We see the most important characteristics that a SmartTV should have and save us good money, with technologies and elements that do not interest us or that we will never use and that only make the product more expensive.

Fortunately, Smart TVs have become more affordable, and nowadays you can find a very good quality one at a very reasonable price. The problem is that some of their features are still unclear, or it's difficult to know what to look for in a smart TV to avoid missing out on certain current and future features and technologies. We'll briefly and concisely explain the main features to consider when buying a good Smart TV without overspending. We also recommend reading other users' reviews of cheap smart TVs from 2018.

DISPLAY TECHNOLOGIES

The first aspect we must consider is the panel quality. Currently, there are two predominant technologies on the market: QLED and OLED. QLED screens are essentially an evolution of LCD screens and feature Quantum Dot technology. These televisions require a separate light source, independent of the panel itself, to display the image, and LEDs are used for this purpose. It is the simplest and most economical technology. OLEDs, on the other hand, are panels that emit their own light, allowing for pixel-by-pixel brightness control, saving on layers in screen development, and reducing panel thickness. LG has several interesting advancements in this area, which you can find at http://www.lg.com/es/smart-tv.

RESOLUTION

Nowadays, it is not convenient to buy anything other than 4K UHD, which is considered the current standard and offers a ratio of 3840 × 2160 pixels and an aspect ratio of 16: 9. Looking for a television with a higher resolution is silly, since it will cost us a lot and there is no content in 6K or 8K resolutions, which are the immediately higher resolutions.

CONNECTORS

We must forget about HDMI, a quite obsolete connector that only allows sending image and sound, not allowing data to be transferred. The most common current standard is HDMI 2.1. Ideally, it should have DisplayPort 1.4, which is the most common standard and also allows data transfer. This for video, but we must also take into account the USB ports to connect peripherals or external storage units, such as hard drives or pen drives. We must look for the television to have USB 3.0, at least, although the ideal are televisions with USB 3.1 Type-A and Type-C, which if possible, are compatible with Thunderbolt, since they will allow us to connect practically any peripheral and have transfers data at high speeds.

OPERATING SYSTEM

Normally we will find that all SmartTVs operate under Android, something that gives us a clear advantage, since we are used to this operating system, common in smartphones. LG uses webOS, a fairly similar operating system, although more limited in terms of applications. We will have access to the most common ones, but we will be left without the very complete Android catalog. Samsung uses Tizen OS in its televisions, which although it is very powerful, it is not Android, although it is easy to use and has many applications.

 CONNECTIVITY

It is essential that the television has excellent connectivity. Any television worth its salt, at a minimum, must have WiFi 802.11n or higher and Bluetooth 4.0 or higher. That at least, although it is also very interesting that they have an RJ45 connector, to connect a network cable and, without a doubt, NFC technology is very interesting, to be able to watch a video on television, which we have run on the mobile or watch the images of our trip directly on television, without transferring them to a pen drive.

ACCESSORIES

The refresh rate and screen type is important. The refresh rate, to understand it, is the number of times per second that the image is refreshed (it is not 100% like that, but it is the best way to understand it). The normal is 100-200Hz refresh rate, although this, as is usually normal, the more, the better. Regarding the type of screen, we are not referring to the technology, we are referring to whether it is a flat or curved television. If it is going to be in the living room or spaces where a lot of people can gather, a curved one is the worst option in the world, since they are designed to be seen from a frontal and linear position, if we list, quality is lost. If it is for places where there may be one or two people, in this case, we can opt for a curved one, although it is not the most interesting.

CONCLUSION

We should not get carried away by the price or because it has thousands of connectors on the back, since normally we will use one or two USB, at most and the same with the video connectors. Possibly, the best option is the one with Android, 4K resolution and above all WiFi, to be able to enjoy YouTube videos without the need for cables or Netflix. Many times, a cheap SmartTV, which carries what is just and necessary, can be the most interesting, even if it is from a rare brand, but taking into account what has been said.