TV

TV

Screen size is the decision that matters most, and the honest guide is viewing distance rather than budget: roughly 1.5 to 2.5 metres suits 43 to 50 inch, 2.5 to 3.5 metres suits 55 to 65 inch, and anything beyond that carries 75 inch and up comfortably. Most people who regret a purchase went smaller, not bigger. Resolution follows size. Below 32 inch, HD and Full HD are still the sensible choice because 4K detail is invisible at that size; from 40 inch upward, 4K Ultra HD is the standard and everything here at that size and above carries it. Panel type is where the money goes. Standard LED and Crystal UHD cover the value end and are perfectly good in a normal room; QLED and Nanocell add colour depth; QNED and Mini LED split the backlight into thousands of tiny zones for far better contrast in a dark room; Micro RGB is the newest step again; and OLED lights each pixel individually, which is why it produces true black and the best picture in the range, at a price. For a bright south-facing room, a glare-free OLED or a high-brightness Mini LED beats a standard panel by more than the spec sheet suggests. Two Irish specifics are worth checking before you buy. First, a Saorview tuner: every set here carries a DVB-T2 tuner, so free-to-air Irish channels work off an aerial with no box, and models with a satellite tuner or Tivo built in are called out in the product title. Second, the apps: RTE Player, Virgin Media Player and the usual streaming services are on the LG webOS, Samsung Tizen, Hisense VIDAA and Google TV platforms, though the exact app list varies by platform and model year. For gaming, look for 120Hz or 144Hz and HDMI 2.1 rather than the marketing name for the game mode.

LG and Samsung account for most of the range between them and compete directly at every size. LG covers OLED through the B6, C6 and G6 series, Mini LED through QNED7E, QNED72 and QNED86, Nanocell through NU85 and NANO81, and standard 4K through UA75, plus the MRGB88 Mini RGB. Samsung answers with OLED in S85H, S90H, S95H and S99H, Neo QLED and Mini LED in QN70H and M70H, Crystal UHD in U7000H and U8000H, the Micro RGB R85H and R95H, and The Frame and Frame Pro for anyone who wants the screen to display art when it is off. Hisense is the value alternative at the larger sizes with the A6Q, E7Q, U6N and U71Q Mini LED. Walker is the Irish-market name at the small and mid sizes and the one to look at for a satellite tuner, Tivo or a 12V camper set. Toshiba and Telefunken fill out the budget end.

22" to 32" TVs

This is the busiest size band in Irish search, and by a distance: 32 inch draws more monthly searches here than 50, 55 and 65 inch put together. It is the size people buy for a bedroom, a kitchen, a home office, a caravan or a camper, where the screen sits close and a larger set would dominate. Panels are HD or Full HD, which is the right call at this size, with a handful of 32 inch QLED sets for better colour. Several models add a satellite tuner or Tivo for aerial-free viewing, and there is a 12V and 230V camper option. Browse 22" to 32" TVs.

40" to 49" TVs

40 to 49 inch is the natural first upgrade from a 32 inch set and the right size for a small sitting room, an apartment or a second reception room. This is where 4K becomes standard, and where the range spreads widest in value terms: budget Full HD and 2K QLED sets at one end, Crystal UHD and Mini LED in the middle, and 42 and 48 inch OLED at the top, which is the cheapest route into OLED anywhere in the range. The 42 and 48 inch OLED sets are also the ones to look at for a desk or a gaming room, being large enough for a sofa and small enough for a monitor arm. See 40" to 49" TVs.

50" to 60" TVs

50 to 60 inch is the standard main living room size and the largest single collection in the range. Nearly every panel technology appears here, which makes it the band worth comparing carefully: Crystal UHD and standard 4K at the value end, QLED, Nanocell and QNED in the middle, Mini LED and Micro RGB above that, and the full OLED line from both LG and Samsung at the top. 55 inch is the sweet spot on price and choice, with 50 inch a step down for a smaller room and 60 inch a noticeably larger picture at the same viewing distance. Browse 50" to 60" TVs.

65" to 70" TVs

65 inch is the step most households make when they replace a 55, and the reason is viewing distance rather than ambition: beyond about three metres a 55 inch set stops filling the field of view and a 65 takes over without dominating the room. This is where the panel becomes the whole purchase, because flaws that pass unnoticed at 43 inch are plain across a metre and a half of screen. OLED for film in a room you can darken, QNED and Mini LED for brightness and daytime sport, Micro RGB above both, and Crystal UHD at the value end. Check the VESA pattern and weight rating if it is going on a bracket. See 65" to 70" TVs.

75" and Larger TVs

Above 70 inch a television starts dictating the room rather than sitting in it, and the sizes run 75, 77, 85 and 100 inch. The jump from 65 to 75 is bigger in practice than the numbers suggest, because screen area grows with the square: a 75 has roughly a third more picture than a 65, and an 85 has almost twice. Allow three and a half metres of viewing distance for 75 inch and four or more for 85 and up. Measure the route into the room as well as the wall, because an 85 or 100 inch carton will not go up a tight stairs, and that is the most common delivery problem at this size. OLED runs to 77 inch, with Mini LED and QNED at 75, 85 and 100. Browse 75" and larger TVs.

TVs Sale

Every TV currently reduced from its original price is gathered here, across all five size bands rather than one screen size, and each band also has its own reduced page: 22 to 32 inch, 40 to 49 inch, 50 to 60 inch, 65 to 70 inch and 75 inch and larger. LG and Samsung account for most of the reduced stock, with Hisense, Walker, Toshiba and Telefunken appearing when reduced. Shop the TVs sale, or the Black Friday TV deals.

To complete the setup, see Soundbars for richer audio and TV Brackets and Stands for wall mounting.