Get set to view your favourite sports: 10 things to look for in a smart TV

Whether you’re buying your very first smart TV or upgrading to the latest model. We spoke to the expert team at JB HI Fi who shared ten key things to consider and look out for when buying a smart tv. 


1.Screen size

The first, and perhaps most important, thing to consider is the size of the screen and where you’ll put your new TV. Will it be mounted on the wall or sit atop an entertainment unit?

Supersize screens of 65-inches and above are becoming the go-to for many Aussie homes, and bigger can be better as long as you’ve got the space – a 98” screen might be luxurious, but can be overwhelming in a small apartment or room.

Measure up your wall space or entertainment unit beforehand to ensure that you get the right fit, and also the distance between the couch and the screen. There’s immersive viewing and then there’s sitting way too close!

A TV with a wide viewing angle is recommended, so there's no reduction in colour and contrast when you aren’t seated directly in front of the screen.

 2. Picture quality

This should also be at the top of your list, for obvious reasons – you want the very best that your budget allows.

4K Ultra HD has become the standard resolution for today’s smart TV displays – that’s four times the resolution of Full HD 1080p. You’ll find a wide range of streaming content in 4K, as well as physical 4K Blu-ray discs, so there's plenty of native content to take full advantage of the beauty of 4K. Moreover, video shot using a 4K camera will really pop on a big screen 4K TV.

Most smart TVs have inbuilt image processing and intelligent picture controls that adjust and optimise the quality according to the amount of ambient light in a room, so there’s no more need to fiddle with brightness, colour, and contrast settings.

Picture upscaling is another feature to look out for. This enhances SD and HD content to near 4K quality (depending on the quality of the source resolution), giving old TV shows and DVDs a shiny new look. Plus, some movies on Blu-ray discs can look every bit as good as a native 4K transfer when upscaled.

If you’re a movie buff, look for a TV that has Filmmaker Mode, which disables any picture processing to present the movie exactly as the director intended it to be seen.

3. OLED or Mini LED TV?

This will depend on your budget. OLED is a premium TV tech (and worth every penny), while Mini LED can be more affordable and is now advanced enough to deliver near OLED picture quality in terms of true blacks and contrast.

OLEDs have the advantage over LED backlighting because each pixel is self-illuminating, meaning they can turn themselves off to create perfect blacks, and also reach greater peak brightness and contrast ratios of dark and light. No backlighting also gives OLEDs a wide viewing angle with no fading of colours and contrast, and they produce less blue light, which is good for the eyes.

Mini LED displays use tens of thousands of tiny LED backlights to produce a bright and colourful picture with strong contrast. Precise control of the brightening and dimming of image zones reduces any distracting blooming or halo effects around bright objects in a dark scene, like a streetlight.

Premium Mini LED TVs with full array local dimming split the LED array into zones, so that specific areas of a picture can be dimmed where required to create true blacks and better shadow detail.

4. HDR – High Dynamic Range

A standard feature on today’s 4K TVs, HDR brings out the best in 4K content, such as more vivid colours, deeper blacks, and ultra fine details in objects and subjects, like the weave of clothing or facial stubble.

An HDR grade also adds a warmer, more natural look to a picture, and is championed by movie buffs for creating an organic appearance to movies that were shot on film. Play your favourite movie in 4K HDR and you’re guaranteed to see details that you’ve never noticed before!

There are three types of HDR: standard HDR10, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision. The latter two are the premium formats, optimising content scene-by-scene for a visible uptick in quality over HDR10.

HDR has been a staple of 4K Blu-ray discs and is now widely supported for streaming content.


5. Refresh rate

How well a TV can handle fast moving scenes can make or break an action movie, sports match, or gaming session. That’s why a TV’s refresh rate matters – the number of times individual frames are refreshed is measured in Hz, and the higher the number, the better.

Many of today’s TVs have a native refresh rate of 120Hz, while newer models have upgraded this to a variable refresh rate (VRR) up to 144Hz, which is great news for gamers. You’ll also come across dedicated motion smoothing modes like Motion Rate 200, which also uses frame sampling to reduce any blur or judder.

6. Connectivity

Smart TVs connect wirelessly via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, while HDMI is the standard connection that transmits video and audio via a single cable from an external device like a games console, PC, 4K Blu-ray player, or streaming device. Make sure that the TV you want has enough HDMI ports to accommodate all of your devices simultaneously.

Most of today’s smart TVs have up to four HDMI ports, which include dedicated HDMI ARC or eARC ports for connecting a soundbar. And many new models support HDMI 2.1 connection for more bandwidth, smoother play, and reduced screen tearing when gaming.

USB ports are also standard in smart TVs and handy for recording your favourite free-to-air TV shows onto a flash drive, or playing back stored audio/video content and image files.


7. Sound

Slimline smart TVs are now packing improved audio, with some integrating up-firing speakers, a subwoofer, and Dolby Atmos support for greater immersion, along with screen-specific sound via speakers located directly behind the screen itself.

You’ll find various intelligent audio modes on many models that can customise sound to best suit a room’s layout, upmix audio for virtual surround or Atmos, and enhance dialogue and sports commentaries.

Soundbar synchronisation on compatible TVs will further expand the soundscape by combining the output from the TV speakers and the soundbar, or using the TV as a centre speaker for a multi-channel soundbar.


8. UI and apps

The TV’s user interface is the central hub where you access subscription streaming and catch-up TV apps, many of which come preloaded.

Android TVs often include Google TV built in for one-stop app access, while some of the big brands have proprietary OS – such as Hisense’s VIDAA and LG’s webOS – and offer bonus channels like Samsung TV Plus and Sony’s BRAVIA Core streaming service.


9. Smart features

Virtual assistants like Alexa or Google can be built-in, and when a smart TV is integrated into a smart home ecosystem, you can use it to control devices like lighting and access live video feeds from security cameras and doorbells with more detail on a big screen.

Samsung TV owners can use the SmartThings app to transform a compatible Samsung TV into a smart home hub for easy control of connected smart home devices, or turn a supported Galaxy smartphone into a TV remote.

10. Gaming

Smooth and fluid gaming with no blur or jitter is the way to play, and most smart TV’s cater for gamers with a suite of dedicated features to optimise play. Look for a Game Mode and specs like ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), AMD FreeSync Premium, and HDMI 2.1 support.

Visit JB Hi Fi, located on Level 1 opposite Kingpin MAP to secure your new smart TV.