Let’s face it, we love our phones. It’s most likely one of the first things you pick up when you wake up and one of the last things you look at before you go to sleep. We are literally glued to it. On trains, metro carts, even just waiting on a bench somewhere, there is a significant chance that the head is tilted down, and the eyes are staring at a little square device in our hands.
It usually some social media, emails, mobile games, or some short clips that are people are engaging in, but rarely it’s used for traditional entertainment forms such as long-form TV. And although we slightly changed the way we watch TV (i.e., with a second screen in our hands) and there will be a generation that will watch exclusively on-demand TV on their computer or laptop, the main mode of enjoying TV is still traditional.
We Still Love Our TVs
When it’s the SuperBowl game, a big sports match, or anything else that is enjoyed best live or in a group setting, the living room and a large TV will still be the preferred way of watching. In a way, mobile phones and laptops will restrict the experience to a single-person activity, where some of these other viewing events are best done in a large group.
It’s no wonder that the TV market is still going strong and bigger is still better (only limited by the actual living room space). For modern TV watchers, it’s, however, finding the right balance between the traditional (large TV in the living room) and the new (multi-screening, watching non-linear TV e.g., streaming).
So how do you TV like a pro?
Bigger Is Better
Bigger is better when it comes to TVs. What you don’t want is buying a TV to realize a week on your TV is too small for the room. With the prices of larger TVs where they are now, driven by efficiency in LED technology, 50 inch TVs are extremely affordable. Going towards 65+ inches is still doable, but that really down to how much you value your TV time. So always go big, going sub 40 inch, with the current prices, doesn’t make sense anymore.
Avoid These, Get An External Brain
The traps for the modern TV buyer come in the form of terms such as 3D, Smart, HD-Ready. TV 3D tech is virtually useless; always go Full HD (if you’re not opting for 4K), and Smart TVs will usually not give you the punch that you need.
Get a TV that gives you the screen quality you want and always get the ‘brains’ of your TV entertainment elsewhere, mainly from devices such as Apple TV or Android TV boxes. Apple is great for a no-nonsense no-frills solution, but for most, an Android TV box will give more flexibility. You can make any Android TV box into a fully-fledged media center by just installing a Kodi build on it.
Final Touches
And for the final element to a good TV experience, you will need great sound. In most cases, TV sets will have better sound capabilities as you pay more, but nothing beats a good sound system.
Soundbars have gotten to the point that they are really good and will pack a punch to really hear the hits during a football game. If a single soundbar isn’t enough, then you can always add a woofer to your setup to not only hear it but also feel it at the same time.
