Buying a new TV doesn’t have to cost you a fortune, you just need to know what you are looking for. This starts with deciding what kind of budget you are looking to spend and then seeing what you can expect to get from a TV within that budget. You may find that you want to increase your budget a little for a TV that has all of the bells and whistles, but you may also find that your dream TV is available for less than you had originally expected.
In this article, we’ll take a look at some popular questions that first-time buyers ask, such as how to judge resolution and which extra features are genuinely useful – as opposed to those which just add to the price tag. Finally, we’ll break down some TVs and talk about what’s involved in their price.
RESOLUTION
This is perhaps the most important aspect of a TV purchase. First and foremost, you’re almost definitely upgrading your old TV to improve on your current image quality.
Display resolution is the quality of the image that appears on your TV; it defines the sharpness and colour contrast. A low resolution, such as 480p, will give a blurry image, whereas a high resolution, such as 720p or 1080p, will provide you with a clean, beautiful image.
If you’ve been thinking about searching for 4K TV deals, you should be aware that the resolution on a 4K TV is one of the most affordable high-end TVs on the market, providing you with 1080p resolution.
BEFORE BUYING THE BEST…
You should know that most content nowadays is streamed at 720p, but 1080p (4K) is gradually becoming more accessible. In the future, there’s also the possibility that 8K content will be available to stream directly to our TVs. Despite the lack of content, 8K TVs have already hit some stores, though be wary of the hefty price tag that comes with this new technology.
If you’re interested in staying ahead of the tide, keep an eye on our 8K TV deals page.
EXTRA FEATURES
TVs often come with a bunch of special features that will augment the experience for some, but just drive the price up for others. If you’re a casual user who wants a screen to watch the latest episodes of Emmerdale and the XFactor, you’re probably not interested in a TV that can connect to your PC and has a million different visual settings. On the other hand, if you’re a regular gamer, you might recognise the benefit in some of these features.
Streaming Apps
Most Smart TVs nowadays come with streaming apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime pre-installed. This means that if you have an account with either of these services, you can sit down on your sofa, switch the TV on and start watching with no hassle.
On the other hand, it is possible to watch streaming services on your TV without paying extra for a Smart TV. If you already own a Fire stick, for instance, you may see little point in a TV upgrade that will only make your Fire stick obsolete.
You can also stream by connecting laptops or PC up to your TV through use of HDMI cables, but this can be a problem if your PC is a few rooms away from the TV – you probably don’t want to be trailing metres of cable through your home.
Figure out how worthwhile the streaming apps associated with a Smart TV will be for you. If you’re feeling left out of the loop, because you haven’t caught up on the latest Netflix originals, then a cheap Smart TV might be the best place for you to start your new Netflix adventure.
Gaming Mode
If you’re a gamer looking for a TV, you will want to search for a TV that supports gaming mode. Gaming mode should increase the display’s refresh rate, which results in reduced lag – the time between when you push a button on your controller and the effect that button has in the game.
One trick you will want to look out for is that some TV developers use the fact that gamers are specifically looking for TVs with a game mode to their own nefarious advantage. Some TVs will support a game mode that turns out to merely be a display change, such as altering the contrast and hue of your display ever so slightly – not actually improving the refresh rate of your game and therefore doing nothing to improve your lag problems.
If gaming is important to you, remember to ask whether the game mode on your prospective TV will improve the refresh rate, or simply change the colour of the TV’s display.
PRICE
In this section, we will compare TVs in different price categories to see what you can really expect for these prices:
BELOW £200
If you’re hoping to buy a TV under £200, you’re going to have to leave something out. If you’re looking to upgrade your current TV, your starting figure will likely be around the £150 mark, and from here you can expect TVs of varying sizes which support 720p resolutions.
If you’re a gamer, TVs under £200 may often have reduced refresh rates around the 50 Hz mark. You should be looking for at least 60 Hz if you want a smooth gaming experience.
BELOW £400
In the £200-£400 range, you will start to see TVs which support 4K (HD/ 1080p). If you watch shows which can be streamed in 4K, you’ll get quite a lot out of your upgrade to a 4K TV that will make this purchase well worth your expenditure.
It’s within this range that you start to see Smart TVs which support apps and also tend to have higher refresh rates.
BELOW £600
Once you’re exceeding the £400 mark, you can expect to start seeing improvements on the general set-up, such as better sound systems, better colour contrast and bigger screens. You may also start seeing options for curved TV screens.
ABOVE £600
Above the £600 mark, you could start seeing TVs which incorporate the latest technology into their designs, such as OLED pixels, QLED pixels, and – if you’re willing to pay big money – 8K picture resolution.
Whatever TV you’re looking for, our deals will be able to provide the best cheap TVs on the market all year round. We also offer free and fast deliveries on a selection of items, so you don’t have to worry about accounting delivery costs into your budget.
