Budget
It doesn’t matter how massive or feature-rich a TV is, if you can't afford it, it's not going to end up in your living room. Here's an idea of what you'll be spending (if you want some specific TV recommendations, you'll find those at the end of this article):For a large 1080p TV (50-60 inches), expect to pay around $500 to $1000, depending on the model. It’s actually getting harder to find non-4K TVs these days and you'll likely find deals on older 1080p TVs if you shop around.
With 4K, the entry-level TVs that are actually worth owning start around $900. If you go big, you can get a great 60-inch 4K TV with premium picture quality for $1,600.
Pick a Size
Picking a size can be tricky. While a TV may look huge in the store, it could look minuscule in your living room, depending how far back you’ll be sitting.Before going to the store to look at TVs, take a few minutes to measure how far back the TV will be from where you sit. You can take a measuring tape to the store and stand as far back as you’ll be seated to see if that size is right for you (you won't look that weird, trust me).
Our friends at PCMag have an easy way to calculate it, "the distance of your couch to your HDTV should be between 1.2 and 1.6 times the diagonal measurement of your screen. So if your couch is six feet away from your screen, you can comfortably watch an HDTV between 42 and 60 inches. If your couch is five feet away, a 37- to 52-inch screen should work well."
To Go 4K, or Not to Go 4K
You can't shop for a TV without hearing about 4K, but what is it exactly? 4K is a measurement of how many pixels are on a screen, which is roughly four times as many as 1080p. The name comes from the fact that 4K has 4,000 horizontal pixels, though that gets murky and I’ll explain why.4K comes in several actual resolutions, which is super confusing. You’ve probably seen some TV sets advertise their resolutions as 4K UHD. UHD stands for Ultra High Definition and offers a resolution of 3840x2160, which is just a bit shy of 4,000 horizontal pixels of “true” 4K. UHD sets are also called 2160p due to its vertical pixel count, like how HD is called 1080p (1920x1080).
For broadcasters and those in video production, 4K resolution is even higher but that’s not something you have to worry about. Most TV manufacturers have adopted the 4K UHD standard of 3840x2160 pixels.
But do you need 4K? That depends on where you get your movies, TV, and games. If everything you own can only output 1080p, then you probably don’t need 4K. But if you’re planning on upgrading your devices in the near future, getting a 4K TV may make sense.
Media streaming boxes like the Roku 4 and NVIDIA Shield TV can play 4K content, but finding 4K content is still a bit difficult. The Roku 4 offers a dedicated app for 4K content and while its library is growing, it's currently quite small.
You’ll also want to consider if your internet connection is quick enough for 4K streaming. Netflix and YouTube both offer some 4K content, but you’ll need a 25 megabit per second connection or higher. You’ll likely want more than 25 megabits per second connection so your internet connection doesn’t slow to a halt for your other devices while you’re streaming 4K content. You'll also have to upgrade to a $12 a month Netflix plan to access 4K content.
Refresh Rate vs Response Times
If you’re a gamer, which you probably are since you’re on IGN, you’re going to want the best gaming performance. Unfortunately, most televisions are not optimized for gaming, but for watching video instead.Many TVs advertise high refresh rates like 120Hz or 240Hz, which is great for reducing motion blur in movies, but it doesn’t help with gaming. Gamers who have consoles like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are limited to how many frames the console can generate, which is 60 frames per second (fps). Even if you enable 120Hz on your TV, your console will simply draw the same frame twice per second.
You’ll want to consider TVs with 120 and 240Hz refresh rates for reducing motion blur in movies and TV. The side effect of this high refresh rate is that some movies look sped up and unnatural. Thankfully the feature is easily disabled.
But how about those who’ll be PC gaming on their TV? If you have a PC that can handle outputting more than 60 fps, you can take advantage of the higher refresh rate but a TV’s response time will remain slower than what many gaming monitors can offer, not to mention other technologies like G-Sync that help with input lag and screen tearing. This is why a relatively small 4K gaming monitor will often cost the same as a much larger 4K TV.
And finally, while there are rumors of a 4K PlayStation 4, we really don't know anything concrete about that yet.
What is HDR?
TVs took a step back at this the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, but TV manufacturers did show off a new technology called HDR. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, which is a feature that improves the light and dark parts of video.If HDR sounds familiar to you, it’s because it’s a processing technique used in photography to create those saturated and hyper-realistic photos. But HDR for TV works differently from HDR in photography; while HDR photos lean towards the hyper-real, HDR for TV aims to create a picture that’s closer to reality.
The bad news is that you can buy a TV with HDR but you won’t be able to take advantage of the feature until HDR sources are available. Should you hold off on HDR? Probably, since there’s not enough content in 4K HDR just yet.
Other Features to Look Out For
Beyond screen size, resolution, and HDR, TVs feature a slew of Smart TV options and various audio and video ports. Choose one that fits all of these needs but know that the Smart TV part won’t be updated as quickly as an external box like an Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, or Android TV. It’s nice to have the features built in, but an external box usually works better and can be replaced when they become obsolete.The features to focus on are resolution and picture quality. There are great looking LCD TVs out there but the more expensive OLED panels produce deeper blacks and more vibrant colors. You’ll pay a lot more for them at the moment, but OLED should be going down in price over the years.
Wrapping Up
My final piece of advice? Pick a TV that fits your current needs. You could future proof but you’ll be paying more for a TV you’re not utilizing completely, and TVs are always dropping in price as technology advances.For a 1080p set, I recommend the Samsung UN50J6300. This TV strikes a good balance between price and video quality. It also features Samsung’s Smart TV technology for adding apps and streaming services directly to the TV. If you’re on a budget, it’s hard to beat the TCL 48FS3750. You’ll get a 48-inch TV with good picture quality and Roku streaming interface built in, all for $328. That’s a bottom dollar price on a TV that isn't bottom of the barrel.
If you want the best possible picture out of a 1080p TV, you can’t beat the LG 55EC9300. This television features an OLED panel, which means you’ll get a really bright screen in daylight but also inky blacks in the dark.
When it comes to 4K, if you’re looking for a great budget TV, check out Vizio’s M series of televisions. They strike a good balance between price and performance, and for under $900, you can get a sizable 55-inch Vizio VIZIO M55-C2.
If you have more money to spend, $1,600 gets you the Samsung UN55JU7100, which is also a 55-inch 4K TV. The additional $600 over the Vizio gets you a better picture, motion, and streaming features if you don’t want to buy a separate set-top box.
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IGN's Daily Deals is your source for bargains on things you actually want from around the Web. Read our Deals Standards and Practices for more. Lewis Leong is a technology journalist who has an unhealthy obsession with audio gear and racing simulators. Follow him on Twitter.