We want to buy a new Smart TV for the living room at home or in the kitchen "> How to choose a TV on Amazon
First, let's see together how Amazon has prepared its section reserved for televisions and smart TVs, by clicking on the dedicated page of the site.
In the foreground we will find the offers of the moment, so you can take advantage of them immediately without applying any filter and without even deepening your search. If, on the other hand, we want to choose a TV tailored for us, we scroll down the page until we find the advanced filtering system offered by Amazon.
By filling in the various fields, we will be able to filter all the televisions for sale on the site, choosing by screen size, HD format, brand, price, average customer reviews and shipping method . The various items can be adjusted as needed, but the only ones that we recommend you always configure are HD format (selecting 1080p Full HD ) and Shipping method (always selecting Prime ).
If we want more video quality, we can also select 4K Ultra HD, even if at the time of writing there is no TV sold with Prime with this resolution (better always check, since the market evolves quickly).
Why we decided to give priority to Prime products "> Amazon Prime Costs and Benefits; Convenient? And The Amazon Guarantee refunds the money spent within two years .
How to buy a TV on Amazon
After seeing how to choose a TV on Amazon, here we will show you how to proceed with the actual purchase. First of all, open the presentation page of the chosen TV and check that there is the word Prime under the price.
The presence of this logo will guarantee that the product is sold and shipped by Amazon, so we will have access to the full guarantee. If we wanted to save something on the chosen TV and we don't mind the warranty issue, we click on the New button, present just below the price, so as to access all the offers for that specific model.
In this tab we will find all the prices at which the TV is sold, any additional shipping prices and also other parameters to be able to make the choice consciously (such as feedback from the sellers and expected delivery times). As already mentioned, it is always advisable to focus on products with the Amazon.it logo, which benefit from the advantages of Prime; unfortunately these products will not always present the best price, so it will be up to us to choose whether to save something by focusing on a TV sold by a third-party seller or otherwise spend the right and buy directly from Amazon warehouses.
Whatever the choice, we can confirm the purchase by clicking on the Add to cart button or on Buy now to speed up the practice. The rest of the screens are identical to any other product purchased from the site: we will have to confirm the shipping address, choose the payment methods to be used, check the guaranteed delivery date (another advantage of Prime) and confirm the purchase.
Features of a modern TV
Any TV you intend to buy on Amazon, carefully read the information sheet provided by Amazon, so you can make sure that the following features are present.- DVB-T2 and HEVC : these two abbreviations identify the technologies of the future for the reception of new generation digital terrestrial channels (coming in 2022). By law these two characteristics must be present in all televisions sold starting from 2017, so we carefully check the information sheet to find these elements.
- Full HD or 4K resolution : as we have already mentioned, we can accept Full HD as a minimum resolution , that is 1920 x 1080 pixels ; this resolution is suitable for any TV with a diagonal between 32 and 45 inches. If we want a TV with an even larger diagonal (49 inches or higher) it is better to focus immediately on the 4K UHD resolution , that is 3840 x 2160 pixels, so that we can take full advantage of the online services that offer this type of content (Netflix on all). The lower resolutions labeled as HD (720p or 1360 x 768 pixels) should be considered only on really small televisions (28 inches or less).
- HDR : this feature allows you to get more vivid and vibrant colors on compatible 4K content. It is not a fundamental feature, but if it is present it certainly helps to better exploit 4K.
- LCD or OLED : the most widespread technology currently is LCD, with LED backlighting (Edge or Backlit). An evolution of LCD LED technology involves the use of local dimming to improve the contrast and color of the panels used. OLED is the future and allows to obtain unmatched contrast and colors, but the prices are obviously higher.
- Smart TV functionality : modern televisions offer a real operating system to manage the Smart component. In fact, we will be able to install apps and take advantage of streaming services without having to use a Chromecast or a dedicated TV Box. Each manufacturer offers a different operating system for Smart TVs, the most famous being Tizen (Samsung), Firefox OS, Web OS (LG), Android TV and other proprietary operating systems. In the choice of Smart TV features, we must check if all the apps we want to use are present: from this point of view, Samsung and LG offer maximum compatibility, with Android TV in rapid growth given the presence of the Play Store apps. Its presence is very useful, but not as fundamental as we think : we can always take a "smooth" TV (without Smart) and apply an Amazon Chromecast or Fire TV Stick to replicate the Smart features for a little.
- Connectivity : the presence of the Wi-Fi connection is now essential in every Smart TV, since the router or modem is not always close enough to be able to connect an Ethernet cable. All Smart TV WiFi models are compatible with 2.4 GHz wireless networks, while on an increasing number of televisions it is also possible to take advantage of 5 GHz wireless networks (faster and more performing, even with less coverage) . However, the Ethernet port is inevitable, so you can also connect the TV via cable as an alternative to wireless. Virtually all Smart TVs offer compatibility with Miracast (to transmit the display from a PC with Windows 10, smartphones and tablets), so that you can transmit the screen of your smartphone and tablet on the TV without cable.
- Ports : on all televisions there are now at least 2 HDMI ports, 2 USB ports and a 3.5 mm audio output (audio jack) while for the other types of ports (SCART, composite, optical and coaxial audio outputs) all it depends on the particular needs of each user.
- Audio / video compatibility: a modern Smart TV must read any recent audio and video format, including MKV video files and the new HEVC (H.265) codec, in addition to the classic H.264, MP4 and AVI . You can usually obtain this information from the instruction manual, which can also be found online and can therefore be consulted even before purchase.
- DLNA : if you have a network device or a media server that streams content on your LAN, compatibility with the DLNA protocol is required for correct viewing of all content . All televisions on the market support DLNA, but it is always better to ascertain it since this acronym is implemented with various names by the manufacturers (AllShare etc.).
- Voice commands : with the arrival of the Amazon and Google assistants, more and more manufacturers are integrating a microphone and a button to call the voice assistant into the remote control, so that you can select channels, sources and apps with your voice. It is not a fundamental feature, but it is spectacular to use and allows you to turn the TV on and off even with Amazon Echo and Google Home .
Best Smart TVs to buy
After seeing the technical characteristics that a new Smart TV must have, let's see together the models on which to focus on Amazon, so you can quickly proceed with the purchase without wasting time configuring filters. Obviously all the TVs that we will report are Prime, therefore sold and shipped by Amazon.HISENSE H32BE5500
Excellent entry level Smart TV, with Natural Color Enhancer system, Quad Core processor, Smart TV VIDAA U menu, Crystal Clear Sound monitor, DVB-T2 / S2 HEVC tuner and Wi-Fi connection.
We can view the product from here -> HISENSE H32BE5500 (219 €).
Sharp Aquos TV LC- 40FI3222E
Excellent budget TV without Smart functionality, which has Full HD resolution, Audio Harman Kardon, DVB-T / T2 / C / S / S2 tuner (MPEG4 + HEVC / H.265), 3 HDMI inputs
2 USB inputs for multimedia playback. To be able to use it properly we recommend connecting a Chromecast or an Amazon Fire TV Stick .
We can view the product from here -> Sharp Aquos TV LC- 40FI3222E (239 €).
TD Systems K50DLM8F
If we are looking for a cheap 50-inch TV, we can focus on the TD System, which has Full HD resolution, 3 HDMI inputs, VGA port, USB port for discs and recording and support for DVB-T2. Again we recommend using a Chromecast or an Amazon Fire TV Stick to integrate Smart features.
We can view the product from here -> TD Systems K50DLM8F (269 €).
Samsung UE43NU7090UXZT
Among the best products that we can buy, the Samsung smart TV stands out, which features Smart TV functionality, 4K Ultra HD 43 "screen, Wi-Fi connectivity, DVB-T2 digital support and HDR Technology.
We can view the product from here -> Samsung UE43NU7090UXZT (329 €).
Samsung UE55NU7170
We are looking for a large and complete Smart TV "> We can view the product from here -> Samsung UE55NU7170 (€ 438).
Conclusions
By purchasing a new TV on Amazon, we can save a lot of money and get a guarantee that is difficult to obtain (or respectable!) In a shop. If we choose carefully, our next TV will have features in step with the times, without spending a capital!If you want to connect a home theater system to our new TV, we recommend you read our guide on How to connect TV speakers and audio systems to Smart TV .
If, on the other hand, we want to take advantage of the Smart TV component and connect our smartphone or tablet to it, we recommend reading our guide on Connecting a mobile phone or tablet to a TV (Android, iPhone or iPad) .
READ ALSO: Buy a Smart TV at low prices
