Where and when do you watch TV?
What is the room like? Is it light or dark? Will you be watching in daylight a lot? If you’re watching in a light environment, you need to be able to turn up the screen’s brightness, otherwise you won’t be able to see the picture. Check how easy it is to adjust the brightness and increase the contrast manually. Some TVs have a preset for daytime TV.
The remote control.
The remote control can be an important factor in deciding how well you get on with your TV. These days, they come in all shapes and sizes – some you have to wave around in front of the screen, while others have a little keyboard on the back. It’s worth asking to look at and get a feel for the remote control in the store.
Can you adjust the picture settings manually?
You can change some of the settings to improve the picture quality. One first, simple step is to change the preset that is used on start-up. The lab measured the picture quality in all the TVs’ presets (cinema, natural, standard and so on). All of them had the best colour reproduction in the cinema setting or its equivalent.
Many major retailers also offer to calibrate the TV for you.
“I’m a little sceptical about that. It’s a laborious and costly procedure and I’m doubtful about what the retailers can do for the price and in the short time they spend doing the calibration in the store,” says Jerker Vingren.
Operating system and apps
Most TVs these days are what are known as smart TVs, which means that they have an in-built computer with internal connection, and you use various apps to watch your chosen content. Just like computers, the TVs have different operating systems. One problem with smart TVs has been that certain apps have stopped working on some TVs (with particular operating systems) after a few years, when the apps have been updated. Deciding which TV and operating system is the best option to avoid problems further down the line is really nothing more than guesswork. Some recommend Android TVs, because Android is part of Google, which is a large and important player in the app world.
Many opt to buy an external device that controls the connection and apps, such as Chromecast or Apple TV, instead of relying on what the TV comes with.
Lotta Hedin
Editor, Testfakta News Agency
October 31st, 2018 (first published in Swedish onJune 1, 2018)
