Don’t Buy the Wrong TV on Prime Day: 4 Things I Consider When Hunting for Deals

With Amazon Prime Day this month, you have plenty of opportunities to upgrade your TV for a great price. To give you a starting point for these big sales, I’ve put together a guide to buying a TV during Amazon Prime Day. (ZDNET has also rounded up some of the best Prime Day deals ahead here.)

Amazon Prime Day 2024 will take place on July 16 and 17. Prime Day, which is exclusive to Prime members, typically offers the deepest discounts on Amazon devices, including Fire TVs. However, many retailers, like Walmart and Best Buy, are already offering deals for the 4th of July. These early sales can sometimes match or even beat Prime Day prices, so they’re worth keeping an eye out for.

Also: Amazon Prime Day 2024 is back from July 16 to 17: everything you need to know and some early offers

TV manufacturers typically announce new models at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, and those new models start hitting store shelves between March and June. As retailers stock newer products, prices on older models often drop. This is the start of the summer sales routine.

To help you narrow down your options and avoid overspending, consider factors like screen size (e.g., 48″ or 65″), resolution (4K, 8K), display technology (LED, OLED, etc.), smart features, and connectivity options.

1. Key terminologies to know

To clarify some of the terminology surrounding modern televisions, let’s look at the types of display technologies available today:

LCD screen : Liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions use cathode ray fluorescent lamps in their backlights to provide solid brightness and color accuracy, but at a lower cost. LCD televisions are generally affordable, energy efficient, and have no risk of image retention (burn-in).

DIRECTED: A more advanced form of LCD that uses light-emitting diodes for its backlight to provide better brightness, contrast, and energy efficiency. LED backlights are thinner and lighter than fluorescent backlights, allowing LED TVs to be thinner and lighter.

QLED: The “Q” in QLED stands for quantum dot technology. Samsung created it to improve color accuracy and brightness, but the technology still relies on LED backlighting. QLED TVs can achieve higher brightness levels than standard LED TVs, making them suitable for brighter, well-lit environments. This feature is what makes QLED TVs so impressive in showrooms.

Mini LED: It uses smaller LEDs for its backlight, resulting in improved contrast, deeper blacks, and more precise local dimming. Because of their improved picture quality and potential cost-effectiveness, more and more manufacturers, including Samsung, TCL, Hisense, and Roku, are already offering Mini LED TVs.

OLED: Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs feature self-lighting pixels that switch on and off each time, delivering the deepest blacks and superior contrast. What’s most remarkable about OLED TVs is how they maintain their picture quality even at extreme viewing angles, ensuring everyone in the room can see what’s playing.

MicroLED: This next-generation display technology uses tiny, self-emitting LEDs for each pixel, combining the best elements of OLED (deep blacks and high contrast) with better brightness and durability. The technology promises intense contrast, faster response times, and better energy efficiency. It’s also quite expensive and most often available in larger screen sizes.

2. What is the difference between 4K and 8K resolution?

A 4K TV has a resolution of 3840 pixels x 2160 pixels, or about 8.3 million pixels in total. This is four times the resolution of a standard 1080p high-definition television (HDTV), which has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 (about 2.1 million pixels).

Since not all content is available in 4K resolution, 4K TVs often include upscaling technology that enhances lower-resolution content to better fit the higher-resolution screen. This ensures that even non-4K content looks better on a 4K TV. Many 4K TVs also feature technologies like High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Wide Color Gamut (WCG), which improve color accuracy, contrast, and brightness.

Also read: Should you buy an 8K TV? How to decide, according to an expert

8K TV is the latest generation of TV technology, offering a total of 33.2 million pixels. That’s 16 times the resolution of a standard 1080p HDTV.

While 8K TVs also include advanced upscaling technology to better accommodate their high resolution, native 8K content is currently rare. That’s expected to change as the technology becomes more widespread. 8K TVs can be expensive, and the difference in picture quality may not be noticeable unless you have a huge screen or are sitting very close to the TV.

3. What size TV screen is best for me?

When it comes to TV size, bigger isn’t necessarily better. Rather, it’s about finding the Goldilocks zone in your viewing space, often determined by how far you sit from the screen. You also want to make sure the TV doesn’t overwhelm the room or require excessive head movement to view the entire screen.

To determine the ideal screen size, measure the viewing distance (in inches) between your TV and your couch. Divide this distance by 1.6 to get a rough recommendation. For example, if you’re sitting 10 feet away (120 inches), a 75-inch TV is ideal (120 inches ÷ 1.6 = 75). If you’re sitting closer, say six feet away, a screen size of around 45 inches would be suitable (6 x 12 = 72 ÷ 1.6 = 45). For larger screens, it’s best to opt for higher resolutions like 4K to ensure vivid, lifelike detail in images.

Also: This 65-inch Insignia Fire TV 4K smart TV is just $300 for the 4th of July

The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers recommends that the TV occupy at least 30° of your field of vision. Ideally, the TV should be parallel to your eyes, with a maximum angle of 15° up or down and 40° to the left or right.

4. Prime Day isn’t the only sale in town

The 2024 summer sale is sure to include some solid deals on mid-sized UHD (ultra-high definition) TVs under $200, like the 50-inch Insignia F30 Series Fire TV Smart TV available on Amazon. If you’re not an Amazon Prime member, consider signing up for a 30-day free trial before Prime Day. This trial will give you exclusive opportunities, like Amazon Lightning Deals, which can help you get the best TV deals.

While Prime Day is an Amazon event, many other retailers are hosting competing sales. Check out the programThe largest sales event ever“July 8-11, as well as at Best Buy”Black Friday Event in July” (July 15-17). Some TV deals may include extras like free streaming subscriptions, extended warranties, or bundled soundbars. Keep an eye out for these events, as they can offer substantial savings, but often sell out quickly.