During the writing of this post, the generation of televisions has changed, the cat has doubled in size, the virgin mustache got a virgin beard for company, and I broke up with my beloved
The cat who makes a sad "Haw-Haw-Haw"!»
Hello dear! Have you ever thought about… 4k TV? No, no, don’t rush to leave! I
not a merchant. I want to help you. All these stupid sellers, incomprehensible names, damn numbers and letters… It’s all a little confusing, isn’t it?? I hope I was able to interest you, because TV is a great product for gamers and movie lovers. A full-fledged second screen, your own cinema of gaming pleasure, allowing you to expand your work and play space. And the 4K era is already knocking on the door. Content appears every week, consoles are already reaching out for it, new video cards are increasingly eager for it! You want to taste the first fruits? Fruits that have been ripening for years and have finally become available to ordinary consumers?
Now the holidays will be trampled.
Oh, I see the sparkle in your eyes! Well, I won’t waste time and will share really important nuances, nuggets of knowledge and small tips for choosing 4K TVs. Even if you prefer to wait, I think much of what has been said will still be relevant in the coming years.
The 4K TV market is already a couple for several years confidently consolidated its status as a current acquisition. All long-standing technical problems have been solved, content in UHD resolution began to appear regularly, images have learned to increase resolution more efficiently, prices have become much more affordable! The market is already taking more confident steps towards conquering the new resolution and now is a very good time to purchase your own 4K, especially since the holidays are just around the corner!
Don’t worry, I won’t try to "sell" you a TV. I just wish that you could make the choice yourself with full understanding of what you will get and why your choice is so good.
I – Technical nuances
Terms, differences, numbers and everything that significantly distinguishes some models from others. It’s useful to know, especially if you’re not considering the cheapest models from manufacturers and want to be sure that you’re getting the most for your money.
If you round – in goals and objectives.
Due to the use of a monitor-computer connection, maximum responsiveness of mouse control is required. Not only in games, but also in work, for example with graphics and editing. In this regard, a monitor cannot have many of the advantages of a TV, since each of them requires a longer image rendering time, and therefore a lower response speed (which is discussed below).
However, good(!) the TV will always produce a more interesting and rich picture due to the satisfaction of the key user need – cinema. Due to greater emphasis on additional image enhancement, artificially increasing image smoothness and resolution, TV can produce a much more interesting picture. But only good. Due to the presence of all kinds of image improvements, their cost is significantly higher than monitors, thereby forcing very budget lines to offer cheaper solutions both with a matrix (also lower) and with improvements. The problem of disturbed color balance in cheap TVs is the norm.
So yes, the key difference is in image enhancement and this is one of the reasons why I recommend even a PC gamer to buy their own TV. Unless you’re an eSports player who counts every millisecond to gain an advantage in battle, TV can be a window into a different perception of the gaming world.
Input Lag or “response speed”
What is this? Time interval from an action (button press) to the display of this action on the screen (shot). Simply put – response speed.
Straightaway I emphasize, TV will not be as responsive as a monitor. Largely due to the presence of additional image processing and other priorities. Problem? Not really, since the average player with a gamepad will either not notice a significant difference or will barely feel it. Of course, everything is relative, but in the days of monolithic monitors, this indicator was actually similar to good television solutions now, which only proves the full functionality of TV as a playground and work screen.
A little about those same indicators:
1-6ms – Monitor indicator.
10-20ms – Current ideal among gaming TVs
20-30ms – Just a good TV indicator.
30-35ms – Normal TV indicator.
40+ms – Non-gaming models.
MS – milliseconds Perceptible difference – 15ms Minimum comfortable indicator – 40ms
© IMPORTANT TO KNOW!
Always set the "game" mode in the image settings. It is in this mode that a reduced input lag is provided, which is indicated to the TV. In modes designed for watching movies and television, this figure can be two, three, or even 5 times higher due to image upscaling and other additional functions that require longer processing of the video signal.
We’re talking about input lag, not average response time or screen tearing. It is the input delay that is the benchmark for the responsiveness of games on TV, and I don’t see the point in loading information on top of this. Market leaders are trying their best to maintain their brand and not make such mistakes, therefore this issue is more relevant when choosing monitors.
RESULT
Be aware that these indicators are individual and someone is capable of beating the entire server even with a TV unsuitable for gaming. My task was only to provide a guideline for those users for whom it is really important to know how responsive their TV will be. For those who don’t care, you can breathe out. All TVs of major brands are suitable for gaming and having a response time of 35ms will not hurt you at all.
Color depth (8-10bit).
What is this? The number of colors that the TV can display.
Everything here is as my dad bequeathed. More is better.
Essentially, all game content and movies in FHD work with a color gamut of 8 bit, good 10 bits(like HDR) came relatively recently from the premium segment. It’s trivial that everyone now has screens with 8-bit coverage. Whether it’s a TV in the living room, a monitor, or even a phone with a tablet. Although 10 bits are capable of giving new colors to this content, the difference will be small until you launch a movie or game with HDR that fully utilizes this color gamut. But, you understand, it costs a lot of money, so the market is absorbing an exquisite solution 8bit+FRC, capable of creating the illusion of 10 bits without simply having them. The result, frankly speaking, is not ideal, but even this result provides a pleasant contrast with conventional 8 bits, which means it fully pays for the cheapness of this solution relative to the “honest brother”. At the same time, it is not particularly more expensive than the normal version with the usual 8 bits, so take note!
A MINUTE OF PURE NUMBERS:
8 bits – 256 shades are transmitted for each color
10 bits – 1024 shades are transmitted for each color
8 bit +FRC – creates the illusion of 10 bits by mixing two adjacent shades.
CONCLUSION:
If you plan to use HDR content, then the required minimum is 8 bits + FRC. Compared to the previous year, they have become much more accessible. Samsung has added them to virtually all of its budget lines. Ideally, mark at 10 bits, of course. Don’t forget that FRC is actually an "eye trick", albeit a pretty good one. Well, 8-bit is now left in the most affordable lines and you shouldn’t expect at least some HDR implementation from it.
What is this? If we loosely decipher the name, we get “the content works in 10 bits”.
Yes, yes, this is not a magical technology, but a banal sticker on the content and a switch in the menu saying that the movie or game works not in 8, but in 10 bits. Why do TVs with an 8-bit system have it?? PR, and that’s all. On them, the image changes slightly, simply playing with the contrast, while even 8+FRC begins to really decorate the picture with a large number of color shades. But only for content that has HDR. It must be technically configured to work in this color range, otherwise unpleasant incidents may arise like Rockstar, where HDR turned out to be a scam, still working with 8-bit coverage. There are contenders, but they are rare.
But why are there different https://lucky-vip-casino.uk/withdrawal/ versions of HDR??
Also PR, describing the technical capabilities of the TV itself. HDR10 is the most common version with the number of bits in the name as a hint. HDR1000 – the TV brightness has 1000 nits, and only. HDR Dolby Vision – color correction was carried out using Dolby technologies and adjusted to 12 bits. What does this mean for us? And the fact that there are incredibly expensive (hello from 2019, where LG began adding them to its pre-premium segment!) TVs that have this “technology” and do not necessarily have these 12 bits… just like films for viewing in this format. It’s amazing how strongly this format has declared itself, while still having catastrophically little content to support it. Also, there are different subtypes of HDR that are designed to improve the image with traditional 8-bit, but often the implementation is simply terrible.To. simply changes the contrast of the image, rather than really analyzing where new colors can be used. They are usually added "to the heap" to the now traditional HDR10, so that they can simply be ignored. The correct HDR itself is exactly 10 bit TV + 10 bit cinema/game. If the source or the TV itself is 8-bit, then you will not notice the difference in the image. Well, or you will see a banal change in contrast that does not improve the picture in any way.
WHAT YOU NEED FOR GOOD HDR WORK:
— The maximum brightness level in the TV specifications is more than 400 nits (ours is indicated in Candelas (cd/m2)), although I recommend looking at 600 nits. Yes, some TVs need to manually increase the brightness or backlight of the image, although they usually turn it up to the ceiling themselves.
— Black depth no more than 0.5 nits, although you will most likely find out what level a particular TV has only from tests of professional resources.
— Disable/lower the parameters of all image “enhancements”. HDR has to do everything himself. Although it all depends on the TV, fortunately some of them simply do not work on this TV or change the image slightly. Everything will depend on the company and their approach.
— Have a connection via HDMI 2 input or HDMI 3 cable version 2.0 and above. Most often they support the HDR format. And yes, manufacturers may not care that only HDMI 3 can output sound to a soundbar (for example), so it’s all for the sake of your inconvenience! Although no one has canceled optics, the decision is extremely controversial.
CONCLUSION:
Now HDR is more like oil on a bodybuilder’s muscles, which only focuses attention on the advantages of this body. In our case – TV indicators. Do not be deceived by marketing and other names of this “technology”. Remember that first of all this is a designation for content operating in 10 bits, and secondarily for 4k TVs with these 10 bits. If the TV does not have this color gamut, then there is no point in chasing HDR. You just won’t see him.
Matrix Type.
What is this? Matrix – a flat display that creates a picture using liquid crystals of three colors: red, green and blue. RGB.
Everything here is like your monitor or smartphone, except that a TN matrix is not used. What then are there?
IPS. The key advantage is wide viewing angles and high-quality color rendition. Even among monitors, it is the best choice for those who care about both the picture and the absence of color distortion when viewed at an angle. In particular, for people working on flower processing. Manufactured by LG and found on almost all of their TVs.
V.A. The key advantage is better contrast compared to IPS at the cost of a significantly smaller viewing angle. On such a matrix the picture looks richer, more interesting, but requires you to be in front of the screen. Manufacturer Samsung. At least among expensive TV models in general and their lines in particular.
How to determine: Swipe across the screen. If the divorce is left, then the VA. No divorce? IPS. If the TV is not from the most famous company and is cheap, this trick does not work. “Left” ips also leave streaks.
The main reason is CPU.
Even despite the different factory settings of the TV itself, it is the processor that determines where the colors need to be improved, by how much, what shade should come out, etc. You can always correct the factory settings yourself, but if the processor considers blue to be turquoise, then it’s easier to punch a wall with your head than to set the correct image of all colors. So if the seller tells you something along the lines of “hey, it’s also 8 bits, the matrix is the same. TVs are essentially the same,” feel free to rub it in his face that each manufacturer has its own processor and this AFFECTS colors.
CONCLUSION:
A good matrix is only the basis of the image, which is subsequently improved by proprietary processors and additional image modes, but this is a full-fledged guideline! Especially considering that they are in the same price segment. Need a wide viewing angle? IPS. Not needed and needs better contrast? V.A. The saturation of a picture is a matter of taste, so just take this knowledge into account when you evaluate the image yourself.
LED, QLED, OLED.
What is this? To simplify, this is the backlight of the matrix, which is responsible for the brightness of the image of the picture itself. Yes, the essence is the same as in an old tube TV, it’s just much more compact. Divided into Edge-LED, Direct-LED, QLED and OLED.
LED — behind the matrix, at the bottom or at the end of the TV, there are LEDs. If it’s more convenient, imagine an LED strip that is used to decorate cafes, workplaces, or wrap it around a Christmas tree if they are tired of stepping on the sharp corners of the garland. Only these LEDs are very bright and are placed under the matrix along its entire length. It was thanks to the decision to replace a hefty lamp with small LEDs that we got rid of the “thick” design of TVs. In fact, the only thing that prevents TVs from becoming EVEN thinner are the built-in power supplies, the dimensions of the boards, processors and everything that makes the TV work. Of course, design is a great thing and there are already models that have a thickness similar to your smartphone, but as soon as progress goes towards reducing components or the possibility of more flexible placement, TVs can weigh like paintings… adjusted for weight, of course.
EDGE LED, As mentioned above, the backlight is located at the end or bottom of the TV, distributing light across the entire screen. A thin, bright, non-fumbling neighbor will mentally add a zero to his price tag. She has one problem – glare. If the matrix stands up unevenly, presses in slightly, or the LED moves, we get a small bright spot. How noticeable it is depends on the TV and the lighting of the scene, but if you don’t have half the screen in these spots, the problem is not so bad. Personally, I avoid it by adding a little contrast enhancement, stupidly “darkening” the black.
DIRECT LED the backlight is located exactly BEHIND the matrix in the form of several rows of equally spaced lamps, making the TV a little thicker. All. This is the only drawback, since it does not have problems with light, and can also have a local dimming function, where in certain areas the lamps are simply turned off, making the black color more natural. How effective is it?? Will depend on the number of zones. Yes, it may not be as bright as EDGE LED, but if it has local dimming, it does a good job of compensating for this difference.
QLED is an LED TV in which both lamps and reflectors are capable of changing their color for a larger total color gamut. This technology is used by Samsung TVs and is actually their alternative to OLED, relying on a larger color gamut and increased brightness of colors. An excellent option for bright scenes, but when working with black it has the same crutches. Has both Direct and Edge backlight variations.
OLED — unlike LED and QLED, they do not have the usual diode backlighting at all. Instead, each pixel contains an organic LED that turns on or off completely depending on the color being displayed. In other words, his bet is the most accurate dark colors. His black is perfect. Dark areas finally have clearly visible detail, and in brightly lit scenes there is no feeling of blown out dark areas. So that you understand, although Direct LED works with zones, there are not enough of these zones to work on small dark details and they do not exclude the presence of a minimum “light circuit”. In OLED, work is already underway pixel by pixel! With a TV like this you can even keep an eye on blacks in a dark coal mine. There is actually only one problem with OLED: image retention. Suppose you paused the game, went to wash up/under the blanket with the girl/do a diss on Naritsa, and when you returned and continued playing, you see a veil over the picture with the same pause. Marriage? No. Breaking? No. Peculiarity. The TV itself knows how to deal with image retention and when you turn off the TV, it “heals” itself from such ailments. And of course, it has a shorter service life dictated by 20 thousand hours, but let’s be objective… this is more than 2 years of continuous operation and if you turn it on for less than half a day every day and don’t think that the TV will last forever, like the working Zenit of your grandfathers, then this fact is more of a scare than a real reason to avoid OLED.
CONCLUSION
In general, everything is simple: if you are aiming for a TV cheaper than 90k, the only choice will be DIRECT LED and EDGE LED. And the budget solution for the first is not as widespread as for the second due to the consumer “it’s thicker”. If you are not so constrained by budget, then QLED and OLED. No one will tell you what will be more to your taste, so go, look and decide, but keep in mind all their advantages and disadvantages. There will never be a perfect TV, but there will always be a TV for certain needs.
Hertz and the “floater”
What is this? Artificial creation of additional frames per second to improve image smoothness.
Perhaps the most defining point for most users, since it is consistently presented as an extremely important element for processing dynamic scenes and there is no point in taking it below 120 hertz. Well, first of all, let’s remember what these same Hertz are. The Duke of Herts’ovsky is nicknamed "FPS" by his father, which means for us "the number of frames per second", born from the holy Processor Processor (sorry, but the hand did not rise to remove this joke). Essentially, having 60 hertz, we have 60 fps. Everything is like monitors, BUT in TV image modes that involve watching movies or television, there is a function that creates intermediate frames, artificially increasing the frame rate. Simply put, it turns cinematic 24 frames into 60. 120 hertz? Turns into 120 frames, but also has a mode with a more accurate 60 frames. What do we get from this?? Smoother picture.
“But it feels unnatural, and why is it necessary anyway??». Of course, it’s purely a matter of taste and color, but objectively speaking, the greater the smoothness, the more details we can see in the dynamics, which can very well affect the impression of an action sequence or an actor’s micro-facial expressions. Undoubtedly, you need to get used to this and not be afraid of the primary effect of a “soap opera” or “live filming”, fortunately you quickly get used to good things. If not, then to hell with it!
So that’s what I’m talking about… I don’t really recommend relying on numbers, since the key role is still played by the TV processor that creates these frames. Simply put: it is not so much quantity that matters, but quality. 120 hertz does not work perfectly in all models and can produce choppy frames, but 60 hertz may not have these problems… Or it may produce. Here I already recommend focusing on testing professional resources.
IMPORTANT(!)Can be used in games on some models, but moderately increases imput lag. Yes, yes, some TVs are capable of creating the illusion of a not very stable increased frame rate out of 30 fps in a game. Although I wouldn’t risk using something like this in online shooters, it won’t feel bad in 3rd person games. If you are interested in this, take a closer look at Samsung.
CONCLUSION:
If you are interested in the “floater” as such, then instead of studying the numbers, it is better to simply test it yourself. Even if you are interested in a gaming swimmer and you know which models have it, still test it yourself with dynamic and smooth videos.
II Practical nuances
So, we know everything you need to go to the store for the options you are interested in! Even if you have already decided on the model and found a good store, I still recommend looking at your future purchase with your own eyes and making sure there are no obvious problems and understanding the nuances.
Let’s start simple. Do you want to put the TV on legs or the story on the wall?? We are sure that there will be enough space for him? Are you ready to buy a wall mount?? And the legs will fit on the table/shelf/ironing board? Even if this seems like a trifle, these are still natural room limitations that must be taken into account. You can want a huge diagonal as much as you like, but if you don’t find a place for it in the room you need, the joy of purchasing will be significantly overshadowed by the inability to put the TV in a place convenient for you.
Curved or not?
To replace purely marketing 3D, which could hardly impress anyone, they began to produce TVs with curved screens. Basically, Samsung is currently sinning with this on the market, promising us an impressive effect due to the fact that the corners of the screen are exactly the same distance from the viewer’s view as the center of this very screen. Overall, it doesn’t look bad and the bend is not so big as to distort the naturalness of the image in any way. I recommend at least taking a look at this miracle before it goes into retirement like TVs with 3D effect. It may even interest you, HOWEVER, there is one critical nuance. You must sit directly opposite him and ideally relative to the center of the screen. Since such TVs have a VA panel, along with the bending of the TV itself, the comfortable viewing angle at which it is best to watch this TV is reduced. If, for example, if you are sitting with a group on the sofa, then those sitting on the very edge risk experiencing discomfort due to the change in colors, since the closest to them will be the corner of the screen, which is already turned slightly sideways towards it. In a word, a sore VA matrix shoots the viewer right in the eye.
In short, the TV provides comfort for a maximum of two simultaneously watching viewers sitting next to each other. This is how the main advantage of the TV turned into the main disadvantage. If you need a TV only for yourself, you can place it exactly opposite you and you like the effect of the bend, then I see no point in dissuading. The guaranteed VA matrix will only be a plus here.
And companies have already realized that people have stopped paying so much attention to them, so lately I regularly see discounts on them. I won’t say that we will soon lose them as 3D, but I won’t deny that something like this may be abandoned.
Of course, I could dryly say “take whichever one you want,” but I also recommend calculating in advance the distance of the viewer (you) from the TV (more precisely, the place where it will stand). Subtitles in movies are usually quite large and do not cause problems even for people with less than perfect vision, but game text can be small to test your “one” from an army ophthalmologist. Be sure to stand at the appropriate distance from the TV, understand whether it will be comfortable for you to peer, whether you see the image clearly enough and whether you can even see the difference between 4k and 1080p at this distance. They will greatly help you understand your own pictures or videos from a flash drive. Most stores allow this.
It is worth recalling that if during the inspection process there is a desire to take a larger diagonal, be aware that the same model will cost more. Somewhere more noticeable, somewhere not. I would recommend aiming from 49 inches to get the maximum 4K experience, but this is subject to sufficient distance from you to the TV.
“Yes, give me at least some specifics already!“you say, okay, here’s a sign with the optimal distance for one unit of vision, taking into account distance, diagonal and resolution. Use it as a rough guide ONLY
Broken and burning pixels
There is always a risk that even a TV that has only seen the light of day when it was born in a factory and then wrapped in packaging with maternal love and a kiss on the forehead from Lao Fen may have a dead pixel. Just ask to connect your flash drive to it, turn on the pure white image and see them yourself. If not, then great. For those purchasing OLED, you need to thoroughly check the red, green and blue images for color fading (although ideally check them on any TV). Yes, OLED features. It’s worth checking this immediately in the store where you buy in order to avoid unnecessary fuss with the warranty. If it’s not expensive and they don’t let you do it yourself, you can order this service so that you don’t have to wonder at home whether it’s defective or not. Or you can send them and go to a friendlier store, otherwise it’s too bad for them to be capricious there when the client spends a lot of money on a purchase… In short, save yourself the nerves. Check pixel integrity!
The point of local wars, but I will express my opinion – the Russian assembly is more concerning than the Chinese one. I don’t want to say that in the end you will get a different TV, it won’t last long or will fall apart as soon as you take it out of the box, it’s just that the control is different and the people are different. And the more manufacturing plants a company has, the more difficult it is to monitor each of them, and our plant is most often one of several. I have long ceased to be afraid of the “China” tag, but “Russia” still causes fear to this day. All “our” equipment that I had worked properly, although both the monitor and the TV, after turning it off, they decided to hold a competition at night “who can make the most terrible cracking sound out of the blue,” and they also crunched even from a soft touch on them in order to move them. In this regard, my respect to Sony for the fact that, unlike Samsung, they have fewer factories, but better quality control. There’s no shame in loving them for their assembly.
Oh, how many times have I heard “only consider this year’s models”! New powers, new quality!“But in reality, progress will be hardly noticeable to the average user, and an experienced user will look for the old model. If you don’t closely follow this market and just want to buy a good TV, take note of the offers from the previous year (2017), since the technological leap in TVs has passed long enough to not be afraid of a significant difference. But you’ll save a lot or you’ll be able to get a TV of a higher class for the same money! After their release, like any product, televisions gradually fall in price and this is an excellent reason for us, average consumers, to purchase good models.
III Manufacturers
This part was created not with the purpose of degrading or elevating this or that manufacturer, but rather to outline consumer guidelines among several key manufacturers. Writing everything for each individual model is difficult, thankless, and in general there is a more intelligent . Of course there will be a pinch of subjectivity, but justified.
As time passed, pre-premium TV lines actually stopped supplying matrices in honest 10 bits. It’s difficult to answer unequivocally what this is connected with, but I will make my guess:
Sony, Samsung and LG want to widen the gap between the pre-premium line of LED TVs and the premium ones, since they had two or even three TVs that were technically similar to each other and had not so impressive differences. Now there are more differences, but due to the reduction of certain models, namely the 8xxx series of TVs. What’s funny is that each of the companies. Sonya and Sams were very good in 2017, LyZhek – in 2018. At the same time, Samsa completely got rid of the 9000 line, replacing it with a budget QLED (Q60)… which also does not have a 10-bit matrix. I sincerely congratulate everyone who managed to buy 8000 models before their matrices were cut!
Best choice for movie buffs with money.
They are distinguished by the subjectively best upscale and uplink on the market, the most adequate basic image settings and Android TV, which is as friendly with pirated software as your mobile phone. Also, a number of TRILUMINOS models have technology that can be equated to “QLED” technology for expanding the color range, without the use of color lamps. Some users claim that this is a more correct implementation, since QLED has only lamps, but I won’t lie to you. Sony is more restrained in colors and QLED will look colorful, but TRILUMINOS will produce more natural colors. Overall, great image, European build only. It’s worth considering that the real juice starts with the XE/XF85 models, which stand on the equator between the budget and premium lines and already have the same processor and TRILUMINOS. Also, OLED TVs are repeatedly recognized as the best on the market, but of course if you close your eyes to the price. In general, they have three key drawbacks: they are a little more expensive than their competitors (OLED is downright EXPENSIVE), the budget lines are not impressive, and the imput lag is consistently just above 30ms.
Best choice for budget gaming TV.
It is immediately clear that the company is targeting absolutely all buyers, offering a large selection of budget EDGE LED TVs and promoting its premium QLED. Curved, straight, with VA matrix, with IPS, with two remote controls, with one, Russian assembly or Chinese, legs on the sides or in the center. In short, they make a product to suit any preference! They are the kings of the budget segment, which Sony cannot properly score. The truth may arise that are not obvious
For example, the MU7000 in the 49-inch version has 8 bits +FRS and 60 hertz, while the 55-inch version has all 10 bits and 120 hertz. Yes, and the straight model MU6400 has an IPS matrix, and the curved one has VA, and the difference in the picture is even surprising.
As for games, the answer is simple: input lag is no higher than 25ms. In some models it is completely below 20, and some can offer 23ms with a melter! Yes, yes, Sony, which has an entire console market, has less responsiveness than Samsung, which every year tries to make this figure as low as possible. If increased responsiveness is essential, this is definitely your favorite!
However, it is worth considering that with such pressure on the budget segment and many variations of models, no, no, yes, there will be very weak representatives and those TVs where the brightness of the colors completely kills all the details in this very color, teaching an important lesson for us: even if you fall in love with one brand, you need to actively search and check its model range. In the TV industry, having unsuccessful models is the norm. Just like it’s normal to spoil a model whose variation a year ago seemed like the ideal choice for your money.
Best choice for budget OLED and normal sound.
One of the few companies that is trying to make OLED more affordable without falling flat on its face. I would even say that for them this is a priority TV market, so for those who want to join, this is an excellent choice. Moreover, the imput lag is also around 20+, which makes it an interesting solution for gaming. Although outside the OLED line, even if it has honest 4K, they may only be of interest for their Smart TV. From my personal impression, there is nothing interesting before the OLED line, although if you are looking at Samsung models, it would be a good idea to look at them as well. Whatever you say, their sound is surprisingly good, although I recommend and will continue to recommend purchasing an additional audio system in the future.
Both in the budget and premium lines they have not the usual RGB, but WRGB (or rgbw). In other words, a white subpixel for increased picture brightness and improved quality of the whitest color, without yellowness and cyanosis. In words, the thing is not bad, but a serious war is flaring up over the real benefits of its presence. Do they have full 4k resolution?? Doesn’t it bleach other colors?? Is the color transition smooth in the end?? To be honest, I’m afraid to say it myself. The most budget models of the previous year in my eyes confirmed this rumor, but the fact that it is built into all OLED TVs makes me wonder… maybe those TVs were just bad or maybe OLED works with the subpixel differently? Alas, I personally will not give a confident opinion about wRGB.
The best choice for those who like to sculpt LED strips everywhere.
They try with all their might to remain competitive due to a very affordable price, but because of this it is difficult to highlight any significant advantages in them. And to be fair, they are very difficult to find in official stores and stores bringing goods from Europe, so I’ll just say that their imput lag is under 40, which immediately makes them the most uninteresting choice among the representatives I mentioned. However, this is the only company that still promotes TVs with color LEDs at the edges of the screen, shining onto the wall. You remember how they were once promoted? Expansion of the image due to the play of light behind the TV, that’s all? If you like to install LED backlights everywhere or just want something spectacular, then the TV may be of interest. Still, something like this is already rare and the effect is quite interesting. Moreover, they even supply OLED lines with them, so Phillips is strictly for connoisseurs of such things.
But I don’t know. It’s difficult to find anything about Chinese manufacturers, and in Xiaomi brand stores they didn’t let me play with the flash drive. Yes, some of the readers have probably seen very cheap and cool TVs ordered from AlliExpress and from the largest companies in China… but let’s not believe the bloggers who could simply import this TV for the sake of advertising. The only thing I can objectively tell you about budget Chinese solutions is the possible castration of functionality like flashing and HDR, which would not be so critical if they had not castrated some of the settings “for convenience”. Plus, from the factory the image setting may be quite acidic and if the TV does not offer to switch the modes of this very image, then you will have to configure everything yourself. Simply put, an option for those who “just want 4k”. Otherwise it’s roulette. I think if you really wanted to buy a pig in a poke, you would not read such a fence of text.
I am very glad that you were able to complete my six-month work. To be honest, it’s hard for me to be proud of this homunculus, constantly changing due to new facts and discoveries, especially in such a difficult time for me, voiced in the very first lines. I don’t have the strength to sweat the design as much as I once did, but I couldn’t leave it in the drafts anymore… In its original form, it was actually a technical post with a lot of numbers, but that’s not what I wanted to achieve. Buying a TV is an expensive pleasure and it pains me to hear in stores the phrases “Yes, they are almost all the same in price” or “Sony doesn’t have its own matrix, they only inflate prices and know how to!", and in the Russian segment there are virtually no normal TV reviewers! Either everyone praises, or they praise a specific brand, or they completely criticize something they don’t understand! Information sites sometimes write things that contradict each other or go into technical nuances, due to which only some of the figures remain from the first version of the article.
This article is a summary of the nuances that will really be important and useful when choosing a TV specifically for you. Not for grandmothers who will only watch the first channel, not for your dad who wants to indulge in all its possibilities. For players! And let me not mention Smart TV, processors, etc. Each of these topics is worthy of its own detailed article, but within the framework of today’s conversation they do not play such a huge role.
I sincerely thank every reader, every critic and commentator for reading. I will try to correct all comments and love to you.
Separately, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that it is important to look not only at whether the colors really look like themselves, but also at the number of details visible in color. For example, in the segment with Red, where they show a flower, ideally you should see both the change in shades and all the dimples, bends, etc.
Simply put, the color should not “paint over” the details, but at the same time it should not appear faded. Each of the videos here uses bright and rich colors. If it’s faded somewhere, it means you’ve found a weakness in your device.
And I will separately point out that each of the devices has a weakness. The number and visibility of them is important. For example, in the last test, ideally, you need to clearly see the boundaries of buildings, but not every TV will be able to do this.
If you ask me which colors you should pay attention to first of all, it will be black, red, yellow, green. They like to make red and green too saturated, and yellow, in addition, can give off green. Blue is not so often outright KILLED, hence purple. I spoke to the black one. OLED should work better with it, zonal backlighting, honestly, I haven’t tested it. But it can burn down the love of TVs by REDUCING the backlight to the entire screen in black scenes, making objects even less distinguishable. But this is my IMHO, I tested this video not without pleasure and I think it is very useful.
LG started making very good pre-premium models! It’s a pity that their latest incarnations also began to castrate, but suddenly Dolby Vision became even more accessible from them! It’s just a pity that films meeting this standard weren’t added during this time..
MicroLED technology is also testing the waters, introducing backlighting behind a matrix with a huge number of zones into thin TVs. If everything goes well, there is a possibility that a high-quality alternative to OLED screens will appear! Longer life, fewer problems, best black performance among LED screens. It’s beauty! Who knows, maybe progress will speed up quickly enough for me to remake this whole 4k TV thing!