Buying an LED television
There’s nothing like being able to sit in your living room basking in the glory of your large screen LED TV, marvelling at the crisp, bright display that can only be produced with a backlit LED screen. Whether you have your television screen mounted on a wall or on a smart TV unit, LED TVs are the centrepiece of a room. We no longer need to position our screen at a certain angle to see all the action and we don’t need to accommodate a large unit that is as deep as it is wide.
LED TVs are great, but do you know your HD from your 3D? Find out how to choose an LED television with our buyers guide.
What size LED TV do I need and will it fit?
This is really a matter of preference, but the larger the screen, the better you’ll be able to see it. One thing to remember is that with extra size comes extra power consumption, and you may want to be sitting further away if it is very large. However, LED TVs are the most efficient on the market today, so you’ll be using less energy than an LCD or plasma screen of the same size.
You also need to make sure the TV will fit where you want to put it. If you want to wall mount it, it’s important to measure the area before you buy. LED TVs are measured from corner to corner, so a 42” telly measures 42 inches from the bottom left corner to the upper right corner of the screen. The bevel (the piece that goes around the screen, holding everything together) is usually thin on LED TVs, but it is sensible to add an extra couple of inches to allow for extra space the screen may take up.
You should also think about the positioning of connecting cables because people often find they have difficulty connecting HDMI leads from their set top box, home entertainment system and games console or media streamer all at the same time. If you expect to use a number of connections, it’s a good idea to see how many sockets there are on the TV you’re looking at, or invest in a switch or adapter that will let you use more. This way you can connect your HDMI leads and any other cables before mounting the TV in place.
What features should I look for?
Even cheap LED TVs outperform many older sets, and with prices dropping rapidly, you will find reasonably prices LED televisions with lots of features. For most of us, connectivity is a major factor, because even if the rear of your screen is accessible, you don’t want to change leads when switching from a DVD or Blu-Ray player to another device. Even if you have little need for extra connectivity right now, there is a possibility of that changing at some point in the future.
Good LED TVs have a resolution of 1080p with a refresh rate of higher than 50Hz. While it is entirely possible to enjoy viewing movies and live television with lower specifications, the industry is constantly moving to higher definition screens and 1080p is full HD (High Definition).
3D TVs are becoming popular among people who want to enjoy the full cinema experience in their own home. As the technology improves, the use of 3D at home becomes more popular. This has encouraged more movies, games for consoles and even live broadcasts for sporting events to be created or made available to audiences who enjoy the 3D experience.
Sound is an often-overlooked issue that can ruin your enjoyment if you buy an LED TV with poor output or something that sounds weak. Many LED manufacturers know that their customers will connect their LED TVs to a surround sound system as part of a complete home entertainment package, but if you don’t intend to do that, you should look for powerful integrated speakers. The best LED TVs will have a few options for sound output, with optical output the preferred type of connection for people who are serious about their entertainment systems.
Live Streaming is becoming the standard, it is estimated storage media like DVDs, and even Blu-Ray will be phased out by the end of the next decade. If you intend to use your LED TV for a long time and want easy access to sources of entertainment, a smart TV is a great solution. This gives your access to lots of free and premium on demand services and some smart LED TVs allow access to other services, too.
If you’re on a budget, you might be interested in all these features, but the resolution and size of the screen makes a big difference, so this should be your main consideration when choosing a TV.
How energy efficient are they?
LED TVs are the most efficient of all televisions and they are likely to remain the most efficient for some time to come. Low usage models rank somewhere around 13kgCO2/year in terms of carbon footprint, but that can more than double if you use a large screen. Even so, LED TVs are around twice as efficient as Plasma screens and a reasonable improvement on LCD models.
