What to look for when buying a TV?

opethdisciple

opethdisciple

opethdisciple

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Not really a big TV watcher as I watch everything via PC these days but folks want me to go with them to buy a new TV.

So what do I need to look out for, any big features which it should support for the future etc?

Or is it just the usual DPI, resolution etc ect...
 

ahar

ahar

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Look up LCD vs OLED vs QLED - thats the big tech difference at the moment. Cost wise that would generally be LCD<QLED<OLED. QLED vs OLED, there are different advantages, both are better than LCD but more expensive
 

Raymond Lin

Raymond Lin

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First you need to know what you use it for.

Then price range.
There are things like local dimming, edge dimming.
ARC - IMO, most useful tech in new TV. It has made my Harmony Remote redundant.
HDMI 2.1a,/b, 2.2 etc
HDR - There are different standards

Forget 3D, that was a fad
Don’t get a curve TV, that was a fad too

I prefer OLED, but not the best for gaming, amazing for movies.
 

Pipe & Slippers

Pipe & Slippers

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Read reviews of the sound quality
Many have poor sound just because of the limitations of the thin TV
I got a heavily recommended and expensive Samsung a few years ago and the sound was rubbish - I ended up getting a sound bar
On the other hand, maybe my hearing's going
 

Nitefly

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If you game a lot, you might want to take into account ‘input lag’, which equates to the response time between your controller and what you see on screen.

It sounds silly but.... size. You only need a big TV for a big ‘TV room’. Think how it’ll look with everything else.

Also, TVs can get really expensive and in all honesty I’m not 100% sure it’s worth it beyond a certain point. I think I paid around £1k for a Samsung KS8000 or similar about 3/4 years ago, as at that point the OLEDs were from around £1800, which is a massive jump, and I do not regret going for the cheaper option for a second and I actually rank it amongst my very best purchases. It looks brilliant.

The only downside with LCDs is that when you have a very dark screen, such as during credits at the end of films, you get a ‘light glow’ around the lighter areas. This is not actually an issue for 99% of content that you will be watching.

This one. Possibly old hat now *shrug* but I think it’s brilliant.

https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/model/UE49KS8000TXXU/
 

stockhausen

stockhausen

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I would advise looking for a TV that allows the user to record TV programmes directly to a USB memory stick (or external USB HDD).

I have found this incredibly useful if you want to watch something but may not be around when it is on.

I realise that it could be said that this is now redundant with iPlayer, 4OD, ITV player, etc. but at least this way you can skip adverts.

also . . . modern TVs seem to be cutting back on the number of HDMI sockets.
 

arknor

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get one that wont have black borders on the edge they always say theyre HD you put ya dvd in and you get black bars!!!! they forgot the pixels down the side what the
 

Semple

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Pipe & Slippers said:
Read reviews of the sound quality
Many have poor sound just because of the limitations of the thin TV
I got a heavily recommended and expensive Samsung a few years ago and the sound was rubbish - I ended up getting a sound bar
On the other hand, maybe my hearing's going
Click to expand...

I think that's pretty much the normal and to be expected these days.

People want thinner TV's, and you can't really fit good sound into a thin TV. So it's given that a soundbar is now a must.
 
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