TV Buying Tips (2020)

As I am always careful when buying appliances, I believe that a few tips will mean something to you if you decide to buy a new TV. Buying a TV is no more complicated than buying a phone, it is even easier because you have less choice and the TVs have fewer details that you have to pay attention to.

Since I am aware that the purchasing power in Serbia is not great, I will immediately suggest the domestic brand Tesla.

Tesla TVs, and devices in general, became very popular in Serbia in a short time. In our market, the Tesla brand can be seen on TVs, telephones, tablets, and air conditioners, and what sets it apart is the price/quality ratio.

They are a great choice for those who would like decent quality for not so much money. In addition, these TVs are assembled in Serbia, so by buying, you are helping the development of the domestic economy.

You have a variety of available, from cheaper to more expensive, you can choose according to features, price, screen size, etc.

But, first of all, I must briefly explain the most common terms that you will encounter when shopping. And don't worry, I'll make sure I don't overwhelm you with technical terms.

Resolution

In essence, the number should be as high as possible. Because the higher the resolution, the sharper the image. Resolution represents the number of pixels on the screen and is usually expressed as number x number, e.g. 1080 × 720. Multiply them and you get the total number of pixels on the screen.

When it comes to Tesla TVs, ie. Generally cheaper and medium expensive TVs, you will most often encounter these resolutions:

• HD Ready has a resolution of 1366 × 768 pixels. This resolution is acceptable for TVs up to 32 inches for basic movie and TV viewing.
• Full HD is a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels, which is the standard almost everywhere today, even in our country. If you plan to use the TV as a secondary monitor, you should not choose anything below this.

UHD (Ultra HD) has a resolution of 3840 × 2160 pixels and is currently not worth taking with us. You also have, say, 4K resolution (4096 × 2160 pixels) and if you are an average user, you do not need this TV. They are expensive, still in their infancy, and there is not enough digital content and resolution to watch, especially not here.

Screen size

It is usually expressed in inches and is measured diagonally and it is very important to choose the right size. You can do this by measuring in centimeters the distance from which you will most often watch TV and dividing by 2 if you are buying Full HD or by 3 if you are buying HD Ready TV (later I will help you choose between the two). That number you get is roughly the diagonal of the screen in centimeters, and you can convert it to inches. This calculator can help you with the whole process: https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/by-size/size-to-distance-relationship

Panel technology

You basically have two options here: LCD and Plasma. I wrote a seminar on this topic at the faculty and there is a lot to write about, but in order not to overwhelm you with technical details that are irrelevant to you, I will write briefly.

LCD has its variations when it comes to backlighting: LED and CCFL. When you buy a TV if it says only LCD then it is CCFL variant and if it says LCD LED then it is LED variant. It is also OLED, but such TVs are expensive and perhaps unprofitable in our country.

Plasma has an advantage over LCD in terms of contrast, faster response time, and higher viewing angles. There are fewer and fewer of them, but if you are a gamer, I recommend these TVs.

Frequency

Another important figure that you need to pay attention to and it is desirable to be as large as possible. It is expressed in hertz (Hz) and for the average user, 60 Hz is quite enough.

Response time

It is expressed in milliseconds (ms) and represents the time it takes for the TV to display an image on the screen after receiving the input. The number should be as small as possible, and 8ms is completely ok for the average user.

Contrast

It is the relationship between the lightest white and the darkest black. It is expressed only as a number: a number, e.g. 1,000: 1. Just be careful, sellers often write Dynamic Contrast as the largest number because it is, it can be e.g. 100,000: 1, but that number means nothing to you. The real contrast (True Contrast) should be as high as possible, and it is up to 5,000: 1, mostly with more expensive TVs.

Point of view

Simply the angle at which you can watch TV without changing the picture quality (color, brightness, sharpness (). The number is expressed as a number/number °, e.g. 178/178 °

Digital tuner

DVB-T2 became an increasingly popular term in our country when we switched to a digital signal. If your TV has this function, then you do not need a set-top box but you can insert the antenna directly into the TV and have digital TV channels.

Smart

And finally, we come to the SMART option. What does that even mean? In short: your TV has an operating system. This OS adds a lot of useful features to the TV as if you have a computer in front of you. So, you can run and install applications, go online, watch digital content from external devices (USB flash, memory cards ...) and much more.

Only a special article can be written about Smart functions, so I will write in a few days.

Update: I also wrote an article about smart TVs, so read here.

Tips

In this part, in the end, I will give you some tips for buying a TV, ie what to pay attention to from all those details, depending on what you are buying a TV for. I will not take the size of the screen into account because it depends on where you are watching TV. I wrote above how to determine the diagonal you need.

1. Classic watching movies and TV channels

If you buy a TV for this purpose, then you can go quite cheap. All you need is HD Ready (1366 × 768) resolution, frequency 60Hz, LCD screen (it doesn't have to be LED), DVB-T2 optional if you don't have a set-top box. Judge for yourself from the viewing angle because you know how many people will be watching TV at once and what your seating schedule is. In essence, 178/178 is quite a decent angle and will probably satisfy the needs of the majority. Response time does not play an excessive role, so you can take some with at least 8ms.

Example: TESLA 24S306BH LED TV

2. Movie buffs

If you buy a TV primarily for watching movies with maybe some stereo speaker system, then I recommend a slightly better TV. For example, Full HD minimum resolution, frequency 100 + Hz, LCD LED screen as a great recommendation due to the excellent black color (which is achieved by turning off the LEDs) and more vivid colors, and the viewing angle again depends on you and your seating schedule. I additionally recommend LED backlighting, the so-called Ambient light. Such TVs are even more expensive, but the experience is much better.

Example: TESLA 40S306BF LED TV

3. Gaming

If you are planning to buy a TV for games, then I recommend a higher resolution (minimum Full HD), the better the screen response (the more Hz), the viewing angle is not so important because you will play alone, possibly with someone else. And the delay should be as small as possible, about 3ms. Although, I believe that gamers know better how to choose TV according to their needs.

4) TV as a primary (or secondary) monitor

If you plan to use the TV as a monitor, then you will have to spend a little more money. Because you look at the monitor up close and it has to be as sharp as possible, the higher the resolution on a smaller area (to get the highest possible pixel density - PPI). Here, make sure the resolution is at least Full HD and refreshing as much as possible. Also, the diagonal is very important because you should not take it with an oversized screen that will take up most of the field of view and cause "motion sickness". And yet you can't have a smaller screen because you won't see anything from a distance when you use it as a TV.

For the end

Basically, that's it. It is important to know what you are going to use the TV for and then you know where you will watch it from and based on that you know the diagonal and the resolution. You choose other parameters based on the purpose of the TV and, of course, your budget.