Televisions. You may love them or hate them, but you certainly cannot live without them. For many years, buying an affordable Smart TV was a compromise. You either compromised on the experience, or the screen size (which means you had to make do with a smaller screen size at the same price. But the television as a device (and not necessarily as a part of an activity that is often referred to as being a couch potato) has gained even more importance with the increasing popularity of video streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar, Voot and more. The popularity of Linear TV, also known as Live TV, is waning. Users want the convenience of watching whatever it is they want, when they want to.
Coinciding with these new viewing habits are the improvements that more affordable TVs have witnessed. It is not to say that you couldn’t find a good TV around the Rs 30,000 or Rs 40,000 price point earlier, but in the past year and a bit more, brands such as Xiaomi have completely changed the game. Rivals were forced to up their game. One thing led to the other, and in the end, it is great news for consumers. You now have 4K TVs priced below Rs 40,000 and the smart TV platforms are becoming even better to use. We have listed some of the best televisions that you can perhaps consider, in a variety of screen sizes, below the magical figure of Rs 40,000 for your binge-watching routines.
Xiaomi Mi TV: The revolutionaries?
Xiaomi can perhaps be credited with really kick-starting a revolution that brought large screen smart TVs at truly affordable prices. Which in turn also made the smaller display sizes even more affordable. At the moment, the Mi TV range starts at Rs 12,499 for the 32-inch Mi TV 4C Pro. This comes with Android TV and Xiaomi’s own content curation platform PatchWall. This has an HD Ready LED display, runs a 64-bit quad core processor with 1GB of RAM and the ability to control the TV, set top box and more with just one remote. There is also the Mi LED TV 4A Pro which is available at the same price for the 32-inch version. If you want to go one size up, there is the 43-inch Mi LED TV 4A Pro which is priced at Rs 21,999. And then there is the 49-inch Mi LED TV 4A Pro which is priced at Rs 29,999—both of which offer Full HD LED displays, Android TV with PatchWall and Google Voice Search as well. It is in the 55-inch screen size that you get the Mi LED TV 4X Pro 55 that is priced at Rs 39,999 and packs a 4K HDR display. It sits just a shade below Rs 40,000 and offers really good value for money. This also has an upgraded graphics engine, compared with the predecessor, for better noise reduction, richer colours and wider range as well as better contrast. This panel is one of the best that you would find in this price range.
Samsung: Leaving no stone unturned
Samsung, a brand very well known in the TV space, has renewed its challenge in this hotly contested price band. The entire push is on the “unbox magic, everyday” positioning, which wants to talk about the versatility of these TVs. And there is a lot of focus on bringing a range of streaming services at your fingertips—Netflix, Amazon Video, YouTube, Google Play Movies, Jio Cinema, Sony Liv, Eros Now and Sun NXT to name a few. The 32-inch Smart TV (UA32N4310ARXXL) is priced around Rs 20,990 and has a display resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. For a little more, you can select the UA32N4300ARLXL—this is priced around Rs 25,600 and offers better speakers for even louder and clearer sound. If a larger screen is what you need, there is the UA43N5300ARLXL priced around Rs 37,990 with a Full HD display, 4-channel speakers, HDR and the Micro Dimming Pro feature. These TVs also let you manage the Smart Things smart home devices.
Metz: German precision, in your television
Metz is a German television company, which truly surprised us with the excellent experience that we got from the televisions launched in India last year. Now, the company has updated the line-up with the new Infinity Screen smart TVs. These TVs run Android 8.0, the Trochilus Extreme display technology that boosts contrast, improves skin tone reproduction, makes colour more accurate and improves detailing. At the starting price of around Rs 12,999 you get a 32-inch HD Ready TV. A step up is a 40-inch TV priced at Rs 19,999. Closer to Rs 40,000 gets you the 50-inch option—this is priced at Rs 36,999. Metz is bundling a voice remote with the TVs and claims that the search results rely on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for accuracy.
Sanyo: The true underdog
Sanyo, the Japanese company, truly made its presence felt when it decided to enter the television market in India a few years ago. The momentum hasn’t slowed down though. At present, the company has an extensive line-up of smart televisions that you can buy under the Rs 40,000 price point. The Nebula Series includes a 32-inch TV (HD Ready panel for around Rs 12,999) and a 43-inch TV (Full HD for around Rs 22,990) that preload apps such as Netflix and YouTube and also offer access to an app store to download more video streaming services. Higher up the price band is the 43-inch 4K TV (XT-43A081U) which is available for around Rs 33,999 and the 49-inch 4K TV (XT-49A081U) which costs around Rs 39,999. The IPS panel on these TVs is really good, and the support for HDR as well and the fact that these run the Android TV platform makes for a top-notch experience.
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