How To Buy a TV ?

Smart TVs. LED. OLEDs. 4K. The world of TV is looking better every day, but also more confusing. And not all flat panels — or curved screens — are created equal. Today, there's a ridiculously wide array of high-definition, or HD, sets in stores, from bargain big screens to high-end displays that can cost as much as a small car.

For most shoppers, the paramount factors in making a buying decision will be screen size and price. The widest array of choices, from 30 inches to up to 110 inches, is available in LED (light-emitting diode) LCD models. Furthermore, manufacturers are heavily promoting the nascent Ultra HD, or 4K, format, which currently uses LED LCD technology to achieve four times the resolution of HD screens. Meanwhile, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs offer even brighter and richer pictures (for more money, of course).

Smart TVs

Televisions across the spectrum, such as LED LCD, plasma and OLED models, have received a major IQ boost. So-called smart TVs connect to Internet-based services like Netflix for streaming videos, or to apps for watching special interest programs, downloading on-demand movies or even posting to Facebook. An increasing number of sets come with built-in Wi-Fi for connecting to your home network, and while most of these models include the major services, check to make sure the TV you buy includes the options you want.

3D TVs

Many plasma and LCD televisions today support 3D programming and movies, even though the format has been a flop. TVs that are 3D compatible are able to rapidly alternate a slightly different image for each eye to create the 3D effect. To view 3D, you need a 3D source (such as a 3D Blu-ray player) and special glasses. Many sets can also "upscale" regular video content to appear three-dimensional. Some 3D sets use so-called active glasses that are battery-powered; others use lightweight, polarized glasses, such as those found in most movie theaters. There are two types of 3D TVs Active and Passive, not to mention Active are better but their price is also better, and the glasses in Active 3D TV require batteries to operate.

LED LCD Sets

The lion's share of the television market today belongs to LED LCD TVs. These HD sets carry the LED designation because they use light-emitting diodes to light up the LCD screen. (Older sets use CFLs, or compact fluorescent tubes, which contain mercury, tend to deliver uneven brightness and have a limited life span.) LED sets use less electricity than previous LCD models and can be made extremely thin. They are often programmed to dynamically light up specific portions of the screen and dim other parts when there's a mix of light and dark areas in a scene — a feature known as active dimming.

Full-Array vs Edge-Lit LED LCDs

One advanced technology making a comeback in LCD screens is something called full-array LED lighting. Most LCD sets use LEDs on the edge of the screen to light up portions of the screen, so-called edge-lit models. It makes for a thinner display but it also takes some digital sorcery to rapidly light up one area of a screen while darkening another merely by manipulating lights along the edge. Full-array LED sets place the light-emitting diodes directly behind the screen. Such an arrangement makes the backlight more precise, so that the TV can more accurately light up bright areas, while keeping dark areas as dim as possible. Manufacturers divide up the screen into a grid of active areas that can be lit up or darkened; the more active areas, the more detailed the picture will be in terms of contrast.

Pros: LCD sets offer the widest array of price points, sizes and features. No-frills, 39-inch LCD TVs are available, also a top-of-the-line 90-inch model is available. LCD models are thin and light, so you can install them anywhere from a kitchen counter to a wall above a fireplace. The picture quality of LED LCDs has continually improved, narrowing the gap with plasma sets.

Cons: LCD TVs still exhibit imperfections when displaying rapid motion, as in sports. (Picture quality can also vary widely among LED LCD models.) Because of the way LCD picture elements are lit, they can't go completely black, and tend to gloss over subtle details in shadowy scenes (even with full-array backlight technology).

Plasma TVs

When HD was first introduced, the best flat-screen technology for reproducing movies and sports was undeniably plasma. Plasma TVs use tiny, encased gas cells to illuminate picture elements, or pixels, to produce an image. Because the pixels can be turned on and off more quickly than in an LED LCD TV, plasmas can render fast motion more smoothly. Alas, plasma's future is in doubt. Panasonic, the world's largest plasma producer, stopped making such sets at the end of 2013. LG and Samsung continue to make plasma sets, but for how long is uncertain.

Pros: Plasma sets can produce deeper blacks and many more subtle shades of gray, so that you can see every frightening detail in a scary movie. Colors tend to be more accurate than those in LCDs. Plasma sets are generally priced well below LCD models with comparable features. Because plasma is no longer trendy, shoppers should find some extremely attractive deals on these high-performing TVs. 

Cons: In a naturally lit room or on a sunny day, a plasma TV screen will look washed out compared with the brightness offered by LCD TVs. Regarding design, plasma sets are also heavier and thicker than the svelte LCDs.

Ultra HD or 4K TVs

Rather than using a new or different display technology, Ultra HDTVs are LED LCD models that cram more pixels onto the screen. This generates sharper, more-detailed images. Also known as 4K TVs, consumer Ultra HD sets have four times the resolution (3840 x 2160 pixels) of traditional HDTVs. However, don't expect to see a picture that's four times better.

Pros: Small objects on the screen have more detail, and text is easier to read. Overall, images appear richer and more lifelike than on an HDTV, but the benefits can be subtle.

Cons: Some viewers won't appreciate the difference, nor will they appreciate the price. No major broadcasters support Ultra HD/4K yet.

Curved TVs

Another innovation intended to attract shoppers' attention is curved screens — mostly used on OLED TVs and 4K LCDs. The idea, say manufacturers, is to make the TV-watching experience more engrossing or immersive. No special programming or content is needed for these sets.

Curved models are substantially more expensive than comparable sets using the same display technology.

Pros: Manufacturers claim that the curvature creates a more immersive experience for viewers.

Cons: The curvature reduces the horizontal viewing angle so that part of the picture is cut off for people sitting to the side. Distorted image with a slightly bowed perspective. Price premium over otherwise identical models by as much as 50 percent.

OLED TVs

Promised for several years and now finally making an appearance in the large-screen TV market are OLED sets. Using organic light-emitting diodes, OLED TVs can light up each picture element individually, without the need for the separate light source that LCDs require. This translates into a much brighter, more colorful picture, with dark areas of the screen as deep as possible. (Showing footage of fireworks against a black sky is a favorite demonstration of OLED technology.) If the screens prove durable enough to maintain picture quality over several years, and if manufacturers can bring prices down, OLED promises to be the display technology of the future.

Pros: The best TV picture, bar none, available today. Colors truly pop on these sets, and blacks look deeper than on any LCD or plasma screen.

Cons: Price is a definite deterrent for OLED TVs right now. It's uncertain how the screens will fair over time, including whether they will retain "ghost" images (also known as burn-in) from displaying a static picture for too long.

Best TV Types for Sports

Plasma fans argue that LCD displays can't track athletic action without blurring, for example, a running back's progress down the field or a skier's descent down the hill. Those plasma proponents also point out that the sets have a wider viewing angle than LCDs, meaning more people can watch a game without the viewers on the ends experiencing a drop in brightness or color. Both points are accurate, but if you're going to put your set next to the window or watch with all the lights on, an LCD will stand up better to the glare.

Best TV Types for a Bright Room

Although no TV likes to bask in the sun, in general, LCD televisions deal with sunlight and brightly lit rooms better than other models, particularly plasma sets. The latest OLED models, however, promise even better performance and are less susceptible to showing washed-out colors in sunlight.

The best bargains in HDTVs today are LCD models in the 40- to 46-inch range. City dwellers with modest spaces probably don't need to go bigger than 46 inches.

How to Choose a TV Screen Size

Before the advent of HD, it was important to sit far enough back from a television that you didn't perceive the individual lines or dots that made up a picture (not because you'd go blind). With today's HDTV sets, however, the bigger issue is the size of your room. Consider how many people in your family typically watch at once and where you're going to put your new set. Then pick the largest screen size that will fit into that space. The sweet spot today, considering price, performance and the typical living room, is a 40-45-inch TV.

Refresh Rate

The refresh rate, expressed in Hertz (Hz), describes how many times per second a picture is refreshed on the screen. A typical rate for HD TVs today is 120 Hz (120 refreshes per second). However, higher (or faster) refresh rates, such as 240 Hz, are better for displaying 3D content.

Finally, when deciding a TV, buy a television which has good amount of HDMI ports, USB ports and has a built in Wi-Fi. Also believe me as stated earlier, you do not need a TV bigger than 40-45 inches unless around 50 people shall watch from same device. Make sure your TV supports basic video formats, like .AVI, .mp4, my best suggestion is buy a TV which has a DivX format as it supports all. When going to buy a TV, take your pen drive/ hard drive with you and test various formats at the shop.