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00:00I think this may be the most distracting backdrop I've ever put up in a video.
00:04You're going to feel sick just watching this and not in the usual way.
00:08Hey guys, I'm Tom the Tech Chap and this isn't all about gaming even though I've got the
00:12PS5 and the Series X hooked up at the moment.
00:14This is about what is the best TV.
00:16Rather than individual models, I want to give you some of my top tips for how to choose
00:20the right one for you because there is about a million things to think about and it can
00:24all get a bit overwhelming.
00:25But if you guys do enjoy the video and find it useful, which hopefully you do, then a
00:29cheeky little like and subscribe would be very much appreciated.
00:32Okay so tip number one, and that's two, but when is the best time to buy a new TV?
00:38Well the answer is actually right now, well for me at least as I'm filming this in mid-November
00:43because we've got Black Friday and Cyber Monday coming up.
00:49As you would expect, these are the best times to get big discounts on the latest models.
00:54Reason being, most new TVs are announced in January at the big CES conference in Vegas
00:59and then usually released between March and April every year, which is when you're pretty
01:02much guaranteed to be paying sticker price.
01:05But give it five or six months after launch and you'll probably see a good 20-30% off.
01:09Although this year maybe pare back a little bit as we still have this ongoing chip supply
01:14shortage crisis thing, so supply is still outstripping, no other way around, so demand
01:19is still outstripping supply.
01:21But another good way to save money and leading into tip number two very nicely is look beyond
01:25the regular big brands because the likes of TCL and Hisense are putting out some great
01:30TVs these days which are often pretty spectacular value for money.
01:34Tip number three, and size matters, I'm not going to make a joke, I always make a joke,
01:38I'm not going to do it this time, this is a 55 inch, this is a 65 inch, although slightly
01:43awkwardly they're on different height TV stands.
01:45But I love a big TV, it's more immersive and it helps your eyes perceive more detail, especially
01:50as we're upgrading to 4K and maybe even 8K screens, and in my experience you're less
01:54likely to regret buying a TV that's just a little bit too big than going for one that's
01:58maybe a bit smaller than you'd like.
02:01I think the sweet spot is either a 55 or a 65 inch 4K TV, or at least here in the UK
02:06where we have really small houses.
02:08But the thing is when you go above 65 into your 70s and your 80s things often get a lot
02:13more expensive.
02:14I still wouldn't bother with 8K though, it's diminishing returns, it's very expensive,
02:18but if you do want to go for one I would suggest at least 75 inches so you can see
02:22the difference.
02:24This next tip is for when you actually already have your TV and that is to change the settings.
02:29It can make such a difference just playing around with it for a few minutes because a
02:33number of people I know who buy their fancy new TV and just use out of the box settings,
02:38which to be fair aren't as terrible as they often used to be in the past, but you're going
02:41to want to turn off that motion smoothing unless you're watching sports so you're not
02:45going to get that soap opera like effect.
02:47And God forbid if they set it up in store mode.
02:50Picking one of the presets is fine and newer TVs often remember your choice depending on
02:54the app or the input you're using.
02:56But if you've got one of these options, then use game mode for consoles and then for movies
03:00and TV any kind of expert or filmmaker mode is your best bet.
03:05As these tend toward more natural tones in line supposedly with what the original filmmakers
03:10wanted.
03:11My next tip is actually pretty simple and maybe unless you've got one of these Sky
03:14Glass TVs because the built in speakers are incredible actually, get a soundbar or a separate
03:20speaker system, anything, because if you're going to spend a ton of money on a new TV
03:24with fantastic picture quality, you want the sound to match.
03:28To be fair, some pricier TVs do have better quality and bassier speakers and attempt a
03:33bit of surround sound, but I really would suggest getting a good soundbar and plenty
03:37of speakers and soundbars allow you to connect to the TV via an ARC or an eARC enabled HDMI
03:42port, which is so much more convenient because you can then use your TV remote to control
03:46your sound.
03:47But I think my personal favorite right now is this the Sonos ARC.
03:52It's a little bit pricey, but I think it's incredible.
04:01So for this video, LG actually very kindly offered to sponsor the little integration
04:04ad break part in the middle, which we're going to go into now.
04:08And that is all about a TV, which is actually not in here.
04:11It is over there in my living room.
04:12So come with me.
04:15So this is the 77 inch LG G1, and quite honestly, I will take any opportunity I can to show
04:21off this TV.
04:22It is incredible.
04:24The G1, aka the gallery design TV, not only has a unique flush wall mount, so it sits
04:29right up against your wall, although right now I've got a nice gradient light strip behind
04:33it.
04:34But this, along with the Z1 series, have LG's next generation OLED Evo technology, which
04:38combines the Alpha 9 Gen 4 AI processor 4K, new improved materials, and an even brighter
04:44screen.
04:45And of course, being an OLED, we have the self-lit pixels, so we get that infinite contrast,
04:50no haloing, and just the perfect blacks that you can't get on a normal LED LCD.
04:55So as you would expect, picture quality on this is top notch.
04:59The processor intelligently upscales content to 4K and also optimizes both the picture
05:03and the sound quality.
05:05We also get Dolby Vision IQ and Dolby Atmos support for a proper cinematic experience,
05:10and Motion Pro helps reduce motion blur.
05:12I actually reviewed this a few months ago, and at the time I called it the best gaming
05:16TV you can buy, and I stand by that even now.
05:204K, 120fps, HDMI 2.1, G-Sync and FreeSync, as well as super fast response times and low
05:27input lag, which is actually really important.
05:30And this game optimizer menu gives you all the game specific functions in one place.
05:34So check out LG's huge range of OLED TVs, including this OLED Evo G1.
05:40There's some great Black Friday deals, and I'll leave a link in the description below.
05:43Okay, we're back.
05:45Let's talk about tip number... what are we on?
05:48Tip number six, picture quality.
05:52In my experience, the biggest determiner of picture quality is how deep the blacks can
05:56get, which is basically the contrast ratio, and also the brightness measured in nips.
06:01And this is even more important when it comes to HDR movies and games.
06:05In fact, I'd argue that good HDR, especially in content with Dolby Vision or HDR10+, is
06:10one of the biggest upgrades TVs have had in the last decade.
06:14Although the good news is that all 4K TVs do at least support some basic HDR formats.
06:19But if you can, try and get a TV that supports Dolby Vision HDR, which most do these days,
06:25except frustratingly most Samsung TVs, but Dolby Vision is one of the most common and
06:29most popular HDR formats.
06:32All this brings me to tip number seven... seven.
06:37I've completely lost my train of thought now.
06:41Where are we?
06:42All this brings me to the next question, which TV technology, what panel type is best?
06:48And to keep things simple, you've got your basic LED LCD TVs, which have generally quite
06:53poor contrast, rubbish viewing angles, but are nice and cheap.
06:56The next tier up is a bit more convoluted.
06:59You've got your quantum dots, your nano cells, and even mini LED TVs.
07:03These are more expensive, but usually with higher brightness, better contrast, and more
07:07dimming zones on the backlight so you get less blooming and more accurate colours.
07:11But at the top, it's still pretty much a two horse race between OLED and QLED.
07:16We do have some very exciting new technologies coming soon, like micro LED from Samsung,
07:22but that's ridiculously expensive and probably five years off from actually being in your
07:26living room.
07:27As I mentioned in the ad break, with an OLED, each pixel can turn itself on and off, so
07:31you have near enough infinite contrast, super inky blacks, almost no blooming or light bleed,
07:37and incredible viewing angles.
07:39The only real compromise with OLED is it can't match the brightness of a good QLED, with
07:43the best ones from Samsung.
07:45But with each generation, they do get better.
07:48If I had to take one to a desert island, well, actually, I'd probably go with the QLED because
07:52the higher brightness would help drown out the sun, which is presumably overhead, and
07:56also assuming I've got power and a signal.
08:00You can't go wrong with either, but for my money, assuming you can maybe control the
08:04lighting in your living room, you've even got a super bright window behind you or something,
08:08I would go OLED.
08:09Both technologies still come at a premium though, although something like this LG 55
08:14inch C1, which is actually my TV of the year, now you can get for less than £1,200.
08:20Back to gaming though, because a big reason a lot of people want to buy a new TV is to
08:24pair it with their shiny new PS5 or Xbox Series X.
08:27And while you can play your games on any TV from the last 10-15 years, anything with an
08:32HDMI port near enough, there are some pretty big benefits to paying a little bit more and
08:36getting a new TV with some gaming features.
08:39To get the best experience, look for at least one HDMI 2.1 port.
08:43That makes it a lot more future proof, but also you'll want support for 120Hz, often
08:47called VRR or Variable Refresh Rate.
08:50So if possible, look out for FreeSync and or G-Sync to smooth out your gameplay and
08:55reduce screen tearing.
08:56And also keep a look out for ALLM or Auto Low Latency Mode, which the TV will switch
09:00to when it detects a console input.
09:03And that helps turn off all the background processing rubbish and gives you the best
09:06response time.
09:07The problem is though, HDMI 2.1 TVs, which are fantastic future proof things that got
09:12very bright all of a sudden, are very expensive and really there's only a handful of games
09:16that support 4K at 120fps, which that unlocks.
09:21There are a bunch of other benefits to 2.1, which, well, I could spend a whole video talking
09:24about, but in terms of real world gaming, HDMI 2.0, which you have on every TV really,
09:31is absolutely fine.
09:32You can still get 120fps if your TV supports it, but just at a lower resolution.
09:37And having low response times and a good picture quality is far more important.
09:42Tip number nine, and all new TVs are smart TVs, which basically means you can connect
09:47it to the internet and then they'll have the usual range of streaming apps.
09:50Although not all TVs have all the apps.
09:52That's worth checking.
09:53I'm sure you guys already know this, but if you do have an older non-smart TV, then get
09:57a Roku stick or an Amazon Fire 4K or Google Chromecast, because they are incredibly cheap
10:03ways of getting access to streaming apps without buying a whole new TV.
10:07And finally, tip number 10, read reviews, not spec sheets.
10:12For example, this SkyGlass TV, which I reviewed recently, is technically a quantum dot mini
10:17LED, which sounds great, but in reality, the brightness peaks at around 600 nits, which
10:22is pretty average, plus it's only 60 hertz with no real gaming features.
10:27It's not bad for the price, but as I say, just reading the specs doesn't necessarily
10:31give you an idea of what the picture quality is actually like.
10:34So it's worth reading or watching a few reviews of the TV you're thinking about first to get
10:38past all that marketing jargon.
10:41But what about you?
10:42What TV are you using at the moment?
10:44And also, are you thinking about upgrading to a new one any time soon, and if so, what
10:48would you go for?
10:49Let me know in the comments below.
10:51Thank you so much for watching, guys.
10:52I do hope you found that slightly useful, and if you did, as I say, a little like and
10:55subscribe would be very much appreciated, and I'll see you next time right here on the
10:59Tech Chat.