When purchasing a TV in 2022, there are many factors to consider. There are a tonne of technologies, features, and functionalities to learn about, not to mention the sea of acronyms you need to comprehend.

A TV can be a sizable investment, so you want to be sure you’re getting something long-lasting with your hard-earned money. To make the right choice, consider the following things.

Size

The most important consideration in your choice of a TV, whether basic or high-performance, will likely be screen size. Take into account where you’re planning to place your new set and how many people will generally watch at once.

Then, based on your budget, choose the largest screen size that will fit in that area comfortably. Considering pricing, performance, and the average living room, the sweet spot today is between the 65 and 55 inches smart TVs on the market.

How close you are to the TV also affects the size of the screen. In general, you are too close if you can notice the individual pixels on the screen. A rule of thumb is to sit three times the height of the screen away from the TV for HD and only 1.5 times the height of the screen for 4K Ultra HD. In other words, a 4K UHD TV allows you to sit twice as close to it.

Also, don’t forget to consider where in your house the TV will go. The aforementioned tips are meant for living rooms and home theatres, so you should think about what size is appropriate for other areas in the house, like the bedroom or the kitchen, where a smaller TV may be required.

Conclusion: Consider your viewing distance while selecting a screen size. Unless you live in a tiny apartment or dorm or buying a set for a small children’s bedroom, it’s recommended to start with the range of 55 inches smart TVs and move on from there.

Resolution

A TV’s resolution indicates the number of horizontal rows and vertical columns that make up the picture. A higher resolution is (nearly always) better since more pixels result in crisper images and finer details.

Full HD has been the industry standard for a very long time and is still the most often used resolution for TVs. However, the production of Ultra HD televisions is rising (also called 4K). These screens feature four times as many pixels as HDTVs now on the market.

The main advantage of 4K television is that text and other small objects have greater details. Comparing the photos to those on an HDTV, they appear richer and more realistic overall.

And thanks to technology developments, 8K TVs are also now readily available. These displays triple the resolution visible on 4K sets, providing a significant improvement in picture quality, but very little material is available to utilise the increased resolution effectively.

Conclusion: Ultra HD resolution, also known as 4K, has emerged as the industry standard and is a better option if you want to buy something that will withstand the test of time (or at least the next five years). Higher resolution 8K TVs are already available, but experts advice waiting.

Refresh Rate

How frequently a picture is refreshed on the screen is indicated by the refresh rate in Hertz (Hz). The typical refresh rate is 60 Hz or 60 times per second.

A 60 Hz refresh rate, especially on LCD HDTVs, can cause things to appear jittery or fuzzy in scenarios with quickly moving objects. Therefore, manufacturers raised the refresh rate to 120 Hz in order to produce a more solid image (and in some cases up to 240 Hz).

Higher refresh rates will be especially important to gamers, so those with PS5, Xbox Series X, or Xbox Series S consoles and games that support 120 Hz should look for a TV that can take advantage of that. The ideal frequency for regular users is 60 Hz.

Conclusion: For the smoothest picture, most TV buyers shouldn’t purchase a TV with a refresh rate of less than 120 Hz.

Smart Features

For connecting to Internet-based services like Netflix, downloading movies on demand, playing games, or even posting to Facebook, the majority of TVs you buy today will have built-in Wi-Fi. The most recent models can even search via streaming services and live cable and satellite programming.

One of the best ways to find and consume 4K and HDR content is through streaming apps. Locating 4K resolution and HDR-capable video is quick and simple with the help of services from Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube – it’s even easier than finding Blu-rays with the appropriate codecs. The only thing to worry about is whether or not your internet connection has enough bandwidth.

However, not every smart TV is made equal. Many low-cost brands will provide smart TV features without mentioning the specific platform they use. Expect to encounter restrictions in these situations. Off-brand smart platforms usually have a very small variety of apps, poor performance, and significant security flaws.

Conclusion: A top-tier brand smart TV is the way to go because the smart features in less expensive TVs frequently don’t work well.