A Smart TV or Connected TV is a TV that can be connected to the Internet to offer online services such as watching series on SVOD platforms or listening to music through streaming applications. A Smart TV has an optimized interface that makes your life easier and gives you access to various applications that let you receive and send contents that are very different from those of traditional TVs. Nowadays, a Smart TV is a complete multimedia center that can manage all the entertainment in your home.
A smart TV has an operating system that lets you access streaming content without having to connect an external device. Smart TVs are popular with people who like to watch the latest shows on Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming platforms. With a smart TV, you can access, manage and watch online and network-based content. Almost all TVs sold today are considered smart TVs, and many manufacturers, including LG, Vizio, and Samsung, offer smart TVs.
Size of Smart TV
Bigger is better when it comes to your smart TV, but your purchase also needs to make practical and financial sense. After all, there’s no point in buying a 72-inch TV if you’ll be sitting less than a meter away from it. You can decide how big you want your smart TV to be based on the dimensions of your room and your sitting distance from the set.
Larger TVs automatically mean you’ll have to sit further away. Ideally, a size of 40 inches is suitable for a bedroom, while 55-65 inches is ideal for a living room. A larger screen works well for a large entertainment room. To determine the size of your TV, make sure there is at least 2.5 inches of space on both sides of the TV and at the top of the TV cabinet.
The Resolution Counts
Most TVs are available in three resolutions: 1080p, 4K, and 8K. We recommend buying a TV with 4K resolution to get the best overall experience. TVs with 1080p resolution are good, but outdated by today’s standards, and you’re no longer paying a price penalty for the higher resolution. TVs with 8K resolution are now where 4K TVs used to be: High-end devices with a hefty price tag.
It’s probably not worth the investment yet, since prices are high and there’s not a lot of content (TV shows or movies) at a high enough resolution that a difference in picture quality is noticeable. 4K, also known as Ultra HD, is an excellent middle ground, as it is a high-quality resolution for which there are many affordable options. Plus, many streaming services and apps offer 4K content, so you can take full advantage of what’s available.
HDR Support
Most of the best smart TVs are equipped with a picture-enhancing technology called HDR (High Dynamic Range). HDR provides high detail in the darkest and brightest areas of an image and improves the color palette. There are several HDR formats such as HDR10, Dolby Vision, HDR 10+, and HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma), but as long as the screen supports HDR, you’re on the safe side. The differences between the formats are minimal.
Viewing angles
When you are in the store, stand at a normal distance centered in front of the TV and then take a few steps to the side. You may notice a loss of color and contrast, and generally a slight degradation in overall picture quality. If you are dissatisfied, keep looking until you find a TV with better viewing angles.
Display Type
Modern smart TVs are available in three major display types: OLED, QLED and LED. The display type plays an important role in the overall quality of the display, and therefore you need to know the differences between them.
OLED TV
First of all, OLED is the most expensive type of display for televisions. The technology is based on individual organic pixels that emit light in response to electric current. Since these pixels can turn off individually, you get excellent black levels, a high contrast ratio, and vivid colors. The overall picture quality is top-notch, and the viewing angles are great, too. OLED TVs are much thinner and have narrower edges than others because they don’t have a backlight.
LED TV
As a rule, you will find LED panels in inexpensive smart TVs. This technology uses backlighting, which means that black is never really black. The picture quality may not match OLEDs or QLEDs, but they usually have better brightness.
QLED TV
QLED or quantum dot LED TVs are essentially a middle ground between OLED and LED panels. This new screen technology uses a quantum dot layer between the LED backlight and the LCD layer. This results in better colors and brightness than LED panels. In terms of overall performance, they come close to OLEDs. Prices are still expensive, but slightly lower than OLEDs. In general, you can find QLED TVs from Samsung, OnePlus, VU, TCL, etc.
Sound Quality
What good is a video without good sound? – Most smart TVs are thin and usually have smaller speakers with less sound power. However, some TVs offer excellent sound with a large soundbar on the bottom with 50 watts or even more of power. Anything over 20 watts is decent, and anything over 30 or 50 watts is an excellent choice. Plus, you can buy a soundbar later to greatly improve the audio quality. Or you can also buy a home theater system to improve the audio quality.
Connectivity
Count the number of devices you want to connect to your smart TV and check if it has that many HDMI ports. USB inputs and SD card slots are a plus. If you’re wall-mounting your TV, find out where the ports are located. Ask yourself if they will be easy or difficult to access.
Wired Connectivity
As important as it is to pay attention to the screen size or screen technology, it is also important to pay attention to the connectivity options of your smart TV. Nowadays, a smart TV is a true multimedia hub that centralizes most of our entertainment devices. Depending on your devices, you need to make sure you can connect your TV box, game console, computer, soundbar, Blu-ray player, and so on.
Therefore, it is important to choose a model with enough ports to connect all your devices. Make sure your smart TV has at least 2 or 3 HDMI ports, including an HDMI 2.0 port for playing 4K content, or better yet, an HDMI 2.1 port for playing 4K content at 120 Hz or 8K. It should also have at least one USB port and one optical output. If you are using older devices, you will also need analog inputs (white, yellow and red RCA connectors). The presence of a headphone jack can also be a plus.
Wireless Connectivity
The real reason for the existence of a smart TV is the ability to connect to the Internet. Nowadays, virtually all smart TVs can access the Internet via an Ethernet cable or Wi-Fi. Logically, the newest models support the latest standards and therefore offer the best speeds. Wi-Fi Direct lets you connect directly to another device.
Depending on your needs, you’ll also have to pay attention to the integration of software features such as Screen Mirroring, which lets you duplicate your smartphone’s screen on the smart TV. AirPlay integration is also an important addition to any home. Bluetooth is also a must for connecting accessories like headphones or a wireless keyboard.
Refresh Rate
The Refresh rate indicates how often a screen refreshes its content per second. It is specified in hertz (Hz). The standard refresh rate for TV screens is 60 Hz. However, if you are buying an expensive TV, you should look for a higher number.
A higher Refresh rate, such as 90 Hz, 120 Hz, 144 Hz or more, provides smoother motion – you won’t see blurriness in fast-moving objects, as is usually the case with standard screens. This feature is not essential, but important if you want to play games or use the TV as a monitor for your computer.
Apps
The main purpose of a smart TV is entertainment, and your entertainment preferences play an important role in choosing a smart TV. Services like Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime are available on many platforms, but not all smart TVs support all apps.
All smart TVs come with some apps pre-installed, and most have app stores where you can select and download additional apps. For example, on Samsung smart TVs you can access the Samsung App Store, and on LG TVs you can access the LG Content Store. Vizio’s smart TVs, on the other hand, have all apps preinstalled. New apps are added via updates, but you have to transfer content from unsupported apps or mirror them on the screen.
Remote Controls, Voice Commands, Virtual Keyboards
Most smart TVs today are sold with at least one remote control. This allows you to interact with the smart TV to navigate the user interface or select your content. Remote controls have evolved with smart TVs. Today, there are more or less ergonomic models that support a microphone, a touchpad or gesture control. With some smart TV models, you can even use your smartphone as a remote control.
In addition to the remote control, you can also control your smart TV with your voice. The voice recognition built into most current smart TVs allows you to easily search for content using a microphone, which is usually located on the remote control or on the TV itself. Thanks to voice assistants like Google Assistant or Siri, you can issue a voice command to watch a movie or series or listen to a specific music album.
Brand
There is fierce competition in the smart TV market. There are brands like Sony, Samsung, TCL, Mi, LG, Impex, etc. competing against each other. Each brand has its own qualities and reputation. Sony, Samsung, TCL and LG offer different products of different quality. The price is directly proportional to the quality. At Impex you can find a wide range of cheap smart TVs. The choice of the brand is entirely up to you, because all products of the mentioned brands have the same advantages.
Price
Prices for smart TVs vary widely depending on brand, size and screen technology. Therefore, it is difficult to give a clear price recommendation. Entry-level models cost less than $1,000, and in some cases, less than $500. If you spend between $1,000 and $1,500, you have a good mid-range model. Those with deeper pockets who want a high-end smart TV should expect to pay at least $1,500.
Conclusion
You need to look at several aspects of a smart TV before choosing the one that fits your budget and has the desired features. A smart TV is a digital television that is, essentially, a computer connected to the Internet and equipped with memory, specialized for entertainment. Smart TVs are available as stand-alone products, but even regular TVs can be made “smart” through set-top boxes that enable advanced features.
