A few weeks ago we commented in this article about different models of cheap smart televisions that we would like to buy with prices below 500 euros and that could offer a most satisfactory result.
A priori it may seem that a television with a very cheap usual price (I am not referring to a specific moment in which you have a super discount that a store or brand can offer, but to the base price of the equipment), it should not be able to attract the interest of users who are looking for a solvent model in which to see all kinds of content with good quality, but there are some reasons why this assumption is not always true.
In fact, the OCU consumer organization has prepared a recent study in which they have analyzed the benefits of this type of cheap and small diagonal television setspointing out some advantages in this regard that we will analyze below.
Better integration in the house
First of all we have an obvious reason to bet on a small television model: its integration into the room where are we going to install it it will be relatively simpler.
We can place it on more walls or on more types of furniture, not needing as much space as in the larger-inch versions, so they are usually the only option in the case of wanting to put a TV in the bedroom, kitchen, terrace or similar.
A smaller size also usually indicates a lower weightso we can also install this type of screen on more delicate walls or on less resistant supports than with models of more than 55 inches that usually exceed 20 kilos.
In general, it is not convenient to go over the size of the diagonal of our TV to have a more comfortable viewing and without suffering the “tennis match” effect when having to move to see the entire screen. It is something that we already discussed in its day in this article where we reviewed the advantages and disadvantages of large televisions as well as the recommended diagonals for the distances in the room.
Lower energy consumption
This point is key if we make a intensive use of our television and we are going to have it turned on for a lot of hours every day, since although they are not large consumers of specific energy (for example if we compare them with other devices such as radiators, ovens, etc.) their daily and permanent use it can cause the electricity bill to skyrocket.
In fact, we have already discussed in depth in this article that we can save a significant amount if we change an old tube, plasma or one of the first LCD televisions on the market for a much more efficient modern one.
Choosing a small television consumption will be much lower, since the screen surface to be illuminated will be substantially reduced. But also if we buy a cheap model in general consumption will drop even more. What is the reason?
Well, manufacturers usually leave the more powerful features and components for higher-end devicesintroducing simpler processors in the cheapest ones, without as much capacity to carry out scaling and image improvements but which use much less energy.
This means that the electricity consumption in medium and low range televisions is lower than in its equivalent in size in the high ranges, where they will also be offered. much higher brightness levels to display content with high dynamic range, something that we may not want to do on a secondary screen that we are going to place in the kitchen.
Image and sound quality
This point is a bit more controversial and in some cases you may not agree with what the OCU says. They argue that the picture and sound quality of smaller, cheaper TVs is logically minor than that of the most advanced models, but that it doesn’t have to be bad. In fact, quoting them verbatim, they affirm that:
“Although without being outstandingmany models for less than 500 euros They have good image and sound quality.plus a satisfactory equipment.”
This is true, but depending on satisfaction expectations that we have, since it is not the same to buy an “auxiliary” TV for the bedroom or kitchen to which you are not going to pay much attention than a model for the living room that you are going to use daily.
From my experience, very cheap models (below 300 euros) have a generally very poor sound that even in the smallest ones of 32 inches or less it does not convince me even to have it in the background as an accompaniment.
These kinds of models also do without decent processing capabilitiesso the user experience in the end suffers with channels that take time to appearmenus that take forever, configuration options that do not work well, playing media files getting stucketc.
Regarding image quality, logically it will also be lower, both in resolution with models that do not even offer 4K and in brightness delivery capacity, in poorer contrasts and less faithful colorsgenerally abusing excessive saturation to attract attention.
In my opinion this point of the image and sound quality It is the most relevant when betting on a small television and also at a low price. Does this mean that you should never buy one of these models? Well, no, since there are use cases where they are more than welcome.
In addition to the first two points that we have mentioned before (better integration and less power consumption), small and cheap televisions are a great option to use them as secondary home screensthose that you will not be using to watch movies and series with the highest quality but that you want to have, for example, accompanying you in the background while you cook or do other things.
They are also a good option as screen for the bedroomfor the children’s room, for take and bring to a second residence, etc. In fact, even if, for example, we have a budget to get a more expensive model with a larger diagonal, it may be more suitable for us in this type of case that we have just discussed. buy a small and cheap televisionso it is not convenient to leave them forgotten in our purchase decision.
Cover image | Eva Rodriguez
In Xataka Smart Home | If I had to buy a Smart TV for less than 500 euros, I would buy this