TV terms for Black Friday/Sorting out 4k, HDR, UHD

Margot Kim Image
Thursday, November 23, 2017
TV terms for Black Friday/Sorting out 4k, HDR, UHD
If you have not been shopping for a TV in a while, it can be confusing, with a lot of new high tech terms to learn.

If you have not been shopping for a TV in a while, it can be confusing, with a lot of new high tech terms to learn.

"You'll see a lot more 4K TVs - those are TVs with higher resolution screens," said Consumer Reports Electronics Editor James Willcox.

4K, UHD and ultra-high definition all refer to the same thing, TVs that have four times as many pixels as regular HDTVs which can mean a sharper, more detailed picture.

"and more of the TVs are smart TVs that can connect to the internet."

That means you are able to access streaming video services like Netflix or Amazon directly from the TV without having to use a media player like Roku or Apple TV.

HDR is becoming more common, but what is it?

"HDR or high dynamic range technology can boost a TV's brightness, colors, and contrast so that the images you see are closer to like what you see in real life."

Something that comes along with the better HDR performers is a wide color gamut.

"It's sort of like giving your TV a bigger box of crayons to play with. So you get different ranges of colors and you get smoother transitions when you move from like a deeper red into an orange."

If you are in the market for a higher-end TV, you will see the term OLED which stands for organic light-emitting diodes. An OLED TV's black levels are truly black, so colors look more vibrant and images seem to really pop off the screen.