Here is what you should look for when purchasing a new TV

Q: Can you help me understand what to look for when buying a new TV?

A: The technology that’s currently available in TVs is incredible, but what used to be a fairly straight-forward process (how big) has become a minefield of technical jargon and acronyms.

The good news is that once you understand a few of the basics, you’ll have a better chance of navigating through your choices.

Start With Size
One of quickest ways to eliminate options is by deciding what size of a screen you’re going to purchase. If you decide to go smaller than 55”, some of the higher level technologies, like OLED displays won’t be an option.

A general rule of thumb for determining your minimum size is based on the distance between the screen and where you’ll be sitting. I like using the method that measures the distance in inches and dividing it by two.

For example, if you’re going to be sitting 8 feet away, that equals 96 inches. Divide by two and you get 48” as the minimum display size you should be shopping for. Keep in mind, if you plan to mount the display on the wall, you may increase your viewing distance by as much as a foot.

Screen Resolution
The most important specification that you’ll want to look for on any new TV you buy refers to the resolution. Look for UHD, Ultra HD or 4K which all refer to the same thing: four times the number of pixels over a standard HDTV.

Although 8K is on the horizon, it’s way too early to pay for it especially since 4K content is still limited.

HDR
Some form of High Dynamic Range (HDR) will greatly improve both contrast ratios (brightness to darkness) and color accuracy. Don’t confuse this form of HDR with what you see on filtered photos; I wouldn’t buy a new TV without it.

LED vs OLED vs QLED
Most of today’s TVs are LCDs (Liquid Crystal Displays) backlit with some form of LED (Light Emitting Diode). The exception is anything that uses OLEDs (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) which means that every pixel is self-illuminating.

OLED TVs are more expensive and generally considered the best display technology because of their ability to produce absolute black, nearly infinite contrast and wider viewing angles.