Back in the day, shopping for a Television was so much easier: all the products were bulky with cathode ray tubes. Style, clearly was not a concern at that point. All the screens were set to nuke your eyeballs and carrying them was enough to give you a hernia. People pretty much just picked the biggest set available that offered the best picture of a cricket pitch.
Today, things have changed and how. There’s so much choose from: it's all awe when you see the stack of glorious thin flat screens in front of you. But then the accompanying great wall of acronyms and technology terminologies will make you curl up and go foetal or run out of the store screaming. There’s Full HD, HD Ready, UHD, Quantum Dots, OLED, Curved and so much more. While all of these may sound snazzy, you don't want to spend all your hard-earned money and then realise you've been duped into going for age-old technology when you wanted something cutting-edge. Here’s a primer to help you make an informed decision.
Full HD
This is High Definition. Absolutely, under any circumstances do not fall for that HD Ready stuff. Full HD is the real deal with pixels dimensions like: 1920 in width and 1080 in height. It’s commonly known as 1080p because these televisions have a refresh rate of 60hz. Essentially, this means it's good for the eye as the picture moves at 60 frames per second. You may want to steer clear of 1080i since ‘i’ stands for interlace, which simulates a smooth frame rate. On the other hand, the ‘p’ stands for progressive, which means it redraws every frame.
Today, Full HD is a very popular choice especially since the sets are reasonable and perfect up to 65 inches in size. Companies like Samsung, LG and Sony make the best screens with the best colours. Even though some of these TVs are slightly expensive, their refresh rate goes up to 240hz. For more affordable options, check out companies such as Vu, Micromax and more. Bear in mind though, that the products’materials are not top-notch. Still it’s a choice for someone on a budget.
Full HD offers amazing image fidelity for movie buffs who use Blu-Ray technology. For gamers, this is the minimum you need; just blindly pick up Full HD. Though you will need more than 60hz refresh rate. Also, watch out for something called display lag, it should be below five microseconds (ms). Anything above that, will result in motion trails, which is weird and at worst, nauseating.
Ultra HD (UHD)
Here’s where technology moves into the future. UHD and 4K have been creeping up in TV terminology. At the moment, higher density displays like UHD and 4K are expensive to make and as a result out of reach for the lay user. Ultra HD is a slight step up from Full HD but lower than 4K: employing a 3840 width by 2160 height in pixels. UHD sets are still pretty expensive and confusing, especially since Samsung has come out with something called SUHD.
4K
If Full HD marked a big step into the future, 4K is that gallop, except it hasn't quite taken off as fast as high definition. In the last few years, 4K has been always synonymous with expensive. Essentially, 4K is a whopping 4096 width by 2160 height pixels, and the quality will make your jaw drop. The biggest problem though, is that there's not much content out there that is 4K. Films, cable TV and existing gaming systems all go up to 1080p Full HD.
That said, now is the best time to be looking at 4K. Brands like Micromax, Vu, Sony and Microsoft are all are coming out with excellent 4K TVs in big sizes. Additionally, gaming PCs are looking towards 4K support, and Blu-Ray players are developing content in that format. Netflix too has 4K content ready, except it will take a robust connection stream it.
The more expensive 4K TVs have a host of features, with much better displays capable of richer and brighter colours. Many of them even have processors to convert normal Full HD content to a sort of 4K.
HDR
This is the next big thing and quite frankly one of the only reasons to justify the high price of jumping onto the 4K bandwagon. However, High Dynamic Range (HDR) is not new. It's a loose definition of how we as humans view the world through our eyes; a larger gamut of colours as well as a very high range of contrasts. HDR TVs produces richer colours with more detail in the picture as well as the ability to show dark clear blacks and pristine whites. The first people who will get their hands on HDR content are gamers first, as the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One are both developing HDR games. Plus, the upcoming PlayStation 4 Neo and Xbox Scorpio are going to be in 4K HDR.
SmartTV
Want a HDTV and a computer all rolled up in one? Then a SmartTV is the way to go. It was once an expensive affair, but now the lay man can afford a low-cost Android powered SmartTV too. Essentially, these gadgets have processors in them so you can run Netflix, play a bit of Asphalt 4 Airborne, check your Facebook and basically give you an entire media centre in your HDTV.
Alternatively, you can convert any television set into a SmartTV by using a ChromeCast (Rs.3000) and plays all your movies, including Netflix on the big screen. A more expensive option is Apple TV. Other reasonable selections include the Amkette's Evo TV or iRevo's Smart TV box, both of which are great if you don't mind another device hanging around your media area.
Curved Screens
Years ago, sci-fi books featured curved displays and now it’s a reality for us. The best effect comes when you're sitting dead centre in front of the screen. Anywhere else, things look a bit off. Curved Displays from Samsung and LG are very expensive and come loaded with everything, including the best display tech by default. Again, if you are dropping so much of green on a Curved Display, better make sure you’re getting HDR.
LED
Before going onto the new technologies let's look at existing tech, which is LED: Light Emitting Diodes. The phenomenon has been constantly evolving for a long time and has slowly nudged the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and Plasma's off the shelves. These are the building blocks for affordable HDTV tech and consist of tiny light-emitting cells that form an image. A common LED tech in TV is the IPS LED (Inline Plane Switching Light Emitting Diodes). When you see it in the specs list, that TV should be high on your list. The most popular form of LED has been used in Tablet and Smartphone screens, allowing for power saving as well reducing the size of your HDTV to very thin panels.
OLED/AMOLED
A step above LED, the technology of OLED/ AMOLED uses diodes to emit their own light. TVs equipped with this spec are some of the best in the biz when it comes to colour reproduction and image quality. The only downside is that greens get over saturated a bit. This is premium territory right here so they’re pretty expensive.
Because there’s no need of a back light, these displays consume less power and can be used to make Curved HDTV's.
Quantum Dots
The earlier mentioned SUHD TV is in fact, an Ultra HD set that uses a new technology called Quantum Dots. These are special semiconductor nanocrystals that work a lot like LEDs, except they are a lot more durable. Plus, Quantum Dots reproduce colour better than other displays. The picture quality is stunning. Currently only available in UHD and above, Quantum Dots look to pave the way to 6K and higher resolutions.
Diwali just went by and if you’re lucky you can catch a dawdling sale. Here’s a handy viewer personas and the perfect choice of television.
HDTV Buying Checklist
Colour Reproduction
See that the display doesn’t change much. If you notice the colours changing a lot, especially going silvery grey, then it may be bad for your eyes.
Viewing Angle
Most LEDs are great for up to 78 degrees of viewing angles. It's important you walk around the set and choose which viewing angle suits you and your needs the most. If you generally sit front and centre, then you can take a lower angle in case price or quality of the image is a factor.
Response Time/Display Lag
If you are a gamer or watch a lot of fast-paced action movies at FullHD or 4k, then you will want to get a quick and responsive display. Keep an eye out for shadows or motion trails that fast-moving images are making. All you need to do is watch for the Hertz (hz) or microsecond figure. Your choice should be over 60hz to be able to render frames properly. If there's no specs mentioned, research the HDTV online or watch out for symptoms in the showroom.
Image Quality
Many users are finicky about the density and quality of image. If you are one of those, it's best to save and wait for the HDR 4K sets become cheaper. The best test is to go to a showroom and look at each TV and see which screen has the quality that best meets up to your standard.
Brand Specific Buzzwords
For instance, Sony has Triluminos Displays and other brands love to use Dolby Vision. They are all legitimate in their tech prowess; however you don't need to get influenced. Always pick an HDTV you feel looks the best and not what the marketing dialogue dictates.
Sound
If you don’t plan on getting a home theatre setup, you may want to get a TV that gets the sound right. Sony HDTV's for example come with massive built-in speakers. Alternatively, you can opt for a SoundBar, which are reasonable and a lot more space saving.
Say NO to HD Ready
Seriously, when you get a better FullHD TV for a little bit more, don't waste your money on low-resolution stuff. HD Ready is just fancy marketing spiel for a TV that's 720p or at times lower. Don't be fooled by the HD in the buzzword and don't let a sales rep convince you this is high definition. HD Ready is to HD what a same a seashell is to a speaker. If you see an HD Ready tag, avoid it like the plague.
* For the Netflixer
Depending on your plan, you can opt for the TV you want. Netflix and other steaming content usually is best in 720p as it’s easy on your bandwidth. That said you should opt for a 1080p Full SmartTV, because the added pixels will help upscale series so you get good fidelity without having to upgrade your internet pack. The Smart part will help you run streaming content in one neat package.
* For the Gamer
Full HD 1080p is more than enough for a gamer on a budget, as long as you get an HDTV with a very good colour display and response times. However, if you really want to be future ready, it's best to go in for a good 4K display with refresh rates of over 60hz.
* For the perfectionist
Like fine wine, you need to spend a lot to get perfect image quality. On a budget you can pick 4K with a colour gamut you feel looks great to your eyes. Even FullHD at times look amazing. For the absolute best, you can opt for a Curved TV with HDR and the works. A lot of these TVs like Samsung's SUHDTVs have very thin bezels allowing for a thin art piece.
* For the all of the above, on a budget
Stick to 4K to be safe, but watch out for deals on the big brand TVs or check for sets from manufacturers like LeEco and Vu with amazing visual fidelity. There's always a sale on and look at last generation HDTV's that sometimes can go on a steal.
