How to Buy a TV: Spring 2023 Edition

Finally, new 2023 TVs are beginning to appear on store shelves, but the cost is the most it will be all year.

New Televisions are announced in January and go on sale in the spring and summer, following a cyclical pattern in the seasonal TV replacement cycle. Like leaves in the fall, the cost of those TVs begins to decline before hitting an all-time low on Black Friday. Even though 2023 TVs are already starting to appear on store shelves, staying with a reduced 2022 model will still offer you a decent TV price. These are the ideal option to save money this spring because they don’t differ much from their more modern equivalents.

New Televisions are announced in January and go on sale in the spring and summer, following a cyclical pattern in the seasonal TV replacement cycle. Like leaves in the fall, the cost of those TVs begins to decline before hitting an all-time low on Black Friday. Even though 2023 TVs are already starting to appear on store shelves, staying with a reduced 2022 model will still offer you a decent TV price. These are the ideal option to save money this spring because they don’t differ much from their more modern equivalents.

Which TV should I buy right now?

We have a few top picks among the current TVs if you merely want to buy a fantastic television without bothering with the technicalities.

Best TV for the money

This much visual quality is available for this little money on no TV we’ve ever evaluated. The TCL 6-Series boasts exceptional picture quality while not being as good as OLED thanks to mini-LED technology and well-implemented full-array local dimming, which enables it outperform nearly every other TV at this price. Our top pick for an operating system is the Roku TV platform. This TV was released in 2020, yet as of 2023, it remains our top pick financially.

Sizes: 55-, 65-, 75-inch.

Best high-end TV for the money

The C2 offers the best possible picture quality for a price that is high but not excessive. With its flawless black levels, unmatched contrast, and excellent off-angle viewing, it outperforms any non-OLED TV we’ve examined. Also, it offers excellent gaming features that make it the ideal mate for an Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, or both. The C2 is also available in a range of sizes, however the larger models are more expensive.

The 65-inch model we reviewed weighs just 37 pounds with its stand, compared to 72 pounds for the 65-inch C1; improvements over the C1 from last year include additional changes to game mode and a new “always ready” feature. Carbon-fiber construction allows for up to 47% less weight.

Sizes: 42-, 48-, 55-, 65-, 77-, 83-inch.

Best budget TV

Although its 4K resolution and HDR capabilities fall short of the models above in terms of image quality, the TCL 4-Series is still entirely acceptable for the majority of users, especially at this price. Furthermore, a quality smart TV platform like Roku is even more crucial for a cheap TV.

We haven’t examined the very latest version of this TV, the TCL S455 series, but it has similar characteristics and we expect it to operate basically the same as the earlier one we did review.

Keep in mind that TCL also produces the 4-Series in Google TV and Android TV versions. Although we haven’t tried them, we anticipate comparable picture quality to the Roku version.

Sizes: 43-, 50-, 55-, 65-, 75-, 85-inch.

When is the best time to buy a TV?

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the two finest shopping days for televisions. This is due to the fact that TV costs decline over the course of the year before often bottoming out on the busiest shopping days. Although the outrageous, doorbuster prices on knockoff televisions are what those Black Friday and Cyber Monday specials are most famous for, the truth is that almost every TV receives a holiday discount.

We are currently in the peak period of the buying cycle. The 2023 Televisions were announced in January and are just now dropping into stores at their full retail cost. As manufacturers unveil their 2023 offers in the spring and summer, this pattern will continue.

Yet, there are still a few 2022 models that are on sale. As the year goes on and more 2023 TVs fill the shelves, those will start to disappear. In general, we advise consumers to hold off on purchasing a new TV until the fall because that is when you will save the most money. Get a 2022 model while you can if you need a new one now but don’t want to pay for all the newest technology.

Are you unsure on exactly how to operate the TV for you? This is some guidance.

What TV specifications matter most?

Generally speaking, the major goal of a TV’s specification sheet is to overwhelm you with baffling terminology and figures in an effort to persuade you to “move up” and purchase the more expensive model. The only useful data may be found under Inputs and Weight/Dimensions.

Our recommendation is to simply ignore the spec sheet rather than relying on it to give suggestions about which TV will perform better than another. The sheet can be useful when attempting to distinguish between TVs based on features like HDR, smart TV functionality, or fancy remotes, but it is practically useless when used to assess picture quality.

How big a TV should I buy?

Increasing the size of your TV is actually the finest use of your money more than any other “feature” could be. Those who didn’t go big enough are one of the post-TV purchase complaints we hear most frequently. Also, we hardly ever hear anyone complain about their TV being too big.

If you wish to accommodate an existing entertainment center, make sure you have at least an inch on the sides and top of the TV cavity to allow for ventilation. Perhaps you could just get rid of that old furniture and buy a bigger TV.

Do I need 4K and HDR?

Ultra High Definition Televisions, sometimes referred to as 4K TVs, feature four times as many pixels as ordinary 1080p TVs. Although it may sound like a significant advance, it is actually very challenging to identify a 4K TV from an HDTV in terms of sharpness.

On the other hand, because they are simple for manufacturers to make, 4K TVs have become the norm. Just nearly every TV 50 inches or greater has 4K resolution, and many smaller sets have 4K, too. Even for the lowest sizes, devices with 1080p and lower resolutions are rapidly relegating themselves to the clearance section.

The majority of 4K Televisions are also HDR compatible. Contrary to 4K, HDR offers superior contrast and color, so it’s more likely that you’ll notice an upgrade over standard HDTV. But, how much of an improvement (if any) you see will depend on the Screen, and much like with 4K, you must be viewing real HDR media. Furthermore, just because a TV supports HDR doesn’t necessarily guarantee that it will perform better with or without an HDR source.

Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, and HBO Max are among the streaming providers that offer 4K and HDR, though not on every title (although most original series and movies on both services are in 4K HDR). Although there aren’t many actual 4K or HDR TV stations in the US, select special events (like the Olympics) are occasionally shown in this format.

Bottom line? The best televisions are all 4K HDR televisions. You’ll most likely get a 4K TV anyway if you’re searching for a medium-sized or larger TV, and chances are it will support HDR as well.

What TVs have the best picture quality?

In our search for a new TV, the best picture quality for the money is something of a holy grail. It continues to be the top factor cited by TV buyers as crucial to their choice.

If PQ is less important to you, you’ll get the best deal by simply sorting a list of Televisions by price and desired screen size, selecting the least expensive model from a reputable manufacturer, and calling it a day. Instead, move on to the next chapter of this manual.

Having analyzing TVs for almost 20 years, we feel confident sharing the following generalizations concerning picture quality:

• Although OLED TVs still cost a lot of money, they feature the finest picture quality currently available.
• Quantum dot technology is introduced to OLED displays via QD-OLED. Deeper blacks and more brightness should follow, with enhanced color in bright spots. The first Sony and Samsung Televisions with a new OLED screen from Samsung Display are going to be pricey, and we probably won’t advise most people to buy them over more reasonably priced OLEDs like the C2. We haven’t had a chance to review them in person yet.
• The majority of TVs, including Samsung’s QLED, utilize LED LCD technology, which, despite sharing the name “LED,” differs greatly from OLED.
• Local dimming LED LCD Televisions frequently perform better than those without. Quantum dots and mini-LED are two other technologies that increase LCD’s image quality.
• The key component of a good image is the capacity to create a deep shade of black, which translates into great contrast.
• For HDR to operate at its optimum, image brightness and local dimming are crucial.
• The second most crucial factor is color accuracy, which is directly determined by contrast/black level.
• Matte screens are often the best at minimizing reflections in a bright environment. The best glossy displays maintain good black levels.
• Color gamut, video processing, and display resolution are less significant variables.
• Many viewers are unaware that they are experiencing the soap opera effect and may prefer their TV’s picture quality if it were turned off.
• In most cases, calibrated picture settings on a poor TV will appear worse than poor picture settings on a good TV.

In conclusion, picture quality is more complicated than simply counting pixels or reading a spec sheet, so reading evaluations like those at CNET is your best chance. Ideally, you’ll also have the opportunity to see a high-quality TV in person along with an expert who can explain why it is.