Crutchfield: The Podcast Ep 65

(0:18 - 0:28)

Hello and welcome to Crutchfield the podcast. I'm your host, JR here in the underground bunker studio with my co-host Huffy. How you doing today, buddy? Doing great.

(0:28 - 0:43)

Happy to be here. Have you noticed the last few episodes of Crutchfield the podcast? In fact, I don't know how far back you'd have to go to find an episode that's not about car stereo stuff. It has been a while, but we sell things other than car stereos.

(0:43 - 0:55)

How better to fix that than with the biggest and coolest home products that everybody needs, TVs. There you have it. Right? Yeah.

(0:56 - 1:12)

We have a copywriter in Crutchfield named Emily, and that's her main job, is writing about TVs. And I'm talking about her as if she's not sitting right there. It's a little awkward, actually.

(1:12 - 1:17)

Welcome, Emily, to Crutchfield the podcast. Thank you for bearing with our long intro. How are you today? I'm good.

(1:17 - 1:26)

I'm glad we're talking about TVs because I don't know all that much about car stereos. If you have questions, we have other people. Oh, good.

(1:26 - 1:34)

Yeah. There's always an expert here on every category. We can tell you what fits your car, how hard it'll be to install, and how awesome it'll be once it is installed.

(1:34 - 1:41)

Might even be able to get someone to volunteer to install something for you. That's nice of you. I've never heard of you volunteering to do an install before.

(1:41 - 1:44)

It wasn't me directing. I could put you in touch with people. Anyway.

(1:44 - 1:46)

Oh, you're delegating again. Yeah, yes. I got it.

(1:47 - 2:04)

So Emily, is that right? Your main job is writing about TVs? That's what you do on a day in and day out basis? That's a large part of it. I'm also, I'm an editor now. So I do a lot of editing for other writers because the TVs come out in groups.

(2:05 - 2:21)

So sort of once the batch of each brand is written, there'll be some learn articles and some updates, but it doesn't go year round really. They get released in chunks. I undersold you here.

(2:21 - 2:24)

You are not a copywriter. You are an editor. Yes.

(2:25 - 2:29)

But it's still true that you spend a lot of time thinking about TVs. I do. Yeah.

(2:29 - 2:46)

And it is the major category that I write of the pages that I still write. For the web and the catalog, TV is the big one. And I was looking through our articles and videos on crutchfield.com. You recently, within the past few months, maybe longer.

(2:46 - 3:06)

Tell me when exactly you wrote the best TVs for 2025 article. Yeah, it's hard to remember exactly when because that's one, it's sort of an article that we update every year when the new TVs come out. And we did update it with some of the latest models that we will get into shortly.

(3:06 - 3:21)

And all of the new TVs for 2025 from all of the big players, they're out now, right? Like the cat's out of the bag on all of those. Yes, they are all out. Some new TVs have come out since I wrote this article.

(3:21 - 3:32)

And I will talk about those and possibly hint at maybe some changes that could be made in this article. Oh, do you have regrets as you look over the article? No regrets. Updates.

(3:32 - 3:40)

Updates, that's better. We don't really sell any bad TVs. Like we sell the higher end models from the three major brands.

(3:40 - 3:55)

And there's not really a bad TV in the bunch. And it's just a matter of personal preference and what your room's like and what your viewing trends are and stuff like that. I like that it's not just a one, two, three, four, five type of ranking.

(3:55 - 4:14)

It's like the best TVs for different situations, which is how you should be thinking about TVs anyway, right? Totally. For example, how many TVs do you have in your house, Emily? So I actually only have two. I have the main TV in my living room and then just a small TV in my workout room.

(4:15 - 4:27)

And so those sound like TVs that are for two different purposes. Very much so. And the one in the living room, what is that? So that's a Sony A95K QD OLED.

(4:28 - 4:34)

Nice. I picked up a year or two ago. It was a steal at the employee in-store.

(4:34 - 4:37)

It was like, I couldn't not buy it. You stole it from... Oh, you bought it. Okay.

(4:37 - 4:49)

I bought it. You stole it from the employee. But yeah, it replaced an older Sony that just had finally started to go and the in-TV apps just weren't cutting anymore.

(4:49 - 5:00)

So yeah, I was sad. I just, I had to replace it, you know? With the prices we get at the employee store, the discount, it does feel like stealing sometimes. It does.

(5:00 - 5:13)

Yeah. But that's true. The software, the interface, the UI, all of that, you know, is a big part of what makes a TV easy to use, enjoyable or a pain in the neck, right? If it's not a good UI.

(5:14 - 5:34)

And so did you find that Sony had made a nice improvement and that the whole user experience is better? Yeah. And like I was saying, you know, we carry LG, Sony and Samsung and you can ask 10 different employees and get, you know, a chunk of Sony, a chunk of LG, a chunk of Samsung. Everybody has their favorites.

(5:35 - 5:49)

And it's sort of a personal preference thing based on, you know, the user interface and just like what they're used to and if they have brand loyalty and it just happens. I do prefer Sony's. The other TV writer is a big LG guy.

(5:49 - 5:55)

He's a big gamer and we'll get into why LG is good for that. Yeah. I have questions on that.

(5:55 - 6:10)

Yeah. And so your TV that's in the workout room, I'm guessing you didn't spend as much or care as much, right? About like how great that one is for movie watching late at night kind of stuff. Totally.

(6:10 - 6:17)

Yeah, that's just a, it's a, I think a 32 inch. It's an older Samsung now. We've had it in there for a while.

(6:18 - 6:26)

Wall mounted. I'm not even sure because it's so small. I'm not, I'm not even sure it's 4k, but it gets the job done for my Apple workouts.

(6:27 - 6:40)

All right. So let's dive into the best TVs for 2025. And at the top of the article, the first TV you have listed is the best TV for movie lovers.

(6:41 - 6:51)

And that would be the Sony Bravia nine. And that is an led or LCD TV, not an OLED. I was kind of surprised by that.

(6:52 - 7:10)

Can you talk about why this is such a good TV for movies? Sure. So I do usually lean towards Sony for the movie, movie lovers category. Their picture quality just tends to be really accurate and lifelike and real feeling.

(7:11 - 7:40)

I don't know if it's their processor or if it's just that they have a sort of lens to living room. They're really involved in the film industry with studios, their studio, the cameras that they make, the monitors they make, and they make both TVs and projectors. And this pic actually, the Bravia nine uses a mini led backlight that's based on the tech that Sony has used in their ultra bright professional movie mastering monitor.

(7:40 - 8:00)

So that makes it their brightest 4k TV ever. And I know it was kind of a, so this is the Bravia nine is actually a carryover from last year. When Sony made it their top of the line flagship model last year, surprised everyone that it was an led TV and not an OLED.

(8:01 - 8:18)

It was really impressive when they came here and we saw it in person. It's super bright and being a mini led, it has really, really good contrast. That said the Bravia eight mark two came out since I wrote this and that is Sony's new QD OLED.

(8:18 - 8:29)

They didn't, they didn't release. I don't think they released a QD OLED last year, which is a quantum dot OLED. They did have an OLED last year, but it was just under the Bravia nine.

(8:29 - 8:56)

It was the Bravia eight and the Bravia eight mark two that came out this year would possibly be my choice to swap in for best TV for movie lovers. It sort of depends if you've got a bright, bright room, the Bravia nine is probably still what I would recommend. But if you have any light control at all in your room, then the Bravia eight mark two, which is an OLED is going to be a great choice.

(8:56 - 9:19)

Their previous QD, QD OLED, the eight 95 L was like such a killer TV and it, it topped so many best of lists. It was just like a no brainer choice. And I have the model that I have in my living room is the one prior to that, which is the eight 95 K and all these are just going to give you deep inky blacks and just like bright highlights with no blooming.

(9:20 - 9:37)

And with OLEDs, I have a really big couch, which, you know, I like to have friends over. I have a lot of dogs, so there's still got to be room for people to watch, watch, see the TV on movie night. And OLEDs will give you the really wide viewing angles, which is perfect for movie night.

(9:37 - 10:04)

So, and, and the, one of the reasons I also choose Sony is they have their compatible Dolby vision, which is great dynamic HDR format. Awesome for movie watching, but. It's, it sounds like contrast is King here, right? Everything you just mentioned, the the HDR, the Dolby vision, the inky blacks, the OLEDs and the mini led panel.

(10:04 - 10:18)

All of that is to allow for incredible contrast, the darkest blackest blacks. And right next to that, the brightest whites, right? And everything in between, because that makes colors more vibrant and all of that, right? Absolutely. Yeah.

(10:19 - 10:40)

The, the very biggest component I think of, of, of really good picture quality is contrast. And OLEDs are really, really good at that. Mini LEDs with their really precise light control have closed the gap a bit, but the, the deep, deep blacks you get with OLED, basically the contrast is infinite and it's just, it's stunning.

(10:40 - 10:56)

Yeah. Hope you got any follow-up on this best TV for movie watching, or shall we move on to best TV for gamers? No, I, I absolutely love a Sony recommendation there. I think as Emily said, they're big time in the movie industry as well.

(10:56 - 11:10)

You know, it's just kind of, for a lot of the folks have been at crutch for a while. I think, you know, we, we, we like our Sony TVs, you know, and I do think it has something to do with that video processor. It's just excellent.

(11:10 - 11:19)

And handles movies particularly well. So I love that recommendation. What kind of TV do you have in your house again? I have a Sony OLED television.

(11:19 - 11:24)

Sony OLED? Yeah. I watch movies on it from time to time. I also do gaming.

(11:24 - 11:25)

Oh. Live TV. Oh.

(11:26 - 11:29)

Yeah. TV things. I do TV things on my Sony OLED.

(11:29 - 11:33)

It's really good at doing TV things. So we're two for two on Sony. There we go.

(11:33 - 11:37)

How about yourself? I was going to say, JR, what do you have? Yeah. Yeah. I feel like we have to turn this back on.

(11:37 - 11:43)

Well, I have a 65 inch Sony. It's not an OLED. I was too cheap to buy an OLED.

(11:44 - 11:52)

I wish I had an OLED. Well, I, I, I can, I can see how the blacks are not as black as they could be. And also mine is like about four years old.

(11:52 - 11:59)

So I am due for a new TV in it. In all likelihood will be a new Sony OLED. I know where you can get one, JR. Yeah.

(12:00 - 12:07)

I was about to say it might just be that Emily and I were a little, a little quicker to the point when, when they hit the employee store. Yeah. Yeah.

(12:07 - 12:14)

My living situation doesn't allow me to get much of a bigger TV than I have now. So I'm kind of in limbo. I, you know, windows are overrated.

(12:14 - 12:19)

Just put it right in front of the TV. Yeah. So lifelike anyway, you might as well just put right in front of a window.

(12:19 - 12:34)

Be fine. Let's move on to the best TV for gamers, which you listed in the article as an LG C5. Now, was that your choice or was that your other writers choice? You mentioned that they were an LG fan and a big gamer.

(12:34 - 12:45)

Yeah, totally. So I, you know, I have my Sony brand loyalty. But one thing that I am frustrated with them is, is Sony TVs.

(12:45 - 13:09)

Even the top models only have two HDMI 2.1 inputs, which is a little frustrating. If you want to connect, say multiple gaming consoles or a PC rig and a, you know, PS5 or a place or Xbox or something. So the LG lineup, we're only currently carrying their OLED TVs.

(13:10 - 13:26)

These are great, great gaming TVs. I, I, I don't game as much as I used to. My husband and I used to enjoy playing some co-op games, but he's mostly dominating the TV with his gaming these days.

(13:26 - 13:41)

But yeah, so I did, I did check with Colin, who is our resident LG fan and gamer. I've had Colin on the podcast. It's been a few years now, but because it was a, it was an episode all about gaming and he was one of our, one of several guests.

(13:41 - 13:44)

So yeah, he's, he's into it. He would know. Yeah, totally.

(13:45 - 14:09)

So yeah, the C5 is, I mean, like I said, any of these LG OLEDs are a great choice for gaming. The C5, I think is, is LG's most popular TV. It's got four HDMI 2.1 inputs and has 4k at 120 hertz for next gen consoles and up to 144 hertz for your high performance PCs.

(14:09 - 14:25)

It's got all the things you need for gaming, auto low latency mode and variable refresh rate. So you're not going to get any tearing. It's got a mode that automatically calibrates your tone mapping and HDR for gaming.

(14:25 - 14:36)

It's got a cloud gaming portal. So really like it's, it's an obvious choice, obvious choice for gamers. OLEDs are just generally pretty good for that.

(14:39 - 14:51)

But yeah, I definitely consulted the expert when I, when I was considering what the best choice for gaming was, because I'm a little out of my depth. I'm not up to date with all the latest on that. Yeah, the C5 is great.

(14:51 - 15:04)

It's like their middle, middle model in the lineup that we carry. The B5 is the sort of intro one. The C is like, it's that point between price and feature set.

(15:04 - 15:15)

It's like a really good, good model for that. And then their step up from that is the G5, which is a, is a really excellent TV. But of note, it does not come with a stand.

(15:15 - 15:22)

So that is also something to consider. Yeah. And I, if I'm not mistaken, that G kind of amps up the brightness a little bit.

(15:22 - 15:30)

It does. And for gaming, I don't know. I mean, obviously contrast is super important, but it's checking that box with that inky black levels.

(15:30 - 15:36)

You don't necessarily need the brightest TV when you're gaming and probably a little bit closer to it. So. Yeah.

(15:36 - 15:42)

And the C, I think the C5 does actually have an Evo panel as well. It's not as bright as, as the G5. Right, right.

(15:42 - 15:49)

Yeah. So it's plenty bright. I, you know, that we, we've already identified as Sony fans for movies.

(15:49 - 16:08)

I think one of the things that people love about that LG is that, you know, it's, it's set up really well for the processor to get out of the way. Sometimes processors can add a little bit of latency to the, to the image in gaming. And for anybody that's into gaming latency is the enemy, right? You just want to get right to that picture.

(16:08 - 16:16)

And the LG's constantly ranked as one of those, one of the best TVs for gaming. I think it has a lot to do with that. Totally.

(16:16 - 16:26)

You know, we'll get we'll get roasted if we don't answer this question before it gets asked. So I'm going to ask it. These are both OLEDs.

(16:26 - 16:56)

You're talking to the multiple models you have both mentioned are OLEDs for gaming. Is there an issue with burn in? Like where do we stand on image retention and burn in with those TVs in particular and TVs in general, if you're gaming, right? You might have that little life meter up in the corner for a long period of time. Is that going to cause a problem or is it still true that you have to work hard to burn an image into a TV these days? What, what's the deal with that? Yeah.

(16:56 - 17:32)

Vernon is, is, is totally possible. It's, it's a lot less likely than it used to be because brands have really, um, they knew it was an issue and they, they have put some things in place in the TVs to kind of refresh the screen, um, and, and prevent that from happening. That said, if you do leave a static high contrast thing on the screen, whether it's in a video game or a, a channel on TV, um, it, it is possible, uh, to get that sort of image burned in there a little bit.

(17:33 - 17:45)

And there's a little bit of a difference between image retention and then burn in like Vernon's like permanent. Yeah, you're stuck there. Um, sometimes with image retention, you can get like a, like a ghost outline of an image.

(17:45 - 17:55)

If you've gone out of your way to abuse the set, um, but that can actually fade over time as well. Cool. So it's, it's still hard to do.

(17:55 - 18:14)

I mean, you're going to have to fall asleep and stay asleep and then not do anything about your TV when you wake up and just leave it on the game paused or something. Yeah. And I mean, my OLED, you know, I don't, I don't know how long of a time period this, but if I have it paused, it will go to the, you know, sort of screensaver with the pretty images and then it'll turn off.

(18:14 - 18:17)

So it's not going to stay on that forever. Yeah. That's a good point.

(18:18 - 18:26)

Um, yeah, my, my TV does that as well. It just will kind of kick itself off if it notices that it's got a still image on it for too long. It's saving us from ourselves.

(18:26 - 18:28)

It is. It is. I turned that feature off in my team.

(18:30 - 18:48)

You just want to have to buy a new TV from the, uh, that's true. I don't, uh, you know what I do have though, is a bright room with a big window right behind me at the couch. Uh, and the TV I have as good as the picture is in the evening.

(18:48 - 19:04)

If I try to watch stuff during the day, there is so much glare from that window. It is, it makes things almost unwatchable. If I try to watch anything that's dark, like a movie or a dramatic TV show, uh, it's almost impossible.

(19:04 - 19:16)

If I'm watching sports or something bright and fast, then I can, it's doable. Um, I should probably get a different TV for my current situation. And that brings us to best TV for bright rooms.

(19:16 - 19:34)

You listed that as the Samsung QN90F, uh, and now we are not talking OLED anymore. We're talking QLED from Samsung. What's so great about this TV for bright rooms? So Samsung has a massive lineup, um, and we carry most of them.

(19:34 - 19:55)

So there's something for everyone. And the QN90F, it's their top, uh, 4K Neo QLED TV. And that's what, that's just what Samsung calls their combination of a mini LED backlight with their quantum dot color technology, um, which is just really, they're known for their really vibrant, um, beautiful colors.

(19:55 - 20:19)

And the, the, uh, mini LED backlight, uh, which is the Neo part of that Neo QLED, that is just the, the precise light control, um, of just having so many more LEDs back there than a standard LED set. Um, so it's, and, and it just gets really, really bright. Uh, uh, an OLED simply does not get as bright as, as an LED TV.

(20:19 - 20:36)

And a mini LED TV gets really bright. And it also, because those LEDs are so small, it does a pretty good job at contrast too. Um, and in addition to that mini LED backlight, this set uses their really impressive glare free technology.

(20:36 - 20:50)

So that's why you just get a really great picture, even in bright, bright rooms. Um, uh, they also use that on their top OLED, I think, um, which I saw demoed last year on, on last year's top OLED. And I was really impressed.

(20:50 - 20:59)

Just, it was like, there was no reflectivity with the lights in the room. It just, the TV just swallowed them. It was just like, they weren't even there.

(21:00 - 21:11)

And you don't lose some movie warmth when you go to that anti-glare sort of finish. I didn't think so. Yeah, I thought it was, I was really impressed.

(21:11 - 21:18)

Like I went into it kind of neutral. Um, but I was, I was pretty impressed by it. And this is different.

(21:18 - 21:49)

I think TVs for years have had some sort of anti-glare, uh, technology, but this is, this is a different monster, right? Like it is really flat almost as far as the reflection goes. With the TVs that we carry, we do carry, um, sort of the more premium TVs, even of these really three big brands, um, our TVs are really good. And that, that, you know, the more that you pay, the better you get with like the build quality and things like the, the no glare anti-reflective stuff.

(21:50 - 22:07)

Like that's really important. If you have a less than optimal lighting situation in your room, especially like, like JR was talking about in his living room. Uh, yeah, I mean, it can make you think you have a bad TV, right? Like, cause there are TVs that deal with that light so much better.

(22:08 - 22:20)

Uh, and so, I mean the TV I have again, it's great, but it's gotten to sort of a glossy front panel and, uh, and it's just a reflection. Like that, that's all you're seeing during the day. It's like a mirror.

(22:20 - 22:29)

And, uh, if I had a TV like this, uh, like the Samsung, then, uh, I would be in a totally different place. I'd be able to watch TV during the day. That's kind of.

(22:29 - 22:38)

Yeah. You know, it reminds me of the finish on it reminds me a lot of like an e-reader. Like if you have one of those, right? Like it's like liquid paper or a digital paper.

(22:38 - 22:44)

I'm not sure what they call it, but, um, it's almost that kind of finish. It's so flat, so anti-reflective. It's different.

(22:45 - 23:05)

If you haven't seen one in person, it is different than, uh, really the way any other company is, uh, is handling anti-glare. So, and with that particular TV you've recommended, I think it's got enough brightness, um, inherently in it to kind of overcompensate for any perceived lack of, uh, uh, uh, movie movie. Right.

(23:05 - 23:14)

Right. It's just going to blast right through that and still have that anti-glare. And, and I have to say it, one of my favorite features of this particular TV, great recommendation.

(23:14 - 23:21)

It's available in a 98. Is that a feature? I don't know that that's a feature, but it's like a big TV. It can get big.

(23:21 - 23:23)

And I do like that. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

(23:23 - 23:47)

Samsung's 2025 models also have some, uh, they have their new vision AI, which has a lot of interesting, like click to search, um, where you can get instant info about, you know, stuff that's happening on your screen, like actor IDs and content recommendations, live translate, which is cool. Uh, real-time subtitles and, and, um, that can be really helpful. So go ahead, watch that French movie.

(23:48 - 24:11)

You'll have the subtitles, whether, uh, you know, either way you'll have to read, but yeah, sure. Okay. The last TV on in your article, uh, the best TVs for 2025, uh, is it seems like kind of a niche category, but it might be a bigger category than people realize, uh, best TV for art lovers.

(24:12 - 24:23)

Uh, so the winner was obvious to me, right? It's the Samsung, the frame, but it's the frame pro. Yeah. There's two versions of the print, the frame this year, which is, um, which is pretty cool.

(24:24 - 24:39)

Uh, so the frame for people who don't know, it's like, um, it's the idea is to hide your TV in plain, plain sight, kind of it. It's designed to sort of look like part of a gallery wall. Um, I have a different display in my living room just for art.

(24:39 - 24:55)

It's like a digital display, um, be kind of, because the older versions of the frame, they were really great for art. I actually got my parents one because they wanted to build a whole cabinet to hide their TV. And I picked them up one at the employee store a few years ago.

(24:55 - 25:32)

Um, but I will say that the picture quality, when I go over there with their older frame on shows and movies, um, just, just not as good as my TV at home, you know? Um, and, and this new frame, like just, it eliminates that because this pro version uses a mini led backlight. Unlike I think the, um, the other frame and the older models of the frame use an edge lit backlight, which just is not as good. And it had sort of a dual edge lit, like with warm and cool lighting that tried to compensate for that.

(25:32 - 25:51)

Um, and it was fine. Um, but if you look at them side by side, this is just going to have a way, way better picture with that mini led backlight. It's just like much more of a high end, um, experience for movies and shows and sports and stuff like that versus the, um, the, the other frame.

(25:51 - 26:02)

Um, and it also includes Samsung's, uh, wireless one connect box. Oh yeah. Um, so you can hook up all your gear to that and it makes a wireless connection to your TV.

(26:02 - 26:16)

So you don't have a bunch of wires going up there to your, you know, gallery wall looking TV. That does make it look less like a, like a picture frame, right? If you, if you got wires leading up to it, it makes sense. Multiple wires, uh, give it away.

(26:16 - 26:27)

Yeah, absolutely. So I actually own the frame, not the pro. Uh, I also just about stole this from the employee store.

(26:27 - 26:31)

I got a heck of a discount. I just simply needed a new TV for the bedroom. Yeah.

(26:31 - 26:40)

It's a great bedroom TV. It is a great bedroom TV. Uh, I mean, typically it's, it's the only, it's on late at night as we're going to sleep.

(26:40 - 26:52)

It's the news, it's the tonight show or Jimmy Kimmel or whatever. Uh, until we fall asleep, we just sleep, sleep time and we're done. But what I love about it is the artwork all of the rest of the day.

(26:52 - 27:02)

When you walk into the bedroom, there's that. Uh, and even at night, sometimes I'll come to bed later than my girlfriend and the bedroom's dark and that TV's just, the art is on. Yeah.

(27:03 - 27:07)

It's like a nice night. It's the nicest looking nightlight I've ever seen. I don't know.

(27:07 - 27:12)

Yeah. You just feel fancy when you have, you know, fresh art up there on the wall. I have been called bougie before.

(27:13 - 27:17)

By whom? We're not going to get into that. I'll take your word for it. Yeah.

(27:18 - 27:27)

Um, but, but I love it and it's a great little TV and I, I didn't buy it. Because it was the frame. I bought it because the price was right and the size was right.

(27:28 - 27:32)

And, uh, I can't tell you how happy I am with that TV in the bedroom. That's awesome. Yeah.

(27:33 - 27:41)

Uh, and the, the Samsung smart things app. Uh, I have that on my phone. So Kiki has the remote on her side of the bed.

(27:41 - 27:49)

I have a remote on mine in my phone so we can both control the TV. So if she goes to sleep before I do, I've still got control. I can turn that sleep timer on.

(27:49 - 27:51)

I love that. I love the TV. I love controlling it.

(27:51 - 27:57)

Uh, and, uh, I, I probably need, it's also really good with no glare, by the way. Oh yeah. Yeah.

(27:57 - 28:29)

Then the, um, especially I think within the last couple of years, um, even the regular from frame, not the frame pro, um, has that sort of Matt, Matt, like canvas looking finish that really makes it look more like art than, you know, like a regular TV is not going to pass for, you know, wait, is that a painting? No. Yeah. Are there any other changes you wish you could make to this list or other TVs that honorable mention sort of a thing? Yeah, there's, we carry so many cool TVs.

(28:29 - 28:48)

Um, and like I said, you ask anybody here, they're going to have a different answer for you probably. Um, but if you're not sure, you know, call our advisors and, and just tell them what you watch and what room you want it in. And, and they will help you figure out which is the perfect TV for you.

(28:48 - 29:00)

Yeah. That is their one and only goal is to get you the TV that is right for your situation, right? They're not, uh, commissioned. They're not paid to sell you one brand over another.

(29:00 - 29:10)

They really only care about getting you the right TV so that you are happy and don't feel like returning it and all of that. Cause nobody wins if we're getting you the wrong TV. That's right.

(29:10 - 29:33)

Um, Emily, what, uh, what resources do you use, uh, when you're writing about TVs, uh, obviously you have, uh, I'm assuming some advanced notice on features and specs on the new models each year when they come out. Uh, but I assume there's also other resources you use that are out there. What, what, uh, and maybe these are also resources you could recommend customers check out as well.

(29:34 - 30:00)

Um, what would you, uh, what would you say to that? Yeah. Um, so before the TVs come out, obviously I, I have to rely on our, um, you know, the, the representatives from each brand who are generally pretty good about getting us info so that we can release the most accurate pages. Um, but information from each brand is definitely, um, how do I say? It's just not neutral.

(30:02 - 30:12)

Biased. Um, wait, you think the manufacturers will make it sound like their thing is the best thing ever and everybody else is doing it wrong. That's a fair point.

(30:13 - 30:24)

So you're telling me that LG thinks LG TVs are the best, but how about Sony? Yeah, Sony thinks theirs are the best. But then there's Samsung. They have a TV for everyone.

(30:25 - 30:27)

It's true. They do. They have a, they have a lot.

(30:27 - 31:02)

They have a lot of TVs. Um, and when I get that list, it's like, Ooh, yeah, that's, that's a lot of TVs, but you know, um, you know, we're joking about this, but this is a real challenge that I think you're describing right now. How do you see through all of the, I mean, propaganda is not the right word, uh, but how do you see through the sales pitch down to the, the, the cold hard facts that you can use to objectively determine this TV is better for bright rooms and that TV is better for movies? Like, how do you see through all the muck? Well, hands-on is, is the best thing.

(31:02 - 31:25)

Um, and, and we get to see a lot of that when they come in and do trainings here, each vendor comes in and they'll bring, well, not Samsung's not bringing all of their TVs, but, um, they bring usually a selection, a solid selection of them. Each, each brand does, and seeing them in person and taking notes, um, and seeing them with different content is really helpful. Um, that's not always possible.

(31:25 - 31:51)

And sometimes I need a little more than that, or they haven't come yet. When I'm trying to write a page, I will go to the site ratings, which is R T I N G S and they have really good, really, um, just, um, unbiased information on there. And, and for, for all these TVs, they'll also, usually when they do a review, they'll, you know, tell you the sort of the best, uh, settings.

(31:51 - 32:19)

If you want to calibrate your TV, um, how to get the best picture quality from it, which is, um, which is really helpful. I, I, when I bought my TV, I went to ratings and I was like, okay, ratings, tell me what settings I should be using on this. So yeah, that's my main go-to, but I'll, I'll also just read, you know, after CES, like when, when the first, um, uh, information on the news sets are coming out, um, in January, what people's impressions are.

(32:19 - 32:31)

That's before I usually get any information about them. Um, reviews from other, other websites, just I'll read everything I can that's available. A lot of it's not available before I have to write these TVs though.

(32:32 - 32:47)

So, um, theoretically, like I could look at all that and go back and, and edit our pages and, and, and if it's something like really, uh, notable, I will do that. Um, but it's, it's, it's, it's hard. There's a lot of TVs.

(32:47 - 32:52)

Yeah. Huffy, I see you frantically taking notes. You're raising your fingers.

(32:52 - 33:03)

You're letting me know you've got something to say. Well, I was going to say I'm pretty excited, uh, you know, as of the day of this recording, um, you know, next week, Sony is going to be visiting us. I saw that.

(33:03 - 33:06)

Yeah. I'm like, yes, I get to see some of these new TVs. Right.

(33:06 - 33:20)

And I was just coordinating with the warehouse earlier today about the three palettes of televisions that they're bringing in. So we're going to see, uh, you know, and I love that we can then see, uh, models compared side by side by side. So yeah, that's really helpful.

(33:32 - 34:00)

So ratings definitely, uh, is, uh, an unbiased source of solid information about TVs. Uh, any other, any other resources, uh, any YouTube channels you follow or anything like that? I can tell you the one, one of the ones that I'd check out on a regular basis, uh, especially when we are leading up to a round of home product training for advisors, uh, I check out digital trends. Now we have zero business relationship with digital trends, the YouTube channel.

(34:00 - 34:21)

Right. But, uh, I'm just here to tell you, it's a great resource. Uh, and they're, they have a recent video, uh, OLED, QLED, mini LED, which to buy in 2025 that, uh, we didn't go into detail on like the minute differences between all of those things and edge lit, direct lit, full array, local dimming, all of that stuff.

(34:21 - 34:38)

He does. If you want that level of detail in a engaging video format, I check out digital trends. Uh, it's, it's a really decent, uh, YouTube channel and they are also relatively unbiased, right? Like they're not beholden to any, they don't, they're not sponsored by Sony.

(34:38 - 34:42)

You know, it's not like that. They'll say it how it is. Unfortunately, they review things we don't carry as well.

(34:43 - 34:50)

Um, but wait, that's not going to digital trends. They do a great job. And, uh, you know, they're, they're fans of a lot of the models we carry.

(34:51 - 34:54)

Uh, I've got another one. Digital trends. Absolutely.

(34:54 - 35:19)

But, uh, Andrew Robinson, um, he's another, uh, YouTuber who, you know, does kind of got started with high-end, uh, audio, um, but has recently, uh, or more recently gotten into, uh, video as well and big TVs and whatnot. And he does a really good job of articulating and just giving another perspective on the differences between TVs. And he's tending to look at some of the higher end stuff, like the stuff that we carry.

(35:19 - 35:30)

So there's, there's another name for you. I've also gone to what hi-fi and, um, who else I'm trying to think, put me on the spot. I can remember CNET of course.

(35:30 - 35:33)

Yeah. CNET and gadget, the verge. Those are some websites I like.

(35:33 - 35:59)

It's just like, I feel like once, once the TVs are out and everybody can talk about them, I do the rounds of like going to every one of those sites and checking them out. Absolutely. Emily, what is it that we, uh, have not spoken about here today regarding TVs that we really need to, is there, is there any stones left unturned right now? I mean, probably, uh, can I think of them? No.

(35:59 - 36:17)

Um, it's just like, you know, I, it's finding the TV, the best TV that you can get in your budget. Um, it's, it's probably, you know, just remember it's a something for fun that you're going to enjoy that you're going to use a lot. Um, I don't know.

(36:17 - 36:21)

Some people are like, I don't watch TV, but I'm like, I do. I love it. I love TV.

(36:22 - 36:27)

Yeah. It's like how I will unwind in the evening watching, watching my shows. So.

(36:28 - 36:38)

Yeah. A lot of people spend more time in front of a TV every day than they do in their car. Just, you know, put some perspective to why you're watching about car stereos.

(36:38 - 36:42)

Yeah. Right. Should we talk about TVs more? I'd be happy to talk about TVs.

(36:43 - 36:48)

That's why you're here, Emily. That's right. Uh, hey, you mentioned your shows.

(36:48 - 36:58)

Oh gosh. What, what are we, what are we watching these days? Um, okay. Uh, so I actually, I'm not on the cutting edge with this.

(36:58 - 37:11)

Uh, we watch a lot of like old stuff. Um, really love the Rockford files. Uh, I actually just bought the entirety of the Rockford files on DVD, but, um, I do watch some new stuff.

(37:12 - 37:26)

Um, I'm just struggling to think of what it is, right? Oh, so one, one show that's on Peacock that reminds me sort of the Rockford files is poker face. If you haven't watched that, that's a great one. I watched some of the first season, uh, and yeah, she's great.

(37:26 - 37:28)

Yeah. That's a fun show. I love it.

(37:28 - 37:47)

Just, um, I just like the, you know, kind of lack of technology and the week by week, uh, fun guest stars and stuff like that. Um, we watch a lot of movies, you know, everything from noir to seventies stuff to bad action movies. It's like, I have no particular genre.

(37:47 - 38:07)

I like, I like most of them. Uh, I'm, I'm currently trying to slow down how fast I'm binging the bear and squid game. Uh, I typically, when I get, when I get home tonight, I'm going to be watching the season finale of the bear and the season finale of squid game.

(38:07 - 38:33)

I've made them both last a few weeks, which is tough because all I want to do at the end of each episode is watch the next one because they're so good. Oh, there's, are they stressful though? It's so weird. So the, the bear started off as a very stressful in the kitchen of a high pressure restaurant in Chicago and the, the previous season to this last one started off very stressful, but boy, not this season.

(38:33 - 38:52)

This season, it's all, it seems to be all about finding the peace, uh, and it's refreshing. And then I finished that and I immediately go to squid game and that screws it all up. But, uh, it's squid game is just so, uh, in it uniquely done.

(38:53 - 38:58)

Right. It's a voice we don't hear very often, uh, in this country. Right.

(38:58 - 39:04)

Uh, it's just, man, it's just great. I actually haven't watched that one. I've heard a lot of good things about it.

(39:04 - 39:15)

It will challenge your TV's contrast ratio. The bright colors, the bright colors right next to the black blacks. Uh, you need all of that for squid game.

(39:15 - 39:23)

Like I do not watch it during the day. If I get home early and I have time, I will find something else to do and watch squid game late at night. Nice.

(39:23 - 39:36)

What are you watching? Um, honestly, I, I don't watch traditional TV very much any longer. You know, I'll watch Monday night football, you know, I'm a huge football fan. So I'll watch, you know, with that July.

(39:36 - 39:43)

Yeah. You know, so watching football highlights, you know, go birds. Baseball looks great on a really nice TV.

(39:44 - 39:50)

I got to say that. Yeah. Um, recently we've gotten into a show called task master, which we just get off YouTube.

(39:51 - 39:56)

Jason Manzoukas is on the new season. Yeah. I have that on my, I need to watch that one.

(39:56 - 39:58)

That's on my list. So good. I love Jason Manzoukas.

(39:58 - 40:04)

He's got a great podcast. Shout out to that show. Fantastic.

(40:05 - 40:21)

So I'm watching things like that and, you know, just falling down the YouTube trap of, uh, various things, some of which I'd be embarrassed to admit to here. Um, but, uh, you know, a lot of, a lot of cruise related stuff. So, you know, we don't need to go for cruises.

(40:21 - 40:27)

I do like cruises. My go-to comfort food show is the repair shop. Um, if you haven't watched that, it's fantastic.

(40:27 - 40:43)

It's British folks who are experts in woodworking and ceramics and metal, just like taking people's treasured family heirlooms in a thatched roof cottage and fixing them up. Wow. It's amazing.

(40:44 - 40:46)

Never heard of that. It's fantastic. Check it out.

(40:47 - 40:56)

That's awesome. Emily, thank you so much for joining us today. Uh, we've just got a few things left to, you know, sort of some loose ends to tie up and then we're going to wrap this thing up.

(40:56 - 41:03)

I've got a question. Oh, really? Yeah. This is like, I thought, I thought consumer earlier advocacy advocacy.

(41:03 - 41:07)

Now I can't say, help me out here. Advocacy. That word.

(41:07 - 41:12)

Yeah. Consumer that right. Um, TV buying season.

(41:12 - 41:39)

When is that? When is the best time to buy a TV? Well, do you want a deal? Well, of course. The best thing, like the best really is getting like scoring a deal on one of last year's flagship models for really cheap. Once the new ones come out, which each brand releases them kind of at a different time, but usually in the spring.

(41:39 - 41:58)

Right. So in the spring, the new TVs will come out and either like you're the person who wants the, the, the, the latest and greatest, which I feel like you might be, or you're willing to get the best from last year at a really good price. I want the best at the best price, just like every one of our customers ever.

(42:00 - 42:15)

But yeah, TVs, you know, I've been here for a while now and it feel like there's really a buying cycle that you can almost count on. Right. Like the new models start coming out in the spring and that makes the spring a great time to buy a TV.

(42:16 - 42:24)

If you want the latest and greatest as soon as it comes out, or you want that deal on last year's model. And then we like to be well-stocked leading into football season. Right.

(42:24 - 42:37)

So early fall, we try to have all the, all the new models are in stock, ready to go. And then of course the holiday season comes right around the corner from that. And you start seeing your, you know, people want to take advantage of the Black Friday specials.

(42:38 - 42:50)

There's never a bad time. No, but there is like a cycle of where those discounts kind of kick in. Great thing about shopping at Crutchfield is you do get 60 day price protection on those TV purchases.

(42:50 - 42:55)

So that's a big window of time to grab that great deal. That feels like a plug. It's a plug.

(42:55 - 43:00)

Sorry about that. That's not normally what we do. It is, right? Like I appreciate that.

(43:00 - 43:10)

Nobody wants to pay more than they have to buy it in the fall and get a winter price. Why not? I hate it when I buy something and then I see it on sale a week later. That's called regret.

(43:10 - 43:13)

You don't have to worry about that here. Just give us a call. It's a big purchase.

(43:13 - 43:18)

You want to make sure you get the best price, best deal. It's important to everyone. We get that.

(43:18 - 43:24)

So you buy it from us and then make sure you just check back on the website. If it goes down, we got you covered. Just give us a call.

(43:24 - 43:37)

Yeah, that allows you the freedom to buy it now when it's in stock. Not worry about it going out of stock or having to put it on back order. Oh, it's also painful when you are planning to buy something and you don't pull that trigger and then they don't have it.

(43:37 - 43:39)

Oh, then we're out. Yeah. So just buy it.

(43:40 - 43:47)

Supply chain issues aren't really a thing these days, are they? Oh, wait. Maybe that's the episode title. TVs, just buy it.

(43:47 - 43:51)

Just buy it. Do it, lady. There you go.

(43:53 - 44:00)

So cool. Was that your consumer? Yeah, right. I figured we'd talk a little bit about the kind of the buying cycle there.

(44:00 - 44:10)

I think people want to know. I love it. So this show is, we don't have any sponsors other than just Bill Crutchfield.

(44:10 - 44:13)

Thank you, Bill. So yeah, exactly. We always thank Bill.

(44:14 - 44:21)

But we do have what we like to call not a sponsor. Oh, okay. This episode of Crutchfield, the podcast is brought to you by Blu-ray players.

(44:22 - 44:35)

Oh, I love a Blu-ray. Oh, my goodness. And I'm so glad you, Emily, just recently mentioned that you bought all the seasons of the Rockford Files on disc.

(44:36 - 44:42)

I did, yeah, actually. And I got, last year, I think, bought a Blu-ray player from the employee store. Yes.

(44:42 - 44:46)

Sound a little bit like a broken record there. Maybe you should shop other play. Nah, nope.

(44:47 - 45:02)

Yeah, because sometimes, yeah, and we recently lost internet for a while. And I was awfully glad that I had that Blu-ray player and a bunch of DVDs and Blu-rays and the entirety of the Rockford Files. Absolutely.

(45:02 - 45:15)

Yeah, something to watch and the way to watch it without the internet. So I mean, that's the big deal, right? That's why you should have a Blu-ray player is as a backup. Maybe you do have a collection of discs you want to play.

(45:15 - 45:26)

But a Blu-ray player will allow you to always have something to watch, regardless of internet connectivity. I am not going to talk. I feel like I could turn this into a whole episode, but I love your pick.

(45:27 - 45:34)

So I'll allow you to cheat on this one. Okay. HD Blu-ray player specifically, of course, is what you're talking about.

(45:34 - 45:51)

But yeah, this is awesome. I mean, I wasn't, the reason I didn't get specific with this is because I think you could buy the $40 Blu-ray player at the grocery store or the $1,000 Panasonic, right? Either way, you're going to be able to play discs. Do I have a preference? Do I have a thing I think you should get? Probably.

(45:53 - 46:02)

But you know what? I do have a customer review that I'd like to read. Let's hear it. This review comes in on the Sony BDP-S1700U.

(46:03 - 46:13)

That is a $93 Blu-ray player. So wait, wait, wait. Is that on Ultra HD Blu-ray player? This particular one is not an Ultra HD.

(46:14 - 46:17)

I just, I picked it for the review, my friend. Okay. All right.

(46:17 - 46:20)

Let's hear this review. There's a five-star review. Okay.

(46:21 - 46:29)

And it's by someone in Fort Mill, South Carolina. They are a verified customer. And what they have to say about this Sony Blu-ray player is this.

(46:30 - 46:39)

Easy setup. Good quality play. They list the pros as small shape.

(46:40 - 46:47)

And no cons. I mean, can you get a better review than that? That's pretty great. That's pretty awesome.

(46:47 - 46:51)

Less than a hundred bucks, huh? Less than a hundred bucks. Yeah. That's a good enough for free shipping.

(46:51 - 46:55)

And that's all you need. That's all you need to watch the Rockford Files. That and a TV.

(46:56 - 47:08)

Well, some of us collect HD Blu-rays because we want the best contrast. I mean, the Rockford Files aren't, I don't think they're required. Are they even Blu-rays? They're just DVDs, right? Yeah.

(47:09 - 47:17)

Good news. All of these Blu-ray players will play all your old DVDs and your CDs, by the way. So yeah.

(47:17 - 47:22)

For 200 a day, less expensive. That's right. So thank you so much for listening to Crutchfield, the podcast.

(47:22 - 47:28)

Thank you, Emily, for joining us down here in our Underground Bunker studio today. Huffy, thank you for being here, even though you were late. It was fun.

(47:29 - 47:35)

Wait, no, no, you're gonna have to take that out. Thanks for having me. Thank you all for listening.

(47:35 - 47:57)

Thanks to Abby and Alexis, who deal with our social media stuff. We do our own recording of Crutchfield, the podcast, right here at our beautiful headquarters in Charlottesville, Virginia, which is where Bill Crutchfield still comes to work every single day of the week and pays us to talk about the coolest stuff on the planet. Thanks, Bill.

(47:57 - 48:15)

Thanks, Bill. Thank you, Bill. I did not work in any puns.

(48:15 - 48:26)

Oh, is this gonna be in the outtakes? We're still recording. I know, it could be part of the outtakes. Do you usually have a pun? I do try to work in some puns from time to time, but... I'm disappointed it didn't happen today.

(48:26 - 48:28)

I know. He tries to shoehorn them in. I do.

(48:28 - 48:30)

I force them sometimes, for sure.