TODAY’S LCD TVS ARE BETTER THAN EVER!

“Beauty is only skin deep” doesn’t really apply to today’s flat and curved LCD TVs. Sure they look great — they’re thin and sleek and svelte and classy — but what makes the picture so attractive comes from what is inside that piece of black glass that we call the “display.”

All of what you see comes from various technologies designed to interact with the LCD screen. Some of these are now becoming available while others are a bit off. While “Seeing Is Believing,” it’s still important to know just what is helping that along. Why? Because it’s YOUR TV and knowing what technology it has working can only help you ensure that it will deliver the best picture possible when you turn it on. So here’s what is worth knowing about the new LCD TVs.

QUANTUM DOTS

Take extremely tiny — we mean hugely tiny — crystals so that they are nanocrystals and set them in front of blue LEDs. Because the nanocrystals glow when energized, the result is that you not only get blue from the LEDs but also red and green because red/green quantum dots are energized also. So you get much better color with a greater depth and more realism than viewed with the “white” LEDs used in the past. TVs using this technology are much improved from a technical point of view — but what is important is that this can be seen. So whether it’s a flat panel or curved, HDTV or 4K UHD TV, it’s all about seeing a much better picture than what was available before.

HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE

Commonly referred to as “HDR,” increasing the level of contrast makes for a brighter and more realistic picture with a wider range of color enabling brighter whites and darker blacks — think of it as a TV picture that has a “snap” and “punch” to it. The downside of increasing contrast in the past is that image detail would suffer as the contrast increased — no more, thanks to HDR. And to really enjoy the effect, the video signal being sent to the TV can be HDR enhanced - be that one broadcasted from a TV network or coming from a streaming service like Netflix or on a Blu-ray disc.

LASERS

Lasers have the reputation of being “death rays,” but what they really are can be condensed down to highly focused beams of light. Because of this, colors produced by them can be extremely accurate and natural-appearing. There’s talk of some TV manufacturers looking to make this technology available in the near future, but “near” could mean anywhere from 3-5 years out to never.

The fact that today’s TVs contain so much technology (not to mention features) shouldn’t put off anyone from replacing their existing “ho-hum” model with one new and improved. And with choices of flat panel, curved, HDTV & 4K TVs abounding, there’s never been a better time to get that improved picture, thanks to a new TV.