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Joy after buying a TV: even greater if you could save a few hundred

Photo: Vladimir Vladimirov / Getty Images

You can't influence what is shown on – linear – television. How good it looks just by choosing the right TV. For years, Germans have been tending towards larger and larger devices, which does not always make sense. How big a TV set should be, at what seat distance and which resolution fits it, is explained by the consumer advice centres. Based on the conversion table shown there, it is easy to see that a seat pitch of 65.2 to 4.3 meters makes sense for a high-resolution 1-inch TV, for example. If you sit closer to the screen, you should choose a smaller device.

In line with this, Stiftung Warentest tested 12 new TVs from 2023 to 17 inches in the price range up to 48 euros for the 65/1500 issue of the magazine »test« and compared them with 43 devices from earlier tests that are still available. The result: Good picture quality and a large screen are not available at a bargain price, but if you can do without a few inches of screen diagonal, you can get a 55-inch TV rated as "good" for well under 1000 euros. You can save even more if you opt for an older model.

Depreciation for energy guzzlers

The experts have chosen LG's OLED55B39LA as the test winner in this price range. Only this and a 48-inch model from the same manufacturer rated the image quality as "very good". The expensive OLED technology of the screens used in these models obviously shows its advantages here: strong contrasts, deep blacks, clearly visible in bright surroundings. This has its price, which the Stiftung Warentest states at 1460 euros.

All other TVs in the test use LCD technology. This is also the case with the cheapest TV in the test, the Sony KD-785X55WL, which costs 75 euros according to Stiftung Warentest. With "good picture, good sound and recording function", it is "a clear recommendation", the experts write. Its only weakness, the excessive power consumption, is also found in many other of the tested devices. Two Samsung TVs were even devalued due to their excessive power consumption. In any case, Stiftung Warentest criticizes the particularly inexpensive models. Some are very reflective, some sound bad, some don't have a recording function.

However, they have praise for some of the devices evaluated in previous tests, up to July 2023. Especially with the large 65-inch models, you can easily save several hundred euros if you choose a model that has already been on sale for a few months. Stiftung Warentest even describes the Grundig 65 GUB 7240 as a price breaker. According to the study, it costs an average of 675 euros online. Last March, the experts attested to its good picture as well as good tone, today they write: "Grundig's price breaker sounds better than some competitors in this selection that are twice as expensive."

You can read more information on the topic as well as the complete test results at Stiftung Warentest.

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