We have been
scouring the web, electronic stores and review sites digging through all of the
technical stuff that you would rather leave to someone else to do. Well, as a
retired NASA electrical engineer who has seen the some of the best and worst
made electronic products from around the world, I’m glad that I’m able to make
your television buying experience a little easier. After hours upon hours of
research and testing I’ve come up with the 10 Best HDTV's for 2014 that will
just blow you away. If you are looking for the “Best of the Best” or “The Right
Stuff” follow along and we'll show you what we have found.
Given the rapid
evolution of the HDTV over the past few years, it's hard to believe that many
of us rang in the new century watching the bulky, standard-definition tube type
TVs. Since then, these old-school CRTs have made way for slicker, multitalented
high-definition sets that can do a lot more than just bring your favorite crime
drama or reality show to your living room in HD every week. But with new
technologies and a wider array of features, there's a lot more to decide when
you're shopping for a new HDTV.
First you need
to figure out which type of television to get: Do you want the deep dark blacks
that plasma does best? Or would you rather have an ultra-slim, energy-efficient
LED-backlit model you can mount on a wall? How about a set that supports 3D?
Next you need to settle on a brand, a screen size, and your must-have features.
No small feat, but the Best HDTVs list is a good place to start. Below you'll
find links to The 10 Best HDTV’s of 2014 along with the current street prices
for each.
Best TV Under $500: Vizio E420i-A0 ($448)
This
42-inch 1080P HDTV with smart TV features can be purchased for under $450 and
is a definite best buy deal. This Vizio HDTV has
built-in WiFi which lets you access your favorite apps like Hulu+, NetFlix,
YouTube and many others. The E420i uses LED back lighting for impressive color control
and clarity and has a 120Hz refresh rate to produce a crystal clear picture.
The HDTV also includes three HDMI ports and one USB port for playing video or
displaying pictures from an external storage device. This television can be added
to any room for a great bargain price.
Best
HDTV under $1,000: Vizio
M501d-A2R M-Series Razor ($910)
It
is possible to get a large, full-featured LED LCD display for well south of
$1,000 and has more features than similar sized televisions. The one and only 50-inch Vizio M-Series
M1d-A2R series HDTV has impressive image clarity, quality and doesn't sacrifice
it with a bigger screen either.
Best
HDTV for Movies: Panasonic
Viera TC-P55VT60 ($1,595)
If
you’re going for the best high quality HD picture available at a reasonable price
we think this plasma is a winner. This 55 inch model from Panasonic is one of
the best examples of why they’re still the best building plasma TV experts
around. The 55” VT60 produces great deep blacks, awesome colors, and smooth
images of consistent color and brightness across the entire viewing screen.
Sports like hockey and football produce fewer motion artifacts than appear on
LCD sets. Its super-fast screen-refresh rate of plasma also gives the VT60 an
edge in displaying the fast-moving action in games. Check this one out!
Best Big Screen for Money: Sharp
Series 6 LC-70LE650U $1,700)
If getting the biggest
screen possible for your money is your top consideration when purchasing a TV,
go for this 70-incher from Sharp. The Series 6 delivers an impressive picture
for movie orsports fans. It does
not have high-end features, such as Sharp's four-color Quattron technology for
enhanced colors or local dimming for enhanced contrast. But in exchange for
these subtle quality enhancements, you get plenty of screen for immersive Super
Bowl parties or mini movie-theaterlike screenings.
In addition,
the TV has built-in Wi-Fi and smart-TV connections for popular services like
Netflix and Hulu. To keep the screen from being an oppressive dark panel when
it's turned off, Sharp includes a wallpaper feature that can cycle though
preloaded fine art photos or images of your own, stored on a USB drive.
Best
High-End LCD TV: Samsung
UN55F8000 ($2,298)
Not
only has Samsung crammed every feature and technology its engineers could think
of into its 8000 series sets, but it also has managed to create one of the best
pictures available in an LED LCD TV.
The 55-inch
UN55F8000 represents a sweet spot in terms of price, size and performance. A
faster internal processor juggles a ton of smart features, including a video
camera, voice and motion gesture controls, a device to control your cable box,
and an improved interface with a touchpad remote for flipping among all the
broadcast and online options on screen. (And Samsung offers more smart-TV
features than any other TV maker).
More important,
the set boasts image quality to match its raft of features. Advanced local
dimming produces one of the best LCD pictures for revealing details in dark
scenes. Colors also appear natural rather than garishly oversaturated, as often
happens with lower-quality TVs.
Best
Budget 4K/Ultra HDTV: Seiki
SE50UY04 ($770)
The
story of LCD TVs is one of vicious competition and rapid price declines.
Oftentimes, this has meant delivering budget televisions with last year's
features. Not anymore: Newcomer Seiki Digital has introduced a 50-inch Ultra HD LCD set
— the SE50UY04 — for just $1,500. That's less than half the price of competing
models with the same resolution. (What you give up for the low price point is
3D compatibility as well as Wi-Fi and smart-TV features.)
When not
displaying 4K programming, the Seiki's image quality is similar to that of an
average HDTV. But with native content, you get a picture that is entrancing.
Best
4K/Ultra HDTV: Sony
XBR-65X900A 3D LCD Ultra HDTV ($4,998)
The
65-inch XBR-65X900A is definitely an improvement over standard HD sets of the
same stature. Colors are crisper, and fine picture elements — even individual
strands of hair — are rendered with clarity. The TV does a good job of up
scaling HD material — a prerequisite for the next few years while 4K/Ultra HD
content is scarce. And because of its tighter pixel display, this Sony's
presentation of 3D movies is much better than what most HDTVs offer.
To address the
absence of Ultra HD material, Sony is selling its $700 4K Ultra HD Media Player
for storing rented or purchased downloads of native 4K content from Sony
Pictures. (It works only with Sony sets.) The service just launched in the
fall, with about 70 TV-show episodes and movies in the 4K format, ranging from
"Breaking Bad" to "Ghostbusters" to "Funny Girl."
Sony plans to continue expanding the offerings.
Samsung KN55S9C
arrives with the highest screen technology of television. With Organic LED
Technology, it offers you to get new experiences in enjoying high quality
images and complete home entertainment in your home that may you never enjoyed
before. You need to know, doesn’t like
standard LED technology or other previous screen technology that have flat
panel, the panel of OLED comes with Curved Panel, as well as Samsung KN55S9C.
There are many
advantages of KN55S9C OLED TV if compared with standard LED TV. With tons of
organic LED pixels that independently lights, the picture that displayed by
OLED TV has more rich color, brighter and with incredible contrast.
Additionally, this Samsung OLED TV features ultra-contrast of micro dimming
technology that allows you to watch movies with stunning contrast, even on dark
scenes. Not only that, you will get
virtually blur-free although you are watching pictures with fast faced action.
The color of the images that displayed by KN55S9C is also looked more natural
and vibrant than a standard LED TV. The one of the advantages of this Samsung
55 Inch OLED TV is Multiview Feature that able to display two separate shows in
one screen at the same times. With this feature, you seemed have two screens in
one device. At the same time and same television, you can enjoy your favorites
channel program in full HD and stereo sound while your family watches his
favorite movies. Except on the screen
technology, Samsung UN55S9C has the same features than other high class 2013
Samsung LED TV like F8000 and F9000 series.
