Buying tips for Christmas 2014
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Based on our experience of 2014's TV world, here are a few tips we'd give to anyone about to brave the market for a new TV.
1. Go 4K if you can
If you've got a decent budget, look to spend it on a 4K TV rather than a high-end HD TV – even if you have to save up a bit longer. Not all 4K TVs are brilliant, but you can get some excellent models for less money than you might think.
2. Go for a big screen... if you can
If you go for a 4K TV, go for as big a screen as you can manage, as this will emphasise 4K's benefits.
3. Check those specs
If you go for a 4K TV, make sure it has the necessary HEVC decoder for handling Netflix 4K streams, and make sure it has the latest HDMI 2.0 ports capable of handling full colour bandwidths and 4K at 60p.
4. Be cautious of curves...
Don't buy a curved TV until you've read up on the pros and cons of the format, and ideally until after you've had a demo of one.
5. Avoid IPS LCD panels...
If you're a serious film fan who likes to dim the lights when you're watching films, it's probably best to avoid TVs that use IPS panels due to their common contrast failings.
IPS panels were designed to deliver a wider viewing angle than rival VA panels, but their downside is that they offer less control over how much light is passed through the LCD crystals, meaning that dark scenes tend to look milky.
Or else pictures suffer with over-obvious light 'leaps' and light blocking problems thanks to how hard IPS TVs have to work to counter their core contrast issues.
6. The sweet spot...
If you're looking for the best value/performance sweet spot in this year's TV ranges, look towards the mid-range HD models of the main brands.
Sets like Sony's W829 and W705 series; Panasonic's AS600 and AS640 series; and Samsung's H6400 series all offer terrific performance levels and features for their prices.
If you start spending less you run a much higher risk of finding significant picture quality issues and missing out on some of today's most useful smart features.
7. Second screening...
With more and more of us 'second screening' these days – using our phones and tablets while we watch TV – it's worth looking for TVs that offer plenty of tablet and phone content-sharing and control features.
