The television you buy today will be expected to run streaming services that barely existed when it was manufactured. The smart platform matters as much as the panel, and it is the part most people ignore when comparing specifications.
Why the Operating System Matters More Than You Think
I have owned three smart TVs in the past five years. The first had excellent picture quality but ran a proprietary operating system that stopped receiving app updates after two years. By year three, several streaming services I used regularly had dropped support for it entirely.
The second TV ran Android TV, which solved the app availability problem but introduced its own issues: slow performance, aggressive advertising on the home screen, and inconsistent updates depending on the manufacturer's relationship with Google.
The current TV runs Google TV, which is an improvement over Android TV in terms of interface design, though the underlying performance issues with budget hardware remain. The lesson across all three: the operating system's update longevity matters more than any individual feature at launch.
The Three Platforms Worth Considering
In the Czech Republic in 2026, three smart TV platforms have meaningful app support and reasonable update histories.
Google TV (and Android TV) has the broadest app ecosystem and the most consistent support from streaming services. The interface has improved significantly, though it still carries advertising in ways that feel intrusive. The hardware performance varies dramatically between manufacturers using the same platform.
Samsung's Tizen OS is well-optimized and fast, even on mid-range hardware. The app selection is slightly narrower than Google TV but covers everything most people actually use. Samsung has a reasonable track record of software updates, though support typically ends after four or five years.
LG's webOS is the most polished of the three in terms of interface design. It is fast, intuitive, and has good app support. LG's update policy has improved in recent years, though older models still lose support earlier than ideal.
If you plan to keep a TV for seven or more years, consider pairing a mid-range panel with an external streaming device. The streaming device can be replaced when the software becomes outdated, while the panel continues to perform.
Panel Technology: What the Specs Actually Mean
OLED panels produce the best picture quality available in consumer televisions. Each pixel generates its own light, which means true blacks and exceptional contrast. The downsides are cost, brightness limitations in very bright rooms, and the theoretical risk of burn-in with static content.
QLED is Samsung's marketing term for LCD panels with quantum dot enhancement. The picture quality is excellent, particularly in bright rooms where OLED panels can struggle. The contrast ratio does not match OLED, but for most viewing conditions, the difference is less significant than the price gap suggests.
Standard LCD panels at the budget end of the market have improved considerably. For a bedroom television or a secondary screen, the value proposition is strong. For a main living room television where you will watch films in a controlled light environment, the upgrade to OLED or high-end QLED is noticeable.
Size and Viewing Distance
The most common mistake I see is buying a television that is too small for the viewing distance. The general guideline for 4K content is that the ideal viewing distance is approximately 1.5 times the screen diagonal. For a 55-inch television, that means sitting about 2.1 metres away.
In Czech apartments, where living rooms are often compact, this means most people would benefit from a larger screen than they initially consider. A 65-inch television at 2.5 metres is a more immersive experience than a 50-inch at the same distance.
- 43 inches: ideal for bedrooms and rooms under 12 square metres
- 55 inches: suitable for most Czech living rooms
- 65 inches: better for rooms over 20 square metres with 2.5+ metre viewing distance
- 75 inches and above: requires significant viewing distance to avoid eye strain
Connectivity to Check Before Buying
HDMI 2.1 ports matter if you use a gaming console or plan to in the future. The bandwidth supports 4K at 120Hz and variable refresh rate, which makes a significant difference in gaming performance. Most televisions still ship with a mix of HDMI 2.0 and 2.1 ports, so check which ports support which standard.
eARC (enhanced Audio Return Channel) on at least one HDMI port is worth confirming if you plan to connect a soundbar or receiver. It supports higher quality audio formats that standard ARC does not.
For detailed technical comparisons, RTINGS provides thorough measurement-based reviews that are more reliable than most consumer publications.
What I Would Buy Today
For a main living room television in a Czech apartment, I would look at a 55 or 65-inch OLED from LG or Sony running Google TV or webOS. The picture quality justifies the premium for a screen you will use daily for the next several years.
For a secondary room or a tighter budget, a mid-range Samsung QLED with Tizen OS offers a good balance of picture quality, software reliability, and price. I would avoid the budget end of the market for anything intended as a primary television, not because the picture quality is necessarily poor, but because the software support tends to be short.