If you have decided to buy a new television, you have to consider a lot of things. TECHBOOK gives an overview.
The selection of televisions is huge these days – in the truest sense of the word. The television market has now reached gigantic TV sizes. There are a wide variety of display types, technologies and operating systems. So if you’re buying a new television, you have to pay attention to a lot of components before making a decision. And the final purchasing process itself still has a few pitfalls – both in-store and digitally. TECHBOOK explains what these are.
These criteria are important when buying a television
A television is usually a purchase that will last for several years. That’s why you shouldn’t just take the first model you come across, but rather pay attention to a few details in order to get the optimal viewing experience in the end.
The right TV size
One of the first questions you ask yourself when buying a television is its size. The trend of the past few years has been in one direction: devices are getting bigger and bigger. However, which television fits best into your own four walls depends on several factors.
Also interesting: The best giant televisions from 75 inches in the check
The most important factors are the seating distance from the device and the resolution. If I’m sitting far away, the device can be larger and vice versa. The closer I sit, the higher the resolution should be. We have summarized in detail how to determine the perfect TV size for you in a detailed guide.
The different screen types
There are basically two different screen types: LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode). The latest is microLED technology. But which type is right for which occasion?
For a long time, LCD televisions were the most common. LED backlighting is used, which in newer devices is often divided into individually controllable zones. These illuminate liquid crystals from behind and thus create a colored image. A variation of LCD technology is QLED, which is intended to improve the image using a quantum dot filter between the lighting and liquid crystals.
With OLED technology, however, the organic diodes of the display itself light up – the background lighting is no longer necessary. microLED works similarly, with the difference that tiny LEDs are used here. The LEDs have shrunk so much that they represent the individual colors (red, green, blue) of a pixel. microLED panels therefore do not require a backlight and are brighter than OLED panels. The disadvantage: production has so far been extremely expensive.
You can find out what advantages and disadvantages each technology offers in our extensive overview article.
What resolution does my television need?
Another important point when choosing a TV is the resolution of the screen. The interaction of the different components also plays a role. The larger the television, the higher the resolution should be – especially if you sit quite close to it.
Worldwide, devices with 4K resolution replaced the previous Full HD standard in 2019. But there are also more and more devices with 8K panels on the market. However, not all content can be played back in this high resolution. Regular TV programs, for example, are hardly available in Full HD. Good upscaling is therefore a must.
For the exact differences between the individual resolutions, take a look at our extensive collector. In it we also explain what exactly the difference is between UHD and 4K.
Also interesting: Cheap 4K televisions in comparison
Operating system and features
In addition to the actual picture, which is of course the main product of a television, the system behind it also plays a role in the purchase. Just like a PC or a cell phone, the operating system differs from manufacturer to manufacturer – and with it the functions.
Anyone who buys a (smart) TV today can access apps, surf the Internet on the TV and much more. Manufacturers like Samsung and LG have developed their own operating system. Otherwise, Android TV and Roku OS are particularly widespread.
The systems differed primarily in their usability. When it comes to the content that can be controlled, the selection also depends on what is important to you. Not all apps or streaming services are available for every operating system. Some offer voice control, others don’t, etc.
This is what you should pay attention to when buying a television
If you are actually about to buy a television, you should keep an eye on all the components. There are also a few additional tricks in the purchasing process itself. It is important to differentiate between whether you buy the television online or in the store.
In general, the same advantages and disadvantages apply as with normal shopping. The advantage of buying on site is of course that you can actually look at the device and its effect. A 70-inch television is something completely different in theory than in practice. But of course there is also a lot of “tricking” going on in the store.
Because test films are shown there that make the device look as good as possible. The images are often made for very high-resolution TV sets and therefore offer above-average, beautiful and detailed impressions. You should also drill down a bit with the settings, as the brightness is often set to high in the sales room. And always look at the picture from the side on site. It may lose contrast from a more oblique angle.
Anyone who prefers to buy their devices online will of course primarily save time and have a larger selection in one fell swoop. Since televisions are usually quite expensive, it is worth carrying out extensive research and then checking where the selected device is available particularly cheaply.
Check energy consumption and labeling
By the way, every time you buy a TV – both online and in the store – you should pay attention to the TV’s energy consumption. TV sets can be real power guzzlers. OLED TVs generally use more energy than LCD TVs and should not be switched off, but only put into standby mode.
The EU energy labels can be helpful. These divide the devices into classes between A and G. G stands for the lower energy-intensive end of the scale and A for the upper and therefore more energy-efficient end of the scale.
However, it is important to note that the labels take the respective device class into account. Anyone who buys a television in energy class B is buying an energy-efficient device – compared to other televisions. The screen diagonal is also taken into account. A large TV uses more power than a small one and can still have a better energy rating.
More on the topic: How meaningful are the EU energy labels really?
So you should always look at the actual energy consumption in addition to the label itself. This must also be specified by the manufacturer.