ulp - need TV advice

[Gardenarian]

Hello all,

My dh & I recently purchased a 3 unit vacation rental. We are planning on putting televisions in the units that will be connected to wifi.

Do you think it's best to get a smart TV? Or to get a HDTV that requires a box of some sort? (These seem to be DVD players that also get internet.)

The dumb TVs are cheaper of course, but the box is a cost and I think having fewer remotes would be a plus.

What is a good size for a television? Is 32" big enough for most people? What size is yours, and are you happy with it?

Also, do you think wall mounting is a good idea?

Any suggestions on where to purchase?

Thanks for your help with this non-simple-living request

[JaneV2.0]

Do you have a Costco nearby? That would probably be my choice.

[Gardenarian]

Yes! We have Costco and are members - I forgot what a great policy they have with electronics. Not always the lowest price, but.

[catherine]

I just bought an excellent 32" Smart (Roku) TV at Costco for only $167.

I'm a lifelong VRBO person and I never really cared about the TV. It was always nice to have one, but to be honest, as long as you have the basics, I think you'll have met expectations. I also don't think it matters if you mount it or put it on a stand. I'd say whatever looks best in your space.

[freshstart]

I have a 37" Vizio in my bedroom (I have poor vision and needed a larger size), that size should be fine for a rental. I have several other Vizio tvs and have been happy with them, I think they are on the lower cost side of the market. I think if you have basic cable, you'd be fine. A lot of people wouldn't know how to work a Roku or other device and might break it. Plus, most travel with an iPad or laptop and they could watch Netflix on there.

[ToomuchStuff]

Personally, I am not too much of a fan of smart tv's. There are issues with what happens if software changes and how to update them. Those voice control ones have their own issues.
Sizes depend on room sizes personally. A 32 to 40" tv, is generally considered comparable to the old 27" tv's (there use to be a chart online that I saw). I like the wall brackets for multiple reasons (liability of tv falling over, or kid knocking it down on themselves, makes the wall look occupied, rather then barren or hotel art, etc).
A box, may or may not be an option as that depends on your media supplier (over the air, satellite, cable). TV's (as compared to displays), will handle OTA, but not the other options. Bluray's and dvd's are inexpensive, but how often do you use those on a trip/vacation?
What about internet access for those devices they bring with them (so you don't have their usernames/passwords saved on your devices)? Streaming is becoming more of a thing then disc's that ol timers like I am getting to feel, use.

[SteveinMN]

I'm with ToomuchStuff. I'd rather apply whatever smarts I want outside the TV (we do, with an Apple TV). Services are coming online and folding at a rate that far exceeds the service life of a TV. That said, if there's a Redbox or other video rental place close to your rentals it would be nice to have a DVD player there. Physical media is dying, but it's still popular enough for kids' movies and cheap video-rental services for that unexpected rainy day. The multiple-remote issue is, I think, a non-issue for just two devices. Sometimes the TV remote can control the DVD player or vice versa, so you'll be able to get by with just one. Or you could just clearly label them if different brands or colors don't make it obvious.

As for size, depends on the room it's in. I've seen guides on the Internet that purport to tell you how big a TV you need for a given viewing distance. Know what that distance is likely to be and you'll figure out if a 32" TV is big enough or if it needs to be bigger. We have (gasp!) two TVs. The main (living room) TV is a 40" model; we're generally viewing it from 8 feet away. I wouldn't go bigger, but, then, we're just viewing casually. No major Hollywood productions and not much movie watching. The basement TV is a 32" model; that's usually watched from about 6-7 feet away. We did have a 24" TV down there for a little while, and, honestly, that was just too small for that distance.

I would mount the TV on the wall, if possible, especially if there may be kids in the property. There is a growing issue with kids pulling flat-screen TVs over on themselves. At least tie down the base so the kids can't tip the TV over. Wall-mounting also has the benefit of making it less likely kids will poke at the flat screen with fingers and toys.

And, though you didn't ask, I would suggest you find a way to lock down/hide the cables if you can. A friend of mine has a vacation-rental cabin with a TV connected to a satellite dish and the whole thing connected to a home-theater system. He is constantly finding renters have moved the cables around and patched in their own equipment. Not a lot he can do about it but admonish them. Or refuse to rent to them next time.

Where to purchase? By dumb luck both of our TVs were purchased at Best Buy. One was a sale price I've never seen since anywhere and the other was an open-box/buyer-remorse return. Frankly, outside of lucky breaks like those, it doesn't matter much where you buy them because pretty much the same models are sold at different places for pretty much the same price. You might find a mom-and-pop that's willing to deal a little on a purchase of three TVs and three (smart) DVD players. I wouldn't mail-order them; if you have a problem it's at least a pain to send back the offending device, and, at some sellers, you'd foot the return-shipping bill.

[Gardnr]

Size? Set your budget and spend it. Most rentals these days have 40-44s in both living room and bedrooms sadly. We always buy a TV at Costco (one for our home and one for our cabin).

Wall mount? Yes. Do everything you can to protect yourself from theft. It happens often for "too easy to remove" I'm sad to say.

[Miss Cellane]

If you Google, there's lots of information on how to determine screen size, based on the distance between the main seating and the place the TV will be. A 32" tv will be fine in a smaller room, but if the space is large, you need a larger tv.

I'd go for a dumb tv. Most smart tvs are set up to handle Amazon Prime and Netflix and many other streaming services. So you may get renters entering their info into the tv, or trying to enter their info and failing and then calling you for help. Or not being able to delete the previous renter's info. Too much hassle, if you ask me. And the more features something has, the more that can go wrong.

Dumb tv, maybe with a USB port so renters can attach their computer/tablet/smart phone to stream media. Basic cable. Basic DVD or Blu-Ray player--some people may want to use their vacation time to watch things they haven't had time for, and there's always rainy days.

If you wall mount, you can run the cables in the wall, protect from theft and prevent the TV from falling/being pulled over.

[simplelife4me]

I bought a NON SMART TV and added a DVD player that has some smart features. I find that I am not that interested in watching streaming shows since I want a cheaper and slower internet connection. So, a non smart TV was right for me. Others said to buy a non smart TV and just add the box (apple tv, etc) that gives more features anyway and can be upgraded.