Things to Know Before Buying a TV: Your New TV Buying Guide

Buying a new TV can feel overwhelming, thanks to the endless options of technologies, acronyms, and features available. It’s easy to get lost in the technical jargon and end up spending money on features you don’t actually need or won’t use. That’s why understanding what to know before buying a TV is crucial before making your purchase.

Luckily, we have the ultimate new TV buying guide for you and your family. Because electronic items, especially larger pieces like televisions, are more of an investment than inexpensive items you may buy without any knowledge, we’ve laid out some of the things to know before buying a TV.

Things to Know Before Buying a TV Checklist

Despite prices of televisions decreasing fairly substantially over the past decade, buying a TV — and its accessories — is still a purchase that takes a fair bit of consideration. Before heading to a big box store that has all types of televisions with noise emanating from the back of the shop, take a look at this checklist showcasing things to know before buying a TV. This way, you don’t end up overwhelmed and spend too much on a TV you don’t need or leave empty handed.

1. The type of television wanted
2. The dimensions of the space, including how far away the television will be from the couch or main seating area
3. The essentials and accessories you will likely need to enhance your tv-viewing experience

Types of Televisions

The first checklist item is likely to be figuring out the type of television you’d like to purchase. From LED and LCD televisions to OLEDs and QLEDs, there are quite a few types of TVs to keep in mind as you research. Luckily, we have a blog on the difference between a plasma and LED TVs. After reading that article, if you’re still unsure of the type of television you need for your space, we break down the types, here.

LED

LED TVs use a backlight to illuminate the screen, delivering bright and vibrant images. While they are generally more affordable than OLED and QLED models (which we’ll discuss shortly), their image quality isn’t as advanced or refined as these premium options. One advantage of LED TVs is their slim design, making them an excellent choice for mounting on a pulldown wall mount or fitting neatly into smaller spaces, such as atop a credenza or entertainment console.

LCD

LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display and is the same foundational technology used in LED TVs. While LED TVs use light-emitting diodes for backlighting, LCD TVs rely on liquid crystals to illuminate the screen. These liquid crystals work in tandem with the backlight to produce the images you see, making LCDs a cost-effective and widely available option for basic viewing needs.

OLED

OLED, or Organic Light-Emitting Diode, takes LED technology a step further by using organic molecules to emit light at the pixel level. Unlike traditional LED TVs, OLED screens can turn individual pixels on and off, delivering exceptional color contrast and deep, true blacks. This self-lighting technology results in stunning picture quality and superior viewing angles, making OLED an excellent choice for immersive TV experiences.

QLED

QLED, or Quantum Dot LED, builds upon LED technology by incorporating quantum dot nanocrystals into the backlight. These nanocrystals enhance brightness and color accuracy, providing a vibrant and sharp picture. While both QLED and OLED offer improved picture quality compared to standard LED TVs, they each have unique strengths. OLED is known for its superior contrast and deeper blacks, while QLED tends to deliver brighter images, making it a better choice for rooms with a lot of ambient light.

For those exploring cutting-edge options, there’s also Neo QLED, a subset of QLED technology. Neo QLED TVs use mini LEDs for backlighting, offering even finer contrast control and enhanced picture quality compared to standard QLEDs. This slight upgrade makes them a compelling option for shoppers seeking premium visuals.

Ultra High Definition: 4K and 8K TVs 

Ultra High Definition, otherwise known as Ultra HD or UHD, speaks to the resolution of electronics like smartphones and tablets, but usually focuses on the television. UHD is often the broad term for 4K resolution, however, it’s now expanded to include 8K resolution. The ratio that is defined for UHDs is a 16 by 9 aspect ratio with the minimum pixel resolution set at 3,840 by 2,160. Similar to the 4K Ultra HD televisions which use nearly 4,000 pixels, the 8K version, you guessed it, has a resolution that’s double 4K at 7,680 by 4,320. 

As the name suggests, UHDs have a great definition to their picture. As such, if you purchase a television that is a 4K or an 8K UHD, you should expect extremely clear image quality for its resolution, especially considering the size of the television. It’s a good idea, however, to not get your hopes up if you’re expecting a large range of 4K or 8K UHD televisions. It’s not necessarily needed due to constraints of screen type of the TVs as well as the type of camera necessary for shooting to those resolutions. High definition and Ultra HD screens tend to use the same resolution size, so the quality of the image would look nearly identical. 

Another note to consider is the lack of resources for 8K televisions in the United States. Most of the consumable content for 8K resolution TV watching is found in Japan. So although the 8K Ultra HD TVs are impressive and have near impeccable image color and quality, the financial burden of buying one versus the offerings of 8K shows or movies is not yet worthwhile.