How to choose a TV: OLED vs Mini-LED, size, HDR and gaming features

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TV specifications are full of acronyms, and shops tend to show every set in its brightest demo mode. The good news is that only a handful of things really change what you see at home. Work through them in order and the choice becomes much simpler.

Panel type: the biggest decision

OLED: each pixel makes its own light and can switch off completely, giving perfect blacks, excellent contrast and wide viewing angles. Ideal for films in a dim room. Generally less bright than the best LED sets, and very long static images can cause burn-in, though modern sets have protections against it.
QLED and Mini-LED: LCD panels with an LED backlight and a quantum dot layer for richer colour. Mini-LED uses many small backlight zones that dim independently ("local dimming"), getting much closer to OLED contrast while staying very bright. A strong choice for bright living rooms and daytime sport.
Basic LED/LCD: the most affordable. Fine for a bedroom or casual viewing, but blacks look greyish and HDR has little impact.

Rule of thumb: dark room and lots of films, look at OLED; bright room or lots of daytime viewing, look at Mini-LED.

Size and viewing distance

Most people who upgrade wish they had gone bigger. Measure the distance from your seat to the screen and the space for the stand or wall.

For 4K content, a common guideline is a screen whose diagonal is roughly half to two-thirds of your viewing distance.
If you sit about 2.5 metres away, a 55 to 65 inch set usually feels right.
Check the width of the TV against your furniture, and where the feet sit; some stands put them at the far edges.

Resolution and HDR

4K is now standard. 8K sets exist, but there is very little 8K content and the benefit is hard to see at normal distances.
HDR (high dynamic range) matters more than resolution. It allows brighter highlights and richer colour, but only if the TV is bright enough to show it.
Formats to look for: HDR10 (universal), Dolby Vision and HDR10+ (both adjust the picture scene by scene). Streaming services and discs use different ones, so a set supporting both dynamic formats is most flexible.

Gaming: refresh rate and HDMI 2.1

If you play on a recent console or a PC, check these:

120 Hz native refresh rate, for smoother motion and games that run at 120 frames per second. Beware "motion rate" numbers, which are often inflated.
HDMI 2.1 ports, which carry 4K at 120 Hz.
VRR (variable refresh rate), which matches the screen to the game's frame rate to reduce tearing and stutter.
ALLM (auto low latency mode), which switches the TV into game mode automatically.
Low input lag in game mode.

HDMI 2.1 features are optional for manufacturers, and some TVs offer them on only one or two ports. Read the specification for each port, not just the headline.

Smart platforms

Every modern TV has a built-in system for streaming apps. Check that the apps you use are available, how quick the menus feel and how many adverts appear on the home screen. If you dislike the built-in system, a separate streaming stick or box can replace it cheaply.

Sound

Thin TVs have little room for speakers, and most sound thin. Budget for a soundbar if dialogue clarity matters. Look for eARC on the TV, which lets it pass high-quality audio formats to a soundbar or receiver over one HDMI cable.

In the shop and at home

Ignore the demo mode. Ask to see the set in a film or "filmmaker" mode.
Look at dark scenes and at skin tones, not just bright nature footage.
Check the returns policy so you can test it in your own room.
At home, switch off motion smoothing for films, which causes the "soap opera" look, and use the film or calibrated mode as a starting point.

Which TV did you choose, and what do you wish you had known? Ask your questions or share your setup in the comments.