Every year at CES television manufacturers try to outdo themselves. More pixels, colors that are increasingly lifelike, innovative stands that combine form and function, bigger screens, and more acronyms are just part of the television arms race.
This year Samsung announced QLED TVs, their next innovation in televisions but what does that really mean for those of us who are shopping for televisions? Do we need to put our current TV out at the curb in favor of these newest ones from Samsung? Absolutely not but if you’re shopping, here’s what you need to know about QLED TVs.
What QLED Means
QLED stands for Quantum Dot technology, tiny dots made with a metal alloy whose particles produce 100% true color at every wavelength of the color spectrum. Samsung set up a still life (right) and broadcast the live picture to a QLED TV (top) and conventional television (bottom).
As the light in the booth changed, the pictures on both the QLED and conventional shifted slightly but the QLEDs colors were far more true than on the conventional television.
Why QLED is Better that SHUD and 4K TVs
If you were to stand next to a QLED TV and last year’s SHUD TVs, would you really notice a difference? It’s hard to say not having done so myself but what you will notice that when looking at the curved screen of a QLED TV, the color is true at every angle. The pixel structure allows the resolution and colors to stay consistent regardless if you’re viewing the television straight, slightly to the side, or at an extreme side angle like I was when taking this photo. Notice how the color isn’t washed out even when viewing the picture way off from the side?
Besides getting the best viewing experience at any angle, QLED TV shows hidden details in both the brightest and darkest scenes to provide the most vivid pictures during the day or night. According to Samsung, the deep contrast is due to their new Ultra black, an low reflective technology that’s been optimized for Quantum dot. Take a look for yourself!
More TV News from Samsung
Besides QLED TVs, Samsung announced that every television they will ship in 2017 will be a smart TV where you can find and play your favorite movies, TV shows, sports, music, and games with the One Remote or Smart Hub on your mobile phone.
One Remote allows you to change the channels on your cable set box, navigate apps through streaming, control your game console, and discover streaming content. SmartHub on Mobile empowers viewers to launch streaming content, search for movies on SmartHub, control the TV channels and volume, and cast local media content to a television when using SmartView.
Those who are tired of cord clutter will appreciate Samsung’s new Invisible Connection cable. This transparent cord is tiny enough to be stashed out of site or embedded in your drywall and painted over to make your television seem like it’s hung on the wall like in an art museum. It feeds into a box that relays a signal from your Blu-ray player, game console, Tivo, etc. back to your television.
3 Reasons to Buy a QLED TV
If you’re looking for a reason to upgrade your current television, Samsung is offering some pretty compelling ones with their QLED TVs that are coming to the market in 2017.
No compensation was received for this post. All opinions are my own. Affiliate links are included in this post.
