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Is it better to buy a Smart TV or a Regular TV?

is it better to buy a smart tv or a regular tv

Is it better to buy a Smart TV or a Regular TV?

Ultimately, the choice between a smart TV and a regular TV comes down to your individual needs and preferences. If you want a one-stop solution for all your entertainment needs, a smart TV might be the better choice. However, if you already have a game console or streaming stick and don’t need the added features of a smart TV, a regular TV might be a better value for you.

  1. Smart TV: A smart TV has built-in internet connectivity and access to online streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu. This allows you to access a wide range of content without having to connect an external device like a streaming stick or game console. Some smart TVs also have voice control and built-in apps for social media, weather, and other functions.
  2. Regular TV: A regular TV does not have built-in internet connectivity or access to online streaming services. To access these services, you will need to connect an external device like a streaming stick, game console, or Blu-ray player.
  3. Cost: Smart TVs tend to be more expensive than regular TVs, so if you’re on a budget, a regular TV might be a better option.
  4. Picture quality: Both smart TVs and regular TVs can have excellent picture quality, but the specific model and price point will be the main determinants of image quality.
  5. Simplicity: If you prefer a simple setup without the added features of a smart TV, a regular TV might be the better option for you.

The best smart TV’s with ROKU

If you are in search of the best Smart TVs with ROKU including a 32-inch smart tv set that renders perfect pictures and also provides its user with smart features, there’s no better pick than the all-latest LEDs which features Ultra HD content that feasts your eyes in a minute. OLED has the best picture quality than any other TV. If you are watching in a dark room, OLEDs can display perfect blacks, which enhances picture quality.

They can’t get as bright as LED TVs and have a risk of image retention or burn-in, although we expect most people to not be affected by this. Mainly, you’ve never had a better time to go for a cheap 4K TV. Below are TVs of different sizes, budgets, and technologies, from 55-inch TVs to OLED TVs. Take a look at our TV guide on how to choose the right smart TV for your needs.

Smart TVs with ROKU: TCL 6-Series 4K QLED (65R625)

TCL makes a solid impact on the market by introducing more affordable smart tvs with roku and the latest in the cheap 4K tv technology and designs as competing ones that offer the same features. TCL brings out their TVs in four grades: The entry-level 3-series, the mid-range 4-series, the higher-end 5-series higher, and the 6-series, which is the most premium TV of the TCL line. One of the best cheap TVs for sale is available online.

Design

Of note, the TCL 6-Series does look stylish and sturdy. The glass sheet in front of the screen runs all the way to the edges along the top and sides. The rim of the metal bottom is smoother and grey slightly lighter, matching the stand legs.

From the side, this cheap smart TV looks like a non-pologetic rectangular slab, not like the thickening cabinet seen by competitors. It gives a smooth, minimalist look.

The wide positioning of the feet means that the TV is very robust with little to no wobble. But it also means that your TV stand must be placed at least as wide as – 48.31 inches for the 55” inches model. The TCL is a bit chunkier than others at nearly 3.5 inches deep at its thickest.

Around the right side of the screen on the back panel are all of the connections, except for power which is around the left. All connections are side-facing and easily accessible. In Wirecutter tests, it proved the best.

A TV picture looks best when you’re sitting right in front of it. Also make sure to watch for all the right TV connectors available, like inputs and outputs, USB ports (to play music, photos, and videos on TV), digital optical audio output (to send TV audio through a Soundbar speaker), Ethernet LAN port (wired internet connection to your TV through a LAN cable) and HDMI inputs (to connect streaming media player and gaming consoles to your TV).

Display Brightness

The TCL 6 Series 2019 TVs are incredibly bright, making the brightness/colours nearly incredible when set to either SDR or HDR mode. It complements both the colour and contrast / black ratios that we noted as excellent on the R625 TV.

The average brightness in this 4K TV is very high for either SDR or HDR content but its peak brightness is what amazes it since it can reach or exceed 900 nits under both HDR and normal SDR content viewing modes.

Contrast local dimming & black rendering

All TCL 6 series models are downright impressive in contrast ratio, black rates, and local dimming. It makes black impressively profound, and standard, and takes some marks higher when its high-quality local dimming technology is enabled.

The R625 will also achieve an unbelievably high contrast ratio that is probably the best among any LCD TV in the price range of this edition.

How it sounds

You don’t buy a TV for how it looks these days — most of them are mediocre — but if you’re not interested in buying a soundbar or attaching a full-on home theatre speaker system, you’re going to rely on the onboard sound of the television and I think you should know how it sounds. Luckily, the 2019 TCL 6-Series doesn’t sound awful, so sounds good enough to be praised. The dialogue is clear, and there is no interruption or distortion of sound effects.

Smart TV with ROKU

The TCL 6-Series QLED TV still uses the Roku TV. It’s the operating system that displays streaming services from each and every service provider with a preference for free content.

If you use an Apple TV 4K or Amazon Fire TV, both of which would allow you to stream from their ancillary streaming services to any third party. Because Roku has no links to a major streaming service—it doesn’t push you in any direction you don’t want to go and happily supports everything.

A nice surprise for TCL and Roku is that it’s able to screen-cast; a convenient feature that lets you cast content from your mobile device. This is great if you want to use your television as a digital picture frame while you visit the family.

Smart TVs with ROKU

Smart TVs with ROKU are based on the laser precision focus on delivering almost any known streaming service and catalogue shows and movies in its robust database, although you will not find any smart assistants here or some kind of AI.

TCL 6 Series – The Bottom Line

For its price range, the 2022 TCL 6-Series is one of the best in smart tvs with roku category; it takes its features and specifications to its height. While this 4 K HDR TV isn’t without a few drawbacks, we just loved it and are really pleased with how much value and truly premium technology it offers for its cost.

It would have difficult competition with the Quantum Vizio P-Series (not to be confused with the Quantum X P-Series, which is fantastic, but much more costly). The Quantum is more expensive than the TCL, but its higher count of backlight zone and peak brightness makes the punchier image a little more accurate. However, the 6-Series (R625) is almost impossible to beat at this rate. See below the video review by CNET.

Second-best: VIZIO M8-Series Quantum Cheap Smart 4K TV (M558-G1)

Vizio’s aim this year plans to introduce its Quantum TVs which combine LED back-lighting with Quantum Dots for colour enhancement. As a result, you get a premium image quality experience in front of your eyes at an inexpensive price tag.

The enhanced display of Vizio provides excellent colour and illumination, while the SmartCast operating system offers plenty of choices to choose from with its free content selection.

Its built-in Google Chromecast has thousands of additional apps and services. Ultimately, the Quantum M-Series is so good it makes our list of the best cheap TVs you can buy.

Vizio M Series Quantum Design

Generally speaking, Vizio TVs are not have cutting-edge TV designs, but they still, look great. Quantum TV provides a sleek and elegant build that could elevate the look of your home entertainment system.

There are super thin bezels around the edges on the left with a slightly thicker bezel, but the thicker bottom bezel is hard to notice. The television comes with sturdy, comfortable, and thin metal legs.

You’re going to get all your ports and connectivity on the back. A maximum of four HDMI ports is available, including one supporting HDMI ARC, as well as an ethernet port, USB port, digital optical audio output, and stereo analogue audio output.

The Vizio remote is great, but it’s starting to look a little dated in an age of super-simple remotes like the Apple TV 4 K remote and the Roku remote which comes with every single Roku TV.

With services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, you’ll get six quick-access buttons on the remote. The remote may not be the most up-to-date but do the job well.

SMART TVS WITH ROKU

Image Quality

Image quality is good, especially for the price, and with Dolby Vision HDR 10 and HLG you get support for HDR. The Quantum 2022 M Series delivers great blacks, very decent colours, and good performance in local dimming.

If you’re watching it in low lights, then also the picture is good and you could enjoy watching sports or a movie with a group of your friends.

We reviewed the 55-inch M8 series with 90 local dimming zones and a maximum brightness of 600 nits. Only 16 local dimming zones are available in the M7 series. We found the more local dimming zones are the more pictures got better.

It allows the TV to keep a bright area clear while at the same time providing greater contrast with dark areas of the screen.

The brightness of the TV is good and is suitable for a well-lit room. We found the performance of the HDR very good at this price. If you really want to see HDR pop, consider buying the Quantum of the P Series.

Smart TV (SmartCast 3.0)

The Vizio M-Series Quantum LED TV uses the SmartCast 3.0 from Vizio, and while it definitely does the job and has a lot of super-smart features, it’s not the most elegant software out there. It’s definitely not as good or as stable as Roku’s or Apple’s TV OS either, but it’s not either the worst TV operating system.

The aim of SmartCast is to integrate mobile access apps with services such as AirPlay and Google Cast. It’s quicker than in the past, but loading and switching between items on the main screen always take a few seconds.

SmartCast 3.0 also gives you admission to Vizio’s WatchFree, which is essentially a free streaming application for live TV. It supports Google Cast, but it also offers AirPlay 2, which can be controlled with Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. Plus, it’s free – so it’s difficult to complain about it.

Sound

The Vizio speakers are fine, but they definitely aren’t as high-quality as the picture is: the TV offers two 20 Watt speakers, and they sounded better than we expected. Generally, built-in speakers are less than good, but these speakers got nice and loud sounds.

Mid-ranges were good, and in the high end there was not a lot of detail, but some of it was there again. In general, an inexpensive pair of stereo speakers can sound better than a TV speaker. But, if after buying the TV, your budget is capped, the speakers will be perfect.

Vizio M8 Series – The bottom Line

The M-Series Quantum is good enough that it unseats our previous favourite in this price range, the TCL 6-Series Roku TV. Though the TCL’s Roku platform and overall performance are excellent, the Vizio M-Series Quantum 65-inch (M658-G1) edges it out with the vibrant quantum-dot display and ever-improving smart-TV functionality. The Vizio M-Series Quantum gives you a lot to love for its under-$800 prices.

Soundbar

Cheap TV for sale – TCL S425 series Roku TV

TCL introduced the TCL 43 Inch 4 K Smart TV in the mid-range a little while later. The 43S425 comes with a built-in Roku T like all TCL smart TV sets which have the advantage of accessing every streaming app available. But do the TCL 43S425 reflect sharp, realistic and detailed pictures and stand out to be the best cheap tv for sale? We will find it out.

TCL 43S425 Smart TV Review: Unboxing

When you first unbox it you will find firstly the TV itself, some batteries, TV stands, user manuals and remote. The remote is a fun part it features the usual playback and navigation functions.

It also has Netflix, and HBO NOW buttons, to directly open the channels with one press. Along with these, you will find a dongle that converts the audiovisual input into video output.

A design which flaunts eyes

TCL TV without stand measures 49 X 28. 4 X 3. 1 inch and gives a sleek but simple look. TCL housed the TV in a plastic chassis. The screen of the TV is framed with pretty slim, black bezels on its top and sides.

The bottom bezel has a grey texture along its lengths and this adds some colour to the TV set. The TCL and Roku Logos are mounted on this bezel. In the centre of the bottom bezel, under the TCL logo, you will also find the control buttons.

It is only 2 inches thick from the top. The bottom also measures an inch as the panel has hardware, Inputs, RF, Composite, Headphone Jack, Optical Audio Out, and Ethernet. Thanks to its designers, who fit so many features of TCL in a compact box.

Roku reign

SMART TVS WITH ROKUTCL TV Series has a built-in Roku. Which means? You have access to stream unlimited entertainment movies, shows and more on your TV. On your terms, it includes Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Pluto TV and more.

Roku is still updating and keeps adding new features. They include:

  • Recent additions to Roku TV allow you to use Alexa and Google Assistant.
  • The Roku phone app connects via a voice search and private headphones.
  • Can pause live TV from an antenna source (requires a USB stick)
  • Works with Roku Wireless Speakers for a wireless stereo alternative to soundbars

Picture Quality: Brightness, Contrast, and Sharpness

The colours of the TCL LED TV (43S425) are exact and, while watching a nature show, you can taste good and bright colours. The black levels are a little high (more than 0.010 units) when dynamic contrast is turned off. So they won’t be the deepest blacks that you ever watch on TV. It affects the way contrast and clarity are displayed by the TCL.

When dynamic contrast is ON, you will enjoy an incredible contrast ratio of about 6000:1, which separates this TV from its competition. Nevertheless, there is no local dimming on the 43S425.

It limits how well the screen delivers contrast and clarity when the picture is dark. Consequently, you will notice the parts of the pictures that are shadowed lack sharpness and detail.

TCL 43S425 – The Bottom Line

YES, if you want to save money, the TCL 43S425 has done noticeably well compared with other TV brands with the same features in the cheap tv range. It is a winner among its competitors in the budget range TV. With its under-script design and middle-of-the-road performance, we love the smart, easy-to-use app, with all the features of Roku.

Unfortunately, the 43S425 screen isn’t the brightest screen you will ever find, like other versions in the 4 series. Combined with its not-too-deep black levels, which means lower levels of sharpness, contrast, and details.

Apart from quality is quite good with average pictures. Also, gaming on this TV is great; thanks to the fast response time. We will only recommend it to budget buyers who are focused on streaming and simplicity.

Best high-end TV – LG OLED 55C9PUA series

Every other television falls short after you have watched your favourites on LG OLED TV. Year after year, TVs based on organic light-emission diode (OLED) deliver the most quality images and this C-Series showcases LG’s best efforts to perfect them. Whether you watch movies, shows, sports or games, the picture shows perfect Black and an endless contrast, with rich colour and clear details.

For now, an OLED C9 sets another staggeringly high bar for image quality.  LG Sound is supported by Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, plus LG AI TV is the smartest TV in the world, with Google Assistants and Alexa integrated voice control with LG ThinQ AI. What more? Let’s find out.

A winning design

SMART TVS WITH ROKU

In its design and function, we find this LG almost perfect. Once viewed from the side, about a quarter-inch in-depth, the panel itself still fades away, with the typical bulge at the bottom at an additional 1.75 inches. The bulge houses include the inputs, control and other elements of TV.

From the front, the picture itself to the tops and sides is less than a half-inch in a black frame. Then there’s a little further down, but there is no trace of silver, no “LG” or any other logo. This is the most minimalist TV in the world.

We were also impressed by the aesthetics, i.e. design of this TV: it has a very thin OLED panel that is supported by a pretty hefty stand which gives me a lot of confidence that this TV is very stable. Even the back panel looks very clean and has a cable management system to make it all tidy.

The stand itself with its angled edges does not protrude a lot and functions as a virtual 5.1 surround sound distributor as the speakers are located right above it, and man does this TV sound great!

Remote

The number one thing I like the most about LG’s Remote is its motion control to move around the screen, which is especially useful when logging into apps or searching with an on-screen keyboard. The scroll wheel on a remote is also smooth for moving through apps.

You could call Google Assistant by clicking the mic button. This can do all the normal assistant stuff, including controlling smart home devices, answering questions and responding through a voice coming from the speakers of the television.

Features and connections

To produce the image, the LCD TVs rely on a backlight shining through a liquid crystal screen. However, in an OLED display, each sub-pixel is responsible for creating illumination. That’s why OLED is called “emissive” and LED LCDs are called “transmissive” displays, and that’s a big reason why the quality of OLED’s image is so nice.

The C9 panel once again has the same basic characteristics of previous years, including light output and colour gamut, so the key change is being made in processing. The most powerful LG’s 4 K processor uses 4-step noise reduction to boost images, effects, and colour.

This brings with it the most immersive viewing experience, all powered by AI. A new chip A9 Gen 2 comes with a “deep learning algorithm” that better controls the picture for room lighting, among other TVs.

Fulfils Every Gamer Dream

Practice PC gaming on an LG OLED TV 55C9PUA with NVIDIA G-SYNC support (Compatible with RTX20 and GTX16 graphics cards). Just LG can combine perfect black and intense colours with smooth gameplay to bring PC gaming to new heights with outstanding picture quality.

LG OLED TV’s perfect black canvas offers a unique gaming experience on your favourite consoles. See incredible images and colours from a wide viewing angle on TV. Immerse yourself in the ambient sound of the digital 5.1 sound channel.

LG OLED 55C9PUA – The Bottom Line

Overall, LG OLED C9 is an outstanding OLED TV, which reflects pure blacks, flashing colours, excellent off-viewing angle, and clear audio and is an exceptional engineering wonder.

As with all OLEDs, the screen brightness pales as opposed to an LCD TV, but brightness isn’t all. LG’s absolute blacks and pixels level of precision afforded by the self-emissive technology ensures that HDR looks amazing. Dolby Vision is also supported, and only the lack of HDR10 + frustrates me.

Finally, the LG TV remains state-of-the-art, and now boasts Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. WebOS has been pinched but still has a complete selection of streaming services, while the recommendation features are enabled by AI. For the moment, the new Home Dashboard turns your TV into a hub for your smart home.

The Good:

The LG C9 OLED TV has better image quality than any television we’ve ever tested. It delivers perfect black levels, wide viewing angles, superb uniformity, accurate colour, and a great bright-room picture. Video processing is slightly better than last year. It adds HDMI 2.1 features and support for Amazon Alexa and Apple AirPlay 2 is coming soon. Its striking design features a super-slim panel.

The Bad:

The C9 is expensive, and 2022 OLED TVs perform almost as well for much less money. It can’t get as bright as competing LCD TVs.

The Bottom Line:

If you want the best TV picture quality and are willing to pay for it, the LG C9 should be the first TV on your list.

Also consider: LG C9 Series 65″ 4K HDR Smart OLED-65C9PUA (w/AI ThinQ)

LG’s remote lets you speak to and hear from, two voice assistants. The main mic button invokes Google Assistant. Long-press the Amazon button and you get Alexa.

LG will soon become the first TV maker to build a second major voice assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, available by pressing and holding the Prime Video button. The feature will roll out in a software update due later this year, and won’t be available in 2022 or earlier LG sets.

Also coming later this year is support for Apple’s AirPlay 2 system, letting the TV function as a display for TV shows, movies, photos, and web pages with an iPhone, iPad or Mac PC as the controller, and for HomeKit, which will let you control the TV using Apple’s Home app or by talking to Apple’s assistant Siri.

The Apple features are similar to those coming to 2022 Vizio and Sony TVs, while the full Apple TV app will launch first on Samsung TVs.

Dim lighting:

If you want a modern demonstration of the superiority of OLED, look no further than Game of Throne’s famously dark episode The Long Night, aka The Battle of Winterfell, aka Season 8, Episode 3. It looked hands-down better than any of the LCDs in my test, which includes two of 2022’s best TVs, and it wasn’t really close.

The perfect black levels of OLED paid dividends everywhere, from the shadows among the army of Unsullied, Dothraki, and catapults to the night sky above Brienne and Jaime to the dark furs and leathers of the Northmen.

In comparison the LCDs, despite their cutting-edge full-array local dimming, looked greyish and washed out in scene after scene, robbing the image of contrast. The C9, C8, and B8 were largely similar in these scenes.

Explore

TV Resolution: 1080p, 2K, UHD, 4K, 8K explained

Screen Size

HD or UHD

Cheap Smart TV

Viewing Angle

TV Resolution: 1080p, 2K, UHD, 4K, 8K explained

The Best LED TV

Resolution

Usually means several pixels that you see as a picture on your TV. Single-pixel means a tiny dot on the screen. Most 32-inch screen size has a 720p. Little larger 43-inch or 49-inch size TV have about 1080p (a little over 2 million pixels), and bigger TV, 55-inch and above have about 8 million pixels, also called 4K or Ultra HD. The very latest, most expensive TV comes with 33 million pixels which is also called 8K technology.

Right after screen size and the price of the TV, what comes to your mind? We’re sure it’s a resolution, which is the most important element when we talk about picture quality. 

So what does 4K mean? It is 3840×2160 pixels. UHD stands for Ultra High Definition, in other words, it means 4K. Most of the 50-inch screen sizes and above are coming with 4K resolution technology.

Screen Size

Screen size is one of the most important choices you make when you look for a new TV. Keep in mind, that TV screens are measured diagonally, and start from 20 inches goes up to more than 80 inches.

As per the room size, the most common sizes are the 32-inches and 43-inches, respectively. A large living room/hallway or spacious family room requires a 55 or 65-inch TV screen size.

So, if you’re buying a regular 1080p TV set (great for most viewers), while maintaining the adequate maximum view sight, and is approximately 1.6 times the diagonal size of your TV.

For example, if you’re buying a 43-inch screen size, you would want to sit at least 68 inches or around 5 feet away. So divide the distance from your sofa/bed to the TV (in feet) by 1.6 and then multiply the result by 12 to obtain the screen size in inches you should be buying.

HD or UHD

LED TVA regular HD (high-definition) is also known as 1080p since it has a screen resolution of 1920 (pixels horizontally) x 1080 (pixels vertically). Pixels mean picture elements, the very small single dots that make up the TV picture.

Ultra-high definition (UHD) TV which is also known as 4K TV, have a screen resolution of 3840×2160, so they accommodate more pixels than that HD, which further, enhances picture quality and provide a greater experience.

Smart TV

So what’s a smart TV (also called Internet TV)? – One that can access online internet content, like streaming video services from Netflix or Amazon Prime.

Now, there’s a basic smart TV, which is limited to the most famous services, and then there’s Full smart TV that provides access to a vast number of apps, all internet content, and voice commands(Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant), full web browser, flicks recommendations and allows you to see content from your Smartphone on your TV screen.

Needless to say, these smart TVs have built-in Wi-Fi and need to be connected to your home network or a wired Ethernet connection. Most upgraded versions of TVs sold today are Smart TVs.

Viewing Angle

The Best LED TV for 2019

While OLED TVs have boundless viewing angles (remember Plasma TV), all LED TV has a defined narrow or restricted viewing angle. That’s something the LED TV category is still struggling with. Which means you can get the best view when sitting and watching TV from the front, not from the sides, or from above or below?

Also, from personal experience, keep in mind; that just before mounting your TV on the wall, you must test the viewing experience. Later, you might feel you should have mounted a little higher or lower as the visibility is not clear.

A TV picture looks best when you’re sitting right in front of it. Also make sure to watch for all the right TV connectors available, like inputs and outputs, USB ports (to play music, camera photos, and videos on TV), digital optical audio output (to send TV audio through a Soundbar speaker), Ethernet LAN port (wired internet connection to your TV through a LAN cable) and HDMI inputs (to connect streaming media player and gaming consoles to your TV).

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