It makes a ton of sense to try and save money on a big item purchase like a smart TV. It’s why they are some of the most sought-after items during sales events like Prime Day or Black Friday. Typically, you’ll be able to find hundreds of dollars off a smart TV if you look for one during these events, giving you a brand-new TV for a fraction of the cost.
But this doesn’t mean that the TVs still don’t cost a ton of money. There are a lot of different features that can cause them to be expensive. Operating systems can make smart TVs more desirable and what each of them offers is a bit different. This can help customers differentiate between options, as they don’t only have to focus on size or look.
There are people who will only focus on size and look when picking out a TV though. To them, there are a lot of features that don’t matter, which is fine as long as it’s providing them with what they want. For anyone wanting to find a TV, searching for used options could actually benefit you. They can not only meet the requirements of size and look that people want, but also can have more advanced features other users desire. Here’s what to look for in a used TV to make sure you’re buying a good one.
Any plasma TV isn’t worth your time
You can get these for very cheap
Always see if you can plug in a TV before you buy it to make sure it doesn’t have any damage or need any repairs.
Plasma TVs were incredibly popular TVs in the mid-2000s. They were great for watching action and sports because of their deep colors and high refresh rate. They were also some of the earlier smart TVs with built-in features into their operating system that allowed users to do more than just hook up a cable box to them. The wide angle screens made them ideal for setting up a home theater.
But, plasma TVs haven’t been manufactured in a decade, as OLED has taken over in a much more prominent way. Plasmas faded out because they were prone to burn-in, and were incredibly heavy. They also drew huge amounts of power to keep the lights on. If you can avoid the temptation of a cheap one of these, you’ll be better off in the long run.
Even some OLED series had burn-in issues
It’s important to do some reading before
If you’re looking for a used TV, you could be looking at a secondhand marketplace like Facebook Marketplace or eBay to find one. You can also buy a refurbished one through Amazon. But no matter where you find the TV, it’s important to take a look at the series that it comes from. That’s because certain OLED series were known for burn-in issues.
If it’s an older OLED model, it has a higher likelihood of being susceptible to burn-in. It’s important to, if you’re going to buy one in person, plug it in to make sure there are no dead pixels already.
Avoid something without HDR support
It’s not worth your time to invest in that
When it comes to visuals, boosting your ability to look at something in its best possible form is obviously the preferred option. That’s why high dynamic range or HDR is something that most people prefer. It means it has deeper colors and offers a wider range of brights and darks. Think of its like a spectrum. With HDR, you get a wider spectrum than standard dynamic range (SDR).
Many newer TVs offer HDR support, so this is not something you’re likely not going to find. But, if you’re trying to save money and buy an older TV, this honestly won’t be worth your time unless you want to use it for some older gaming tech, something with 8-bit or 16-bit color representation like an NES or SNES.
Stay away from the initial 4K wave
The year is very important
In the early to mid-2010s, 4K TVs were the next big thing. It makes a lot of sense because, the more you boost the resolution on a TV, the better and cleaner everything looks. 4K has been the standard for a while, as 8K TVs still have not caught on, and may never will. It’s been about a decade since those TVs have come out, so this is likely going to be some of the most available TVs for sale near you.
That doesn’t mean you should buy one though. The LCD backlighting isn’t great by today’s standards and newer TVs will have much better features, especially in terms of operating systems and smart capabilities. It’s very possible you’d have to plug in a streaming stick or add a streaming device to turn it into a smart TV. These are the more popular “dumb” TVs that some people still appreciate (I have one in my office.) But just because I have one doesn’t mean I want to go out and buy another.
A smart TV with an older OS can’t be trusted
The reason is rather simple
If you have a smart TV, you know that it has a built-in operating system that lets you download apps to it and run it using an Internet connection. It’s what makes newer smart TVs so valuable. You don’t need to connect other devices to it to get your favorite streaming platforms and you don’t even really need a cable box if you don’t want one.
However, whether you prefer Roku OS, Tizen OS, LG webOS, or another, you should look for one of the newer versions of those TVs. The reason is that older smart TVs may not update properly anymore. This can be hard to figure out, but I generally would stick to the rule of five years and older and it may not update. This isn’t always the case, but you don’t want to throw down $100 on something and have it become a glorified monitor after a while. These standards are a bit finicky but, all in all, it’s better to opt for something newer.
