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2018: What to Expect in TV Displays

In the last decade, we’ve seen dramatic improvements in TV screens. HD has given way to 4K, the first HDR screens are on the market, and OLED and QLED displays have become practical. We don’t expect innovation in screen technology to come to a halt, but it won’t be moving at the blistering pace we’ve seen lately. So what will we find in video displays in 2018?

Image result for 2018 TV displays images

Incrementalism is likely to be the dominant theme in video display tech this year. Most developments will merely build on radical technical leaps of the past, very few being completely new to the consumer market.

Still, some interesting prospects are on the near horizon. Here are a few of the most important changes in video equipment that we will see in 2018:

 HDMI 2.1

How often do you think about the cables connecting your TV set? They don’t get much respect. They can be critical, though, for the quality of your TV sound and picture.

The current HDMI 2.1 specs were published only in November 2017. This obviously leaves an excruciatingly tight time frame for manufacture of 2018-model TV sets or other devices that will comply with the new standard. Almost no HDMI 2.1-compliant sets, therefore, will be on the market until late in the year.

For now, you don’t need to worry about their absence. The HDMI 2.1 spec is almost outrageously future-proofed. Some of its capabilities, including 8K resolution and much higher frame rates, won’t be available in consumer TV for several years. A TV set you buy this year can handle the best available content for several years.

Emissive Quantum Dots

Quantum Dot LED (QLED) TV have gotten a lot of press in the last two years. QLED sets have shown great promise. They can’t yet match the overall picture quality of OLED, though, lagging in refresh rates and contrast.

2018 may be the year QLED catches up. Some experts are placing their bets on emissive quantum dots (EQD). EQD sets have been hyped as the “true QLED” that video buffs have awaited eagerly for years.

With EQD, miniscule quantum dots actually emit light instead of merely enhancing LCD backlight. They could also match or surpass OLED’s “infinite” contrast ratio, with far lower power consumption, and with a much wider and more intense color gamut.

4K & HDR Everywhere

You’ll see many 4k and HDR sets this year. Almost every manufacturer is producing models that can handle both specs.

Both formats were developed at least two years ago, but are difficult to build into TV screens. Also, very little programming has been available in either format, because they require new cameras and editing tools.

That will change in the new year. Almost all new display screenss will be compatible with both formats, and studios are beginning to produce a wide array of video content for them.

Local Dimming

Local dimming is independent brightening or dimming of different areas of the screen. The more expensive TV sets released in 2018 will feature it.

Micro LED

Samsung wants to challenge the technical leadership of OLED.  For this purpose, it’s expected to offer a Micro LED display.

In concept, the technology far older than you’d guess. Micro LED was invented seventeen years ago, and Sony demonstrated a working model in 2012. Techniques for its manufacture were extremely expensive, though, so it wasn’t suited for the consumer market.

Refined manufacturing techniques, enabling relatively cheap bulk production, may finally bring Micro LED to us in 2018.

Micro LED screens feature extremely small diodes, each emitting its own light, eliminating need for an LCD backlight. Each diode can be switched on or off separatelyly, enabling OLED-like contrast and rapid refresh rates.

Samsung is expected to demonstrate a 150-inch Micro LED model at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, and to release smaller consumer versions later. The latter may be available for purchase by the end of the year.

Voice Control

Voice control is hardly new. Voice-activated video screens and remote controls have been on the market for years. Early versions were buggy, though, and they often compromised user privacy.

For 2018, voice control and interactive displays will be much more reliable. One of the most important developments on this front is manufacturer collaboration with Amazon and Google. Video displays will be synced with Alexa and Google Home systems.

 

(For streaming TV, you need a reliable internet connection. Talk to us. We can help.)

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QLED TV SETS

Have you heard of QLED TV? If you haven’t, you soon will.

Most TV sets sold in the U.S. are based on LCD technology, which is several decades old.

OLED sets have eclipsed LCD. OLED (organic light-emitting diode) TVs, on the market for only a few years, offer the best picture most consumers have seen. They are expensive to manufacture, though, so you’d pay a much higher price for one than you would for an LCD TV.

A new TV technology, QLED, will soon be available, and it may be better than OLED. QLED stands for ‘quantum dot light emitting device’. It may match the nearly infinite contrast ratio of OLED displays, but with higher energy efficiency and a wider, more accurate color gamut.

Quantum dots are tiny molecules that emit their own light when illuminated. The size of the quantum dot determines the wavelength- therefore the color- of the light it emits. Larger ones emit light in the red end of the spectrum. Smaller dots emit light near the blue end.

The disadvantage with quantum dots is that they are difficult to control with the precision necessary for TV sets.

Electroluminescent quantum dots are slightly different. Instead of being activated by light, they are activated by electric current. This offers a far higher degree of control. For a dark pixel, simply switch off the current. It’s much more difficult to do this with light-activated pixels, such as the ones in your LCD set. This is the biggest reason OLED displays have surpassed them.

The disadvantage with OLED displays, beside the expense in manufacturing them, is that getting a wide color gamut requires high energy consumption. Electroluminescent quantum dot displays wouldn’t have this limitation.

We’re likely to see QLED TV sets on the market within a few years. Most of the obstacles that delayed release of OLED apply to QLED , too. With the development work for OLED completed, there probably isn’t much holding back the release of QLED TV.

(To get the most out of any TV set, it helps to have a video streaming service. For  this, you’ll need a reliable internet connection. Talk to us. We can help.)