How do I choose a television?
Size, panel type and brightness matter; most of the rest of the specification does not.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 25 min
- Read
- 2 min
Short answer
Get the size right for your room first, then panel type, then brightness. Refresh rates, processing features and most acronyms on the box make far less difference than any of those three.
Television marketing is dominated by features that are difficult to perceive. Three things genuinely change the experience, and one of them — size — is the one people most often get wrong.
Step by step
- Get the size right for the room.Most people buy too small and regret it. Measure the viewing distance and check a sizing guide. Also measure the space it has to fit, including any stand.
- Understand the panel types.OLED: perfect blacks, superb contrast, best in a darker room, more expensive. LED and QLED: brighter, better in a sunlit room, blacks are grey by comparison. Choose for your room's light rather than in the abstract.
- Consider brightness if the room is bright.A bright room needs a bright panel. This is where a cheap television disappoints most visibly — daytime viewing looks washed out.
- Do not pay for 8K.There is almost no content, and at normal viewing distances the difference from 4K is imperceptible. 4K is the right resolution for essentially every buyer.
- Check the HDMI ports.How many, and their version if you have a games console. Running out of ports is a common annoyance, and a soundbar and a console will use them quickly.
- Plan for sound separately.Flat televisions have poor sound, physically — there is nowhere for speakers. Even a modest soundbar improves it dramatically, and it is the best value upgrade after the set itself.
- Check the smart platform.You will use it daily. Some are noticeably better than others, and some show adverts on the home screen. An external streaming device is a cheap fix for a poor one.
- Ignore most of the processing features.Motion smoothing, various enhancement modes and branded processing names are largely marketing, and most people turn motion smoothing off anyway.
Tips
- Turn off motion smoothing when you set it up. It makes films look like video, and it is on by default on most sets.
- The picture in a shop is set to a bright showroom mode. Judge on reviews rather than on the wall display.
- Last year's mid-range model is usually better value than this year's entry-level one, and panels change slowly.
Questions people ask
What size television should I buy?
Larger than you think — most people buy too small. Measure the viewing distance and check a sizing guide, and measure the physical space including the stand.
Is OLED worth it?
In a darker room, the contrast is a real and visible improvement. In a bright sunlit room a brighter LED or QLED set often looks better.