18 basic terms to know when buying a new TV

Finding the perfect TV has become quite difficult. Part of the problem lies in the jargon. For example, what do 4K UHD and 8K UHD really mean? What about OLED or QLED? What exactly are HDR and Quantum Dot? They are enough to drive you crazy.

The most important concepts related to video

1. 4K/8K UHD : These designations refer to the number of pixels distributed across the horizontal axis of the display. For example, 4K has nearly 4,000 pixels.
2. Auto Low-Latency Mode (ALLM) : Allows automatic adjustment of the delay between the image and its source. This reduces the time between the image being sent to the TV and the TV displaying it. Mostly useful when playing games where slower reaction times can negatively affect results.
3. Aspect ratio : Indicates the ratio of screen width to screen height, respectively. 16:9 is the dominant ratio, while 4:3 is popular before widescreen TVs.
4. Bezel : The physical border around the edge of the screen. Bezels can reduce the overall viewing area of ​​the TV screen. However, on TVs like Samsung's The Frame, they bring unique, attractive beauty.
5. Dolby Vision : Widely accepted HDR standard, providing the best picture quality for HDR content.
6. HDR10 : Specifies high dynamic range as the basic standard on all TVs that support HDR. HDR technology is designed to improve contrast, color rendering and highlights of TV images.
7. HDR10+ : A high dynamic range standard exclusive to Samsung that is growing in popularity. Provides a boost in quality compared to HDR10.
8. LED : Acronym for Light-Emitting Diode. Television manufacturers use LEDs to provide the lighting needed to reproduce images on the screen.
9. OLED : Organic Light-Emitting Diode. OLED screens offer the ability to adjust the brightness of each screen pixel. Due to their ability to turn off pixels, OLED screens are considered to produce the darkest blacks.
10. QLED : Quantum light-emitting diode. QLED denotes an LED display that uses a Quantum Dot Layer. These panels produce remarkably accurate color representation.
11. Quantum dot layer : A layer of semiconductor nanocrystals, called quantum dots, produce extremely precise colors. This layer acts as a filter to enhance color and saturation.
12. Refresh rate : The speed at which the television screen updates or refreshes its image. Most popular TV models support 60Hz, although the 120Hz standard is increasingly popular. A 240Hz refresh rate is also available, although this is more commonly seen on gaming monitors.
13. Resolution : Indicates the number of pixels displayed on both the horizontal and vertical axes of the screen.
14. Screen size : The diagonal measurement of the television screen in inches. You'll want to choose between 55 and 75 inches here. It's the ideal size for most rooms. Larger rooms will often benefit from a larger screen.

The most important concepts related to sound

1. Dolby Atmos : A new audio technology that provides vertical audio for supported systems.
2. eARC - Enhanced ARC . Allows the TV to output higher quality sound than a standard ARC connection. This audio is delivered uncompressed and often has a better overall sound.
3. HDMI ARC : ARC stands for Audio Return Channel and represents two-way communication between the TV and audio devices like soundbars. Instead of using RCA or optical audio connections, ARC allows reducing the number of cables needed to output audio through an external source to one.
4. Soundbar : A soundbar is a speaker that connects externally to the TV to improve or replace the TV's internal speakers. Soundbars are known for their unique shape and usually fit the standard width of a TV.

Marvin Fry

Update 20 July 2024