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My TV is getting really old and I think of getting a new one.

There are a lot of cool and shiny technologies and buzzwords involved (HDR, LED/OLED/QLED, Dolby Vision, Panel type, Hz number and so on) when getting a new TV, but the thing is, my use cases are quite narrow. I mostly use it for watching Youtube and Twitch on it, also a few TV Shows and Movies via Amazon Prime and Netflix. Occasionally but quite rare I play with my PS4 or my Switch on the TV.

So, the question is, what technologies are even relevant for my use cases? I know that Amazon has a few movies in 4K so that might be cool, especially because this TV will be in use the next 10 or 15 years like the current one, but everything else? Would I even notice any difference when watching YouTube? Twitch on a good TV or would any 200€ TV suffice?

What would be more interesting for me would be the SmartTV Features. I have yet to see a SmartTV System with a usable interface (performance and UX wise) for Youtube and Twitch and the VOD providers, I hated everything I have used/seen in the past, but I don't know how the newer systems work on modern TVs today.

Currently I am using a Chromecast Dongle with my Android Smartphone. Which is fine, but not perfect either, mostly because my phone loses connection with Chromecast often and its a hassle to reconnect if I just want to pause something, so ith would be nice if there would be a better alternative.

Things like Receivers/DVBT and Sound are completely irrelevant for me. I don't want to watch regular TV and I am using a Soundbar. I don't want to get specific model recommendations, I need some information which technologies are relevant for my use cases and which manufacturer has good/ bad SmartTV interfaces. If it's relevant I am living in Germany, I am looking for something in the 40"-45" size range and would pay max 1000€.

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I mostly use it for watching Youtube and Twitch on it, also a few TV Shows and Movies via Amazon Prime and Netflix. Occasionally but quite rare I play with my PS4 or my Switch on the TV. ... So, the question is, what technologies are even relevant for my use cases?

In terms of what each of your use cases could support:

  • Netflix supports 4K, HDR, and Dolby Vision (better HDR).
  • Amazon Prime supports 4K, HDR
  • YouTube supports 4K, HDR
  • Twitch supports 4K, does not support HDR. (4K streams are rare though)
  • PS4 supports 4K and HDR only if you have the later Pro model.
  • Switch does not support 4K or HDR.

So it seems like you will definitely benefit from buying a 4K TV, and probably also an HDR TV if you want that.
Dolby Vision is pretty great if it's a really good TV (like an OLED), but Netflix will fall back to regular HDR support if the TV doesn't have Dolby Vision. Don't worry too much about DV support unless you're also worrying about getting top-tier HDR performance.

Your question is also approaching being "too broad" to answer because there are too many brands and models of TV to give an overview on. If you stick to the major brands like Samsung, LG, Sony, Philips, TCL then you will be able to find specifications quite easily from the manufacturer webpages as you're looking at various models.

Also take note that you can decouple the choice of "smart OS" from which TV you want by buying a streaming device and connecting it to the TV. I would like to share some very good options for streaming devices that definitely take care of 4K and HDR support:

  • Google Chromecast with Google TV (4K)
  • Apple TV 4K
  • Roku Ultra
  • NVIDIA Shield TV Pro
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