Your current TV, if it has an HDMI input is perfect for watching on-demand TV when combined with a streaming device such as the Roku Streaming Stick+, Apple TV or Firestick (not to mention other Android TV devices).
However, you may feel that your current TV doesn’t give a great image. Maybe its not even HD? If you are already thinking about replacing your current TV and are looking at which TV is best, let’s take a look at the important features you may want to look for in that TV.
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Image quality
The best TV’s for watching on-demand, in fact, any video content, has to have a clear, crisp display. Going for a new TV, 4K would be desirable, although most of the streaming at the moment is in 1080p HD.
The best TV for watching on demand tv should have lots and lots of channels with a ton of movies, tv shows and other gems. The best TV for watching on demand tv should be a Smart TV. I think the best TV for watching on demand tv is the LG SJ8500 55-inch Smart LED TV. I’ve read a bunch of reviews and it seems like the LG SJ8500 55-inch Smart LED TV is the best TV for watching on demand tv. The LG SJ8500 55-inch Smart LED TV has a ton of channels and apps. The LG SJ8500 55-inch Smart LED TV is a Smart LED TV, so you can access tons of movies, tv shows and other gems. The
Best TV for watching on demand tv Pros – Has a clear, crisp display for watching shows, as well as a good interface for finding new content – Has a good selection of apps, including Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Video, as well as support for Alexa – Supports 4K HDR Cons – Looses sound when unplugged – Does not have a headphone jack – Internal speakers do not get loud – Only has a single remote (which makes it difficult to operate a TV with a cable box) – Does not work with Dish Network or DirecTV
The new Smart TV’s that are being released come with a lot of internet connected features. For example, a Smart TV will allow you to watch shows and movies on demand. This is really cool because you can watch your favorite show, movie, or sporting event at your convenience. The best TV for watching on demand tv is the Samsung UN65F9000 65-Inch 1080p 240Hz 3D Smart LED TV.
Create a list of features you want
Whenever I am making a large purchase, such as a TV, I like to make a list of the features I require. I put them in order of most to least want. I then split that list into must have and would like to have.
The following is the list I made when looking at purchasing a TV.
- Maximum price. Although I want to get the most for my money, I also have a budget that I need to stay under. Having price as the first feature I know to limit my search criteria for anything under this budget. It may sound limiting – but at least I don’t see a TV I want and then realise I can not afford it.
- Picture quality. I want the best picture for my money. This maybe resolution. This maybe colour replication. To be honest, it’s really both. I want the best resolution I can get combined with the best colour reproduction I can have.
- Audio. Having bad audio will ruin your viewing experience, you need good sound. You may want to take into consideration, adding an external soundbar or speaks. Make sure the TV has good connections for these – Bluetooth would allow you to have the speakers attached with no cables.
- Best processor performance. Modern smart TV’s have processors in them as they run the smart apps, giving us smart functionality and on-demand. Having a smart tv with a slow processor means these apps will have problems or be slow running. If the smart functionality is important, you may want to bump this up to number 2.
- Screen size. After I’ve picked the screen with the best resolution and processor, I next look at screen size. Although not the most important item on the list, it’s nice to have as large a screen as possible to enjoy your viewing experience.
- Smart apps available. The more smart apps that are installed into the TV’s OS, the less of a need there is for a separate streaming box. Many of the smart TV’s these days have most of the on-demand apps added to them.
- Energy efficiency. With all the technology we have running daily in our homes, and the state of the environment – I rate energy efficiency high on my list. I prefer to buy items that have great energy efficiency and would recommend this to everyone.
- Screen technology. In my opinion, unless you have a larger budget to afford an OLED screen, most smart tv’s will be running on a LED screen. Yes, the make of the panel may make a difference and certainly something you need to pay attention to – but I feel this is lower in my list than those listed above.
Best TV for under £500
Looking at all the available TV’s under £500, my pick has to be the Samsung 50″ TU7100.
I’ve been buying Samsung technology for over 30 years, my first was a VHS player which shows just how long ago it was (I only recently got rid of it after over 30 years of use – it still worked). I’ve owned TV’s, video, monitors, computers and probably a few other things I’ve forgotten about.
All the Samsung devices I have owned have been of great quality builds and have worked flawlessly. Many retained a good second had price as well when I upgraded.
This is why the Samsung 50″ TU7100 (click link for latest price at Amazon) is my choice for under £500. There are a number of other TV’s of similar size, some cheaper, but for me it is down to quality of brand.
If you’re not a fan of Samsung, you may want to check out LG, such as the LG 50NANO796NE (currently reduced to under £500 at the time of writing this post).
Best TV for under £1000
I really wanted to pick an OLED TV that comes in at under £1000 and on Amazon at the time of writing this article there is 1 which is the Philips Ambilight 55OLED705/12.
OLED vs QLED (or LED)
Why choose OLED over QLED technologies? What is QLED and OLED?
What is QLED?
QLED stands for Quantum Light-Emitting Diode. Bit of a mouthful really, but what it means, in lamens terms, is that a QLED TV is just like a regular LED TV, except it uses tiny nanoparticles called quantum dots to super-charge its brightness and colour.
It’s been around for a little while now, Sony introduced it in 2013. Not too long after its introduction, Samsung began selling its QLED TVs. It then established a licensing partnership with other manufacturers, which is why companies such as Sony, Hisense, TCL and others now also produce and sell QLED TVs.
Even though adding a exciting word such as quantum to its name, a QLED TV still produces light in more or less the same way as regular LED TV’s. It uses backlight made up of many (hundreds and even thousands) of LEDs which sit behind a LCD panel.
What is OLED?
OLED stands for Organic Light-Emitting Diode. You may say, hold on but isn’t that what a LED does, emit light? Surprisingly, the “Light Emitting-Diode” part of that name has nothing to do with an LED backlight as it does with QLED and LED TVs.
What is does refer to is the fact that every single pixel in an OLED TV is a tiny LED light. In fact more than that. A incredibly tiny, thin LED light that can produce both light and colour in a single element.
In other words, OLED TV’s don’t need a backlight because every pixel, being a tiny LED, produces its own light.
Now, there are several advantages to the design of OLED TV’s, but most people would agree the biggest advantage is the level of colour and superb black levels it can achieve.
Unlike QLED (and LED) TV’s that need to dim its backlight for dark scenes, OLED just have to turn off the tiny LEDs in each pixel of the dark scene. As it is emitting now light, its truly dark.
OLED is best
OLED is the technology we really want to be aiming for if you want the best colours and certainly best dark/black areas of a picture. Light bleed from light behind the panel is not giving your best viewing experience.
This is why I tried to find an OLED TV for under £1000, which brought me to the Philips Ambilight 55OLED705/12.
There are other OLED TV’s available just over the £1000 mark – but you can see these in the comparison against the Philips – or look at my choice below.
Best value OLED TV
The bigger the budget, the bigger and better the TV. You could have a budget for a TV which is larger than most of us have for a car. You could spend it too.
However, for the majority of us – we have a maximum budget and that budget has to be good value.
So I wanted to take this section to talk about what I consider the best value for buck OLED TV. This is just my own opinion, of course, we each have one, but I used my list above to choose a TV I would buy given a nice enough budget (even spending over £1000 on a TV these days makes me perspire).
Taking in all the details, I have to go with the LG OLED65BX6LB 65″ OLED TV. A little more expensive than the Philips above (currently coming in at around £1600 at the time of writing this article). Though more expensive, this TV meets more of the criteria in my list than the Philips, which is why I feel its best value.
That being said, the Philips is excellent value and the only real mark down for me is the energy efficiency is lower (as well as the LG being 10″ bigger screen).
Your TV your choice
When it comes down to it, we all have our own personal preference. This article really was about giving you some idea of things to look out for as well as showing the TV’s I would personally choose given my criteria of choice.
I hope that this gives you some ideas when choosing your own smart TV and I hope you get some great evenings entertainment from it.
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