The five essential checks every TV buyer must do before purchasing a new telly to avoid ruining favourite shows

HAS a new TV caught your eye, but you need to make sure its right for you and your household?

Consider this your pre-purchase checklist.

1

Streaming apps

First things first, make sure the TV has got your go-to streaming apps installed to avoid disruption to your favourite shows.

Many people assume the TVs on the shelves today will come ready-loaded with the mainstream apps, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+.

But that’s not always the case, as What Hi-Fi? points out.

Last year, Sony and Philips TVs launched without the UK catch-up apps: BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, Channel 4, My5 and BBC Sounds.

While Sony eventually rolled out the Brit streaming services in an update late last year – it would have been quite the hiccup for most UK viewers.

If you’ve already got an Amazon Fire Stick or Google Chromecast dongle then this step is less important, because these gadgets will grant you access to all the mainstream apps.

TV stand

Not every TV comes with a stand.

Check in the online description or ask an in-store representative whether the TV is intended to be wall mounted or not.

Dimension

Measure the space in which you want your TV.

While the screen size might be the same, a TVs’ overall dimensions can vary.

Get the figures of the overall dimensions of the telly you want to buy: height, width, depth and screen thickness.

Sound quality

Don’t gloss over the importance of sound quality when it comes to picking out your new telly.

For this, it’s worth going into the shop to make sure the TV you’ve picked out online is worth your time.

If the TVs are all on mute in-store, ask a representative to show you the sound.

If not, you may have to fork out the cash for a soundbar.

Soundbar

Now, if you already have a soundbar or you know you want to, it’s recommended you check that there’s room for it under the TV.

Measure your soundbar and the space between the edge of the screen and the feet to make sure it can fit nicely beneath it.

• ‘Absolutely brilliant’ £130 soundbar reduced to £90 – here

Is the TV game ready?

Ask yourself these questions when checking if the TV is ready for gaming:

• How many HDMI ports does it have and how many do you need for your consoles?
• What kind of picture quality does it have?
• Does it have low impact lag for better HDR gaming?

This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk