A long time ago we paid a lot of attention to five mistakes that you should not make when buying a new TV. Now the TV market is developing at lightning speed, so an update could not be left behind. In this article we look again at five mistakes that you should not make when buying a new TV, based on current techniques, standards and developments.
For many people, the TV is the most important device in home cinema. system, but let’s create clarity about that. The TV is probably what you look at but know that what you do not see is just as important. Without a good sound a good picture will not be enough and to be able to reproduce that good sound you need good speakers and a good amplifier / receiver. In short, all the components within your home cinema system deserve the same attention as you want an optimal home cinema experience, and it is important to think about what you want and what the product offers for each component. Take especially our tipp pages on receivers Blu-ray players and speakers by.
Buying a new TV ? Compare TVs in the store
more online shopping still many people choose to go to the physical store and choose a TV. After thorough preparation buying a new TV, reading expert reviews and researching your own wishes and requirements, this does not have to be a problem, but basing the choice on advice from sellers and comparing televisions in the store is a common mistake. [19659002] So when you go completely open (without own research) to a store you are often steered by the sellers to certain models without really making a logical comparison on paper and on the basis of your wishes. I have been a salesman myself, I know sellers and I know how often it goes. In many cases the customer’s wishes are not analyzed extensively (especially in the larger cases) and often goes towards what is in stock and what a margin is for the store. This will not apply to every seller, but it is a risk and therefore a reason not to go to the store to compare. You also know if you compare in the store 80 percent of the possibilities of a TV and you are not at all aware of what other users and experts of the TV find.
Our advice is firstly to read yourself in advance. What are you looking for? What are your wishes for a new TV? What is your budget? What do other users and experts (reviews) think of the TV’s on your list? Take a few hours to do this and combine the knowledge you have gathered yourself with the knowledge of the seller and the models in the store.
When buying a new TV Go for the best picture quality, in the shop
This point belongs partly with the above story. There are still many people who are guided by what they see on the TVs in the store when they search for a new TV. For example, we often hear that a TV from brand A looked much better in the store than the TV by brand B. Certainly when there are TVs in the store that compare a different image technique, wrong impressions can arise. For example, due to its relatively low brightness in the store, an OLED TV may appear less dynamic and sparkling than an LCD LED TV with very high brightness. That looks good in the store, with a full bucket of lighting, but do you need it at home, with pure mood lighting?
These are points that are dangerous when you buy a TV purely on the image quality in a store goes off. Firstly, shops are often full of fluorescent light, making it a very brightly lit environment that not only affects the image quality but also makes LCD LED TVs look more beautiful than oled TVs, and former plasma TVs. Although both techniques have their advantages and disadvantages OLED offers a completely different picture in dark environments (without full fluorescent lighting and more like the normal living room) and the comparison with LCD is a lot fairer. Lcd LED TVs generally have a much higher brightness which allows them to compete with that fluorescent light and win it at the first glance of the OLED TVs.
Another argument is that in most If the TVs in the store are not set up in exactly the same way, and if this is the case, the customers will always play with the settings. It is therefore almost impossible to compare two TVs with each other if you do not know whether they are adjusted in such a way that you can compare them fairly. Manufacturers also have a so-called demo mode on every TV that has to show the optimum image quality, but this is also dangerous as content is shown here that has been completely optimized by the manufacturer for display on the relevant TV. In addition, in nine out of ten cases, the dynamic image mode is used, which makes a TV in the store look better, but at home makes for too exaggerated color rendering with little impressive black values.
All in all, the conclusion is that comparing TVs a large electronics store is often virtually impossible. How do you do it then? This is difficult and you are therefore particularly dependent on reviews from experts and experiences from other users. Fortunately, there are also smaller, specialized cases that in some cases offer a better environment to watch a TV really well and also take the time to demonstrate a TV in a way that you would use it at home. The most important advice in this is that comparing in terms of image quality in a store is not a good starting point to buy a new TV.
Buying the wrong size
Televisions come in various sizes, from 32-inch up to 110-inch. But, once you are in the store and have no idea how a TV looks at your home on the wall or on a cupboard then chances are you make the wrong choice. On a large wall or a strong position with all TVs with different formats it is in fact very difficult to choose the right format for your home so you might come home with a TV that is too small or too big. It is therefore wise before you go to the store (or order a TV online) at home to record the dimensions of the space on the wall, the distance to the TV and / or the space on the cabinet. It is advisable to copy the size you have in mind, for example 50-inch, with a few pieces of paper and hang it on the wall. This gives you a good idea of how big the TV will be in your living room. On our page with tips and advice on televisions you can read more about the optimal viewing distance and size of a TV.
Buy products from one specific brand
Although it is getting less, many consumers are still a big fan of a certain brand, and prefer to buy everything from that one brand. In the Netherlands, Philips is, of course, still popular and the average Dutch person owns several devices of the brand. Choosing a specific brand because you have good experiences with it or have a good feeling with it is of course fine, but do not let your choice depend on it. Are you looking for the best TV or TV that best meets your needs, then it pays off the eye caps and give other brands a chance.
Even TVs from the best manufacturers may be less than models of competition. The quality in the field of TV is also shifting every year and we are dealing with various visual techniques; oled and lcd led. In addition, each brand again has its own features, including nowadays the smart TV platform, with which there may be less performance than the competition. In short, there are many points you can compare before buying a TV of a certain brand. Do not limit yourself to just the models of one specific brand. See what’s available, what best suits your needs, which imaging technique you prefer, and see what other people’s experiences are with the televisions in question.
Incidentally, many people also think still a player of brand A better cooperates with a television of brand A. Or that a receiver of brand B causes problems faster when it is combined with a brand C television. Now that is 99 percent untrue. There is a small number of features that could prevent this. One of these features is HDMI-CEC with which two devices can communicate with each other. In some cases it is possible that the possibilities for communication between devices (more than just switching it on and off at the same time) is more extensive if you opt for two devices of the same brand. This is because manufacturers are free in how they implement HDMI-CEC exactly. But, our advice is mainly to look at the quality and functionality of the devices you are looking for. The fact that HDMI-CEC is perhaps a bit more extensive does not, in our view, outweigh the possible quality difference between a player, receiver or television of a different brand. Basically base your choice on quality, experiences of others and the functionality you are looking for.
Let yourself be deceived by terms
One of the reasons why consumers often no longer see the trees through the forest is the jumble of terms and techniques. Even for the TV experts, it is sometimes difficult to determine what exactly a specific term means. Manufacturers of TV’s always come up with new terms, brand names and slogans to persuade consumers to go for their models. But, do you know exactly what those terms mean? Can you compare TVs based on these terms? And are these terms important when choosing a particular TV? For example, QLED sounds more advanced than OLED for some, but does this mean that QLED is better than OLED? Does the Ultra HD Premium certificate mean that a TV also shows a better picture than an Ultra HD television without this certificate? And, does a TV with Super Pro TruMotion Expert show moving images better than a TV with Natural Motion?
One way to prepare for this is thorough research . Read about the standards and techniques that are currently being used and the terms that are linked to them by manufacturers. A good start is our page with tips and advice on TVs . Here you will find almost all important terms, standards and techniques. Here you can read more about the motion sharpness of TVs and the difference between lcd led and oled . Read in so that you do not let yourself be misled by all kinds of nice terms that actually say little. It concerns the specifications and techniques that are hidden behind these terms. This allows you to make the right choice and weigh up what is important and what is not important. But even those specifications do not show the complete picture in all cases. For example, the ‘refresh rate’ is measured in different ways and the maximum light output is often measured with a specific amount of white image. Do not worry about it and focus on user and expert experiences if you want to know how these specifications are reflected in image quality.
Buying a new TV – Conclusion
Although there are many more things you can take into account When buying a new TV you can basically make a good choice by avoiding these mistakes. The most important thing is that you look for experiences of others and review reviews of experts well. Comparing the store or buying a good idea online is simply not sensible. Just like all other components, the TV is an important part of your home cinema system. So take the time to buy your ideal TV.
