Choosing the best TV can be a bit of a task, especially if it’s been a while since your last upgrade. With so many new technologies and sizes on offer, you’re bound to be asking yourself ‘What kind of TV is the best to get?’. Well, what’s right for you may be the wrong choice for others - it’ll all come down to how you plan to use your new television and which room you’re putting it in. Thankfully, there’s no shortage of choice, either.
Key TV features
Size: You’ll find sizes that range from wall-mounted giants like 70-inch TVs, all the way down to the humble 32-inch television and smaller.
LED tech: And then there’s the all-important picture technology to decide on - from OLED and QLED to LED and Mini LED and more. If you want to know more about these technologies, check out our guide to TV screen types.
Resolution: Perhaps the key feature of any TV is the screen resolution. Most TVs over 32 inches are now available in 4K (UHD) resolutions of 3840 x 2160 pixels. If you’re looking at a small TV at 32 inches or smaller, you will likely end up with Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) instead.
Audio: Sound is, of course, on the list too, and many modern TVs come equipped with Dolby Atmos for convincing directional sound to standard stereo. What you settle on should fit into your space and reflect your viewing habits.
So, let’s start by looking at three main types of TV users. You’ll find that you fit into one or more of these. The point here isn’t to restrict your final choice - it’s to give you an easy starting point; you can look for more advanced features later.
What kind of TV user are you?
Casual everyday viewing
If you’re all about catching up on soaps or drama in the evening, with news and daytime TV thrown in for good measure, your needs are fairly simple. You may not want or need advanced panel technologies like OLED, or even cinematic sound for that matter.
You will, though, probably need a smart TV with plenty of apps to choose from. Look out for Freeview Play or FreeSat support, as that is what will deliver your regular terrestrial programming from BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and more. There are dedicated apps for some of those channels too.
As for size, casual viewers are often looking to watch TV in smaller rooms like kitchens or bedrooms. For the living room, you won’t find any shortage of larger screens that tick all of the same technical boxes for you.
Our recommendations:
For small rooms: TCL 32SF540K 32-inch FHD Fire TV
For large rooms: Hisense 65 Inch VIDAA Smart TV 65A6KTUK
Movie and TV fans
Any self-respecting movie or premium TV series fan will want the sort of deep blacks, vibrant colours and great contrast that they’d expect to see at a cinema. That means investing in any panel technology other than a standard LED. There’s a sliding scale at work here, with OLED and QLED panels at the top for picture quality and Mini LED and other variants underneath.
Movie fans will also definitely want 4K resolution (or even 8K if you have the budget), and of course, the larger the screen, the better - up to monstrous 85-inch TVs.
Another key technology to look at is HDR (High Dynamic Range). HDR delivers over a billion extra colours, making for more accurate, lifelike, vibrant pictures. Pairing 4K with HDR and Dolby Atmos (or any surround sound system) will ensure you’re watching just as the director intended.
Our recommendations:
For small rooms: Samsung 43 Inch QN90C 4K Neo QLED HDR Smart TV
For large rooms: Samsung 85 Inch Q80C 4K QLED HDR Smart TV
Gamers
Gamers are a special breed of TV owners. They’ll typically want all of the panel goodness we listed for movie fans and more. And those extra features are super-important for the best gaming experience.
After choosing a 4K display with HDR, the next thing to look for in a gaming TV is the refresh rate. The best refresh rate for gamers is 120Hz (or greater), which makes for smooth yet detailed motion. Adding VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) is ideal, as that means the framerate of your games will translate to the screen accurately. The TV will vary its refresh rate to match, so you’ll have no stuttering or tearing.
Extra features you may want are dedicated gaming modes that minimise latency (the time it takes for your controller action to happen on-screen) and more. Also, Sony PS5 fans will find some excellent enhancements exclusive to Sony models marked ‘Perfect for PlayStation 5’.
Our recommendations:
For small rooms: LG C2 48 inch 4K Smart OLED TV
For large rooms: Hisense 65 Inch QLED Gaming TV 65E7KQTUK PRO - 144Hz VRR
How to choose a TV based on size
There are two things to keep in mind if your starting point is sheer screen size. Firstly, to state the obvious, it needs to fit. While a 65-inch smart TV might physically fit into your room, you don’t want it to dominate the decor, you’ll need to have enough room left to sit a sensible distance from it.
TVs for large rooms
The TV world is your oyster if you have a large enough space. Start looking for the size you’d like and then look at the panel type, sound system and extra features like voice control and smart TV functionality. If your room suffers from light pollution on brighter days, we do recommend you do your homework, though.
OLED TVs are generally less bright than other panel types, and some TVs have an adaptive brightness feature that will tune the screen to help overcome a bright room.
Size-wise, we like the larger 70-inch TVs out there, but of course, your go-to screen size will be a 65-inch or even a 60-inch TV at the lowest end of the ‘large’ scale.
TVs for medium-sized rooms
If your room is more of an average size, you may feel that a 50-inch TV is about right - and we’d agree. 50 or 55-inch TVs are at the sweet spot where TV sizes are concerned, as they’ll fit into most settings very well while still giving a satisfying experience.
You won’t have to sacrifice the quality of the tech, either. You’ll still have your pick of OLED, QLED, Dolby Atmos and more. And if you’re a bit more cramped for that, the same goes for the best 43-inch smart TVs too.
TVs for small rooms
Bedrooms, kitchens, caravans, and motorhomes often need TVs that fit into a nook or cranny. And that means looking at 32-inch TVs or 24-inch TVs. At that size, you’ll forego many high-tech features like 4K or OLED - and that’s fine, as you won’t see the benefit on such a small screen. Instead, look for smart features and even built-in DVD players if you need one.
So, what kind of TV is the best to get?
The best TV for you is the one that does justice to whatever you’re watching. If you’re seriously into movies, invest in a TV with solid panel technology like OLED screens or QLED. A cheaper LED will do fine if you’re a news and daytime TV watcher. And if you’re a gamer, look at a high and variable refresh rate and, again, a high-end panel type. Resolution-wise, 4K is always the way to go.
But, if you’re motivated by size alone, a TV less than 40 inches won’t benefit from 4K. That’s due to the size of the screen and your viewing distance from it. So, HD (1080p) or Half HD will do fine for casual viewers on smaller TVs.
Chris Duffill is a Tech Product Writer for What's The Best and Yours. His background includes writing, editorial, marketing, design, video production and photography.
He specialises in home entertainment and audiovisual tech, including speakers, amplifiers, turntables, streaming media players, and TVs. He is also one of our resident experts in computing (PCs, tablets, smartphones, smartwatches), DSLR photography and all kinds of digital cameras. He also writes about retro gaming, game consoles and various electronic gadgets. If it plugs in, lights up or makes a noise, he’ll write about it.
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