10 Things You Have to Know About 4K UHD TV and HDR TV

Technology advancement is happening at an amazing speed; it was only a few years ago when everyone is ditching their old TV in favour of a full High Definition (HD) 1080p TV. Before you know it, the 4K Ultra HD (UHD) TV has heralded a new era in the TV viewing experience!

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1. What is 4K UHD TV?

UHD is synonymous with 4K.  To explain in layman's terms, a 4K UHD TV has enough "coloured lighted dots", also known as pixels, to fill up 4 full HD 1080p TV screens! Hence, it is not surprising that a 4k UHD TV screen is able to display 4 times more level of details and therefore, capable of showing images that are much sharper and crisper when compared to a full HD TV screen!

2. What is the resolution of a 4K UHD TV?

For a 4K TV, it has a resolution of is 3840 x 2160. As compared to a full HD which has a 1920 x 1080 resolution, 4K TV screens have nearly 8 million pixels (3840 x 2160 = 8,294,400); around 4 times a full HD is capable of displaying (1920 x 1080 = 2,073,600). Having 4 times extra pixels makes a big difference in the viewing experience since more pixels means having more detailed information, which translates to more vivid image!

3. Does a 4K UHD TV guarantee a better quality viewing experience?

The generic answer is yes; a 4k UHD TVs have superior display quality as compared to a full HD QLED TV or even a full HD OLED TV; when you are viewing video content from 4k sources. Video sources with 1080p resolution or less which are made for full HD TV, will be viewed as it is.  Nevertheless, there are also 4K UHD TVs which are equipped with an up-scaling feature, to "upscale" lesser resolution video sources to made them appear as if they were from 4k sources.

4. Is there a lot of 4K UHD content?

4K UHD content is slowly gaining popularity. Currently, its easiest way to stream 4k content is from Netflix. Since streaming services and cable services are gradually steaming more 4K content, the network effect will bring about an abundance of 4K UHD content soon.

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5. Should you get a 4K UHD TV now?

Full HD is actually a sunset technology and therefore, as a TV set typically lasts for at least 5 years, you should invest in an upcoming technology to future proof your purchase. To make the best bang for buck, you should wait for mid or year end sales to get your hands on a 4K UHD TV.

6. Why does High Dynamic Range (HDR) matter?

The term HDR originates from the photography technique, which is to enhance a picture’s dynamic range. This means to have a greater contrast between the brightest whites and the darkest blacks. Hence, the higher the dynamic range, the closer the photograph mimics real life since there are different degree of brightness and darkness in real life.  Therefore, in layman's term, HDR makes the pictures appear less "flat", more natural on an HDR TV so that the colours are richer with greater colour gradations and tones.

7. Does a 4K UHD TV has the ability to display HDR content?

A standard 4K TV displays their content in a Standard Digital Range (SDR). Hence, if you want the best viewing experience, you should choose a 4K UHD TV equipped with HDR capability. Hence, a TV with HDR capability is able to display the widest range of colour contrast and thus, the pictures appear much more realistic and can even of a lower resolution.

In short, In short, HDR is a complimentary TV technology and does not replace the 4K  UHD technology. They are simply different technologies which help to enhance the TV viewing experience. 4K UHD is all about packing 4 times the pixel count in the same screen (quantity) whilst HDR is about making the pixels display more accurately and naturally (quality).

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8. Is HDR10+ a better technology than HDR10?

It is a common misconception that any term with a bigger number or a plus sign is better. Unfortunately, this is not so. HDR10 and HDR10+are simply different HDR competing format standards, with one dominating the market. Similar to the format standard war between VHS vs Betamax and between Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD which took place not so long ago, HDR10 and HDR10+ are competing for technology standards. Currently, HDR10 is the more popular format and it can be found on most 4K HDR TVs.

9. Is there a lot of HDR content?

There is not a lot of HDR content sources at the moment since this technology is still in a state of infancy. Nevertheless, you can get HDR content from sources such as Amazon Prime Instant Video and Netflix, and you can expect more HDR video content in the near future.

10. Should you get an HDR TV now?

Full HD is actually a sunset technology and therefore, to make the best bang for buck is for you to wait for mid or year end years to get your hands on a 4K UHD TV. Since a TV set typically lasts for at least 5 years, you should invest in an upcoming technology to future proof your purchase.

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