Not so long ago buying a new television used to be as simple as looking at how much money you were willing to spend and trying to afford the biggest screen you could afford.
Now, if you are in the market for a new TV, you almost need a degree just to understand all the different acronyms on display and what they mean.
QNED, neo-QLED, UHD, MicroLED, MiniLed, QLED, where will it all END?
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Here is our attempt to guide you through what all of those acronyms mean and which of them is important when you are looking to purchase a new TV.
LCD
Liquid-Crystal Display. A liquid-crystal display is a flat-panel display that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals to emit light. One of the biggest benefits of this design is keeping TVs slim and lightweight, while also being energy efficient and producing minimal heat. The biggest disadvantages being uneven backlighting and limited viewing angles.
LED
Light-Emitting Diode. If you have ever studied electronics you will know about LEDs. Obviously they have advanced a little since I studied them in high school, but the principle remains the same: an LED TV is technically an LED-backlit TV, which uses LEDs for backlighting instead of traditional cathode fluorescent backlighting. This provides very slim screens with a great colour range and contrast ratio.
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UHD
Ultra High-Definition. Also known as UHD TV or 4K, this is a digital format with an aspect ratio of 16:9. TVs with ultra-high definition show four times as many pixels as full HD images.
OLED
Organic LED. This is basically a different type of panel made with an organic material that is very expensive to produce, which is why these TVs can cost a lot more. However, OLED TVs provide better picture quality (claimed to provide blacker blacks and brighter whites), faster response times and reduced power consumption. However, because they do use an organic material, they are believed to expire quicker than other TVs on the market.
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QLED
Quantum LED. Sometimes referred to as a quantum dot display, these TVs use quantum dots, which are semiconductor nanocrystals, to provide an extremely sharp picture. It is basically like a regular LED TV but with much smaller particles emitting light.
MicroLED
Uses microscopic LEDs to form the individual pixel elements, which allows it to provide better contrast, response times and energy efficiency than other more basic technology.
Mini-LED
This is LED-backlit LCDs with mini-LED-based backlighting, which allows for blacker blacks and a higher contrast ratio. Its backlight is made up of hundreds or even thousands of miniature LED lights.
Neo-QLED, QNED and ULED
These are just different names for mini-LED technology, according to which brand of television you are looking at. But essentially they are all offering the same thing.
Have you been shopping for a new TV lately? Were you confused by all the acronyms? Why not share your thoughts in the comments section below?
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