The best TVs for 2019

What is the best TV to buy?

The television market has changed a lot recently, both in terms of technology and price. New types of displays with Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) and Ultra High Definition (UHD or 4K) panels replace the 1080p standard we've come to expect. But which one should you buy? Here are the main points to consider when shopping for a new job, as well as the best TVs we've tested.

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The best 4K TVs

Previously, the issue of TV resolution was between the 720p (1280×720 or a little under a million pixels) and 1080p (1,920 out of 1,080) options, just over two million pixels. pixels). Then it rose to 1080p compared to Ultra HD or 4K (3,840 out of 2,160, with eight million pixels). Now, the question is no longer: the 4K has become the standard of medium and large TVs of all major manufacturers.

The higher resolution no longer commands a huge premium, and you can now find a 65-inch 4K TV for under $ 1,000. Realistically, you would be hard pressed to find a TV of a big brand larger than 40 inches that is not 4K. In fact, every TV on this list is in 4K.

Almost all 4K TVs have connected features that allow you to stream 4K content. The Roku TV platforms, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV have allowed many TV brands to add smart TV features without developing their own systems, just like LG and Samsung. These platforms are full of features and provide access to most major streaming services, as well as features such as voice badist, local media streaming, and various applications. If you can not find the desired applications or services on your TV, you can connect a separate 4K multimedia streamer to an HDMI 2.0 port.

More recently, support for Apple AirPlay 2 has been added to several new TVs (as well as some models 2017 and 2018) from LG, Samsung, Sony and Vizio. This allows you to use your iPhone or iPad to stream content from iTunes to the TV. Apple is also launching the Apple TV app with its upcoming Apple TV + service on many smart TV platforms. This means that you can watch Apple video content on almost any TV without the need of an Apple TV 4K, which was needed before.

4K content is now available for free on many streaming services and on Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs, even though it has not yet been adopted by the broadcasting or cable television services. . If you have a very fast Internet connection, you can watch excellent shows on Amazon and Netflix in 4K (and most of the new original programming on services is produced at this resolution). New films are also released in 4K in digital form via various on-demand streaming services such as Vudu.

Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs are a relatively new physical media format, similar to Blu-ray Discs. Do not expect to play them on your current Blu-ray player, though; you need a dedicated Ultra HD Blu-ray drive or a Microsoft Xbox One S to handle the format. The good news is that it stores 4K video with HDR (explained below), and can even handle advanced surround sound if your speaker system supports it. As this is a physical media format, you do not need to worry about your internet connection to make sure you get 4K either.

Should I wait 8K?

No.

That's all. Do not worry about 8K for the moment. You may have heard about it and the new HDMI 2.1 standard is designed to support it. But 8K TVs are not going to make sense for consumers for many years.

8K corresponds to a resolution of 7,680 out of 4,320, which is four times the number of 4K pixels. In recent years, major TV manufacturers have introduced 8K widescreen TVs as standards-compliant models, but they have not become much more than that. At the present time, there are no 8K TVs to buy in North America, and there are none on the horizon. According to the HDMI Forum, only 400,000 8K screens will be delivered in 2018, and they will be shipped almost entirely to China. Even in 2020, this number will be only 900,000 worldwide, only a fraction of which is in North America.

In the coming years, 8K consumer TVs will become very high-end and expensive models exclusively for early users. A few years later, 8K will become the flagship feature of television and 8K TVs will become even more affordable for most buyers.

There is also no ready-to-use 8K media, and no big studio or distributor has even talked about going out 8K movies or shows. There is not even a physical or streaming media standard for commercial 8K video broadcasting. Even if you can find an 8K TV, at best you will be able to watch a 4K video converted upward. So, for the moment, do not worry about the sudden replacement of 4K by 8K. It will not happen any time soon.

High Dynamic Range (HDR)

While the 4K is now established as an obvious, there is a new video technology to consider when buying a TV. HDR content (High Dynamic Range) gives much more information to display than a standard video signal. The resolution remains the same as in UHD, but the range of colors and the amount of light that each pixel can produce are considerably wider.

With new LCD and OLED technology, high-end TVs can display larger color gamuts and finer gradients of light and darkness. Standard video has been built around the limitations of older TVs, intentionally using a defined range of color and light information in the signal. HDR breaks these limitations and uses extended ranges with finer values ​​between them. Broadly, this means that HDR displays can produce more colors and more shades of gray (or rather luminance values) than standard dynamic range displays.

HDR is still a developing technology, and it's easy to be confused with it. There are two main HDR standards with commercially available content: HDR 10 and Dolby Vision. HDR 10 is an open platform that uses 10-bit color values. UHD Alliance certifies TVs that meet the HDR 10 standard, as well as the minimum brightness and contrast ratio, such as UltraHD Premium. Dolby Vision is a closed standard used by Dolby, which supports 12-bit color and determines the ranges in the signal provided to an on-the-fly display, depending on the display itself and the needs of the scene . TVs supporting Dolby Vision will note this on their packaging.

Some newer HDR standards and variants are beginning to appear, but have not yet been accepted by HDR10 and Dolby Vision TVs. Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) is a standard developed by the BBC and the Japanese NHK broadcaster, which is backward compatible with standard dynamic range TVs. Meanwhile, Samsung and Amazon Video are working on HDR10 +, supposed to add variable metadata to brightness, which changes the range of brightness and darkness that video can display from one scene to another. We will see how they will be adopted in the future.

HDR content is generally rarer than UHD content, but it is becoming more available. Ultra HD Blu-ray uses HDR 10 and supports other HDR standards. Netflix and Vudu offer Dolby Vision movies and programs in digital format. It is difficult to determine if one standard is better than the other. HDR 10 uses more concrete values ​​and is technically easier to evaluate, but Dolby Vision is designed specifically to meet the needs and limitations of the television you use. Regardless of your choice, HDR-compatible TVs can produce a better picture than TVs that do not support larger color gamuts or the extended range of luminance information.

Shopping for TV sales

Most TV manufacturers unveil their new models for the next year at CES in January. This does not necessarily mean, however, that current model prices will fall rapidly. New TVs are not usually available for sale until spring. So you have three months or four months to find out what new TVs are coming out. If you can find significant discounts on the models from the previous year in January and you know that they are performing well after our exams, you should avail yourself of them.

Keep an eye out for sales around major sporting events like the Super Bowl or when the football season is just starting. You may be able to find price reductions of a few hundred dollars or more. As with all sales, pay attention to models for sale; Different levels and series of TVs can have very different performances.

Big price drops at Black Friday often promote low-cost or mid-range TVs with seemingly large discounts, but their images may not be as good as high-end models. Check the model numbers against the reviews to see if the discount you see is worth it.

Are cheap TVs worth the price?

Low-cost TVs can be very appealing, especially if you have not yet reached the 4K mark and price tags over $ 1,000 discourage you. Be careful when you see a lot of things on TV, even if it means 4K HDR. It could be a good deal or a disappointment.

The performance of variable budget TVs varies enormously and the trends are poor. You will find some very good deals, like the TCL P series that combines excellent image quality at a great price. You will also find a sea of ​​cheap TVs that are not up to par.

Do not count on big names either to be of reliable quality in their budget lines. While companies like LG, Samsung, and Sony can make incredible flagship TVs, their inexpensive models are not usually better than the more basic budget-centric brands like Element, Hisense, and TCL, and they're usually a little more expensive. As always, our reviews (and the image quality tests we perform) can help you find a screen that does not exchange quality for the price.

What is the difference between OLED and LED?

Plasma TVs were the only flat-panel models available when they were launched more than a decade ago. They now belong to the category of the dead and you will not see a major TV maker offering a new plasma TV in the near future. This means that your choices will mainly consist of LED backlit LCD TVs (also called LED TVs), as well as much less common and much more expensive OLED displays.

First, a note: LCD and LED TVs have generally been considered separate, although they both use LCDs. The LCD panels themselves are not lit, so they must be illuminated. LED TVs simply back-light LCDs with LEDs, while LCD TVs use CCFL lamps (cold-cathode fluorescent lamps) for backlighting. CCFL backlit designs have come to the end and almost all LCD TVs are currently lit by LEDs.

There are other differences between the different models. LED TVs can be illuminated or backlit. Perimeter TVs light up their screens with rows of light-emitting diodes located on the edges of the panels, which allows the device to be thin and light. The backlit TVs use a wide range of LEDs directly behind the panel, which makes the screen a little thicker, but allows it to illuminate the panel more evenly and, for high-end displays, adjust individual LEDs to improve black levels in scenes. Very good edge lighting systems can produce excellent images, and TV manufacturers make smaller and thinner backlit LED arrays, which means that the distinction is smaller than before. Whatever the technology used, the smoothness and brightness of an LED TV will be roughly proportional to its price range.

Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) displays are a rare and very expensive technology for televisions. Despite their name, they are radically different from LED backlit TVs. In fact, their operation is closer to plasma screens. As in plasma screens, each diode generates color and light, but it can be much smaller and thinner than panels even lit by light-emitting diodes and can produce some of the best possible black levels. At present, LG and Sony are the only TV manufacturers to offer OLED models, and they remain extremely expensive, with 55-inch TVs starting at $ 2,000 and up from that point Larger and more expensive OLED models can cost up to $ 15,000).

What screen size should I get?

A large TV too close can be as uncomfortable to watch as a small TV too far away, so do not badume that the largest screen available is the best choice. There are different rules of thumb about the size of the TV screen, depending on your distance. In general, the distance between your sofa and your TV should be between 1.2 and 1.6 times the diagonal of your screen. So, if your sofa is six feet from your screen, you can watch a television between 42 and 60 inches. If your couch is five feet away, a 37 to 52 inch screen should work well.

Should I buy a curved TV?

Most TVs have flat screens. Curved screens were a popular trend a few years ago when several TV manufacturers (Samsung in particular) pushed curved TVs as high-end products. Some manufacturers have argued that curved TVs offer a visual advantage. This is not reflected in our tests.

In terms of performance, there is no reason to opt for a curved TV screen. While a smaller curved gaming monitor can offer a more immersive viewing experience to a single viewer, a curved TV can make it more difficult to achieve a consistent picture quality for large groups. Those who look at the screen with an off-center angle may be distorted. Curved screens from the point of view of design may seem striking, but they certainly do not justify a price increase compared to a similar flat screen TV.

Refresh rate and contrast ratio of the television

One of the biggest problems limiting your choices to a single TV is the sheer number of specifications. For your convenience, it is wise to ignore two important factors, the refresh rate and the contrast ratio.

The refresh rate (or response rate), the rate at which the panel of your TV refreshes its image, is expressed in hertz (60Hz, 120Hz, 240Hz, 480Hz or 600Hz). The theory is that a faster refresh rate makes for a smoother image. But in reality, there are many reasons why this is just not true, and it is not worth paying more for a set with a faster response rate. In many cases, 60Hz will be fine for movies and 120Hz for video games and sports (although you probably had to disable these modes of higher refresh rates when watching most shows and movies, otherwise you'll get this dramatic drama, effect).

The contrast ratio, meanwhile, is the difference between the darkest black and the brightest white that a panel can display. In theory, the highest possible contrast ratio is desirable because dark blacks and bright whites contribute to a high quality image. However, there is no standardized way for manufacturers to measure this specification. As a result, Samsung's numbers are not directly comparable with those of Panasonic or Sharp, for example. And, as you can imagine, suppliers are striving for the highest ratios to be able to charge more. Ignore any claims of contrast ratio in millions or at infinity; With the exception of LG's OLEDs (which are the only TVs we've tested to produce an "infinite" contrast ratio with a perfect black level), the best TVs usually have a five-digit contrast ratio.

Smart TV applications and services

Almost all TVs now offer web applications and built-in Wi-Fi. These features allow you to connect your TV to the Internet and access online services such as Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, Sling TV and YouTube. Many also incorporate social networking services such as Facebook and Twitter, and many manufacturers offer complete ecosystems of downloadable apps with other programs and games that you can use on your TV. Some manufacturers, such as Samsung and LG, are developing their own connected platforms for their smart TVs, while others, such as Insignia, Sony, and TCL, are using third-party systems, such as Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Roku TV, to provide their TVs with applications and services online.

These applications are also available in most Blu-ray players, in all major video game systems and even on inexpensive multimedia streaming devices, so they are not essential. However, a user-friendly interface and the services you want to use, available directly on your TV, bring some convenience and do not require you to purchase additional peripherals.

Get the right connections

Your ideal TV should provide enough video connections, not only for the moment, but also for the foreseeable future. The most important input is HDMI, which supports all major forms of digital video sources, including Blu-ray players, game consoles, set-top boxes, cameras, camcorders, phones, laptops, tablets and computers via a single cable. Most TVs have three or four HDMI ports, but some only have two. This is the best way to send 1080p videos of your devices to your screen with just one cable. This is the main way to connect your main sources of entertainment to your TV. If you want a 4K screen, make sure that at least one of the HDMI ports is HDMI 2.0. This is the latest standard supporting 4K video at 60 frames per second. Older HDMI ports can only handle at most 4K up to 30 frames per second.

Discover how we test TVs

With respect to cables, unless you have a huge home theater system and you plan to run cables between devices located at distances greater than 25 feet (and that's generous ), brands and prices matter little. We compared the performance of high-end and inexpensive cables, and found that they all transmit digital signals in the same way. More expensive cables may have better build quality, but you will not see any benefit in terms of performance. Do not buy HDMI cables in retail stores and ignore employees who warn you of "dirty electricity" or "viruses" that may come from inexpensive cables (the two affirmations of which I'm not sure about). have been witness). Jump online and find the cheapest cable at the size you need and pick it up.

For more information, see Shoot the Cable Monster: What You Need to Know About HDMI Cables.

How to calibrate your TV

Once everything is plugged in, you may want to calibrate it. We can guide you through some settings, and some TVs have a built-in calibration wizard that you can access from the menu. If you own a high-end TV and want to get the best picture possible, you can spend a few hundred dollars to calibrate your screen in a professional manner, but for most viewers, it's an expense useless.

And of course, do not forget to disable smoothing movements (the effect that makes everything look like a soap opera).

Addition of a sound system

TVs have built-in speakers that work well enough for you to understand the dialogue, but beyond that they are usually quite disappointing. With a few exceptions, you can dramatically improve your movie and gaming experience by purchasing an additional speaker system, such as a sound bar or a dedicated multi-channel home theater system.

If space is limited or your budget is limited, a sound bar is your best choice. The sound bars are long, thin, stand-alone speakers placed under or on your TV. Small and simple to install, they are less expensive than multi-speaker systems. Soundbars do not usually separate enough channels to accurately place sound effects, but they have become very effective at producing a sound field around you. Here are some of our favorite sound bars.

The best outdoor TVs

Generally, TVs are not rugged and you should not use them on the outside. They are not designed to withstand extreme temperatures or a significant amount of moisture or dirt. If you want to install a TV on your porch or deck, you need a dedicated TV designed for that location.

Companies such as SunBriteTV manufacture rugged TVs that can operate in a much wider temperature range than most consumer TVs and are protected from the elements. They are designed to be left out in the rain and snow, with a heavy chbadis and shielded connection bays. This extra protection will cost you however; most rugged TVs cost at least twice as much as comparable indoor TVs.

For more buying tips, check out our TV Product Guide for the latest reviews.