<p>Need to pick your brains on Smart TVs.</p>
<p>Currently in the market for a 50 inch TV Samsung. However, fell in love with a 55 3D Samsung today after seeing a demo of transformer. 
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<p>The series options are 6150 Samsung Series the other is the 6580(with 3D). </p>
<p>Go Big or Go Home? </p>
<p>Would love to hear your feedback.</p>
<p>If the cost isnāt an issue for you get what you want since youāll likely have it for quite a long time and youāll regret getting anything less. Bigger is better with the flat screen TVs. Personally I wouldnāt bother with the 3D TVs unless it was a freebie. Thereās very little in the way of 3D media available and I donāt see a lot of 3D media being made now except for cartoons and itād be a hassle to wear the 3D glasses.</p>
<p>We got a 3D TV because it was factory refurbished and a GREAT deal, costwise, and blu-ray player already did 3D</p>
<p>Movies that were adapted for 3D (like Harry Potter 7.1 and 7.2) are not worth it.</p>
<p>Movies filmed in 3D (like Pirates of the Caribbean 4, Hugo, etc) are stunning in 3D.</p>
<p>All that being said, I wouldnāt spend the extra for 3D unless the price was good.</p>
<p>Also agreeāget the biggest TV you can afford that will fit on your wall. HD picture quality is unbelievable!!</p>
<p>Smart TV is very coolāeasy connection to Netflix, automatically does firmware updates</p>
<p>I bought the Panasonic GT 55" 3D Plasma on a great sale for $1299ā¦ With the Viera Cast you can get Netflix streaming. Only thing is it didnāt include the 3D glasses and Iāve yet to watch 3D content. Great TV for the money.</p>
<p>The plasmas are a lot cheaper than the LEDs.</p>
<p>We bought the 55" 6150 Samsung LED Smart TV about two months ago and we love it. We didnāt really need/want the 3D.</p>
<p>I just went through this process (Smart TV/2D vs. 3D) with my sister-in-law about a month ago. She had some serious cash in her pocket that needed spending. In the beginning, she wanted to be able to surf the Internet from her couch and stare at a big screen HDTV. This from a person who had basic cable and an old 20ā tube set down in her finished basement family room. </p>
<p>After a lot of web searching and studying the Sunday ads, I went to the local big box and warehouse stores in our neighborhood. I too saw the in-store 3D demos (in my case, an HD aquarium sequence and a magician throwing a crumpled card at the viewer). All very impressive! And all designed to make you salivateā¦ Remember, the displayed HD sets at the store are all maxed out picture-wise. At home your brightness levels will not be that high. </p>
<p>The cost differential between a Smart TV/2D vs. 3D is only a few hundred dollars when you factor in the 3D bundling package. The manufacturers are adding in āfreeā 3D Blu-ray players and extra 3D glasses. Both these items are necessities for the 3D experience. You canāt watch a 3D movie without a 3D Blu-ray player and you and your family and friends will need 3D glasses to enjoy the experience. Subtract the extra $250-$300 that you would need to spend anyway and youāre at or near the 2D pricing level.</p>
<p>There is also two 3D systems: The active system (Sony, Panasonic and Samsung) which uses very expensive battery rechargeable glasses and the passive system (LG and Vizio) which uses the polarized glasses you got at the theatre when you went to see Avatar. Thereās a lot of debate over which is the more superior system on audio-video sites. The consensus seems to favor the active system. My take on this: itās like the battle between Beta and VHS. Beta had the better picture, but VHS had longer recording times while the picture was good enough. Comparing the cost of the 3D glasses, itās like going to the Dollar store to buy a cheap pair of polarized sunglasses or going to Lenscrafters. Let your bank account decide. </p>
<p>LG is the largest manufacturer of the passive 3D system and come with six pair of glasses. And the bundled system adds another six pair (two adult, two children and two Clip-on!) for a grand total of twelve pair of 3D specs. So you and eleven of your family and friends can watch a 3D movie. And anybody who kept the 3D glasses from when they went to see Avatar can join in the fun. </p>
<p>The active system (until two weeks ago) came with only two pair of active 3D glasses. Within the past two weeks, the new units will come with four pair so if you want the Samsung, wait until you see them advertised with the extra two pair. While youāre waiting, check out the cost of adding an active pair of glasses to your collection. Have smelling salts on handā¦</p>
<p>Smart HDTVs are all about the Internet. Kindaā¦ Yes wireless and Ethernet connections come with these sets. Speed depends on your cable connection. More importantly, the big issue is video quality. A grainy VGA or cellphone video played on a 55ā 1080i HDTV is not a happy experience. That viral Youtube video of the dayā¦ Some manufacturers have optional wireless keyboards. Others have an on-screen keyboard which requires you to āpeckā at the keys by using your remote as a point and click device (LG). Frankly, a wirelessly connected laptop or tablet is a more satisfying experience. </p>
<p>Thereās the matter of size. My sister-in-law opted for a 55ā LG Smart 3D HDTV. My nephew and I thought a 47ā HDTV would be big enough. And a lot cheaper ā¦ The major determinate is the distance between the TV and your couch. There is a fifteen feet distance between the TV and her sitting area. At that distance, she could easily get a 60ā HDTV. The lesson here is that the father you are from the screen, the bigger the screen size needs to be. At the store displays, 55ā appears plenty big. But in a real room, the screen seems to shrink the further you sit from it.</p>
<p>The 3D experience: great if you watch only Pixar 3D animation and their action and adventure films. Avatar great, A Very Harold and Kumar Xmas ā¦? Iām guessing that most people will use there HDTVs in 2D mode. Itās a hassle to wear the 3D glasses (even clip-ons) except for special occasions. The viewing room really needs to be dark when watching 3D content. If your room is bright and airy, be prepared to get darker curtains. My opinion, others may differā¦</p>
<p>Thereās the problem of getting 3D content. Netflix and Blockbusters do not carry 3D dvds. Luckily, we have a video store chain (Family Video) which does carry them. At least she can rent them to see if she wants to shell out the $30-$35 to purchase one. </p>
<p>Once you get over the novelty of āseeingā a shark rushing at you or bullets flying pass your head, whatās left? Would 3D enhance say Meryl Streepās The Iron Lady? Spoiler Alert! See Maggie having a tiff with her beloved Dennis! See her heaving a tea cup at him! āBy Jove, was that a flying saucer?ā Ahemā¦</p>
<p>So, if you have the money, a 3D HDTV (especially in a bundle with a 3D Blu-ray player and extra 3D glasses) is a great choice. Keep in mind that thereās still only a limited amount of content. The internet experience is OK, but in the brief time that I played with this feature, I was not impressed.</p>
<p>Overall, Iām not fully convinced that a 3D HGTV is a āmust haveā. What Iām waiting for is a Hologram HDTV. āHelp me, Obi-wan!ā</p>
<p>You guys rock!! </p>
<p>Thanks for all the information. I have taken them all in and will have them in mind when I revist and do so more research.</p>
<p>@Bamagirlsā¦ I am really liking what you have :-)</p>
<p>@ Michuncle great thought about having friends over when we just have enough 3D glasses for the famā¦ hmmmm. much to think about. No issue with distance or the size.</p>
<p>Coincidentally, I just received a Costco advertising pamphlet that indicated a fair amount of money off of Samsung flat screen TVs. I donāt know how it compares to where you were checking but you might want to check on this - </p>
<p>[Costco</a> - Electronics - Televisions](<a href=āhttp://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?whse=BC&Ne=5000135&eCat=BC|90607|2341&N=4047300+4294967156+4294891953&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&topnav=]Costcoā>http://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?whse=BC&Ne=5000135&eCat=BC|90607|2341&N=4047300+4294967156+4294891953&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&topnav=)</p>
<p>Also, if you donāt already have it, youāll end up wanting big sound to go with that big screen TV with the really nice picture so think about getting a decent surround sound system. It really makes a difference and IMO would be much more desirable than 3D if one wanted to make a choice between where to spend the money.</p>
<p>I watched āCaptain Americaā last night and one of the sounds that came from the right rear speaker (a ricochet or explosion or something) made me jump!</p>
<p>Yeah, we like it too! Definitely check out Costco and Samās Club. We bought ours at our local Costco. The picture quality is amazingā¦I think youāll be very happy.:)</p>
<p>I bought samsung smart led last week from costco, really good price and quality but I do have one concern - internet speed. All the wireless in our house works great but not smart tv. It is slow ā¦ but overall, we really enjoy the good quality.</p>
<p>GladGradDad and Bamagirls. We are Costco members. After looking at other stores we know Costco will definitely be our choice. Thanks again.</p>
<p>GladGradDad. Lol on that ricochet, I think the only thing we need to complete the surround sound we have is a center channel speaker, so I can still get my 3D 
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<p>As poster āArlingā points out, browsing the internet on the current generation of Smart TVs resembles dial-up. Smart TVs donāt have the circuitry of a computer. No memory, no caching, no nothing. Iāve recently seen ads for a new generation of Smart TVs that have computer like CPUs. I would take a āwait and seeā approach. Buy in haste, repent in leisure. These models have just entered the market place. Read the forthcoming reviews before spending your money.</p>
<p>Wimbledon in 3D has been amazing!
We have the samsung smart</p>