With
4K Ultra HD becoming so popular, there’s a huge array of choices from
multiple brands to consider. We’ve provided some tips, definitions and
other tidbits and outlined our top recommendations to help steer you in
the right direction. Below you will find the absolute best from each
brand, along with outstanding value exceptional picture quality.
What Is 4K UHD?
On
a 1080p TV, you get 1920 pixels across, and 1080 pixels top to bottom
That works out to over 2 million pixels on a screen, that’s a lot, but
4K UHD has four times that.
3840×2160
Resolution
Get Closer
For
every one pixel on a 1080P HD TV, there are four pixels in the same
space on a 4K UHD TV. That means sharper lines, smoother curves and lots
more detail, especially on big-screen TVs, which you can also sit
closer to without seeing the little pixels. So go big if you want, it’s
gonna look great.
What To Watch
Good
news! 4K UHD TVs are entirely backward compatible, so you can use your
existing cable box or DVR, DVD or Blu-ray player, or standard HD TV
antenna, and your 4K UHD TV will make whatever you’re watching look even
better than before. But to get the most out of your new 4K UHD TV,
you’ll want to turn to streaming services and new 4K UHD equipment. UHD
Blu-ray will be coming out soon, keep an eye out for players and
software.
- Netflix 7 Movies 4 TV Shows
- M-GO 23 Movies 0 TV Shows
- UltraFlix 38 Movies 0 TV Shows
- Amazon Instant Video 33 Movies 5 TV Shows
- YouTube 10,000+ Streaming Videos
Available 4K UHD Televisions
With
many brands and screen sizes to choose from, now is a great time to buy
a 4K UHD TV. Manufacturers and retailers are embracing the term “4K
UHD” championed by the Consumer Technology Association to describe this
new generation of television. Some also are participating in CTA’s
voluntary logo program that uses the same term. Regardless of what they
call them, Ultra HD or 4K, major brands all are now offering a range of
4K UHD TVs at a range of prices.
LG EF9500 Series OLED
- Perfect black levels create incredible contrast
- HDR-ready HDMI out of the box
- Outstanding webOS 2.0 operating system
- Excellent Harman Kardon audio system
- First flat-screen 4K Ultra HD OLED
55 and 65-inch models available
LG UF9500 Series LED TV
- IPS panel for wide viewing angle
- Color Prime panel delivers expanded color
- Local dimming for uniform picture/contrast
- Outstanding webOS 2.0 operating system
- Excellent Harman Kardon audio system
65 and 79-inch models available
Panasonic CX650 Series LED TV
- 4K Ultra HD resolution at a 1080p price
- Great for bright rooms and day watching
- Simple and easy-to-use Firefox OS
- 120 Hz native panel for smooth fast-moving scenes
- Very good color reproduction
55-inch models available
Panasonic CX850 Series LED TV
- Studio master drive delivers excellent blacks and color
- Wide color range
- HDR-ready out of the box
- All three HDMI 2.0 ports support HDCP 2.2
- Simple and easy-to-use Firefox OS
55 and 65-inch models available
Samsung JS9500 Series Curved Smart TV
- Samsung’s best full array backlighting
- Nano-crystal display produces more color
- Fully HDR-ready (with firmware update)
- Excellent brightness
- Intuitive and fast Tizen Smart TV system
65, 78, 88-inch models available
Samsung JS7000 Series Flat LED TV
- Local dimming for better contrast
- Nano-crystal display produces more color
- Excellent bright room performance
- Great performance at a reasonable price
- Intuitive and fast Tizen Smart TV system
50, 55, and 60-inch models available
Sharp UB30‑series LED TV
- Outstanding value in 4K Ultra HD TV
- Local dimming for better contrast
- Fully compliant with latest 4K UHD specs
- Full suite of Internet apps with cross-platform search
Available in 65, 55, 50, and 43-inch models
Sharp LC‑70UH30U LED TV
- THX-Certified 4K Ultra HD performance
- Expanded color range
- Android TV with Google Play
- 120 Hz-native panel for smoother motion
- Aquodimming for enhanced contrast
70-inches
Sony X830C Series LED TV
- Affordable 4K Ultra HD excellence
- Triluminous display for expanded, precise color
- 4K X1 processing delivers outstanding picture quality
- Android TV smart TV system
Available in 55, 65, and 65-inch models
Sony X930C/X940C LED TV
- Triluminous display for expanded, precise color
- Full Array Local Dimming and HDr for excellent contrast
- 4K X1 processing delivers outstanding picture quality
- Hi-Res audio capable, with stellar sound quality
- Android TV smart TV system
Available in 65 (930C) and 75-inch (940C) models
Vizio M-Series M65 and M80 LED TV
- Value leading 4K Ultra HD performance
- 32-zone Full Array Local Dimming
- 120 Hz-native panel for smoother motion
- Dual-sided Bluetooth remote with Qwerty Keyboard
- Vizio Internet Apps Plus
65 and 80-inch models
Vizio Reference Series RS65‑B2 LED TV
- Vizio’s absolute best TV
- Full Array Local Dimming with 384 zones
- Dolby Vision HDR/800 nits brightness
- Expanded color range
- Comes with subwoofer and surround speakers
65-inch models available
Glossary Of Terms
4K ULTRA HD
In
television, a display resolution that is four times that of 1080p HD. A
4K Ultra HD TV’s pixel resolution is a 3,840 x 2,160 grid in a 16:9
aspect ratio, resulting in nearly 8.3 million pixels. This increase in
density adds striking detail and realism to an image and allows larger
screens to be viewed from closer distances without individual pixels
becoming visible.
High Dynamic Range(HDR)
High
dynamic range is probably most familiar to people through the HDR mode
on their digital cameras. It’s designed to deliver a picture that has
greater details in the shadows and highlights a wider range of colors.
HDR in televisions pursues the same goal. The color palette is wider,
blacks are deeper and whites are brighter.
Full Array Local Dimming (FALD)
Refers
to an LED TV’s backlighting system. A FALD display contains an array of
LEDs spread out in a grid behind an LCD panel, rather than just at the
edges of the TV. This LED array is broken up into zones that can be
dimmed when necessary to achieve better black levels. Another benefit is
more uniform brightness across the screen.
Wide Color Gamut (WCG)
The
expanded color reproduction abilities of a 4K Ultra HD TV — closer than
ever to what we see in a digital cinema. By approaching the Digital
Cinema Initiative’s P3 color specification, a 4K UHD TV can produce
billions more colors than a 1080p HD TV.
Quantum Dots
A
layer of film loaded with tiny nano-crystal semiconductors that is
placed in a TV’s display panel to help produce a wider array of colors
with better accuracy. Quantum dots work by altering the light coming
from a TV’s backlighting system before it is passed through the TV’s
color filter.
Phosphor-coated LED
An
alternative to Quantum Dots, phosphor-coated LEDs have a chemical
coating to alter the light’s output such that is it less blue and more
white. When used in a TV, this results in a purer backlight that’s more
easily manipulated by a TV’s color filter, resulting in a wide color
gamut and increased color accuracy.
HDMI 2.0a
The
latest version of the HDMI spec. Compliance with this standard assures a
4K Ultra HD display or source is capable of providing all the digital
information needed for 4K Ultra HD resolution, HDR, and Wide Color
Gamut, all at up to 60 frames per second.
HDCP 2.2
The
latest version of the High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection
technology, which provides copy prevention specifically of 4K Ultra HD
content. Any source device that requires HDCP 2.2 will require a 4K
Ultra HD TV with an HDCP 2.2 compliant HDMI port for a compatible
connection.
HEVC (H.265)
Stands
for “High Efficiency Video Coding.” A new compression technology
developed to make large 4K UHD video files smaller and, therefore,
easier to stream over broadband Internet connections. HEVC is said to
double the data compression ratio over H.264, the predominant encoding
technology used today for 1080p videos, while retaining the same video
quality. A smart TV or streaming set-top box must be able to decode HEVC
in order play back 4K Ultra HD video from sites like Netflix and Amazon
Instant Video.
VP9
An
alternate to HEVC developed by Google and used predominantly for
encoding 4K Ultra HD YouTube videos. In order for a smart TV or
streaming set-top box to play back 4K Ultra HD YouTube videos, it must
be able to decode VP9 videos.
