So you’ve decided it’s time for a new TV. No problem, head to the nearest electronic store, see what’s cheap, and snap up a good deal. Right? Hang on, there are a few things to take into account before splurging. TVs are a lot more complicated than they once were, and there is a big risk of making a poor purchase. The biggest hurdle these days is feature packed TVs that offer a boatload of bells and whistles, most of which aren’t necessary.
Here are some tips to take into account when going TV shopping.
Resolution Illusion
Remember when HD became the standard? It was an enormous jump over SD, with the picture clarity being strikingly better. But today a 1080p resolution is just no longer acceptable, right? Wrong. 4K resolution is being pushed as a new standard, but the truth is that unless you’re using the TV specifically for gaming, it might not even be necessary.
If you intend on just using the TV to stream Netflix, HD is probably still perfectly acceptable. Even if you stream Netflix in 4K, it will still display on an HD screen. This is a little known fact that most manufacturers probably don’t want you knowing.
Refresh Rate
The refresh rate refers to how many individual pictures are displayed on a screen per second. Higher refresh rates dramatically bump up the price, with the difference between 60 Hz and 120 Hz being a serious blow to your bank account. So called tech gurus will insist you need 120 Hz or higher. But like resolution, it really comes down to what you intend on doing with the TV. Picking up an online casino welcome bonus and playing slots is going to look great even with 30 Hz. More to the point; the vast majority of console games won’t even output at higher than 60 Hz.
Unless you intend on playing PC games on the TV at a high frame rate, you can likely settle for 60 Hz.
HDR
High dynamic range (HDR) is another new tech buzzword, and many games and films do support the option. But what does it actually mean? HDR is an increase in visible colours that a screen can display netbet.org. In simple terms; an HDR picture uses significantly more colour tones to produce the same picture. It looks nice, but is it necessary? The short answer is no.
Games and movies will display fine without HDR. The technology is luxury, and only for those that insist on the best of the best.
Smart TV
Finally, we have smart capability. A Smart TV can wirelessly connect to WiFi, allowing it to stream Netflix, for example, right out of the box. It’s very convenient, especially if you’re aiming to do most of your viewing via streaming services. The majority of TVs have smart capability these days, so chances are no matter what you buy, it will have smart functionality. If you get a budget model, be aware you’ll have to make a plan to watch Netflix.