{"id":248639,"date":"2018-05-31T12:25:36","date_gmt":"2018-05-31T10:25:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=248639"},"modified":"2018-05-31T12:25:36","modified_gmt":"2018-05-31T10:25:36","slug":"the-5-questions-you-must-ask-when-buying-a-new-tv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/industry-news\/248639\/the-5-questions-you-must-ask-when-buying-a-new-tv\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 questions you must ask when buying a new TV"},"content":{"rendered":"

Samsung recently released a firmware update<\/strong><\/a> for its 2018 QLED TVs which adds support for AMD FreeSync.<\/p>\n

AMD’s FreeSync technology syncs the refresh rate of a display to the frame rates of the content being displayed, eliminating screen tearing and stuttering.<\/p>\n

Samsung said FreeSync is currently only available at a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080, and does not work at 4K.<\/p>\n

FreeSync at multiple resolutions is common in PC monitors, however, and is supported by newer Xbox consoles AMD Radeon graphics cards.<\/p>\n

This tool can make a significant difference for gamers, and is something that should be factored into your TV purchasing decision – especially if you are going to connect gaming consoles to your TV.<\/p>\n

FreeSync is just one of many factors potential TV buyers should consider, though, and we’ve outlined the most important considerations to take into account when making a purchase.<\/p>\n

\n

Refresh rate<\/h3>\n

Refresh rate is a crucial specification, especially if you want to watch fast-paced sports or play games smoothly.<\/p>\n

The refresh rate defines how many times per second a new image is displayed on the panel. This is independent from frame rate, except in the case of FreeSync or G-Sync displays.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that many TV manufacturers list the refresh rate under their own classifications, such as “motion rate” or “TruMotion”.<\/p>\n

These specifications are defined by the manufacturers and are for marketing purposes – the figures they reflect are usually higher than the actual refresh rate of the panel.<\/p>\n

For example, the Motion Rate figure of a new Samsung TV is generally twice its actual refresh rate, depending on the model.<\/p>\n

Make sure to ask what the true refresh rate is, measured in Hz.<\/p>\n

\n

Resolution<\/h3>\n

The resolution of a TV is one of the first specifications consumers use to differentiate products.<\/p>\n

Resolution refers to the total number of pixels on the display, and many high-end TVs now sport 4K (also called UHD) resolutions. This means 3,840 x 2,160 pixels on the screen.<\/p>\n

While resolution is a big indicator of image quality, you should also factor in the size of the display – as there is a much more noticeable difference between Full HD and 4K resolutions on bigger screens.<\/p>\n

If you are getting a small TV, you might not need as high a resolution as you think.<\/p>\n

\n

Contrast and HDR<\/h3>\n

Every display, whether it is a TV or a PC monitor, has a contrast ratio specification.<\/p>\n

Contrast ratio is the difference between the brightest and darkest images a TV can deliver, and is a big contributor to overall image quality.<\/p>\n

The contrast ratio is often displayed in a format like 1,000:1. The higher the ratio, the better contrast a TV has.<\/p>\n

Some TVs, more often 4K models, will also state that they support HDR.<\/p>\n

This means their contrast ratio and colour gamut meets the minimum requirements for a High Dynamic Range standard.<\/p>\n

TVs with HDR support deliver superior image quality thanks to more vivid colours and higher maximum brightness, compared to “standard” displays.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Panel type<\/h3>\n

The type of panel a TV uses is another important indicator of its image quality.<\/p>\n

Most modern TVs use LED panels, which shine an LED backlight through an LCD screen – which delivers different colours to each pixel.<\/p>\n

Newer (and more expensive) models use more advanced technology, however, such as OLED or QLED.<\/p>\n

QLED is a technology used by Samsung which makes use of Quantum Dot technology to deliver high contrast ratios and an impressive colour range.<\/p>\n

OLED is used across a number of products, from TVs to smartphones, and forgoes a backlight by using organic, light-emitting diodes to deliver brightness and colour.<\/p>\n

This lets OLED and QLED panels have higher contrast ratios.<\/p>\n

\n

Input lag<\/h3>\n

An under-appreciated specification which is very important to gamers is the input lag of a TV.<\/p>\n

Input lag is the amount of time taken for an input to be registered on the display, or the latency between the display and the device driving it.<\/p>\n

For gamers, the less input lag the better, as they want the action on their screen to be as responsive as possible.<\/p>\n

Most TVs have higher input lag than computer monitors, although certain models<\/strong><\/a> provide good specifications for gamers.<\/p>\n

Input lag is measured in milliseconds. A TV with 25ms or lower input lag will be great for gaming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’ve outlined the most important considerations to take into account.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":248641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10459],"tags":[26,52],"class_list":["post-248639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news","tag-headline","tag-samsung"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248639"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":248645,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248639\/revisions\/248645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}