As the festive season draws to a close, the excitement of holiday sales and discounts is reaching its final crescendo. To pick the right TV for your home this Diwali, you need to be familiar with popular trends and your own specific needs. Here are a few tips that will help you make the right choice.
Size matters
Choose the ideal TV size based on viewing or gaming distance, which should be around 1.5 to 2 times the screen size for optimal experience.
Display Type
Generally, the more you spend the better display type you can get. Affordable and mid-range TVs offer LED LCD and QLED displays. Premium TVs offer mini LED, OLED and QD-OLED technologies.
Also Read: What are MicroLED displays? How are they better than OLED or mini LED displays?
Display Performance
Regardless of the display technology employed, it’s essential to consult reviews or gain firsthand experience to gauge the panel’s calibration and performance accurately before making a purchase.
Motion Smoothening or MEMC
Many TVs advertise Motion Smoothening to reduce blur in fast-moving scenes. This isn’t necessarily an advantage and sometimes creates an unnatural, soap opera effect.
Also Read: TCL T6G 55-inch QLED TV review
Types of HDR
HDR10 and Dolby Vision are the most popular HDR formats across OTT apps. HDR10+ and HLG are not as popular. Proprietary HDR labels like Auto HDR, Smart HDR, etc. might not factually imply HDR support.
HDR Impact
The impact of HDR depends on several factors including peak brightness, contrast and colour volume. Affordable HDR TVs are often limited in one or more of these aspects.
Global Dimming
Global dimming is the most basic dimming technology used to enhance the contrast of LED LCD TVs. It is popular on affordable TV and is generally less effective than local dimming.
Local Dimming
Local dimming can dim or turn off portions of the backlight to enhance contrast. Its effectiveness differs across TVs. It depends on zone count and the quality of the brand’s dimming algorithms.
Also Read: RGB to PHOLED – 8 Different Types of OLED Display Technologies You Should Know About!
High refresh rate is only for gaming
Unlike on smartphones, a high refresh rate on TVs is needed only for gaming. 60Hz is sufficient for most content even with MEMC being used to enhance motion smoothness.
HDMI 2.1
In 2023, most TVs with HDMI 2.1 ports lack the full HDMI 2.1 bandwidth required for 120Hz gaming, though they often support popular HDMI 2.1 features like eARC and ALLM.
Don’t worry about Cast
Casting via smartphone to your TV is now a lot less restricted across apps and platforms as compared to perhaps when you bought your last TV. For instance, you can easily cast from Android or iOS smartphones to a Google TV or say a Fire TV.
Voice Control is convenient
TVs that support popular smart home assistants and come equipped with far-field microphones for hands-free voice commands can be incredibly convenient, particularly if you have a well-established smart home ecosystem.
Surround Sound
Many TVs ship with surround sound speakers and on some high-end options like Sony A80L, the effect is quite convincing. However, for a truly impactful surround sound experience, consider investing in an external audio system.
Also Read: Sony Bravia A80L 65-inch Review
Which brands to buy?
The spec sheet and features won’t tell you much about the actual colour performance. So if reviews are unavailable and you are buying from online stores, it is safer to side with legacy TV brands.
Look for deals on last-gen models
Opt for previous-generation models to maximize value. You’ll often enjoy a significant discount without a substantial drop in performance.
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Deepak Singh
Deepak is Editor at Digit. He is passionate about technology and has been keeping an eye on emerging technology trends for nearly a decade. When he is not working, he likes to read and to spend quality time with his family. View Full Profile
