lcd screen size comparison brands

A lot goes into determining the best viewing distance, and there are several different criteria you can use. Aside from size, things like resolution and even how strong your eyesight is can affect how you see the screen. Because everyone"s eyesight is different, this is less an exact science and more of a general guide based on scientific principles of vision and resolution.

That doesn"t mean you should be sitting a foot away from your TV. Having the largest screen possible isn"t always ideal. The human visual system has a total horizontal field of view of about 200 degrees, although a portion of that is peripheral vision. While it makes some sense to get as large a TV as you can for movies, not all content is made to fill the entire field of view. This becomes very apparent if you try to watch sports from up close while fixating on a single part of the screen, which quickly starts to feel nauseating.

The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers recommends sitting at a distance where the screen fills up a minimum of 30° of your field of vision for a good experience.

This is generally good guidance, but people who use their TVs mostly for watching movies might benefit from sitting a bit closer to get a more theater-like experience. The SMPTE "reference" position for movie theaters and the THX recommendation is about 40°. The minimum angle of vision works well for most usages, though, and sitting at a distance where the screen fills 30° of your horizontal field of view should be comfortable for most people.

Our size and distance tool above is based on the 30° guideline that is suitable for mixed usage, but you can find distances for a variety of sizes at 40° here.Learn more about the human visual field.

For instance, sitting close to a 1080p TV can look almost like watching through a screen door because you can see the individual pixels, even if it"s playing a high-quality 1080p HD movie. Increasing your distance to the TV also increases the density of details, producing a better image. Since 4k TVs have such a large density of pixels, it"s much more difficult for this issue to arise. You need to be quite close to a fairly large TV for the pixels to be noticeably distracting.

With 8k TVs, that density increases further, making it even harder to notice flaws with the resolution unless you"re sitting extremely close. However, this also decreases the point at which the perceived difference in picture quality becomes noticeable. Because the pixels are more densely packed with an 8k resolution, you need to sit closer to actually resolve those details. For that reason—content aside—8k only really makes sense if you want a really big screen and plan on sitting close to it. Learn more about the difference between 4k and 8k.

This chart shows the point at which an upgrade in resolution becomes worth it depending on size and distance to the TV. Each line represents the optimal viewing distance for each resolution, but any TV that falls within the range of that color will be suitable to notice a difference in picture quality. So, for example, if you have a 65 inch TV, the viewing distance at which the eye can actually process the details of 4k content is about 4 feet. However, any distance between 4 and about 8.5 feet will be enough to appreciate the difference between 4k and 1080p on a 65 inch TV. Go too far, and the image will look identical to 1080p HD.

You"re probably thinking something along the lines of "My couch is 10" away from my TV, which according to the chart means I need a 75 inch TV. This is insane!" It"s true that if you want to take full advantage of higher resolutions, that"s the ideal size you should get. That said, this may not be possible for everyone, which brings us to budget.

The price of a TV is usually exponential to its size. Size isn"t the only factor though, as resolution, panel type, and features all play into it as well. Looking at 65 inch TVs, for instance, an OLED like the LG CX OLED is inevitably going to cost more than a budget LED TV like the Hisense H8G, and both of these will seem downright cheap compared to an 8k TV like the Samsung Q900TS 8k QLED. Fortunately, though, as technology improves and the availability of higher resolution TVs expands, larger TVs have become more common and therefore more affordable. Feel free to compare the prices of our picks for the best 65 inch TVs, the best 70 to 75 inch TVs, and the best 80 to 85 inch TVs to really see the difference that size makes.

We recommend a field of vision of about 30 degrees for mixed usage. In general, we also recommend getting a 4k TV since lower resolution TVs are becoming harder to find. To easily find out what size you should buy, you can divide your TV viewing distance (in inches) by 1.6 (or use our TV size calculator above) which roughly equals a 30-degree angle. If the best size is outside your budget, just get the biggest TV you can afford. These are guidelines, after all, and since most TVs nowadays are 4k, you can"t really go wrong with the size that works for you, especially since picture quality also depends a lot on the content and viewing conditions. Ideally, you would optimize the capacity of your TV by getting one that"s large enough for you to notice all the visual detail that 4k has to offer, but ultimately, you should watch however feels most comfortable to you, whatever the size and distance may be.

TV screens are more than ever a fixed part of our household and office environment. Select the desired size in inches below and view the specifications based on the diagonal in centimeters and inches. View the dimensions of the TV Screen formats in inches and centimeters. The TV screen size Chart has a handy table with every TV size where you can view and compare the diameters.

The most popular TV sizes are 32″, 43″, 55″, and 65″, and 75″ and 85″ models have steadily increased in popularity in recent years. Modern TVs come in various sizes and forms, so it’s best to do some research upfront: This way, you always make the right choice and buy a TV that fits exactly.

Buying a TV is a major expense for many people. You also want the TV to meet all your wishes and requirements. You can easily calculate the correct TV Screen dimension through below TV Size tables. The larger a TV, the better the picture is often, but be careful not to buy too large. The size of a TV screen is always shown in inches.

For example, a 40-inch may not seem big, the diameter or diagonal of the screen is 100 centimeters! On the many online shops you can select the number of inches in the menu on the size, then you can read the size in inches or centimeters on the televisions.

TVs are available in a variety of sizes. As a result, a suitable size is available for every room or space. Are you ready for a bigger TV? If you replace an older one with a new model, you may buy a larger screen while keeping the size of the TV the same. This is because the edges are getting thinner and thinner. You, therefore, get more for your money! Also, read the reviews of the different brands.

Usually, at the beginning of the product name of the television, you can see what screen diagonal the model has. For example, from the product name LG 32LM6300 you can deduce that the screen of this TV is 32 inches.

You always see the size of a certain TV in inches. The diagonal of the screen is used for this. The diameter is measured from the top left to the bottom right. The other way around is of course, also possible. In the TV description, you can then view the size in centimeters. If you want a TV of a certain size in centimeters, you must first calculate how many inches that is. You can view a handy table of these sizes at the bottom of this page.

The size of a TV depends on several factors. The below TV Screen Dimension chart combines the TV sizes with Diagonal – Diameter in inches & centimeters. To complete it the height and width are added in cm and inches.

The distance from the TV to the seat determines the size. As a guideline, you can take that 1 meter is equal to 39 inches. So are you 4 meters away from your TV? Then you need a size of at least 50 inches. Do you watch a lot? Then you can take a larger size.

The common TV screen sizes available today are 32, 40, 42, 46/49 and 55 inch. The choice of the ideal screen size for the best viewing experience mainly depends on the distance between where the TV will be placed and your bed/couch/chair.

A TV’s size is defined by its diagonal length, which comes from measuring from the upper left-hand corner of the TV screen to the lower right-hand corner. Most TV screen sizes are expressed in inches.

The evolution of TV screen technology allows you to sit closer to a 4K or 8K screen than older technology, like 1080p. The goal is to see the picture, not the pixels.

42, 50, 55, 65, and 75 inches are the most popular TV dimensions (all measured diagonally). You might discover various models between those sizes, but variations are uncommon, especially at the larger end of the spectrum.

The diagonal measurement of a TV screen corresponds to the advertised screen size. To put it another way, a line’s length would extend from one corner of the screen to the other. The actual TV Dimensions like width and depth, which differ from the screen size stated, are typically mentioned in the product specifications.

There are many types of TVs these days. The curved models are relatively new. These models are characterized by the fact that the screen runs in a curve. The advantage of this is that the image is displayed around you, as it were. The model is most suitable for use on a stand and less for hanging on the wall because the corners protrude in relation to the curve.

LCD display doesn’t operate the same way as CRT displays , which fires electrons at a glass screen, a LCD display has individual pixels arranged in a rectangular grid. Each pixel has RGB(Red, Green, Blue) sub-pixel that can be turned on or off. When all of a pixel’s sub-pixels are turned off, it appears black. When all the sub-pixels are turned on 100%, it appears white. By adjusting the individual levels of red, green, and blue light, millions of color combinations are possible

The pixels of the LCD screen were made by circuitry and electrodes of the backplane. Each sub-pixel contains a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) element.  These structures are formed by depositing various materials (metals and silicon) on to the glass substrate that will become one part of the complete display “stack,” and then making them through photolithography. For more information about TFT LCDs, please refer to “

The etched pixels by photolith process are the Native Resolution. Actually, all the flat panel displays, LCD, OLED, Plasma etc.) have native resolution which are different from CRT monitors

Although we can define a LCD display with resolution, a Full HD resolution on screen size of a 15” monitor or a 27” monitor will show different. The screen “fineness” is very important for some application, like medical, or even our cell phone. If the display “fineness” is not enough, the display will look “pixelized” which is unable to show details.

PPI stands for number of pixels per inch. It is kind of pixel density. PPI describes the resolution of a digital image, not a print. PPI is used to resize images in preparation for printing

But you see other lower resolution available, that is because video cards are doing the trick. A video card can display a lower LCD screen resolution than the LCD’s built-in native resolution. The video cards can combine the pixels and turn a higher resolution into lower resolution, or just use part of the full screen. But video cards can’t do the magic to exceed the native resolution.

Aspect Ratio:  You might hear 4:3 which is full screen, 16:9 is for widescreen; 21:9 is for ultrawide computer monitors and televisions, as well as cinematic widescreen projectors. Some ultrawide monitors are trying to replace dual monitor.

How big is big enough? When it comes to computer monitors, you want something that can fit comfortably on your desk while giving you plenty of screen real estate. While in the past sub-20-inch monitors were commonplace, today, unless you’re really constrained for space, there’s no real need to buy anything under 22 inches. For most, 24 inches is going to be a baseline, as you can pick up a number of screens at that size for around $100, and they look fantastic at 1080p.

For those who want more than that, though, there are plenty of sizes to choose from. Monitors that stretch 27 inches diagonally are increasingly popular, and there are plenty of options beyond 30 inches that are affordable. If you want to go extreme, we’ve even tried some great computer monitors that get close to 50 inches, like Samsung’s CHG90.

While you’ll need to sit well back from those, there’s no denying that they look amazing. They give you the same screen as multiple smaller monitors without a bezel dividing them down the middle. They tend to be rather expensive, though, and if you go really wide, you’ll struggle to find media that can display at close to its native resolution, leaving the picture to either look stretched or surrounded by black.

Anywhere between 24 and 30 inches is going to be perfectly fine for most users. They let you make the most of modern resolutions and color clarity, and they also fit a couple of different web pages open at the same time without needing to use two monitors, which is handy for many professionals. They don’t tend to be too expensive at that size, either, unless you opt for the top-end models.

Today, all the best screens are still LCD monitors that use LED technology for a slim product that saves energy while providing ideal backlighting. We’ve been waiting years for OLED technology to make the transition to PC monitors, it isfinally beginning thanks to brands like LG, but the technology is still relatively rare.

One aspect of PC monitors that you do need to consider, though, is resolution. While 1080p was once the gold standard, today, it’s just the baseline. If you’re happy to spend a little more, there are a few other options worth considering, especially if you want to improve screen space or gaming visuals. Resolution isn’t the be-all and end-all of monitor features, though. In fact, too much resolution on too small of a screen can often be annoying because it shrinks all images down and forces you to enlarge everything to easily read it.

Aspect ratio: The aspect the screen shows images in (length compared to height). A common standard, and your best bet, is 16:9. It works with plenty of content, and it’s great for movies or games. Some fancy monitors like to stretch things out with ratios like 21:9, but that is more suitable for unusual work situations or hardcore gaming. Another common format, 16:10, provides slightly more vertical space for viewing multiple open documents or images. 3:2 is becoming more commonplace in laptops for better web viewing, but that’s rare on stand-alone displays.

Contrast ratio: Contrast ratios tell you the difference between how white and how black a monitor screen can get. Higher contrast ratios are a good sign because that means colors will be more differentiated. However, multiple measurements for contrast ratios exist, and stated specs aren’t very reliable, so take it all with a grain of salt.

Refresh rate: Rated in hertz (Hz), a monitor’s refresh rate is how often it updates the image on your screen. While most support up to 60Hz, some displays now offer much higher refresh rates. That can result in smoother movements on your desktop and support for higher frame rates in games, which can make a big difference in high-paced titles by reducing your input lag. 120Hz to 144Hz is a great range to target, but you could opt for the fastest screens out there with up to 240Hz support. Just make sure you have a high-powered graphics card to back it up.

Response time: Response time indicates how quickly the monitor shows image transitions. A low response time is good for fast-paced action video, twitchy gameplay, and similar activities. Response times are measured in milliseconds, with the best screens able to switch pixels at only a couple of milliseconds, but not everyone needs such fast reactions.

Viewing angle: Viewing angle isn’t as important for a monitor as it is for a TV screen, but if you like to watch shows on your computer with groups of friends, aim for a larger viewing angle so people at the sides can see easily. Anything above 170 degrees is good news here.

There are also curved monitors to consider. They don’t have different resolutions than their flat counterparts, but present a concave curved screen, which can make a difference to the experience and tasks they’re best suited for.

A curved screen can provide a more immersive experience, especially when it comes to certain games (racing games are a favorite for curved ultrawides). This largely benefits single-player games where a user will be comfortable sitting at the center of the screen.

The Hisense U8H matches the excellent brightness and color performance of much pricier LCD TVs, and its Google TV smart platform is a welcome addition. But it’s available in only three screen sizes.

The Hisense U8H is the best LCD/LED TV for most people because it delivers the performance of a much pricier TV yet starts at under $1,000, for the smallest (55-inch) screen size. This TV utilizes quantum dots, a full-array backlight with mini-LEDs, and a 120 Hz refresh rate to deliver a great-looking 4K HDR image. It’s compatible with every major HDR format. And it’s equipped with two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 inputs to support 4K 120 Hz gaming from the newest Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Add in the intuitive, fully featured Google TV smart-TV platform, and the U8H’s price-to-performance ratio is of inarguable value.

That’s not to say the U8H has pixel-precise light control—it’s not an OLED TV, after all—but it does a terrific job most of the time. In fact, in our tests, the U8H bested last year’s upgrade pick, the Samsung QN90A, in certain scenarios: The intro to Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities on Netflix features the filmmaker against a pitch-black backdrop. Though last year’s QN90A failed to maintain perfect control over dimming elements during this scene (the black backdrop brightened distractingly once a sufficient amount of brighter content appeared on screen), the U8H did not. (For the record, the newer QN90B also passed this test.) The U8H’s mini-LEDs also help the screen look uniformly bright: Although the U8H is still not as good as an OLED TV in this respect, it shows very little indication of being a backlight-driven display, even during tricky scenes with large swaths of dim lighting.

The onboard Google TV smart platform is another feather in this TV’s cap. As usual, however, it will be much more satisfying to use if you have a Google account and already take advantage of Google’s connected services, like Photos. The experience of navigating the TV’s smart features—scanning QR codes to sign into apps, using the onscreen keyboard, and browsing your Google Photos to set a photo as a screensaver—was very satisfying in terms of responsiveness and speed. Powering on the TV and booting into an app took just seconds. The included Bluetooth remote is also equipped with a handy “Hey Google” button, allowing you to pull up Google’s assistant and use voice commands to search for content or set a reminder. If you have multiple users with their own Google accounts, you can designate separate profiles (attached to a Gmail account) so that each user can customize the experience to their liking, as well as access their own Google Drive or Photos. While some reviewers have reported instances of momentary freezing while using the U8H’s platform, I didn’t personally experience any instances of slowdown that were egregiously worse than with any other smart-TV platform.

In terms of design, the Hisense U8H is not as svelte as our upgrade pick, but it’s plenty sturdy and doesn’t look or feel cheap. Two narrow, metal feet jut out from beneath the panel and steadily hold the TV. They can be attached in two separate spots, either closer in toward the middle of the panel or out toward the edges, to account for different-size TV stands. The feet are also equipped with cable organization clasps—a nice touch for keeping your TV stand free of cable clutter. Though the TV is primarily plastic, its bezels are lined with metal strips, providing a bit more durability in the long run. I moved it around my home, and it was no worse for wear, but we’ll know more after doing some long-term testing.

The Hisense U8H has some difficulties with banding, or areas of uneven gradation, where transitions that should appear smooth instead look like “bands” of color (sometimes also called posterization). Like many current 4K HDR TVs, the U8H uses an 8-bit panel rather than a 10-bit panel, which affects the color decoding and color presentation process. This is usually relevant only with HDR video and games. When playing games on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, I saw a few instances where the content wasn’t rendered correctly and displayed ugly splotches of color on the screen. However, this almost always occurred during static screens (such as a pause menu or loading screen); I rarely spotted it during actual gameplay. Hisense has stated that it would address the problem in a future firmware update, but at the time of writing it was still present. This is a flaw that may give dedicated gamers pause, but we don’t consider it to be a dealbreaker for most people.

Finally, like most TVs that use vertical alignment (VA) LCD panels, the U8H has a limited horizontal viewing angle, which may be a bit annoying if you’re hoping to entertain a large crowd. Our upgrade pick uses a special wide-angle technology to address this.

As we previously noted, one of the most exciting recent TV developments is high dynamic range, or HDR. When done right, HDR boosts a TV’s brightness, contrast, and color, making the pictures on the screen look more like real life.

For the last five years the TCL 6-Series has been our favorite TV for the money, and the 2022 version -- also known as the R655 series -- is no exception. This TV has an excellent image thanks to mini-LED tech and well-implemented full-array local dimming that helps it run circles around just about any other TV at this price. It improves upon the previous R635 series with improved gaming extras and a new center-mount stand that you can elevate to make room for a soundbar, although the new 85-inch size has standard legs. And finally, the Roku TV operating system is our hands-down favorite.

The C2 represents the pinnacle of picture quality at a price that"s admittedly high, but not too crazy. It beats any non-OLED TV on this list, including the Samsung QN90B below, with its perfect black levels, unbeatable contrast and superb off-angle viewing. It also has superb gaming features, making it the perfect companion to an Xbox Series X or S, PlayStation 5 or both. The C2 comes in a variety of sizes as well, although the bigger models are expensive.

Looking for a high-end TV with spectacular image quality, but don"t want an OLED? The Samsung QN90B is your best bet. This TV uses QLED TV tech augmented by mini-LED for a brighter image than any OLED TV. The spectacular contrast of OLED still won out in our side-by-side tests, but the QN90B QLED screen comes closer than ever.

Among midpriced models we liked the TCL 6-Series just a little better in our side-by-side comparison, but this Hisense is a strong contender. Its excellent image quality is anchored by best-in-class brightness that improves its bright-room picture quality and makes HDR TV movies, shows and games really pop. It"s actually brighter than the TCL with better contrast, but the TCL"s slightly more accurate image gave it the edge overall. The Hisense uses Google TV instead of Roku, and unlike the TCL, the U8H includes an ATSC 3.0 tuner. Frankly, you can"t go wrong with either one.

Samsung is the brand that sells more TVs than anyone, and one of its most popular is the Q60 series. Its sleek QLED screen design stands out compared with the other TVs on this list -- even though the ultrathin OLED models are sleeker -- and it offers better features, image quality and more sizes than models like the TCL 4-Series and Sony X80K. The TVs listed in this article are all superior values, but if you want a Samsung TV and can"t afford the QN90A, this is a great choice.

When we compared the best 2022 budget TVs side-by-side, the picture quality of Vizio V-Series clearly emerged as the leader of the pack. The Vizio offered the most balanced and accurate picture during our comparisons, and it comes with some useful extras such as Dolby Vision support, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth compatibility and variable refresh rate for potentially smoother gaming. The biggest downside of the Vizio is its smart TV platform, Vizio SmartCast. It"s crowded, slow and littered with ads for platforms such as Tubi and Kidoodle TV. Even when you factor in the cost of adding a new streaming device, however, the V-Series remains the best overall entry-level TV that we tested.

Prices vary widely by size and features, from less than $100 for basic 24-inch TVs to more than $2,000 for big OLED models. TVs last a long time, however, so we think it"s worthwhile to spend a little extra beyond the bare minimum to get a bigger screen, better picture quality or better features. With that in mind, here"s some ballpark prices that will get you a very good TV in 2022.55-inch: $700

In our opinion bigger is better, and your money is best spent on large screen sizes rather than a slight upgrade in image quality. The answer also depends on room size and seating distance: If you have a big room and sit farther away, you"ll want a bigger TV.

In our reviews, OLED TVs, which use organic light-emitting diode technology, have always had better picture quality than LED TVs, which are basically LCD TVs that use LED backlights. The main reason is that OLED TVs can produce a perfectly dark shade of black with no stray illumination of blooming, which leads to better contrast and pop. LED TVs can get brighter, however, and usually cost less than OLED TVs.

Most TVs sound terrible, because their thin cabinets don"t have room for decent-size speakers or bass. If you want to get good sound you should buy an external audio system. Even an inexpensive soundbar will deliver much better audio quality than a TV"s built-in speakers.

There are plenty of new and confusing terms facing TV shoppers today, but when it comes down to the screen technology itself, there are only two: Nearly every TV sold today is either LCD or OLED.

The biggest between the two is in how they work. With OLED, each pixel provides its own illumination so there"s no separate backlight. With an LCD TV, all of the pixels are illuminated by an LED backlight. That difference leads to all kinds of picture quality effects, some of which favor LCD, but most of which benefit OLED.

LCDs are made by a number of companies across Asia. All current OLED TVs are built by LG Display, though companies like Sony and Vizio buy OLED panels from LG and then use their own electronics and aesthetic design.

So which one is better? Read on for their strengths and weaknesses. In general we"ll be comparing OLED to the best (read: most expensive) LCD has to offer, mainly because there"s no such thing as a cheap OLED TV (yet).

The better LCDs have local dimming, where parts of the screen can dim independently of others. This isn"t quite as good as per-pixel control because the black areas still aren"t absolutely black, but it"s better than nothing. The best LCDs have full-array local dimming, which provides even finer control over the contrast of what"s onscreen -- but even they can suffer from "blooming," where a bright area spoils the black of an adjacent dark area.

One of the main downsides of LCD TVs is a change in picture quality if you sit away from dead center (as in, off to the sides). How much this matters to you certainly depends on your seating arrangement, but also on how much you love your loved ones.

A few LCDs use in-plane switching (IPS) panels, which have better off-axis picture quality than other kinds of LCDs, but don"t look as good as other LCDs straight on (primarily due to a lower contrast ratio).

OLED doesn"t have the off-axis issue LCDs have; its image looks basically the same, even from extreme angles. So if you have a wide seating area, OLED is the better option.

Nearly all current TVs are HDR compatible, but that"s not the entire story. Just because a TV claims HDR compatibility doesn"t mean it can accurately display HDR content. All OLED TVs have the dynamic range to take advantage of HDR, but lower-priced LCDs, especially those without local-dimming backlights, do not. So if you want to see HDR content it all its dynamic, vibrant beauty, go for OLED or an LCD with local dimming.

In our tests comparing the best new OLED and LCD TVs with HDR games and movies, OLED usually looks better. Its superior contrast and lack of blooming win the day despite LCD"s brightness advantage. In other words LCD TVs can get brighter, especially in full-screen bright scenes and HDR highlights, but none of them can control that illumination as precisely as an OLED TV.

OLED"s energy consumption is directly related to screen brightness. The brighter the screen, the more power it draws. It even varies with content. A dark movie will require less power than a hockey game or ski competition.

The energy consumption of LCD varies depending on the backlight setting. The lower the backlight, the lower the power consumption. A basic LED LCD with its backlight set low will draw less power than OLED.

LG has said their OLED TVs have a lifespan of 100,000 hours to half brightness, a figure that"s similar to LED LCDs. Generally speaking, all modern TVs are quite reliable.

Does that mean your new LCD or OLED will last for several decades like your parent"s last CRT (like the one pictured). Probably not, but then, why would you want it to? A 42-inch flat panel cost $14,000 in the late 90"s, and now a 65-inch TV with more than 16x the resolution and a million times better contrast ratio costs $1,400. Which is to say, by the time you"ll want/need to replace it, there will be something even better than what"s available now, for less money.

OLED TVs are available in sizes from 48 to 88 inches, but LCD TVs come in smaller and larger sizes than that -- with many more choices in between -- so LCD wins. At the high end of the size scale, however, the biggest "TVs" don"t use either technology.

You can get 4K resolution, 50-inch LCDs for around $400 -- or half that on sale. It"s going to be a long time before OLEDs are that price, but they have come down considerably.

LCD dominates the market because it"s cheap to manufacture and delivers good enough picture quality for just about everybody. But according to reviews at CNET and elsewhere, OLED wins for overall picture quality, largely due to the incredible contrast ratio. The price difference isn"t as severe as it used to be, and in the mid- to high-end of the market, there are lots of options.

Screen size also depends on how close you sit to the TV. Basically, if you can see the individual pixels of the screen, you"re too close. A good rule of thumb is that you should sit at a distance from the TV that is three times more than the height of the screen for HD and just 1.5 times the screen height for 4K Ultra HD. In other words, you can sit twice as close to a 4K UHD TV.

Our what TV should you buy article has an in-depth guide to calculating the proper TV screen size based on the dimensions of your room, as well as the resolution of the TV. And check out the best TVs by size:

No TV buying guide, no matter how detailed, can replace your own experience and judgment. If you have the opportunity, go to a store (and maybe bring your family) and look at the TVs. Even though 4K content is less common than 1080p, its availability is improving through the likes of Netflix. you may want that higher-resolution technology if you plan to sit close to a very large screen.

But you should also consider where the TV will be going in your home. While the above advice is intended for living rooms and home theaters, you"ll want to consider what size is appropriate for other parts of the house, like the bedroom or the kitchen, where a smaller TV may be a necessity.

Bottom Line: Choose a screen size and resolution appropriate for the distance you will sit from the screen. We’d start at 55 inches, unless you"re in a small apartment or dorm.

No TV buying guide would be complete without a discussion of resolution. For many years, the 1920 x 1080 resolution, also called full HD, has been the standard. However, TV manufacturers are rapidly shifting to Ultra HD sets (also called 4K). These 4K models have four times the number of pixels as current HDTV screens. We’re talking 2,160 horizontal lines, or 3840 x 2160 pixels.

The biggest benefit of 4K TVs is that small objects on the screen have more detail, including sharper text. Overall, images appear richer and more life-like than on an HDTV, but the benefits can be subtle. The sharper picture also has the added benefit of letting you comfortably view the screen from a shorter distance, making larger TVs more comfortable to view in a regular-sized home.

So far, companies are hoping that fancy AI-powered upscaling will make everything look good enough to justify prices that far outstrip the cost of premium 4K sets. The 8K models on the market are expensive, but it"s getting better. While early models boasted enormous screens and equally outsized prices (the LG Z9 8K OLED has an 88-inch screen and sells for $29,999(opens in new tab)), smaller, more affordable 8K sets have emerged, like the 65-inch TCL Roku TV 6-Series 8K (R648), which sells for just $2,199(opens in new tab) – less than some of the top 4K smart TVs.

The refresh rate, expressed in Hertz (Hz) describes how many times per second a picture is refreshed on the screen. The standard refresh rate is 60 times per second, or 60 Hz. However, in scenes with rapidly moving objects, a 60 Hz refresh rate can make things look blurry or jittery, particularly on LCD HDTVs. So, to create a more solid picture, manufacturers doubled the refresh rate to 120 Hz (and in some cases up to 240 Hz).

A word of caution: beware of terms like "effective refresh rate," which means the actual frame rate is half the stated rate (e.g., a "120 Hz effective refresh rate" is actually a 60 Hz refresh rate). Everything else is done with video processing, not a refresh of the screen. Check our article "This is the biggest lie told to TV shoppers — and how to see through it" for a closer look at misleading frame rate specs.

The biggest improvement is variable refresh rate (VRR) support, which introduces the same sort of frame rate matching seen in Nvidia"s G-Sync and AMD"s FreeSync technologies. By matching the TV refresh rate to the frame rates of you content source – in this case the graphics card inside your game console or PC – you"ll get smoother action and zero screen tearing.

Aside from projection sets, there are basically only two types of TVs on the market: LCD and OLED. Unless you have a lot of disposable income, you"ll probably be buying an LCD TV.

The lion"s share of televisions today are LED LCD. These HD and Ultra HD sets use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to illuminate the LCD screen and can be extremely thin. Many of these TVs can dynamically light up specific portions of the screen and dim other parts to better represent a mix of light and dark areas in a scene — a feature known as active dimming or local dimming. No-frills LED LCD sets can be had for as little as $200 for a 32-inch screen, while a top-of-the-line 90-inch model can go for $8,000.

Another LCD technology called quantum dots has been made famous by Samsung, which use it in its QLED sets. It"s actually long-standing tech that is also used by other companies like TCL, and helps and LCD screen produce a wider array of colors and more brightness. It basically adds another layer, or added “rail,” of different size nanocrystal dots that light up when the LED backlight hits them. The result is a wider color spectrum and increased brightness, in an attempt to act against OLED.

For an affordable middle ground between basic LCD and pricey OLED displays, quantum-dot enhancement is a smart way to go, just don"t let the similar looks of the words QLED and OLED fool you – quantum dot displays are still LCD TVs.

Pros: Wide array of prices, sizes and features; Some affordable Ultra HD 4K models; Bright screens visible even in a sunny room; Image quality steadily improving with full-array backlighting and quantum-dot technology.

LG isn"t the only company actively pursuing OLED technology in large screen sizes, however. Sony has been offering OLED models for several years, and both Vizio and Philips are also on board with the tech. See our picks of the best OLED TVs you can buy for our recommendations.

The best-in-class display technology is seen exclusively on 4K and 8K sets, and range in size from 55 inches up to 75 inches or larger. But OLED has also gotten much more affordable, with 55-inch models selling for less than $2,000, and 65-inch models selling in the $2,000-3,000 range.

Pros: Best TV picture, bar none; Colors truly pop, deeper blacks and better contrast and shadow detail than LCD TVs achieve; Retains image quality when viewed from the side.

Cons: Premium prices; lower peak brightness than some LCD sets, uncertainty about how screens will fare over time, including whether they will retain "ghost" images (also known as burn-in) from displaying a static picture for too long.

The interfaces are generally getting better. Vizio, LG and now Samsung use a handy bar of icons at the bottom of the screen. Roku offers its famously intuitive interface in budget TVs from Hisense, TCL and other inexpensive brands. Google provides its Android TV platform to companies such as Sony and Westinghouse, and Amazon has jumped into the mix with Amazon Fire Edition TVs from Toshiba and Insignia (Best Buy’s brand).

While most smart TVs include the major services, such as Pandora, Hulu and Netflix, check to make sure the TV you buy has the options you want. Our guides to common questions about smart TVs and comparison of smart TV platforms are good places to start.

While HDMI 2.1 is still relatively new, it"s a must have for any of the next-gen consoles. And certain features offered by the 2.1 spec have become much more common, like Auto-Low Latency Mode (ALLM), which switches to game mode as soon as the console is turned on, and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), which matches the screen to the frame-by-frame output coming from the TV, synchronizing the two for judder-free gaming.

The best TVs will have deep, dark black levels while less expensive displays glow with a dark gray, even when they should be showing black. These grays are called "elevated black levels" and are a common problem on less premium LCD TVs.

One of the biggest revenue generators for big-box electronics stores is the extended warranty. Why? Because they are so rarely needed, especially for a flat-panel LCD set. Most of the components in an HDTV are remarkably resilient; even the LEDs used to light the picture are virtually shockproof.

Today"s offering of LCD displays is as varied as that of automobile models?each with their own specifications and appeal to customers. As end users demand more and more resolution, LCD display manufacturers are heeding the call.

No matter what LCD displays VARs choose for their customers, specificity, price, and end use will be the primary considerations. With that in mind, here are a few brands, along with highlights, for VARs to consider when selecting a digital LCDvideo wall solution for customers.

Not to be outdone, Samsung"s OHD line of LCD displays in sizes from 46" to 55" touts its new SMART Signage Platform (SSP), which promises customized solutions and remote content management.

High brightness; a 178-degree viewing angle; a wide operating temperature range; and rugged, outdoor-capable engineering puts this line of LCDs in the "top pick" category of video wall displays.

In particular, the NEC P402 40" professional-grade LCD display boasts full HD resolution (1920 x 1080) and rugged, industrial-strength design for demanding applications.

Barco, once an industry leader in the prehistoric age of 3-gun analog video projectors, is holding its own in today"s LCD video display market with the super-narrow NSL Series 46" tiled LCD display.

Depending on the application, VARs should look LCD displays with super-narrow bezels, scratch-resistant glass, front-facing maintenance access panels.

As video wall manufacturers continue to improve the quality and versatility of LCD displays, VARs will have access to a much greater selection of solution-specific products to offer their customers.

Apple makes quite a few iPhones nowadays and they’re all slightly different – both with respect to specs and size. Here’s a handy iPhone size comparison chart to give you a visual idea of the differences

As of right now, Apple’s latest iPhone is the iPhone 13 – and iPhone 13 range, including the iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max. As you can see from the table above, Apple’s iPhone 13 is pretty much exactly the same size as the iPhone 12 – it is slightly thicker, however, to accommodate larger batteries.

iPhone 13 Pro Max & iPhone 14 Pro Max / 14 Plus:The iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Plus both run 6.8in OLED displays. The iPhone 13 Pro Max also runs the same size Super Retina XDR OLED screen. As of 2022, these are the biggest iPhones you can currently buy. The iPhone 14 Plus does not have Apple’s ProMotion display though. For that, you’ll need to go Pro or Pro Max.

iPhone 7 Plus/iPhone 8 Plus – The iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus look the same. The only difference between them is to do with the camera and the internal specs. In the hand and with respect to performance, there’s not much to separate these two phones. Both have a 5.5in 1080p LCD display and while this isn’t as good as OLED, it is still a very good display. And the really cool thing about Apple’s older flagship models is that you can now buy them for hardly any money at all.

Apple’s entry-level iPhones for the last couple of years have also been fairly large too; the iPhone XR has a 6.1in LCD screen size and so too does the iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 13, and the iPhone 14. The iPhone 11 used an LCD screen, whereas the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 use OLED.

In 2020, all iPhone models (inside the iPhone 12 range) will feature OLED displays. You also have the most choice with respect to size with the iPhone 12 too – it comes in three distinct screen sizes: 5.4in, 6.1in, and 6.7in.

The best TVs in this guide are all excellent, representing the pinnacle of what"s possible in smart TV tech. Each of our choices below are packed with detailed 4K (or 8K) screens, powerful HDR, and robust features, including HDMI 2.1 connections with support for 120Hz input and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) for next-gen game consoles and PCs.

The TVs we"ve selected below represent a wide range of display technologies and count among the best 4K TVs and best 8K TVs. TechRadar has reviewed them all via our network of highly experienced reviewers and have used a range of tests to determine which screen offers the best bang for your buck.

Improvements for 2022 include the new Alpha a9 Gen 5 processor, which is designed to offer better object enhancement and dynamic tone mapping than its predecessor. As well as that, you’re getting ‘virtual surround sound’, with the TV upscaling stereo content into 7.1.2-channel sound. While we weren’t convinced by the claims of virtual surround sound, the audio performance is good for a flatscreen TV, and a number of different sound modes means you should be able to find an audio profile that suits your needs.

The LG C2 isn’t flawless, however. Off-axis color saturation does diminish a bit when you move to the left or right of the screen when compared to the new QD-OLED models and LG doesn"t support either the IMAX Enhanced or HDR10+ format.

The U8H series’ chief claim to fame is its mini-LED backlight, a feature first implemented in LCD TVs by rival TCL that was quickly adopted by Samsung, LG, and Sony in their own sets. A major benefit to mini-LED is high brightness – something the U8H series readily delivers.

Vizio"s OLED TV is a cheaper alternative to the more premium screens that LG and Sony have been producing for the past few years. For folks who don’t want to spend a fortune, the Vizio OLED has most of the same key features and it offers largely similar performance as other OLEDs for hundreds of dollars less.

Of course, as an OLED screen, the Vizio OLED has both some big advantages (and a few flaws) worth pointing out up front. In the former category we have exceptional black levels and extremely thin chassis, the other benefits of OLED being the exceptional contrast and wider viewing angles that most folks can appreciate. The downside is that OLEDs in general aren’t as bright as their LED-LCD counterparts, and Vizio’s OLED in particular is dimmer than most.

Compounding the problems of this flatscreen TV is Vizio’s SmartCast platform, which is missing a few key apps and can be a bit slow after startup. We also feel that the upscaling on the Vizio OLED isn’t as strong as LG or Sony’s upscaling algorithms as we spotted a heavy grain on HD sources on more than one occasion.

As the LEDs are far smaller, they"re able to achieve far more precision and less blooming, so the act of seeing bright areas of the screen unnaturally bleed over into darker spots should be greatly reduced or not evident at all. And because it takes advantage of Samsung"s Multi-Intelligence AI upscaling, the QN900A is consistently able to produce images that looked better than their source.

So why is it all the way in a number three position? Samsung"s 2022 TV range sees the introduction of its new Smart Hub UI across its top models. It"s a totally revamped interface that"s anchored by a Google TV-inspired home screen populated by content recommendations from your various streaming subscriptions and apps.

Unfortunately, the change to a full-screen, content-packed home menu brings about some frustration. No longer can you easily adjust settings and change viewing modes on the fly – you now have to completely leave what you"re watching or playing when bringing up said home screen, navigate to a sidebar menu, and then scroll down to a separate settings menu to perform actions that were just a few button presses away before.

Although the G2 OLED shares the same ‘Gallery’ design name as its GX and G1 predecessors, it actually looks completely different: gone is the dark frame and chamfered edges, in is a nifty two-layer effect where a thin black rear ‘slab’ sits proud of and slightly narrower than a chunkier front tier housing the screen that’s encased in a very fetching and opulent-looking silver metal coat.

It carries Sony’s top-line Cognitive Processor XR, Sony’s Pixel Contrast Booster (for more intense image highlights), and a new OLED version of the X-Motion Clarity feature Sony initially developed for its FALD LCD smart TVs.

On the audio side, meanwhile, Sony’s customary Acoustic Surface Audio system (where the TV’s screen is actually ‘excited’ into producing sound) is joined by a two-subwoofer bass system, and an Acoustic Auto Calibration system that can optimize the TV’s sound to your room with just a couple of quick test pulses.

The Samsung QN90A was one of the first 4K screens in 2021 to use the company’s hyped-up Neo QLED panels that sport a higher count of light emitting diodes per square inch than previous generations. The result is a brighter TV than before, if that’s even possible with Samsung, and one that can display a deeply satisfying array of colors.

All Neo QLED TVs sport the higher-end Neo Quantum Processor 4K that uses a neural network to analyze images for better HD upscaling and Motion Xcelerator Turbo+ for better motion handling – all of which has really paid off for Samsung’s flagship screen.

Beyond gaming, M-Series QX TVs feature an LCD panel with a Quantum Dot layer for enhanced color and a full-array LED backlight with local dimming. And while they’re not the brightest TVs in Vizio’s lineup – you’ll need to step up to its pricier P-Series models for that, brightness, contrast, and color performance are all impressive for a budget TV.

It"s not the end-all, be-all LED-LCD we were dreaming it would be due to its limited brightness and poor motion handling, but it truly is an exceptional value and one that we"d recommend to nearly everyone.

It"s not exactly the flatscreen TV we"d recommend to next-gen-ready gamers looking for a perfect companion for the Xbox Series X or PS5 that can push 4K at 120fps, but if you"re buying a TV to binge Netflix, stream Hulu or, well, basically just enjoy your viewing experience, this is the best smart TV (and certainly the best TCL TV) that we"d recommend for you.

THE BEST TV under $1,000: FAQHow to choose the best TV for youWhat TV technology is best? Which is the best LCD TV? Which screen size is best for your living room? What"s the difference between LCD and LED TVs?

The answers aren"t always obvious. In fact, buying a new TV can be stressful even for the tech-savvy – as there are so many brands, so many features, so many screen sizes, colors, technologies and flavors to choose from.

Also, with hi-def, you can have a bigger screen and the same viewing distance without worrying about seeing blemishes inherent to the source. A 4K TV"s lack of noise means that the ideal distance to sit from the screen is three to four times the height of the TV.How many HDMI sockets do you need?For a living room TV you should be looking for a minimum of 3 HDMI inputs. If you want to attach a set-top box as well as games consoles etc, those HDMI ports will fill up fast.Should you wall-mount one of the best TVs?First off, you"ll need to consult a construction expert to check that the wall in question is strong enough to support a flatscreen. Then find out if the set you want is designed to be wall-mounted and, if so, ask if the relevant bracket is included in the basic package or as an optional extra.Do you need a separate sound system?If you"re not planning on connecting to a separate soundbar or surround sound system, You might want to think more carefully about your set"s audio performance. Look for a screen that can go as loud as you"ll need without distortion or cabinet rattle. Consider how dialogue sounds and how much low-end rumble the bass is capable of.

Obviously, there is a level of subjectivity that goes into the review process, however we strive to maintain fairness across brands by testing the same type of content on each screen (HD/SDR, 4K/HDR, games, movies and music) and reporting what we"ve found the experience to be like.

Let’s say you’re in the market for the new TV, and you’re finally looking to make the jump to 4K. When you’re shopping around, you come across a puzzling situation: two brand new TVs, identical in size, but with two very different prices. One costs $500 while the other $2,000. What’s the deal? What does that extra money actually buy you, and do you need it?

If you have two 4Ks that are the same size and were made in the same year, but one costs significantly more than the other, it boils down to picture quality and specifically the technology being used to put the colors on the screen. All 4K TVs have the same number of pixels (3840 x 2160), but the difference in picture quality comes from how they are lit. The best 4K displays are the ones that have the most control over each individual pixel, to light them up in different colors or even turn them off completely without affecting adjacent pixels of a different color. That’s where display technologies come in, and when it comes to 4K TVs, you’re either talking about LCD or OLED.

Above you’ll see two 4K TVs that are the same size (55-inches) and from the same year (2019), but at very different prices. The Vizio M-Series Quantum, which is one of the best affordable 4K TVs, costs less than $500. The LG B Series, one of the nicer OLED TVs, is over $1,000 more expensive.

The lesser of the two displays is the LCD (liquid crystal display). LCD TVs control the brightness of their picture with an LED backlight that covers a lot more space than a single pixel. Instead, they control groups or clusters of pixels that are known as dimming zones. The more dimming zones an LCD TV has, the more control it has over the pixels and the better picture it’s going to be able to produce.

The ultimate dimming zone, however, is a single pixel, and that is what an OLED TV delivers. Each pixel on an OLED screen is its own backlight. The result is that OLED TVs are able to get brighter and darker while in close proximity to each other, which generates much better contrast. Additionally, OLED TVs are generally able to be thinner and lighter than LCD TVs because they don’t require an extra panel of back-lighting. The problem is OLED is a newer technology and it will be responsible for the bulk of the price differential between two otherwise identical-looking TVs. One of LG’s 65-inch entry-level 4K OLED TVs costs $2,300, for example, while one of the company’s 65-inch 4K LCD TVs costs $650.

It’s not just OLED or LCD though. More expensive LCD TVs will shore up their display technology weakness with other technologies, like a brighter backlight, or a larger number of smaller dimming zones. More expensive TVs will often also boast a higher refresh rate, the number of times per second that the screen updates what it is showing. Higher rates mean a higher price, but less motion blur. Higher-end TVs are also more likely to support high dynamic range (HDR) technologies, such as Dolby Vision and HDR10, which help create deeper blacks and more vivid colors on any display.

Even though some say the picture quality of an LED TV is better, there is no straight answer for which has better picture quality since both TVs use the same kind of screen. For instance, a higher-end LCD TV can have a better quality than a low-end LED TV, but if you look at high-end models of either TV, the picture quality will be comparable.

LED TVs use energy-efficient light emitting diodes (LED) for backlighting. These consume less power than cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL) used in traditional LCD televisions. Power savings are typically 20-30%.

Edge-LEDs (the most common) are positioned around the rim of the screen and use a special diffusion panel to spread the light evenly behind the screen.

Flat Screen LCDs, about an inch or two thick are more expensive, but also more popular because of their sleek look and the flexible options of standing on a surface or mounting on a wall.

Front projection LCDs or projectors, which project an image onto the front of the screen. The TV itself is just a box installed anywhere in a room, which projects the image onto a flat screen hung on the wall as large as 300 inches.

Rear projection LCDs, where the image is sent from the rear of the TV to the screen in front. Rear projection LCDs are wide, heavy and only available in large sizes (60" and up).