Gone are the days of investing in a television and expecting it to last 15 to 20 years. Now are the days of cheap, light and SMART.
At this point you will be hard pressed to find a TV that isn’t “smart”. What does smart mean and can you get the “smart” part of the TV wrong? Maybe… If you already have a smart tv or smart streaming device like Roku or Firestick you may want to look for a TV that has the same software you are used to. They all work similar but they are different and if you switch between TVs in your home you will find those differences very quickly.
If you are already using a streaming service there are TV’s with difference operating programs and not all streaming services are available on all of the different manufacturers. Think of an Android, Apple, Windows or Linux computer or handheld device, not all software is available across the platforms and the performance is different if it is available. For TVs, our main software that almost all streaming applications are available are Roku and FireTV
Roku has the most TV models available while FireTV built into a TV are available more on the Amazon website than in stores. Also these two manufacturers also make plug in versions that could actually be better so if you find a TV that doesn’t have the smarts you are comfortable with you always have other options.
As for deciding what TV you should purchase beyond the smart aspect of this I have a few bullet points you should always follow when buying a TV.
- Size does matter! You should make sure you know the size of TV that will fit in the space you are placing it. Measure the width of the space you are installing and don’t go more than 5inches larger on the TV size. Be sure if the room is small and you will be viewing the TV from a close distance a large TV might be too big. Check out this TV size to distance calculator HERE!
- What do you plan on connecting to the TV? A lot of inexpensive TV’s come with very few video inputs and some with only 2 HDMI ports. If you have any old equipment plan to look at the inputs for the TV and make sure it matches what you plan on using.
- Viewing angle. If you watch TV from the side or have a small room and not everyone sits in front of the TV viewing angle becomes important. A lot of less expensive TVs when views from the sides will be color distorted and dim. There is no spec sheet that will tell you this one. You need to follow reviews or physically see the TV on display.
My best piece of advice for purchasing a TV would be to go out and look. Walmart, Best Buy and Target all have a great selection of TV’s to look at while they are turned on. Look at the inputs and viewing angle in person. Some places may let you mess with the remote and look at the menus. Remember, not everyone needs the $1000 TV. A $200 TV may be all you need. If you need help with your home audio and video needs I’m here to help as well. Buying support and installation are available. Contact me at rick@ricmer.com or 814-515-9282
Side Notes:
Above are my opinions not facts. I feel the top two services are Roku and FireTV. They have the best chance to survive for years to come. As with any technology, there will be updates and hardware limitations. As your TV ages the hardware becomes outdated and will struggle to run applications as efficiently as it once did. In the future you may end up replacing your TV before it dies just because it doesn’t work as good as it once did.
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