How expensive should a TV be? Bleeding is a common problem for low-quality TVs, but there is a solution

We live in a time where you can buy huge televisions for comparatively little money. That's exactly what a user on Reddit did – and regretted it.

At home he discovered that his new TV was bleeding. This is a problem that cheap televisions in particular have.

What is Bleeding?

That happened: A film fan on Reddit bought a 75-inch Philips TV for around 1,000 US dollars (around 930 euros). At home he notices halos on the edge of the screen.

Not nice: white spots have formed on the edge of the TV. (Source: Reddit)

The TV is bleeding out. Due to the backlight, light spots appear on the screen. These can be caused by temperature fluctuations or pressure. Or just like that thanks to the type of dimming.

In the case of the model in the post (the person seeking help did not reveal which one exactly it is), it is almost certainly an edge LED device.

What is Edge LED? With this type of lighting, the LEDs are located in the edges of the TVs, but not in the middle. This is cheaper to produce and televisions remain slimmer.

On Edge-LED or Edge-lit TVs, the backlight is located on the edge. (Image: ronstik – adobe.stock.com)

Edge LED gets worse the larger the TV is. This means less light reaches the center of the screen. The result: incredibly miserable black levels. There is also a higher chance of bleeding.

Can you do something about bleeding?

In short: no.

The community is trying to help outgiving tips like turning down the backlight, but that doesn't solve the problem in the end.

One Redditor sums up the situation: “Welcome to a bad purchase decision.”

The only solution: Exchange the device. With a bit of luck, the next 75-incher from Philips won't have a bleeding display.

However, other film fans recommend buying a different TV.

How can the possibility of bleeding be avoided in the first place?

• Buy OLED TV: These TVs do not have a backlight, which means that bleeding cannot occur in the first place. However, OLEDs are more expensive.
• Buy a smaller TV: This doesn't protect against bleeding, but it does reduce the likelihood, simply because there is less display area to illuminate.
• Spend more money: Edge LED is the cheapest type of backlight. When buying, pay attention to local dimming, then the device has more LEDs, which increase the light output.

Is almost 1,000 euros too much or too little for a TV?

In the comments, the owner of the problem TV admits that the approximately 1,000 euros he paid for the device is a fairly large sum for him.

For the home theater fans in the Reddit thread, that's far too small for a television of that size.

The case on Reddit shows one thing above all: Those who buy cheaply often buy twice. And everyone has to decide for themselves what “cheap” means in the context of TVs.

In this article we advocate for the larger TV, but the truth lies in the middle, as the case of Reddit in this article proves.

With our TV buying advice you will find the right TV for you.

It's important to mention that Philips generally doesn't make bad TVs, as the commenters in the thread above want to make it seem. Manufacturers offer a whole range of TVs.

Have you ever had to struggle with mistakes like this? How much do you spend on a TV? Would you have bought a 75-inch model at around 1,000 euros? Feel free to write it in the comments.