With the range of choices for TVs at record levels, which is great for consumers and generally means more cool features and better prices, it can also become a bit of a lottery choosing the right TV! With the never-ending advancement of tech, gadgets and features, it’s vital to cut across the noise and make the choice that’s right for you. Plus I hate the feeling that a Smart TV gets outdated quite fast – so I want to make sure the one I choose is right for a good amount of time.
In this article, I aim to de-mystify things a little for you, and give you some food for thought in making the right choice of Smart TV for you (and not for the salesman smelling his commission!).
Size it up
Screen size and TV thickness are the two main dimensions you’ll want to look out for when choosing a new TV. While for some rooms it’s simply “bigger is better”, 40 inch screens are a solid choice to create an exciting viewing experience in regular sized front rooms. And with TVs getting thinner and thinner as technology advances further, pay close attention to how the TV will appear in your room and how much space it will take up.
The TV’s on the wall…
Depending on the size of your room or the amount of space that you want your TV to take up, look for the wall-mounting feature on your choice of TV. It’s also important to think about the practicalities of speakers or games consoles to sit near and around your TV, so bear that in mind when you’re thinking about which model to get and where to situate it in your room. You may also wish to consider a soundbar to really sharpen your acoustic experience – we have one and totally love it especially when watching Glastonbury and the like.
Picture perfect
The types of display on offer in Smart TVs are LED and OLED. Without going into too much detail, OLED is the higher quality option because it provides its own backlight for each pixel, which from the viewer’s point of view means a picture of deeper blacks and sharper colour contrasts. OLED TVs also have the advantage that they are thinner than LED alternatives – but be aware that the higher quality and leaner image are reflected in the price.
Modern vs Vintage
I want a great modern TV (as do my kids) but sometimes feel that they don’t sit right with vintage and mid century furniture. I remember shooting images for my book in very vintage homes, and wanting to cut the TV from the photo as it just didn’t go! But we all love a bit of Netflix so what should we do? Some choose to store it inside cupboards to hide it away from view but this is not always possible especially if you choose a large screen, plus it is not that practical especially with children wanting to watch it.
My advice is to just embrace it. Ours sits on a retro sideboard with West German pottery either side, and the black screen ties in with the black vinyl egg chairs we have. I would stop worrying about the TV and instead focus on what to put around it….as most people will notice that fabulous vintage lamp or vase anyway! We do the same with our sound systems and computers – while it would be fab for them all to be retro like the orange one in the photo, no one really wants outdated technology.
While there’s lots of choices to consider when choosing your new TV, in this article I’ve highlighted some of the main ones that really make a difference to your experience as the viewer.
I hope it helps, and check back regularly for more handy hints and tips!
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