Shopping Guide: What I Learned Buying A 4K TV

(Note: This story originally appeared in my Release Notes newsletter. Get the good stuff first by signing up. Release Notes drops each Tuesday morning. Coming in the July 6 edition, I’ll review the TV I bought.)

We begin with a confession: While I love immersing myself in technology, I feel ignorant when it comes to buying a TV. I just don’t do it very often, and so don’t keep up with year-to-year advances. As empty nesters, we’ve got only one television, it’s in the living room and we bought it 10 years ago, at the dawn of the smart TV age. It replaced a 32-inch picture tube TV purchased in 2003, just before flat-screen TVs became dominant.

After a decade with our 46-inch Samsung HDTV, I decided it was time for an upgrade. I track what's happening in the streaming world, so owning a 4K TV has become a necessity. As I dove into researching the purchase, it quickly became apparent that there was a lot to learn since I last embarked on this mission. I wound up with a Sony Bravia XR55X90J.

 I imagine there are quite a few HDTV owners who are considering the leap, so I'll share what I’ve learned with you.

The Landscape

When it comes to TV tech, we’re in a transition. The older, high-definition resolution standard known as HD – measured as 1080p or 720p – has been replaced in the mainstream by 4K, which is effectively four times the resolution, typically 3,840-by-2,160 pixels. There are also TVs that use 8K displays, but they’re usually only found on very large screens with prices to match. Most folks who advise on which tech to buy will tell you to skip 8K for now – there’s not much content available for it at the moment to make it worth it. Maybe in another 10 years . . . 

Besides a jump in resolution, there’s also a transition in screen type. The most common and affordable display is an LED, or light-emitting diode. It uses LED lights either behind or on the edges of an LCD (liquid crystal display) screen. Setting the LEDs as a backlight results in better picture quality than the edge-lit type, particularly if the LEDs are controllable in specific areas or zones on the screen. This is known as Local Array Dimming. More about this later.

The current state-of-the-art display tech is OLED, or organic light emitting diode. This type of screen has been around for a while (and it's currently used in high-end smartphones), but it’s beginning to become mainstream in terms of availability and affordability for TVs. However, OLED TVs remain significantly more expensive than LED models. OLED TVs have much better image quality, because each pixel on the screen can be lit individually, resulting in dramatic contrast and vivid colors. The downside: Potential burn-in of static images into the screen, an issue similar to that found in old-school plasma HD displays.

There are also Quantum Dot displays, in which the TV’s light is pushed through dots. Samsung uses this referring to its technology as QLED; LG calls it NanoLED. And coming in the not-too-distant future: MicroLED, which provides a TV picture as good as OLED but without the burn-in problem. And, eventually, it could be cheaper than OLED.

Finally, know that screen sizes continue get bigger. Due to the small size of our living space (and my budget), I was limited to a 55-inch TV, but that’s actually considered smallish these days. Displays of 65, 75, 85 inches and up are common. And, of course, you can buy displays smaller than 55 inches.

Buzzwords And Acronyms

As always with tech, there's a lot of lingo to understand. Here’s a glossary of the most common terms.

HDR – High Dynamic Range refers to the boosting of both light and darker areas in a display. There are different flavors of HDR - HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, etc. – used by different TV and streaming-box manufacturers. Regardless, the resulting picture is brighter, with more true colors and strong contrast. 

UHD – Ultra-High Definition is another way of describing 4K. 

HDMI – High Definition Multimedia Interface is the connection type for plugging devices into a TV. If you use a newer game console with your TV, or want to use a streaming box such as the Apple TV 4K that supports HDR or Dolby Vision, you’ll want HDMI 2.1, which supports faster refresh rates. I would recommend a minimum of 3 HDMI ports, with at least one supporting HDMI 2.1. The Sony Bravia I bought has 4 ports, two of which are HDMI 2.1.

ARC/eARC – Audio Return Channel allows for better sound quality from devices such as  soundbars and full home theater audio systems that have multiple channels. eARC is Enhanced Audio Return Channel, which can transmit more sound information, up to 32 channels of it. 

Dolby Atmos – This is a form of surround sound or spatial audio pioneered by Dolby Labs. It allows for audio to appear to come from all around, including above and below. If your TV has this, you’ll need Dolby Atmos audio equipment to support it.

Full Array Local Dimming – I mentioned this earlier, but it deserves more detail. It allows for zoned control of brightness and darkness, and the more zones in the array of LED backlights, the better the display. However, some TVs that have this show what is known as “blooming” – a halo effect around light text shown on a black background. The Sony Bravia I bought does this, but I don’t find it that annoying. Apparently it drives some 4K enthusiasts crazy. If you think you might fall in this camp, plan a visit to an electronics store to look at the models you’re considering in action.

Wide Color Gamut – This increases the number of colors, and their realism, that a TV can display. The result is more lifelike and vibrant colors. 

Smartness

Virtually all 4K TVs include both Wi-Fi and Ethernet network connections, and all of them have built-in software that lets you add apps. If you are a cable TVsubscriber, you can combine traditional over-the-air, cable and streaming optionsin one place. 

Some TV manufacturers, such as Samsung, LG and Vizio, use their own software for the TV’s platform. Others have partnered with the makers of streaming boxes and dongles to use their interfaces. For example, Sony uses Google TV(previously known as Android TV); TCL uses Roku; and some lower-cost manufacturers such as Insignia use Amazon’s Fire TV. If you have a preference for a streaming box type, it can help narrow your brand choices. 

But be aware that you don’t have to use the platform built into a TV as the main way you watch things. I’ve got an Apple TV 4K box and that’s how I see 90% of the content on my Sony, even though it has Google TV.

Older Add-Ons

Updating to a newer TV may also mean replacing some of the devices attached to it. For example, I was using the 2015 version of the Apple TV, which only supports HD resolution. I had to buy the latest Apple TV 4K in order to see 4K content through that interface, which I prefer. 

And because the HDMI cables I was using don’t support the faster HDMI 2.1 standard, I had to upgrade those as well. Fortunately, they’re not too expensive.

I’m using an older LG soundbar, connected to the TV with an optical cable. At one time, that was one of the best ways to get great sound from a home theater setup, but it’s been surpassed by the ARC/eARC connection. For now, I’m sticking with my current soundbar, but to get sound quality that is as good as the video quality I’m seeing, I’d need to replace it. 

Shopping

Begin with your budget and screen size, the two factors that most determine the feature set you can afford. For example, you can find 55-inch 4K TVs for well under $1,000, even in the $500 range, but you’ll sacrifice features that might future-proof your purchase, such as HDR, local dimming or ARC/eARC. Figure out your priorities and adjust your expectations accordingly. (See this excellent online tool for determining the size of your TV based on how far you sit from it.)

I found it useful to ask friends in real life and followers on social media who’d recently bought a 4K TV about their experiences. If you can go see a variety of sets in person at a place like Best Buy, Micro Center or Target, you can compare pictures and prices. Just be aware that stores run their sets in what’s known as “retail mode,” with certain settings cranked up to let colors pop and to emphasize high-action, digital content presented on a loop. What you see in the store may look different from what you bring home.

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Spend quality time online doing research. Some suggested sites:

The Wirecutter – This New York Times-owned site presents recommendations of TVs of different types and price points. 

RTings.com – After you’ve narrowed down your choices to specific models, check the reviews here. Chances are, any model you pick will be included. The reviews are technically detailed but there are summaries that lay out pros and cons in plain language. 

Consumer Reports – The venerable product rating site is particularly good for TV buyers, because its members rate the reliability of individual models. The ratings are behind a paywall, but it's worth subscribing to get access to them.

YouTube – There are a slew of video reviews of 4K TVs on Google's YouTube, and just about every popular TV has at least one assessment. Videos come from TV enthusiasts, but reputable tech sites such as Digital Trends and CNet are also represent. 

Amazon.com – Even if you’re planning on shopping elsewhere, spend some time looking at the reviews and Q&As below each model on your short list. Yes, reviews on Amazon sometimes can be suspect, but look at the 2- and 3-star reviews to check for issues that come up repeatedly. And obviously, Amazon should also be checked for competitive pricing, even if you don’t plan on buying there. I’d also recommend reading the TV reviews at BestBuy.com.

Finally: Should you buy a 4K TV online? I did; I also bought my previous HDTV online, both from Amazon. The prices were excellent, the delivery experiencewas smooth each time and Amazon is good about returns. I did, however, visit stores in person to see the models under consideration. A pro tip: Whether buying brick-and-mortar or online, keep the box, as big and ugly as it is, at least 30 days. 

Also: The global processor shortage means some TV models are in short supply, particularly in retail stores. Amazon seems to have a better selection, but with the shortage expected to last well into 2022, that may not be the case for long.

Update 7/12/20: Here’s my review of the Sony Bravia XR55X90J 4K TV I bought.

Have questions about TV shopping? Ask me!