Like many of you, I went shopping for a new TV on Black Friday and found what I thought was a good deal. You see, Walmart had a 55-inch 4K Smart TV for only $178, which I quickly bought. Unfortunately, things didn’t go very well, and it’s partially my fault.
I already have a big-screen OLED TV in my living room, but I still tracked all the best deals in search of a TV for one of our spare bedrooms. I didn’t need the latest, greatest, or anything too big, but a decent TV would suffice.
As all the deals sold out, I settled for the Hisense 55-inch 4K Roku TV at Walmart at the last minute for $178. Everything looked good for the price, and I’m sure if I bought it a second time, I’d be fine—but this time around, luck wasn’t on my side.
A Line of Dead Pixels, and More!
The Hisense TV I chose uses older LED technology, but it does have Dolby Vision HDR, a 120-Motion Rate, and DTS Studio Sound. I also like the Roku platform. Unfortunately, after I took it out of the box and started getting everything set up, I noticed several problems.
Sadness, a huge line of dead or stuck pixels in the top right corner. Aside from that line, I found four more dead pixels throughout the display, including the one circled above. There were two more in the middle and another near the bottom left corner. I also noticed what looked like one or two stuck pixels.
I tried a few of the usual stuck pixel fixes, like turning it off and back on again, running a color test, rubbing the pixels, doing a factory reset, etc., but it’s toast. If it only had a dead pixel somewhere, I wouldn’t be too upset, but there were multiple, and a big line down the screen is a no-go. It’s time for a refund!
Don’t Make My Mistakes Next Year
When it comes to Black Friday, you’ll find plenty of deals on cheap TV models from no-name brands. And no, I won’t name names. However, I have one of Hisense’s more expensive models, and it’s a fantastic TV. It’s big, bright, and displays crisp colors. I love my Hisense.
My first mistake is that I picked an incredibly cheap TV (even before the Black Friday price), which isn’t the best idea. You’re better off getting a higher-end TV at a significant discount, not the bottom-of-the-barrel pick. Manufacturers often use obscure one-off models for these types of holidays, and that’s not the TV you want. I’m not sure what I was thinking, but I know better.
Second, instead of picking it up in person, I decided to stay home and have it shipped. Walmart claimed it would be here the next day, 24-hour delivery. Online shopping at its finest! As you can imagine, on one of the busiest shopping days of the year, that didn’t happen. It didn’t come the Saturday after Black Friday as advertised. No, it faced several delays and didn’t show up until December 5th. I’m not sure if bouncing around warehouses and delivery trucks for six days caused damage, but it certainly didn’t help, and it’s a problem I should have avoided.
And guess what? It’s a Black Friday special that sold out. There are no replacements available, and my only option is a refund. Now I have to box it up and lug it back to the store, and most of the good Cyber Monday deals have since expired. I missed my opportunity. Thankfully, good deals appear all the time, so I’m not too worried about finding another one.
Holidays are a busy time of year. Many of us have family in town, football games to watch, cooking-related cleanups, putting up Christmas lights over the weekend, and eating leftovers.
Being busy and distracted, I got a little bit lazy and made a few big mistakes buying a TV. Even worse, I made an impulse buy on the worst day of the year to do it. I know better, but I did it anyway. Don’t make the same mistake whenever you decide to get a new TV.
