

These are divided into dimmable zones, and because the LEDs are so small, there can be a lot of them-say, a thousand zones, instead of the dozens found in even the best LCD sets up until now. In fact, these sets can boast thousands of Mini LEDs behind the LCD panel. You can see this new backlight technology in TVs from LG, Samsung, TCL, and other brands.īy shrinking the size of the LEDs in the backlight, companies can pack more of them together into the same area. Now, a new development in LCD/LED TV technology, called Mini LEDs, is taking local dimming one step further. The result is that dark areas look darker, and you’re less likely to see halos around bright objects on a dark background. That design is combined with a feature called local dimming, where the LEDs are divided into zones that can be illuminated or darkened separately. Another reason is the rollout of full-array LED backlights, where LEDs are arranged across the entire back of the panel, rather than just along the edges of the screen. More TVs, dubbed "QLED TVs," use quantum dots for an expanded range of colors. LCD TVs are getting better. While OLED TVs still top our ratings, the top-performing LCD TVs get better every year, edging closer to OLED TV-like performance. CR members can get test reports and complete details on more than 300 sets in our TV ratings.Ĭonsumer Reports also has advice on streaming media players, sound bar speakers, and antennas, along with ratings of internet and cable TV services. Once you know which type of TV you want, you can focus on getting the right size screen, and on a few other important features and performance characteristics. More on that below.) Also, as we note below, some of the very best LCD sets now rival OLED TVs for performance (and price), and they are capable of even greater brightness. (And even here, you now have a choice between two OLED TV technologies. These sets are generally pricier than the LCD/LED models that make up the bulk of televisions on the market-though that price gap narrows every year-so you’ll need to decide whether an OLED is worth the extra money. Lastly, Consumer Reports members may notice that OLED TVs dominate our ratings of larger TVs. However, not all televisions deliver good HDR performance, and the ones that do better tend to cost more. Many sets feature high dynamic range, or HDR, which promises brighter, more dynamic images and more vivid, lifelike colors. So one question you’ll face if you’re buying a larger TV is whether it’s time to move to one of these newer 8K UHD TVs or stick with a regular 4K set. Go shopping and you’ll see that the majority of sets are now Ultra High Definition (UHD), or 4K, TVs, and there’s even a growing number of 8K TVs, which promise greater picture detail than HD TVs offer, along with improved contrast and color. If you haven’t been TV shopping lately, you’ll likely find that the process has become a bit more complex in the past few years, mainly because of the proliferation of new features and choices.
