ARTICLE
TV Technology Explained
December 2, 2022-5 min read
Don’t know your HDR from your HDMI, or confused about OLED vs QLED? We decode all the tech talk and acronyms you need to consider when buying a TV.
Aspect Ratio
Aspect ratio describes the width and height of a display. It refers to overall shape – whether the TV screen is square or rectangular – and will vary depending on the TV resolution. The most common ratio used for widescreen TVs is 16:9.
Diode
Diodes are the ‘D’ in LED. These semiconductors are used as backlights to project the TV picture.
Dolby Vision
Dolby Vision is a leading proprietary HDR format that uses dynamic metadata to boost the brightness and colour range of an image. The technology offers frame-by-frame adjustments to optimise visuals.
Full HD (1080p)
TVs with Full HD (also called 1080p) present a screen resolution of 1920×1080 pixels. Full HD can be found on good value large-screen TVs and mid-range computer monitors.
HD (720p)
High-definition (HD) TV denotes a screen display with a resolution of 1280×720 pixels, which is more than twice the pixel count of a standard-definition (SD) TV. HD is sometimes referred to as 720p and has become the norm for television and video content.
HDMI
HDMI stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface, and is the standard technology for connecting devices like gaming consoles and soundbars to your TV by transmitting high-definition video and audio signals through a HDMI cable.
HDMI 2.1
The latest HDMI upgrade, HDMI 2.1, allows for more information to travel through the HDMI cable, enabling access to 8K pictures with up to 120 frames per second for glitch-free gaming and clearer, sharper pictures when watching movies.
HDR
High Dynamic Range (HDR) is a feature that makes your TV’s picture appear more detailed and true to life by boosting brightness and colour range. While definition (HD, 4K) refers to the number of pixels a screen can display, HDR is about the dynamic range of light that can be shown.
LCD
The most affordable display type on the market, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) TV is a flat-panel display composed of pixels filled with liquid crystals. Backlight is used to shine variable light through these liquid crystals, enabling colour images to form.
LED
LED TVs utilise an LCD screen to project their picture (the LED stands for Light-Emitting Diode). A backlight within the screen controls where light is displayed and when colours are lit up. LED screens are split into zones that can be individually controlled. The more zones a screen contains, the greater the picture control the TV has.
MINI LED
Instead of backlighting the TV with a few dozen standard-sized LEDs, Mini LED TVs have tens of thousands of miniature LEDs. This enables greater control over backlighting, minimising light bloom while still allowing for the brightest picture available.
OLED
Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) screens are generally slimmer and more expensive than LCD, and use a different technology to deliver best-in-class contrast levels, inky blacks and premium colour definition. OLED TV display technology relies on thin carbon-based films placed between two conductors to produce light with the aid of electricity.
QLED
QLED TVs are basically LED TVs equipped with quantum dots (QLED stands for Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diode). Expect the benefits of quantum-dot technology, such as extremely realistic colours with intense saturation.
Quantum Dots
Similar to LED technology, quantum dots are microscopic nanocrystals that emit various colours when light is shone on them to create deep and accurate colour portrayal. Quantum-dot TVS are known for their ability to sustain clear and vibrant images in brightly lit rooms or outdoors.
Refresh Rate
Refresh rate denotes the number of times in one second that a TV screen refreshes an image. A higher refresh rate provides smoother motion for everything from movies and shows, to live sports and gaming. Most modern TVs have a refresh rate of either 60Hz or 120Hz (hertz).
Screen Resolution
Screen resolution describes the number of pixels (dots) that make up a picture display and is usually expressed as width times height. (For example, 1920 x 1080 means 1920 pixels horizontally and 1080 pixels vertically). More pixels mean a higher resolution, which usually equals a sharper picture with finer details.
SD
SD, which stands for Standard Definition, is often considered the base level resolution for streaming and broadcast. SD resolution commonly refers to a pixel height of 480 in a single image.
UHD
Ultra-High Definition TVS have screen resolutions higher than 1080p and come in 4K and 8K.
Zones
Premium TVs, such as Mini LED TVs, can locally control the colour in multiple areas on a screen, known as zones. These zones can be brightened or dimmed independently for deeper shadows, brighter highlights and more vivid colour.
4K
4K is the resolution found on premium large-screen TVs and it creates richer, more lifelike images. It refers to a resolution of 3840 x 2160, which is four times the pixels of Full HD (or 8 million pixels).
8K
An 8K TV has a screen resolution of 7680×4320 pixels (around four times greater than 4K). Native sources of 8K content are still limited, so for now this technology is more about future-proofing your TV purchase.
