Like streaming media players, smart TVs need to be connected to your home network. We recommend using a wired Ethernet connection, if possible, but all smart TVs now also have built-in WiFi for accessing your network wirelessly. Despite many improvements, most LCDs still have a fairly significant shortcoming: limited viewing angle. That means the picture looks its best only from a fairly narrow sweet spot right in front of the screen.
We recommend checking the viewing angle by watching a TV from off to the side, and from above and below the main part of the image. As you move away from the center of the screen, the image can dim, lose contrast and color accuracy, or look washed out. And the degree of picture degradation varies from model to model.
We suggest you do it immediately so that you can easily return the set if it proves to be disappointing. Television technology is constantly evolving. Here's a roadmap to help you navigate the terms and types as you shop for a new TV. Don't forget to consider a TV's connections before you buy. Almost all TVs now have side input connections, as well as rear inputs, which provide some flexibility for connecting source components to your TV.
Inputs located on the side or bottom of the TV work best if you'll be mounting a TV flat against a wall. HDMI is now the most common technology for connecting cable boxes, Blu-ray players, streaming media players, and game consoles to a TV.
However, many budget sets have only one or two HDMI inputs. When choosing your primary TV, we recommend that you look for at least three HDMI connections unless you'll be connecting all your other components to a home-theater receiver or an HDMI switcher. A newer version, called eARC, has higher bandwidth and speeds, and supports higher-quality audio, including Dolby Atmos.
Most new sets also have HDCP 2. Most TVs also include component-video inputs, which have RCA-type connectors in red, blue, and green. On some TVs, the component-video input will do double duty as a composite-video connection, as shown above the yellow and green input marked "video". These analog video-only connections are typically used for connecting older gear that lacks HDMI outputs. Many smaller TVs, and some larger ones, may have a headphone jack so that you can watch a show without disturbing others in the same room.
A TV with Bluetooth capability will let you do this wirelessly if you have Bluetooth-enabled headphones. Many TVs have a slideshow feature for viewing digital photos. Some TVs also have a digital coaxial audio output, which is another digital audio connection, but these are becoming less common. Even though all smart TVs these days have built-in WiFi, you may find that a wired connection to your home network will provide a better, more reliable streaming experience, especially with video services, such as Netflix.
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Become a Member. Remember Me. Forgot username or password? Not a member? Need further assistance? Please call Member Services at Sign in or Become a Member. Screen Size Remember when a inch TV seemed gigantic? You can go bigger with a 4K, or UHD, set. See Our TV Ratings. The Ins and Outs of Resolution A regular high-definition HD set is also called a p model because its screen resolution is x TV Ratings.
HDR can help images come alive. TV Ratings by Consumer Reports. Streaming Media Player Ratings. Check Our TV Ratings. Check the Viewing Angle Despite many improvements, most LCDs still have a fairly significant shortcoming: limited viewing angle.
A television's picture looks best when you're sitting right in front of it. Check out the quality of the image from a variety of viewing angles. TV Brands. Hisense is a multinational manufacturer with headquarters in China. The company offers a wide range of models at varying prices, including UHD TVs that include quantum-dot color technology. Its models are sold at Costco, Walmart, and some independent retailers.
Insignia TVs are value-oriented sets that are priced below similarly featured TVs from the major brands. It is unclear whether it will re-enter the market. Samsung TVs are available widely from national and regional retailers, clubs, and websites.
The Sharp TV brand in the U. Sony is one of the most recognized consumer electronics brands in the world. Toshiba, a Japan-based global manufacturer with U.
Vizio is a U. We tested the JZB in its inch size. We've not yet reviewed those versions but you'll see the latest, lowest prices for them below. The inch TCL 55RPK offers something one step closer to mid-range, though, with a greater bit-depth in terms of colour processing and Dolby Vision support too. It's certainly not the TV equivalent of fine dining, but the RPK is much better than its low price suggests.
For those after an app-happy and exceedingly user-friendly experience, and a good panel size without having to spend too much, this TV from TCL and Roku is a winning combination. This year looks very much like the year of Mini LED. The technology, which sees the traditional LEDs of a TV backlight miniaturised in order to increase contrast, is a feature of the line-ups of most major TV brands, including LG and Philips.
In real-world performance terms, Mini LED might not quite be the revolution that Samsung is pitching it as, but it is still a substantial upgrade to an already excellent range of TVs.
The overall contrast offered is staggering, and the QN95A combines near-OLED black levels with awesomely crisp white highlights and fabulously vibrant colours, all while retaining an effortless sense of naturalism. Throw in the best, most app-packed operating system in the business, a delightfully slim design and a full set of next-gen HDMI sockets and this is a lack of Dolby Vision support aside as complete a package as can be imagined.
Just remember that the QN94A above offers the same performance at a slightly lower price. That makes it a seriously stunning picture performer. Sound is less strong, but if you were always planning to combine your new TV with a separate sound system and the design works for you and you've got deep pockets , the G1 should be seriously considered.
We tested the G1 in its inch size. It's official: 48 is the new And now Sony has one of its own, too. Sony has embraced the smaller size, making the TV as petite as possible thanks to its tiny bezels and low profile pedestal stand. It does have a rather large enclosure bolted onto the back to house the speakers, processing hardware and connections , but you'll only notice if you look at the set side-on.
But that's about the only fault we can find with this TV. Sony's X1 Ultimate processor makes images suitably stunning, there's plenty of dark detail on show, and it serves up pretty much every streaming app you could hope for. Motion control is still industry-leading, and in terms of sharpness and detail, there's never been a better TV at this size.
If you can stump up the funds, you will not be disappointed. Read the full Sony KDA9 review. It produces stunningly crisp and detailed pictures from all sources, delivers far more accomplished audio than most rivals, adds awesome Ambilight which extends the onscreen action onto the wall around the TV in the form of coloured light to the mix, and has a lower price tag than its LG, Sony, Panasonic and Samsung equivalents.
If you're in the market for a bigger TV, there's also a inch version available the 65OLED and it's just as good. Chocolate and peanut butter, beer and crisps, sleep and Sundays — some things are perfect partners, whether they were designed that way or not. As the name suggests, Mini LEDs are much smaller than standard LEDs, the size of glitter in your hand, and numbering in the thousands, rather than the hundreds, on your TV panel. If you're going really big with your next TV, this is the model to get.
We tested the QNA in its inch size. It promises a good-sized, punchy 4K HDR image and all the major apps and services you could need, without so much as an additional box or stick in sight. Neither the picture nor the sound are perfect, but both are surprisingly good for the very low asking price. Add in a brilliant feature set and an unbeatable content offering, and you've got a great performance-per-pound proposition. With this in mind, it was pretty much impossible to predict what we were going to get out of the new 50UKDB when it landed on our test benches.
Black levels are average, its pictures sometimes border on harshness, and its colours sometimes look rather washed out. Its entirely healthy obsession with trying to give you the maximum 4K and HDR bang for your buck may well win it plenty of fans, though. Especially in shops where it can be shown running side by side with its subtler rivals.
Luckily, an organisation called SMPTE which stands for the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers has published detailed guidelines on exactly how far you should sit in order to optimise the performance of your TV. This question is pretty much moot now, as the vast majority of TVs are now 4K. It's actually rather hard to find Full HD p models, even at relatively small sizes.
If you're buying a TV below 32 inches and can save a lot of money on a Full HD model, by all means go for it 4K won't be a huge benefit at that sort of size anyway , but otherwise 4K is both worthwhile and, in all likelihood, your only option. It's important to note, though, that almost no native 8K content is available. If you buy an 8K TV and want to show of its ridiculously high resolution, you'll have to do so using nature, scenery and space footage from YouTube.
At this stage, no streaming services have even hinted at launching 8K content, and it seems unlikely that an 8K disc format will ever materialise. For those reasons, it's hard to recommend that most people pay the extra for an 8K TV at this stage.
That said, if you've got deep pockets and want to be as ready as possible for the potential 8K content of the future, there's no real harm in going for an 8K TV now, particularly as models such as the Samsung QNA make current 4K content look better than ever. High Dynamic Range is without a doubt a much bigger deal than 8K, and certainly something you should consider before buying your next TV.
Essentially, the higher the dynamic range brightness and colours , the more lifelike the picture. HDR offers greater subtlety and depth of gradations of colours, plus stronger contrast. There are various types of HDR out there, and with different TV brands backing different variants, it can be a minefield trying to find the best option.
Allow us to explain. Dolby Vision, on the other hand, applies this image information called metadata on a frame-by-frame basis. This dynamic form of HDR, when implemented properly, has the potential to improve upon the standard HDR10 presentation. Of these two 'dynamic' HDR formats, Dolby Vision is by far the most prevalent, both in terms of TVs and content, and if you have to choose between one and the other, that's the one we'd recommend.
Luckily, it's now almost as common as standard HDR10 in TV spec lists, so you should have little problem finding a model that supports it. These days, it's all about HDMI, which is used to connect everything from set-top boxes to video streamers, Blu-ray players to games consoles.
These have greater bandwidth than their HDMI 2. It's sensible to check the specs thoroughly if there are particular features you're after. You can use these to keep devices charged often particularly useful for stick- or dongle-style streamers , and some TVs allow the connection of flash drives and hard drives for the recording of live TV content. On the subject of live TV, you can expect practically every TV to have an aerial socket via which it can receive Freeview broadcasts, but many also have a satellite connection.
Be warned, though; the presence of a satellite connection doesn't guarantee that there's a Freesat tuner on board. Without one, you'll receive only a patchy and disorganised selection of satellite TV channels. Headphone outputs are still fairly common, too, though Bluetooth is also supported by most TVs now and Samsung TVs in fact now feature the latter but not the former. Lastly, while some TVs feature composite inputs often via an adapter , most — even at the budget end — have phased out legacy connections such as SCART.
So those clinging on to old video cassette recorders, for example, should be aware of that. As with 4K, it's now hard to buy a TV that doesn't have a smart platform packed with streaming apps. Other apps that are less common but potentially worth looking out for include BT Sport, Now, Britbox, and music apps such as Spotify and Tidal.
LCD TVs, which require a backlight usually made up of white LEDs to show a picture on the LCD panel, are available in a wide variety of screen sizes and, thanks in part to the technology's low cost of production, at affordable prices.
This allows OLED TVs to be unbelievably slim, while also offering convincing pitch-dark blacks, strong contrast and superb viewing angles.
However, the quantum dots tiny semiconductor particles in current QLEDs do not emit their own light. You tend to get brilliantly vibrant colours, plus bright, sharp and crisply detailed images. Tom Parsons has been writing about TV, AV and hi-fi products not to mention plenty of other 'gadgets' and even cars for over 15 years. Either way, we will be watching the sales prices as they roll in and will update our buying advice accordingly.
Regardless, if you're a TV enthusiast who insists on the latest features or someone who just needs a TV upgrade, now is still the best time of the year to start looking for deals. Read more: Walmart vs. Best Buy vs. Target vs. Costco: What's the best store for buying a TV? As a rule of thumb, the main purpose of a TV's specification sheet is to bombard you with confusing terms and numbers in an attempt to get you to "step up" and buy the more expensive version. Rather than rely on the spec sheet to provide hints on which TV will perform better than another, our advice is to simply ignore it.
The sheet can help when trying to differentiate a TV based on features, such as whether it has HDR, smart TV capability or a fancy remote, but it's close to useless when used as a tool for divining picture quality. Get CNET's comprehensive coverage of home entertainment tech delivered to your inbox. We recommend a size of at least 43 inches for a bedroom TV and at least 55 inches for a living room or main TV -- and 65 inches or larger is best.
In fact, more than any other "feature," stepping up in TV screen size is the best use of your money. One of the most common post-TV-purchase complaints we've heard is from people who didn't go big enough. And we almost never hear people complain that their TV is too large. If you want to fit an existing entertainment center, make sure you have at least an inch on the sides and top of the TV cavity to allow for ventilation.
Or just junk that old furniture and get a bigger TV. Read more : How big a TV should I buy? That sounds like a big improvement, but in reality it's very difficult to tell the difference in sharpness between a 4K TV and a good old-fashioned HDTV.
On the other hand, 4K TVs are easy for manufacturers to produce, so they're basically standard now. Just about every TV 50 inches or larger has 4K resolution, and many smaller sets are 4K, too. Aside from the smallest sizes, p and lower-resolution models are quickly becoming resigned to the bargain bin.
Read more : Best inch TVs. HDR delivers better contrast and color, so unlike 4K, chances are you'll actually be able to see an improvement compared with normal HDTV. How big of an improvement if any depends on the TV, however, and just like with 4K, you'll need to be watching actual HDR content.
Bottom line? If you're shopping for a medium-size or larger TV, you'll probably end up with a 4K one anyway, and chances are it'll do HDR, too. We consider the best picture quality for the money a sort of holy grail in the quest for a new TV. It's still consistently the No. If you don't place as high a priority on PQ, you'll get the best value by simply sorting a list of TVs by price along with the screen size you want, choosing the cheapest from a brand you trust and calling it a day.
Or at least skip to the next section of this guide. After nearly 20 years reviewing TVs, we feel comfortable conveying some generalizations we've observed about picture quality:.
In sum, picture quality is more complex than just counting pixels or reading a spec sheet, and your best bet is to read reviews, such as those at CNET. Hopefully you can also get the chance to see a good TV in person along with someone who can explain why it's good.
A TV with 8K resolution has twice the horizontal and vertical resolution of 4K, for a whopping 7,x4, and 33,, total pixels. Not only is that four times the total pixel count of 4K, that's an incredible 16 times more pixels than p. A few TVs with 8K resolution are available today, but we don't recommend them. Moreover, from what we've seen they don't provide much, if any, picture quality improvement compared to 4K TVs. In the future 8K TVs will surely get cheaper and more mainstream, but it will be years before they're worth considering for all but the richest TV buyers.
Read more : What you need to know about 8K TV. Another big trend in gadgets, including TVs, is the ability to be controlled by voice commands. Many TV remotes have built-in mics and "push to talk" functionality, for example to search for TV shows and movies, and many work with one or both of the two major voice assistants, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.
A handful of newer TVs even have built-in mics that allow them to respond to a "Hey, Google" or "Alexa" wake word, much like a Google Nest or Echo speaker. And numerous models work with existing Alexa or Google speakers too.
Voice control makes some tasks easier than using buttons on a remote. You can not only search for TV shows and movies, but order pizza, play trivia games and music, and control lights and other smart home devices.
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