Glossary

1080p means 1920×1080 pixels of resolution. it is also known as Full HD.

4K resolution displays 3,840 x 2,160 pixels which are used to create the image on the screen. This is four times the number of pixels displayed on a Full HD TV, which displays 1,920 x 1,080. Four times the number of pixels means four times the level of detail. This increase in pixel density adds sharpness, striking detail, smoother curves and more nuance and realism to an image and allows larger screens to be viewed from closer distances without the grid-like structure of individual pixels becoming visible.

This spec is related to the television’s screen refresh rate. A typical LCD will refresh the screen at 60Hz, meaning 60 times per second. Many sets offer faster refresh rates, such as 120Hz or 240Hz, to help combat motion blur and judder. The higher the number, the faster the screen is refreshed with new information.

8K resolution displays 7,680×4,320 pixels which are used to create the image on the screen. This is over 33 million pixels and four times the number of pixels in a 4K TV (16X compared to Full HD) providing the highest resolution available on a TV today.

With Advanced HDR by Technicolor, get more vibrant colors, more contrast and the ability to view every detail of the content for the most true-to-life viewing experience. Based on a machine learning mechanism that runs automatically once the settings are tuned to the producer’s artistic sensibility, it performs dynamic SDR to HDR conversion, so you can enjoy all the benefits of HDR on any non-HDR content, and dynamically optimizes every single image to any HDR10 capable display on the market.

Refers to the light unit in LCD displays which create the light to display the picture on the screen. Most LCD sets use LED backlights either arranged along one or more edgs of the screen, or directly behind the screen. Control over these lights also affects how well the TV renders dimming and brightness on different sections of its display as you’re watching content.

Think of bit depth as the number of possible shades of each color. The higher the bit depth, the more natural the transition between colors. Higher bit depth can display color transitions that are more natural. Most TVs today offer either 8-bit color (can render approximately 16.8 million shades) or 10-bit color (over 1 billion shades).

The ratio of luminance of the brightest white to the darkest black that a TV can display at any one time.

Developed in 2012 by Dolby, Atmos expands the previous 5.1 and 7.1 setups to include numerous speakers which are placed around a room to create an all-enveloping, \3D\ sound experience. In a cinema setting, where the technology was first introduced, up to 64 speakers will not only be placed in front of, and at various points around you, but also above you. This adds a height dimension to the sound, creating a hemisphere of speakers which allows film-makers and sound designers to direct specific sounds to certain areas in the room with a high degree of accuracy.

Dolby Vision is a standard for the way certain 4K UHD with HDR content is produced. It’s an end-to-end process, from the content creation and mastering through to how it’s viewed in your home theater. Because it’s end-to-end, the metadata in each frame can be dictated by Dolby and then compatible equipment can read it and optimize the way your 4K UHD TV delivers HDR pictures. It also gives content producers more control over how their HDR programming appears on TVs.

Immersive Audio format from DTS/Xperi delivering all the features and promise of Immersive Audio, as defined by the UHD Alliance, to the home living room and mobile environments, as well as theaters.

Placing a display’s LED backlight (see definition for backlight) at the edge or multiple edges of the screen, then channeling or distributing the light across the entire display.

(Expressed in frames per second or fps) is the frequency at which consecutive images called frames appear on a display. The term applies equally to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate may also be called the frame frequency.

Since LCD TVs cannot control each pixel individually, a certain amount of light “leakage” may occur from dark pixels that are adjacent to bright ones, creating a halo effect. Local dimming, especially full-array local dimming, can help compensate for this since they can control more discreet zones of lighting.

To get the UHD experience, HDMI is the type of cable primarily used to connect various home theater source devices such as Blu-ray™ players, AV Receivers (AVRs), game consoles, etc. Look for HDMI cables labeled \Premium HDMI Cables\ which are optimized for Ultra HD performance.

HDR—or high dynamic range—shows a greater contrast range on your TV. It is the range between the darkest spots on the screen and the brightest. With HDR, high-contrast images can be shown with much greater clarity and more detail in the shadows and highlights, resulting in deeper darks and brighter whites.

HDR10 is the current industry HDR standard incorporated into all HDR-compatible TVs, home theater receivers, Ultra HD Blu-ray players, and select media streamers.

HDR10+ offers a premium HDR experience for viewers by building upon traditional HDR systems with dynamic metadata.  With HDR10+, scene-based descriptive metadata allows devices to reproduce more accurate HDR visuals, helping to maintain original creative intent. Shadow details are preserved and specular highlights retain their contrast giving viewers a rich HDR viewing experience with the most life-like images. Specific HDR10+ content and a compatible TV is required to view HDR10+.

With Immersive Audio, sounds are perceived as coming from infinite points around and above the listener rather than just from traditional speaker locations. The result is multi-dimensional sound that envelops the listener and enhances the viewing experience by more closely correlating sound to the action on and beyond the screen. This multi-dimensional sound, when paired with 4K UHD, creates a more realistic, immersive viewing experience.

LCD refers to a flat panel technology which uses liquid crystals in TVs, computer monitors and other types of displays. This type of panel consists of crystals suspended in liquid which function as an \electronic shutter\, allowing the crystals realign themselves to let light pass through. The amount of power applied determines the amount of realignment and how much light is let through. Unlike OLEDs, which produce their own light, LCD TVs require a light source, such as an edge-lit or full array LED backlight unit to create the light needed to display an image.

A diode that produces light through electroluminescence (i.e. power applied to a phosphor). LCDs are now the most common light source employed as backlights in LCD TVs available today.

The Mobile HDR Premium™ logo is found on mobile devices (laptops, smartphones, notebooks and tablets) and confirms to the consumer that a device meets UHDA- defined performance criteria for resolution, dynamic range, color space and bit depth and delivers a consistent premium experience.

Motion blur can occur when the response time and refresh rate of the TV cannot keep up with motion on the screen, which can lead to trails appearing behind fast moving objects. Higher refresh rates (see separate definition) can help to compensate for this.

OLED is an emissive TV panel technology made from organic compounds that produce its own light rather than employ a backlight unit. These are used in TVs, computer, and mobile device displays. The key advantage OLED displays offer is an ability to produce a true black. Since there is no backlight, no light is produced when an OLED pixel is turned off and no light leakage can occur. Additionally, pixels can be individually controlled, it will eliminate the halo effect (see separate definition)

Pixel comes from the words \picture element\ and it refers to the smallest element in a television picture. Pixels are single displayable video dots from which the overall picture is made up.

QLED is a brand name for Quantum Dot enhanced LCD TVs. Quantum Dots are comprised of nano particles ranging from 2 to 10 nanometers in size. When coupled with LED illumination, the TV’s LCD panel produces more saturated and more precisely defined color.

When hit with a broad-spectrum light (actually any light of shorter frequency than that to be produced), quantum dots re-emit specific colors in strict relationship to their size. They are used in TVs to alter wide spectrum, blue-heavy LED backlighting into narrow-spectrum red, blue, and green light to produce warmer and more accurate colors.

Simply put, resolution is the number of pixels used to make up an image. Higher resolution TV displays can provide greater detail.

A smart TV is a digital television that included embedded apps that, through an internet connection, allow access to streaming content from various providers, such as Netflix, YouTube, Amazon and others without the need for a separate device. Some smart TVs may also contain an internet browser. Many newer smart TVs also incorporate other advanced features such as voice control and embedded assistants such as Amazon Alexa or the Google Assistant.

Streaming is a technology used to deliver content to smart TVs, computers and mobile devices over the internet. Streaming transmits data, like audio and video, as a continuous flow, which allows the recipients to begin to watch or listen almost immediately. Unlike a digital download, streaming content is not stored on the device.

Ultra HD is the next generation standard for video entertainment. It combines enhancements such as 4K resolution, High Dynamic Range, Wide Color Spectrum and Immersive Audio to create a dramatically different and better home entertainment experience than full HD.

Ultra HD Blu-ray players and discs have 4K resolution (four times the resolution of 1080p Full HD), HDR (High Dynamic Range) for striking contrast and wider color spectrum. With Ultra HD Blu-ray, you’ll experience a sharper, clearer image, a greater range of brighter, more vivid colors; smoother, more realistic motion, and uncompressed, immersive surround sound (when paired with the appropriate sound system). Ultra HD Blu-ray players will also play Blu-ray Discs and most Ultra HD Blu-ray players will also play DVDs.

While Ultra High Definition (UHD) such as: High Dynamic Range (HDR), Wider Color Spectrum, Color Bit Depth, Immersive Audio and more. These performance advances enable certified televisions, content and other devices to replicate the richness of life’s sights and sounds and allow viewers to more accurately experience the content creator’s vision.

To present lower-resolution material on a 4K or 8K TV, the TV has to perform a process called upscaling. This process increases the pixel count of a lower-resolution image, allowing a picture meant for a screen with fewer pixels to fit a screen with many more. Upscaling techniques vary and many TVs today include advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to provide high-quality upscaled images.

USB inputs or ports on a TV serve a variety of functions, including as an input for USB flash drives and powering a TV antenna or streaming device. You could even use one to charge your smartphone.

Simply put, Wide Color Spectrum means your TV can display a wider range of  colors.  Many newer sets have expanded the range of color which can be displayed by approximately 50%, which matches the same color space used in today’s digital cinemas, providing a true cinematic experience at home.