5 non-negotiables when buying a TV

There’s a lot of internal negotiation that goes into buying a new car. Smart TV How much are you willing to spend, and how much are you willing to get? What qualities and features do you really need in a TV, and which do you not?

This exchange happens when you have a clear idea of ​​what you want, what you can get, and what it will cost. You can find discounts and great deals. OLED TV Once you know what you actually need, you might rethink what you previously thought was most important. After all, money and perceived value have a big impact.

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It is important to keep an open mind when buying a TV, but at the same time, you need a stable base to operate it on. A TV needs to have several aspects, features and qualities. Smart TV There’s no room for debate. Here’s a list of non-negotiables for a smart TV:

1 size

It’s important

From tiny 42-inch TVs to gigantic 100-inch models, TVs come in a variety of sizes to meet different needs. But those needs aren’t always something you can compromise on. Where you plan to put the TV you’re buying will largely determine what size TV you should buy.

Televisions come in a wide variety of sizes, but for most consumers, there are only a handful of realistic options. The majority of potential buyers looking for a television to serve as their main entertainment center will likely consider a 55-inch, 65-inch, or 75-inch TV for their home.

Depending on the size of your room, there’s a “right” size for that space. Walls, distance from the TV, and different viewing angles all require a certain scale, and the difference between the options is so great that you don’t really have much choice. You shouldn’t change your mind even if you find a better deal. A TV that’s too small or too big won’t provide a satisfying entertainment experience.

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2 Control and Navigation

Comfortable travel is ideal

How you control your TV, navigate apps, and find the content you’re looking for is important, so it’s good to know all your options, including virtual assistant and remote-style combinations. Most new TVs come with at least one virtual helper you can talk to, but you’ll want to make sure your assistant is integrated with the smart home ecosystem you use more frequently. If you don’t use Android or Google products and services, Google Assistant might not be right for you.

While virtual helpers are handy, especially when searching for a specific title among a sea of ​​content, we recommend taking a hard look at the remote control you’ll be using frequently. Most companies focus on durability, efficiency, and a certain level of good looks in the remote controls they offer. With so much available content, so many apps to navigate, and so many settings to fiddle with, it’s important that the way you control your TV is practical and comfortable. Consider the layout, size, feel, and convenient buttons that give you direct access to streaming services.

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3 Manufacturer and year

The newer the better

Television technology is advancing rapidly, with new and impressive models emerging every year that push the boundaries of innovation. With so many companies competing to gain brand loyalty, it helps to create a market that is constantly pushing for improvement. This means you can’t stay with the latest technology for long, but you also don’t want to be years behind.

This means that no one should buy a TV that’s more than 18 months old. While it can be hard to pinpoint the month a TV was released, the year is easy to determine. Most big box stores and major retailers like Amazon stock this year’s and last year’s TVs in their lineups, so you’re unlikely to come across a TV that’s too old.

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Keep in mind that TVs that are more than a year old may not fall behind immediately, but may start to trend downward more quickly. You may end up replacing your TV in three years instead of the usual four or five. LG’s 2023 C3 OLED model is a great investment right now, thanks in part to the recent launch of the C4. But if you’re only looking at it in January, the 2025 model may not be the best investment, as they’re trying to take all TVs down a notch. This is a tough proposition. Discounted older TV manufacturers have nice price tags, but the value and longevity probably just aren’t there.

4 Filmmaker Mode

Cinematic Experience

As someone who enjoys a lot of movies, and tries not to be too pretentious about it, I want a TV that delivers movie content that is as faithful to the artist’s vision as possible. And I don’t just mean watching highbrow classic content like Oppenheimer or Killers of the Flower Moon. Cinematic fidelity means getting the brightest, most accurate colors when watching Guardians of the Galaxy, or simply making sure there’s no excess motion or blur in a blockbuster like Mission: Impossible.

This means you’ll need a TV that supports Filmmaker Mode or a similar feature. I’ve used it before, and this handy preset preserves the intended frame rate and aspect ratio while automatically turning off a host of extra processing found in many defaults. Filmmaker Mode can be toggled to turn on automatically with compatible content, or you can turn it on manually before watching a movie.

5

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6 Refresh rate

Essential for high quality viewing

There’s quite a bit of technical stuff that feels arcane and, naturally, a bit unnecessary: ​​the exact number of dimming zones, peak brightness, number of quantum dots, number of possible color combinations, etc. can lead to mind-bogglingly arcane numbers for the average person. Contrast, brightness, and color accuracy are certainly important, but the specifics may not be as important as the general.

But there’s one technical aspect that’s pretty easy to understand and important, and luckily most new smart TVs have it: refresh rate, measured in Hertz, is the number of times your TV produces an image per second. This makes fast-moving images smoother and more detailed. While some TVs boast a 60Hz refresh rate, 120Hz is becoming increasingly common and is important for people who watch a lot of sports, enjoy action movies, or play video games.

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Keep in mind that native refresh rates effectively max out at 120Hz or 144Hz (higher rates are not noticeable), but many companies boast so-called motion rates (or similar) with numbers in the hundreds. Refresh rate is a hardware component, while these motion innovations are software upgrades and each company has their own. Motion enhancements are fine, but mostly negligible. Make sure your native refresh rate is 120Hz.

There are a lot of things to consider when buying a TV, so it’s helpful to have a few must-haves in mind to help narrow down your search. While you can compromise on some features, for me they’re non-negotiable.

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