Question What's your best advice when shopping for a 4K TV?

[MMohammed]

As the holidays approach, I'm already starting to see into my future...and it involves a ton of spending. Fortunately, part of that spending is also going to be for my own tech purchase, including a new 4K TV. I've been reading around and trying to figure out how to pick the best one for me.

So, considering the community of knowledgeable folks here, I thought I'd ask y'all. Any advice for buying a 4K TV?

 

[iodro]

Ensure it has a wide colour gamut and is HDMI 2.1

 

[mejustsayin]

make sure it has plenty of hdmi ports. also if purchasing locally, when you take it home, do NOT lay flat. It is one of the biggest causes of cracked screens. Laying it flat could cause scratches inside the screen and could eventually crack. It is near impossible to get it fix or replaced via warranty.

 

[Ovashen]

check if it has a fiber optic port, this makes for excellent sound quality when connecting your sound system

 

[Jakke]

Buy the best your budget can afford.
Not too small, not too large. It needs to be comfortable to watch. There are online tools to find out which size is best.
High brightness, high contrast, angle of view, energy consumption, HDMI ports, ... all things to watch out for but in the end, it's your budget that talks.

 

[decorsplanet]

If you're shopping for a TV today, a 4k TV is worth buying over a 1080p TV, provided you sit close enough to see the extra detail and are watching native UHD content. If you're only watching 1080p or even smaller resolution content, it won't give you a boost in quality.

 

[julerobb1]

Don't buy the showroom one, My dad learned this the hard way. the display on his TV blew. Best Buy refused to repair it after they also previously refused to repair his plasma. He wasn't a happy customer. Best advice: buy it new, and dont go for anything like a fire, roku, etc. Android TV is ok at best. I'm not sure if pannasonic still makes TV's but i highly recommend them, a sony or a vizio.

 

[Xbox and Windows Gamer]

Look for 120hz depending on your budget, 4k 120hz is l a mix of quality and smoothness. It should be great for the newest and greatest gaming consoles if you are getting one. There is already some tvs with both that hq 4k and the fluid 120hz tech.

 

[tegno]

You can never go too big
see if the latest codecs are installed on it
LG might be the best overall
HDR isn't that bad.
latest HDMI port
Being smart isn't that important
above all consider the budget
Curved TVs are complete BS
decent ram is important for playing high bitrate 4k movies
specify your usage if gaming then high refreshrate

 

[jonmoyo]

If you can afford it buy an OLED TV rather than a QLED. The HDR on my Samsung QLED is horrible.

 

[Escabor]

Ensure the quality of display panel and replacement factor.

 

[Floydbogan]

Make the right choice

 

[kep55]

As the holidays approach, I'm already starting to see into my future...and it involves a ton of spending. Fortunately, part of that spending is also going to be for my own tech purchase, including a new 4K TV. I've been reading around and trying to figure out how to pick the best one for me.

So, considering the community of knowledgeable folks here, I thought I'd ask y'all. Any advice for buying a 4K TV?

Wait until 4K broadcasts are available.

 

[Kone44]

I have a 55" TCL. 4K. Has all the hookups I need.
Had it going on two years. And it's still going great!

 

[Will76]

Refresh rate at least 60htz enough inputs

 

[Kone44]

Got all of it.

 

[jagdishsingh]

I had purchased a sony 4k tv last year and after a few replacements and issues, we paid sony to upgrade us to their flagship worlds thinnest model which was plagued with backlight bleed each replacement tv having more worse bleeding after a lot of talking they finally refunded me and so I was back again in the market to see for a new 4k tv.
I needed 3d and 4k as its main features and also a tv that performed well to justify its price tag.
I looked at the lg line up and loved the 950t but when I looked at it clearly it didnot give me the good feeling a tv should give so of to samsung and thats where I see the suhd js9000 series. Samsungs flagship, the colors and black levels blew me away and thats when I decided this tv is what I shall buy.
Since samsung is updating its line up I have been through 8 stores that all told me no stocks, heck vijay sales booked the tv for me and then said they have no stocks.
Almost about to give up I found this tv in a not so famous outlet ready stock and packed.
I shall leave out most of the tech specs since its available on the site but I will cover what I found as a consumer.
The tv looks gorgeous, a lovely curved screen with silver bezel and also comes with a one connect box.
What does the one connect box do? well its the brains of the tv all processing and inputs are taken care of the box. The box connects to the tv by a single cable. Now what would be the use of having an external box? well you can connect your pend drives to it without struggling to reach around the tv if its wall mounted or on table top. good thing by samsung but whats the real icing is that say this year theres some new hdmi standards or say some new features I just need to replace the box and not the entire tv and since the panel is a 10bit panel it supports hdr.
The installer came and was pretty professional, I asked them for a slim wall mount whihc costs 3000 bucks but was free. the guy used templates to mark holes and drill and then fix it. not a bit of error and was perfectly mounted.
Setting up was easy and the colors seemed the way I like it out of the box without any need for calibration.
the tv uses edge led local dimming meaning you get more blacks but the panel being a va panel does not have the best viewing angles. The tv does come very close to oled kind of black levels but for a way lesser price.
the tv comes with one smart remote which does the job well, navigating through apps is a breeze and there is no lags as compared to my previous sony android tv
the sound from the tv is pretty good to be honest it gives a good fill and presence and some good surround simulations. Updates are out form time to time and they do add some new features and fixes.
so far its been a month and I have only faced a software glitch with the arc sending my reciever to tv audio mode from time to time when watching from my set up box via the amp. for now managed to fix by turning of auto switching.

 

[LennyGar]

I would suggest Samsung or LG.

 

[LTuring]

My personal best is this. First, do a LOT of research. Understand what the terminology means so when you come across it, you won't get flustered.
Once you're relatively familiar with that, it's time to decide what is important to you. Are you someone creating a man-cave for you and your buddies to watch ballgames and other sports? Or do you just want a basic smart TV that you can watch in reasonable comfort, without a lot of bells and whistles, that's easy for you to use after a long day at work?
Now you have to talk budget. Are you willing to spend a lot for this TV and want it to last for years? If so, think about how fast technology is moving today compared to, say, six or so years ago. Most things you get today are going to be outdated in no time.
But again, if you just want a good TV that will handle the basics without a lot of technological experience on your part, then you've already narrowed your choices considerably.
What do you want versus what do you need, and how much you can afford are your three main concerns, or should be. I sometimes get amused by all the people waiting in line outside stores at 2 AM because they have to have the newest gadget, be it TV or iPhone or whatever. Many of these folks learn, after some time and a whole lot of money, that they really never used half of what the gadget has to offer.
Don't fall for brand-name stuff. At least, not JUST because of the name. I recently got a RedMi phone (the Note Pro 8 Plus) and I have a Samsung A21. The two are virtually identical in specs and abilities, except one was twice the price of the other. (I'd d bet you can guess which one.)
Well, that's all I can offer. Hope that helps and have a great evening!

I would suggest Samsung or LG.

 

[skywriting]

Don't buy the showroom one, My dad learned this the hard way. the display on his TV blew. Best Buy refused to repair it after they also previously refused to repair his plasma. He wasn't a happy customer. Best advice: buy it new, and dont go for anything like a fire, roku, etc. Android TV is ok at best. I'm not sure if pannasonic still makes TV's but i highly recommend them, a sony or a vizio.

Used vizio is a great value. Though old technology.