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Shopping Black Friday sales in the digital age can be overwhelming. What used to be a single day of discounts at brick-and-mortar stores has now evolved into a week of sales across countless online platforms. I’ve been covering TVs for over a decade, and even I’ll admit that the way brands talk about their TVs can be confusing and, frankly, exhausting. To help you suss out the best deals, I’ve put together a neat little cheat sheet containing the five biggest mistakes I see folks make every year while shopping for a TV on Black Friday. If you want to buy one of the best TVs for your budget and lifestyle this holiday shopping season, this guide will set you up for success. Mistake #1: Choosing the wrong TV size People often ask me, “what size TV should I buy?” Sometimes, the question is more specific: “How big is too big for my living room?” Fortunately, there’s a relatively simple formula for getting to the bottom of this very question. You can get the full scoop by perusing our guide to picking the right TV size, but I’ll toss a few examples your way based on the most popular TV sizes: 55 and 65 inches. At 55 inches, the ideal viewing distance is between 4 and 6 feet. At this distance, you could certainly opt for a 65-inch TV, but anything more than that would be distractingly large. For 65-inch TVs, the ideal viewing distance is between 6 and 8 feet. If you sit between 8 and 10 feet away from your TV, I recommend ruling out 55-inch models completely unless you’re already accustomed to that size. While it might be tempting on Black Friday to chase down good-looking deals based entirely on sale price, make sure you’re not setting yourself up for a lackluster viewing arrangement. Mistake #2: Shopping for 60- or 70-inch TVs I recently did a deep-dive into the world of 60- and 70-inch TVs. More specifically, I went on the record about why I believe 60- and 70-inch TVs aren’t worth buying on Black Friday. Here’s the long and short of it: The best TVs from major brands like Hisense, LG, Samsung and Sony are almost never 58-, 60- or 70-inch models. Any TV worth buying will typically arrive in the following sizes: 42, 48, 55, 65, 75 and 85 inches. (Many of the best models come in sizes above 85 inches, too.) If you spot what looks to be a slam-dunk deal on a 60- or 70-inch TV this Black Friday, you are very likely getting one of that brand’s lower-end TVs. Many of these sets are released exclusively as Black Friday sales models, and they tend to arrive with missing features and so-so hardware. The bottom line? You can do much better than to settle for one of these TVs — and you don’t even have to spend much more to do it. The recently released, budget-friendly TCL QM6K is a great example. This is an affordable 4K set with Mini-LED backlighting. The 55-inch version is not much more than what you’ll likely spend on a 58- or 60-inch TV on Black Friday. The QM6K's Mini-LED backlighting is the main reason it costs a little more, but for most people, the slightly higher cost will come out in the wash once movie night rolls around. This brings me to another important point: If you can afford to avoid 60- and 70-inch TVs, you should also consider avoiding edge-lit TVs altogether. Mistake #3: Settling for an edge-lit TV An edge-lit TV is exactly what it sounds like: a TV whose light comes from the edge of the display rather than behind it. Why does this matter? Consider the difference in distance. With an edge-lit display, that light has to travel further than it would if the display was illuminated from the back. Additionally, modern backlit TVs often come with a feature called local dimming, which allows the display’s array of LEDs to brighten and dim independently of one another. This makes for a picture that’s brighter and darker when it needs to be. By comparison, edge-lit TVs tend to offer shallow contrast and dimmer highlights. Fortunately, there’s never been a smaller gap in price between dirt-cheap, edge-lit TVs and super-affordable, backlit LED TVs with local dimming (the aforementioned QM6K being a great example). This is especially true on Black Friday, when many of the most affordable backlit QLEDs and Mini-LED TVs go on sale. Do yourself a favor and don’t settle for the bottom-of-the-barrel TVs unless you sincerely don’t mind the low-level performance. Mistake #4: Choosing the wrong type of TV If your TV is in a bright, sunny room, you'll want a bright TV. As it happens, it's much easier to land a bright, affordable LED TV than it is to land a bright, affordable OLED TV. In the world of OLED, brightness is a costlier resource, and if you buy an entry-level OLED TV, there's a possibility that it won't be bright enough for your living space. This is the sort of thinking you ought to be doing going into Black Friday if you've got specific needs relating to your budget or viewing habits, lest you walk away with the wrong type of TV for your home. For one thing, figure out where you stand when it comes to Mini-LED vs OLED. As mentioned, there are far more mid-range Mini-LED TVs that check both the "bright" box and the "reasonably priced" box. OLED TVs, on the other hand, are pricier across the board. Currently, only top-shelf OLED TVs deliver the sort of highlight brightness we've come to expect from souped-up Mini-LED TVs, but there are mid-range OLED TVs that split the difference, like the five-star LG C5. The C5 offers above-average brightness in HDR — comparable to some of the more modestly powered, affordable Mini-LED TVs. You're paying more for its sensational OLED display and its laundry list of features, but nowhere near what you'd have to shell out for a top-of-the-line OLED TV. Right now, the 48-inch version of the C5 is under $1,000. I suspect it might drop further in the coming weeks, but there's no way to know for sure. Along with choosing a size, deciding what type of TV makes sense for your space and your spending plans is the most important element of TV-shopping. This Black Friday, pay close attention to what type of TV is being advertised before punching in your credit card number. Whatever you do, though, don't expect the deal to last. Mistake #5: Waiting until after Black Friday Every year, I spend the days after Black Friday and Cyber Monday informing readers about TV deals that are still available. Here's a little secret: There are never as many deals available in the days following these sales events, and they're usually not as enticing. Keep an eye on our deals coverage this year. If you note a TV worth buying, don't sleep on it. I've seen TV prices bounce back over $500 once these sales end. That's a tough pill to swallow if you end up missing out. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. More from Tom's Guide
