Let’s start with a basic rundown of the critical features most people look for in a new television:

Screen size: We can almost stop the list right here. When surveyed, buyers talk about additional features, but the truth is that most people make their buying decision based on the measurement of the screen size (measured diagonally from one corner to the opposite corner). The bigger the better — up to a point. In practical terms, the television needs to fit in your car or truck (or you need to be comfortable paying a delivery fee) and it needs to fit on your wall. Those buyers will say they bought that monster screen so that they can stay home instead of going to a theater, but that’s usually not the case. Heavy entertainment users (most Americans) do both. The actual reason is quite simple: People buy “big” to impress their friends and neighbors. Screen resolution: This is the second most sought-after feature. Resolution is essentially a measure of picture quality. The most common measurement is the number of “pixels” on the screen, and here’s where it gets a little confusing:

480p SD: Standard Definition, or 640 pixels wide by 480 pixels tall. You’ll have trouble still finding one of these models even if you wanted one.

Standard Definition, or 640 pixels wide by 480 pixels tall. You’ll have trouble still finding one of these models even if you wanted one. 780p HD: This is the first so-called “High Definition” standard, with dimensions of 1280 pixels wide by 720 pixels tall. These are the “cheap” HD screens.

This is the first so-called “High Definition” standard, with dimensions of 1280 pixels wide by 720 pixels tall. These are the “cheap” HD screens. 1080p HD: Often (confusingly) called “Full HD” with dimensions of 1920 pixels wide by 1080 pixels tall. The average consumer can be forgiven for looking at the “1280 pixels” in the other HD standard and believing that was “more pixels than” the 1080p HD model. Marketers aren’t always clear on which dimension they’re referring to, as we’ll see.

Okay, watch what happens now. It’s a little marketing trick. Instead of using the vertical pixel dimension, marketing switched to using the horizontal pixel dimension. That’s not necessarily inaccurate, but it’s not very clear either.

4K Ultra HD: If we were using the same standard, 4K would be called 2160p HD…or 1080p HD should really be called 2K. Confused? Most people are. But in practical terms, with dimensions of 3840 pixels wide by 2160 pixels tall, 4K is often clear enough to see nose hairs on your favorite actors.

If we were using the same standard, 4K would be called 2160p HD…or 1080p HD should really be called 2K. Confused? Most people are. But in practical terms, with dimensions of 3840 pixels wide by 2160 pixels tall, 4K is often clear enough to see nose hairs on your favorite actors. 8K (Superlative TBD) HD: Still rare, these screens have dimensions of 7680 pixels wide by 4320 pixels tall. Get ready for a journey past the nose hairs and into the nasal cavity. How about “Nasal HD”? No?

The final confusing bit is the relationship between screen size and resolution. A smaller 4K screen will appear clearer to your eyes than a very large 4K screen. Same number of pixels, in a smaller surface area, equals sharper appearance. That’s why you can get away with 1080p HD on the smaller screens and they look just fine…but the larger screens appear to benefit more from the higher resolution (this is called “pixel density”). And yes, television wonks will wax philosophical about signal bandwidth, image contrast, and color quality, but most people can’t tell the difference. (Marketing loves the wonks. You should be suspicious.)

Everything else falls down the list quickly. Almost 80% of the purchase decision is made based on screen size and resolution. Other factors matter, but much less so. Different brands use minor differences in port counts, sound system choices, and mounting options in an attempt to separate themselves in your mind. But once your TV is mounted to your wall, size and resolution drive your enjoyment. Everything else is trivial.

I’ve spent time explaining the basics of television marketing to highlight an important problem: Both of the key driving factors in television purchase selection (screen size and resolution) have become commodities, but we’re still vulnerable as consumers to Smart TV marketing that tugs at our egos and confuses rational decision-making.

It gets worse.

This commoditization puts tremendous pressure on less-critical factors in the buying decision, encouraging manufacturers to resort to gimmicks (curved screens) and confusing marketing (blacker blacks) to drive sales.

What’s more, as retail prices continue to drop, the price you pay as a consumer for that new Smart TV barely covers the cost of the large screen, plastics, electronics, packaging, shipping, distribution, retailing, and marketing — if it covers it at all. At $150, it almost certainly does not.

But as the end consumer, why should you care? If a manufacturer wants to give me a Smart TV in exchange for a year of streaming service (that I would have bought anyway), why would I say no? The reality is that cheap Smart TVs are such a win for consumers, that we often don’t think much beyond the price.

We should start. Manufacturers are not in business to lose money. Profit has to come from somewhere. Let’s find out where.