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We have the knowledge
Screen Basics
LED TV screens are made up of pixels. Think of them as very tiny dots of ink. These dots of different colours are what make up a picture – the more dots there are, the more detail or ‘resolution’ the picture has.
The vast majority of new TVs with screen sizes over 40 inches carry a 4K resolution. This means that the screen is made up of 3840 x 2160 pixels, nearly 4K across and a total of c. 8.3 million. Compare this with high definition (less than 850,000 pixels in total) and Full HD (c. 2 million), and it's easy to see what the fuss is about. We are now seeing 8K screens coming onto the market, some at surprisingly reasonable prices, and these have double the number of pixels across than 4K TVs, with nearly 34 million in total.
These are exciting times for TV technology, but what does this mean for viewers? It means that your TV will have previously unimaginably bright and vivid displays with super clear, pin-sharp images and eye-popping colours.
Some manufacturers use lighting to illuminate pixels from behind, while others will light them from the side. Many manufacturers also have their own unique technology to offer improvements in viewing angles, colour accuracy and shadow detail too, for example. TVs have never looked so good.
You may see terms like ‘UHD’, ‘Ultra HD’, ‘4KUHD’ floating around. These can vary between different manufacturers and, while there are some small technical differences, they essentially all mean Ultra High Definition, or 4K
What about OLED?
OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) is a new TV display technology that's capable of incredibly realistic picture quality with very little compromise.
So how does it work, and why is it so good? In contrast to the traditional LED panels we mentioned above, OLED screens use a thin film of an organic compound that lights up when electricity passes through it. This means the brightness of every single dot on the screen is controlled independently, so a completely black pixel can be right beside a fully white one, giving punchy dramatic colours with far higher contrast than the always-on backlights found in LED sets.
It also offers far wider viewing angles and quicker response times than LED, so everyone can enjoy blur free images. In this respect, OLEDs are more like older plasma screens, only much slimmer and much more power efficient.
See our full range of OLED TVs
HDR explained
HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. 'Dynamic Range' describes the extremes of a TV’s contrast (the difference between how dark and bright the picture can get) and the detail within that range. In the past, even though a TV screen may have been able to get very bright or very dim, there was still a limit on how much colour and detail it could display, and formats like DVDs and broadcast television had to work within these limitations.
HDR technology allows these old limitations to be bypassed, offering an expansive new world of dazzling colours and rich, deep shadows, closer to the cinema than previously possible. Working in tandem with 4K resolution (which you can learn more about here), a TV compatible with HDR is able to 'translate' an HDR source, like an Ultra HD Blu-Ray disc or 4K content from Netflix and turn it into an even more beautiful picture that is a feast for the eyes.
What makes a Smart TV smart?
Smart TVs allow you to access catch-up and streaming services such as BBC iPlayer and Netflix, and with built-in web browsers and apps, you can enjoy the best of the internet from the comfort of your sofa. You can also easily send content from your phone or tablet to your TV, ideal for meetings or long-distance catch-ups with family and friends.
Many manufacturers now offer voice control / activation in their televisions, allowing you to control all sorts of actions using nothing but your voice. Smart TVs can also be integrated as part of Smart home system, which unlocks all kinds of potential uses.
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Have you considered a projector?
Read our projector maintenance tips and information about mercury bulbs