It’s time to purchase an new TV and you are stuck. What do you purchase? With the amount of TV Manufacturers out there like LG, Hisense, Vizio Samsung, Sony and TCL to name a few, how do you know which is the best tv for your needs? At first you may walk into a store with many TV’s placed for viewing to get you to purchase one. Or, perhaps you are searching online for a great tv screen and with the amount of tv brands out there, you may feel overwhelmed. Terms like built-in Wi-Fi (the higher end TV’s will have at least WI-FI 5 capability), blazing refresh rates, compatibility with HDMI 2.1 for eARC with a surround sound system or soundbar may only add to that feeling.
In addition, terms like Full HD, 4K TV, Dolby Vision, HDR TV, OLED, QLED, screen resolution amongst others that you may not be familiar with, or just looking to learn more about are crucial when purchasing a new TV. You may also have questions like, What specs matter the most to me, what size TV and screen size do I need to fit the room I am placing it in?
As we stated while you may feel overwhelmed with all of these options, when purchasing a smart tv, however, with a little guidance and some tutorials, we can delve into some specs and features that will assist you in making the right choice when purchasing that great new TV. So let us proceed with that TV buying guide!
Screen Size/Viewing Distance
While screen size may be subjective to the viewer based off viewing angles and other factors, we have always had the saying “Bigger is Better”. That being said, prior to purchasing that new TV, you should first ascertain which room and it’s size to ensure you get a great viewing experience. For example for a Living Room we would say 65 inch TVs should be the minimum. If you happen to have a Home Theater room at your home, you may want to start thing about larger TV size in the 90+ inch range. . For a Bedroom, or Study we would go with a smaller TV in the range of 43-55 inches.
Obviously other factors such as viewing distance will come into play when making this choice. When discussing viewing distance which is the distance from where you will be seated from the screen, the size of the TV comes into play. For instance on a 55 inch TV, your optimal seating distance would be around 5.5-6 feet. While larger TVs such as 85” and above, your seating distance would be approximately 10 feet. With larger TVs, if your seating distance is too close your picture quality and the individual pixels may become pixelated. Wall mounting a TV will also effect your viewing distance, so keep that in mind if you plan on mounting your new TV.
Note: Since Home Theaters are usually larger and have an AV Receiver, look to make sure that your TV can handle Dolby Atmos sound output for the most immersive experience with your content. Although many of today’s advanced soundbars offer Dolby Atmos as well. And if you are going to be using the speakers from the TV itself check the specs to ensure that the TV can output Dolby Atmos.
Resolution
As evident by the sheer amount of content available on streaming services and apps like Amazon Prime, Netflix or TV shows on your general cable or satellite provider’s content list, you want to ensure that your TV screen shows a higher resolution and a great number of pixels per inch.
Therefore, going beyond your standard HD TV, look for a 4K TV with 4K UHD or 4K Ultra HD to get the 4x the amount of pixels than Full HD. Full HD resolution is 1980 x 1080 P, while 4K tvs will give you a resolution of 3840 x 2160 with a total of more than 8 million pixels. Watching 4K content on your new 4K TV will be a joy.
While 8K content is not widely available currently, if you cam afford it and want to “future proof” your TV viewing experience, you may want to look into 8K TVs which offer 8K resolutions of 7680 x 4320 with approximately 33 million pixels.
In addition, make sure that your new TV can handle HDR content especially HDR 10 at minimum or Dolby Vision as a good upgrade. HDR content will allow for better picture quality and color accuracy.
TV Technology
With the different TV technologies available today, it is important to familiarize yourself with them. OLED TVs and QLED TVs with high dynamic range will give you the best picture quality. Standard LCD TVs and their older technology has fallen by the wayside as the TV technology environment continues to evolve. So what are some of the differences with these standards?
OLED Screens produce deeper black levels. OLED TVs (or Organic Light Emitting Diode) can turn unused pixels off completely. QLED/LCD TVs, even the best ones with the most effective full-array local dimming, let some light through, leading to more washed-out, grayer black levels and blooming around bright sections. OLED TVs typically have a better contrast ratio than QLED TVs. They also offer better viewing angles, color accuracy, deeper black levels and better viewing angles than QLED TV’s LED TV’s and of course LCD TVs.
QLED TVs, even ones with full-array local dimming, let some light through, leading to grayer black levels and ghosting (or the appearance of haloes) around bright sections. This differs greatly from the OLED TV technology. Normally QLED TV’s offer higher brightness and peak brightness than OLED TV’s as well. Quantum dot or QD-OLED TVs offer a higher brightness driven technology above OLED displays.
A TV with mini-led lights can produce displays in 4K resolution and even up to 8K resolution. TVs equipped with mini-led technology will show a more stable and sharper picture than your standard LED backlights.
As with all technology, the better it is the higher the cost. So figure your budget correctly and if you can go with an OLED TV. They are the best of the best. If OLED TVs are out of your budget, we suggest checking out the TCL 4 and 6 series TVs.
Connectivity/Ports
Having the right connectivity for your Smart TV is crucial based off your needs. New Tv’s come with several HDMI ports capable or doing different things if needed. For example while the basic standard is HDMI 2.0, going with a TV that has ports that can accommodate HDMI 2.1 the latest standard is how you should proceed.
HDMI 2.0 has a bandwidth capacity of 18 Gbps (gigabits per second). HDMI 2.1 raises that to 48 Gbps, which means that HDMI 2.1 does not have to compress that much of the data and preserve a better data quality during the transmission process, which will also result in less input lag. This is especially huge for gamers looking for fast paced gaming on their game console like an Xbox. Response times will be quicker and the HDMI 2.1 standard can support 8K content in up to 120 FPS as 4K content is. Great for 4K Blu-Ray players as well.
USB ports are found on the best TV’s as well. Some may have higher USB standard connectivity than lower end TVs with standard USB 2.0 ports. These USB ports can be used for many things. Want to attach a flash drive to your TV so you can show your family and friends content you may have on your drive, just plug and play. Your Smart TV should recognize the drive with it’s files. Many TVs also allow for additional storage to be attached to your TV, so think about getting an expansion drive if you will be downloading a lot of apps and games to your TV.
Bluetooth 5.0 or higher is pretty much standard on newer TV’s so, feel free to connect your great wireless headphones for a great listening experience.
Good Wi-Fi is absolutely a must on your new TV. We recommend that your TV have at least dual band Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi AC so you can access the faster 5 ghz networks. This will speed up response times and lower lag and jitter so your picture won’t appear blurry. Gamers will love this, especially if your TV supports the newer Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi AX which can deliver at times 2.5x the speeds of Wi-Fi 5. Bear in mind that your router has to be capable of producing these Wi-Fi band spectrums as well, otherwise just having them on your TV won’t mean much.
Additional Tip
Today’s Smart TVs usually have baked in software and their own app store to download streaming apps, games or other services. If, you prefer to use a third party streaming device like a Roku Amazon Fire Stick, or Apple TV to name some, just plug the device into one of the HDMI ports and scroll through the inputs on your TV remote to find the HDMI port with the streamer attached. If you happen to have other Apple devices, your Apple TV can sync and cast or airplay with your TV. For ease of use though, we seem to find that the Roku interface is the most seamless and easy to use.
You are now prepared to decide what new TV you want. Let’s get to some enjoyable relaxing TV watching!
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