The Best LED TV – What is the BEST LED TV?

If you are looking to purchase an LED TV, you are probably asking yourself “what is the best LED TV?” Why settle for anything less if you can get your hands on the best LED TV right? What you need to understand however is that there is no ‘one size fits all’ kind of best LED TV. A more appropriate question would be “what is the best 32 inch LED TV?” or “what is the best 55 inch LED TV?” because different people are looking for different sized LED/LCD HDTV sets. We will be providing answers to all these questions under each category.

What is the best LED TV? What to consider when determining the Best LED TV

When we determine what the best LED TV is for each size category (e.g. 32 inch, 40 inch, 46 inch, 55 inch, 60 inch etc), we basically look at 2 things.

  1. Technical features of the LED TV model
  2. Customer/consumer reviews (if available – newly released HDTVs will not have many reviews)

Technical features to look for when buying LED TVs

  1. Size – you may already have an idea about the size of the TV you want. In case you don’t, here are a couple of tips that will help you.
    1. Is this for your bedroom (a minimum of 32 inches is recommended) or living room (a minimum of 40 inches is recommended)?
    2. Size of the room determines the size of the HDTV – viewing distance = 1.5X – 2X the size of the TV
  2. Full HD resolution and refresh rate (dejudder) – with both these features, it is generally considered that higher the numbers the ‘better’ the TV. For example, we are inclined to believe that a 1080p HDTV is a better LED TV than one that is 720p in resolution or one with a refresh rate of 240 Hz is better than one with 120 Hz. Theoretically higher numbers are definitely better, however practically we can hardly distinguish the differences. We can’t advise you to pick the lower numbers, the take home message is that you shouldn’t sweat too much about it.
    1. LED TV resolution – the modern LED LCD HDTVs come with either 720p or 1080p Full HD resolution
    2. Refresh rate – the commonest values are 60 Hz, 120 Hz and 240 Hz (it goes up to 600 Hz)
  3. Connections – HDMI, USB, ethernet, PC input, component audio/video inputs, composite video input, digital audio output, optical sound output, iPod dock etc. Which of these do you want?
  4. Local dimming – best LED TV models come with local dimming nowadays (has a significant effect on picture quality)
  5. Dynamic contrast ratio – ranges from less than 100,000:1 to 9,000,000:1. Again one of those techie features where larger numbers look impressive but not worth digging in to too much
  6. 3D LED TV? 3D HDTVs are not as expensive as they used to be! Be aware that there will be additional expenses that come with 3D TV (e.g. glasses, sources and content)!
  7. Internet TV/Wi-Fi readiness – adds a whole new dimension to watching television. Makes it possible to watch streaming video (e.g. Netflix, Hulu) and listen to music (e.g. Pandora, Rhapsody) on your large flat screen LED LCD high definition TV.
  8. Energy efficiency – does your new TV meet or exceed ENERGY STAR standards? Nowadays, almost all of them do

What’s listed above is not the most comprehensive list of technical features found on modern LED high def TVs. However, looking at these features should be more than sufficient to answer that original question which was “what is the best LED TV?”

LED TV consumer reviews

As mentioned earlier, it is important to look at reviews from actual consumers whether you are trying to figure out what the best home theater system is or what the best LED TV is. Probably the best place to do this is Amazon.com where you will be able to read the experiences of actual users without bias. The important thing to realize is that you cannot expect all people to give 5 out of 5 in their LED TV ratings. That is because different people have different tastes, different requirements and different expectations. In general, any item with a star rating of 3.5-4 or above is very good. Hope these points we covered on how to select the LED TV that suits your requirements best was helpful and you’re now one step closer to answering that original question – what is the best LED TV!

To find out the best LED TV for the size you are interested in, please visit the relevant category and don’t forget to read our section on LED TV reviews either.

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LED LCD TV Buying Guide – What to look for when you select a HDTV

If you are reading this, the chances are that you want to know what the best LED TV is. There is no simple answer to that and it largely depends on what you want from your TV and of course your budget. Here are some guidelines you can use to decide when purchasing a TV.

  1. LCD, LED or Plasma?
    • First, Plasma is a completely different technology from LCD and LED is kind of a sub-category of LCD TVs.
    • Plasma TVs are superior to LCD TVs in several aspects. Experts say that Plasma televisions outrank LCD TVs in picture quality in both 2D and 3D, refresh rate/flicker, and price of course depending on the model. But they also lag behind LED TVs when it comes to energy consumption and certain features as far as durability goes. Current models of Plasma TVs are supposed to be much durable than ones from previous generations, however, you still have to take extra measures when transporting etc. because tilting the TVs are not advisable.
  2. 3D or not?
    • This really depends on what you’re looking for, the price difference may not be as big as you think it would be. With a good deal price, you can get a 3D 46 inch LED TV for less than $1,000 these days. The price difference between a 3D and non-3D model may be as little as $200
  3. Less than 30″, less than 40″, less than 50″ or over 50″?
    • This depends on where you want to keep the TV and how much room there is. If it’s going in your bedroom, you probably don’t want a 50″ TV :)
  4. Refresh rate
    • LCD TVs are available from 60Hz, 120Hz, 240Hz and starting recently 480Hz models. With lower refresh rates, you may notice a slight flicker when it comes to moving pictures. The higher (faster) the screen refresh rate, the less you will notice this. However, it is the experts opinion that the average non-videophile user will not see a difference between 120Hz and anything higher. So there’s no harm saving some dollars by ‘settling’ for a 120Hz model in most cases
  5. Resolution – 720p vs 1080p
    • Almost all newer LED TV models come with 1080p Full HD resolution while you will find 720p in some of the older models. Again, it is the opinion of experts that most of us will not see the difference between 720p and 1080p.
  6. Energy consumption
    • LED LCD TVs have (as the name suggests) LED bulbs as the lighting source. In contrast, non-LED LCD TVs have fluorescent lighting. LED backlit TVs are more energy efficient compared to non-LED LCD TVs, and again, if you’re a light user, the saving may be negligible. However, going for an LED TV, even  if it costs a couple extra $100 is advisable because it is healthier for the environment (green)
  7. Internet ready smart TV with apps?
    • Again, largely a personal preference. If your DVD/Blu ray player is already Wi Fi ready and/or you’re using your Xbox 360 to access internet content, you may be able to bypass this and save some cash.

This was meant to be a very basic TV buying guide on how to choose a LED or LCD TV. We will be adding more details to this in the near future.

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