Step 2 - My Seating Layout -> If Wide Seating then OLED is My Only Choice

If some of my companions watch My TV from seats off to the side, then I must get a OLED TV. Otherwise here are the differences between LED & OLED:

• LED TVs use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to illuminate the screen via edge lighting or full-array backlight methods through an LCD panel.
• Key benefits of LED TVs include a thin profile, remarkable picture quality and greater brightness than any other TV technology on the market.

Step 1 - My Viewing Distance Determines TV Size I Need -> Larger is Better

This is the single most important key in selecting my TV set is my viewing distance to the TV set. Best location for My TV Set

HD Content that I am Watching Is Upscaled to HDR on My 4K TV Set

Even though almost all of the content you watch is in HD, your 4K TV set is upscaling the content to HDR as well as 4K resolution. And this HD upscaling is a key TV feature in selecting a TV set.

All Video Content Comes in HD, A Few Also Come in 4K:

• All streaming app content and all broadcast/cable TV content comes in HD resolution
  
• Most streaming app originals & recenlty released movies also come in 4K
  • Examples: Amazon's Bosch or Netflix's House of Cards or Vudu's Mamma Mia
    
• Most of your current family photos & videos are 4K
  
  
• 4K content is preferred because:
  • images are sharper
  • more realistic looking
  • higher contrast ratio (HDR)
    
    

Smart TV with Top 100 Streaming Media Apps

• Ability to access online streaming video service, including the top (4) services: Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu & Vudu. All of which have 4K content.
  
• Accessing streaming media apps on your Smart TV instead of a streaming device (even if you currently own a streaming device or two) makes the use of remote control(s) so much simplier.

4K TV with HDR 10+ & Dolby Vision HDR

• You place the TV screen as near to where you
• Measure from the ideal location to where your eyes are when you sit to watch TV
• Round to the nearest foot
• Select TV size based on the distance you measured
• If you buy a smaller TV than recommended, work on moving your sitting to match that size TV's viewing distance

HDMI-CEC / ARC - Lets Your TV, Sound Systems & Devices Work Together

HDMI-CEC - Consumer Electronics Control - allows devices connected to your TV through HDMI ports to communicate back and forth with your TV. The devices can have some control over the TV, and the TV can have some control over the devices. This means you could control your streaming device, your cable set top box and your DVD player through your TV remote. Or devices can automatically change your TV’s input when they need to do something. For example, let’s say you have a Chromecast connected to your TV. With HDMI-CEC, you can start casting to your Chromecast from another device, and the Chromecast will send a signal to the TV, forcing the TV to switch to the Chromecast’s input. You won’t have to fumble with the TV’s remote control and switch to the appropriate input on your own. ARC - Audio Return Channel - uses a single HDMI connection to send audio from a TV to the sound bar or AV receiver. Switch inputs on your TV, say from watching TV to one of your TV's streaming apps or to a cable set top box and the sound is also switched on your sound bar or AV receiver. One of your HDMI inputs on your TV will indicate "ARC". Meaning the TV is sending the sound from the current selected TV input down the HDMI cable to the sound bar or AV receiver connected to that ARC HDMI input.

3+ HDMI Inputs That Support HDMI 2.1 & HDCP 2.2

• 1 input is needed for your HDMI-CEC / ARC sound bar or AV receiver
  
• 1 input

Can be Purchased, Delivered & Unpacked in My Home by Amazon

Music Streaming

Listening to music might not be the first activity you think about when considering a new Smart TV, but—if it’s available on your TV—you’ll be surprised at how much you’ll use it, especially if the TV is in a kitchen, a bedroom, or some other location in the house where you don’t already have an audio system. As with streaming video services, though, not all Smart TVs have apps for some of the most popular services, such as Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn. Check the Smart TV’s app store to see if your favorite music streaming service is available. The speakers in nearly every TV—smart, average, or dumb as a brick—sound weak and wimpy, however, so we highly recommend using a set of bookshelf speakers or a decent soundbar with the TV to make the experience more enjoyable.

3. Access to Your Family Photos & Videos

It’s much more pleasant to look at family photos on a 50- or 60-inch screen in your living room instead of scrunching everyone together in front of a tiny computer screen—or, worse, passing around a smartphone. A basic DLNA-compliant media player can provide access to all of the digital videos, photos, and music located on a network-attached storage device or computer on your home network. More advanced media players and servers, such as Plex, can organize, categorize, and convert your content, making it super-easy to access all of your digital stuff.

4. Recommendation Engine

Netflix does it. Amazon does it. Even friends do it. “If you liked this,” they say, “then you might like…” or, “Other people who bought this also bought…” So why shouldn’t your Smart TV offer suggestions, too? It’s true that sometimes recommendations from these single-minded algorithms can be a little strange and creepy—especially when multiple people get swirled together under the same profile—but more often than not they can provide some very useful suggestions when the specific movie or TV show you want isn’t available to stream.

5. Universal Search

One blessing of the Internet is that we have so many choices of online streaming services, but it’s also a curse because finding what you want to watch is often a daunting, time-consuming task of searching through each service one-by-one. Most Smart TVs have a built-in search engine or “guide” that will look for the particular movie, TV show, actor, genre, or whatever. They’re not all equally as thorough, though. While some look virtually everywhere, others only peruse certain services. If you want a really smart Smart TV, get one with the widest search capabilities.

6. Games

You can use your Smart TV to watch movies and listen to music, so why not use it to play games, too? Many Smart TVs have game apps, which is okay as long as you like playing Solitaire or Angry Birds. But gaming is getting more sophisticated on some of the newest Smart TVs. Several models from Sony and Samsung, for example, can access the PlayStation Now game streaming service. Take note: These require using a Sony Dualshock 3 or Dualshock 4 controller.

7. Casting from My Smartphone

Different companies call it different things, such as “flinging,” “casting,” “second screen experience,” or “swipe & share.” Whatever the name, the ability to send content from your smartphone or tablet to your TV can be priceless. (Well, maybe not priceless, but extremely valuable, at least.) With a compatible app on your phone or tablet, you can display photos, play videos, and transfer streaming content wirelessly from your smart device to the Smart TV. It’s not limited to just your smart device, either, so friends and family can “fling” their photos and videos to your Smart TV if their devices and apps are compatible.

8. Video Conferencing via Skype or Zoom

Skype capability, either built-in or with an optional camera, is a must-have feature, for example, but only for people who actively use Skype to make phone and video calls.

10. App Store

Your Smart TV may be the smartest in the world today, but technology doesn’t stand still. It’s important that your Smart TV has access to an app store that offers a wide variety of applications so it can keep up to date with new services and features as time goes on by downloading new and updated apps. Some Smart TV companies, such as Samsung, Vizio, and LG, have their own proprietary app stores with different numbers of apps. Smart TVs from Sony and Sharp, which are based on the Android TV operating system, have access to over 600 apps. The recently developed Firefox OS, which Panasonic is beginning to use in its Smart TVs, will have its own app store, as well.

9. Voice Control either via TV or via Alexa

Voice control and/or motion control is a feature on some Smart TVs that you should definitely check out because it’s a tremendously cool way to operate one.

HDR 10 (High Dynamic Range - 10 bit) -> Key 4K Visual Experience Factor

HDR - High Dynamic Range -refers to the ability of 4K TVs to expand the range of contrast & color significantly. Bright parts of the image can get much brighter, so the image seems to have more "depth." Therefore HDR is truly what visually stands out when you purchase a 4K TV set. HDR10 is the most commonly used format for HDR and is supported on all 4K TV sets. HDR10 has the ability to adjust black levels and peak brightness for an entire movie or show. And 4K TV sets use technology to upscale HD content to have HDR quality! BTW: Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10+ offer an additional step up in HDR experience since they offer scene-by-scene optimization.Yet only a small portion of content you might watch have these HDR formats and therefore isn't worth the effort to exploit.

Home Theater, Media Room, Multi-Purpose Room -> Our Focus is Media Rooms

• Home Theater: reproducing every aspect of the movie theater experience inc. no windows
  
  
• Media Room: where - together with your companions - you enjoy TV entertainment
  
  
• Multi-Purpose Room: a TV set is in the room but is NOT the centerpiece of the room

HDMI-CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) -> Turns Other Components On/Off

ARC (Audio Return Channel) -> Allows TV to send sound to soundbar / AV Receiver

(5) Key TV Activities -> TV Shows/Movies, Sports, Music, Gaming, Personal Media

#3 - Media Room Checklist

• Devices:
  • Right sized 4K Smart TV
  • 5.1 Surround System - depth of sound experience
    • Soundbar w/side speakers & subwoofer
    • AV Recevier w/left, center, right, left side, right side & subwoofer
  • Optional, if needed:
    • Other Streaming TV (STV) devices
    • Set Top Box / DVR
• Connections:
  • 110V outlet
  • 50+MPS Internet connection - needed for 4K content via streaming apps
    • Wired is preferred
    • WiFi
  • Optional, if needed:
    • Cable TV (CTV) or Outdoor TV Antenna (OTA) connection
• TV Holder:
  • Media center cabinet or table
  • Wall mount
• Couch that holds 2+ people
  • Optional, if needed:
    • Side coaches and or chairs to see additional companions

(3) Media Room Setups:  1) Smart TV+ Sound;  2) 1+ Media Devices;   3) Advanced