Stephan Jukic – January 2, 2015

The 2015 edition of the Consumer Electronics show is just about upon us from Las Vegas, Nevada and it’s promising to be an interesting event on a number of different fronts in consumer electronics. While we’ll also be seeing some interesting innovations across the entire spectrum of the latest in technology that makes ordinary people able to enjoy extraordinary things, particularly dominant will be the presence of 4K developments in TVs, cameras and content.

Without further words wasted, let’s get down to the details of what cool ultra HD innovations we can expect from this year’s CES.

4K Begins to Dominate

First and foremost, because this is a site about 4K technology, we need to cover the overall 4K ultra HD angle of the whole show. This isn’t just a niche focus either. CES itself really will strongly be dominated by 4K technology on many levels, particularly those that relate to TVs, content and cameras.

For starters, this year’s CES will be the first in which the TVs that get unveiled by major manufacturers predominantly come with ultra HD screens and all the associated content technologies that come with UHD. This will be a major tend for the entire 2015 production line of flagship TVs from the likes of LG, Sony, Panasonic and Samsung but CES 2015 is where we’re first going to see the trend put out on display as several home entertainment technology leaders showcase their latest and best TVs, all of which will come with ultra HD resolution.

1080p Full HD is still going to remain by far the dominant format for most of the TVs that sell worldwide for at least the next couple of years but its status as the top-shelf mainstream resolution standard is now going to be officially over.

Quantum Dots from Samsung and LG

Quantum dots are going to play a major role in the designs of some of the latest TV screens from LG and Samsung at this year’s CES, and we might even see the technology unveiled by more than a couple of other TV manufacturers.

What is quantum dot technology? Quite simply it’s a not so new screen design development that has finally been made feasible thanks to new manufacturing procedures developed by both LG and Samsung. With quantum dots –tiny polarized particles of semiconducting nano-crystals—4K TVs can have near OLED or possibly even OLED equivalent levels of color gamut and image vibrancy without the extreme expense of using Organic Light Emitting Diodes in their screens.

While the LG lineup of OLED TVs released in 2015 offered some of the most spectacular image quality of any 4K models for the year, the sheer cost of manufacturing them resulted in insanely steep consumer price tags.

With the introduction of 4K TVs with quantum dots, LG hopes to offer a viable alternative at a much lower cost and Samsung is hoping to do the same without ever having had to go through the process of unveiling OLED 4K TVs as LG did.

Quantum dot fluid for 4K LCD TVs being prepared at a laboratory in Germany

OLED Becomes more Affordable

Speaking of OLED technology, the 4K TVs that have it courtesy of LG are also expected to go downwards in price as of this year’s CES. There’s no confirmation on this of course but it is well known that LG itself has definitely wanted to decrease the price of its OLED line of 4K TVs in an effort to make them sell to a wider customer base.

Currently, even the smallest 55 inch OLED set costs about $3,500 and LG’s larger 77 inch models are retailing for over $10,000. As of CES, we might see the smallest of the OLED line of 4K TVs start to dip below the $3,000 line for the first time even as new features are added to them.

LG’s New, faster, slimmer 4K TVs

In addition to quantum dots and lower priced OLED 4K TVs, LG is also definitely going to be revealing a slimmer, faster and lighter line of new 4K TVs in general.

The company has already made clear that it has invested considerable development in creating a 2015 lineup of 4K sets that are thinner than ever, have a much more streamlined new Smart TV interface thanks to their new webOS 2.0 update and feature less bezel space than ever before.

Furthermore, all of 2015’s new LG UHD TVs that are going on display at CES will come with a new type of LED technology for their edge-lighting, which is supposed to considerably improve image brightness, especially when combined with the quantum dots we already covered above.

Particular improvements are expected in the LG line of premium “ColorPrime” TVs, which are expected to show improvements of as much as 30% in their color displays over 2014 models.

Content Takes Front and Center

CES 2014 was the year of the first pioneering steps for ultra HD 4K content and CES 2015 will be the event in which 4K content starts to really go mainstream. In just one year, we’ve moved between these two extremes and the major announcements around 4K media at the upcoming CES show will be headline events.

This year’s event is expected to be the place where a number of companies announce improvements to the way in which they can deliver ultra HD movies and shows to the expanding number of homes with 4K TVs. Furthermore, established 4K media providers who are already delivering UHD content to some degree are expected to unveil new developments in how this content is delivered and expanded upon.

4K Cameras Galore

At CES 2015, we can expect an utter explosion in the number of new cameras being offered by just about every manufacturer who can produce them. These will include 4K DLSRs, hybrids, camcorders and action cameras from companies like GoPro, Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and even LG.

Given the massive growth of 4K display technology (as will be represented by dozens of new 4K TV models at this year’s show), it’s no wonder that the interest in 4K resolution for video will automatically extend to all of these new cameras we’re going to see.

Thus, the overwhelming majority of the cameras that arrive at CES will be 4K machines and they will come out at prices that are far more attractive than those seen in 2014. At the same time, these cameras will come with improved specs such as better internal SD memory, ubiquitous WiFi and NFC connectivity and improved frame rates for 4K video shooting.

Innovative 4K Cameras like GoPro’s new Hero 4 Black are just a precursor to the new video recording innovations expected from CES 2015.

 Story by 4k.com

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Stephan Jukic – February 03, 2015

2015 is definitely shaping up to be the year in which 4K TVs go fully mainstream and because of this now is a great time for really looking carefully at whether buying a 4K TV is already a good idea.

These TVs have been around since 2012 at least but until early 2014, the technology behind them made owning one difficult for various reasons.

For one thing, most name brand TV models cost thousands of dollars even with mid-range screen sizes and some of the really big 4K models could cost upwards of $100,000 dollars.

Next, there was the issue of technology standards, namely that there weren’t any established “must have” features that had yet been fully fleshed out.

But, now it’s 2015, and the ecosystem around 4K TVs is truly maturing into something convenient, broad and easy to access, meaning that it’s now a better time than ever before to get your hands on a new UHD TV at minimal cost for the sake of enjoying both native 4K content and Full HD content in a clarity never before seen in any TV.

Here are some reasons why 4K televisions have become an honestly unbeatable home entertainment option.

4K technology is here to stay

There’s no longer any doubt about it. 4K is here for the long run, or until it gets replaced by even higher resolutions as the highest available standard, but that’s still more than a few years away.

While a lot of pundits and “experts” claimed that 4K technology in TVs would go the way of the now defunct 3DTV, they turned out to be wrong and it was pretty obvious they would be right since the beginning. I mean, people love high resolution and the more of it they can get at a decent price, the better. The arrival of Full HD clearly showed this and so did the earlier advent of 720p HD.

The same is the case for ultra HD and the only thing which made 4K adoption low at first was the price of new UHD TVs. Now that they’re getting cheaper, they’re also quickly growing enormously popular.

By buying a 4K TV, one thing you’re definitely doing is future proofing your home entertainment options and giving your family access to shows and movies in a format that was previously closed to you. You can also still enjoy all the HD content anyhow.

Much more affordable 4K TVs like the new Vizio P-Series are remaking the pricing landscape of ultra HD.

Standards have stabilized

In the beginning of 4K TVs, there were still a lot of holes that needed addressing in the underlying ecosystem of supporting technology. This is no longer nearly the case.

While there will still be much more evolution in 4K technology and some convenience factors still need to be addressed, video compression codecs like HEVC and VP9 to a slightly lesser extent have been standardized across the board.

Almost all newer model 4K TVs are now arriving on the retail shelves fully ready to play a wide range of existing 4K content and most future content that emerges in the coming months and years. Furthermore, firmware updates are coming out regularly to existing newer TVs which address lingering deficiencies and the latest TV models all come with “must have” features like HDMI 2.0, HDCP 2.2 and DisplayPort.

In essence, the latest 4K sets, while not as good as they’ll probably be next year, are already more than future proofed enough to cover all your 4K entertainment needs down the road if you don’t want to wait another unnecessary 12 months for the beauty of native ultra HD resolution in your home.

HEVC compression for streaming 4K content is now standard for UHD TVs and content providers

Prices just keep falling

Buying a 4K TV is no longer something that requires you to spend your own or your children’s college fund.

While the 4K TVs of 2012, 2013 and part of 2014 were indeed expensive and sometimes insanely so, this simply doesn’t apply anymore. Competition is heating up and several excellent TVs fro name brands come fully loaded with the latest and best technology at prices that are roughly comparable to those of high end HDTVs.

Vizio can largely be thanked for having started this trend in October of 2014 when it released a whole line of 4K UHD TVs with the very latest internal technology at prices that had been unheard of up to that point. Their 50 inch model cost less than $1000 and even the company’s gigantic 70 inch 4K set retails for less than $2500.

Now others are falling in line with similar pricing and even Samsung has recently released two new 4K models in the 55 to 65 inch range, both of which cost less than $1500 and $2400 respectively.

In other words, you can now get your hands on a big screen, excellent, fully future-proofed 4K TV for less than $3000.

Content is springing up everywhere

Content remains one of the big hurdles when it comes to 4K TVs but this is also changing now. Streaming 4K shows and movies are available to most of the latest major 4K TV models from Amazon and Netflix while several other content providers are already offering ultra HD programming via streaming connections, set-top boxes and even satellite connections to select TV makes and models.

Then there is Sony, whose media player and accompanying VoD service offer the single largest library of 4K content available from anybody today, roughly 1,300 different movie and TV show titles.

Of course, some 4K content models are still stubbornly and ridiculously proprietary or limited in scope but this will soon change and it’s good to be ready in advance. Notable examples of this narrowness include M-Go and Comcast, both of whom offer limited UHD content packages but only to owners of Samsung 4K TVs. On the other hand, Sony has already learned and its media player set-top box can be connected to certain UHD TVs from other manufacturers.

Luckily however, the entire content landscape is not only growing very, very fast, it’s also becoming much more broadly compatible with assorted TVs that meet the basic requirements of HEVC compatibility and the right web connection speed.

There’s much more to 4K TVs than just extra pixels

4K TVs aren’t just awesome because they offer 4 times the pixels of HD TVs. In addition to all that resolution, there is a whole plethora of associated color and image technologies that are being built into them instead of even newer model but much less profitable HDTVs.

For example, there is quantum dot technology –explained in detail here– which was unveiled at CES 2015 by at least two different TV manufacturers and which we explained in detail here. This is an innovative new display feature that creates far more vibrant, realistic color blends in the content viewed on the screen and it’s only available with ultra HD TV models and unlikely to be released with any upcoming Full HD TV sets.

Quantom dots illuminated by ultra violet lighting in a production laboratory

This isn’t the only technology that’s exclusive to 4K either: High Dynamic Range (HDR) is another new innovation that should start appearing in televisions as of mid-2015 and beyond. This development, which revolves around dramatically improving the degrees of luminosity in screen visuals for the sake of greater realism, will only be coming to the streamed 4K content and 4K TVs of this year and beyond.

Then there are also the web connectivity and “smart TV” features of ultra HD TVs. These also exist in HD televisions but the best features are found in 4K models.

The internet connected apps found in all the latest 4K TVs offer their own broad selections of ultra HD content (YouTube being one great example) and several manufacturers have overhauled their TV operating systems to run on highly intuitive Operating systems such as Panasonic’s Firefox OS for TVs. Furthermore, manufacturers like Sony and Sharp have also built in Android TV from Google for even greater access to apps from the Play Store.

In other words, as the TVs take on more importance to makers like LG, Sony and Samsung among others, we’ll start to see all of the newest, most innovative technologies appear only in 4K TVs. This will partly be to encourage greater consumer interest in 4K and partly in an effort to save money, since HD TVs are not nearly as profitable and thus don’t warrant the same level of attention.

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Stephan Jukic – February 07, 2015

While Ultra HD TVs steadily become more popular in just about every major market on Earth and content steadily (though a bit slowly) creeps forward to catch up with these exploding 4K TV sales, there are still a few serious problems in the industry that need to be resolved and soon.

Most crucial among these is the restrictive proprietary patchwork nature of 4K media and the way in which it’s affecting the user experience for millions of 4K TV buyers.

What we’re talking about is the fact that the latest waves of 4K smart TV platforms are often governed and restricted by all sorts of exclusivity deals and special content restrictions which mean that buying any given 4K TV doesn’t even come close to giving the you the user full access to any type of 4K content, even if you’re willing to pay for it in many cases!

The Fences That Divide Content

For example, the largest and best known streaming content services, Netflix and Amazon, are only available on some TVs. Arguably, the selection of TVs that accept either is quite broad and getting broader all the time but there are still some restrictions that shouldn’t be the case.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Netflix announced a new program called “Recommended TV”, which is designed to allow certain specific manufacturers to show the UHD streams that the company offers. This program goes into effect as of the spring and will include a Netflix logo that will be affixed to 4K internet connected TVs that will be capable of showing the company’s UHD video streams.

One of the initial partners in the program was LG but other models from Sony, Vizio and Samsung will also be included, all of which must have HEVC codec compatibility in order to open up the Netflix 4K streams.

While Amazon isn’t necessarily offering the same specific program, similar restrictions apply to its service, making it available only to select TV models with HEVC decoding ability.

And if we take a look at newly arrived 4K services from M-Go and Comcast, the restrictions on who can see the content with which 4K TVs get much harsher. With either of these providers, their UHD selections are only going to be available (for now) to users of Samsung UHD TVs manufactured in 2014.

Then there’s the very largest of all the content services on the market today, the Sony Video Unlimited 4K VoD service, but even here we see restrictions in place: for one thing, you need a $700 Sony 4K media player in order to access it and only certain TV models are compatible with the media device. Fortunately though, at least Sony has had the foresight to allow their media player to be used on TVs other than Sony’s own.

Media Player’s like Sony’s FMP-X10 are expanding the content landscape but still restricted to a limited range of UHD TVs

Lingering 4K Video Compression Barriers

The codec system that allows 4K to be compressed for streaming also remains something of a barrier to access. While most services (including Netflix and Amazon) use the HEVC/H.265 compression codec, Google is still out there pushing forward its own version of the same, called VP9. Naturally, VP9 encoding goes with YouTube’s growing library of user generated 4K content.

In essence, this means that there are still two distinct codec competing for space in the 4K content market and they’re not interchangeable, meaning that TVs and PCs have to come with both in order to play the widest possible selection of content.

To make things worse, even if a TV is equipped with the more widely used HEVC decoder, it still might not be able to access all the services that use the codec. This is because there are often certification barriers that the streaming services offering 4K content put on certain TVs that don’t have their stamp of approval.

Then there are 4K PCs, which are basically cut off from all streaming UHD content from Netflix or Amazon, even if they have the right internet speed and ultra HD monitors. Why? Because they lack HDCP 2.2 content protection standards in their internal HDMI 2.0 connections. This will change eventually as PC makers get in on the uptake but for now, it’s just one more annoying barrier to thousands of UHD PC owners who are hoping to watch proprietary 4K content from their desktops and laptops just like they can do with thousands of Full HD shows that get streamed online.

Why the 4K Future Still Looks Bright

Nonetheless, despite these annoying and still lingering content barriers (and others we didn’t even get around to mentioning) that plague 4K content proliferation, the scene is changing and its going to continue to change until we see something far more open and flexible emerge.

The simple inertia of consumer demand for convenience will play a part in making this happen while at the same time the same content producers, broadcasters and electronics makers who want more customers will bow to the inevitable pressures of the market.

For starters, we’ve already seen the creation of the UHD Alliance, a consortium of companies involved in 4K which has been put together to address exactly the problems described above and standardize 4K content so that it’s as plug-and-play as possible. The players that make up the Alliance include Twentieth Century Fox, DirecTV, Dolby, Sharp, Sony, Samsung, Disney, Netflix and a number of others. Together they represent an enormous amount of market power even if people like Google, Vizio and a few lesser known 4K TV brands are still absent from the organization.

Furthermore, platform-neutral 4K content is definitely on the way. Dish Network and DirecTV are both building their own 4K satellite services that will be compatible with pretty much any 4K television that subscribes and 4K Blu-ray discs are on the way for the end of 2015. These too are expected to be fully platform neutral as long as basic specs are present in a 4K TV that uses the new 4K Blu-ray discs.

The UHD Alliance is bringing together most of the major players in 4K to ease standards and broaden usability for 4K media

Bandwidth Solutions on the Way

Even if you get your hands on the right kind of 4K TV for displaying a maximal selection of content from different providers –and so far your best bet for this is probably a Samsung 4K model from 2014 or 2015—there is still the internet connectivity problem to deal with.

This is because, no matter how compatible your TV is with the encoding standards of the latest and best streaming content, it still needs to be hooked up to an internet connection that delivers at least 20 Mbps of connectivity. Netflix itself recommends at least 25 Mbps and so too does Amazon.

Unfortunately, only 19% of U.S homes are hooked to this kind of “4K-ready” web connection.

Fortunately however, even this might have a solution that’s coming soon. Beamr, a post-encoding video streamlining and optimization system is being developed in cooperation with movie studios and streaming media providers to decrease the bitrates of 4K video transmissions by even more than what HEVC compression offers.

What this means is that a transmission using Beamr should be able to take a 4K video which requires 25Mbps to send and chop it down even further to just 9.5Mbps. This means much broader access to more U.S households and theoretically faster adoption of 4K streams by potential customers, thus speeding up the content proliferation that’s needed to make 4K media more broadly accessible on a wider variety of platforms.

Beamr is still in the development stage but it was functionally showcased at the International CES this last January and the company behind it also explained that their system works with the already standardized HEVC video compression codec.

The bottom line in the universe of 4K content and technology is that the medium is here to stay and this means that standardization is on the way. The players in the industry know this, consumers will demand this before they really hop on the bandwagon and those who’ve gotten in early will only see their options for ultra HD entertainment on whatever kind of 4K TV they have grow larger.

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Stephan Jukic – February 11, 2015

TV advertising is something generations of households have had to endure for decades and for the most part we dealt with it and moved on. However, when the era of smart TVs with subscription programming came around all that intrusive advertising seemed like a thing of the past and most of us (okay, everybody) was probably glad for it.

This is why it was a rather ugly little piece of news to recently see that the newest 4K smart TVs from Samsung were starting to insert advertising in a number of their movies and shows.

Samsung claimed that the entire matter was an error in their programming software but we’ll get back to that in a bit.

The entire issue started from an incident this last Monday, February the 9^th in which a Reddit user complained in one of his posts that a muted advertisement for Pepsi suddenly started playing while he was watching different shows and movies. The phenomenon continued for some time and only appeared on his Samsung TV, not on other platforms like his PS4, tablet or PC, despite the fact that the content files were stored on the users same local Plex server from which these other devices were also accessing the same content.

According to the Plex forums themselves, the solution to the odd ad problem is to click “disagree with the Yahoo Privacy Notice” option located deep inside Samsungs Smart Hub platform options menus. However, a Plex spokesperson who spoke with GigaOm claimed that their company has absolutely nothing to do with the unwanted ads appearing.

Thus the blame fell upon Samsung.

More evidence of this mounted up as a number of TV owners in Australia also complained that their Smart TVs from the same brand were being crammed with these same Pepsi ads, which appeared in their Foxtel (An Australian cable service platform) programming. Foxtel also quickly came forward to notify the media and its customers that the ads absolutely should not be appearing and that they had nothing to do with their presence.

Soon enough the pattern became clear: Samsung TVs were the only source of the advertising and the likely culprit.

Yahoo was at first bein blamed as the culprit behind the unwanted Pepsi ads in the Samsung smart TVs

Finally Samsung Australia spoke up and explained in a public statement that the Pepsi ads seen by various users were caused by an “error that occurred as part of a recent software update that was not intended for the Australian market”.

The company also unequivocally stated that “…the issue has now been rectified and that there are currently no plans to introduce this type of advertising in Australia in the near future”.

Thus, at least for now, Australian Smasung Smart TV customers could rest easy knowing that they would remain add free.

However, this isn’t even the first time that the issue has popped up. In January of 2014, older models of Samsung Smart TVs had also started showing a number of unwanted ads in their programming and in that particular incident, Samsung had stated that it was exploring new interactive developments –“interactive experiences, as the company had phrased it—which would later be offered to consumers on an opt-in basis.

All of this sounds unthreatening enough but if deeper digging is done, what we find is that the Samsung smart TV terms and conditions have one particular (and possibly unrelated) section which is a bit worrying as far as privacy and intrusive advertising go:

“ In addition, Samsung may collect and your device may capture voice commands and associated texts so that we can provide you with Voice Recognition features and evaluate and improve the features. Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition.”

In other words, if you enable the Voice recognition feature on your Samsung Smart TV, the company transmits what you say in front of the TV to third parties and that data can obviously then be used for targeted advertising.

Samsung itself pushed back against the speculation about this specific policy by stating that it only transmits voice data to third parties during moments when you specifically address the TV and actually request a voice command search. But the fact remains, the company is capable of hearing specific, non-contextual information that has nothing to do with your commands to the Samsung TV in those moments.

The act of sending the data to third parties is not necessarily so strange by itself, given that the company needs the cooperation of databases belonging to other companies for delivery of better voice search results (since Samsung alone doesn’t keep all sorts of detailed programming information on hand).

However, the prospect of having your chats with friends and family in front of the TV is still a bit disconcerting and also raises the question of whether or not these unusual Pepsi ads were a small, narrowly defined part of a wider experiment by Samsung to test audience reactions to targeted advertising that has been enabled through voice or written search on their smart TVs.

It’s worth noting that the Yahoo privacy policy agreement that is supposedly to blame for this latest Samsung advertisement incident seems deliberately designed in such a way that disabling it is tricky and confusing, in other words a possible part of the kind of “dark pattern” wording and design that companies often use to trick users into submitting to more ads, more intrusion and more prying software.

This itself brings up a fundamental issue: Smart TVs do offer us an enormously broad new world of entertainment flexibility but at the same time they also bring more complexity, more intrusive, invasive “privacy” rules and more craftily designed advertising into our lives. Consumers might need to vote more forcefully with their dollars and show manufacturers like Samsung that they prefer not to have their lives pried into for the sake of extra sales revenue.

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Stephan Jukic – March 09, 2015

4K TV has a problem and it seems to still be a certain distance from being resolved. And no, we’re not talking about the TVs themselves.

In fact, as far as the technology and associated industries themselves go, things are looking positively rosy. The latest 4K TVs are excellent pieces of hardware, they come with more features than ever and their superiority to HDTVs is leaving the latter in the dust not just in terms of higher resolution but by all sorts of other metrics.

Furthermore, 4K TVs are now more affordable than ever and the content available for ultra HD fans is becoming more varied and numerous practically by the month.

Even better, the overall content landscape should see some more serious improvement by the end of 2015 as Netflix, Amazon and others get busy bulking up their streaming offerings. On top of this, other non-streaming 4K options like new 4K Blu-ray discs are also on the way for those who lack the necessary levels of internet connectivity for the first option.

However, and this is 4K’s biggest problem, of all the UHD content options that are coming, the one that’s lagging farthest behind and least likely to arrive is live broadcast content in full ultra HD. The canned content is already here, as we just mentioned and more of it is on the way but the live variety is nowhere to be seen and also not even around the corner.

The entire scenario that plays out all over the world every day with HD content –you turn on your TV, head over to ESPN or NBC and tune into a moment-by-moment sportscast of hardcore live-action gameplay– simply doesn’t exist in the world of 4K entertainment and this is all the more disappointing because we don’t know quite when such a vital aspect of entertainment will be possible.

And this is unfortunate because while canned TV programming on demand is great, there are some things for which live entertainment is crucially important, a pillar of support for an entire given medium. This was has always been the case with HD and for this reason, one of its biggest sellers had been the promise of watching the Super Bowl live in HD, or the World Cup, Olympics or Oscars and so on and so forth.

Thus, in order for 4K to really move forward, it absolutely has to capture a share of the live TV pie and do so as soon as possible; not in 2 or 3 or 5 years but sometime in 2015 or early 2016 if possible.

So far, the latest developments in this area are pretty meager and highly experimental.

Sky Deutschland, operating on the European market, has been playing around in this area and has so far recorded at least a couple of experimental ultra HD live broadcasts of both sports and concert events. One of these tests was done on the 2014 Ryder Cup golf tournament held last year and another test, broadcast, done in December of 2014 was of a concert of German hip-hop band Die Fantastischen Vier, conducted in Stuttgart, Germany.

However, while Sky is certainly pouring resources into the concept of 4K live broadcasts, the two above tests were extremely limited and submitted strictly for internal viewing with no public audience participation. So far, Sky doesn’t expect to start unveiling live broadcasts in UHD until at least the very end of 2015.

Closer to home, The Milwaukee Bucks beat the New York Nicks on January 15^th in the USA, and while the Knicks loss to the Bucks (their 16^th straight loss) was no big surprise to anybody, what was unique was the fact that this particular NBA game was the first ever broadcast live across the Atlantic to test audiences as part of an experiment done in a deal between the NBA and the media company BT Sport.

BT Sport has also already done other test broadcasts for early-stage 4K live events such as rugby games and even the same Ryder Cup that Sky Deutschland used for live sports test broadcasts last year.

The 2014 Ryder Cup was used for 4K test broadcasts by both BT Sport and Sky Deutschland

In the case of the NBA broadcast done by BT Sport, the company’s filming crews were present at London’s O2 Arena with a total of 8 4K cameras that were used to capture the match live and then encode the resulting feed for streaming at a very reasonable 15 Mbps to NBA headquarters in New York City, where employees were able to watch the game completely live in full 4K resolution and even stream the match over the NBA office’s internet connection to PCs in the building.

According to those present, the feed was notably better than its HD version and looked absolutely fantastic, but only when it actually managed to work, which wasn’t 100% of the time as repeated outages and a notable delay in the “live” UHD stream were noticed. The delay at least was caused by the encoding process itself, considering that its more time consuming than what’s needed for a much lighter HD signal.

On the other hand, the raw 4K feed being broadcast to audiences in the actual stadium in London where the match was being held worked smoothly and without delay but did use a much larger amount of bandwidth that would be unfeasible for long distance broadcasts.

This is where the most fundamental difficulty of the Live 4K broadcast problem is worth mentioning. It’s just not easy to take so much raw video resolution and beam it across continents and oceans in complete real time. Even with compression done to the video, the feeds still represent a heavy data load that requires infrastructure which goes above and beyond the needs of live HD content.

This is where broadcasters hesitate on committing to live 4K broadcasts. They know that to do so would require innovation and some serious investment not only in all new camera equipment but also in new in-house editing and compression software and hardware. Furthermore, as the 4K feeds go beyond the recording studios that are on-site at a game, they would have to be sent over hardware that is often old and deal with network bottlenecks that aren’t designed to handle the data loads of ultra HD. Fixing both of these issues means even more infrastructure investment before live 4K can become available to the masses in a clean uninterrupted stream like those which already exist with HD.

This is why we are mostly only seeing a wide range of highly limited, modest or even tiny tests from numerous broadcasters. They’re still treading cautiously.

However, there is potential for live 4K video out there and particularly in countries with major penetration by really high internet connection services. Places like Asia Pacific and a select few European countries could be particularly powerful candidates for Live UHD broadcasts of sportscasts in 4K.

An excellent recent example of just such an attempt in Asia Pacific occurred with the recent ICC Cricket World Cup matches that were held in Australia and New Zealand and then broadcast live in 4K resolution to selected audiences with access to the necessary viewing technology. The 4K broadcasts in the case of ICC were limited but they were at least fed to diverse public audiences in real time.

How quickly we can see the same happen for the FIFA World Cup, the Olympics and for events like the Super Bowl in the U.S has yet to be seen, because while the Cricket World Cup took a bold step forward with 4K in 2015, the organizers of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro have decided to take a step back; they won’t be broadcasting the massively popular Games in 4K resolution and will instead focus on integrating their events with virtual reality technology, of all things.

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Stephan Jukic – March 31, 2015

While most of us mere mortals are happy being able to afford a reasonably decent new home entertainment system every couple of years, it seems that some people have a slightly bigger picture in mind, literally. And for these kinds of buyers, Samsung has been busy making a 4K TV with their Samsung UN105S9 105 inch monster of an ultra HD set.

At an extremely affordable (if you’re a millionaire) $119,999 dollars, getting your hands on one might just mean telling the kids that college is going to have to go out the window for just a little while, or maybe forever…

Unbelievably, the Amazon.com page that sells the 105S9 claims that there is currently only one left in stock (but with more on the way) so either there are a lot of high-rollers out there who have been more than happy to splash down the price of a modest home for a TV that will be obsolete in just a few years or the company never actually thought anybody would be nuts enough to buy this beast and have been stocking the same single dust covered model since 2014.

Either way, for just one dollar less than $120,000 (shipping is free though! And no, the TV can’t be gift wrapped) the 105S9 doesn’t offer nearly the kind of insane features you’d expect it to have. Don’t get us wrong, it is an absolutely fantastic “future-proofed” 4K television but just about every specification except its immense screen size is something you can also find or even improve upon with much smaller Samsung, Sony or LG TVs that also don’t happen to involve second mortgages and teary eyed discussions about impending bankruptcy.

The 105S9 gives you a a full-array LED backlighting system, native refresh rate of 120Hz, a 1440 Clear Motion rate that is about the same as that of much more affordable Samsung 4K smart TVs like the HU9000 and a full Smart TV package with the company’s entire array of smart apps built into the proprietary Samsung Smart Hub interface. It also comes with voice and gesture control features! However these are only available if you buy the Samsung camera accessory, which is sold separately, just in case you have any money at all left after you scrape your savings accounts and spare couch pennies together for the 105S9.

Amazing that something with the same price as a used Ferrari doesn’t come with its own built-in camera.

Accessories that are fortunately included consist of a Smart Touch remote control, a universal remote, 2 pairs of active 3D glasses and the TV comes with a robust array of HDMI 2.0, USB, Ethernet and other typical connectivity ports.

Now that’s the funny thing about the UN105S9: for a TV that costs the same as a full PhD program at Harvard, it really sort of underwhelms with its features. The refresh rate is only half of what some of the latest TV models offer and even Samsung’s Clear Motion rate that’s been applied to this monster 4K TV is also available on numerous other models which might be smaller but cost 99% of a whole house price less. Furthermore, some of the latest Samsung 4K TVs that come with all sorts of radically new features like Quantum Dots and much better refresh rates are also dirt cheap in comparison to the 105S9 and some of them even offer also enormous 79 to 85 inch screens.

the very wide, not so tall Samsung UN105S9 4K UHD TV

The bottom line: Unless you simply want to show off about how you can spend on a single TV what is enough money to feed a dozen large families for more than a year, there isn’t even a decent technical reason to buy this TV. Its screen size is literally the only feature it has that other Samsung 4K TVs lack.

Now, enough of what we have to say about the Samsung UN105S9, let’s see what some members of the Amazon.com reviewer audience had to say about this piggy bank buster:

Check the Price of Samsung UN105S9 Curved 105 inch ultra HD 4K TV on Amazon:

From “Eric J. Smith”

“I was able to purchase this amazing television with an FHA loan (30 year fixed-rate w/ 4.25% APR) and only 3.5% down. This is, hands down, the best decision I’ve ever made. And the box it came in is incredibly roomy too, which is a huge bonus, because I live in it now.”

A review by user “mmedia”, getting right to the defects:

“The black levels and color depth on this TV are pretty good for the price. However, the small screen size is a deal breaker. I recommend buying an IMAX theater instead.”

from “W. D. Boxmeyer”

“I cashed in my daughters collage fund and sold her to a mid eastern sheik. I also had to terminate my wife’s cancer treatments to afford this amazing TV. Once I got it I realized that I was not able to sit far enough away to view the entire screen without turning my head. I was going to move out the wall but that would have put into my neighbors yard. At the moment the TV is in storage until I purchase a home large enough to hold it.”

And finally, one motivated customer solved two serious problems with his own purchase of the 105S9:

“I sold my mother in law, and got this TV. Best decision I’ve ever made.”

Story by 4k.com

The post Meet Samsung’s most affordable 4K TV to date! The UN105S9 appeared first on .

Stephan Jukic – April 23, 2015

4K technology has become more popular than ever before and now, for the first time, it’s genuinely entering the mainstream of major resolution formats.

For most people in the general public, 4K is at least something they’ve heard of and in many cases is also a level of resolution they’re intimately familiar with, usually because of 4K TVs but also often because of 4K PC monitors, cameras and even 4K projectors. Since 4K, or ultra HD as it’s also called, is found in all of these technologies and others, fans of each are quickly becoming more aware of it.

However, if you’re a complete newcomer to 4K ultra HD, or 4K UHD and UHD, as it’s also called, then this post is the perfect overview for quickly and easily catching up. In a moment we’re going to cover exactly what 4K really means, what technologies it’s used in, where you can find video content in 4K resolution and where 4K ultra HD as a whole is headed.

What exactly is 4K ultra HD and what do all the different names for it mean?

Right off the bat we need to clarify that while 4K is definitely ultra HD, ultra HD doesn’t necessarily have to be 4K. If this seems confusing, then this section is going to clear up all your doubts in a second.

Ultra HD is a catch-all term that usually describes the resolution known as 4K, which can range in pixel dimensions from 3840 x 2160 all the way to 4,300+ x 2160. However, Ultra HD itself can also cover any resolution scope that goes significantly above the now well-known Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.

Thus, while 4K involves resolutions around 4000 x 2000 pixels, there also exists (still in a highly experimental stage) 8K resolution technology that is also called ultra HD but which involves enormous dimensions of 7680 x 4320 or even more pixels. Furthermore, there are slightly smaller resolutions of 6K, 6.5K and even less-than 4K resolutions of 2K or 3K which can all be considered “ultra HD”.

However, all of these other resolutions that go beyond 4K are very uncommon or still highly experimental and the vast majority of ultra HD TVs, PC monitors, cameras and UHD display devices on the market offer a 4K resolution of either 3840 x 2160 pixels or the slightly less common “Cinema Grade” 4K resolution of 4096 x 2160 pixels.

When you buy a 4K TV, projector, PC monitor or 4K video camera of any kind, it’s almost certainly going to come in one of those two last resolution dimensions.

Basically, 4K resolution is HD taken to extremes because it offers slightly more than 4 times the pixels of normal Full HD. So instead of the slightly more than 2 million pixels found on a 1080p Full HD screen, your average 4K TV will give you between roughly 8,200,000 pixels and nearly 9 million pixels depending on whether it’s a 4K ultra HD screen (3840 x 2160) or a “Cinema Grade 4K screen at 4096 x 2160 pixels.

So which devices and technologies use 4K?

4K is being developed in more and more technologies than ever before. While some of the first 4K video specs ever were found in high end digital cameras from even as far back as a few years ago, 4K video resolution is now becoming common in many digital camcorders, DSLR cameras, action cameras and even cell phone cameras. Basically, virtually every digital video shooting camera type in the world now has its 4K ultra HD versions and some professional video production cameras are now even coming out with 6.5K and even 8K video shooting capacities.

4K cameras like this Blackmagic 4K studio camera are becoming dominant in film production

We mention cameras first because they’re the first and most crucial piece in the chain of other display technologies which involve 4K UHD resolution. They increasingly capture the professional or amateur digital content which is now being delivered by content providers and studios to 4K TVs, and 4K theater projectors all over the world.

Thus, 4K resolution is also being found on more and more of the latest TVs from many of the major manfucaturers and this is a trend that’s definitely here to stay. Some of the biggest brands, like Samsung, Sony or LG are now even dedicating their TV manufacturing to 4K to such a degree that virtually all of their new higher end models come with the resolution as an essential feature. This will only expand.

Naturally, placing 4K in display technologies has evolved still further and now you can find UHD pixel counts in many new top-shelf PC monitors, laptops and even in tablet screens.

Soon (probably within the next year) smartphones with 4K displays will also be coming out to the consumer market.

Naturally, we should also mention that if 4K TVs are a big thing, then projectors and especially professional movie theater projectors are definitely starting to become increasingly oriented towards ultra HD resolution and this is becoming noticeable in many theaters all over the world.

Finally, we’re also starting to see the application of 4K video recording and display in even more exotic applications such as surveillance cameras and digital signage display screens for commercial advertising. 4K resolution is steadily becoming more widespread even in these areas.

What about the 4K content?

If you have 4K TVs, 4K projectors and 4K cameras lying around, then naturally somebody is going to start creating 4K content for people to watch right? Well yes but also not quite as quickly as many of us would hope.

There is a large and constantly growing selection of movies, TV shows, documentaries and amateur videos which are indeed being increasingly shot and delivered to audiences in 4K resolution, either directly to homes or to movie theaters all over the world with 4K projection technology.

Interestingly, the majority of this professional entertainment content is being developed with particular zeal by online streaming content producers like Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video, both of which make their own shows and even movies now and then offer them via their streaming services to subscribers who own a 4K TV and also happen to have the 20 or more Mbps of internet connectivity necessary for streaming the heavier data-loads of 4K smoothly.

However, broadcast studios and Hollywood film studios are also getting aboard the bandwagon, although with some hesitation. We’re now more often seeing major Hollywood films being filmed with professional 4K digital production cameras and then released in a reduced Full HD or 2K resolution or released in 4K but only to select audiences. This is changing though and a greater percentage of studio movies are by default at least being filmed in full 4K resolution for eventual release to the public in UHD, as it becomes more popular.

Netflix is a major source of 4K streaming content and one of the biggest creators of new 4K UHD movies and shows

Then there are also YouTube and Vimeo. Both of these two dominant online video streaming and sharing websites not only allow users to upload their home movies in 4K resolution, they also now both stream them in 4K too. Since so many people now own 4K video cameras (in some cases because of the default video resolution in their cell phone cameras), they’re naturally filming more and more ultra HD content and sharing it where they can.

For the most complete list on the web of all available 4K ultra HD content sources, you should actually also check out this page, which goes into details about each kind of 4K content and where it can be found.

What does 4K mean for the future?

Without any shadow of a doubt, 4K ultra HD is here to stay as the next gold standard for display resolution. Basically, 2160p ultra HD (4K in particular) is now taking the same spot that 1080p Full HD took over several years ago when it arrived to displace the 720p HD resolution which was the best consumer standard of the 90’s.

We’re not only seeing the entire spread of products and technologies which use 4K UHD expand, we’re also seeing sales of these products grow almost exponentially while professional and consumer recognition of 4K technology and its needs becomes much more widespread.

Eventually, 4K will likely be replaced by even greater resolutions like 8K but for at least the next 5 to 10 years, it will turn into the absolute worldwide de facto standard for top-shelf resolution in video and display settings.

Story by 4k.com

The post What is 4K? Your guide to the technology, products, content and where ultra HD is going appeared first on .

Stephan Jukic – May 29, 2015

Everyone knows that buying a product isn’t just about price. This applies particularly to complex high performance electronics and with many of them, penny pinching in the short run only costs you more in the long run as your purchase fails on you and has to be replaced. Even if there’s a warranty in effect, you’ll at the very least lose a lot of time on nonsense.

Thus, when it comes to 4K TVs, some of the highest performing consumer home electronics devices on sale today, thinking only of price is not something you’d want to do. There are numerous brands out there whose retail numbers seem attractive but disguise an extremely disappointing lack of connectivity or some serious flaws in what should be a beautiful, one of a kind ultra HD resolution experience.

However, not all is lost and no, you don’t absolutely have to shatter your discretionary budget in order to get a genuinely great 4K UHD TV.

In fact, as the following four models from different brands show, it’s possible to buy a UHD television that’s fully decked out with all the most important essentials while still spending well under $1500.

Every one of these four TVs offers a full package of connectivity options, superb visual specs and even a few unique technologies that go beyond the conventional.

VIZIO M-Series 55” Class Ultra HD Full‑Array LED™ Smart TV: $999.99

VIZIO M-Series 55” Class Ultra HD Full‑Array LED™ Smart TV

Vizio’s M-Series of 4K TVs are the company’s second advance in bringing 4K TVs with premium features to users at a rock bottom price, and Vizio has succeeded again with this television, in whichever of its several sizes you choose.

Also including the same full connectivity options as the P-Series, the M-Series happens to offer more HDMI 2.0 ports. It also sports the same revolutionary full-array LED backlighting-at-a-budget-price and offers you the same quality of HD upscaling processor and overall 4K image rendering as it’s ever so slightly pricier P-Series cousin.

The 55” model of the M-Series sells for an extraordinarily affordable $1000 but if you fork over just a couple hundred bucks more, you can get your hands on the 60 or 65 inch versions for a really nice living room filler of a TV. Here is a more Detailed Review of the Vizio M-Series 4k TV.

Price: $598.00 – $3,999.99
4.1 32 Reviews

Check the Price of VIZIO M-Series 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV Amazon

Sony XBR55X850B 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD 120Hz 3D Smart LED TV $1,598.00

Sony XBR55X850B 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD 120Hz 3D Smart LED TV

Sony is one of the leaders in the 4K TV market and its technologies are pioneering efforts that put this company’s TVs at the top of their class. Best of all, while the lower priced 4K TV models from Son don’t offer some of the more revolutionary HDR and enhanced color technologies of their top-shelf cousins, they still do offer an overall package that includes much of the best technologies in the most expensive Sony 4K TVs.

Thus, with the XBR55X850B 55-Inch TV, you are still getting your hands on a wide array of superb visual rendering features, the best HD content upscaling engine in the entire industry and the full power of Triluminous Display technology (quantum dot nano-crystals but by a different name), which Sony included even in this affordable model. Given that the same technology is only now coming out in the very most expensive Samsung and LG 4K TVs, Triluminous Display is indeed an excellent piece of value in this very well priced $1,598 TV.

Furthermore, like all 2015 Sony 4K TVs, the 55X850B offers excellent connectivity and content compatibility options, full HEVC, HDCP 2.2 and HMDI support and gives you access to the new Android TV smart TV interface that all new Sony models come with. On this front, the company really nailed down the quality and by letting Google handle their Smart TV platform, they offer some of the most intuitive search and app access functionality available today on any 4K TV. Here is a Detailed Review of the SonyXBR55X850B Bravia 4k TV.

Price: $1,151.54 – $2,998.00
4.3 255 Reviews

Check the Price of Sony XBR55X850B 55-Inch 4k Ultra HD 3D Smart LED TV

Sharp LC-60UD27U 60-Inch Aquos 4K Ultra HD 2160p 120Hz Smart LED TV $1,499.99

Sharp LC-60UD27U 60-Inch Aquos 4K Ultra HD 2160p 120Hz Smart LED TV

Sharp’s 4K TVs may not have the same fame or even some of the same highly revolutionary technologies of their rivals from Samsung, LG and even Sony but they do still offer some absolutely outstanding overall quality.

Among the company’s models, the Aquos UD27U line is one of the best and despite featuring a truly superb array of visual and connectivity technologies, it sells for a surprisingly affordable price. The LC-60UD27U 60 Inch TV Aquos offers a particularly great value because not only does it feature a very nicely sized 60 inch screen, it also does this at a very nice price of just $1499.

This particular model and the entire line it belongs to offer the obvious features of 4K ultra HD resolution, upscaling for normal HD content and great contrast. But on top of this, the Aquos TVs are also famous for their THX certification, an extra feature given out by THX itself to the TVs because they capture the video footage of studio movies in the way their directors “originally intended” them to be viewed. Thus, we’re talking about an excellent degree of realism and cinematic value in a TV for the home.

The 60” inch Aquos is very affordable to start with but a moderate price increase of just $700 will let you get your hands on the even more impressive 70” inch model. Here is a more Detailed Review of the Sharp LC-70UD27U Aquos 4k Ultra HD Smart LED TV.

Price: $1,499 – $2,497.00
3.4 36 Reviews

Check the Price of Sharp LC-70UD27U 70-Inch Aquos 4k Ultra HD Smart LED TV

VIZIO P-Series 60” Class Ultra HD Full-Array LED Smart TV: $1,299.99

VIZIO P-Series Ultra HD Full‑Array LED™ Smart TV

This is the TV that broke the mold on heavy handed premium ultra HD television pricing and for that it deserves the honor spot on our list. While Vizio has now also added the even newer (2015) and cheaper 4K M-Series line of TVs to their product choices, the P-Series still offers everything you need in a UHD TV and gives you a genuinely high quality user experience despite having a price that is only marginally higher than that of crappy 4K TV models like some of those from Seiki.

Featuring full connectivity options that include HDMI 2.0 ports, HDCP 2.2 compatibility, USB and full internet connectivity through its smart TV interface, the P-Series line of TVs gives you access to a menu of streaming UHD content that’s as good as anything offered by the best from Sony or LG.

Furthermore, in addition to some superb visual specs and a surprisingly great HD to UHD content upscaling processor, the 60” P-Series –along with the rest of the line- also offers the genuinely unique, premium feature of full-array LED backlighting, instead of the more usual edge-lit LED array. This is simply unheard of in any other brand at this retail price. Here is a Detailed Review of the Vizio P-Series 4k TV.

Price: $1,024.36 – $2,699.99
4.0 446 Reviews

Check the Price of the Vizio P-Series 50-Inch 4k Ultra HD Smart LED TV

The post Here are the Four Ultra HD TVs that Give you the Most Bang for your Dollar appeared first on .

Stephan Jukic – May 30, 2015

4K monitors are not quite in the same price category as regular HD monitors and they even cost more than most types of UHD monitors that don’t offer quite 4K levels of pixel measurement (2550 x 1440 for example). However, in exchange for your dollars, what you get with virtually any name brand 4K screen for your PC is a visual experience par none.

Whether it’s for gaming, video editing or simply watching UHD imagery and video in the full resolution they both deserve, 4K is the only way to go.

That said, the prices of these top-shelf display screens have indeed been falling and while back in late 2013 and early 2014 virtually no 4K monitor could be found for less than $1000 (with many costing well, well above that) today’s market allows you a wide degree of buying power for well under $700.

There are of course still many high-end video editing and broadcast 4K monitors that cost way over $1000 and these absolute top-shelf machines have their place among certain types of career pros who need the very best in performance, but that isn’t what we’re covering here.

Instead, out of all the monitors available for $700 or less, most are of nothing less than excellent quality at normal usage and here we’ve selected the 6 that we think do the absolute best job of delivering superb video, excellent color saturation, fine refresh rates and useful connectivity options for all your gaming, video watching and even slightly limited professional visual design needs.

A Quick Note on 4K compatibility with PCs

Before we finally get down to our list, you really should read our general “Monitor” page here. It describes the details about differences between different kinds of 4K screens, lists our reviews of many of the monitors shown here and gives you a rundown of how your connectivity options will work with the PC you also use for this kind of resolution. Before buying any monitor, you really should check out the above page.

Samsung U28D590D Display 4k Monitor ($489.99)

The Samsung U28D590D is one of the best 4K monitor deals on the market today and was one of Samsung’s best-selling ultra HD monitors for 2014. So yes, while it is a model from last year, it still delivers in terms of modern features, great specs and overall display quality.

For starters, the U28D590D offers its users the usual connectivity package of HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2, meaning that you can hook it up to a PC for UHD graphics at 30Hz (the HDMI) or for the full 60Hz of smooth rendering (DisplayPort 1.2). On top of these, there is the excellent color reproduction that offers a solid 1.07 billion colors augmented by a surprisingly bright edge-lit LED array behind the screen. Samsung is particularly known for the luminance of its LEDs and for that reason, this particular screen gives up a great brightness score of 370cd/m2 instead of the more common 300 to 350.

Finally, and most importantly of all for gamers, the U28D590D’s TN screen offers a grey-to-grey response time of just 1 millisecond. This is about as fast as things get and, when combined with the connectivity features above, results in an ideal, highly affordable 4K display for gamers or non-professional 4K video users who don’t want to spend a fortune. Oh yeah, and did we mention that it also has an elegant design, typical of Samsung technology.

Acer B286HK ymjdpprz 28-inch UHD 4K Widescreen Display with ErgoStand ($449.00)

Acer B286HK ymjdpprz 28-inch UHD 4K Widescreen Display with ErgoStand

This is definitely one of the most popular 4K monitors among the entire UHD gaming and conventional use crowd. It not only delivers on visuals that almost match professional standards, it also comes with some excellent connectivity options.

To start with, there is its 4K ultra HD resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels and on top of that, it offers a very fast 2ms response time that makes it perfect for gaming. Combine this with a wonderfully sized 28 inch screen that comes with anti-glare technology and the B286HK is great for all sorts of lighting conditions and gaming or video browsing uses.

Along with the visuals, comes 5 high-speed USB 3.0 ports, a DVI-D input with HDCP content protection coverage and of course, DisplayPort 1.2 and Mini DisplayPort. Of course, the B286HK also offers you a 60Hz refresh rate.

On the negative side, the B286HK does have a slightly flimsy stand and its contrast ratio has been rated by testing at roughly 700:1, which could definitely be improved upon. However, despite this being a TN screen, it offers some very good off-angle viewing quality and the 16:9 aspect ratio is perfectly suited for 4K gaming.

ASUS PB287Q 28-Inch Screen LED-Lit 4K Monitor ($539.99)

ASUS PB287Q 28-Inch Screen LED-Lit 4K Monitor

This is definitely one of the fastest performing monitors on our list or in general. It’s 28 inch screen offers a full 4K ultra HD resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels at 60Hz and with an absolutely lightning quick 1ms response time.

Furthermore, it comes with a number of built-in technologies like SplendidPlus, VividPixel, GamePlus and QuickFit from ASUS for maximizing your gaming and 4K video browsing experience. On top of this, there are 2 HDMI 1.4 connections, a built-in DisplayPort 1.2 connection and an MHL connectivity port.

On top of all this, the PB287Q really delivers on the color gamut, with 10.bit color that delivers a smooth, beautiful gradation more fitting of a 4K TV than a monitor. This, combined with the 60Hz refresh rate and the extraordinarily fast 1ms response time makes this one of the best gaming screens on this entire list.

Finally, for visual designers, we also definitely have to mention the built-in Picture-in-Picture and Picture-by-Picture functionality for displaying content from two different sources at the same time. The PbP mode is particularly useful here because it splits the screen straight down the middle.

Dell Ultra HD 4k P2715Q 27-Inch Screen LED-Lit Monitor ($599.30)

Dell Ultra HD 4k P2715Q 27-Inch Screen LED-Lit Monitor

Dell’s 4k P2715Q 27-Inch Screen LED-Lit Monitor is a bit on the pricier side of the more affordable monitors presented here but it definitely delivers the value that comes with its price. This particular PC display offers some of the best color coverage on this list with 99% of the sRGB spectrum being covered and is fully adjustable for height, tilt, swivel and pivot, letting you place it in Portrait or landscape mode. Furthermore, it can be mounted to a Dell Single Monitor Arm or a wall for even more viewing flexibility.

In terms of other visual specs, the P2715Q gives you an excellent game-oriented aspect ratio of 16:9 and a smooth 60Hz refresh rate that lets the 4K action in high intensity games and videos flow as smoothly as possible. Pretty much the only downsides here are the somewhat limited ranges of adjustability options in the on-screen visual characteristics menu.

Connectivity-wise, the P2715Q offers the usual but effective package of several HDMI 1.4 ports, a Displayort 1.2 connection slot and a second DisplayPort slot that’s there for chaining two of the monitors together for a single image, although this will reduce the overall refresh rate to jst 30Hz.

Acer S277HK wmidpp 27-inch 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) Widescreen Display ($598.00)

Acer S277HK wmidpp 27-inch 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) Widescreen Display

On this entire list, the Acer S277HK wmidpp occupies a special position because of one feature it has that the others lack. This is an HDMI 2.0 port that lets you access 4K resolution graphics at 60Hz if you can find a GPU that comes with HDMI 2.0 connectivity. In this regard, the S277HK is currently almost unique in the 4K monitor world since only one other display, the Viewsonic VP2780 4K 27 inch Monitor, offers the same kind of HDMI 2.0 connectivity. In contrast, the Viewsonic costs more than $1,000 and the S277HK is available for just $598.

The S277HK also includes DisplayPort 1.2 and Mini DisplayPort.

When it comes to visual specs, the S277HK is also no slouch at all. It  offers what the company claims to be a dynamic contrast ratio of 100 million to 1 with support for 1.07 billion colors and because of the aforementioned contrast ratio, the dark and light variation is almost as good as what you’d find in a good 4K TV. As for brightness/luminance, the 300 nits of illumination give you more than enough light from the screen to clearly watch anything in brightly lit spaces.

The S277HK is an IPS display, so gamers might find its response time a bit slow but the HDMI 2.0 also works to make it an excellent option for 4K gameplay.

Acer XB280HK bprz 28-inch Display Ultra HD 4K2K NVIDIA G-SYNC (3840 x 2160) Widescreen Monitor ($679)

Acer XB280HK bprz 28-inch Display Ultra HD 4K2K NVIDIA G-SYNC (3840 x 2160) Widescreen Monitor

The Acer XB280HK bprz is another specifically unique piece of PC display hardware on this list. Why? Because it also comes with the highly game-friendly technology known as G-SYNC built into it. Developed by chip and GPU maker NVIDIA, G-SYNC technology lets the XB280HK synchronize its own internal refresh rate with that of whatever GPU your PC has for a maximal level of smoothness regardless of what refresh rate your computer’s GPU can handle. This results in a smooth, fast gaming experience that’s optimized for exactly what your PC is capable of.

In addition to this, you get the power of a 1ms response time, for absolutely optimal in-game motion rendering and a stunning visual clarity with excellent colors, and the obvious benefits of full 3840 x 2160 4K UHD resolution.

In terms of connectivity, the Acer XB280HK bprz gives you 1 DisplayPort 1.2 slot and 5 USB 3.0 ports. Unfortunately however, it doesn’t seem to offer HDMI 1.4, which is a bit of a downer.

Story by 4k.com

The post These are the Six 4K PC Monitors that offer the most bang for your dollar appeared first on .

The latest and best 4K TVs on the market come with some of the best features visual digital entertainment has ever seen in its history and the following list of 4K TVs in three different size categories gives you a thorough sampling of the very finest that the top brands on the market have to offer in terms of specs, technology, sheer visual spectacle and razor sharp clarity.

Most of the following 4K TVs are definitely not in the budget range of what’s possible but the majority of them are certainly more affordable than any high-end 4K TV was just over a year ago while offering more features than ever. Thus, if you want a range of technologies like razor-sharp 4K UHD resolution, exquisite high dynamic range in contrast or possibly the amazingly realistic vibrancy of full quantum dot color in your TVs, then some if not most of the models below have you covered in terms of all these features.

Furthermore, every single TV listed here delivers the absolute maximum of connectivity options with will Smart TV functionality, complete internet browsing capability and access to all of the latest external and streaming media sources there are, whether they consist of 4K video content or simply Full HD entertainment. Finally, all of these TVs can upscale ordinary 1080p Full HD video, 720p HD video an even SD video sources to levels higher than that of their natural resolution. In other words, all of the following models offer powerful internal upscaling engines.

Finally, every one of the TVs below is fully compatible with the latest video compression codecs, HEVC (H.265) AND VP9 as well as the latest in 4K video content copy protection via HDCP 2.2.

Without further delay, let’s get started.

70 inch TV or Larger with 4k Resolution

1. LG 77EG9700 OLED 4K Smart TV

LG 77EG9700 OLED 4K Smart TV

Check the Price of the LG Electronics 65EG9700 70-inch 4K Ultra HD 3D Curved Smart OLED TV (2015 Model) on Amazon:

4.5 – 12 Reviews

Furthermore, due to this same technology and a few others that are exclusive to the OLED TVs, the viewing angles and color realism on any of the 2014/2015 OLED TVs are virtually unparalleled. The LG 77EG9700 is no exception and as one of the largest OLED 4k TVs in the family, it offers all of the above exquisite display characteristics on a truly massive 77 inch screen that will take your breath away. Full connectivity options and a beautiful curved design with one of the thinnest screens –as is the case with all OLED TVs– on the market complete the picture.

The only downside to the LG 77EG9700 77 inch TV is its enormous price of just under $25,000, making this one of the most expensive 4K TVs on sale today. And the only downside to OLED technology itself is that its maximal brightness is slightly less than that of LED TV. However, the perfect levels of darkness offset this very, very nicely.

2. Samsung UN78JS9500 Curved Smart TV – 78″ Class (78.0″ Diag.)

Samsung UN78JS9500 SUHD 4K Smart TV

Check the Price of the Samsung UN78JS9500 Curved 78-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV (2015 Model) on Amazon:

3.7 – 27 Reviews

Furthermore, the UN78JS9500 78 inch TV represents one of the very largest of the JS9500 SUHD Flagship TVs.

This is another TV with an absolutely beautiful curved design that works superbly for a slightly more immersive effect on such a large 78 inch screen (which is larger than even the largest 70 inch TVs). And in true Samsung fashion, the TV as whole is an exquisitely lovely piece of technology to behold.

In addition to HDR, the JS9500 family of TVs offers the superb realism and vibrancy of quantum dot color augmentation technology, which uses tiny semiconducting molecular crystals to expand the color gamut thrown off by the TV’s pixels and LED backlighting system. The UN78JS9500 also delivers the full package of connectivity options and as a Samsung 4K TV, also gives its users access to a few select sources of 4K programming from Comcast and M-Go, which are available only to this brand for now.

The only downsides to the $10,000 UN78JS9500 are its very steep price and a quality of off-center viewing that’s not nearly as clear as that of LG’s OLED TVs.

3. Sony KD-75X9405C 4K Smart TV

Sony KD-75X9405C 4K Smart TV

Many of Sony’s 4K TVs can be best described as “in your face” with their massive flat screens and enormous side-mounted speakers, and while the company has been slowly moving away from this design in favor of much more minimalist construction to its newest 4K models, the KD-75X9405C stays true to the older look. This is a 4K TV that absolutely impresses in both its appearance and in its absolutely spectacular specs.

Many reviewers have called the KD-75X9405C one of the very best 4K TVs on sale today and while we’d argue that maybe LG’s OLED models win in this regard, the KD-75X9405C will definitely give absolutely any other brand a run for its money in total quality.

The on-screen color coverage of this huge 75 inch model is absolutely spectacular to behold and Sony is one of the very first manufacturers to use the quantum dot technology we already mentioned with Samsung’s SUHD models. Thus, with the KD-75X9405C, you get your hands on absolutely remarkable color accuracy that’s augmented even further by full HDR compatibility.

Furthermore, in comparison to its Samsung SUHD rival the UN78JS9500, the Sony KD-75X9405C is the slightly more affordable choice at just under $10,000, despite representing the very peak of Sony’s 4K TV development. This is definitely one of the three best giant-screen 4k 70 inch TV or larger on sale right now.

60 to 65 inch TV Models with 4k Resolution

1. LG Electronics 65EG9600 65-inch 4K Ultra HD 3D Curved Smart OLED TV

LG Electronics 65EG9600 65-inch 4K Ultra HD 3D Curved Smart OLED TV

Check the Price of the LG Electronics 65EG9600 65-inch 4K Ultra HD 3D Curved Smart OLED TV (2015 Model) on Amazon:

4.5 – 12 Reviews

Furthermore, we should also mention LG’s WebOS 2.0 Smart TV operating system. This particular platform has been widely rated as the single best Smart TV platform among all the brands currently available and its smooth usability, incredible speed and full range of web connectivity options is definitely something to love.

The LG 65EG9600 is not cheap and at $5,997.99 is probably the most expensive 65 inch 4K TV on sale today but what we can promise is that this model will give its users the most robust overall color, contrast and overall viewing experience on sale today.

2. Samsung 4K SUHD UN65JS9500 Curved Smart TV – 65″

Samsung 4K SUHD UN65JS9500 Curved Smart TV – 65″

Check the Price of the Samsung UN65JS9500 Curved 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD 3D Smart LED TV (2015 Model) on Amazon:

3.7 – 27 Reviews

Once again, these specs and features include full HDR compatibility, unparalleled color realism and vibrancy via quantum dot nano-crystal technology and superb levels of screen brightness thanks to the TV’s full-array LED backlighting. Samsung’s Tizen OS is also possibly the second best in the world after LG’s WebOS 2.0, so a user’s web browsing, content viewing and interactive experience will be superb.

The UN65JS9500 basically lets you experience the full power of the best Samsung UHD TV technology has to offer but at half the price of its 78 inch bigger brother which we covered above. The UN65JS9500 costs $4,499.99, as opposed to the $9,999.99 of its 78 inch version.

3. Samsung 4K SUHD UN65JS8500 Flat screen Smart TV 65” Class

Samsung 4K SUHD UN65JS8500 Flat screen Smart TV 65” Class

Check the Price of the Samsung UN65JS8500 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV (2015 Model) on Amazon:

4.1 – 87 Reviews

The UN65JS8500 also includes the quantum dot nanocrystal color enhancement technology that’s a feature of the entire SUHD line of TVs and the resulting picture quality and levels of color accuracy are spectacular to behold.

This is a fully connected TV with access to all of the latest and best 4K media sources and like all the other TVs in this list, comes with full HEVC and VP9 video compression decoding capability. There is also of course HDCP 2.2 content copy protection for guaranteed access to copy-protected 4K movies and shows from Netflix or Amazon.com as well as from external 4K media players like the Sony FMP X10 4K set-top box with its huge library of 4K movies.

Best of all, if you want to enjoy the top-shelf specs of Samsung’s SUHD TVs without really spending a massive amount of money, the UNJS8500 is a much more affordable option than its JS9500 cousin. This 65 inch model sells for $2,999 –$2,000 less than the 65 inch JS8500.

50 to 55 Inch TV Models with 4k Resolution

1. LG 55EG9600 4K OLED Smart TV

LG 55EG9600 55 inch 4K OLED Smart TV

Check the Price of the LG Electronics 55EG9600 55-inch 4K Ultra HD 3D Curved Smart OLED TV (2015 Model) on Amazon:

4.5 – 12 Reviews

The OLED technology in this model is as good as it is in any of the other OLED 4K UHD televisions and only smaller screen size and  couple of extra LG display enhancement technologies are missing in the 55EG9600.

If you want to enjoy the absolutely unparalleled display quality of OLED 4K technology but don’t have the budget for the much more expensive larger models, then the 55 inch TV size of the 55EG9600 is a superb option. OLED can be appreciated for its beauty and display realism even in the absence of 4K resolution so the smaller screen of this model doesn’t take away from the exquisiteness of its video quality. The 55EG9600 from LG is selling for just $$3,997.99, which may be expensive by normal 4K TV standards but is downright affordable as far as OLED 4K pricing goes.

2. Sony XBR55X800B 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD 120Hz Smart LED TV (2014 Model)

Sony XBR55X800B 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD 120Hz Smart LED TV (2014 Model)

Check the Price of the Sony XBR55X800B 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD 120Hz Smart LED TV (2014 Model) on Amazon:

4.7 – 51 Reviews

The XBR55X800B doesn’t include Sony’s famous Triluminous quantum dot color enhancing technology but it still delivers an excellent level of picture quality and superb HD upscaling with an engine that’s probably one of the best at this job among all the others from all other brands.

Furthermore, despite its age, the XBR55X800B still comes with excellent connectivity specs, full HEVC/VP9 compatibility and HDCP 2.2 content copy protection built into it. Also, because Sony owns PlayStation, the XBR55X800B is a perfect gaming TV since it can stream PS3 games directly to its screen.

Finally, price-wise, this model gives you access to Sony’s top-shelf 4K display quality at a very affordable price of just $1,098.00.

3. VIZIO P502ui-B1E 50-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED HDTV

VIZIO P502ui-B1E 50-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED HDTV

Check the Price of the VIZIO P502ui-B1E 50-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED HDTV 120Hz on Amazon:

4.3 – 47 Reviews

The Vizio P502ui-B1E is one of these superb TVs and it’s still priced extremely competitively. While this TV doesn’t have some of the more vibrant and spectacular display technologies of many higher-end 4K UHD models, it still manages to deliver a very solid picture quality and even manages to include some truly unique premium technology.

Specifically, this model and all of its P-Series cousins –with sizes ranging from 43 to 75 inches—come with full-array LED backlighting. This is an almost unheard of feature for 4K TVs that cost so little. Furthermore, the P502ui-B1E includes full connectivity and comes with built-in HEVC compression codec compatibility while also including HDCP 2.2 content copy protection in its HDMI 2.0 ports.

Finally, like we said, the price for this model is absolutely unbeatable. The 50 inch P502ui-B1E sells on Amazon.com for just $629.99.

The post Top 3 Best 50, 60 and 70 inch TVs with 4k Ultra HD Resolution for Sale Today appeared first on .

Stephan Jukic – October 05, 2015

We talk about high dynamic range, also known as HDR, here at 4K.com and with good reason, since it has become one of the major pieces of technology lingo when it comes to talking about 4K UHD TVs in recent months.

For starters, HDR has become one of the crucial technologies in the so-called quest for next-generation 4K content, which is supposed to (and quite honestly does) deliver a superior level of picture quality to even that of the first generations of 4K ultra HD video on LED/LCD displays. This development of HDR for TVs and content has manifested itself in the manufacturing of TVs with the expanded dynamic range of display contrast between brightest bright and darkest dark makes up display-end HDR.

This has been done so that said TVs can essentially more closely deliver the realism of real-world viewing by displaying content with high dynamic range encoded into it in a way that’s not possible with ordinary 4K or HD TVs.

All of this basically describes what we can call TV HDR –the Display and content side of high dynamic range. In essence, this type of HDR revolves around a display process.

The other type of HDR is that which exists in cameras themselves and this form of high dynamic range is a capture process, one in which a bunch of photo stills of a given scene are combined together to create a sort of realism that’s superior to what would be possible with a single simple take.

However, in contrast to the HDR of display technology, camera HDR doesn’t actually involve expanding the ranges of brightness themselves. It simply consists of joining together multiple exposures of a shot for a much better balance of clarity and detail in both light and dark areas of an image or video still.

Now, we’re going to go into more detail about TV HDR in particular but first, a quick bit of elaboration on high dynamic range as a general concept itself:

What is HDR?

High dynamic range, whether it is a capture process or a display process essentially involves three key things being created: First, a much broader amount of difference between the brightest bright spots and the darkest dark on a screen or in a photo, second, a much greater range of dark and bright levels between these two extremes of bright and dark, and third a high degree of precision in how and where all these different shades of bright and dark are applied to photos or displayed video.

The ultimate aim of all these core characteristics of HDR is the creation of an image that’s more realistic, or more in line with how something would look if you were actually seeing it with your eyes, in person.

Furthermore, this process of expanding or turbocharging dynamic range is being applied to display devices (mainly 4K TVs), the digitized content that gets shown on said display devices and in the cameras that are used to capture film or video.

Overall, HDR is part of the evolution towards superior, more realistic and more vibrant next generation content, most of which also happens to be in native 4K resolution.

HDR for 4K ultra HD TVs

With HDR in TVs, the fundamental concerns that manufacturers who want to create a real visual impact worry about aren’t simply about maximizing brightness and increasing darkness, they’re also about creating the most detailed possible range and precision of dark to bright spots in a piece of display content.

With this in mind, HDR-capable 4K TVs (because they’re almost exclusively also 4K TVs) work at creating a maximum amount of specific deeply dark local dimming zones for darker tones and high overall brightness where dimming isn’t activated. With the best LED 4K TVs, the resulting HDR effect can be truly impressive.

However, at least currently, the absolute master televisions for what is in effect an ideal HDR-effect are OLED 4K TVs, which currently aren’t even formally considered HDR TVs. These televisions, manufactured exclusively by LG until recently and now Panasonic as well, create superb, arguably unmatchable HDR-like effects because they can create perfect, total darkness with complete shutoff of internal screen light and deliver this or its opposite of variable brightness right down to the level of a single screen pixel, one of over 8 million that a 4K TV screen will have on it. Thus, you can imagine just how fantastically precise their level of localized dimming or brightening can be.

On the other hand, select models of these OLED TVs have only recently been updated as HDR TVs because they previously didn’t have the actual internal firmware capacity to correctly read and interpret content that has been encoded with high dynamic range, from sources like Amazon Prime or Netflix, among others that are being developed. Now, they do have this capacity thanks to the most recent firmware updates from LG and this is further augmented by their native OLED characteristics of perfect black and thus in effect infinite contrast.

LG’s OLED 4K TVs by default offer HDR dude to their creation of perfect black tones

Thus, we get an interesting situation in which the best levels of dynamic range and lighting precision come from a series of what were until recently non-HDR TVs while formally HDR-enabled 4K TVs can’t quite match that same OLED screen lighting precision or contrast levels. Why? Because in contrast to OLED, even the best LED TVs with the most precise level of local dimming can’t quite match the same level of perfect light emission and dark control that OLED TVs manage when they activate or deactivate their organic light emitting diodes completely with the perfect precision of a single pixel.

The Content side of High Dynamic Range

Of course, HDR for TV isn’t just about 4K TVs themselves. It’s also got its fundamental content aspect in the form of video streams and hard media content with HDR metadata encoded into it, as a sort of range enhancement instruction for TVs capable of reading and displaying a given piece of content’s dynamic range enhancement.

Sources of HDR-encoded content include Amazon Prime Instant Video, Netflix and the upcoming 4K Blu-ray media players and discs we’re all expecting to finally show up on the home entertainment scene by the end of 2015.

Furthermore, there are several competing standards of HDR dynamic range being developed, from players like the newly founded UHD Alliance, which includes Netflix, Disney, and Fox, or Dolby Vision, which is partnering with companies like Sony, Toshiba and Philips for its own version of UHD. None of these players have yet formally agreed for an across-the-board standardized version of HDR and this is affecting the technology’s implementation in TVs themselves. Though we are seeing forward movement on this with developments like the UHD Alliance’s acceptance of Dolby’s HDR spcs as an option for future devices that come out from the manufacturers working with the Alliance.

Dolby Vision’s version of HDR is just one of the possible standards that will dominate this technology in 4K TVs

This in fact is why HDR is rarely named by manufacturers themselves when one of their HDR-capable TVs is being promoted. Companies like Sony, LG and Samsung all have their HDR-capable models but only mention the technology by its technical name in their promotional materials and not their formal TV specs.

In essence high dynamic range for TVs, digital TV content and possibly other display devices is still very much in its baby stages and nobody really knows how it’s going to develop or which formal standards will be adopted and cemented throughout the industry. What we do know however, is that this new technology that’s aimed at a much better viewing experience already creates content that looks genuinely stunning and that the Wow-factor of HDR is only going to get better from now on as high dynamic range truly improves and matures.

Story by 4k.com

The post A Closer look at what HDR in 4K TVs really means appeared first on .

Stephan Jukic – Updated November 26, 2015

Black Friday 2015 hits on November 27^th and is just about to arrive for consumers across the US with a lot of anticipation building over the sorts of possibly awesome deals that we’ll see for all the specific new gadgets and gizmos every one of us wants. When it comes to 4K ultra HD televisions of any sort, this anticipation applies just the same and if you’re one of those eager fans of ultra HD in whichever form it takes on the consumer marketplace, you need look no further than right here on 4K.com deals page.

Black Friday TV Deals – 4k UHD Televisions

Starting off the listings are the ruling devices of the 4K ultra HD technology market, 4K TVs themselves. When it comes to these, there will be no shortage of deals coming up from a wide range of major retailers, including Walmart, Costco, Best Buy and many others. Naturally, 4K TVs are still pricier than your normal Full HD TV set but those prices have dropped enormously in the last year and a bit and on Black Friday itself, you’re going to see some models flying off the shelves for prices that even compete with the retail prices of high quality Full HD units.

Top 9 Best 4k TV Deals for Black Friday

It was very difficult in compiling this list because retailers would markup prices then offer them for a “discount.” We did not include some TVs with very low ratings (and stripped away parts) that were offered at a heavy discount. We ranked it based on both performance and discount value – the “best bang for the buck!”

1. Samsung JS8500 – $200 to $500 off Depending Size – Read Review — Buy on Amazon — Best Buy 55inch, Best Buy 65inch.
2. Samsung JU7500 – $300 to $500 off depending on Size – Read Review — Buy on Amazon
3. Samsung JU7100 – $300 off 40 inch, $200 off 50 inch, $300 off 55 inch, $600 off 60 inch, $600 off 65 inch, $1300 off 75 inch – Read Review — Buy on Amazon
4. Samsung JU6500 – $100 to $300 off – Read Review  — Buy on Amazon
5. LG UF8500 – $200 off 65 inch version – Read Review — Buy on Amazon
6. Sony X830C – $100 Off – Read Review — Buy on Amazon
7. Samsung JU6400 – Some Models $100-$200 off – Read Review — Buy on Amazon
8. Samsung JS7000 – $200 off at Best Buy, same Price on Amazon – Read Review — Buy on Amazon — Best Buy 50inch, Best Buy 55inch, Best buy 60inch.
9. Various VIzio 4k TVs – Read Review of M-Series — Buy on Amazon, Sam’s Club 43inch (M-Series), Best Buy D-Series 50inch, Best Buy D-Series 55inch, Best Buy D-Series 65inch, Sam’s Club D-Series 58inch,

Best Buy 4k TV Deals

Starting things off in the 4K TV sphere is one of the kings of the U.S Brick & Mortar electronics sales market, Best Buy, with a pile of awesome deals on models from leading brands like LG, Vizio and Samsung in particular.

For this year’s best Black Friday 4K TV sales, Best Buy is offering up a total of 5 different Samsung 4K UHD TVs of different models and sizes along with two LG 4K models and three different Vizio TVs. Prices for the Samsung models will range from $1,499 to just $799.99 but some of the higher cost models going on sale are from the company’s SUHD 4K UHD line of premium  TVs and these babies are going to be selling in Best Buy at very deep discounts.

Here is the full list of 4k TV Deals as Best Buy During Black Friday:

• Samsung 60-inch LED Smart 4k Ultra HD TV – BLACK – UN60JU6390FXZA – $799.99 – Visit Site
• Samsung 60-inch 4k Ultra HD TV JS7000 – UN60JS7000FXZA – $1,299.99 — Read Our Review — Visit Site
• Samsung 55-inch 4k Ultra HD TV JS7000 – UN55JS7000FXZA – $999.99 — Read Our Review — Visit Site
• Samsung 50-inch 4k Ultra HD TV JS7000 – UN50JS7000FXZA – $799.99 — Read Our Review — Visit Site
• Samsung 65-inch 4k Ultra HD TV JS8500 – UN65JS8500FXZA – $1,999.99 — Read Our Review — Visit Site
• Samsung 55-inch 4k Ultra HD TV JS8500 – UN55JS8500FXZA – $1,499.99 — Read Our Review — Visit Site
• LG 43″ LED SMart 4k Ultra HD TV – 43UF6430 – $399.99 — Visit Site
• LG 49″ LED Smart 4k Ultra HD TV – 49UF6430 – $499.99 — Visit Site
• Vizio 50″ LED Smart 4k Ultra HD TV – D50U-D1 – $599.99 — Visit Site
• Vizio 50″ LED Smart 4k Ultra HD TV – D55U-D1 – $699.99 — Visit Site
• Vizio 65″ LED Smart 4k Ultra HD TV – D65U-D2 – $999.99 — Visit Site

Best Buy Black Friday ALL DEALS – Click Here

Some of Best Buy’s Black Friday Deals on 4K UHD TVs

Amazon.com 4k TV Deals

Other deals from different retailers for 4K TVs include Black Friday sales offers from Amazon.com, with a 30% discount on the manufacturer’s suggested retail price for once of Sony’s superb next-generation XBRX900C 4K UHD TVs. The deal applies to the 55 inch model as far as we know so far but we’re fairly sure the online retail giant will be throwing in more details for other 4K TV models.

In addition to this specific offer, Amazon is marking down at least 25 different 4K ultra HD TV models in total with discounts. All of the TVs being sold offer awesome screen sizes of at least 55 diagonal inches and some of the models being sold are even of the gigantic 79-80 inch variety. And these aren’t bargain 4K TVs of the cheap kind but instead represent many of the best-selling, top-shelf models on the market today from brands like Sony, Samsung, LG and Panasonic.

Prices for the different models in Amazon’s Black Friday 2015 sale menu range from less than $1000 to well above $9,000 for some of the very elite Ultra HD models, but discounts over normal MSRP apply at all price points.

Here is the Full List of 4k TV Deals at Amazon on Black Friday:

• Amazon Black Friday – http://amzn.to/1OsbaGo
• Special Black Friday Pricing on Samsung SUHDs – http://amzn.to/1YuuSWw
• Up to 35% OFF Select Samsung, LG, Sony TVs – http://amzn.to/1Yuv2NR
• Up to 50% Off Select LG TVs – http://amzn.to/1OsbiWm
• $949.00 for the XBR55X800B – http://amzn.to/1OsblBr
• $749.99 for the 55 inch Hisense 55H7B2 – [http://amzn.to/1YuvkUO](link url)
• 50% OFF LG 49UF6400 49 link – $697.99 – Read Review — Visit Site
• Get a FREE Samsung 32J4000 TV with Purchase of a Qualifying Samsung 4k TV – http://amzn.to/1Yuvn33
• Up to 45% Off Select Sony Black Friday TVs – http://amzn.to/1YuvJqv
• 44% Off LG 65-inch 65UF6800 4k TV – Read Review — Visit Site
• Up to 30% or More Off the Sony X900C Ultraslim 4k TVs – http://amzn.to/1OsbQvi

Amazon Black Friday ALL DEALS – Click Here

Walmart 4k TV Deals

So far, we have a slightly more limited selection of deep Black Friday discount offerings on 4K ultra HD TV models from Walmart even though the retailer is putting discount prices on a wide range of other electronic gadgets and accessories which we’ll cover further down.

As far as their 4K TV sale items go, you can get your hands on a new 55-inch Curved Samsung Smart 4K TV for just $998, with a $200 savings on original retail price, a new 44 inch LG Smart 4K TV for just $698 at a discount of $300 from normal retail price and there is also a deal on a 55 inch Hisense LED 4K TV that’s going on sale for a remarkably low $448, one very rock bottom price for a 55 inch 4K UHD TV from any brand.

Here is the Full List of 4k TV Deals from Walmart:

• Hisense 55H7B 55″ – $448.00 – Visit Site
• Samsung UN55JU6700 55″ – $997.99 – Visit Site
• Samsung UN55JU6400 55″ – $797.99 – Visit Site
• Samsung UN48JU6400FXZA 48″ 4K Ultra HD 60Hz LED – $597.99 – Visit Site
• LG 49UF6430 49″ 4K Ultra HD 2160p 120Hz Smart HDTV (4K x 2K) – $497.99 – Visit Site
• LG 43UF6430 43” 4K Ultra HD 2160p 120Hz Smart HDTV (4K x 2K) – $397.99 – Visit Site
• LG 55UF6450 55″ 4K Ultra HD 2160p 120Hz Smart HDTV (4K x 2K) – $697.99 – Visit Site
• Samsung UN65JU6400FXZA 65″ 4K Ultra HD 60Hz LED HDTV (4K x 2K) – $1,297.99 – Visit Site
• Samsung UN60JU6400FXZA 60″ 4K Ultra HD 60Hz LED HDTV (4K x 2K) – $897.99 – Visit Site

Walmart Black Friday ALL DEALS – Click Here

Sam’s Club 4k TV Deals

Even better 4K TV deals for Vizio models in particular are available from Sam’s Club in the form of a 58 inch Vizio D-Series 4K UHD TV for just $698. In addition to this, we can look forward to major discounts on 65 inch and 50 inch Vizio 4K UHD models, with the former selling for $998 after a $300 discount and the latter selling for just $498 after a $230 discount.

Here is the Full List of 4k TV deals at Sam’s Club:

• VIZIO 58″ Class 4K Ultra HD LED Smart TV – D58u-D3 – $698.00 – Visit Site
• Samsung 65″ Class Curved 4K Ultra HD LED Smart TV – UN65JU670DFXZA – $1,478.00 – Visit Site
• Samsung 75″ Class 4k Ultra HD Smart TV – UN75JU641D – 2,398.00 – Visit Site
• VIZIO 43″ Class 4K Ultra HD LED Smart TV – M43-C1 – $398.00 – Visit Site

Sam’s Club Black Friday ALL DEALS – Click Here

Sam’s Club 4K TV discounts for Black Friday 2015

Dell

Then we have Dell’s website, which is also showcasing some excellent 4K UHD TV deals for November 27^th. These include a Vizio 60 inch 4K Smart TV in the M-Series (M60-CS) for just $799.99. This same model more normally retails for $1,298, so this is a solid discount on a very well-reviewed 4K UHD model.

In addition to that, one of LG’s 3K Smart TVs, the 55UF6430, is also on sale from Dell for just $699.99. This is the same model as that being sold by Best Buy but in Dell’s case, we’re looking at a much more respectably sized 55 inch TV instead of the 43 and 49 inch models available from Best Buy.

Costco

Next up is Costco, which is offering its own array of 4K ultra HD TV offers for Black Friday 2015, particularly for Samsung model ultra HD TVs. From what we’ve found so far, the retailer the following deals are some of the best on offer from the price club giant:

• $500 discount on Samsung 55” Class 4K Ultra HD Smart LED LCD TV from original price of $1,479.99 down to $979.99
• $700 discount on Samsung 65” Class 4K Ultra HD Smart LED LCD TV from original price of $1,899.99 down to $1,199.99
• $1,200 discount on Samsung 75” Class 4K Ultra HD Smart LED LCD TV from original price of $3,779.99 down to $2,579.99
• $270 discount on Samsung 40” Class 4K Ultra HD Smart LED LCD TV from original price of $729.99 down to $459.99

Costco is also going to be offering deals on Vizio 4K ultra HD TVs, with serious discounts applying to several models

• $170 discount on Vizio 55” Class 4K Ultra HD Smart LED LCD TV from original price of $879.99 down to $709.99
• $140 discount on Vizio 50” Class 4K Ultra HD Smart LED LCD TV from original price of $698.99 down to $558.99
• $300 discount on Vizio 70” Class 4K Ultra HD Smart LED LCD TV from original price of $1,949.99 down to $1,649.99
• $90 discount on Vizio 43” Class 4K Ultra HD Smart LED LCD TV from original price of $579.99 down to $489.99

Accessories

• Samsung 400 Series 2.1 CH Soundbar with 6.5″ Wireless Active Subwoofer – $147.99 ($132 off) – Amazon
• Rockfish Tilting TV Wall Mount for Most 32″ to 70″ Flat Panel TVs – $49.99 ($50 off) – Best Buy
• Amazon – Fire TV Stick – $24.99 ($15 off) – Amazon
• Samsung BD-6500/ZA Streaming 4k Upscaling Blu-Ray Player – $87.99 ($92 off) – Amazon
• Onkyo 850W 7.1-CH. 4k Ultra HD and 3D A/V Home Theater Receiver – $249.99 ($150 off) – Best Buy
• Playstation 4 – 500 GB – $299.99 – Amazon
• Up to 50% Off Sony BD{S6500 & BDPS7200 4k Upscaling Blu-ray Player – Amazon
• 40% OFF Sony STR-DN850 7.2 Channel 4k AV Receiver – Amazon
• 20% OFF Sony VPLVW350ES 4k Home Theater Projector – Amazon

A Final Word

We’ll keep updating the different sections of this post as Black Friday 2015 approaches but for now, bear in mind the following: Even during last year’s best Black Friday sales, many electronics retailers offered hefty discounts on 4K TVs despite the technology being much newer and more expensive back then. We can be sure of the same happening again this year and as the Best Buy deals above show, you can look forward to discounts of at least 25% on many high-end 4K TVs along with even larger 35 to 50% discounts on lower-end, smaller 4K UHD models.

More deals will be coming up in the following days and this listing will grow accordingly, so check back frequently.

Story by 4k.com

The post Best Black Friday 4k TV Deals 2015 – Sales from Best Buy, Amazon, Costco, Walmart and Others appeared first on .

Stephan Jukic – December 18, 2015

The Christmas holidays are just around the corner and a lot of you are probably thinking of just what to really impress with as a gift for the family or that genuinely special someone. Well, for this Christmas, if an impression is what you want to really make, sweaters and cheap trinkets probably won’t cut the mustard too deep and your best bet will be any one of the numerous cool new tech gadgets that have been hitting the market all year.

And what better tech gadget can you get your hands on than one with 4K ultra HD video, gamin or display capacity for your brother, sister, dad, husband, wife or whoever you love most.

Luckily, there’s no shortage of just these sorts of gadgets on the market right now and some of the best, coolest and honestly most practical tech gifts on sale right now happen to also come with 4K technology built into them in some form or another.

With that said, the following list is one very robust and comprehensive guide of a selection of gadgets from across the spectrum, representing some of what we believe to be the best possible gifts for assorted budgets in the world of cameras, TVs, 4K monitors, streaming media platforms and other cool devices.

Not all of the products we’re about to cover will be on sale right now but they might come with some cool discounts as the core days of the Christmas Holiday edge closer, so keep your eyes open and see what fits your budget and your loved ones’ desires most.

Now, let’s get down to the top gift products themselves.

4K Ultra HD TVs

The cornerstone of the modern 4K UHD technology ecosystem is undoubtedly the 4K TV. These are the fundamental sources of most ultra HD entertainment, the main platforms from which to view the content of external media devices (see below) and the ideal phot and video viewing displays for looking at footage captured on a 4K camera. Many 4K UHD TVs can even be used for gaming in UHD, sometimes with superior results to those of even the best UHD monitors. One of the following or many other highly-rated 4K TVs would be an almost unbeatable tech gift for the Holiday season.

Samsung SUHD UN65JS9000 4K UHD Smart TV

Samsung JS9000 4K SUHD TV

This is definitely one of the 4K Ultra HD TVs we and many others have considered to be among the industry’s best overall value propositions in 2015. The JS9000 comes at a smaller price than the top-shelf flagship JS9500 SUHD 4K TV from Samsung but offers only marginally less overall specs and even outperforms its more expensive cousin in a couple ways.

With some of the best display specs on the market for an LCD/LED 4K TV, the JS9000 covers all of your bases while also piling on plenty of premium technology like HDR-capability, quantum dot color and some truly excellent picture, color and contrast processing systems. This is one spectacular 4K TV and it’s priced at a fairly reasonable level.

Price: $2,997.99 on Amazon.com

Alternative Suggestion: Sony XBR55X810C 4K UHD Smart TV

Sony’s XBR55X810C 4K smart TV

While not quite comparable to some of Sony’s flagship models like the X930C and X940C HDR-capable 4K TVs, or to Samsung’s JS9000 we covered above, the XBRX810C 4K UHD TV from Sony holds its own weight very nicely, with some superb contrast, excellent color thanks to Triluminos Display technology and Sony’s wonderful Android TV smart platform. Best of all, the X810C is priced to sell considering the quality of its display.

Price: $1,098 at Amazon.com for the 55 inch model and $1,698.00 for the 65 incher

Second Alternative Option: LG EF9500 4K UHD OLED TV with HDR

We can’t really suggest  fantastic 4K UHD TV holiday gift options without mentioning one of LG’s amazing OLED models, and with that, we have to recommend the newly released and surprisingly affordable (by OLED standards) EF9500 OLED flat screen 4K TV. Not only does it offer the sort of picture quality that no technology except OLED display can match, it also comes with LG’s fantastic webOS 2.0 smart TV platform and is HDR-capable as a bonus feature that’s lacking in many of LG’s curved 4K OLED models from 2015

Media Devices

Streaming and external downloadable media devices do a lot of what many 4K TVs are already capable of on their own (streaming UHD movies and other content from sources like Netflix, Vudu and Amazon Prime) but they also offer the added features of extra connectivity, data storage, gaming platform capacity and some wicked interactive technology. You can get by with just a 4K UHD TV but no home entertainment system will be truly complete without an external streaming media platform like one of these.

Roku 4 4K Streaming media box

the Roku 4 4K set-top box

The Roku 4 4K-capable streaming media box is a platform with few equals. Not only does it offer a mountain of music, gaming and Full HD video content, it also allows for some superb 4K UHD media streaming and movie storage. Furthermore, the Roku 4 is one very easy-to-use, straightforward platform which offers plenty of interactive features like complex voice controls, an excellent Roku 7 OS and access to dozens of media apps like Amazon Video, Blockbuster on Demand, CinemaNow, HBO Go, Hulu, M-GO and of course, Netflix.

To top things off, the Roku 4 is extremely compact and easy to connect to almost any type of 4K or HD TV in any space.

Price: $126.80 on Amazon.com

Alternative Suggestion: Amazon Fire 4K TV streaming media box

The Amazon Fire 4K TV streaming platform

Amazon’s native Fire 4K TV streaming platform definitely weighs in favor of Amazon content with its technology and interface and this is partly why we didn’t give it our main spot in this category, but, in all other respects, it’s a superb piece of 4K-capable technology which delivers some great access to Amazon 4K UHD content and video or games from other streaming apps. Some deficiencies in connectivity via HDMI slightly mar the Amazon Fire TV platform but its gaming features are very rich, assuming you get your hands on the gaming model with an included controller.

Price: $114.99 on Amazon.com (of course)

4K Cameras

4K cameras are becoming more popular and common than ever, with some superb offerings selling at increasingly affordable prices in all shapes and sizes. With the full benefits of high-res photo shooting and all the Full HD video capacities of more conventional shooters, 4K cameras also offer the icing on the cake of 4K video recording. Here are two excellent choices with great features and prices. Also take a look at our cameras page for a much larger selection of every type of 4K camera for almost any budget and use.

GoPro Hero 4 Black 4K UHD Action Camera

GoPro’s Hero 4 Black

Go Pro’s Hero 4 Black represents the cream of the crop of Hero cameras and with good reason. It’s compact, it’s tough as nails and it comes with some excellent photo and video recording specs. This little camera weighs barely anything, can be mounted to nearly anything and with its waterproof protective casing can even be made to descent dozens of feet below the waves without a problem. Better still, while it’s being used in all these assorted situations and just about any sort of action and sports related scenario you can image, the Hero 4 Black can shoot some excellent Full HD video, 2.7K video, 1440p video, 4K video at 30fps and also manage some lovely 12 megapixel still photos.

Price: $499.00 on Amazon.com

Alternative Suggestion: Sony 4K UHD Video Recording FDRAX33 Handycam Camcorder

The FDR-AX33 4K UHD Handycam camcorder from Sony

Camcorders barely come better equipped ad more compact than the FDR-AX33 Handycam camcorder from Sony. This wonderfully small, lovely and extremely flexible 4K UHD video recorder can shoot 4K UHD video at a variety of frame rates ranging from 30 to 24fps, manages beautiful still shots at 20 megapixels and offers some superb zoom and image stabilization technology. The image stabilizing engine of the AX33 alone is the same as what Sony has added to many far more expensive video cameras.

Price: $848.00 on Amazon.com

Smartphones

While smartphones with 4K ultra HD displays currently consist of just one single model in the form of the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium phone, there are plenty of models out there with 4K video recording capacity and they represent some of the best in phone technology due to all their other internal specs as well. Here are two of the models we most recommend at the moment for this Christmas holiday.

Apple iPhone S6 Plus smartphone with 4K UHD camera

the iPhone 6S Plus

It barely needs to be introduced with all the popularity that this and nearly any newer model iPhone already has but we do need to mention that among phones with 4K UHD video recording capacity, the iPhone 6S Plus is truly an outstanding piece of technology. Not only can it shoot 4K UHD video at 30 frames per second, it also offers some absolutely stunning 12 megapixel photo shooting capacities which have inspired entire photo-journal campaigns worthy of much larger professional cameras with their quality. The 6S Plus is the current pinnacle of Apple’s phone technology and its sheer range of cool design and software specs clearly bear this out.

Price: about $832.73 but variable with airtime contract included.

Alternative Suggestion: Sony Xperia Z5 Premium Smartphone

Sony Xperia Z5 Premium 4K UHD smartphone

Sony’s Xperia Z5 Premium is currently the world’s only smartphone with an actual native 4K ultra HD display resolution (in addition to its 4K UHD video recording camera). Not all content on the phone’s screen shows in 4K but the resolution is definitely there for when it’s needed. Furthermore, some spectacular specs and an awesome recording camera make this one truly unique piece of phone technology. On the other hand, 4K resolution is never easy on any battery system, and the Z5 Premium is no exception.

Price: $659.00 but variable with airtime contracts

PC monitors & Gaming

PC gaming in 4K Ultra HD has finally developed to the point where it becomes a truly interesting and robust proposition. After much of 2014 being spent with GPUs which simply couldn’t handle 4K UHD graphics, the technology has advanced enough to make many 4K gaming on a PC into a very fluid, engaging bit of entertainment. Those in your family who are serious PC gamers will almost certainly love either the GPU or 4K monitor options listed below as holiday gifts for this Christmas season. Also check out our Monitors and Gaming main pages (linked to above) for a far larger range of 4K monitor and GPU options.

Samsung U28E590D IPS 4K UHD monitor with AMD FreeSync

the Samsung U28E590D 4K UHD gaming monitor

Samsung’s U28E590D 4K UHD IPS 4K gaming monitor is truly a beautiful piece of technology. Not only is it very well priced as far as high-grade 4K monitors go, it also offers a wonderful IPS display with great color vibrancy and some remarkably good response time specs given the technology. Best of all however, it comes with BOTH DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 2.0. What makes this 4K monitor work even better for gamers is the inclusion of FreeSync technology from AMD, so if anyone in your family or worthy friends list is a hardcore gamer and has an AMD GPU, it will synchronize its frame rates with the monitor wonderfully.

Price: $485.07 on Amazon.com. Down from a fairly recent retail price of $599.

Alternative Suggestion: Asus Swift ROG PG27AQ 4K Ultra HD Monitor with NVIDIA G-Sync

the Asus Swift 4K UHD gaming monitor

Asus is known for some of its great work and gaming oriented 4K UHD monitors and the Swift PG27AQ is no exception. This monitor not only looks absolutely awesome, it also offers some spectacular display specs and very decent gaming-oriented qualities like Nvidia’s G-Sync, which is the Nvidia counterpart to AMD FreeSync, for gamers who have this brand’s graphics cards in their game PCs.

Price: Unknown pending further availability

Second Alternative Suggestion: AMD Radeon R9 Fury X 4K-capable GPU

We can’t conclude the 4K gaming gift ideas section without mentioning at least one awesome, powerful 4K-capable GPU. With this, we bring your attention to the AMD Radeon R9 Fury X graphics card. If whoever you want to get an excellent holiday PC gaming gift for already has a 4K monitor, then the Fury X is a fantastic and powerful GPU choice that won’t disappoint at all. With some of the most advanced graphics processing technology on the market today, the Fury X is perfect for any FreeSync monitor like the Samsung model mentioned above.

Price: $629.99

Unique Gadgets

DJI Phantom 3 Professional 4K UHD UAV quadracopter (drone)

DJI’s Phantom 3 Professional 4K UHD quadracopter drone

In the world of 4K ultra HD-capable gadgets, some categories don’t divide so simply into one type of device or another. This is definitely the case with UAV drones, even though they offer some of the most unique video and photo shooting platforms on the market today. For this reason, we’ve reserved this area for the remarkable Phantom 3 from DJI.

Here is a 4K gift which will almost certainly satisfy virtually anyone from amateur photographer to professional users in nearly any age group from teenager right up to fully mature adult. The Phantom 3 combines some excellent flight controls, a very decent 25 minutes of air time and remarkable altitude and range capabilities with a powerful 4K ultra HD video recording rig which can also take some superb 12 megapixel photo stills. If you want to see your neighborhood or any landscape like never before, this tough little drone is one incredibly exciting gift idea for this Christmas.

Price: $1,184.99 at Amazon.com

A Final Word

Remember, while we consider the list you just read to be a thoroughly considered selection of what we consider some of the best 4K ultra HD gifts in each device category, different budgets and needs might mean different priorities for TVs, cameras, monitors etc. So please, look through our site under the various device categories for some thorough reviews and general coverage of many other TVs, cameras, monitors, GPUs and other cool 4K tools and toys by clicking the links above or simply using the 4K.com search feature.

Story by 4k.com

The post Here are the best 4K UHD gifts for the Holiday Season: TVs, Cameras, Monitors and more appeared first on .

Stephan Jukic – February 11, 2016

OLED and LED 4K lighting systems cover pretty much all the TV display technologies currently on the market and each have their supporters and detractors. While LCD display lighting technology is found in the vast majority of 4K televisions, a growing range of models offer OLED lighting and the quantity of these is growing each year, with more brands entering the pool as of late 2015.

OLED, which stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode, was originally and primarily the domain of only LG, which released the first consumer-ready OLED 4K TVs in 2014, with several new series coming out in 2015 and now also in 2016. Now, in 2016 Panasonic has also entered this field with its own OLED televisions with ultra HD resolution. LED/LCD TVs (Light Emitting Diode/Liquid Crystal Display) on the other hand are made by every single television manufacturer and represent the older, more affordable and well tested type of TV lighting technology, which relies on large LEDs to illuminate an LCD screen from behind.

One thing that many buyers might ask themselves when comparing TVs with either technology is, which is better in general terms? That’s what we’re going to cover right now. By going through a category by category analysis of how each lighting technology stacks up on various fronts, we’ll come to a final conclusion that you can call our final verdict (at least for now, until new OLED, LCD or other display technologies arrive)

LED/LCD

The vast majority of modern 4K TVs are LCD models of some type or another and while they have their different variations, specialized internal innovations and LED lighting array configurations, the basic mechanism by which they function is more or less the same across the board.

In simple terms, LCD TVs depend on different arrays of individual LED lights behind a screen of color filters and liquid crystals which then take the light from those LEDS and either filter or block it (the liquid crystals do this mostly) in order to create a display image in specific color arrangements and lighting configurations depending on the content being shown.

The arrays of light behind the LCD panels and color filters in 4K LCD TVs can vary widely, with the cheapest models offering edge-lit LED backlighting in which along one or more edges of the TV illuminates the screen space horizontally from along the edge. The very cheapest edge-lit LCD/LED TVs offer arrays of LEDs along just a couple sides of the TV rectangle while the most expensive LCD models on the market, like Sony’s X940C HDR TV or Samsung’s top-shelf SUHD models like the JS9500, offer what is called full-array LED backlighting, in which the entire space behind the screen is filled with an array of individual LEDs. The exact number of diodes may vary depending on screen size and TV price but will usually be in the dozens and possibly hundreds.

One of Samsung’s SUHD premium 4K TVs offers one of the best LCD alternatives to OLED

Local Diming

Local dimming, and its automatic counterpart, local backlighting, is essentially the process by which sections of the screen you see on your TV are dimmed strategically to produce more effective black levels and contrast. Naturally, on an edge-lit LED screen, the process is rather imprecise and the result is often a sort of “Halo” effect around illuminated objects in onscreen content. This Halo effect can be reduced considerably in full-array LED backlit screens since the much larger array of individual LEDs offers a much more precise level of illumination or light cut-off directly behind the LCD panel and onscreen content.

Nonetheless, this is where the key deficiency of LCD/LED comes into play. Regardless of how many individual LEDs and subsequent dimming zones a 4K TV has behind its LCD panel and pixel array in the display, the maximum precision of lighting and black level they can generate across the screen you watch content on is fundamentally limited in comparison to OLED display technology, and now we’ll cover OLED to show you why.

OLED

As we just explained in some detail, LCD TVs create illumination and black levels by activating or deactivating LEDs in an array behind an LCD panel that then blocks out or filters their light according to the needs of onscreen content. However, the illumination and light blocking are never absolutely perfect or precise because there are millions of individual screen pixels and the light from the LCDs leaks around large sections of them, even when blocked by LCD technology. Furthermore, the LEDs themselves are large relative to the pixels and cannot perfectly squeeze light into single pixel configurations.

With OLED technology all of the opposite is the case. OLED displays don’t filter LED light through an LCD panel, they instead drive current through millions of individual pixel-sized organic light emitting diodes made of organic carbon and are capable of perfectly shutting off (darkening) or turning them on (illuminating) individually. In really simple terms, While LED/LCD TVs rely on what are in effect tiny light bulbs behind a filter screen, OLED TVs rely on the direct light and darkness of a light emitting surface of tiny carbon diodes in each pixel.

As a result, OLED displays can perfectly control variations of light and dark across every single one of the 8.2 million pixels of a 4K TV display and can also perfectly shut off all light in any visible sense right down to the single pixel level. Furthermore, to generate color, OLED displays either create it within subpixels of red, green and blue colors inside an OLED TV’s pixel array or by using what are called “white OLEDs” in which all three colors are sandwiched together inside a single OLED to create a white light that’s then passed through filters above the OLED layer for different colors in each subpixel.

Furthermore, because OLED TVs don’t depend on LCD screens over LED arrays, they can be ridiculously thin, far thinner than LCD TVs, with the latest LG OLED 4K TV, the G6 having a display that’s only 2.57 millimeters thick!

In a nutshell, OLED technology means a far thinner display thickness, pixel perfect light and black control and perfect viewing angles due to a lack of LCD filters distorting onscreen content during off-center viewing.

A selection of LG OLED 4K TVs from 2015

Local Dimming

Since we covered local dimming and local brightness for LCD screens, the same needs to be covered with OLED, and as you can probably guess from our description of how OLED displays work, local dimming is pixel perfect in an OLED 4K TV. Light in a single pixel can be turned on or off and as a result, blacks are perfect, illuminated objects have no “halo” effect from light bleed around the edges and there are in effect as many local dimming or brightness zones as there are individual pixels in an OLED 4K display, over 8 million of them. No LCD TV can even come close to matching this level of precision today.

This is the technology found in LG’s premium OLED 4K models like the EF9500, the EG9600 and the 2016 4K OLED model, the G6.

precision light and dark control is far superior in OLED televisions

The Weigh-in: OLED vs. LCD

Color Rendering and Realism

Winner: OLED

As exquisite as some of the color rendition technologies we’ve seen in the best LCD TVs on the market are, they simply don’t match OLED in terms of realism and precision. Because each OLED TV pixel contains all the fundamental primary colors needed for producing all the colors of the spectrum, these TVs more realistically reproduce color information in a way that looks simply spectacular in its realism. Yes, we’ve seen LCD TVs with slightly more vibrant and brighter colors due to a mix of quantum dot and phosphor filter technology along with the naturally brighter luminance of LCD (more on that shortly) but if realism is your fundamental measurement of color rendition, OLED wins, hands down so far.

How color is produced in LCD and OLED TVs

Brightness

Winner: LCD

This is one front on which LCD TVs and their LED backlights hare hands down winners. OLED is spectacular but it can’t come close to beating LED in terms of pure brightness, and new innovations in LED light illumination are likely to continue this trend. Furthermore, LED is particularly superior at creating full screen brightness, while OLED does a possibly superior job of illuminating single sections of the screen as far as perception is concerned.

Since OLED is generally dimer than LED backlighting, it’s part of the reason why the UHD Alliance as set different HDR standards for OLED displays, which compensate for their dimmer lighting with a far, far superior level of black, which is essentially perfect in comparison to the light bleed found in even the best LED/LCD blacks. Thus, OLED TVs can create the perception of higher brightness through this superior black level.

Contrast & Black Level

Winner: OLED

Nothing beats OLED as far as contrast and black level control go. The simple fact that an OLED display can completely turn off all conventionally measurable or in any way visible light right down to the level of a single pixel pretty much ensures an enormous level of performance superiority in comparison to the light bleed that even the very best full-array LED LCD TVs can’t completely avoid. As a result of this perfect, pixel level light and dark control, OLED TVs also offer up exquisite, precisely tuned contrast levels that are great for HDR as long as a lower maximum screen brightness is ignored.

The superior contrast and black level control of OLED and its consequent capacity for superb range of contrast also means an exquisite level of realism in onscreen content, and we can’t not love this.

Viewing Angles

Winner: OLED

Nothing so far in LCD technology beats the practically perfect viewing angles of OLED TVs. Because OLED doesn’t require the presence of an extra layer in which LCD TVs have their LCD panel above the illumination source, light, dark and color aren’t distorted in any serious way. Thus, the viewing angles of OLED 4K TVs look nearly perfect even at extreme 80+ degree angles from center. Some OLED 4K TVs do take on a slight yellowish tinge when viewed from this POV but this is a minor inconvenience in comparison to the 50 or more percent of contrast decrease even high quality LCD/LED TVs will show at such viewing angles.

Screen Color Uniformity

Winner: OLED

The screen uniformity of OLED televisions isn’t perfect, but it comes much closer to being so than what we’ve seen in any LCD TV, even some of the best models from Samsung or Sony. Grey tones and other colors look almost perfect across the screen with only very minor errors in uniformity rarely being visible and usually in older model OLD 4K TVs. In contrast, even high quality generally exquisite 4K LCD TVs like Samsung’s JS9000 show at least some visible lack of uniformity for grey and possibly other colors.

perfect screen uniformity in an LG OLED 4K TV

Price

Winner: LCD (tentatively)

Price has always been an issue with OLED TV technology and it applied as a problem of particular concern for consumers who wanted 4K OLED models from LG, which often sold for far more than their premium LCD counterparts. Now however, this disparity between the prices of OLED 4K TVs and top-shelf LCD TVs from other name brands is starting to decrease and while OLED models from 2015 and 2016 still cost a lot, we’ve seen some high-end LCD TVs with inferior display specs which are also only moderately cheaper. Furthermore, there are rumors that LG’s 2016 OLED TV production is going to focus on more affordable mass-market sets, which could finally lead to more reasonable prices across the market for these exceptional TVs.

One of LG’s newest OLED 4K TVs, the G6

Resolution

Winner: Tie

In terms of raw resolution both LCD and OLED 4K TVs come out equal, and obviously so. 4K UHD resolution is a standardized measurement and will be the same in both: 3840 x 2160 pixels totaling up to about 8.29 million pixels across the whole screen. However –and this is why we even bother to mention resolution—the fact that this feature is the same in both kinds of TVs demonstrates just how secondary pixel count alone is to viewing quality. In light of all the clear and excellent advantages the remaining measurements above give to OLED technology and all pixel counts being equal, resolution alone takes a distant back position as something of importance in the viewing experience.

Overall Performance

Winner: OLED

In a sort of closing summary of general performance, we’d have to give OLED credit over LCD as the superior performer across the board, at least as far as visual specs are concerned. OLED TVs consistently rank as some of the best rated models of 2014, 2015 and likely will continue to enjoy this high opinion in 2016. Their contrast is superb, their light and black control essentially perfect and their color rendition extraordinarily good at reproducing realism on the digital screen. LCD TVs do offer better brightness but the deeper range of blacks in OLED displays also counter this advantage of LCD. With LCD there is also a modest energy savings advantage and better prices but if display quality is the real measure of TV quality then OLED is the king of the current crop of TV technologies.

Story by 4k.com

The post OLED 4K TV VS. LCD 4K TV: Your comprehensive comparison across key specs appeared first on .

In a surprise move, Samsung has put on show just one flagship model for the coming year: The Samsung KS9500. It’s a 4K, HDR ready SUHD TV with a gorgeous curved design and minimal bezel. It comes with Tizen OS (same as the one used in the Samsung JU6400 and JS8500), a twin tuner to allow recording and smart technology and also includes a built-in smart hub which will allow users to control IOT objects from their TV – future proofing at its finest.

At first look, the 88-inch Samsung KS9500 SUHD TV has a sleek curved design, boasts great visual features and offers novel functionality. The model is marketed as ‘bezel-less’ and while the frame is visible, it is impressively narrow and doesn’t detract from the viewing experience. The Samsung KS9500 continues the 360 design seen in other models from the brand. That is, there are no visible screws on the front or the back of the set.

Unlike the Samsung JS9500 (which is fully backlit), the KS9500 is only edge lit. You might think that this seems to be a reversal of evolution of the Samsung LED TVs but don’t worry, the KS9500 has a 1000 nit display – proving that edge lighting doesn’t mean a compromise on achieving a competitively high level of brightness. Quantum dot technology contributes to the vibrancy and depth of colour seen on the Samsung KS9500. Further, the KS9500’s 10-bit panel produces more than one billioncolors, offering a home viewing experience which gets closer to an authentic cinema experience than ever before.

Compared to most current LED LCD TVs on the market, this model is a leap ahead in terms of brightness, sharpness and color. With 4K and HDR ready features, the Samsung KS9500 is well placed to meet the demands of future technology. However, if you’re considering the Samsung KS9500, you might want to check out some of the offerings from Samsung’s competitors: Panasonic have also launched a new model, the DX9000 which also offers 4K and HDR ready features and matches the Samsung KS9500 with a 1000 nit display. Further, while the Samsung KS9500 meets the UHD Alliance’s new standards, Samsung SUHD TVs will not support the Dolby Vision HDR standard which competitors such as LG are supporting in ranges such as their OLED TVs. However, the Samsung KS9500 does retain an advantage over OLED TVs because as an LED LCD model, it is brighter.

One concern you might have when considering a curved LED LCD TV is the possibility of glare and reflections. Samsung is on it though and to combat these potential issues for the consumer, Samsung has introduced new “ultra black technology” which not only sounds cool but actually works too. This technology works somewhat like the eye of a moth because it absorbs light and does not allow it to reflect back out by diffusing it across an uneven surface. From a brief viewing, glare and reflections are not noticeable on the Samsung KS9500 but you’d need to try the 4k TV out at home with your ambient lighting to be sure.

In terms of OS you may have noticed that some of the household brand names have started shifting to using Android TV, most notably Sony and Philips. However, Samsung have stuck to Tizen OS. Tizen OS is responsive and can be customized to the suit the user, however early reviews suggest that many have already fallen in love with Android TV primarily because it provides then with access a wider range games and apps but more notably because it uses an interface similar to other Google products, which means it is already very familiar.

All is not lost for the Samsung KS9500 though; the use of Tizen OS means that there is scope for Samsung to partner with other brands to bring a comparable quality of games and apps to their TVs. One such partnership is with Playstation Now, which will allow selected Playstation games to be played on the TV without the need for a console. Additionally Tizen OS does already come packed with the apps people spend most of their time in such as Netflix and YouTube. Only time will tell if Tizen OS can truly hold up to Android OS over the long term.

The Samsung KS9500, being an LED LCD model, can’t compete with OLED TVs such as the LG Signature G6 in terms of slimness. However, what the KS9500 lacks in slimness, it, in our opinion partially makes up for in smartness! Samsung SUHD TVs come with ‘EXTRA services’ where you can access information about what is currently playing on the TV by pressing just one button on the remote control. Google might not yet be redundant, but it is a handy little feature to get details quickly.

The Samsung Smart Control has some other tricks up its sleeve too. You can plug in any device to the HDMI ports of the KS9500 and the TV will automatically recognize the equipment, allowing you to control everything from external speaker systems to consoles with just the TV remote. This feature already supports a large number of products and if you have an item you’re not sure will be compatible, don’t worry: Samsung are working on increasing compatibility going forward to reduce the number of products that aren’t supported.

The final smart feature of the Samsung KS9500 is the smart hub which is in-built and allows you to connect to hundreds of Internet of Things (IOT) products and control them through the TV, there are a handful of IOT products on the market today but the number is set to increase exponentially over the coming years.

Overall, the Samsung KS9500 is an impressive model and certainly one that makes previous standard LED LCD TVs pale in comparison. It shares some similarities with models other brands have unveiled, notably the Panasonic DX9000 with a 1000 nit display, 4K and HDR ready features. Differences (such as the operating system) between the Samsung KS9500 and other models such as the Sony DX93 and LG Signature G6 can be seen as an advantage or disadvantage depending on what features are most important to you. Consumer preference will also determine how well the Samsung KS9500 and other SUHD models stand up against the LG OLED range, purely because the design limitations of LED LCD TVs versus OLED TVs mean there will be distinct differences between the two ranges.

The Samsung KS9500 is set to be released later this year and available in different sizes up to the 88-inch model that has been previewed. Further information on availability and pricing are yet to be confirmed but as soon as they are we will make sure you know about it.

The post Samsung KS9500 Series 4k SUHD TV First Impression Review appeared first on .

Overview

So what does HDR display quality in 2016 really depend on? Well, we think it revolves around several key things: high dynamic range, Color, contrast and the standards that are being developed for all of these by different companies. This is the technology that’s now garnering even more attention from both consumers and manufacturers than even 4K resolution itself, and we’re going to cover it in detail below.

Now, without further ado, let’s take a closer look at what all these technologies mean and how you can select for their best features in your 4K UHD TV.

What is High Dynamic Range?

HDR is markedly superior to SDR in any TV of any size

In very basic terms, HDR is the ability to expand the different stops of both bright and dark levels in a 4K TV for a wider, richer range of colors, much brighter, more realistic whites and much deeper, richer darks, all being manifested at the same time on the same display as needed. With this, a TV display takes on a more “dynamic” look and ultimately gives the content a viewer is looking at a far more vibrant and realistic appearance.

HDR furthermore also preserves detail in content in ways that SDR (standard dynamic range) can’t, with finer visual and color characteristics in both the brightest and darkest area of a picture being kept while colors in general look more natural and displayed scenes closer to how they’d appear when viewed directly by the naked eye.

What this means is that contrast and color are the two pillars of HDR technology and the new development in 4K TVs is aimed squarely at enhancing both to the maximum possible degree. Of course, there are many standards and mechanisms for how this should be done, and we’ll get to their finer points shortly but for now, a fundamental search for high quality HDR means expanding the quantity of nits (a unit of brightness) in bright content while decreasing them to the minimum possible degree in the darkest content. At the same time, color in 4K TVs should be expanded dramatically for the sake of enhancing HDR display still further.

Currently, the “ideal” HDR standard that key players are pushing for would involve a dynamic range of 0 to 10,000 nits, which would really bring 4K TVs close to what real life looks like (the sky on a sunny day offers about 30,000 nits of brightness to the naked eye). However, in practical reality, even the latest HDR standards for premium 4K ultra HD TVs cover only 0.05 to 1100 nits, with a standard of 0.0005 nits to 540 nits of brightness in the dimmer technology of OLED 4K TVs.

the High Dynamic Range display ´process for OLED 4K TVs

Thus, as you can see, this technology has plenty of room for improvement left in it, even if it’s already starting to look very good in the latest 4K HDR TV models on sale from 2015 and for 2016.

Does HDR have more importance than 4K resolution in Display?

The answer to this question is an unequivocal yes. You’ll note that all discussions of HDR technology today revolve around the technology working in 4K TVs. The reason for this is simple enough –high dynamic range is currently only offered and being developed commercially in the cutting edge of TV display and that lies strictly in the 4K and ultra HD resolution end of the television spectrum. Furthermore, all those extra pixels of 4K ultra HD display certainly help in creating a generally sharper, crisper image quality in a TV.

However, between the two display technologies, HDR is definitely the more visible and immediately notable spec with much more room for development and refinement left in it. A 4K TV can only ever have a maximum of 8.29 to 9 million pixels in it (depending on how you specifically define 4K resolution) and larger resolution technologies will likely take a while to develop due to their massive data requirements and will in any case not go beyond 8K resolution for the foreseeable future. High dynamic range on the other hand is still just in its infancy and even for the short term –the next couple of years—has a vast amount of development left to it as specific brightness levels are incrementally raised until they emulate reality and colors are also enhanced to a much greater degree of precision.

brightness and color are enhanced greatly by HDR, even in OLED TVs

Furthermore, within the ranges of specific technologies that surround and make up the color and contrast specs in HDR, there are enormous variations of specs and functionality which can be tweaked.

Most importantly however, high quality HDR is simply so much more notable in any TV display when activated. While many viewers might have a hard time distinguishing an HD resolution from a 4K UHD resolution in a small to mid-sized 4K TV at normal viewing distances, high dynamic range in a 4K TV looks much more obviously better than standard dynamic range in any side-by-side comparison.

What makes a TV into an HDR display?

A 4K TV can’t just be an HDR television because it has a bright picture. There are actually highly specific specs behind the technology and there are also even different “levels” of HDR technology that can be applied to genuinely HDR-capable 4K TVs.

This slight confusion alone has actually caused some companies, like Samsung in particular in our experience, to claim that HDR exists in certain models without those TVs actually having more than very good SDR brightness and dark tone capacity or more than the basic hardware connectivity for the technology built into them. In 2015 it was not so loosely implied by Samsung that their JU-Series 4K televisions like the JU7100 and JU7500 were HDR models when in fact they are not. Only Samsung’s SUHD TVs offered genuine HDR of some type or another.

• Shifting HDR Standards

Furthermore, since “levels” of high dynamic range power even among genuinely HDR TVs on the market exist, not all HDR labels are created equal. Thus, several 4K UHD TVs from 2015 had the necessary brightness, dark levels and other technologies to be called HDR TVs by their manufacturers. These included Sony’s 2015 X850C, X900C, X930C and X940C 4K Bravia TVs. They also included Samsung’s SUHD JS9500, JS9000 and JS8500 4K models. However, in 2016 a whole new HDR standard called “UHD Premium”  (more on this below) emerged from the UHD Alliance (of which all of these companies are binding members) and according to its exacting specs, HDR as it had been known in virtually all of these 2015 TVs was no longer good enough.

Thus, in 2016, “UHD Premium” HDR 4K TVs only consist of the 2015 Samsung and Sony flagship televisions, the SUHD JS9500 and the Sony XBR-X940C, and in the entire 2016 lines of SUHD and top-shelf 4K TVs from both companies. These would be the Samsung KS-Series SUHD models and Sony’s XBR-XD Series 2016 Bravia 4K TVs like the X850D, X900D and X940D.

• HDR in OLED 4K TVs

Then there are LG’s OLED 4K TV models. The “UHD Premium” specs apply slightly differently to them, with much lower standards for peak brightness due to the inherent dimness of OLED technology and with these models, maybe only one, the late 2015 EF9500 could be considered an HDR OLED model, with only the 2016 OLED Signature G6 4K TV being a truly HDR OLED model.

Furthermore, we have other brands that produced no HDR 4K models in 2015 but are now following the “UHD Premium” or Dolby Vision standards for high dynamic range to create what they call real HDR 4K televisions for 2016. These brands include Hisense, TCL, Panasonic and others. Finally, there are also Vizio’s 4K UHD televisions, of which only two from 2015, the Reference Series, offered real HDR.

• HDR Battles

Vizio however is in active dispute with the standards of the UHD Alliance and instead claims that the Dolby Vision specs for high dynamic range in its Reference Series 4K TVs are what provides superior HDR technology. The company’s 2016 P-Series 4K TVs all claim to have HDR but of the Dolby Vision kind, which does not depend on the new connectivity spec of HDMI 2.0a to move 4K UHD content with HDR encoding into a 4K TV.  LG’s OLED 4K TVs, TCL’s 4K TVs and content sources from companies like Roku and TCL will all also support Dolby Vision HDR, without the need for HDMI 2.0a.

The Ultra HD Premium certification logo

In contrast, all of the other 4K HDR TV models above do offer HDMI 2.0a as a key connectivity spec for the sake of their HDR capabilities.

So in summary, while the situation is confusing as far as which type of HDR goes for which 4K TV and how good the different HDR specs are. The bottom line is that 2016 4K TVs will for the most part all come with high dynamic range of some type or another.

The Two Pillars of High Dynamic Range

Aside from the confusion described above for the HDR landscape in TV display, we can definitely say that there are two core pillars of this technology which will be carefully implemented in all HDR standards. They are the following:

• Contrast

Though HDR is about more than just contrast, this is one of the most important components of and HDR display system and refers to the difference between light and dark scenes in terms of brightness and its opposite. The greater the range of contrast, the greater the quality of high dynamic range as well.

With contrast, the ideal development is one in which an extremely bright bit of imagery can be placed next to an extremely dark piece of display space without any bleeding through of light occurring in the dark spots. OLED 4K TVs master this almost perfectly but can maintain only limited maximum brightness levels, normally no more than 600 nits, while LCD TVs can manage very high brightness of 1000 nits or more but also fail to completely eliminate minor amounts of light bleed-through in the dark sections of a screen.

In either case above, TV makers are faced with a dilemma if they want to call their TV an HDR model because the maximum brightness of a TV in nits has to be matched by a certain simultaneous level of darkness in lowest possible nit count for dark scenes. Getting both to happen isn’t easy. By the UHD Premium standards of the UHD Alliance, a 4K LCD TV can be considered an HDR model if it can manage at least 1100 nits of brightness while at the same time pulling off dark scenes with only 0.05 nits of light emission. For OLED 4K TVs, the blacks are perfect and much deeper than anything found in an LCD model, at only 0.0005 nits (barely detectable) in dark areas but with low levels of peak brightness, with the UHD Alliance standard requiring at least 540 nits.

Contrast technology at work in HDR

Contrast of course also figures heavily in non-HDR 4K TVs with SDR display but the variations are much smaller. Your typical SDR TV might offer only 400 to 500 nits of peak brightness while managing just 0.5 nits of black level. Even many HDR TVs from 2015, before the advent of the UHD Premium and other major high dynamic range standards, usually offered no more than 600 or 700 nits of peak brightness.

• Color Enhancements

The next key component of HDR is color enhancement. This is encoded into all major HDR standards and all new 4K UHD TVs with high dynamic range must offer up processing of what is known as 10-bit color. This is considered deep color and instead of offering 256 RGB (Red, Green, Blu) values, it offers 1024 of them. This amounts to a total of 1.06 billion colors instead of the 16 million offered by older 8-bit color TVs. Thus, the gradations between shades and different tones in onscreen content present a far greater degree of realism to the viewer.

With HDR TV standards, things also get a bit more complicated than the above. For starters, 4K HDR TVs don’t actually need to be able to display all of the colors in a 10-bit signal, they just need to be capable of processing them for the sake of delivering an image based on that information. This is a sort of indirect “10-bit color capacity”.

Furthermore, in HDR TV standards, a given television has to also manage what’s called P3 color, or at least 90% of it. P3 refers to the P3 part of the total color spectrum, which is quite a bit larger than the older Rec.709 color spectrum used in previous 4K TV models.

All of the above amounts to what is also called the “Wide Color Gamut” ideal among 4K TV makers, which means wider coverage of color spectrum and much smoother gradation between all possible shades in that covered spectrum space. It’s an extended part of developing highly realistic display quality and high quality HDR.

The difference in color quality created by Wide Color Gamut for HDR standards

HDR Standards Overviewed

We have already briefly mentioned several different 4K high Dynamic Range standards above, so here is more detail on those. Currently, the two dominant versions, which are actually being used in consumer market 4K TVs of one kind or another, are Ultra HD Premium, from the UHD Alliance and Dolby Vision, from Dolby Labs. Beyond them, there are also several other major HDR definitions being developed without commercial use in consumer TVs. Here are the key specs and characteristics of the two main standards today:

• Ultra HD Premium from the UHD Alliance:

The companies that make up the UHD Alliance

These are the standards for 4K Display devices of any kind, and mainly 4K UHD TVS. For the wider UHD Alliance standards for content and content distributors, see here.

• Display resolution: minimum of 3840 x 2160 pixels
• Color bit depth: 10-bit signal
• Color Palette: (Wide Color Gamut)
• Signal Input: BT.2020 color representation
• Display Reproduction: More than 93% of the DCI P3 color spectrum
• High Dynamic Range
• SMPTE ST2084 EOTF
• Both Peak Brightness and deep black levels of either more than 1000 nits and less than 0.05 nits of black, OR more than 540 nits of peak brightness and less than 0.0005 nits of black level. (This dual contrast standard is likely a direct sop to LG’s OLED technology, which can’t match the high nit levels of LCD/LED displays but can completely outmatch them in terms of how dark their blacks go, thus re-bracketing the range which constitutes HDR and deep contrast.

TVs which match the above high dynamic range and color standards during certification testing will get an “Ultra HD Premium” label, except for Sony 4K TVs, which will get Sony’s own “4K HDR” logo for matching these same standards above.

The Sony 4K HDR logo for UHD Premium certification

• Dolby Vision HDR and color standards

Dolby Vision’s color and HDR standards are both a bit looser and also somewhat stricter than those of the UHD Alliance. For details on the Dolby Vision standard, you can check out the company’s white paper here.

However, these are the essentials of Dolby Vision, which are found in Netflix and Vudu 4K streaming HDR content and which are also used in TCL, Vizio and LG OLED 4K HDR TVs.

Dolby Vision HDR

• Dolby specifies a goal of 12-bit color and a whopping 10,000 nits of brightness for the cinematic master of a piece of content. No displays can currently handle 10K bits and 12-bt color is still not quite developed, so for content that’s currently being mastered for Dolby Vision, 4K nits and 10-bit color are allowed, particularly for broadcast content.
• Variants of the 4000 nit peak brightness can also be created for HDR displays that can’t manage this but use Dolby Vision. Thus, even 4K HDR TVs that do 1000 nits of brightness or slightly more (like most of the 2016 consumer HDR TVs using the Dolby standard) can be considered certified by Dolby Vision
• Dolby Vision requires dedicated silicon inside the TV. This means it can’t be added in via firmware updates but has to actually be physically built in.
• Dolby Vision HDR does not require HDMI 2.0a and HDR TVs with Dolby like the Vizio Reference-Series models don’t have the technology.
• Dolby Vision is also now being used by streaming HDR content from Netflix and VUDU, though both companies only offer limited HDR selections for now.
• Dolby Vision is currently being applied in Vizio’s 2016 4K TVs, the LG OLED TVs for 2016 and in all TCL 4K UHD TVs with HDR for 2016.

As we’d said, other HDR standards are also being developed. These include the open source HDR10 standard and Technicolor’s own version of HDR, which is unique in that it will have the ability to turn SDR content into HDR content inside a 4K TV or other display device. However, these other standards aren’t yet found in any consumer market 4K UHD displays.

Dolby Vision is found in 4K TVs like the Vizio premium Reference Series models

What about HDR Content?

Unfortunately, HDR televisions can’t quite yet simply take any piece of video entertainment and give it to you in high dynamic range. The content itself has to also be mastered for one type of HDR standard or another. Fortunately, this is now being done for all major sources of content from streaming to 4K Blu-ray discs in particular, which are all being put on sale with high dynamic range. The standards used vary among content providers but the majority of current 4K HDR video uses the UHD Premium specs for its mastering.

Your 4K HDR TV will of course deliver exceptional brightness and color to any content it displays, even non-ultra HD video but for the real 10-bit color coverage and wide range of peak brightness it’s capable of, the content displayed also has to be encoded with information that gives the TV instructions for greater dynamic range.

As for sources of 4K ultra HD video in HDR. There are quite a few now arriving on the market or already here. As we’d said above, all 4K ultra HD Blu-ray discs going on sale this year and for the foreseeable future are coming out with HDR encoded into them, though they can also be viewed on SDR 4K TVs without the HDR enhancements appearing. Furthermore, Amazon Prime, Vudu, Netflix and other streaming providers like Sony’s new Ultra service are all now providing high dynamic range selections. The content from Netflix and Vudu however uses the Dolby Vision HDR format and thus can only be viewed on Vizio and LG OLED 4K TVs in that format.

For the moment, your best source of high Dynamic Range content, if you have an UHD Alliance certified 4K TV or a 2015 HDR TV is to simply buy a 4K UHD Blu-ray player for the ability to watch what are already dozens of 4K movies that include HDR.

For an even larger guide on all the types of 4K content in general and HDR 4K content in particular available today, you can also check out our “Movies” page, which is updated regularly.

All 4K Blu-ray content now comes with HDR encoding

Which TVs support HDR?

4K ultra HD TVs which support high Dynamic Range are becoming the default for the UHD TV industry in 2016 and from here on out. That is to say that all major models from all major 4K TV brands released in 2016 now offer HDR. This includes all 2016 Sony 4K TVs, all 2016 Samsung 4K models and most of the 4K TVs from Vizio, LG, Panasonic, Hisense, TCL and Philips coming out or on sale this year.

For 2015 4K models, Sony’s 2015 X850C, X900C, X930C and X940C 4K Bravia TVs offered  HDR, and the selection for last year also included Samsung’s SUHD JS9500, JS9000 and JS8500 4K models. However, among these televisions, only the Samsung JS9500 and the Sony X940C offer high dynamic range and color that are good enough for the certification standards of 2016.

LG’s G6 Signature OLED TV is one of the 2016 HDR models now on sale

Conclusion and Key Points to Keep in Mind

HDR is here to stay. That’s beyond a doubt at this point, especially given how much the technology improves the quality of the 4K home entertainment experience, possibly even more so than 4K UHD resolution itself. With that, yes, at some point, you’ll have to get a 4K TV with high dynamic range if you want the best in home entertainment and with that said, if you really want to get started on this now, you already can now that high dynamic range standards have settled quite a bit in 2016. Furthermore, if you’re planning on buying any kind of name brand 2016 4K TV in this year, then you’ll be getting an HDR model in any case, since virtually all new releases now come with the specs.

However, there is no need to rush out and buy a 4K HDR TV quite yet, especially not if you own a perfectly decent 2014 or 2015 4K UHD TV with an earlier version of HDR or even none at all. 4K content as a whole is still well away from really growing and most of your content viewing will be in upscaled SD and HD, both of which aren’t available in HDR anyhow. Furthermore, HDR standards are going to go a few more shifts anyhow, so you can easily wait for the dust to settle still further while you enjoy what is still a superb SDR 4K content viewing experience. HDR 4K video may be spectacular but that doesn’t mean normal 4K content is anything less than superb as it stands.

The post Ultimate Guide to High Dynamic Range (HDR) in 4K TVs – Contrast, Wide Color Gamut, HDR Display and the Latest HDR Content appeared first on .

Stephan Jukic – May 10, 2016

2016 has been a boom year for new 4K TV models and we love the selections we’ve seen from different brands but this alone isn’t what makes the new models of this year so particularly special. After all, each year sees the unveiling of numerous new 4K offerings from the major manufacturers and this has been the case since these TVs first started seriously being made in 2013.

No, what makes 2016 particularly unique is that for the first time ever, we’ve seen the introduction of a truly display changing new technology to most of these new TVs and this technology, called high dynamic range, is not just a minor detail but something that rivals or even exceeds 4K resolution itself as a new and dramatically superior system for displaying the best in home entertainment content. This is just one of the major changes to 4K television offerings that has arrived in 2016. Other new developments, like the HDR-related technology of Wide Color Gamut and new television design trends are also important developments for 2016, and we’ll cover them all below, starting with HDR because it’s the most important 4K TV feature of 2016. Following our intro to the key technologies of 2016 4K TVs, we’ll cover the major premium models and explain how they stand for each of the key technologies below.

The Technologies and features of 2016 4K TVs

High dynamic range

Dolby Vision’s HDR

First of all, if you’d like to know a great deal more about high dynamic range itself, we’ll spare the space in this article and refer you to our comprehensive guide to HDR and all of its major standards for 2016, which you can read through here.

In any case, HDR is the core new technology of all premium 2016 4K TVs and it’s what makes the 4K ultra HD televisions of 2016 with HDR into displays of a truly superior quality from those of 2014 and even from most TVs released in 2015, when HDR was still poorly developed and haphazardly applied.

Yes, the 2015 and 2014 4K models came out with new technologies like quantum dot color, OLED technology and a few other interesting and often powerful quirks but none of these technologies really match HDR, as it’s applied to either LCD display or OLED display in terms of sheer visual impact.

This is mainly because HDR technology causes visual effects that enhance realism, detail and vibrancy in a way which is immediately visible even in smaller displays with the technology. Unlike 4K resolution, which is hard to distinguish from Full HD on small to mid-sized TVs from any normal viewing distance, if both kinds of television are put side by side, HDR is notable right off the bat when put next to standard dynamic range display in any screen size.

In essence, what HDR offers is a broader range of contrast levels between the brightest luminance and darkest black levels possible in a 4K TV while also allowing for both of these ends to be taken to further ranges. Additionally, as we explain in the HDR guide we link to above, the technology also brings with it color enhancements in the form of what is called Wide Color Gamut, or 10-bit and even more advanced 12-bit color coverage.

HDR has been available in many premium 4K TVs since at least 2015 but in 2016, it has become much more standardized and in many ways superior to its previous versions. Nonetheless, this technology is still lacking further, more robust development and still has much more potential, as we’ll see shortly when we cover the TVs that have it.

Before we move on further here, one key piece of information about HDR in the 4K TVs of 2016 that should be kept in mind is the specific dynamic range they can or should offer. For the most commonly used HDR standard of this year, Ultra HD Premium, this range is specifically set at 1000 nits of peak brightness and 0.05 nits of highest max black level in LCD 4K TVs. For 2016 OLED HDR TVs, the range has been set at 540 nits of peak brightness and 0.0005 nits of deepest black level. These are the two key specs of optimum HDR to-date.

Wide Color Gamut

The second major pillar of modern 4K TV display that’s now found in many if not most of the premium 4K TVs of 2016 is Wide Color Gamut. This is a technology for the display of content in a color gamut that matches the standards set for professional digital cinema and is represented by the color coverage found under what is commonly called the DCI-P3 color spectrum, which is itself part of an even bigger color coverage called Rec.2020. This is in contrast to the much smaller REC 709 color space coverage of most 2014 4K TVs and the vast majority of non-4K televisions.

For TV makers and for the main HDR standards of today, DCI-P3 is however what is used to set acceptable HDR Wide Color Gamut standards and all existing 4K full HDR TVs -from Sony’s XBR-D models for 2016, to Samsung’s SUHD 2016 TVs to Vizio’s P-Series 2016 models and of course LG’s 2016 and late 2015 OLED TVs- offer at least 85% or more coverage of the DCI-P3 color space. TVs which conform to Ultra HD Premium or Dolby Vision from the UHD Alliance must conform to at least 93% or more coverage of the DCI-P3 color space. With this wider color space coverage, there is also the 10-bit color we mentioned above. Most 4K TVs from 2014 and 2015 to a lesser extent offered only REC-709 color space coverage and 8-bit color.

Different color gamut containers

However, the difference between 8 bits and 10 bits is enormous, with 8-bit color allowing for a total of only 16.8 million color mixes and only 257 possibly values for any one of the primary digital display colors –Red Green and Blue (RGB). While this sounds enormous, 10-bit color allows for just over 1 billion different colors and 1024 different values for any of the RGB colors. In other words, a 4K TV with 10-bit color offers a much more refined, smoother gradation between color variations, and the effect in 4K TV display can be spectacular to behold, especially as far as realism and vibrancy are concerned.

Smart TV changes

The major 4K TV brands on the market all come with one type of smart TV platform or another and this is one of the key technologies found in these 4K TVs. Smart platforms are a 4K TVs user interface system for accessing content apps, browsing the web, watching movies and shows, accessing content from other sources like media players and conventional cable TV and connecting ones 4K TV to other external media devices in the home or beyond.

The main 4K TVs of 2016 all come with their own smart TV platforms and while some of the major brands have only modestly refined their 4K TV smart OS systems for this new year, others, like Vizio in particular, have completely revamped theirs. We’ll cover this as well since smart OS functionality is another important part of a quality home entertainment experience.

Sony’s Android TV

Physical Design

Physically, all 4K TVs share a small number of essential characteristics: They tend towards thin displays, narrow or minimal edge bezels, mounting flexibility for stands of walls through VESA mounts and in some brands, curved displays have become a major feature of entire 4K TV lines.

Between 2015 and 2016, many of these above characteristics haven’t changed much or have changed only marginally. Yes, the majority of 2016’s 4K TV s from major brands look different than they did in 2016 but only a couple of brands like Samsung and Sony have seriously redesigned their TVs for an almost completely different new look. LG in particular has unveiled the majority of its 2016 OLED 4K TVs in a form factor that’s completely unlike anything we’ve seen in any 4K TV yet made, while Samsung’s 2016 KU-Series 4K TVs and SUHD models on the other hand look remarkably similar to how they did in 2015.

One feature we’re glad to see fading away from popularity with major 4K TV models is curved display. As we explained in detail in our Curved vs. flat screen post, we carefully examined curved display and consider it to be a gimmick which offers no real “immersion” value or any other practical benefit to any 4K TV it appears in and in 2016, LG has almost completely abandoned this display style in its OLED models, while Samsung sticks to it while nonetheless offering a flat version of every one of their curved TVs. Curved seems to be going away and this is probably a good thing.

Sony’s new 2016 4K TV design

The 4K TVs of 2016:

Now, without further ado, let’s get down to analyzing the major brands and models of 2016 on a Brand-by-brand basis.

Samsung 2016 SUHD and 4K UHD TVs

Samsung has delivered some of the best new 4K TVs we’ve seen for 2016 in the form of its SUHD models most of all. While the company also released several new non-SUHD televisions in the form of the KU7500, KU7000, KU6300 and KU6500 for 2016, these are only marginally superior to the 2015 JU-Series non-SUHD TVs.

Thus, for this year, the real impressive results in Samsung’s latest lineup have without a doubt been the five new 8-Series and 9-Series SUHD TVs. In our view, these are the best overall major North American brand LCD 4K TVs of this year. They consist of the KS8000, KS8500, KS9000, KS9500 and KS9800. The 8000 and 8500 are identical except that the 8500 comes with a curved display and the same applies for the 9000 and 9500, with the 9500 offering curved display. The KS9800 is the only full-array LED-lit model in Samsung’s 2016 lineup and is the company’s flagship 4K TV.

Samsung’s KS9500 2016 SUHD TV

Why? Because the 2016 SUHD Samsung models nail all of the key specs for top-shelf display quality and the latest in color and high dynamic range technology in this year. All of them, from the cheapest to the flagship full-array LED lit KS9800, offer full Ultra HD Premium HDR standards certification for Wide Color Gamut, DCI-P3 coverage of 92% or more, peak brightness of more than 1000 nits and black levels of 0.05 nits or darker.

In fact, the KS8000 and all of the even pricier SUHD TVs in both the 8-Series and 9-Series go above and beyond top-shelf HDR standards for peak brightness and black levels, since they deliver not just 1000 nits and 0.05 nits respectively but can actually manage brightness levels of more than 1400 nits and black levels of 0.019 nits.  In simple terms, Samsung really took the prizes home this year with the SUHD lineup.

Furthermore, the Tizen smart TV platform is still excellent. It hasn’t been enhanced too much from 2015 but then it didn’t really need much enhancement to begin with. In addition to this, while Samsung is still sticking to curved display in several of its SUHD TV models and KU-Series non-SUHD TVs, it also offers equivalent flat screen versions for nearly every single model type.

Samsung’s Tizen smart TV platform for 2016

The price range for Samsung’s 2016 4K TVs is quite large. Among the SUHD models, the cheapest of the bunch, the 55 inch KS8000, sells for $1,697.99, while the 78 inch flagship KS9800 sells for a whopping $9,997.99.

As for the KU-Series 4K TVs, the cheapest and smallest 40 inch KU6300 model sells for just $599.99 and the largest 78 inch KU7500 model retails for $5,999.99.

Sony 2016 4K TVs

For 2016, Sony has been rather conservative in its releases of new 4K televisions, with only four new models having come out so far as direct successors to select premium 4K TVs from last year. These are the X850D, X900D and X930/940D 4K HDR TVs, which replace the exact same series from last year’s C-Series TVs. (X850C,X900C, X930/940C).

Unlike Samsung’s 2016 SUHD TVs, the Sony Bravia XBR-D-Series models did not choose to go with the Ultra HD Premium certification of the UHD Alliance and instead come stamped with Sony’s own “4K HDR” label for HDR quality. However, the measure of this quality seems to be a bit iffy as we’ve seen in our reviews of several of this year’s models. This is because the X850D and X900D at least don’t quite match the peak brightness requirements of 1000 nits or more for maximum display brightness.

On the other hand, the 2016 Sony TVs do offer full 10-bit color, Wide Color Gamut and deliver some very decent contrast ratios, though all but the flagship X940D TV fail to achieve these key specs to the same level of quality we’ve seen in the 2016 Samsung SUHD TVs, or even Vizio’s flagship line, the 2016 P-Series TVs (more on these shortly).

The major exception here is the X940D flagship 4K TV from Sony. It’s essentially the X930D TV but with full-array LED backlighting and only one display size of 75 inches. This is the only full-array model from the brand and offers specs that are powerful enough for qualification in any high dynamic range standard.

Sony’s X930D HDR 4K TV, one of the company’s 2016 flagship models

However, the bottom line for Sony in 2016 is that all of its 4K TVs do feature HDR with high quality specs. The dynamic range may not be quite as broad as what we’ve seen from Samsung or Vizio but it’s there across the board and it still looks great (and looks spectacular in the X940D flagship 4K TV).

As it has always done to-date, Sony delivers full flat screened 4K TVs with no pointless curved designs available, but the company has revamped the overall appearance of their four 2016 TVs quite dramatically from how they looked in 2015. These newest models offer a leaner, more minimalist form factor and the X930/X940D TVs lack the giant side-mounted speakers of their 2015 counterparts. This means a reduction in audio quality from the absolutely unbeatable built-in sound we saw in the 2015 versions of these TVs but the lack of speakers also comes with the benefit of much leaner, lighter body design.

As for Sony’s Android TV platform, we still consider it to be the third best smart TV interface of 2016, just as it was the third best in 2015 but it is now getting some sharp competition from Vizio’s new smart platform. Sony hasn’t changed Android TV much for this year.

Sony’s 2016 XBR-D Series 4K TVs sell for varied prices, with the cheapest of the bunch, the 55 inch X850D going for $1,398.00 and the top-shelf 75 inch X930D selling for $6,498.00.

Vizio 2016 4K HDR TVs

Vizio is possibly the king of 4K LCD TVs for 2016. We don’t say this because of the absolute quality of these 4K TV models, since the Samsung SUHD TVs are superior in terms of most specs, especially those for HDR. However, while Vizio is a bit behind Samsung in absolute LCD 4K HDR TV quality, it largely makes up for this in the sheer number of different models and size ranges it has delivered for this year. Furthermore, in terms of value for dollars spent, nobody can yet beat Vizio’s 4K TVs. Additionally, there is the cool fact that the flagship P-Series TVs from this brand actually offer superior overall specs to those of most of Sony’s 2016 HDR TVs, despite being cheaper.

For 2016, we’ve seen the emergence of four distinct 4K TV lines. These are the flagship P-Series line of HDR 4K TVs, the second-tier but still great 2016 M-Series 4K HDR TVs, the E-Series budget 4K TVs and the D-Series 2016 budget 4K TVs.

Vizio’s 2016 P-Series flagship HDR 4K TVs

While we offer far greater detail in our reviews of all these 4K TVs as we complete them in the coming days, what we can say right now is that even the lowest-priced D-Series 4K televisions offer some genuinely god display quality, contrast and smart TV technology, with only their 8-bit color, peak brightness, motion control specs and a few other things like being a major weakness. Now this is the D-Series, Vizio’s cheapest 2016 4K TVs. When it comes to the M and P-Series 4K TVs which are the higher end of the line, things improve considerably.

The P-Series 2016 4K HDR TVs in particular offer the second best LCD TV contrast specs we’ve seen in 2016 so far and deliver superior peak brightness to even some of Sony’s 2016 HDR 4K TVs like the X850D. This is impressive for such reasonably priced televisions.

Furthermore, Vizio’s P-Series and M-Series (to a slightly lesser degree) deliver excellent upscaling engines, great motion control, superb black levels, 10-bit color and some great display uniformity.

What we also appreciate about the M-Series and P-Series in particular is that all of these 4K TVs offer full-array LED backlighting, a feature that’s normally found only in the flagship 4K TV models of competitors like Sony and Samsung or LG.

Finally, Vizio’s 4K smart technology has always classically been lackluster in comparison to Sony’s Android TV, Samsung’s Tizen smart platform and LG’s superb WebOS 3.0 platform. Previously called Internet Apps Plus in 2014 and 2015 Vizio TVs, the brand’s smart OS offered few interactivity controls, lacked web browsing capability and offered no support for VP9 4K content compression encoding.

All of these things have radically changed in 2016 because Vizio has now also massively revamped their smart TV platform in a nearly revolutionary new way. Instead of the old TV-based smart platform of 2014 and 2015, the new 2016 smart OS comes as a downloadable app which can be installed to nearly any compatible smartphone or tablet. In the M-Series and P-Series TVs, the app comes preinstalled on an included 6 inch Android tablet with a Full HD display and in the cheaper D and E-Series TVs, it can be installed to your own mobile device from the web. This new app-based smart TV platform, called SmartCast, operates as the control center of a Vizio TV, allowing for control of content, web browsing and other functions on the TV screen through the included technology of Google Cast.

Vizios’ SmartCast tablet remote control with Google Cast

In basic terms, while this first edition of the SmartCast app isn’t without its glitches that Vizio needs to smooth out, it’s remarkably cool and unique, with the added benefit that you never really need to lose your TV remote, since the app itself is both smart platform and remote control all rolled into one and downloadable to multiple devices.

As for their prices, Vizio’s 4K TVs for 2016 have some of the diverse range for just about any budget there is. The cheapest and priciest models of each Vizio Series are priced as follows, with prices changing by a couple hundred dollars or less at different sizes in between the two extremes for each series:

P-Series 4K HDR TVs: (all above 50 inches offer 120Hz native refresh and 50 inch model offers 60Hz native refresh)

Cheapest: 50 inch P50-C1 at $999

Priciest: 75 inch P75-C1 at $3,799

M-Series 4K HDR TVs: (all from 55 inches and smaller offer 60Hz native refresh rate and 60 inches or above 120Hz native refresh)

Cheapest: M50-D1 50 inches at $849

Priciest: M80-D3 80 inches at $3,999.

E-Series 4K TVs: (65 inch or larger models offer 120Hz refresh, smaller models come with 60Hz native refresh)

Cheapest: E43U-D2 43 inches at $469

Priciest: E70U-D3 at 70 inches at $1,699

D-Series 4K TVs:

Cheapest: 40 inch D-Series model at $350

Priciest: 70 inch D-Series model at $1,300.

the 2016 M-Series 4K TV from Vizio also offers HDR specs and SmartCast

LG 4K TVs

LG is an odd company when it comes to 4K TV quality. We’ve referred to this on numerous occasions on this site and what we speak of is the brand’s odd tendency to focus enormous attention on making its OLED 4K TVs into some of the most spectacular television models on sale across the board for each year while also investing in what we still think is the best smart TV platform of the year for the third year in a row. At the same time however, LG delivers 4K LCD TVs that for 2014, 2015 and even in 2016 have underperformed in nearly all major metrics of display quality against the LCD 4K TVs of every other major North American brand. It’s as if LG puts so much effort into making their exquisite OLED UHD TVs the best they can be that they badly neglect the numerous more economical 4K LCD models they sell.

This at least seemed to be the case for 2015 in particular, a year in which all of LG’s LCD 4K UHD models underperformed against their Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and even Vizio counterparts despite being priced relatively highly in many cases. Their particular performance failures revolved around contrast and black level, with some of the worst specs in these areas for last year. On the other hand, their main saving grace was the superb WebOS smart TV platform (either version 1.0 or 2.0) that

Now in 2016, LG follows the same trend it did in 2015 and 2014 but to a fortunately lesser degree. The company’s 2016 OLED TVs are downright stunning in their optimal display specs and offer full HDR certification with the best main standards of Dolby Vision and Ultra HD Premium (HDR10). On the other hand, their LCD 4K TVs, which all also include HDR specs, offer what we still consider to be sub-par performance in some ways, at least for the lower-priced LCD models. Contrast and black uniformity are once again sub-par but the WebOS 3.0 smart platformis more impressive than ever and the HDR color in the LCD models is as impressive as what we’ve seen from Sony’s 4K TVs, though Vizio and Samsung deliver better HDR-level Wide Color Gamut results.

LG’s 2016 OLED models break down into four series. These are the flagship G6 TVs, which come in 65 and 77 inch size ranges; the E6 second-tier OLED models, which come in 55 and 65 inch sizes; the Mid-range (for OLED) C6 models in the 55 and 65 inch size ranges and finally, the nearly identical B6 OLED TVs. The C6 and B6 models are essentially the same with the exception that the C6 TVs offer curved display (they are the only LG OLED models to do so in 2016) and the G6 and E6 models are also nearly identical with minor difference like thicker display panels and superior sound in the flagship G6 being the case.

LG’s G6 Signature OLED 4K TV offers stunning display quality

For the 2016 OLED flagship TVs, LG has improved the display quality to unprecedented levels and as far as we’re concerned from our own review of the top-shelf G6 65 inch OLED model, there is no better 4K TV in existence today as far as general display quality is concerned. Only in peak brightness do any LCD models beat the G6 and the other OLED TVs of this year but these televisions compensate even for that with their virtually perfect pitch black quality.

Furthermore, all of the OLED LG TVs of 2016 come with full Dolby Vision and Ultra HD Premium HDR certification for OLED technology while also offering the other exquisite specs of this display technology which make it so much more powerful than LCD/LED TV display in most regards.

For LG’s LCD 4K TVs, the entire 2016 lineup consists of 8 models. These are called the UH-Series and they range in price and size considerably, with several different ranges to choose from: The UH7700, UH8500 and UH9500 flagship LCD 4K models in different sizes being available.

The LCD offerings of LG for this year also offer HDR technology but without the sort of contrast and peak brightness or black levels that match the high quality we’ve seen in Vizio, Sony and Samsung HDR 2016 TVs in particular. Their color quality on the other hand is superb and they offer some excellent motion interpolation and upscaling features as well as the always great WebOS 3.0 smart TV platform.

In terms of prices, LG’s 2016 TVs can vary widely in cost depending on which models and types you buy. The OLED models are still very expensive as they’ve always been and the LCD UH-Series models vary from being relatively affordable to highly expensive. The price range between cheapest models and priciest models breaks down as follows:

LG G6 OLED flagship 4K TV:

Cheapest: 65 inch OLED65G6P at $7,999.99

Priciest: 77 inch OLED77G6P at $24,999

LG E6 OLED

Cheapest: OLED55E6P at $3,999.99

Priciest: OLED65E6P at $6,999.99

LG C6 and B6 OLED models

For these TVs we don’t yet have concretely confirmed prices but from what we know they will be priced at $3,000+ for the 55 inch models in each class and $5,000 or so for the 65 inch models of both the C6 and B6.

LG’s B6 OLED 4K TV for 2016 offers a more familiar design but also includes full top-shelf HDR specs

Other Brands

The above brands are the major North American models of 2016 4K Television. This is why we focus primarily on them. However, there are still many 4K TVs from Hisense, Panasonic, Sharp and TCL selling in select locations and online retailers. The Hisense 2016 ULED 4K TVs in particular are worth looking at due to their high-caliber specs and high dynamic range display features. We will be updating this post shortly with more information on these TVs as they become available.

What’s the best 4K TV out there?

We’ve divided our rating of the best individual 4K TVs by display type since it’s rather difficult and unfair to weight OLED models against LCD models on a general basis. OLED display is undoubtedly better on the whole but LCD deserves its own fair hearing as well.

LCD 4K UHD

For LCD 4K TVs released among the major North American brands in 2016, the single best model we’ve seen to date is without a doubt the Samsung KS9800 SUHD 4K TV. The entire 2016 SUHD lineup is superb for all major display specs and some of the best peak brightness and LCD TV contrast we’ve seen to-date but the full-array LED-lit KS9800 beats the other models like the edge-lit KS9500, KS9000 and KS8500 TVs by a wide margin with the quality of its contrast, black levels and stunning peak brightness. Color in this TV is comparable to that of its edge-lit cousins. This model is however extremely expensive, with a retail price of $9,997.99 for the one single 75 inch size range available.

A close runner-up to the KS98000 monster TV is Sony’s full-array LED-lit X940D 75 inch HDR 4K TV, which also offers some superb Ultra HD Premium-level specs and sells for a more “modest” $6,498.00 from Amazon.com.

Those of you who want a more budget oriented option in superb 4K TV display with full HDR qualification can also go for Samsung’s KS8000 SUHD TV, which sells for just $1,697.99 for the 55 inch model and offers some stunning motion control, HDR, color and content viewing quality. Another even cheaper but also excellent option is Vizio’s P-Series 4K TVs. They are remarkably affordable, available in several sizes and also deliver top-quality contrast, color performance, motion control specs and high dynamic range quality. The excellent 65 inch model sells for just $1,999.

Samsung’s KS9800 flagship LCD HDR 4K TV with full-array LED backlighting is the best LCD TV of 2016

OLED 4K UHD

For OLED 4K TV options in 2016, the LG G6 and E6 models are without a doubt the best TVs on sale today. They outperform their LCD counterparts above in all specs except peak brightness but when it comes to the quality of their overall picture characteristics, they are truly unbeatable, with perfect blacks, millions of individual dimming zones (due to the nature of OLED technology) and superb color performance that matches 98 to 99% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. No other 2016 4K TVs match this last spec, not even LG’s own C6 and B6 OLED models, though they come very close.

LG’s G6 Signature OLED 4K TV is the single best television of 2016 in our opinion.

The G6 and E6 TVs are however extremely expensive, with the 65 inch models of each selling for $7,999 and $3,999 respectively.

Story by 4k.com

The post The Ultimate Guide to the New 4K TVs of 2016 from Samsung to LG, Sony and Vizio appeared first on .

Stephan Jukic – June 28, 2016

One subject that comes up very often in discussion and comments about 4K TV displays is the question of their refresh rate. The reasons for this are pretty straightforward. One the one hand, refresh rate sped is an important part of how well movies and other content on your TV display and especially how well content displays if it comes with fast paced motion sequences (as is the case for most popular home entertainment content.

On the other hand, the TV manufacturers themselves have themselves added a whole pile of confusion to the 4K TV refresh rate mix by throwing around all kinds of specific jargon to describe their own TVs’ respective refresh rates. What’s worst about their tactics is the fact that a lot of what they say is either vaguely dishonest or outright false in some cases, and only serves to confuse consumers more instead of helping them out.

This is where this post comes in. We’re about to cut through all the jargon, misleading marketing terminology and confusion in general to lay down for all you readers the three core things you need to know about refresh rate: What it really is as far as content is concerned, what the native and “enhanced” refresh rates of the major 4K TV brands are and what the mix of both these first two things really means for real display performance

All premium modern 4K TVs, such as this Samsung KS9500, come with native refresh rates of 120Hz

What is 4K TV refresh rate, really?

At its most fundamental level, refresh rate is exactly what its name indicates. It’s the rate at which your TV display refreshes the picture in a single second. The higher this number goes, the more likely you are to have a smooth, natural looking and fluid picture quality, especially for fast paced content and even more particularly for fast paced high resolution content like that which you’re going to be watching on your 4K TV. However, there is a sort of variable upper limit at work to just how much this content can be enhanced by a higher refresh rate and this upper limit is a bit content dependent (more on this shortly).

You see, when it comes to the video presented on your 4K TV’s screen, details beyond those already in the source video itself can’t actually be added to the picture by the TV display itself. Furthermore, for the vast majority of native 4K and other movie, TV show and streamed sports or documentary content you’re going to watch on your 4K TV from any source, HD or 4K, the actual refresh rate of the source footage itself is never going to be greater than 60Hz, at last so far as far as content transmission technology is concerned.

With some footage, especially movie content from film reel sources, the frame rate equivalent of refresh rate might even be 24 frames per second, which are upconverted to 30fps for TV viewing and then shuffled around in certain ways so that they display at the equivalent of a 60fps frame rate that will match the 60Hz refresh of most digital content.

4K TVs on the other hand offer actual, totally real native refresh rates that in the vast majority of cases are either set at 60Hz or 120Hz (60 or 120 images, or frames per second in essence). With older HD TVs, the common refresh rate tended more towards 60Hz or less (with many models offering 50Hz real refresh rates) but because 4K TVs are widely considered to be a sort of premium home entertainment technology, 60Hz quickly became the hallmark of only the more economical or smaller ultra HD models and pretty much all premium 4K TVs from every major brand now offer native 120Hz refresh.

How does native refresh rate mesh with content frame rates?

This of course begs the question: How does a native 120Hz refresh rate mesh with content that only presents at 60Hz or possibly even a lower frame rate? Well, quite simply, even at their native refresh rate, most 4K TVs take 60Hz video and then sort of “enhance” it by two different means, both of which are commonly used depending on which TV model one is viewing.

Frame Interpolation at work

The first of these methods is called frame interpolation, and it is a technology run by your 4K TV’s processing engine by which two or more different real content frames are blended together by the TV to create a sort of falls intermediate frame between the real ones, which essentially fools a viewer’s mind into seeing a smoother sort of picture. In 120Hz 4K TVs, this technology is very common and it usually works at its best in higher quality models.

The next possible method of frame rate enhancement is called black frame-insertion (BFI for short) and it works by shutting off all or part of a TV’s backlight rapidly during the extremely brief moments between frames and thus producing what are essentially dark TV-generated frames between real content frames. This may seem like an odd sort of method for making a picture seem smoother but it works at reducing motion blur because it essentially tricks the mind in how it views image transitions during the flow of content frames, as we’ll describe in slightly more detail by going a bit into what is called motion blur.

Black frame insertion, in this case from an Eizo monitor but with the same principle at work as in 4K TV displays

What about Motion Blur and Judder in 4K TVs?

Motion blur is the content display problem both of the above motion control technologies are designed to avoid in both 120Hz and 60Hz 4K TV models. It should however be noted that 4K TVs with native 120Hz refresh usually deliver their motion control tricks better than their 60Hz counterparts.  In either case, motion blur as we viewers perceive it is in fact a blend of different factors. First, there is the electronic blur crated by the frame transitions on your TV screen as it handles 60fps or lesser content. Secondly, a large part of motion blur is also caused by our own mind noticing frame motion in content and then subconsciously making assumptions about where moving objects in an image will go next. Third, and least manageable is the motion blur caused by the original cameras as they filmed a piece of content during fast movement.

While your 4K TV can’t really do much about camera generated motion blur in a piece of video, the technologies described in the sub-section above (frame interpolation and BFI) are designed to handle the first two causes of motion blur. Both trick our brains into making fewer assumptions about content movement and as a result we see less motion blur between frames as objects move in a movie or sportscast and so on.

The better a 4K TV is at delivering its native refresh rate of either 60Hz or, more commonly, 120Hz and meshing that refresh rate with the actual frame rates of 24p, 30fps or 60fps content (60Hz content) from a video source, the more naturally smooth your image will look. This will of course mean less image flicker, less judder and of course, less motion blur. Judder in particular can be problematic for many ultra HD TVs when they play 24p content that has to be heavily processed to render on a 60Hz or 120Hz TV display (and at 3840 x 2160 pixels no less!) and one of the key differences between high quality 4K TV models with excellent motion processing engines and their cheaper, less effective counterparts is seen in how much better the former deliver judder-free movie content than the latter.

Great examples of 4K models with 120Hz refresh and superb judder management capacity for movies are premium TVs like the Samsung 2015 and 2016 SUHD models and LG’s OLED 4K TVs from this year or last year. Sony and Vizio premium TVs are also generally excellent at handling motion blur and judder.

What about refresh rate and PC gaming?

While all video entertainment content for your 4K TV will fed into the television at 60Hz or less in terms of frame rate, 4K TVs today are also very often used as powerful and gigantic 4K PC monitors through their HDMI cables. This opens these TVs up to use as displays for high frame rate HD gaming and for 4K gaming as well (if your PC has a powerful enough GPU running inside it).

What makes most modern (2015 and 2016) 4K TVs particularly great as PC monitors is the fact that their refresh rates can often support two different things. On the one hand, all of the major brand’s 4K TVs of 2015 and 2016 will allow for 4K UHD gaming at a solid 60fps due to their nearly across the board support for 4k signal connectivity @ 60 hz and at chroma 4:4:4 sampling. And on the other hand, a large number of this or last year’s 4K TV models (but not all) also support Full HD gamming at 120Hz due to their native 120Hz refresh rate processing capacities.

Great examples of 4K TVs for 4K PC gaming at 60Hz and with chroma 4:4:4 include the Samsung JU7100, LG OLED 4K EF9500, Samsung’s 2016 SUHD KS8000 (or KS9000 and KS8500 and other KS-Series SUHD models) and more budget oriented TVs like Vizio’s P-Series 2016 models. 4K TVs with Full HD support at 120Hz for PC gaming use include the highly affordable Sony X810C and the X850C as well.

So what do all those enhanced frame rates in 4K TVs mean?

Now, before we go further, remember this one fundamental and simple point to avoid any confusion that might result from any so-called refresh rate beyond 120Hz: In the current 4K TV market, pretty much all models, from the cheapest to the absolutely most expensive 2016 LG OLED 4K TVs like the G6 offer actual native refresh rates of either 50Hz (quite uncommon with newer 4K TVs) 60Hz or 120Hz.

Any refresh rate number stated by a manufacturer that goes beyond 120Hz is essentially not real. Instead, it depends on even more intensified versions of technologies like frame rate interpolation, black frame insertion and backlight scanning.  These enhanced refresh rates typically range from 120Hz to 240Hz and are found in the 4K TV models of all the major manufacturers, each enhanced frame rate going by a different name, though they all do the same basic thing, which is to even further smooth out motion blur, judder issues and in general maintain smoother motion control when displaying either native 4K video content or non-4K video and gaming sources of entertainment on a TV screen.

As we’d said, the major brands all have their own names for all these “enhanced” artificial refresh rates and their numerical frequencies can also vary slightly. However, for the most part they are double the TV’s true native refresh rate.

Thus, if a 4K TV offers  a native refresh rate of 60Hz, it will have an enhanced motion processing rate of 120Hz, and a native 120Hz 4K TV will offer enhanced motion processing of 240Hz. Examples of these enhanced rates and their specific names include the following, by major TV brand and specific enhancement name for 2015 and 2016:

• Sony: MotionFlow
• 120Hz for 60Hz native refresh and 240Hz for 120Hz native refresh

• Samsung: Motion Rate
• 120Hz for 60Hz native refresh and 240Hz for 120Hz native refresh

• LG: TruMotion
• 120Hz for 60Hz native refresh and 240Hz for 120Hz native refresh

• Vizio: “Effective Refresh Rate”
• 120Hz for 60Hz native refresh and 240Hz for 120Hz native refresh
• Vizio also offers a so-called “Clear Action” rate that’s twice even the reprocessed “Effective refresh rate”, with values like 480Hz and 720Hz for native 60Hz content and 960Hz for native 120Hz displays. These numbers are meaningless and simply exist to impress potential buyers with their size. Effective refresh rate and native refresh rate are what actually matters in Vizio 4K TVs.

• Panasonic: Image Motion
• 120Hz for 60Hz native refresh and 240Hz for 120Hz native refresh

A note on grossly exaggerated motion enhancement rates

One final note about the enhanced motion processing technologies of these major 4K TV brands is that they do in fact reprocess native video quality in ways that change its nature, so whether they actually help IMPROVE picture quality or not (more on this next) they can at least be said to do something to how content on your TV visibly displays.

Previously, many 4K TV brands included even more ridiculously high supposed content refresh rate enhancements that would reach up beyond 240Hz to levels like 480Hz, 600Hz, 720Hz and even 960Hz or more. These are possibly some of the most confusing numbers of all too many consumers and what’s worst about them is that they’re in essence completely arbitrary, added in and taken to extreme degrees more for the sake of impressing consumers with big numbers than for actually offering real content improvements.

Luckily, this has become less of a TV maker trend since 2015, as consumers become savvier and professional reviewers more often slam these TV makers for being disingenuous with these arbitrary numbers. On exception is Vizio, as we’ve noted above. They first offer their “effective refresh rate”, which is twice the actual native refresh rate and a valid measure of motion reprocessing, and then can’t seem to help themselves from also adding in the completely arbitrary “Clear Action” rates of 480, 720 or even 960Hz for even their 2016 4K TVs. This is a shame since these television models are genuinely great at 4K content rendering and display, without any of the silly “Clear Action” hype having to even be mentioned.

Graphics like this example fool buyers into thinking that refresh rates beyond 240Hz exist in today’s 4K TVs. They do not and the stated rates beyond 240Hz do nothing for image quality.

Are these “enhanced” refresh rates worth the hype?

In very simple terms, since even the native refresh rates of today’s 4K UHD TVs often mean reprocessing actual content refresh/frame rates for the sake of reduced motion blur, most of the motion enhancement technologies we mention above don’t really do much for the stuff you view on your TV and for watching movies, TV shows and even sportscasts, native refresh is usually more than enough, especially in movies that come with a 120Hz native rate.

Motion enhancements like Sony’s MotionFlow or Samsung’s Motion Rate can however be useful for smoothing out some more heavily motion blur-laden content sources and for giving sports entertainment a certain smooth, sharp sheen. On the other hand, for movie content, these same technologies, one activated in your TV can also create the famous “soap opera effect”, which makes movie content look bizarrely and somewhat uncomfortably smooth. In other words, go for higher native refresh rates if you can in the 4K TV you buy but understand that further motion enhancement technologies in these TVs only sometimes offer an extra benefit.

What’s the bottom Line?

The bottom line, in the simplest possible terms is this: For the vast majority of content, a native refresh rate of 120Hz in your 4K TV of choice will be just fine by itself. Some higher quality TVs can even offer excellent motion control with 60Hz native panels and in either case, the differences between 60Hz and 120Hz are minor since no 4K TV content reaches your TV at more than 60Hz anyhow. Real motion enhancement technologies (Those which are double native refresh rate) are a good bonus for activation in specific situations but no motion enhancement rate beyond 240Hz is anything more than an arbitrary piece of marketing fluff, so don’t even pay attention to stated rates like 480Hz, 720Hz or more.

Most 4K home entertainment content today doesn’t need motion enhancement in a quality 4K TV.

Story by 4k.com

The post Everything you need to know about 4K TV refresh rates in one post appeared first on .

Stephan Jukic – October 11, 2016

Backlighting in 4K TVs may not be one of those specs which many consumers pay a tremendous amount of attention to but its importance is crucial in affecting the overall display performance of any 4K TV. With this in mind, it’s important to note that 4K TV backlighting systems are quite varied and there are several different designs for the backlights in 4K LCD/LED TVs today. And among these several designs are a couple of core backlighting patterns which are the most common in today’s 4K TVs. All of them have their own distinct characteristics and way in which they affect how well your TV renders dimming and brightness on different sections of its display as you’re watching content or playing games

Backlighting is crucial for high quality picture performance and contrast

Then of course there are also other core technologies within the rubric of TV backlighting which you should also bear in mind. These mainly consist of local dimming and OLED display.

However, not to worry, the following guide to 4K TV local dimming and backlighting in both OLED and LCD/LED 4K TVs will cover everything you need to know about how these televisions manifest these technologies and what it means for your home entertainment quality and buying decisions. We’re also going to make some specific TV model and brand suggestions as we move through the following guide. Let’s get started.

First thing’s first, Local Dimming: what it means and how it works

First, before we move onto our descriptions of all the different 4K TV backlighting technologies and arrays, we have to make sure to give you a fundamental understanding of what local dimming is and how it works. This technology is a key aspect of the LED backlighting and OLED display configurations we’re about to cover, either by its presence or its absence in some TVs.

• LCD/LED 4K TV Local Dimming

For LCD/LED 4K TVs, the LEDs behind the LCD panel produce light and it passes through the LCD display to create brightness and allow pixel color to function. In the case of all LCD 4K TVs, the LCD panel itself blocks part of the LED backlight as needed via individual sections of the display’s pixel array. However, this light blocking capacity isn’t perfect and LED backlight can often bleed through the screen when and where it’s not supposed to if the TV is turned on.

This is where local dimming comes in. Some 4K TVs, especially better quality models of the premium type, come with the ability to turn selectively turn LEDs in the backlight array off to enhance darkness beyond the level allowed by the LCD panel’s own light dimming capacity. Local dimming is found in edge-lit LCD/LED TVs, direct-lit models and of course in full-array direct-lit 4K televisions as well. Obviously, the technology performs in radically different levels in each of these backlighting configurations.

Basically, however, the majority of local dimming found in today’s LCD 4K TVs only turns off some LEDs in large zones behind the screen, creating a sort of imprecise level of darkening which results in a “halo” effect around brightly lit objects on a dark background. Most viewers won’t notice this too much for a majority of content (unless they’re looking at a single bright point against a mostly black background in a high contrast piece of movie scenery) but the halo effect is always there because local dimming in LCD TVs is rarely perfectly precise down to the single LED level.

The 4K TVs which deliver the best local dimming performance are full-array backlit models with the technology. In the best of these, the array of LEDs which completely covers the space behind a TV’s LCD display is broken down into numerous zones of LEDs which can then be turned off or on as needed for contrast and lighting of content. This is called Full-array local dimming, or FALD. The more LED dimming zones a 4K TV has, the better (and more expensive) it usually is. The best and most expensive 4K LCD/LED TVs on sale today can even turn off and turn on each individual LED out of hundreds behind a 4K TVs screen but this is a rare and very expensive feature found in only the best models like Sony’s ZD9 4K HDR TVs or Vizio’s Reference Series television models.

FALD in a Vizio 4K TV

In the better edge-lit 4K TVs which make up the majority of models sold on the market, “local dimming” is also found but since it only dims some LEDs along a single edge of a screen, the precision of the technology is usually really low, even in the best models. Basically, premium edge-lit 4K LCD TVs depend on high quality light blocking in their LCD panels much more than on local dimming for the quality of their black level performance.

• OLED 4K TV dimming

In OLED TVs, local dimming is found in its absolute best form though the phrase isn’t even really used to describe what you’ll see with one of these televisions since the very nature of an OLED TV means that it automatically comes with the most precise possible control of brightness and darkness down to the single pixel level. As we explain I better detail further below, OLED 4K TVs have no LED backlights and no LCD display panel covering them. Instead, their individual pixels create light and as a result “local dimming” in an OLED 4K TV can be controlled right down to the single pixel level. This creates a display and dimming performance for onscreen content which completely blows even the best LCD 4K TVs and their backlights out of the water in its precision.

Now lets see how 4K TV backlighting works in both OLED TVs and LCD/LED models. Here we’ll also explain more about how local dimming plays its part in the different types of backlighting systems in today’s 4K UHD TVs.

4K TV Backlighting types: LCD/LED vs. OLED 

In the broadest possible sense, 4K TV display lighting breaks down into two types: LED/LCD and OLED. These two mechanisms for illuminating a 4K TV screen selectively are enormously different even though they both work to achieve the same purpose, which is to shine or cut off light passing through pixels on a television screen display surface for the sake of brightening or darken specific areas of the display as needed for the color and lighting patterns of content playing on its surface. We mention color as well here because the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) subpixels of each 4K TV pixel which are activated in different ways to make all the millions of colors your TV displays depend fundamentally on a source of light for their color saturation patterns. Both OLED and LCD/LED 4K lighting technologies perform the above basic tasks in their own varied ways.

We’ve already covered the other numerous differences between OLED and LCD/LED 4K TVs in our guide to both display types, here, so in this guide we’ll focus only on their screen illumination differences.

Between OLEDs and LCD/LED 4K TVs, only LCD/LED models use backlight technology with illumination behind an LCD panel and they are what we’re going to focus on first in this guide since LED/LCD 4K TV display is much more common than OLED on today’s market and deserves the broader explanation.

LCD TV backlighting: Edge-lit, Direct-lit and Full-array

Speaking specifically about LCD/LED TVs, their backlighting systems can be broken down into three main types, which are edge-lit, direct-lit and full-array with local dimming. One or another of these backlighting types will be found in all LCD/LED 4K TVs on sale today depending on TV price and quality. This may be a bit confusing at first glance so let’s look at each type individually.

Edge-Lit

The vast majority of 4K TVs sold today are edge-lit models and generally speaking, this type of backlighting design is the cheapest and easiest to produce in a 4K LCD TV. However, while edge-lit 4K TV backlighting is fairly affordable per-se, it also comes with a few disadvantages that we’ll get to shortly.

Basically in an edge-lit television model, the LEDs used to illuminate content across a screen are found along the edges of the TV behind its LCD panel. In the very cheapest edge-lit LCD/LED TVs, only one or two of the bottom, top or possibly side edges will have an LED array running along their length for all the backlighting needs of that particular 4K TV.  Better 4K TVs with edge-lit displays will on the other hand have all four of their edges covered in LED array strips (all-sides configuration). Generally, the major 4K TV makers are pretty leery of letting the public know which of their edge-lit 4K TVs come with all-sides LED arrays along all four edges and which models only offer LEDs along one or two edges but as a general rule, the all-sides configuration is the best by far at producing local dimming and better black uniformity in a TV display.

LED strips for an edge-lit LCD TV

The cheaper edge-lit 4K TVs on the market, like Samsung’s KU7000 or Sony’s X800D and X700D 2016 4K TV models offer edge-lit backlighting without local dimming technology of any kind. They also possibly offer only partial LED coverage along only some of their edges (though we’re not sure). More importantly still, because these TV’s lack local dimming, the precision of their specific illumination or dimming of segments of the screen is not nearly as good as it is in a 4K TV with local dimming.

On the other hand, many edge-lit 4K TVs can still be high-end premium models. They offer excellent dimming quality and even if their local dimming isn’t the best, the high brightness and strong LCD light-blocking performance of their screens still produces both rich precise black levels and bright but specific bright highlights for content. Their black levels and black uniformity can also be excellent thanks to much better LCD panel design. Samsung’s 2016 SUHD HDR TVs are all edge-lit except for the KS9800 flagship model and they are without a doubt superb 4K TV models. The same applies for Sony’s X930D HDR 4K TV for 2016 and the company’s premium 2015 XBR-C Series 4K TVs.

One problem of edge-lit LCD 4K TVs is that the light bleed common to most LCD panels can show itself more strongly where the LED arrays are along the edges. This can ruin black uniformity on the TV screen by creating an ugly sort of edge-glow even in fully black scenes when you’re watching darker scenes in a movie.

Light bleed is common in LCD displays and here it’s visible on an edge-lit LCD TV

Direct-Lit (with and without local dimming)

After edge-lit LCD TVs, direct-lit models are the next most common type found among the more affordable LCD 4K televisions sold today. With a direct-lit backlight panel, the LEDs behind the LCD surface of a TV are arrayed right behind the panel, facing the viewer instead of along the TV’s edges. This design can mean a lot of things but one particular feature it offers is reduced light bleed along a TV’s edges. Also, if a 4K TV has both direct-lit backlighting and local dimming, the precision of the local dimming can be much better than it is in edge-lit 4K television models.

Now, to clarify, in the most basic terms, “direct-lit” is also a phrase used to describe the full-array LED array backlighting we’re going to describe the next segment below. So to distinguish the two, we need to make clear that in cheaper 4K TVs, the direct-lit backlight panels used are a lot different from full-array direct-lit premium backlight panels in that they contain far fewer individual LEDs and in many cases, they also lack local dimming of any kind.

In other words, without local dimming technology, the array of LEDs always stays fully active and only the LCD panel in front of it blocks out light selectively as needed for rendering dimming patterns in content. This is a design often found in cheaper 4K TVs and it can also often mean that a TV display offers even worse contrast than an edge-lit model.

Even in direct-lit 4K TV models with local dimming, the quantity of LEDs arrayed directly behind the LCD panel is really limited and offers only a few really big local dimming zones. This means weak local dimming precision for content and plenty of halo effect on bright points over a dark background.

For the reasons above, cheaper direct-lit backlight designs with few LEDs are actually less common than edge-lit backlighting in many premium edge-lit 4K TVs. Models which use this technology include Samsung’s KU6300 and KU6500 2016 4K TVs and Vizio’s cheaper E-Series and D-Series 2016 4K models.

Full-array direct-lit LED backlighting with FALD

Full-array direct-lit LED Backlighting, or full-array backlighting as it’s more commonly and simply called, is the absolute star of 4K LCD/LED TV backlight design. As we said above, direct-lit and full-array direct-lit backlight arrays use the same basic design strategy of putting LEDs right behind an LCD panel, but the full-array version is basically direct-lit backlighting on steroids and it’s usually found in the very best flagship 4K TV models from all of the major brands.

With full-array backlighting, hundreds or even thousands of LEDs are arrayed behind a 4K TV LCD panel and in all full-array LED TV designs, local dimming is pretty much a guaranteed feature. Even more importantly, all of these thousands or hundreds of LEDs are divided into numerous local dimming zones in which small groups of individuals diodes can be turned on or off as needed for onscreen content. In fact, the very best 4K LCD TVs with full-array local dimming (or FALD, as it’s also called) can even activate and deactivate individual LEDs as needed for the best possible levels of black performance, contrast, dimming/brightness precision and overall picture performance possible in an LCD/LED 4K TV today.

LED layout in a Full-array LED backlit LCD 4K TV

To give you some examples of how many local dimming zones today’s best premium 4K LCD TVs offer: Vizio’s Reference Series models with HDR come with an estimated 320 local dimming zones across their displays. Samsung’s flagship KS9800 full-array backlit HDR 4K LCD TV reportedly offers about 120 local dimming zones and Sony’s X940D 2016 X-Series TV comes with an estimated 96 local dimming zones. Each of these dimming zones is made up of a group of LEDs which can be turned on or off together as needed for content on the screen and the technology as a whole offers a dramatic improvement over edge-lit local dimming or even basic direct-lit local dimming when it comes to picture quality and picture depth.

Taking things even further, Sony has now unveiled their new Z-Series 2016 4K ultra-premium LCD TVs, which supposedly allow each individual LED out of thousands behind their LCD displays to be activated or deactivated individually and pointed more narrowly at the LCD panel in front of it for a much precise level of light control. This is something we’re going to see more of in the coming years with LCD 4K TV displays because it almost (but not quite) manages to effectively compete with OLED.

OLED 4K TV display lighting

Finally, we come down to OLED TV display lighting. Maybe you noticed that we said “lighting” instead of “backlighting”. This is for a good reason, namely because OLED 4K TVs have no backlighting built into them at all.

With OLED display, each individual pixel on the TVs screen (there are 8.29 million of them on a 4K UHD OLED TV display) comes with its own tiny organic light emitting diode (OLED) and each of these OLEDs behind each individual pixel on an OLED TV display can be turned on or off individually to produce light or darkness. This means no backlight panels filled with LEDs, no LCD display surface and no local dimming zones. Instead, an OLED 4K ultra HD TV’s display lighting comes with what would technically be 8.29 million local dimming zones. Obviously this means that an OLED television can create levels of local dimming and brightness precision which no LCD 4K TV can even come close to matching in sheer precision.

Furthermore, because the OLEDs inside each pixel themselves produce their own light and can be turned off completely and individually, an OLED TV can produce perfect total black levels, with absolutely no backlight bleeding through an LCD panel as is the case in even the very best 4K LCD TVs on the market today.

Finally, because they come with no bulky row of LEDs arrayed behind and LCD display panel, OLED TVs can offer ridiculously thin displays, with the LG 2016 G6 and E6 flagship models being a little over 1/8 of an inch thick.

So what should I buy in a 4K TV?

Full-array LED backlighting with FALD (full-array local dimming) is the absolute best 4K LCD/LED TV display technology you can get your hands on if you want top notch display performance, contrast, black levels and realism. Unfortunately, most of the major brands offer this only in their flagship 4K TV models, so full-array with FALD will cost at least a few thousand dollars in most name brand 4K TVs.

However, one brand, Vizio, has developed full-array LED backlighting with FALD in its 2016 P-Series and M-Series 4K TV models and both of these are priced much more affordably than their FALD-enabled rivals from Sony, LG, Samsung or other major brands. So if you’re on a budget but still want top-notch local dimming, and a complete LED array, go for a Vizio M-Series or P-Series TV.

Edge-lit 4K TVs with local dimming aren’t nearly as good at delivering high quality picture performance as their full-array cousins but if they deliver better picture quality than edge-lit or direct-lit TVs without local dimming, so always go for a TV with this spec if you can afford to.

Finally, if you want the absolute unbeatable best in local dimming and precision display lighting technology, pretty much nothing beats 4K OLED TVs and especially the newest models on today’s market due to their exceptionally high peak brightness. LG’s C6 and B6 TVs are particularly “affordable” by OLED standards and thy will blow most LCD televisions out of the water with their display illumination performance.

Vizio’s 2016 P-series 4K TVs are the most affordable full-array LCD models sold today

Story by 4k.com

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