This is my 250th column for the Daily Camera! My first column was published in April of 2008 and discussed extended warranties. Thanks for continuing to read, and don’t forget, you can always email me tech questions.
Q: I want to buy a TV for my bedroom but am completely overwhelmed by modern television specs! What are must-have features, and what can I safely ignore?
A: Hard to believe, but the first television demo was in 1927 by 21-year-old inventor Philo Farnsworth. Young Mr. Farnsworth would undoubtedly also be baffled by all of the tech involved in television nowadays.
The primary differentiator with televisions today is resolution, which is the number of horizontal lines shown on the screen. These lines used to be interlaced, so every refresh the TV would show the even numbered horizontal image lines, then the odd, then the even, etc. To our eye, it was smooth and fluid, with 60 updates per second, but modern displays are now all progressive: every line is updated on each refresh.
Tell me about resolution
In terms of those horizontal lines, early TVs worked with 480i (i = interlace), and then improved with 720i. “HD” or high definition is 1080p (progressive, not interlaced), and the fanciest TVs are 4K, composed of 2160 horizontal lines.
Curious about the vertical pixel or “dot” count and overall resolution? 480 is 720 x 480 (345K pixels), 720 is 1280 x 720 (921K pixels), 1080 is 1920 x 1080 (2.07M pixels) and 2160p (4K UHD) is 3840 x 2160 (8.3M pixels).
Note: There’s an 8K TV standard that delivers 7680 x 4320, or 33.2M pixels, but there’s not yet any commercially available content.
Did you catch the acronym I slipped in above? “UHD.” That’s ultra high definition. Generally speaking, 1080 is known as “HD” resolution, and 4K is “UHD,” though technically a TV can have a 4K display that’s not ultra HD.
Also important is “HDR” or high dynamic range. This indicates that the display can show a greater range of colors, which offers better contrast and brightness. The best are “HDR10+” or “Dolby Vision.”
What about the audio experience?
Speaking of Dolby, there are three different sound decoding technologies: Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Dolby Digital. All of these offer an enhanced auditory experience if you have compatible sound gear.
These are soundbars and a separate purchase. At a minimum, I recommend a “5.1” system with a bar that goes under the TV, two small speakers to place behind you and a subwoofer. You’ll also need programming that’s in Dolby or DTS:X.
Too much for your bedroom? There are some pretty interesting all-in-one soundbars worth considering. You won’t get that surround effect, but it’ll still sound way better than the built-in TV speakers.
Smarten up that television
One more consideration: TV operating system. Yes, TVs have operating systems now just like your computer and smartphone. The most popular are Google TV, Roku and WebOS, though companies like Vizio and LG have their own systems.
These let you directly access Netflix, MAX, Amazon Prime Video, thousands of free streaming channels and much more. Did you know NASA, Bon Appetit and Criterion movies have their own channels?
Modern TVs also have digital tuners, so if you want to experiment by attaching an external TV antenna, you might be surprised what’s broadcast, sometimes in HD quality, for free.
Hope this helps unpack some of what makes a modern television a marvel of engineering far beyond anything Mr. Farnsworth would ever have imagined.
Dave Taylor has been involved with the online world since the beginning of the Internet. He runs the popular AskDaveTaylor.com tech Q&A site and invites you to subscribe to his weekly email newsletter at AskDaveTaylor.com/subscribe/. You can also find his entertaining gadget reviews on YouTube at YouTube.com/AskDaveTaylor.
