The case for a bigger TV – what should you know before buying

So just why is it that you’re so keen on that new 65 inch or bigger TV? It’s not just that TVs look so damn good and that there are some cracking deals going around right now – its because viewing a bigger screen is actually easier and better quality than ever before.

Big TVs have always been a desirable item – remember that mate who’s parents had a big rear projection TV? Looked impressive in the corner of the room, but in the end, the picture wasn’t that crash hot now was it?

Fast Forward to today, and we’re dealing with two very important differences.

• What we watch is better quality
• The TV we watch on is smarter than ever before

Free to air TV channels in Full High Definition, Pay TV Channels in 4K, Netflix, Stan and others in 4K – there’s no shortage of great pictures coming into our homes.

Add to that a 4K TV, even an 8K TV coming soon and of course the powerful computer processing inside each TV that allows it to display whatever you’re watching in the best possible way on the screen you’ve chosen.

It’s this combination of great content and great TVs that is driving our desire to have the biggest screen we can afford.

So – What should you consider when thinking about a TV 65 inches or larger?

Here’s the best news you’ll read if you’re on the hunt for a big TV – or trying to convince your partner that it’s going to be right for your loungeroom: Mum’s warning not to sit too close is less relevant than ever!

Back in the day, you needed to sit a way back from the TV because lets be honest, the picture wasn’t that great, so your brain did some sneaky work to mush it all together to make us think it all looked fine.

Today, with a 4K or higher resolution TV – you can in fact be sitting much closer than you might be used to.

I’m not suggesting you sit one meter from your TV – but your lounge can stay in the same spot, while the screen gets bigger.

In fact, the question now is how big a TV can you fit in your lounge room?

Sitting up on your entertainment unit you need to measure that top surface for both width and depth and check it against the TV stand. If you wan’t the best experience, consider having the TV wall-mounted to free up your entertainment unit and give you a real visual impact in the lounge room.

How do you get the most out of a larger TV?

The most important thing you can be doing at all times is making sure the quality of what you’re watching is the highest possible.

If you’re watching Sport – make sure you’re on the HD channel. If you’re using a streaming service like Netflix or Stan, ensure that you’ve got the subscription that gives you 4K and your settings are configured to suit.

And if you’re playing games, be sure to calibrate your console to your new TV so it’s outputting not just in 4K, but in HDR (High Dynamic Range) where possible.

Does any big-screen equal awesome viewing?

I’d love to say any big TV is a great TV but it’s just not the case.

There are a couple of key factors in ensuring you get the best from your viewing experience. One is the screen technology itself, the other is the power and processing under the hood.

Technologies like Quantum Dots may be hard to explain, let alone hard to understand but Quantum Dots offer a bright picture, truer colour overall – it really enhances the viewing experience.

Viewing Angles are the same, you might not think about it in store, but stand at a few angles to your favourite new TV and see just how it looks – remember, you’re not always going to be the one sitting square front on to the TV.

And under the hood, it’s all about processing power. Performance. Not something we measure like we do in computers, but in a TV one critical difference can be found in “upscaling”. This is the process where the TV takes a low resolution signal or picture and makes it fit into the millions and millions of pixels on screen.

A lower quality TV can’t give you the best picture when watching HD content on a 4K screen, let alone what SD TV looks like.

Quality makes a difference, don’t be fooling yourself into thinking you’ll be watching 4K content 24/7 – that upscaling is going to come in very very handy a large part of the time.