Demystifying TV Technologies (Part 1) – How to Find The Perfect TV For You

Consumers these days are pretty much spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting televisions for purchase. Whether it is a small, budget friendly TV, a huge cinema replacement set up, or just about anything in between, there exists products in the market that just about covers all the buying needs of consumers today.

With the sheer amount of televisions available to purchase, it can be difficult and daunting for first time buyers and the non-technologically savvy to fully understand the technologies, terms and buzzwords that companies use to differentiate their products on the market.

Hence, this article will look to deconstruct and demystify all the terms, analogies, and technologies of a TV to make it easier for you, the reader, to make a more informed purchasing decision on your next television.

Firsts Things First: Understanding TV Terms and Jargons

During the purchasing process, consumers will likely come across many terms and buzzwords that are used to describe a TV’s “performance”. Jargons like “LCD”, “LED”, “QLED” and “OLED” tend to get thrown around a lot during peer discussions on the topic or by store workers when explaining the product.

In addition to that, readers would most likely further come across terms such as “4K”, “240Hz” and “HDR” as well. Beyond that, there are things like “Dolby Atmos” or “Dolby Vision” to also consider, which further adds to the complexity and confusion.

So, why the seemingly never ending jargon and terms?

To fully understand the reasons behind this, it is important to note that a TV is usually made up of many components, such as the screen, speakers and backlight. All the terms that have been mentioned essentially define the performance metrics of each component to allow for better understanding and limitations of each TV.

At the same time, brands also tend to implement marketing buzzwords for these technologies in their products to better differentiate themselves in the market. Since brands have their own buzzwords for the technologies, this is where things start to get very confusing for consumers that are cross shopping between brands.

Next: Differentiating Actual Technologies and Marketing Buzzwords

The most important component on a TV that has the biggest effect on the visual quality and viewing experience is the type of backlight source used. “LED” (light-emitting diode) is the most commonly used backlight technology today as it provides many advantages over its predecessors, such as better picture quality and colours, as well as being more efficient.

Since “LED” was first made widely available over 10 years ago, advancements and developments to this technology meant that brands are able to offer further enhanced viewing experiences across their TVs. Because of this, at present there exist many variations of “LED”, such as “QLED”, “OLED” and “Mini LED”.

From here, brands would then look to market these technologies in their TVs by providing specific buzzwords to differentiate themselves. For example, Samsung’s flagship TVs are branded as “Neo QLED”, while LG brands their TVs as having “QNED” technology. On the other hand, Sony brands their entire TV lineup under the “Bravia” moniker for better overall product visibility, as opposed to branding specific technologies in their TVs. An example of this would be the “Sony Bravia OLED” series.

In a market that is as saturated as the TV industry, it is important for brands to differentiate themselves by having their own “versions” of these technologies. This practice is not exclusive to TVs, it is also seen in places such as oil and gas, where it is common practice for companies to add in their own additives to petrol and be able to brand it as their own (Shell V-Power, Petronas Primax, Caltex Techron etc.).

How about “4K”, “120Hz”, “HDR”, and “Dolby” then?

Besides the backlight type, a screen’s resolution also plays a role in providing crisp and clear videos to enhance the viewing experience. In this aspect, terms like “4K” are used to refer to the maximum resolution of the TV, which is 3840×2160 pixels. These days, “4K” (or UHD/Ultra High Definition) is the industry standard, while other popular resolutions in the past include “Full HD” (1920×1080), “HD”(1280×720) and “SD” (640×480). High end TVs are capable of up to “8K” (7680×4320).

When it comes to motion, the refresh rate of a screen is used as it determines the amount of times the picture refreshes per second. Naturally, the higher the refresh rate, the smoother the video will look on TV. Most TVs today have a 120Hz refresh rate as standard, while high end TVs are capable of up to 240Hz.

HDR, or “High Dynamic Range” is a technology associated with the colours and vibrancy of the video in a TV. A TV with good HDR means that videos on the screen would be able to appear colourful and extremely vivid. On the other hand, HDR also allows the TV to produce dark tones accurately as well. These days, most cameras and mobile phones are able to capture HDR quality videos, and having a HDR capable TV would mean that the colours of the videos captured will be able to be viewed as accurately as possible.

“Dolby” on the other hand is associated with sound. The sound capabilities of a TV and the audio experience it is able to offer is usually branded with Dolby for easier measure. Dolby is a company that specialises in audio and is widely seen in cinemas and consumer TVs. Currently, “Dolby Atmos” is the latest iteration of its consumer TV audio format, and most modern TVs in the middle to high end range are capable of supporting it.

What You Should Care About

To answer this question, it is important to first know and understand your needs beforehand. Knowing what your expectations are from a TV based on your viewing habits will enable you to filter down the amount of TVs in your final shortlist before deciding on a purchase. Considering the amount of TVs available for selection at all price points, this will also ensure that you do not overspend on features that you do not need as well.

With that being said, if you find yourself not being able to narrow down your options then we’d recommend following this categorisation guide.

If you are the type that values the cinema experience, or is heavy into things like YouTube or Netflix, then we would recommend getting a decently sized TV with HDR, a resolution of 4K, and good sound quality. Samsung’s Q70B is a good all rounder in this regard.

Should you find yourself playing games a lot, then a TV that has a high refresh rate and resolution should be the priority. Getting a TV that is specifically tuned for gaming like Sony’s A80K will be an excellent choice.

Otherwise, if you consider yourself a casual user with no preference for any particular feature, then most TVs from the established brands will just about do the job for you. In this case, your budget will be the likely determining factor of your TV selection. Offerings like these from Philips, Sharp, and TCL are great budget options.

Conclusion

In conclusion, consumers these days are spoiled for choice with the TVs available in the market today. Most of the established brands such as Samsung, LG, Sony and Philips are able to offer good quality products at all price ranges with their own unique strengths and quirks to boot.

Hence, it is always worthwhile to spend some time evaluating your shortlisted TVs either physically at the store or by watching online reviews in order to make an informed purchasing decision. Considering that the prices of TVs may vary between store to store due to various discounts and promotions, it also pays to cross check the prices as well to enable further savings.

Should you find yourself not having the time to check them one by one, then PriceShop is the best way to quickly check and compare prices between stores for your favourite TVs with our extensive list of merchants available on the platform!

We hope that you have found this article helpful for your TV buying process! Stay tuned for our next coverage on the topic where we explore in detail the differences in the type of backlight sources (QLED, OLED, QNED etc.) used in TVs today and their distinct advantages and disadvantages over each other!

[This article is part of a 2 part article series on Televisions.]

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