Buying Guide for Smart TV in India

Overview

In today’s digital world, a Smart TV is the heart of home entertainment. It lets you stream shows, surf the web, and even control your smart home gadgets. Choosing the right one in India is important. Our buying guide for Smart TV in India covers all the key factors you need to know before purchasing.

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How to Decide the Screen Size?

This is the most important factor when deciding on a Smart TV for your home.

The most practical way to decide the screen size for the best viewing experience is to measure the distance between the TV and your viewing area – it can be a bed/couch/chair.

The size of your Smart TV should harmonize with the space it occupies. A TV that’s too large for a small room or too small for a spacious living area can compromise your viewing experience.

To find the perfect size, consider the following:

• Measure the distance from your TV to the seating area.
• A general rule of thumb for a Full HD TV is that the screen size should be around 40 inches for a comfortable viewing experience. For 4K TVs, you can go larger without sacrificing quality.

Display Technology

Choosing the right display technology is one of the first decisions you’ll face. Here’s a breakdown of the three primary options:

Panels

Generally, there are two types of panels used in Smart TV in India. These are A) IPS Panel B) VA Panel. We will discuss their behavior and features down below:

Description	IPS Panel	VA Panel
Picture Quality	Excellent	Excellent
Viewing Angles	Wider viewing angle capability	Limited viewing angle capability. Viewer has to sit in front of the panel for the excellent viewing experience
Colour Loss when viewed from far corners in the room	Almost Negligible	Noticeable drop in Colour Quality
Brightness Loss when viewed from far corners in the room	Almost Negligible	Noticeable drop in Brightness Quality
Suitable Conditions in the Room	Works perfectly fine in the bright room	Works perfectly fine in the closed room
Main Advantage	Colour reproduction is excellent in itself. But, in comparison, it produces less vibrant colours than VA Panel	Black looks deeper. Hence, you will get more vibrant colours in VA Panel

Resolution

In India, Smart TV’s fall under these categories of resolution:

Description	Resolution(Pixels)
HD Ready	1366 x 768
Full HD	1920 x 1080
2K	2048 × 1080
UHD/4K	3840 x 2160
8K	7680 × 4320

Peak HDR Brightness

Peak HDR brightness is key to a great viewing experience, especially for HDR content. It means a TV’s highest brightness level when showing HDR scenes.

In our buying guide for smart TV, we’ll break down what peak HDR brightness really means and why it matters.

What is Peak HDR Brightness?

• Peak HDR brightness is measured in nits (cd/m²). It represents the highest level of luminance that a display can produce when rendering HDR content.
• The term “nit” is used to quantify the intensity of light emitted by a screen.

Enhanced Contrast and Realism

• A higher peak HDR brightness level results in more pronounced contrast between an image’s darkest and brightest parts.
• This enhanced contrast contributes to a more realistic and immersive viewing experience, closely mimicking real-world lighting conditions.

Key Elements

• Peak HDR brightness is crucial for highlighting vital visual elements in HDR content, such as specular highlights, fine details in shadows, and vibrant colours.
• It ensures that the most subtle nuances in a scene are visible, even in extremely bright or dark scenarios.

Display Types

• OLED and QLED displays are known for achieving impressive peak HDR brightness levels, making them popular for HDR enthusiasts.
• LED/LCD displays vary in peak HDR brightness capabilities, with some high-end models offering competitive levels.

HDR Content Benefits

• HDR content, whether in movies, TV shows, or games, is specifically designed to take advantage of displays with higher peak HDR brightness.
• The expanded luminance range allows for a more accurate representation of the content creator’s vision.

HDR/ HDR 10/ Dolby Vision Support

High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology has changed how we watch TV, giving us brighter colours, better contrast, and a greater range of brightness. When exploring HDR, you’ll come across two main formats: HDR10 and Dolby Vision.

Our buying guide for smart TV in India will explain HDR and how these formats can improve your viewing experience.

HDR (High Dynamic Range)

• Enhanced Contrast: HDR extends the range between an image’s darkest and brightest parts, delivering deeper blacks and brighter whites.
• Richer Colors: It allows for a wider colour gamut, resulting in more lifelike and accurate colours.
• Greater Detail: HDR preserves finer details in shadows and highlights, ensuring a more realistic image.
• Immersive Experience: Viewers enjoy an enhanced, more immersive visual experience akin to what the human eye perceives.

HDR10

• Open Standard: HDR10 is an open standard format, making it widely adopted across various devices, including TVs, monitors, and projectors.
• Static Metadata: HDR10 uses static metadata, which provides information about the content’s colour and brightness levels at the beginning of playback.
• Broad Compatibility: Most 4K Blu-ray discs and HDR content on streaming platforms are compatible with HDR10.

Dolby Vision

• Dynamic Metadata: Dolby Vision takes HDR a step further with dynamic metadata. It continuously adjusts the content’s colour and brightness levels scene by scene, resulting in a more precise and consistent HDR experience.
• Superior Visuals: Dolby Vision is known for its outstanding visual quality and attention to detail, providing a breathtaking cinematic experience.
• Premium Content: It’s often found in premium content, such as top-tier streaming services and high-end 4K Blu-ray discs.

In short, HDR technology and formats like HDR10 and Dolby Vision enrich your TV experience with better colours and contrast. This means you can watch movies and play games just like the makers intended. Our buying guide for smart TV in India will help you understand how these features can enhance your viewing.

Capability of watching 4K Content

These days, watching 4K content is a must-have feature for any modern entertainment system.

Our buying guide for smart TV in India will explain what 4K is all about and why it matters for your viewing experience.

Watching 4K content gives you an amazing visual experience with sharper resolution, vibrant colours, and an immersive feel. It’s a big step in how we enjoy movies, shows, and games.

Smart Features

Smart features are the heart of any modern TV. Look for these advancements in Smart TV technology:

• Voice Control: Many Smart TVs now include voice assistants like Google Assistant or Alexa for hands-free navigation and search.
• AI and Smart Home Integration: Some models incorporate AI technology that learns your preferences and provides personalized content recommendations. Integration with smart home devices like lights and thermostats can add convenience to your life.

Audio Quality

It is always good to prioritise the image quality compared to the audio quality in a TV.

That being said – while many Smart TVs offer good audio quality, consider investing in a soundbar or a home theatre system for a more immersive experience. Assess the TV’s audio quality in-store or online reviews before deciding.

Connectivity Options

These days, it’s tough to recommend a Non-Smart TV. Smart TVs offer the latest tech, great prices, and multiple connectivity options. So, why even consider Non-Smart TVs?

When buying a Smart TV, ensure it has Wi-Fi and, if possible, Bluetooth. Look for HDMI ports, ideally with at least one eARC for faster data transfer, and check for USB ports, too. Casting features are also handy, allowing you to connect your smartphone to the TV easily.

Securing Your Smart TV

Smart TVs, like any connected device, are vulnerable to cyber threats. To protect your Smart TV:

• Update Regularly: Keep the TV’s firmware and apps up-to-date to patch security vulnerabilities.
• Network Security: Secure your home network with a strong password and consider using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for added security.

Understanding Smart TV Warranties

Before you buy, make sure to:

• Read and understand the warranty terms.
• Know what’s covered.
• Check the coverage duration.
• Look for any extra warranty options available.

For example, below is the warranty information for Samsung’s Smart TVs. Click the button to understand what companies are offering as warranties so that you can make an informed decision for your purchase.

Conclusion

In conclusion, our buying guide for smart TV in India aims to simplify your decision-making process. We’ve covered all the important factors to help you choose the best smart TV. With these points in mind, you’ll find a TV that fits perfectly in your home and delivers great performance. If we discover any new insights, we’ll update our buying guide for smart TVs in India to give you the most accurate information.

Happy Shopping!

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