I noted that there is a sticky in this forum for A guide to Plasma vs LCD HDTVs that, while useful in its day, hasn't been posted to for ten years. So maybe it's time for a refresh with the current LCD and OLED technologies being to the fore. So here is an initial summation that I have been using to advise the friends and family that come to me for tech advice. I am more than happy for GZers more expert than me in the field to add, subtract or amend as appropriate. I am no expert but want to collate a guide that people can reference rather than search the whole of Geekzone. This is not a price comparison thread. Disclaimer: I have an LG OLED65W8 so I hope there isn't too much bias. Displays LCD. At the moment, the primary display type, particularly for mainstream, is still LCD. It has come on in leaps and bounds since the plasma vs LCD days. Local dimming, IPS and quantum dot technology have improved contrast ratio, viewing angles and colour reproduction. They do still suffer from light and colour bleed, and have difficulty with true blacks. LCDs still perform better in environments with high levels of ambient lighting as the backlight can be cranked up to compensate. The processing and trickery required to produce a really high quality image brings the cost in line with OLED. All the main manufacturers have extra processing to try and achieve this. In my opinion, Samsung's use of 'QLED' is as much an attempt to confuse consumers as to the display type as it is to describe the process involved (IMO). Because they have been around a long time LCDs are readily available in NZ in a wide range of sizes from 24 to 86', and probably special orders bigger than that.OLED is the new kid on the block (excluding nanocell or micro-led at this stage), and prices, although coming down, are still high in comparison to LCD. It is good as the replacement for plasma, as its emissive technology has the same abilities when it comes to true blacks and contrast, and possibly colour reproduction as well. By the same token, it is unable to go as bright as LCD, so performs best in an environment where light levels are controlled (same as plasma). Like early plasmas, OLED is susceptible to burn in, although manufacturers seem to be on to it a lot earlier, with pixel shifting and refreshing algorithms built into the firmware. Care still needs to be taken, and I will not be gaming on my OLED. As of August 2018 OLEDs are only available in 55" and 65" in NZ (2017 Panasonic 77' 1000U still available on runout by special order). OLEDs have plastic screens and are much lighter than plasmas and use far less energy. The thin-ness of the display panel itself has allowed the production of 'wallpaper' TVs, although the electronics have to go somewhere and, in LG's case, are located in a separate soundbar. Projectors have some interesting technologies on the horizon, including lasers. While there are 4K projectors for less than $10000 there are also offerings seem to be 'virtual' 4K, so FHD with interpolation and interlaced images. Laser projectors rely on RGBRGB or RGBW colour wheels to split the primary colours. The new generation of projectors are probably better discussed in a separate thread so I won't address them any further. (Note: this paragraph has been rewritten following feedback on the thread. Vision High Dynamic Range (HDR) is the latest iteration of ever more complicated video processing, and in a nutshell allows better (truer) reproduction of colour and contrast by using metadata embedded in the video data stream. The picture tends to have a lower overall brightness and more of a 'cinematic' look to it. As always happens, there are competing standards over and above HDR, those being HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. At the moment while all new TVs seem to have HDR, not all have HDR10+ and/or Dolby Vision. Unless you are a calibrator or a video-phile you may struggle to pick the difference on a 65" display. And as is usually the case, new standards, particularly due to higher data rates, require enhanced HDMI and HDCP capability on the ports. From what I can decipher, HDMI 2.0A and HDCP2.2 is required to meet HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. The latest HDMI standard is 2.1. Audio In general, thinner displays mean crappier sound. I am biased but it is hard to beat a proper surround sound system. LG have produced a curved base to try and project the sound into the room from down firing speakers. Their wallpaper series has an Atmos enabled soundbar, which performs well, but is still not as good as a dedicated surround system. Sony has turned the whole screen of its OLEDs into an active speaker, with drivers attached to the screen itself. They have woofers built into the rear of the chassis on the A1 (2017) and A9F (2019) models but not the A8F (2018) model. The A9F is reported as being able to use the screen as the centre channel in a surround system.The addition of the woofers and drivers does make the Sony deeper (dimensionally) than its competitors. At the very least today's top displays deserve a soundbar for a better all round experience. OS/UI Each of the four main players offer their own Operating System. The 'smarts' of a TV can make it break the viewing experience these days. You really need to have a play with each of the types you are auditioning. You will know within minutes whether the OS/UI is going to bug you. How easy is it too access LiveTV/Netflix/Amazon/Lightbox/YouTube etc. LG had WebOS, which is graphical rather than pure menu base. It relies on the use of its 'Magic Remote' which uses a wireless connection and accelerometers to move a cursor around the screen. Quite intuitive for anyone who has used a touchscreen. There is a companion mobile app. Google Assistant and Alexa are 'coming'. Samsung had its proprietary Tizen interface, functional and menu based. Tuned for quick response and has a good mobile app. Integration with Bixby is 'coming'. Panasonic has the least 'pretty' interface and seems to be locked in the 2000s as it differs little from my plasma. It operates effectively enough through the remote but its mobile app leaves a lot to be desired. (Update: Operates with Google Assistant) Sony is android based, and as such should be the most flexible. Its interface is good but is quite laggy. Although it has access to the Google Play Store, very few apps are optimised for TV's "10 foot interface" and I am suspicious that the Android TV interface will be abandoned as has happened in the past. It has Google Assistant interoperability overseas, but I'm unsure if it is available in NZ. TCL also uses Android.
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