The time has come, and you can finally warrant buying a new TV. Maybe your old one has given up the ghost? Maybe you’re moving home and want a new TV for your new sitting room? Whatever is prompting your TV search, we are here to help you find the best TV for your living room.

Finding your perfect TV isn’t just about the picture quality or the plethora of smart features. It’s about finding the right TV for your space. You don’t want a TV that dominates the room, nor a TV that looks like a stamp on the wall. Let us guide you through everything you need to know and consider before you buy.

TV size and distance

The most important factor when buying a new TV for a living room is the distance from your couch to the TV, whether it’s mounted on the wall or standing on a unit. The general rule of thumb is that the TV should be 2.4 times its diagonal and fill 30 degrees of your field of vision.

Here is a quick TV size distance guide:

Finding the right TV size for your room size

While the distance from you to the TV is the most important consideration, room function and size are a close second.

• Compact sitting room or bedroom: Here, a TV that’s too big will just be uncomfortable and could cause eye strain. A 32” to 43” TV is the best size tv for a small living room.

• Family living room: For the average Irish sitting room, a 50” to 55” is the perfect size to give you a cinematic experience without feeling out of place in the room. Or if you have the space, a 65” would be a fantastic upgrade.

• Large or open-plan rooms: Here, a TV that is too small will just look like a stamp on the wall. A 75” is a great size for these larger rooms, where you have the golden viewing distance.

TV room lighting

Did you know the lighting in the room can affect your TV-watching experience? The amount of natural and artificial light can influence the type of TV you buy.

If your sitting room gets a lot of natural light, choose a TV with high brightness levels and anti-glare properties like a QLED TV. Whereas if your room is dark or you tend to watch with blinds closed and the big light off, an OLED TV gives you vibrant colours and brilliant contrast.

Also consider where the windows are in the room. The ideal position for windows is to the side of the TV, where glare is minimal.

Wall-mounted vs TV stand

The positioning of the TV can also affect aesthetics, how comfortable it is to watch and how big it feels in the room.

Mounting your TV on the wall is a great way to save space, especially in a smaller room. It looks neat and allows you to find the perfect viewing height (roughly 100cm from the floor). For larger TVs, make sure your wall can take the weight and find the right TV wall bracket to suit your needs. You can get a fixed wall bracket, a tilting wall bracket or a full-motion bracket, depending on how much flexibility you need.

A TV stand is a simple and straightforward option. But if the TV stand is quite deep, it can push the TV farther back into the room, making it feel smaller.

Our top tips for buying a TV

There are so many factors to consider before you even get into the smart specs of the TV in your wishlist! Here is a summary of our top considerations before you buy a TV:

• Measure the distance from your couch to the TV wall

• Mark out the TV size with tape to see if it’s a comfortable size for the space

• Check the actual dimensions to account for bezels around the screen

• Consider the brightness of the room and the location of windows

• Plan for cable management if you plan to mount the TV

Recommended TVs

Now that you know what to think about before buying a TV, here are our top TV recommendations:

• 43-inch TV: The Hisense E7Q 43" QLED AI TV is perfect for smaller rooms and packs a punch for its size. It has an array of AI-driven features to boost the picture frame by frame and enhance any fast action.

• 50-inch TV: The Sony Bravia 3 50" TV has X-Balanced Speakers to help sound fill the room, while the Dolby Vision HDR gives each scene brilliant contrast and stunning detail, and Triluminos Pro delivers vibrant, beautiful colours.

• 55-inch TV: The LG C5 55" OLED evo AI TV has self-illuminating pixels and a Brightness Booster so the picture pops day or night. OLED Motion makes sports and movies look smooth, and its AI Super Upscaling makes older content look new.

• 65-inch TV: The Samsung S90F 65" OLED TV has self-lit pixels that give everything you’re watching a cinematic feel. It has Dolby Atmos for immersive sound and Object Tracking Sound to make the sound more realistic.

• 75-inch TV: The Samsung QN70F 75" Neo QLED TV has Mini LEDs to boost the brightness, colours and contrast and AI upscaling. The AirSlim Design makes it seamlessly fit into your living room.

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