How to choose a TV: everything about what is usually silent in stores

Educational Program How To Choose / by admin / December 19, 2019

Decide on a budget

Before you buy something, you need to clearly answer the question: "How much money do I spend on it?".

Televisions are classified as equipment, where the price is not particularly limited from above. There are more than worthy models for 20 thousand rubles, and there are six and a half million.

How do you like TV, which is worth more than a new 420-horsepower Porsche Cayenne S? The best in these models - it comments and "buyers".

Sold an apartment in Moscow, I bought a TV! I live in a box from under him, enjoying the 4K format! Everything is super, I advise!

I bought four TVs in the room instead of wallpaper. Everything is beautiful, you can select the area. Of the minuses only that out of the room does not work, as there are no doors on the TV. Help to leave the room.

It is unfortunate that included not talking person who will compliment your choice during the warranty period.

But seriously, the combination of the uncertainty of admissible expenditure, lack of knowledge on the subject and some tricks sellers provoking person to purchase and dulled his sanity - is a very real risk of losing a large amount or go to credit.

instagram viewer

Determine the dimensions

"Who will buy, and even with the placement'll think of something" - a very bad way to contemplate before purchasing any sized goods.

It is likely that you will want to place the freshly bought a television in the existing environment. This may be a separate table, headsets or wall mount.

If your TV will be much narrower or wider tables, the look, this design will be very poor.
The set-wall is too big TV just do not fit, and it will be a big problem.

Wall mount gives you more freedom, but also here there are limiting factors.

There is such a thing as an optimal viewing distance. It is believed that it is 3-4 diagonal TV.

Assume diagonal is 40 inches. Inch equals 2.54 cm. 40 inches - is 106.2 centimeters, that is supposed to watch TV with at least three meters. Will it apply this rule in your house or apartment? Not? It's okay, because the optimal distance - setting a fairly conventional.

Much better to pre-measure the distance from which you will see your future TV and evaluate candidates for purchase on such a distance. You yourself will understand what the screen size would be best for you.

Too much screen does not allow to cover the whole picture, the eyes begin to run on the image, trying to see the details on the periphery, and quickly get tired.

Too small screen, too, will not work. You understand that do not see the fine details, and in general any theatrical effect of presence, which expects to receive from the people of the modern wide-screen TV, will not.

Come for a TV with a tape measure - this is normal.

optimal resolution

Resolution - the number of pixels that make up the screen.

Now the industry standard de facto displays Full HD, in which the image is composed of 1920 pixels horizontally and 1080 pixels vertical, but the advertising is actively promoting 4K TV, talking about the virtues and advantages of this technology over the "Legacy» Full HD.

4K screen usually consists of 3840 pixels horizontally and 2160 pixels vertically.

So, in such a display is four times more pixels.

How to choose a TV: the number of pixels

The more pixels, the clearer an image is capable of giving screen. It is logical? Logical.

So 4K TVs offer four times sharper image. It is logical? Not.

Uncle marketers silent about two very important things:

4K TVs need a 4K content.
The human eye is quite limited in the perception of sharpness in the distance.

The first feature is easy to demonstrate using any images.

Before you Layfhakera logo in resolution 150 by 150 pixels. Let us assume that this icon was created for viewing in Full HD.

But Layfhakera logo in a resolution of 300 by 300 pixels. Suppose he made for viewing in 4Q.

The difference in detail is palpable, is not it?

Q: What happens if you do not have an icon in the resolution for 4K, but only for Full HD? Correctly, the TV will try to stretch the image to fill the screen. Look closely, it looks like the icon 150 by 150 pixels, if you stretch it to 300 by 300 pixels.

You see? The image is clearly worse.

In comparison to the normal look logo 300 300 pixels to the right of that logo with the original size of 150 to 150, stretched to 300 by 300 pixels.

The difference in quality is obvious.

Almost the same thing happens in the 4K TV screen when you run it on a Full HD content and more lower quality.

In reality, the difference will be less noticeable due to the so-called upscaling - stretching the image, in which special algorithms try to neutralize related defects. It get better, but the quality of the 4K content still can not be compared.

Even in 2017 4K content is very small. The vast majority of films and programs available in Full HD or HD format.

The second factor is due to the limitations of the human eye, to demonstrate even easier.

Once again, look at normal and extended logos.

Now slowly move away from the monitor.

The farther away your eyes from the screen, the smaller the difference is apparent. From a certain distance both icons will be for you to virtually indistinguishable.

When Steve Jobs showed the iPhone 4 the world - a smartphone with a screen Retina-first in the world, he meant that pixels of the display device is so small that the eye can not see them with the typical operation with a mobile phone distance.

Human vision is actually not so sharp. For each screen there is a distance at which the pixels of which it is composed, are no longer distinguishable. The larger the pixel, the greater the distance.

You can take advantage of the Retina-Layfhakera calculator to calculate the distance yourself indistinguishable pixels for all your gadget.

Retina-calculator →

The paradox is that Full-HD-TV with a diagonal of 40 inches (106 centimeters) pixels cease to be visible from distance of 160 centimeters, and distancing the recommended minimum for a comfortable viewing experience for him - 300 centimeters. 4K advantage will only appear when you will sit in front of the same screen at 80-150 centimeters, but who and what would do that?

Full HD already makes excessive sharpness.

Why then are so actively promote 4K? In fact, this technology is necessary, but only designers and other professionals that it is important to see the finest details at close range on the monitor, but everything else - it's a marketing need, which exists and works exclusively through ignorance consumers.

Think about it, what else to do TV manufacturers when there are dozens of these same companies with the same products? Of course, to invent something new, something that will allocate it from the marshes made a blueprint teleklonov. Such an innovation would not necessarily be useful for the user. The main thing - the very existence of something special, and even the PR people will come up with everything as it should.

Competitors to keep up in the eyes of consumers, we have to repeat essentially are his useless innovations, but as a bonus the manufacturers are able to significantly raise prices. New technologies also!

Frequency

Frequency - is measured in hertz, the number of image updates per second on the screen. 60 Hz means that one second image may be updated 60 times.

It is believed that higher image refresh rate of 60 Hz is not detected person. But to view the three-dimensional content from 60 fps to, when you need to alternately display images for the left and right eyes, you need a TV with 120 Hz.

Higher frequencies, whether 240 Hz or 100 to 500 Hz, - another marketing noodles.

type matrix

In fact, on matrices market now dominated by a single technology called LED, which is created on the basis of an absolute majority of the displays. That is, all television screens about the same.

What is important is only the type of matrix, and it will be a LED, or actively promoted today AMOLED.

AMOLED is also called an organic matrix. Distinguish LED-TV on AMOLED-TV is very simple for the price. The second with the same diagonal and other parameters will cost much more.

At the level of perception of AMOLED-display LED outperforms the only one, but a very important property: it is able to show you the true black.

The main problem in reliability LED display black. It illuminated the entire area of the screen regardless of the color of individual pixels, and black, as we know from elementary physics course - it is not the light, but the absence of light. As a result, the black turns into some kind of gray, which is particularly annoying in dark scenes and movies.

AMOLED works differently. The organic matrix, each pixel is lit independently, and when to show a black color, the diode simply turned off, becoming a truly black.

How to Choose the TV: on the left - LED, right - AMOLED — Left - LED, right - AMOLED

More AMOLED-displays attribute high "juiciness", but often it gives the opposite effect. The colors appear unnatural acid. Look at this picture is not to everyone. But when there is sunlight into the room of the organic content of the screen is almost not visible at all.

Unreasonably high price of AMOLED can not call this technology competitive. Buy conventional LED-TV, and you will not regret it.

The color gamut

As mentioned above, the screens are now doing on the same technology. And this technology is sufficiently established, to show a picture of acceptable quality, covering the whole range of colors. For aesthetes, there is a fine manual adjustment of color, and the rest of the lack of preset modes.

All kinds of powerful phrases like Super True Absolute Elite Pro Vision - is again marketing, dust in the eyes, just an additional pre-configured modes. No more.

Color gamut - a parameter that does not need to pay attention.

Flat screen or curved

Curved screen - this is another example of producers forced the race, one of the most pointless innovation that brings more trouble than good.

Curved TV need to look with a strictly defined position when the distance from any point of the screen to the eye will be the same, otherwise the picture will be distorted. Try to look at the screen slightly to the side, and you'll understand.

Accordingly, to watch a TV with family or friends will be extremely uncomfortable. Curved screen significantly reduces comfortable viewing angles.

Simply put, TVs with a curved screen - it's crazy marketing and money.

Smart TV or conventional

In fact, Smart TV - it's built into the shell program the TV set of applications to broadcast different content from the Internet. In recent years, as manufacturers offer a full-fledged Android platform with Google Play and its own set of applications.

The weak point of such solutions is the management. Enter queries and move the cursor with the remote long and uncomfortable. Solution could be used as a smartphone or tablet control. Specify the presence of such a possibility when choosing a model.

However, buying a TV without Smart TV and internet connection, you can do it later using smart external set-top box from Apple or Android-based. Either use an intermediary like Google Chromecast for broadcast content from your smartphone or computer.

Overview of Google Chromecast →

Which option is better? Choose by preference and price. Quite possibly, a separate set-top box will cost much cheaper than the Smart TV built into the TV.

Less external set-top box is that it will take one the HDMI-port, which could be adapted by something else.

The advantage of external consoles is that they can be changed based on the needs. Also, they can install third-party firmware. The speed and frequency of software updates depending on the specific model of set-top boxes.

Selecting the external set-top box is also determined by your budget. Devaysa price usually depends on its capabilities and feature set.

Smart TV with full Android and wireless keyboard for 2400 rubles →

Xiaomi Mi TV Box 3 Enhanced - smart set-top box for $ 90 →

The only crucial criterion - is to support the resolution of your TV. Very cheap set-top box may not work or do not pull the resolution Full HD. Pay attention to it.

If you know little about Smart TV and are not sure whether you will be using it, then buy a TV without this feature. If necessary, you can always purchase a separate set-top box to view content from the Internet.

Number HDMI-ports

In many families, the TV becomes a multi-functional media center that is connected to it a lot of different devices.

If you plan to use a lot of peripherals, consider the number of HDMI-connector at the rate of one port on one device.

For example:

TV Box Smart TV as a substitute - 1 port.
Game console like the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One - 1 port.
Media Player - 1 port.

As you can see, even a minimum set of equipment need three HDMI-port. Pre-count the number of connectors that you need.

Sound

A good sound system, by definition, cumbersome, and modern TV sets, on the contrary, trying to make the most thin and light. simply nowhere to place the sound system.

Connoisseurs in the presence of money can choose among high-end TV models that have a really cool sound. These devices are great, stand like a car and weigh several tens of kilograms.

You want to have rumbled and bombs - buy separate sound, multi-channel, subwoofer and amplifier good.

There is no "normal" television will not give you a juicy bass, balanced medium and crystal tops, so pay attention to the acoustics is not necessary at all.

Action plan

So, all of you have read and are ready to buy a new TV? Fine. Well, you do not forget anything, we offer you all in the form of a short list described above.

Decide on the maximum amount that can be spent on television.
Decide the permissible dimensions of the future of TV.
Measure the distance from where you watch TV. When selecting evaluate candidates to buy from the same distance.
Decide on the resolution. Consider whether you need a 4K in the near future, or enough for Full HD.
Decide on the frequency. Consider whether you need a TV with a frequency greater than 120 Hz.
Decide on the type of matrix. In advance, visit the store and personally compare the image and value of the ordinary and AMOLED-TVs.
Decide on the shape of the screen. In advance, visit the store and personally compare the image and value of the ordinary and curved TVs.
Decide whether you need a built-in Smart TV.
Calculate the quantity you need HDMI-port.