Choosing the Right TV For Your Home
TV shopping has become quite the animal. There are so many features to choose from, brands vying for your dollar, and stores doing the same. Here’s a list of options to consider when shopping for your next TV.
Size
According to Digital Trends, modern TVs are now incredibly consistent when it comes to picture quality across different sizes. If all else is kept the same between the TV you’re looking for, size is completely up to your personal preference. Make sure to measure your space and consult with any other decision-maker in your home before you purchase.
High Definition
Image quality has progressed a lot in the last several years. Almost every TV out there is some form of HD now. The tricky part is digging deeper into HD. Make sure to take a good look at the actual number of pixels your prospective TV displays in. While the standard 1080p is pretty great, there are now TVs that display in Ultra HD or 4k, which is 4 times as many pixels. If you’re looking to make the transition into higher pixel HDTVs, pay a local store a visit to see if the difference is visible to your eyes. Then you’ll have to decide if the price point is worth it.
I am part of the school of thought that most TVs nowadays are plenty good in terms of screen resolution. However, I recently started using my small non-fancy flat screen TV as a second monitor for my computer and noticed that the resolution was too low to display some of my text documents and spreadsheets legibly. If you plan to do something like that, you’ll want to check and make sure you have the screen resolution you need.
LED or OLED
LED TVs are generally more popular than OLED because they offer great quality for a lower price. OLED TVs are top-of-the-line, so if you need the absolute best picture quality available or just love being on the cutting edge of technology, go for an OLED. LED TVs have everything that most TV watchers need, so if you’re just a recreational viewer, you should be just fine with a standard LED TV.
Refresh Rate
The refresh rate of a TV is usually expressed in Hertz (Hz.) This refers to the number of times the monitor will rebuild the image in a second. At 120Hz, the screen refreshes at 120 frames per second. The higher the refresh rate, the smoother your images will appear.
Extras
There are tons of extras available on TVs anymore. Some of the standouts fall within the Smart TV realm. If you’re considering a TV with “Smart” features, you’ll need to make sure your internet connection is strong enough to take advantage of them.
There are also a lot of options to make your TV smart which only require an HDMI port. If you stream your shows frequently, something like a Chromecast or Roku will work great and might save you a lot of money on buying a fully “smart” TV.
Even with all of the innovations that have come out over the years, most TVs are still accessible for the hearing-impaired. If you or a family member is hard of hearing, most TVs and channels are still integrated with captioning services to make the viewing experience more accessible and enjoyable for all.
When buying a new TV, there are a lot of options to consider. Try to keep it simple and only be picky on the features that will really make a difference for you and your family. If you spend too much time agonizing over features that you didn’t know existed, you’ll just end up frustrated and confused.
