TV Buying Guide 2025
Choosing a TV today is a complex and somewhat confusing process.
How to buy a TV is a complicated question that has various terms. Read this buying guide for a TV in 2025. Here we will cover all the key issues.
Let’s examine such terms and their meaning in a TV set, going from complicated to uncomplicated. First, we’ll discuss the issues that most significantly affect the price of the TV receiver. Then, we’ll move on to the simple and quickly explained things.
Screen Size
Today, large TVs have become a staple purchase for everyone. Very few people opt for a 43-inch size. If you have chosen a TV, it is a 55-inch screen size. And often, it is 65, 77, or even 83 inches.
A big TV is good; if budget conditions allow, consider a large screen size. However, remember that a 55-inch TV often looks better than a 75-inch TV at the same price.
Due to budget constraints, the 75-inch model will have low contrast, a shaky picture, and delays on a smart TV.
You can take the TV to a spacious room with a distance of more than 3 meters from your eyes to the screen, or consider an 8K panel. But the budget will be much higher there.
Motion smoothing (also known as “image interpolation”) is designed to make motion sharper.
The golden mean is a 65-inch 4K Mini LED TV, although an OLED is also available. However, you need to determine the conditions of use here.
You may notice that OLED TVs are the leaders in screen technology, but such a matrix is not always the best choice.
If you watch TV only in a dark room at night, an OLED or QD-OLED TV is the best choice.
You don’t need maximum black depth if you watch sports like soccer during the day. This effect is especially noticeable in a bright room with HDR content. What you care about is high panel brightness and an anti-glare screen coating. In this case, you’re much better off with a bright QLED or Mini LED TV with a 120Hz screen scan rate.
Everyone uses a TV in different ways. Some buy a TV for Full HD series, others for 4K content, and some for sports and games. That’s why no perfect TV exists for everyone; every case is different. Approach the choice wisely; if you are not well-versed in TVs, ask knowledgeable friends to help you.
For 4K TVs, sit at a distance equal to 1.2 times the screen’s diagonal. That is 20 percent farther than the screen size and up to two screen sizes.
Learn more about choosing the right TV size for your space.
You can sit closer for movies, like in the theater’s front rows. For 4K, it is necessary to be no farther than two diagonals.
Sony suggests choosing the diagonal of your 4K TV depending on the distance from the viewing point. They recommend viewing the TV from a distance of one and a half times the screen’s height.
The table below shows the recommended viewing distance when using a 4K TV.
| TV size | Viewing distance range (approx.) |
|---|---|
| 43 inch | 35 inches (2.95 feet) |
| 49 inch | 39 inches (3.28 feet) |
| 55 inch | 39 inches (3.28 feet) |
| 65 inch | 47 inches (3.94 feet) |
| 75 inch | 55 inches (4.59 feet) |
| 85 inch | 63 inches (5.25 feet) |
A power manager is similar to a surge protector but is far more efficient.
Screen Technology
There are two kinds of screen technology.
LCD
The first option is QLED or LED technology. Different technologies build the usual LCD matrices, but rely on the same principle.
One noticeable advantage of this technology is that LED and QLED are cheaper than others.
LED and QLED have good brightness. Homeowners should choose TVs of this type for bright, sun-drenched rooms.
There is no perfect black color in LED and QLED. In a dimly lit room, you may notice the screen glowing when no picture appears.
To solve the contrast problem, LED TV manufacturers have developed Local Dimming. This technology switches off specific backlighting zones of an LED TV, rendering dark areas black instead of light gray.
The quality of these displays improves with more Local Dimming zones. The more zones there are, the better the TV manages difficult screen areas.
When there are not enough local dimming zones in the TV, a blooming effect appears on the screen.
For example, a frame with a starry sky does not look entirely contrasted. The sky seems overexposed, and glowing halos remain around the stars.
Manufacturers rarely provide the number of local dimming zones in TV specifications, making it hard to compare different models.
Blooming is a problem with mid-range LED TVs. The closer the TV is to the lower bar, the more noticeable the blooming effect. It’s hardly noticeable on high-end TVs, only seen up close when looking at small objects on a black background.
Since the introduction of mini-LED TVs in 2021, blooming has become less of a concern. Manufacturers have developed much smaller LEDs, with significantly more local dimming zones. When choosing a TV, see if it mentions miniLED in the description or specifications.
LED TVs with local dimming are already available and can compete with OLED in terms of picture quality and price.
OLED
This flaw is absent in the TVs of the other camp, which are OLED and QD-OLED (quantum dots).
Each pixel turns on or off separately, perfecting the screen’s black color. The screen achieves perfect black and maximum contrast when a pixel remains unlit.
OLED displays will have a much deeper black color than screens with constant backlight illumination. In OLED, each pixel glows separately and independently. Removing power turns off the pixels, producing a deep black color without halos.
One of the main disadvantages of OLED TVs is display burn-in. Burn-in happens when a static image stays on the screen too long, leaving a mark on a dynamic background. It can be a broadcast channel logo, a ticker frame, or an element of a game interface.
Burn-in was a significant concern in the early 2010s, but modern TVs now have features to prevent it. Pixel Shift technology subtly shifts a static image by a few pixels to lessen the strain on specific points.
In 2019, RTINGS.com found that the risk of burn-in on OLED TVs is very low after extensive testing.
After 5,000 hours of CNN, TV pixels showed slight brightness reduction, resulting in burned-out dots near the logo. Watch the same TV channel for five hours daily for nearly three years.
And such TVs are more suitable for movie lovers.
There are defective pixels that fail when the matrix is heated.
OLED and QD-OLED have less bright images, but LCD TVs will be more colorful in a lit room. That is, they will have a better brightness index. It is QLED and LED.
Here is their main difference, so you need to determine the usage scenarios in advance.
If you’re on a budget and enjoy movies in low light, consider an LED or QLED LCD TV with Full Array Local Dimming instead of OLED.
Mini LED TVs are also worth considering. The backlight consists of tiny LEDs, so the light from the backlight practically does not penetrate the screen’s surface. These TVs deliver excellent image performance, but LCD models can offer similar quality.
Brightness
The sole essential factor in this context is brightness. Choose a TV with a brightness of at least 300-350 nits for a well-lit room with large windows.
Brightness should be high. A TV with a 600-nit or higher backlight is needed to achieve a full HDR display.
Also, pay attention to the type of backlighting and favor Direct LED (DLED) and Mini-LED. A 350-400 nit brightness will do if you don’t need HDR.
OLEDs typically offer a peak brightness of 700 nits, sometimes up to 1000. A TV with a backlight of at least 600 nits is necessary for a full HDR display.
This factor becomes critical if your TV room is sunny and direct sunlight hits the screen during the day. Choosing an LED with local dimming is better if you are not ready to hang impenetrable blackout curtains.
Manufacturers have already figured out how to solve this problem. In 2022, the first OLED TVs with quantum dots appeared—such displays were called QD-OLED. These TVs can get super bright, hitting up to 2000 nits! But since this tech is still pretty fresh on the market, they tend to cost two to three times more than regular OLED TVs.
HDR
Two key features in a TV are contrast ratio and color accuracy.
The contrast ratio indicates how much the dark and light areas on the screen differ. Color accuracy determines how well the TV can display realistic colors.
HDR means that the screen supports increased brightness and contrast. People refer to conventional televisions as SDRs.
The term HDR pertains to both content and televisions.
If you value image quality, you will appreciate all the subtleties an extended range offers. If HDR is essential to you, you should buy a TV that supports this format.
HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and HLG are different HDR standards. For HDR content to work, the movie file and the TV must have the same standard.
Creators produce most HDR content in basic HDR10, which all modern TVs support.
Dolby Vision and HDR10+ are advanced formats often mentioned in movie or streaming service descriptions. HLG is the most primitive and quite rare.
Most TV sets support HDR10.
Some manufacturers (Sony, Hisense, Philips) support all major standards, including Dolby Vision and HDR 10+.
However, the two most prominent brands, LG and Samsung, are pursuing different advanced technologies.
LG supports Dolby Vision, and Samsung supports its HDR10+ standard.
LG’s approach seems more versatile. LG TVs can easily find more movies and shows in Dolby Vision on streaming services.
Some might think that if all TVs have HDR, they’re equal, but that’s not true.
TV Scan Frequency
There are now two popular types of TVs in terms of screen sweep: 60 Hz and 120 Hz.
The more Hz the TV has, the smoother the picture in dynamic scenes in movies and games.
For sports and other types of content, 120 Hz is better.
Brands in the TV Buying Guide
Even three years ago, Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Sony, and Philips offered some of the best TVs.
Currently, Chinese brands TCL and Hisense provide a range of advantages.
If we talk about premium TVs, Samsung, LG, Panasonic, and Sony are still leading.
However, the Chinese brand is almost always the best choice in terms of the middle and budget lineup.
If the brand is unfamiliar, it’s best not to buy.
If you go to an online store, it will offer many manufacturers.
For Apple fans, look for TVs supporting AirPlay technology and the Apple TV+ app—some LG, Sony, and Samsung models.
Sound
Most televisions can’t produce the powerful sound of a movie theater. It’s best to use a soundbar or home theater speaker system to watch movies.
If you want to hook a speaker to your TV, ensure it can handle surround sound like Dolby Atmos or DTS. That way, you’ll get great audio that plays through multiple channels.
Your TV must have these connectors:
- Dolby Audio and DTS are the main standards for multi-channel audio in movies, TV shows, and games.
- HDMI connector with eARC technology – you can connect a soundbar or external audio system using an HDMI cable.
If you can control your Roku unit with the mobile app, the problem is likely with the remote.
Connectors
The last thing to look at is connectors and connections. There should be enough of them. Count the number of hardware items you will connect.
You’ll need HDMI 2.0, USB 3.0, and a Wi-Fi receiver that supports a 5 GHz band.
This Wi-Fi type is faster than the usual 2.4 GHz, allowing high-quality movies to load smoothly without freezing.
Video Games
You can enjoy video games on any TV, even the most primitive.
But it would be best to have a special game mode on your TV, or even better, the ALLM function.
The VRR function allows you to lower the game’s comfortable, smooth frequency threshold to 40-45 fps.
Having an HDMI 2.1 connector for games on modern consoles is essential. It supports simultaneous 4K transmission at 120 Hz with HDR and VRR. With the older standard, HDMI 2.0, VRR support is not part of the mandatory feature set.
With older TVs, you can’t simultaneously enjoy games in 4K at 120Hz with HDR. You have to choose between bright, vibrant colors or super smooth gameplay.
Conclusion
Check for broken pixels and uneven backlighting. If available, connect a flash drive.
Test pictures, especially for LCD TVs, may have poor backlighting.
