You need to choose a TV panel with your eyes and ears. Indeed, when watching blockbusters, clips, photos, any other content, the brightness and clarity of the picture, good sound are important.
Therefore, in the store we not only carefully examine the TV itself, but also test the image and sound. What exactly and how to check on a new TV when buying, you will learn from the article.
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Checking the TV upon purchase
Regardless of whether the purchase was made in an offline store or on the Internet, a thorough inspection of the device must be carried out. Start right away with the box; dents and tears on the box may indicate carelessness during the delivery of the TV panel.
The packaging must contain information about the TV: manufacturer, model, series, dimensions and other markings. Make sure that the ordered version has been delivered to you. Then proceed to unpack, inspect, and test.
External TV inspection
The body and stand of the brand new TV are protected by a film. We are convinced of its presence and integrity.
During visual inspection, for example, 55TU7100 , there should be no traces of use or defects on the unit:
- scratches, chips and scuffs: we carefully inspect polished metal panels, chrome elements, damage is clearly visible on shiny surfaces, if any;
- dents or curved parts of the body, which should not be in the factory version;
- damaged screws on the back panel: it is possible that the TV has already been disassembled and assembled, and the service guarantee will not work.
Everything is fine? We proceed to the next stage of the inspection.
Checking the package contents
The number and names of accessories differs depending on the model purchased, but the following remain common to all:
- remote control ,
- stand,
- connection cables,
- documentation – instructions , warranty card.
What exactly is required for your TV, you can check on the manufacturer’s website, look in the documents attached to the equipment.
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Sound check
To improve the sound and bring the parameters closer to cinematic, manufacturers use 20-watt audio systems, various technologies such as Ultra Surround, as in the 55UM7100PLB . But as for the sound quality, it is still better to make sure in practice than just read about them in the technical specifications.
You don’t need much to do this – play any music video on TV. Gradually increasing the volume from minimum to maximum, make sure that there are no extraneous noises, rattling, crackling.
Checking connectors and interfaces
On the back of the TV panel there is a set of necessary ports for connecting a TV, synchronizing it with other gadgets, and installing drives. If one of them does not function properly, then you will have to send the equipment for repair or do without any connector.
Therefore, when buying, we check all the inputs:
- USB – an ordinary flash drive will help;
- HDMI, LAN, RF, VGA, audio and others – cables that must be included with the TV.
Wireless interfaces such as Wi-Fi (available in the UE50NU7002UXUA ) and bluetooth should also not be ignored. Try to connect to TV without wires using a smartphone or tablet, display a picture or video on the TV screen.
Screen check
You will need a “props” – a flash drive with monochrome and color pictures previously saved on it. We select pictures in a format supported by TV (Full HD, Ultra HD 4K, etc.).
What to do next:
- Turn on TV.
- Insert the drive into the appropriate slot.
- Start viewing test pictures.
We begin to conduct tests.
Defective matrix elements: how to check
You will need a full-screen fill with different colors. It will allow you to identify dead pixels.
We switch the test photo in turn and carefully look at the screen of such a 50EP660 or other TV from a close distance:
- on a monochrome fill, broken pixels appear as black or white non-luminous dots;
- in a bright picture, such a pixel may glow with a different shade, for example, against a green background – red.
Nuance : 1-2 broken pixels are not a reason for exchanging or repairing a TV. Therefore, if this picture does not suit you, conduct testing directly when purchasing equipment.
Note: How to check your TV for dead pixels: 2 solutions
Grayscale check
What do we have to do:
Procedure | Nuances | |
1. Go to settings | We activate TV Movie Mode (Cinema) or Dynamic Mode (Dynamic mode), in which the image is as bright and clear as possible | |
2. We use pictures | Open the images with a gradient from the flash drive. The optimal range of grayscale is 16-235 | |
3. Look at the screen | Transitions of shades on the TV screen should be smooth, not blurry and not double. On HDR10 models, the gradation will be almost solid | |
Smooth transitions are especially important in dynamic scenes and displaying picture details on a dark background.
Backlight uniformity
To test this setting, you need a full screen black fill. We open a suitable picture and test the TV screen, for example, this TX-40GXR700 . Pay attention to the presence / absence of highlights in different parts of the screen.
Slight swings are allowed on LCD TVs. But if you notice a few clear light spots on a black background, this is a clear defect, which will later come back to haunt with highlights when viewed.
Using the white fill, we check the screen for the absence of tint. On a light background, no colored spots should appear (most often pale pink or light green). By the way, many manufacturers do not consider the presence of stains a reason for exchanging / repairing TV, so it is better to immediately abandon the purchase of the problem model.
Using pictures of other shades, you can find out if there is another problem with the backlight – color banding. This is when stripes of a different color are visible in a monochrome picture.
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Screen Testing with Special Kits
On the Internet, you can find and download on a USB flash drive or other medium that you can take with you to the store, various tests:
- sets of videos for checking TV with HDR10 support;
- tests to check TV for the absence of blur in dynamic scenes;
- colored backgrounds in different resolutions.
Such collections help to reveal: dead pixels on the matrix, uniformity of illumination, presence and number of light spots, banding, dynamic lags. There are other tests in the public domain, for example, to check 3D, the real response time of the matrix, for the absence of the “dirty” screen effect.
We draw a conclusion
Now you know how to check an LCD or any other TV when buying: we inspect the appearance and connectors, we test the screen and sound.
Modern TV panels rarely have the above defects. Nevertheless, the check will not hurt and will make sure that you have a new, not used TV with no hidden flaws in front of you.
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