Things to Consider When Buying a TV

It’s 2020, and we’re streaming more than ever. Everyone’s binge-watching shows, going through lists of top movies by genre and theme or they’re getting lost in an endless loop of YouTube videos. We’re spoiled for choice, and we’ve seen how important home entertainment is when we couldn’t leave the house for weeks on end because of the pandemic.

The truth is that a new TV can become your family’s best friends for years to come. Movie night with the kids, cuddling with your partner, watching sports with your friends, or playing video games - we spend a lot of time in front of our TVs, so it makes sense that we invest a bit of time in picking the right one. This isn’t an easy task, though. In recent years, manufacturers have come up with a huge array of models with amazing features at bargain prices. How are you supposed to know which one is better? What’s the difference between LED and OLED? Should you get 4K resolution? What about 8K? What does HDR mean?

In this article, we will try to answer some of your questions and go through the most relevant features so you can make an informed decision.

Screen Size

Is bigger always better? Well, generally, yes. We haven’t heard anyone say that they regret not getting a smaller TV. You just need to consider how much room you have and how much you’re willing to spend on it. In terms of price, size, and performance report, TVs between 55 and 65 inches seem to work best. Of course, here we’re talking about TVs you place in your living room. If you’re looking for something for your bedroom or kitchen, it might be best to get something smaller.

Coming back to living room options, it also depends on how much room you have between the TV and the sofa. You can sit closer to ultra-high definition TV’s, but it might ruin the effect with other models. We recommend you go to the store with your family and check at what distance you get the most comfortable viewing for each of your preferred models. You can also experiment through a rent to own TV payment plan.  

Screen Resolution

Resolution refers to the number of pixels that compose the picture you see on your display. It’s described as horizontal rows by vertical rows. More pixels means higher resolution with sharper picture and finer details.

A guide to buying a TV wouldn’t be complete without discussing this critical aspect. Full HD had become the standard in the past few years, which means 1920 x 1080 resolution. Nowadays, manufacturers are shifting toward Ultra HD or 4K. 4K means what it sounds like. It has four times the resolution of Full HD, four times the number of pixels – 3840 x 2160 pixels.

When you’re watching movies on a 4K TV, you’ll notice that the text appears sharper and small objects have more details and look more life-like. The benefits can be subtle, but it depends on your expectations from your viewing experience. If you’re very passionate about movies and want to see every little detail, then a 4K TV might be the right choice for you even though it’s more expensive. Another advantage we already mentioned when we discussed screen size is that you can sit closer to the TV so you can fit a large TV in a smaller living room. With the emergence of this new technology, streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and even YouTube started releasing content in 4K format so you’ll have plenty to choose from.

Manufacturers are already producing 8K TVs, which obviously have a better resolution than 4K, and the price reflects it. If money is a concern for you, we recommend you wait another year or two before getting an 8K TV since there isn’t enough content to take advantage of this new technology, and you’ll probably be able to get it at a lower price.

What Is HDR and Should You Get It?  

HDR stands for high dynamic range, and it’s essentially an upgrade to 4K Ultra HD TVs that makes colors more vibrant as well as increases brightness and contrast. You can look up images online to compare performance or go to a store, and they’ll offer you a demonstration. There still isn’t that much HDR-compatible content available, although things appear to be changing to take advantage of this new feature. You’ll see that the difference isn’t at all subtle; HDR offers a remarkable viewing experience.

Whether you want to get a 4K TV with HDR is up to you. Since there still isn’t enough content to really make up for the cost, you might want to wait a bit longer. With that being said, if you want the best of the best and you’re planning to hold on to your new TV for a minimum of 5 years, you might want to make the investment.

LED vs. OLED

First we had Plasma TVs which nobody makes anymore. Then we had LCDs (liquid crystal displays), which were great but had their shortcomings, especially when it came to viewing angle. Manufacturers improved upon LCD technology, and we got LCD/LED TVs or LEDs. Most TVs you see in stored today are LED LCD, so a combination of both technologies. LED stands for light-emitting diode. Light-emitting diodes are used to illuminate the LCD screen through a feature called active dimming. Some parts of the image will be dimmed while others light up.

OLED stands for organic light emitted diode, which means that OLED screens are not backlit like LEDs. Every pixel can adjust individually, making the picture appear more realistic. Black is truly black and not just dark grey. You’ll get better contrast and no viewing angle issues. Also, LED TVs are already thin, but OLEDs are even thinner. Watch out for confusing labels like QLED, which actually refer to quantum-dot LCD LED TVs. These TV’s have another layer of nanocrystal dots that light up against the LED backlight. They’re not OLED and won’t deliver the same performance. When you go to a store, you can ask a shop assistant to show you a video of fireworks against a black sky, and you’ll see the difference. On the other hand, QLEDs can be a more affordable middle ground between LEDs and OLEDs.