The Big Game is this Sunday, so you might be looking for a new television to watch the Rams and the Bengals. Also, there are some television sales going on leading up to the game, as is the case every year. Follow these tips before making a high-priced television purchase in 2022.
OLEDs from LG and Sony top the class
If you are willing and able to spend bigger money on a new TV, look no further than the OLED offerings from LG and Sony. OLED televisions deliver perfect blacks, which are great for dark scenes found in many epic movies and shows of today. The LG OLED C1 is probably the best option overall, offering arguably the best picture quality of all televisions (aside from those that can go to five figures, like LG’s SIGNATURE ZX 8K OLED). Sony postures its BRAVIA XR A90J 4K OLED above LG’s C1 in terms of price (the A80J is priced similarly to the C1), and it’s another exceptional option that goes toe-to-toe with the LGs for realistic picture. LG has other higher-priced options, too, like the G1 which gives an art/gallery-like design to be placed flush on the wall. Overall, you will be “wowed” by OLEDs from LG and Sony. Just keep in mind that LG will have its C2 (along with likely a G2, B2, and A2) coming out early this year, so it might be worth waiting.
QLED a strong secondary option
Samsung offers the best option in the market here in the QLED space. The overall picture quality does not match up to the OLEDs which deliver perfect blacks—and all things being equal, OLED is the best of the best—but QLEDs are typically much brighter and can sometimes actually be a better choice in rooms with a lot of light. And as a major plus for some prospective buyers, QLEDs are great for gaming—even if the overall picture isn’t as realistic as OLEDs.
You get what you pay for (in most cases)
Fortunately, competition is driving down prices each year, giving consumers more bang for their buck at higher quality and bigger screen sizes. But generally, spending under $1,000 on a new television over 50 inches won’t bring you close to elite picture quality. Be careful of buzzwords (for example, even hearing “4K” does not mean it is great quality, which many people do not understand). If you are not worried about picture quality and just want a bigger television, then maybe you can go with a budget option and be happy, especially if you are just a casual viewer. But if you’re a serious watcher and love watching movies and hit television series in addition to sports, your best course of action is probably to save up for a higher-quality option. Just note that a higher price does not always mean better, as indicated above with LG OLEDs being just as good if not better than the sometimes higher priced Sonys.
Stick with the non-China brands
The two most popular Chinese television brands—Hisense and TCL—are backed by the CCP, which might be reason enough for many to spend their money elsewhere (if early 2022 Olympics ratings are any indication, many are turning away from China-backed things given the country’s record on human rights and their lack of transparency with the coronavirus). And regardless of where you stand on buying products from China, their brands do not currently come close to the quality offered by other companies like LG, Sony, and Samsung. You might hear a lot about how good TCL televisions are in particular. Well, we tested them, and the quality is not good, let alone “amazing” as some reviews (perhaps paid off) will have you believe. The getting what you pay for applies most here.
Turn off the “soap opera effect”
Unfortunately, many televisions today come with a motion effect turned on by default. This is often called the “soap opera effect”, as it makes things look unrealistic and not as the filmmakers intended. Depending on what brand you buy, you should look into what this is called for your new unit (LG: TruMotion; Sony: MotionFlow; Samsung: Motion Rate) and turn it off.
F China
The G1 is AWESOME