Cheap Black Friday 2018 TVs May Not Be a Great Deal

This year, like every year, we have seen incredible prices on television on Black Friday. Great 4K TVs, probably HDR, for lower prices than ever before.

How low? Walmart sells a 40-inch TV for $ 100. Target has a 55 inch for $ 200. Best Buy sells a huge 70-inch TV for $ 700. And this is only a beginning.

The prices are certainly impressive, but that does not mean that TVs will have a good value .

Very often, cheap TVs are just that: cheap. The low cost sets without the features or image quality of their more expensive competition may seem like a good deal, but are not actually a good place to invest your money. After all, most people keep their TV 5 or 10 years old.

The low prices of these televisions should make you cautious more not less. Address these TV sales with a watchful eye, regardless of the price.

That's why The list of CNET's Black Friday 2018 television offers is divided into two parts: the best and the least expensive. The first part covers television, where our critic, David Katzmaier, can vouch for the quality of the image and . The second covers TVs that he has not tested, but he badumes that they will not take into account the picture quality of those he recommends.

With this difference in mind, here are some things to look for when you are evaluating this tempting TV.

Warning: "False" HDR

False The High Dynamic Range (HDR) is one of the biggest problems in the world of television. Being able to read HDR and display correctly HDR are two extremely different things. It is easy for a TV to read HDR metadata and therefore to say that it is "HDR compatible". But without local dimming, the TV does not display this HDR data. In essence, it is as if someone was reading you the description of a chart. You will have the idea, but you will not see it.

For more information on this marketing lie, read this: Why not all HDRs on TVs are the same .

Warning: false refresh rate

With LCD TVs, higher refresh rates may reduce the perception of motion blur, as in the case of something moving on the screen. This is a problem with all LCD TVs and current versions of OLED. However, not everyone sees it or is not bothered by it.

The problem is that most manufacturers are a little, shall we say, " creative " with their refresh rate listings. They could say "Motion rate 120" or "SRR240Hz" or another marketing term to describe what their TV does. Many of them do not represent a higher refresh rate. These are just hints, or if you're lucky, inserting a black frame (which can sometimes be interesting). If it's a cheap TV, it's almost certainly and not actually at 100 or 120 Hz, which means that a fast movement will be blurring.

For more information, check out the truth about the refresh rates of 4K Ultra HD TVs .

Warning: scattered connections

How many HDMI connections do you need? More importantly, how many Ultra HD HDMI connections do you need? If you have more than one 4K source, make sure each input of your TV is at least HDMI 2.0 and has a HDCP 2.2 . If you can not find this information on the data sheet, beware. If the connection does not have HDCP 2.2, you will not be able to watch a 4K source.

Warning: not so smart television

The major television channels and major brands like Roku have for the most part a solid reputation. The marks off might not. This is not a problem because media outlets are inexpensive and awesome, but if you expect a quality broadcast experience, you may not get it. You might also not get all the streaming services you want. Everything has Netflix, everything is not Amazon, Vudu, Hulu, etc. TVs with built-in Chromecast, for example, require you to use your phone and do not always stream Amazon videos.

Warning: Shopping by Brand Only

There are several lesser known brands that make fantastic TVs. TCL is a recent star. Therefore, the fact that they are not as well known as Samsung or Sony does not necessarily mean that you should remove them from your list. That said, an unknown brand may not have the same warranty or repair service if necessary.

During Black Friday, well-known brands such as Samsung and LG often sell their cheapest models at prices well below what you can expect. Many are fine, but some might not offer the same level of picture quality or features as a lesser known brand such as TCL or Vizio – which regularly ranks tops the list of CNET's best TVs for their money. In other words, even on Black Friday, the brand of a TV should not be the only determining factor.

On the other hand, there are many brands that you may recognize and that are just the name of a once formidable company. Chinese companies have spent years buying the trademarks of once-famous companies. Polaroid, Kodak and many others have virtually no connection to the companies you have known. These are Chinese manufacturers looking to use the name of a big brand. Again, they are not necessarily bad, but do not be fooled by the name.

But if you insist …

Here's the problem: if you're just looking for a cheap TV for a second room, of course, why not? If you do not really care about what the TV looks like, of course, why not? But if you're excited about the new TV features like HDR, the extended color gamut etc., you risk being disappointed. .

Christmas Gift Guide: Complete CNET Gift Guide, featuring dozens of products under $ 25, $ 50 and $ 100.

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Got a question for Geoff? First, check out all other articles he has written on topics such as why all HDMI cables are identical, TV resolutions explained, LCD vs OLED LEDs, etc. Tweet him @TechWriterGeoff and check out his travel photos on Instagram. He also thinks that you should consult his successful science fiction novel and his sequel.