Ah, smart TVs. Once touted as the future of home entertainment, the services they offer have largely been overtaken by streaming media devices. 7 questions to ask before buying a digital media player. 7 questions to ask before buying a digital media player. On your first digital media player (aka streaming device), these questions will help you avoid making any serious mistakes. Read More
Except, that's not entirely accurate. I guarantee you've fallen for a lot of smart tv lies 5 smart tv lies that have fallen by 5 smart tv lies that have fallen because smart tvs have gotten a bad rap in recent years but most of These so-called problems are either exaggerated or outright wrong. Read More These days, almost every TV you see is "smart" in some capacity.
But there is still a lot to think about before going to the stores. What features should you take into account? What is important and what is a trick? And what other issues do you need to consider?
Here's why 2017 marks the best year yet to buy a new smart TV.
Before we get into the exciting features for users, we need to spend a few minutes looking at what's “under the hood”. It's the internal specification of a TV that will often go a long way in determining how much pleasure you can enjoy.
The first spec to look for is RAM. RAM is Important A Quick and Dirty Guide to RAM:What You Need to Know A Quick and Dirty Guide to RAM:What You Need to Know RAM is a crucial component of every computer, but it can be confusing to understand if you're not. tech guru. In this post, we break it down into easy-to-understand terms. Read More The more RAM a TV has, the better its performance.
When smart TVs first hit our shelves at the end of the decade, they had a negligible amount of RAM. The apps were slow and lagged a lot. It made them impractical to use compared to dedicated decoders.
Today's televisions have improved. Manufacturers are packing more RAM into their devices. Most TVs will ship with at least 4GB, but some have as much as 6 or 8GB.
The second spec to look for is the processor. Again, the faster the processor, the better your TV will perform. The benefits of a fast processor will be most apparent when switching between apps or using TV-specific features like multiple screens.
Just like RAM, the speed of processors has increased dramatically recently. If you're about to make a purchase, make sure the model you're looking for is at least quad-core.
Samsung's 4K gaming range is quad-core, but if you can afford the $4,999 for the company's 55-inch Class JS9000 model, you can even enjoy octa-core. If it's out of your budget, the $726 VIZIO D55u-D1 has one quad-core processor and one dual-core processor, giving you a total of six cores.
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In contrast, some entry-level sets are still heavy along with dual-core processors.
No one has only One more television. You may want to connect many peripheral devices. Game consoles, streaming media devices, cable boxes, DVD players, and even your laptop will need to be connected.
Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the available ports. You need an HDMI port for all your devices, USB slots for flash cards and other media devices, an SD card slot might come in handy, and you might even need composite and component connections for your non-HD devices (eg. Nintendo Wii).
If you want to dig a little deeper, see if the TV you're watching has HDCP 2.2. It is a next generation copy protection that uses encrypted keys to perform a “handshake” between the source and the screen. Many 4K models do not support it, and it is not backward compatible. If you're planning to buy a game that isn't 4K 1080p, don't worry, but if you've been keeping an eye on the latest Ultra HD 4K model, it's an essential feature for the future.
The Philips 55POS901F has this feature, as does the LG OLED55B6V and Sony KD-65ZD9.
HDCP 2.2 is different from HDMI 2.0. HDMI 2.0 is used simply to pass 4K video resolution.
LG Electronics OLED55B6P 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD Flat Smart OLED TV (2016 Model) LG Electronics OLED55B6P 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD Flat Smart OLED TV (2016 Model) Buy Now on Amazon
It may surprise you to learn that smart TVs generally rely on an existing operating system to run the platform.
There are five main options available:Roku, Android TV, Firefox OS, Tizen OS, and WebOS. Here is a brief evaluation of each of them.
Roku-based TVs implement the same interface as Roku set-top boxes. Which Roku Media Streamer Should You Buy? Which Roku Media Streamer Should You Buy? The current offering is divided into five products:the Roku Streaming Stick and the Roku 1, 2, 3, and 4. This article looks at what each product can offer and attempts to determine which... Read More They offer a universal search feature, allowing you to find a show or movie in any of the apps you've installed, and they have over 3,000 channels in their store. 20 Private Roku Channels You Need To Install Right Now 20 Private Roku Channels You Need To Install Right Now Here's how to add private channels to your Roku, along with some of the best private Roku channels you can install right now. Read More
TVs - TCL and Hisense.
Android TV based sets are famous for having the largest storage capacity. The latest models have up to 16 GB. Players will also appreciate this operating system:it can play any game from the Google Play Store, as well as offer emulators for classic consoles 10+ Classic Amiga Games, Reborn on Android 10+ Classic Amiga Games, Reborn on Android The Amiga is not remembered as fondly like the NES or other consoles, but it still has an impressive library of games. Here are 10 that you can play on Android today. Read more.
TVs - Google has partnered with Sony, Sharp and Philips.
Firefox OS is dead. Panasonic was the only mainstream manufacturer to use it and you'll still see it on older models in stores, but you should avoid it. Its approval is a shame, as it is arguably the most customizable and user-friendly option.
TVs - Old Panasonic models.
Tizen uses a Linux kernel. Samsung is the only manufacturer to use it, and you'll only find it on the company's 2017 models. It tracks what you watch and the apps you use to make recommendations, and it also has a customizable on-screen icon and a link to the old Samsung app store.
TVs - 2017 Samsung models.
WebOS has been praised for being the fastest and smoothest smart TV operating system. 2017 Smart TVs now run version 3.5, 2016 models run WebOS 3.0, and 2014 and 2015 models have WebOS 2.0. Users can expect a taskbar at the bottom of their screen, in which all applications are given equal importance.
TVs -LG.
All the extra bits are great, but the most important feature of any TV is how it looks when you're watching it. After all, the screen is still the main purpose of a television.
Unfortunately, comparing the different screens when you're in a store can be a minefield. Much of what you read in the accompanying literature is nothing more than nonsensical marketing hoax.
Do you want the SUHD from Samsung or the one from Hisense uLED? What about Sony triluminos or Sharp spectra? It can seem impossible to keep everything in order, so here's what you need to know.
In 2017, 4K resolution How to find real Ultra HD content for your 4K TV How to find real Ultra HD content for your 4K TV Even after all this time, genuine Ultra HD content can be hard to find, and your 4K TV is almost Pointless without him. Here is a tool you can use to find true 4K media. Read More Prices for 4K sets are plummeting, and you shouldn't expect to pay more than $1,000. 4K TVs have four times as many pixels as a 1080p resolution HD TV, but unless you're getting a 70-inch screen, it'll be hard to tell the difference.
Your TV's ability to produce deep blacks has the biggest influence on picture quality. It does a better job of separating light and dark colors and gives you a richer contrast.
If the depth of black meets your needs, you should also check the color saturation and color quality. All three are better in 2017 than ever.
Now that I have discussed all the things behind the scenes, you need to take into account the user-facing features. Here are some new features that may be important to you:
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I've introduced you to some of the “headline” features that make 2017 the best year yet to buy a new smart TV.
But what else are you looking for? Is refresh rate an important consideration? Are you more interested in audio than screen quality? What about the resolution? Or even customer service?
You can let us know what you think about the state of the smart TV market in the comments section below.
