Guide to buying TV 2021. What TV do I buy?

 We present to you which are the main technical characteristics and we give you tips so that you can choose the best TV that suits your budget and your needs. For us, these steps that we show you below are the ones you must follow when you go to find a new TV. Some of these features are not advertised so you should turn to blogs like this one to read the reviews of some models. If you don't want to read our guide, you can visit our post: What TV should you buy in 2021?

Budget

The money that you are willing to spend is not a technical characteristic, but it is for us the first step, we must set a budget to know what we can aspire to, you will always find a TV that is a little better or a little bigger and a little more expensive, so setting a budget is the first step for us.

• More info: How much does a 2021 TV cost?

Screen size

The size will be defined by the gap we have in the furniture and by the distance at which we put the sofa. As a guide, the minimum recommended distance for viewing distance are:

Our advice is that once the budget is set, we buy the largest TV possible, since the rest of the speciations are important, but what you will notice most in the end is the size of the screen.

• More info: What screen size to choose?

LCD-LED or OLED panel

OLED TVs are the best of the moment, but they are very expensive. There are some LCD-LED TVs that measure up, like Samsung's high-end QLEDs, but they are no cheaper than LG's OLEDs. For us if the budget is high: more than £1500 in 55 ", we have no doubts and you should choose an OLED TV.

• More info: Difference between LED vs OLED TV

IPS or VA panel

If the budget does not reach you for an OLED TV, which is the most common, we believe that it is important to choose between an IPS or VA television.

TV with VA panel: They offer good contrast and deep blacks, while the viewing angle is reduced. Recommended if you are going to watch TV more or less from the front, if you like to watch movies with the lights off, ...

IPS panel TV: They offer a wide viewing angle but the contrast is somewhat poor and with the lights off the blacks can be seen somewhat gray. Ideal for large rooms, large families, ...

• More info: Choose VA or IPS panel

EdgeLED, FALD, DirectLED backlight

This is a very important aspect for the contrast and for the uniformity of the image but there is not much to choose from, our budget will define the type of panel that the TV has, since EdgeLEDs are what low-end TVs mount. , some DirectLEDs and only the mid-high range include a FALD panel, which would be ideal.

• More info: Backlighting EdgeLED, DirectLED, FullArray, ...

Refresh rate:

Although many brands advertise 2000Hz or 4000Hz data there are actually only native 50 or 100Hz televisions, obviously if the TV is 100Hz better than better, fast moving images like sports or action movies will look smoother. Only the high-end models have native 100Hz.

• More info: What are Hz on an LED TV?

Brand

Currently there are a few brands available in stores, but for us there are 3 recommended above the rest: Samsung, LG and a little behind Sony (although it has a highly recommended model). If you want to look for something cheaper we recommend Hisense or Xiaomi, and if you are looking for the cheapest televisions of 2021 you should look for white brands such as: OK from MediMarkt or Selecline from Alcampo, brands that we do not recommend

• More info: Which brand is better?

Other aspects to consider:

Color depth in bits: there are 8-bit, 8-bit + FCR and 10-bit televisions, this will allow us to reproduce more colors. It is an important aspect but we do not think it should influence the majority of buyers.

HDR: improves the quality of 4K content, some brands opt for DolbyVision and others for HDR10 +. Another aspect that should not decide your purchase.

SmartTV: Before it was one of the main characteristics to take into account, but today all televisions have a good platform to access Netflix, they have Wi-Fi, ...

Resolution: "All" the current televisions are 4K (UltraHD), in some models of small size, 32 inches and less, the resolution is FullHD or HDReady. There are also 8K TVs in 2021, but they are very expensive or have other inferior features or other similarly priced TVs. It is not worth buying an 8K TV at the moment

Conclusion

There are many aspects to take into account when choosing a television but in reality the most important thing is the size and the budget since this will mark what image quality you can aspire to. Better a native 100Hz TV than 50, better a FALD TV than EdgeLED, ... but this is a never ending. In general, for average users they have plenty of a mid-range TV, from Samsung or LG with a good Smart to watch Netflix and with a price of about GPB600 in 55 inches. If you have questions about any of these aspects or about a specific model, you can leave us a message in the comments and we will try to help you.

TV Buying Guide updated

• Visit our updated guide: TV Buying guide 2021

This is the guide that we recommend you read before choosing your new television 2021. There are many aspects that we must take into account, especially because it depends on the use you are going to give your new TV. If you do not want to continue reading you can visit our summary: The characteristics that my new TV 2021 must have.

In the purchase guide TV 2021 we present you separately the 6 aspects that we think are the main ones to choose your new TV, if it is not clear to you, do not hesitate to leave a comment and we will try to help you.

When is the best time to buy a new television?
When are televisions cheaper? wait for BlackFriday or a day without VAT? tomorrow my new TV will cost less?

•  When is the best time to buy a TV?

In summary, we recommend buying the new TV when you need it, but give yourself a couple of weeks to compare prices. The great offers do not exist and the televisions that are sold with big discounts are the ones that people do not want to buy during the year usually. There are many websites that have cheap prices every day of the year, also stores change prices every two or three weeks so we advise you to follow your new TV and wait for the periodic sale about £50 on inexpensive models up to £300 or £400 in the most expensive.

What TV suits me?

We try to clarify the most important aspects you should know before buying your new TV depending on what is advertised and what is not advertised.

Brands:

The TV market is dominated by South Koreans: LG and Samsung account for more than 50% of global sales. Other recommended are Sony or Panasonic (a little more expensive) or some like Hisnese for low budgets.

• Which is the best brand of television in 2021?

Screen size:

Taking into account the space we have at home, our advice is: how much bigger better, and once the perfect size is chosen, look a little bigger because you get used to it, and you always end up thinking that a little bigger is better.

Size (inches)	Distance (feet)

22	0,7
26	1,2
32	1,4
37	1,6
40 – 42	1,8
46 – 50	2
55	2,5
65	3

It is only an orientative table because it is important the quality of contents that we are going to reproduce, how fussy we are with the resolution, etc.

Budget / price:

Once we have chosen the screen size it is important to set a maximum budget as there is a wide range of TVs ranging from £500 to £5000 (in 55 inches). We can say that the average range of recommended televisions is over £1000 (in 55 inches) but there are some cheaper and others much more expensive. How much does a 2021 TV cost?

Panel:

Depending on the situation of our TV in the living room, one type of panel or another is more advisable. There are many different panel types and subgroups, but the main ones are IPS, VA or OLED

OLEDs are the top of the range and very expensive, if you get the budget do not hesitate. They go well in all situations of visibility and ambient light. Samsung does not offer this technology and has invented its own QLED denomination: OLED vs QLED vs LED

TVs with a VA panel have better contrast, they are better suited to watch movies in the dark, they look good from the front but lose quality if we see them from the sides.

The TVs with IPS panel have a better viewing angle, better to see from the sides ideal for large rooms, against blacks can turn black more gray if we watch the TV in the dark. More on the difference between IPS vs VA panel

In addition to this classification you can visit our post where we explain the panels of 10bit, 8bit, 8bit + FCR ...

Resolution:

UltraHD resolution called 4K is in some models for many years now, it is currently the common resolution and we do not recommend buying TVs other than 4K, the FullHD is dead! This year 2021 top 8K models are presented but they are still very expensive.

What uses are you going to give to your new TV?

All mid-range or high-end televisions are fine for any kind of use you are going to give, although if we look a little deeper we see that some are more suitable for watching cinema in the dark, or for using Internet TV platforms, for watch football, etc. We recommend you review our review of each model.

Additional features:

SmartTV:
All current TVs include Smart (almost all) and all platforms serve more or less the same, connect to online content, duplicate the screen of your tablet / smartphone, watch YouTube videos, ... Each brand has its own platform and some have more compatibility than others: for example Samsung.

3D:
3D is not available on current LED TVs, maybe it will return for 2020 or 2021.

HDR: Almost all 2021 TVs are compatible with HDR, but there are different types of HDR. At the moment it is not clear what is going to impose and our advice is to choose the TV that is compatible with more types of HDR. What is HDR and what type of HDR TV to buy?


If you have any doubts or want us to review a specific model, do not hesitate to leave us a comment.

TV buying guide 2015: The best television

TV Buying Guide 2019 updated

This is the guide for choosing the best TV for you. The best TV will depend on each user and price of the uses're going to give etc ... We recommend you should look at ways to choose the right TV to your needs without having to overpay. Which TV to buy in 2016? is the question we want to answer in this post.

Advertising:
Advertising is often misleading. What most advertised is the screen size and the "Hz" plus lately is 4K or Ultra HD. You can check out our post on that technical features that should have a good LED TV.

The Best Time to Buy TV:

It is one of the questions most often answered: when is best time to buy a TV? The price of televisions always low as we approach the launch of new models. Our advice is not to buy the right televisions when they are new, since the price is above its value. As against during the first half of 2016 recommend buying 2015 models, unless you want the latest technology. We recommend you read our post with: when is the best time to buy a TV?

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Brands:

There are many brands of TV, but we will recommend the best for their quality, reliability and price. What is the best brand of television in 2016?

Which TV should I buy?

There are five major aspects that we consider when we choose our new TV, a part of the brand: Screen Size, Budget, uses, Extras and Resolution.

Screen Size:

What is the recommended TV size? How many inches should my new TV? The first aspect to ditch the distance viewing, please see our guidance board resolutions FullHD

Size (inches)	Distance (feet)
22	3 - 6
32	4 - 8
40 – 42	5 – 10
46 – 50	6 – 12
55	7 – 14
65	8 – 16

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Our recommendation is to buy the biggest TV possible because although they seem very large when unpack in a few weeks seem small. Also bear in mind that with 4K resolution sizes can be larger for the same distance.

What uses will have your LED TV?

Why we will use our TV? is not the same as choosing a TV to watch movies or play the PS4 or watching sports. While it is true that current models serve a little for everyone can read our tips depending on the use you'll give mainly.

• Recommendation TV for watching movies 2015
• Recommendation TV to watch sports 2015
• Recommendation TV the best 3D 2015
• Recommendation TV the best Smart 2015
• Recommendation TV to play PS3, PS4, Xbox, ...

Budget:

There is always a TV that costs a little more and it is a little better, so our advice is marked up price when we started looking. The price of the TV has dropped sharply in recent years so you can get a 32-inch FullHD TV for 250£ or a model 65-inch 4K for 4000£

Extras:

SmartTV:

The TVs are no longer just for watching TV, now almost all models feature Smart platforms to connect to the Internet and use applications, and USB, HDMI, ... You can check our comparison on: What is the best Smart TV 2016?

3D:

All top models, including 3D, so if you want a good TV, it will have 3D, although not going to use, really is never or hardly ever used.

resolution:

FullHD or 4K (UHD):

It seems that this 2015 TV 4K are fashionable. Many models all brands offer 4K (UHD), but we are still expensive and still not have content that can be viewed with this new resolution, we'll see if the future or not.

Is recommended buy a 4K TV in 2016?

Where to buy a LED TV?

To save money we recommend waiting for days without any oversupply as taxes or similar, but you can also buy your TV online at trusted online stores which have a similar physical stores with oversupply price. We recommend buying from Amazon for speed, safety and price.