Televisions

The two most important decisions to make when choosing a TV are its resolution, and its size relative to your room. 

Resolution 

Any new TV you buy should at least have the 1920x1080 resolution, also called 1080p or full HD (high definition). 

The resolution is how many pixels (dots of colour) are on the screen. It’s a good guide to how sharp images will look. Resolutions are displayed as “width x height”. For example, 1920x1080 means 1920 pixels along the horizontal and 1080 pixels on the vertical. 

Another high-definition format is 1280x720 or 720p, but it’s quickly becoming dated. Anything less is considered standard definition (SD). 

4K/UHD (ultra-high definition) 

UHD resolution is 3840x2160, with twice as many pixels in each direction as full HD. The same resolution is also called 4K, for being roughly 4000 pixels wide. 

Whether to buy 4K is about budget. There’s nothing wrong with saving money with a 1080p TV. However, 4K looks better and is more future-proof – broadcasters and streaming services will likely offer 4K video as standard in the coming years.

Upscaling 

TV software can “upscale” content to a higher resolution by guessing the colours of the extra pixels.

Upscaling is important for 4K TVs in particular because it means that, while most content isn’t available in 4K, HD content can still look better on a 4K screen.

It works surprisingly well for the most part, but native high-resolution content will always look better. 

Size 

TVs are measured in inches along the diagonal. The most common sizes are 55'' and 65'', but you can reliably find TVs from 32'' to 75''.

A bigger screen isn’t always better. The size you choose should depend on the room it’ll be in – specifically, how far away you’ll sit.

For most HD TVs, you should sit at least two metres away to get the most from the picture.

With a 4K TV, our maximum recommended distance is the same as the minimum distance for HD. However, you can also sit closer to see all of the detail.

Screen type 

There are two common classes of screen. OLED screens are the premier technology for those who can afford them.  

LED (light-emitting diode) 

These screens were the pinnacle of screen technology for a decade from around 2005. They still dominate the market because they’re cheaper to produce and available in a wide range of sizes. 

The colours actually come from an LCD (liquid crystal display) panel. They’re named for being backlit by LEDs, to distinguish from earlier (inferior) backlight tech. 

In our test results, we refer to these TVs as LCD as we believe it’s a more honest label. Some retailers may do the same. 

OLED (organic LED) 

OLED TVs are the benchmark for high-resolution and high-dynamic-range (HDR) screens, but they cost more and are generally only available in larger sizes.

The strong advantage of OLEDs is that they produce both colour and light so don’t need backlighting. OLED screens have better control over exactly what’s displayed and, because fewer layers are needed, can be thinner than LCD-based TVs.  

QLED (quantum LED) 

To make things more confusing, some brands sell “QLED” TVs, which are a variety of LED-backed LCD.

QLED TVs provide vibrant colours and excellent brightness and tend to be high-end models. However, OLED still has the overall edge in image quality in our testing. 

Surprisingly, “quantum” isn’t just marketing spin – QLED TVs contain a layer of molecules that behave differently due to quantum mechanics.  

What to look for in-store 

So you’ve decided on a resolution, screen size and type. You’re standing in front of rows of shiny display models. How do you narrow it down further? 

Ports and plugs 

Count how many devices you want to plug in to your new TV. Does it have enough ports to accommodate them all? 

HDMI is the standard digital connection, so those ports are like gold. Sky decoders, game consoles and media players such as Chromecasts each take up one HDMI port. TVs have between two and four.  

If you use USB devices such as hard drives or external keyboards, check the USB ports too. USB 3.0 ports have faster data transfer speeds than USB 2.0. Some will even charge your phone if you get really desperate.

HDR (high dynamic range)

An HDR display can render a wider range of colours. HDR-ready content features subtler shades – in particular, whites and blacks look better, and contrast is starker between bright and dark areas.

Colour range is quickly becoming more important than resolution when it comes to picture quality. If you’re already coughing up for a 4K resolution, don’t skip on HDR.

HDR10 is the default standard, while Dolby Vision and HDR10+ are slightly better.

Remote control 

Imagine using the remote. Is it comfortable to hold, with the buttons you’ll regularly use within easy reach? Could you locate those buttons by touch in the dark?