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4K Ultra-HD TV's are here!  In the previous transition to HDTV, all you cared about was getting a large flat screen TV and using HDMI to get 720 or 1080p from your cable set-top box, Blu-ray Player or gaming console.  Nowadays with 4K TV's, thin screen's don't really wow people anymore so TV makers are adding curves, OLED, any many more ways to enjoy content on your TV.

Also, the tradition things that you used to connect your TV to are becoming less relevant.  Sales of gaming consoles aren't what they used to be, being replaced by casual games that everyone one can play on their phones.  More and more people are abandoning cable and Blu-ray disks and just enjoying streaming movies and TV shows from the Internet.

To adjust to this new reality, most 4K TV's today also support Smart TV functions.  You can think of Smart TV's as if your smartphone was now integrated into your TV, and instead of playing games and streaming video to your phone, you can enjoy all that on your TV.  You can also still use your smartphone or tablet to control what you see on your TV and as a second screen to get more information about what you are watching.

For 4K video purists that want to best possible resolution without compression artifacts that you get from streaming, most 4K Smart TV's also come with at least 1 HDMI 2.0 port which also supports the new HDCP 2.2 standard.  Any 4K source that you want to connect to your TV should also have an HDMI 2.0 port with HDCP 2.2 support as well.  Unfortunately, it's tough to figure out which HDMI port supports HDMI 2.0- some TV's label certain ports at 4K@60Hz  to show they support HDMI 2.0.  Other TV's just say they support 4K but don't explicitly say if all the ports support 4K.

Luckily, there are many 4K Smart TV brands to choose from.  Here is our recommendations based on the type of user.

Best 4K Smart TV for Android and Xperia Power Users: Sony

Sony has gone Android all the way with their Bravia 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV with Android.  Android TV's aren't the easiest things to use, but you instantly get the advantage of Android's reach of Apps and the confidence that new features will continue to roll out from Google's war chest.  If you have a Sony Xperia smartphone, you have different ways to enjoy close integration with your TV including one-touch connection, remote control and mirror casting.  Sony also was first to come out with a 4K Media Player that works well with its TV's for aficionado's looking for true 4K uncompressed content over HDMI 2.0.

Best 4K Smart TV for Samsung Galaxy Users: Samsung

Samsung has taken over the world with their smartphone and TV sales, so it was natural for them to put the two together with their popular line of 4K Smart  LED TV's.    Instead of going with Android, Samsung had enough firepower to base its TV's on Tizen, thereby creating a powerful yet easier to use Smart TV.  Samsung has focused more on creating a more integrated user experience with its Galaxy smartphones.  While Samsung hasn't released a separate 4K source in 2015, it has integrated in DirectTV to provide direct 4K video from your satellite disk without needing separate 4K set-top box.

Best 4K Smart TV Value for Casual Users: LG

LG has always aimed at providing well designed products at a price point that was cheaper than products from its rival Samsung.  The LG 4K Ultra HD Smart TV with webOS 2.0 does this with one of the lowest priced smart 4K TV's out there but with no compromises in terms of ease of use or functionality compared to Samsung's.  LG's TV has also better connectivity compared to Sony and Samsung TV's to other smartphones and tablets including Sony Xperia and Samsung's Galaxy series.

Lowest Price Barebones Smart TV's: Vizio

At the low end of the smart 4K TV spectrum is Vizio's M-Series 4K Ultra HD Smart TV.  They have the lowest priced smart 4K TV's out there with decent simple functionality.  However, they sacrifice the functionality and easy of use that you get from LG and Samsung.  Unfortunately, they also have HDMI 2.0 compatibility problems with early 4K source products like the Sony 4K Media Player.

So, if you are ready to deal with the sometimes strange and confusing world of 4K, choose wisely and carefully since in the world of  smart 4K TV's, each TV couldn't be more different from each other.