something recently and we had a snow storm which prevented me from getting there until day 16. I called to ask if they would extend the courtesy 1 more day and I was told that they would 1-time approve store credit, but not give me my money back. I had to buy something else so really had no choice anyway.

When I got there the next day and to the return desk, I told the girl the details. She chuckled and said Credit, I would want my money back too! She ran it thru and put the credit back on my card.

They are good for computer related items in a pinch, or if you think you may want to return something your not sure about.

[Jack in Wilmington]

They also recently changed their return policies and unless you join their club and buy $2500 worth of crap, you now only get 15 days instead of 30. I had to return something recently and we had a snow storm which prevented me from getting there until day 16. I called to ask if they would extend the courtesy 1 more day and I was told that they would 1-time approve store credit, but not give me my money back. I had to buy something else so really had no choice anyway.

When I got there the next day and to the return desk, I told the girl the details. She chuckled and said Credit, I would want my money back too! She ran it thru and put the credit back on my card.

They are good for computer related items in a pinch, or if you think you may want to return something your not sure about.

And they cry because we buy online.