Don't Buy A New TV At Walmart Until You Know This

Whether you're looking to replace an old television, incorporate a TV into your living space, or add a screen to your outdoor entertainment area, Walmart may be one of the places you're looking to shop. After all, it is the largest retail chain in the United States and has a reputation for affordable televisions. However, judging the worth of televisions is based on more than size and cost alone. So, don't buy a new TV at Walmart until you know how to tell if that low-cost TV is a tremendous value buy or a product that might not live up to your expectations.

Walmart does indeed have plenty of low-priced TVs. These can dip even lower when they run major sales. Their ability to keep the cost to consumers down is due largely to the immense purchasing power that comes from having over 4,700 retail locations nationwide, plus a strong online presence. This also allows Walmart to have exclusive brands and models. One popular television brand, ONN, is actually Walmart-owned and is sold only through their stores and website. This means you are not always comparing apples to apples when it comes to comparing television models between Walmart and other retailers. With that in mind, you'll need to look a bit deeper than the sale price to see if you are getting good bang for your buck.

The key to determining whether a low-cost television at Walmart is right for you is to know what you're looking for, as well as what you're looking at. For example, if you're just looking for a television for a guest room or to fill a miscellaneous room in your house, price alone may be all that matters. In that situation, comparing the price of various models in the size range you're looking for is all you need to do. However, if you have a more specific purpose in mind, such as watching high-definition movies in your media room, hooking up game platforms or other auxiliary devices, or being able to clearly see a football game from across your patio, you'll need to compare some other specs.

Among the things you should be comparing when looking at the specs on a television are the display panel type, resolution, HDR format, the smart TV OS, and available HDMI ports. These will often distinguish the lower-cost TVs from higher-priced models. They also determine whether a TV will fit your needs. For instance, TVs with LCD screens are relatively inexpensive, but tend to be bulkier than LED panel TVs and have an inferior picture quality to either OLED or QLED models.

With that in mind, you should establish the minimum standard you are willing to accept for each spec category, and eliminate any models that don't meet that baseline. From there, you can compare the various models that are still in consideration, choosing the one you consider to be the best value based on the combination of price and features.