Guide
The ultimate TV guide: which TV should I buy in 2024?
by Luca Fontana
The ultimate TV guide: which should I buy?
17.11.2023
Translation: Megan Cornish
If you want to buy a new TV, you first have to fight your way through a maze of features and technologies. Want some perspective? And a few recommendations? I’ll help you find your way.
«Luca, I need a new TV. But I don’t know where to start. Can you help?»
I’m often asked this question. And it’s no wonder. Explaining how TV technologies work is difficult enough without getting into technical jargon. But without it, the explanation often boils down to meaningless marketing blah. I also hear this in conversations with manufacturers. Anyone who seeks advice from salespeople in a shop wants advice, not a lesson. But this is quickly reduced to the usual tired buzzwords.
I want to remedy that. Looking for a new TV but don’t know where to start your search? I’ll help you – with three points, explained simply and clearly, but without sacrificing the necessary detail. And I’ll finish off with my very personal TV recommendations.
Point 1: There are two important image technologies
First things first: how does a TV work? First, millions of pixels create the image. It’s then coloured using colour filters. Finally, a background light makes the finished image shine.
The fact that this is actually much more complicated than described above need not concern you at this point. All you need to know is that there are currently two image technologies that are relevant to you:
- LCD
- OLED
In short, LCD pixels create the image and are illuminated by a background light – the LEDs. That’s why you often read about «LED TVs» on sales flyers. If it says that, then you know that what we actually mean are LCD TVs with LED backlights.
In OLED televisions, however, the LEDs themselves become pixels. They not only produce the light, but also the image, so they don’t require an additional LED layer. The South Korean TV manufacturer LG made this technology acceptable.
Point 2: Which is better – LCD or OLED?
The rule of thumb is that LCD TVs shine much brighter, but OLED models produce a better picture. In bright rooms, LCD TVs are more likely to have the edge. OLED ones perform better in darkened rooms. Perfect black levels are typical for OLED televisions. They enable significantly better contrasts and therefore stronger colours.
«I often watch TV in the evenings when it gets dark, so I’ll definitely buy an OLED TV. Let’s see how much it costs… Oh…»
Yes, OLED televisions aren’t only better, but they’re also usually a little more expensive. Especially in medium-priced TV segments or in the entry-level TV range. That’s why many more LCD models are still sold than OLED versions. That’s why manufacturers still invest a lot of money in the research and development of LCD TVs.
The best of these new LCD TVs are in the high-price segment, and they’re often more expensive than OLED models. So, if you want to spend a lot of money on a TV – more than 2,000 francs – you’d better off picking an OLED version. Unless you really watch TV during the day or in a room that’s flooded with light.
Point 3: Quantum Dot and Mini LED – you need to remember these two terms
I still have to give you two exotic pieces of TV jargon:
- Quantum Dot
- Mini LED
The other development concerns the backlight. Ordinary LEDs can’t (yet) be made as small as LCD pixels. This means that several thousand pixels are grouped in front of an LED. This used to create a kind of halo around bright objects against a dark background. For example, if the moon in the dark night sky was illuminated by its background LED, so was the directly adjacent night sky around the moon.
Which TVs do I specifically recommend?
When I talk to our readers, I often notice that they already have a slight bias towards a manufacturer before they buy. That’s why it probably makes the most sense for me to recommend something in the high, medium and low price segments for each manufacturer. That way, you’ll have a selection according to your budget and be able to rank the TVs of the same quality.
LG: Master of OLED
LG is a South Korean TV manufacturer. Its greatest achievement in the TV sector is having established OLED televisions on the mass market since 2016. Even today, all manufacturers of OLED TVs buy their OLED panel from LG. That includes Sony, Philips and Panasonic.
Top range
Mid-range
LG OLED C3: Calling the C series a mid-range series is actually an insult. Before the G series existed, LG always marketed the C series as its flagship. Now, LG uses the best technology from last year in the C series, but sells it at a significantly better price. So when it comes to the best price-performance ratio, the C series almost always wins. And yes, the C series is also suitable for watching films and series as well as for gaming.
Entry level
LG QNED 816: You can’t go wrong with LG’s QNED series if you’re on a tighter budget. These are LG’s LCD TVs with quantum dot technology. So that means a solid, bright TV with good contrast, a mid-range processor for upscaling and a 120Hz panel for gaming.
Samsung: A gamechanger with QD-OLED, but also very good mini-LED TVs
Samsung also comes from South Korea and is by far the largest TV manufacturer in the world in terms of TV sales. Curiously, for a long time, Samsung spurned OLED televisions because they were the only ones who didn’t think their technology was sophisticated enough. Since last year, however, they’ve also been getting involved with QD-OLED, a the next step up from OLED.
Top range
Mid-range
Entry level
Sony: Takes inspiration from others – and adds Google TV on top
Sony comes from Japan and buys its OLED panels from LG and its QD-OLED panels from Samsung. It doesn’t sound particularly spectacular, but Sony is really good at building its processors. This is important. Because processors are the «brain» of the television, and no other manufacturer builds better ones than Sony.
Top range
Mid-range
Entry level
Summing up
I hope this guide has given you a new and better understanding of current TVs – or at least a rough idea of which one you want to buy.
Luca Fontana
Senior Editor
Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.chI write about technology as if it were cinema, and about films as if they were real life. Between bits and blockbusters, I’m after stories that move people, not just generate clicks. And yes – sometimes I listen to film scores louder than I probably should.
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