One of the most common purchases this Black Friday season is a new television. Ridiculously low prices tempt almost everyone with once-in-a-lifetime–or at least once-a-year–deals on products that you may or may not need. One of the main contenders is the television.
So should you buy a TV this Black Friday in Canada?
The answer: It’s complicated.
First off, you need to assess what you want in a new TV. These are the five types of TVs you’ll see on sale this Black Friday:
- Plasma: Want a big screen TV? Go plasma. These televisions focus on cinematic viewing, with excellent coloring and high contrast ratios.
- LCD: Liquid Crystal Displays are energy efficient, have good coloring, and tend to run cheaply. If you’re looking for a simple TV, this will get the job done.
- LED: These are just LCD TVs that use LED back-light for the display. They’re also less power hungry than Plasma and LCD, but they cost much more.
- OLED: These use colored LED lights to create an image, so they also save on power. They might be best for those who watch a lot of TV during the day when a glare might be a problem. Like LEDs, these get pricey.
- 4k LCD: Also known as UHD (Ultra High Definition), has four-times the pixel count of as a standard 1080p resolution TV.
- Smart TV: These converge television and computers, allowing you to stream both broadcast and Internet Media.
If you’re buying purely from a price perspective, then this is by-far the best time to television-shop all year. Just look for a TV with a decent contrast ratio, good color, and little motion blur, and you’ve just snagged a solid deal.
Some of the best deals to look out for this holiday season will be on 4k TVs and Smart TVs, both of which will soon become the norm in most households. Even still, for traditionalists or those just looking for a TV for the basement or the short term, LCDs and LEDs will easily get the job done.
But those looking to invest in a TV, should know about something called “Unilateral Pricing Policy.” This means stores can’t charge lower prices on models the manufacturers–Sony, Samsung, etc.–“protects.” Essentially, some–definitely not all–of those deals are on mid-range TVs that the manufacturer doesn’t necessarily need, not exactly the high-quality TV you were hoping to find.
To answer the initial question, should you buy a TV this Black Friday? Go for it. Just know what you’re buying before you splurge.