What Should I Look Out for When Shopping for a New TV?

With the holidays quickly receding and SuperBowl Sunday around the corner, thousands of people across the country are upgrading their home media systems. The beginning of the new year is usually the time when the best values after the holidays are to be found for those who patiently waited out the holiday shopping hustle.

We know that shopping for home media equipment can get overwhelming quickly. That’s why—whether you’re shopping for a loved one or just hoping to grab a deal for yourself—we decided to put together this quick blog post, going over what you should look for in the store.

We’re assuming that any shopper reading this is looking for the most state-of-the-art media equipment at a price that won’t break the bank. To us, this means a television that is 4K and UHD-capable.

Thankfully, you won’t have to read the fine print on every product you consider purchasing. All you have to do is keep an eye out for the Ultra HD Premium™ logo. If a television displays that logo you can instantly be assured that it is up to the high standards set by the UHD Alliance (UHDA)—comprised of the world’s leading consumer electronics manufacturers, film and television studios, content distributors and technology companies—to identify products that deliver exceptional home entertainment experiences.

There are two types of logos that denote that a product meets the UHDA standards. The first is the one we just talked about, the Ultra HD Premium™ logo. This is the logo you will find on larger media products: think televisions.

The second logo is the Mobile HDR Premium™ logo. This logo applies to mobile devices like laptops, tablets and smartphones. The specifications for the two logos are basically the same, though there are a few minor differences.

So, what exactly are these standards? While we could get extremely technical and talk about pixel count and color density, we decided to spare you. The average consumer doesn’t really have interest in getting deep into the technical specifics, but they do understand what the outcome is that they want. They want a television that blows them away every time they turn it on.

If you buy a television or a tablet that has earned one of these UHDA logos, you know you are buying a device that will deliver a 4K image (or 4K-like on mobile), stunning color depth and more. In short, you are buying a screen that will consistently deliver one of the most realistic images available outside of a movie theater.

Let’s face it, there are so many home media products out there. Too many to research each one individually. Luckily, as long as you remember to look for the Ultra HD Premium™ or Mobile HDR Premium™ logos, you can rest easy knowing that your due diligence has been done! Trust us, after you purchase a UHDA certified television, your days sitting in a movie theater outside of the comfort of your own home may be numbered. You may want to buy your own popcorn maker and supply of jumbo movie snacks to share with all of your friends for the long haul!